Passover: What Should we Tell the Children in 5784/2024

Pesach Connected to Acharei Mot (next week's Torah portion)

Note: This video refers to next week's Torah portion, Acharei Mot.. This week’s reading returns to the Passover story in Exodus:

Video Recording of Passover talk:  

Acharei Mot begins the way the Passover night begins, with a retelling of horrifying killing of children.

Moses receives a divine vision, perhaps an enlightenment moment, of how to live and function in a world permeated by death, even of beloved children. Literally, Acharei Mot means "after the death" , referring to the killing of Moses' nephews, Aaron's sons, who were burnt alive by the God they were instructed to worship at the altar as they performed their young priestly duties.

Torah revisits the shocking, horrifying, unfair death of young people killed in service of  inherited narratives and beliefs. Its all so horrifying and prescient that the tradition interprets it all spiritually. Spiritual lessons, spiritual meanings. The retelling of the story in this chapter of Torah leads into the atonement practices for Yom Kippur, suggesting that the killing of the sons can be atoned for by ascetic spiritual practices. 

In previous years I've enjoyed exploring spiritual meanings, to this story, finding parallel stories in Eastern religions.   It's tempting to do that this year, but in honor of all the children who ARE being killed, I won't, I can't. I fear that doing so will somehow justify or nullify what is actually going on. 

Sometimes it works to put the tragedies of our days in grand mythic terms. Sometimes, though it becomes an excuse for not taking responsibility to fix what is ours to fix.

Since October 7 we have been overwhelmed by images of babies and children kidnapped and killed on October 7 by Hamas, and continuing now for more than six months, by Israel's continuous killing of Palestinian babies and destruction of their homes and families in Gaza and throughout Palestine. 

And now, in the midst of all of this, we are called upon to celebrate Passover. The holiday of liberation. This is an opportunity to find our voices at our tables, in our synagogues and communities. Throughout the Jewish tradition, the exile in Egypt is spoken about as the exile of the word. And the main practice of Passover is to come out of Egypt, to experience coming out of Egypt ourselves. This means coming out of our muteness as a community, within our families, in the world, and speaking out in our own names for the values that we hold, dear. Many Israeli Jews are doing this in Israel and in New York City where I currently live. We have to find ways of helping people breakthrough trauma to come back to the present moment so we can actually affect what's happening now.

Here are some ways during Passover that we can bring our voices out of exile and shout "protect children in our world from harm. bring peace to our world." 

In last week's post i included meditations and readings to bring to the Passover table. https://robertawall.substack.com/p/passover-this-year

This week, I expand on the theme of "staying at the table."  How can we liberate our mouths, the meaning of pesach ( pei=mouth, sach= conversing) so that we can make space in our hearts, in our speech and  at whatever tables we sit everyone, everyone's narratives are heard.  In Egypt, people's bodies and any kind of personal or collective expression outside were dominated and suppressed. Passover calls us to examine whether we ourselves have left Egypt? This was a teaching of the Zohar written about by Rabbi Kalonymous Shapira, a major rabbi of the Warsaw ghetto. He taught that every Jewish person needs to feel inside yourself and check if you already are out of Egypt. Only then are you able to experience the liberation offered by the Passover story.

Can we Dance and Sing?

How do we drawn on the Passover tradition to increase our capacity to "stay at the table? The traditions suggest it is by increasing our capacity to hold "both" "and," departing from simplistic and dualistic thinking and narrative.   A highlight of the Passover story is when the Israelites are led dancing and singing out of Egypt by Miriam and Moses. 

A teaching drawn from the book of Ezekiel explains this: We have to live with duality. If we are not happy to have been gifted with new freedom, then we do not care enough and will lose the freedom.

We must understand the preciousness of freedom to be motivated and inspired to preserve it.

Thus we dance, sing and praise.  

And if we don't find ways other than killing and destroying others to achieve our freedom, then our humanity is weakened and we will again fall under false gods of domination and violence:  “As I live, says the Holy Blessed One, I do not wish for the death of those whose actions cause pain and suffering, but for them to repent of their way, so that they may live” (Ezekiel 33:11).

We sit at the table with everyone and liberate our voices so that we all may live. 

What Should We Tell the Children? (Pesakh 5784)
by Rabbi Isaac Saposnik

This year,
what should we say to the wise child?
The child who is paying attention.
The one who is able to hold the nuance.
We should tell her
this is a time of stories,
and she should listen
carefully.
We all should.
Not all stories
are easy to hear.
But all stories
are essential.
Imperative.
And only after
we listen –
truly listen –
can we hope
for freedom
and redemption.

“There is no hope,”
her brother responds.
“They won’t allow it.”
Some might call him
the evil child,
but do we really need
more name calling
in the world?

We must remind this child
of ours
that there is no them,
only us.
All of us.
Together.
Striving for peace
we hope –
no, we know –
we can achieve.
Together.
Even if he
doesn’t believe it.
Yet.

And what about
the simple child?
The one who doesn’t know the details,
but knows all is not as it should be.
We should tell her that,
yes –
people are hurting
and suffering
and dying.
And the angel of death
has not yet passed over.
But we are working,
as hard as we can,
to rid the earth
of any more plagues.

“When do we eat?,”
asks the last child,
the one who doesn’t yet know
the trials of the world.
We should send this child
to the door.
They should be the one
to throw it
wide open.
To welcome
all those
who are hungry
to come and eat.
All those
who are weary
to come and rest.
And all those
who seek peace
to join in our seder
Because if we can all
sit together,
spilling wine,
finding crumbs,
and singing
late into the night,
everything will,
indeed,
be in order.

Next weekend: Come Cross the Sea with us:Loving Kindness at the Heart of Liberation: An End of Passover RetreatWith Roberta Wall and Reb Karen Levine
April 28 - 30, 2024
REGISTER NOW

Second night of Passover in NYC: Seder in the Streets: Brooklyn Public Library at Grand Army Plaza, 5:30 pm -Click for information