When one considers the debilitating and dehumanizing persecution and enslavement that Israel endured under the Egyptian rod, as per the Biblical narrative, it is remarkable that during the Seder’s commemoration of the Exodus, nary a word of self-pity nor a suggestion of vengeance towards our oppressors is uttered (consistent with Deuteronomy 23:8 – “You shall not abhor an Egyptian, for you were a stranger in his/her land.”). Rather the thrust of the Haggadah is to prod the celebrants to focus on the ba’avoor zeh –“for this purpose did God do for me when I went free from Egypt,” (Exodus 13:8). The clear message is that the suffering in Egypt and the subsequent redemption was for a purpose – to reach Sinai, where, by accepting the commandments, we assumed the obligation to remember that we were once strangers in a land not our own. This remembrance imposed upon us a mission: to eradicate slavery, to promote equality, especially for the vulnerable, and to pursue justice and righteousness. Instead of concentrating our attention on our experience of victimhood the Haggadah emphasizes the charge to develop a constructive memory that is socially transformative and personally liberating – “in every generation one is obligated to see oneself as one who personally went out from Egypt.” We bring to the world a grand vision of human equality and moral responsibility.
So too is it remarkable that merely three years after the conclusion of the most catastrophic episode in our history, the Jewish people determined that it would build a future and not wallow in the past. To emerge from the darkness of the Hollocaust and to reconstruct ourselves as a nation and establish a state constituted nothing less than a miracle. It was a miracle that was accomplished by a people that was inspired by a tradition that taught the acceptance of responsibility and that memorialized the rejection of victimhood and survivalism in favor of renewal and renaissance. Purposive living in a Jewish state that would facilitate our national revival while we aspired to fulfill the dreams of the prophets was our goal. And it is precisely this miracle, this work in progress, our state of Israel, whose 60th anniversary we are celebrating this May.
But there is another story of renewal that we are witnessing these days: the rejuvenation of Jewish life on campus. It draws from the Passover a programmatic lesson to always remember and to act and it derives from modern Israel a collective sense of belonging to a family and a pride in the ideals and values that are essential to the Zionist endeavor. Here at UCLA this renaissance has meant that we have succeeded in doubling the number of students who participate in the Hillel program. This significant increase in breadth has been accompanied by an even greater growth in depth: more Hillel students are currently engaged in Jewish learning than at any prior time in our history. The community is both numerically larger and Judaically more knowledgeable. And the students have assumed complete responsibility for planning and organizing their programs.
So my friends your time to act is NOW. As we undertake our annual journey from Egypt to Sinai, from the freedom from subjugation to the freedom to make a difference, please think about your responsibility for the Jewish future and contribute generously to our successful and inspirational Hillel Center for Jewish Life at UCLA.
With blessings of renewal and redemption,
Chag Pesach Sameach v’Kasher,
Rabbi Chaim Seidler-Feller
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