Pesach message: Rabbi Osher Feldman
Life is about finding solutions. It is easy to focus on the problems.
But being human is about using our gift of intelligence and ingenuity to break new ground.
Owing to global events, and specifically in the aftermath of October 7, our community is facing challenges, the likes of which are often staggering and overwhelming.
For example:
How do we relate to the many differing voices within our community regarding the ongoing conflict while remaining united as a community?
How should we think about fellow citizens and leaders whose worldviews and values seem so fundamentally different to our own?
How can we secure the safety and well-being of our community while maintaining a Jewishly proud and robust community?
One of the most beloved elements of the Pesach Seder is the Mah Nishtanah, the Four Questions. While the Four Questions are categorised and easily identifiable in the Haggadah, the same cannot be said about the answers.
Why?
A primary difference between slavery and freedom is that a slave follows the instructions of his master with complete obedience. A slave does not ask questions. In a similar vein, a person who cannot think beyond pre-existing paradigms or ways of being is a person enslaved to the status quo.
Freedom is about asking questions. Freedom is about challenging the way things are. Freedom is about imagining possibilities for how different things can be.
This is the empowering message of the Haggadah.
The Pesach experience invites us to look inwards and ask questions that will drive us, both in our individual spiritual growth and in our collective community building, forward and higher.
Yet, solutions to complex issues are never as clear-cut as the problems. This is why the answers to the Four Questions are not defined systematically in the Haggadah. To be sure, they are all there in the Haggadah narrative, but they are more generalised perspectives that require work to unpack and apply for each generation.
The work of the Seder is the work of Freedom. And the methodology of the Seder itself shows us how to use our freedom effectively.
It is through consultation and discussion with others around the table.
It is through the diverse personalities that make up the community (the ‘four sons’).
It is through having a clear understanding of history and the events that have led us to today.
It is through living life with humility and gratitude (Dayeinu).
It is through studying the foundational values of the Torah that are at the heart of how we see the world and that guide our decision-making.
It is through having trust and faith in G-d, celebrating his miracles, and strengthening our commitment to his Torah and way of life.
These are the ‘Seder Tools’ that unleash the true power of freedom, helping us find genuine, long-lasting solutions for the future.
This Pesach, may we all experience a Festival of Freedom that leads towards the greatest solution of all: a brighter, more prosperous, peaceful and harmonious future for us all. ●
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