In Every Generation

Rabbi Joel Fleekop

Friday, March 24, 2006

Opening the cabinet drawer, moving aside the napkins and table cloths, my mom would pull out our collection of haggadot. Knowing how many people we were expecting for Seder, she would count the number of haggadahs. Inevitably we were short and so my mom would go about getting more haggadot, a process that didn’t involve a trip to the bookstore or a call to the publisher, but rather a trip to the computer table where she would turn on our trusty Apple IIE, give it a few minutes to boot, and print up however many copies were need.

It was easy for my mom to get more haggadot because as a family we had written our own. The Fleekop Family Haggadah includes all of the prescribed steps, but also reflected the sensibilities of our family and the time. Written in the 1980s, it is full of references to the freeing of Soviet Jewry, and at times reads like a public service announcement from Nancy Regan’s “Just Say No To Drugs” campaign.

The Haggadah of my youth is a dated document, obsolete today as the computer on which it was written. But it instilled in me an important lesson, Passover has to be personalized.

This idea is not a new one. Throughout the Haggadah, the Rabbis repeatedly remind us of the need to feel as though we ourselves went free from slavery. B’chol Dor Vador Hayav Adam Le-rot Et Etzmo K’eylu Who Yatza M’mitzrayim.

While we might not make the mistake of the Rasha, the evil child, who excludes himself from the experience of the Exodus, very few of us, if any, can honestly say that every year we feel as though we ourselves have been freed from bondage. Being able to identify, each year, with the experience of our ancestors, is a very challenging task.

The rabbis who created our liturgical calendar seemingly recognized this challenge.

Eleven of the twelve months of the Hebrew year are announced with a special blessing. But one month, the month of Nissan, the month in which Passover falls, is announced with not only a special blessing on Shabbat morning, but a special Torah portion as well.

On Shabbat HaHodesh, this Shabbat, Jews traditionally read not only the weekly Torah portion, but also Exodus 12, verses 1-20. These verses, instructing the ancient Israelites how to observe the Feast of Unleavened Bread, call upon, and instruct us to begin preparing for Passover.

Many of us have already begun to prepare. We are frantically working our way through the boxes of cereal in the cabinet, abstaining from buying the Costco size box of cookies, and taking careful note of which Supermarkets have a good selection of Kosher L’Pesach soda.

But removing the hametz and buying special Passover food is not enough. If each year, as the Rabbi’s mandate, we are to feel as though we have been freed from bondage, than each year we must be liberated from those things that mentally and spiritually enslave us.

And we are all slaves to something. Some of us suffer from addictions that control our lives. Others are paralyzed by the emotional scar tissue caused by a failed relationship or illness. And almost all of us, in some way, are slaves to Materialism, or the mass media’s concept of beauty, or someone else’s definition of career success?

No matter what it is, each of us has something from which we need to be set free.

But what can we do? What steps can we take so that at this year’s Seder we will be able to taste the sweetness of freedom?

We turn to our tradition for guidance.

Shabbat HaHodesh announces the month of Nissan, the month in which Passover takes place. But why, the Rabbis wonder, of all the months in the year, was Nissan chosen as the season of liberation. In Numbers Rabbah Rabbi Akiva answers their question. Akiva explains that had the Exodus taken place in the month Tammuz, it would have been too hot. And in the month of Tevet, too cold. If the Jews had been freed from slavery in Tishri it would have been too rainy. But Nissan, the start of the dry season, a time of year when it is neither too hot or too cold, is the perfect time of year to start a journey.

If we are to succeed on our journey to freedom, then we too must begin that journey when conditions are right, when our lives are not full of storms, when temperatures and emotions are not too hot, and when our hearts and our souls are not too cold.

In addition to starting our journey to freedom under the right conditions, it is important that we not journey alone.

In the Passover Haggadah, Moses name is not mentioned once. On the one hand Moses’ exclusion emphasizes that it is God who is responsible for the Exodus. On the other, Moses’ exclusion from the Haggadah highlights for us the fact that the Exodus is not the story of Moses or any individual, but of a group.

Every single Israelite journeyed from slavery to freedom within the context of community; with the support of loved ones, the wisdom of leaders, and the comfort of knowing that that they were not alone.

Our journey to freedom must also take place in the context of community. If we are to be liberated from the things that enslave us we will need the encouragement, guidance, and solidarity that comes from our friends, family, and congregation.

Finally, the tradition emphasizes the connection between gaining freedom and connecting with who we are deep down.

In Midrash Tehillim the Rabbi’s teach, “the children of Israel were redeemed from Egypt because of four meritorious acts: they did not change their names, they did not change their language, they did not reveal their secrets, and they did not abandon circumcision.” By not forgetting the names, language, and rituals that defined who they were before entering slavery, the Israelites were able to leave their Egyptian bondage behind.

If we are to move beyond and out of the grasp of those things that hold us in bondage, then we, like our ancient ancestors, must find a way to remember who we are at our core; the things that bring us joy, the values we hold dear, and the people and rituals that bring meaning to our lives.

Shabbat HaHodesh announces the Month of Nissan and calls upon us to start planning for Passover. This year let us include in our holiday preparations not only the searching of our homes for hametz, but also our souls for ways in which we are enslaved. Let us turn to out tradition not only for guidance about what we can and cannot eat, but also how we can liberate ourselves from those things that keep us in bondage. This year let us take these steps, so that as we sit down for Seder, no matter what haggadah we are holding, we will feel as though we ourselves have been brought out of slavery.

Shabbat Shalom