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Tyrants will arise throughout time...

04/13/2022 01:10:08 PM

Apr13

Rabbi Ted Feldman

Tomorrow evening we will welcome our Festival of Passover. As you are well aware, this holiday and the acknowledgement of the Biblical exodus from Egypt is pivotal in Jewish thought. The notion from the Torah that God wants human beings and, in particular, our people, to be free was a profound recognition of the precarious nature of human existence. That, like Pharoah, tyrants will arise throughout time to exercise their power over others, is a sad acknowledgement of the propensities of human nature.

In today’s world we need not point any further than the immense tragedy in Ukraine and the fate of so many people who have either died or been uprooted. Certainly, Pesach is a joyous celebration of our ancient liberation. It is also an enduring reminder that we, as Jews and as part of the human family, play a role in insuring that freedom and the avoidance of conflict and violence in our world might cease. 

I hope that as we gather with friends and community we will embrace  the gifts we have in our lives and sing the songs of Passover in our yearnings for a redeemed world in which Shalom will reign in the hearts of human beings.

I want to wish all of you a Chag Samayach…a joyous and fulfilling Passover.

Rabbi Ted Feldman

Thu, June 1 2023 12 Sivan 5783