Passover: None of Us is Free Until All of Us Are Free

My rabbi wrote this on our synagogue's Facebook page next to a picture of Manisheweitz matzoh meal: "This is not an endorsement of any particular brand of matzoh; it's simply a gentle reminder that the season of liberation is upon us. The most important issue is drilling down to the bedrock message of the Passover story: tyrany and oppression are offensive to God and must be forcefully opposed and overturned. None of us is free until all of us are free."

Pesach is my favorite Jewish holiday because it is both somber and joyous, and those two feelings come full circle at the seder. We remember with sadness the ancient Hebrews who toiled as slaves at the hands of a cruel government.

We celebrate their liberation. Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel says that after G-d's deliverance of the Israelites, "an allusion to the need for every man's own quest for God was seen homiletically in the Song of the Red Sea:

"This is my G-d, and I will glorify Him;
The G-d of my father, and I will exalt Him."



For thousands of years since the Hebrew exodus, Jews have suffered the oppression of cruel leaders time and again, through ethnic/religious discrimination, forced emigration, and genocide. Today our position in the world is better than ever. We are seen as an influential, powerful ethnic group with a vibrant culture and have contributed mightily as architects of the world.

The most recent Out Magazine says, "Without the Jews, much of 20th century culture would look very different, and we'll never know what future geniuses were lost to us in the ovens of Auschwitz."

There is still a great deal of anti-Semitism in the world. But like I always say, we should balance that awful knowledge with the equally valid point that Jews are popular. For every racist loser tweeting about "the Jewish lobby" from his parent's basement, there are countless others who support us. Most of my friends are enthusiastically interested in my religion and heritage, especially Muslims and Christians.

Aside from the ever-present hatred of Jews in some quarters, we lead much more comfortable lives than our parents did. Today, gay is the new Jewish. Mexican is the new Jewish. "None of us is free until all of us are free." That means we will not truly be free until gays are granted equal rights, until state governments stop separating immigrants from their families, until becoming an American citizen is as easy as owning a lethal firearm, until countries like Iran, Saudi Arabia, and Uganda stop murdering/imprisoning their own gay citizens, until Israel stops war-mongering in the name of self-defense, until Palestinians have their own state.

Somber, joyous; symbolic, practical. And that's just the seder. The first night of Passover really is different from all other nights.