Passover Celebrates Our Departure
Passover celebrates our departure. It does not mark our arrival. That was always a far off dream.
In 1947, the United Nations debated the partition of Palestine. David Ben Gurion advocated for a Jewish state in our ancient homeland and said,
Three hundred years ago a ship called the Mayflower set sail to the New World. This was a great event in the history of England. Yet I wonder if there is one Englishman who knows at what time the ship set sail. Do the English know how many people embarked on this voyage? What quality of bread did they eat? Yet more than three thousand three hundred years ago, before the Mayflower set sail, the Jews left Egypt. Every Jew in the world, even in America or Soviet Russia knows on exactly what date they left—the fifteenth of the month of Nisan; everyone knows what kind of bread the Jews ate. Even today the Jews worldwide eat matza on the fifteenth of Nisan. They retell the story of the Exodus and all the troubles Jews have endured since being exiled. They conclude this evening with two statements: “This year, slaves. Next year free. This year here. Next year in Jerusalem, in Zion, in Erez Yisrael.” That is the nature of the Jews.
Arriving remains a hope. This evening we will conclude our Seders with these same words. We will proclaim, “Next year in Jerusalem.” But we have arrived. Jerusalem is the capital of the modern State of Israel.
And yet our hopes remain unfulfilled. Jerusalem does not know peace! Shalom continues to elude us. I wonder. Do others have a problem with our arrival? Are we destined to wander through history and never know peace.
Reality never matches our hopes and dreams. And yet for generations we stubbornly recited these words and affirmed this hope. And we continue to shout them to this day.
Next year in a Jerusalem at peace!
At our seders I will recall that Passover is first and foremost about hope. For two thousand years we held fast hope. This year I will grab hold to hope once again.