Jumping In: Last Days of Pesah – 5775

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Deuteronomy 14:22 – 16:17
Numbers 28:19 – 28:25

So the first days of the holiday are behind us. We have prepared as best we could and we have enjoyed celebrating the seders, one of the most beloved and distinctive of our traditions. This is the holiday of our freedom and we, living in this time and place, can think of practically no greater value to cherish.

Yet, for most of us the celebration of our freedom begins with a bang and ends with a whimper. The last days of Passover are also holy, just like the first, but they carry no special rituals mandated by the Torah. The best we have come up with, on our own, is the recitation of the memorial prayers, Yizkor, which is not specific to Passover at all, since it is observed on every holiday.

Yet, the last day of Pesah is the anniversary of a miracle that impressed the Israelites more than any other – the splitting of the Red Sea. It is after that miracle, and not after the Exodus, itself, that, as the Torah tells us, the Israelites finally had faith in the Eternal and in Moses, God’s servant. (Ex. 14:31) Right then and there they burst forth into song.

We will recall this miracle during our Torah reading for the seventh day of the holiday. But we will not engage in any other special celebrations or rituals. Why not?

Perhaps the reason stems from our ambivalent relationship to the real meaning of freedom. The initial rush of feeling liberated is exhilarating. But what is supposed to follow that beginning? If we are not free we do not bear any responsibility for our actions or, perhaps, even for our thoughts. We take no credit for freeing ourselves from slavery. We were not capable of doing so. Thankfully, God took us out of slavery “with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm.” But then, all of a sudden, we were free. And freedom brings responsibility. And the responsibilities that come with living a free life can be difficult and even terrifying. The miracle at the Red Sea happened as we struggled with our own impulse to turn back and give up our freedom in the face of danger. We were tempted to turn to the Egyptians and raise the white flag of surrender. We were almost about to go back to Egypt. And God could do nothing for us at that moment. God could not split the sea unless and until we chose to jump into the churning waters. We had to choose to hold on to our freedom, even at the risk of death.

Miraculously, we chose not to turn back, but to jump into the maelstrom of freedom. Nevertheless, as we continued on our journey, we were sorely tempted to retreat again and again. And we are so tempted to this very day. The disturbing and horrifying phenomena arising out of a violent resurgence of fundamentalism can be seen as a panicky, gruesome reaction to the challenge that freedom poses. Nor should we “moderates” pat ourselves on the back so fast. It is for us, as well, to ask ourselves whether we are willing to jump into the deep waters rather than relinquish our freedom and all its responsibilities. Until we can answer that with a definite “yes”, perhaps it is fitting that we should celebrate the last days of Passover with a bit of humble restraint.

Hag Same`ah v’Shabbat Shalom
Rabbi David Greenstein

Image: “stormy saturday” by LJ MEars used with permission via Creative Commons: Attribution-NoDerivs License

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