8th Day of Passover
Rabbi Daniel Goldfarb writes in this week’s Torah Sparks about the upcoming divergence of the weekly reading between congregations in Israel and those in the Diaspora. This is because in Israel Pesach ends on Friday, and the Torah reading there will be Achrei Mot, the next parasha in the cycle. But because we celebrate an 8th day of Passover, we read a special portion to commemorate the holiday (Deut. 14:22-16:17). Our regular readings will resume with Achrei Mot next week, May 7, while in Israel, they will be a week ahead with Kedoshim, and they will stay one week ahead of us until August 6, when Diaspora synagogues will catch up by combining two sedras, Matot and Masei. So to avoid confusion, this d'var focuses on Passover.
Rabbi Irving Greenberg has suggested that the story of the Exodus is perhaps the most important even in human history (The Jewish Way of Living the Holidays). It is because the Exodus created a Jewish People, and the Jewish People have had a unique impact on human history writ large. First, the development of monotheism obviated the concept of absolute loyalty to anyone but God, the key to democracy. Second, the morality of Exodus demands justice for all, with honest weights and measures, support of the poor, the widow, the orphan and the alien. Since these concepts were adopted by Christianity and Islam, the world was deeply impacted.
And at its core, the story of the Exodus is one of redemption. In modern times, this has been translated into the message of the possibility of transformation of the world into a better place for everyone.
But perhaps most importantly, the Exodus is not mere ancient history. We remember the Exodus, we reenact it, we relive it. The experience of slavery evokes feelings of repulsion and a determination to help others. From this perspective, it is no surprise that Jews remain a strong voice for progressive ideologies. As Greenberg suggests, “the Exodus is not some ancient event, however important… it is the past and future redemption of humanity. The Exodus is the most influential historical event of all time because it did not happen once but recurs whenever people open up and enter into the event.”
