This Passover celebration is doubly sweet. For one, we as a people enjoy unparallel freedoms–both here and in Israel. But this year, we are also witnessing the winds of democratic change blowing in Arab countries–a phenomenon I never though I would see in my lifetime .
Why has Israel been the only democratic country in a sea of dictatorships? The is that the Torah commands us to remember the Exodus from Egypt each year in perpetuity. And just in case the implications of this event are not crystal clear, the Bible informs us some 37 times that, because of this very experience, we are to be kind to strangers, that are not to take advantage of others, that we are not to oppress our fellows.
But our teachings go even further in support of human freedoms. Our Rabbis have laid down an inviolate principle–annunciated in the Ethics of the Fathers: Every person in Israel has a right to attain future rewards.” This means that each person the same right as another to succeed in life, that no one human being is inherently better than the other, that all people have a G-d given right to use their talents wisely and to express those talents in ways of their choosing.
Furthermore, the Torah supplies us with qualities necessary for people to rule in a democratic society. It tells us that those who govern must be “wise-hearted.” This means they must not only be intelligent, they must also be kindhearted. The implication is that no grandiose philosophy–which can be twisted to reinforce even tyrannical regimes, can be devoid of heart, of understanding of what it means to step into the shoes of others.
Unfortunately, the Jewish people have been deprived of freedoms by rulers who were neither smart nor compassionate. We have been enslaved more than once; and the reminders of our past oppressions are only all to vivid. Perhaps people in other countries are coming to that same realization that tyrannical regimes deprive citizens of their rights to be free, to govern themselves, to express their opinions openly, and to observe the rule of law. An most telling is that evil empires are cruel to their very own citizens.
While the Passover Seder may appear as a warm family ritual, it also has, may I suggest, led the way for world to realize that slavery of people and thought is intolerable and that the world can never progress until all people are truly free.
Enjoy the freedoms you have this Passover. Let us pray that next year we will celebrate Passover not only in Israel, but also anywhere in the world.
Chag Sameach