04/01/2020
Dear Friends:
Passover is soon upon us. Soon we will recall the drama in the night of our deliverance so many centuries ago. We will tell the story of those dark, fearful hours of watching and waiting, of the courage of so many to stand up for themselves, their families, their neighbors. Had they not done so, says the Haggadah, we might still be enslaved by the seductive fear and complacency that was Egyptian servitude. This will be the night of “Pe-sach”: the night when “the mouth speaks.” This year, we may not be together when we tell the story, but we can—and ought to—tell the story anyway: to ourselves, to each other, to our children. And we can do all we can to keep the “chametz” from the “shelves” of our wellbeing.
Our sages had a saying: “Al ta’amod al dam rei’echa”: “Do not stand idly by while your neighbor suffers”. These days—this Holiday-- ask us to honor those words: to do exactly what our tradition teaches us to do. It means being a “Mensch”—the kind of person who cares for and about others. We are each commanded to do what is necessary to ensure another’s wellbeing. It mean making sacrifices and “marking our lintels” to say “This is who we are, and what we do.” It means saying, “I cannot be with you in person, but we will tell our story together anyway. “Lo Alecha HaMelacha Ligmor.” We don’t need to finish this work, but we still must begin, especially at this time of “Pikuach Nefesh” (saving lives)—when the very lives of others are at stake, and might be dependent upon what we do.
And so, let us not “pass over” the commandment and the commitment to do what is necessary to keep each of us safe. Let us work for the healing of those who suffer. And let us keep hope alive in our hearts. In this way we can give support to those who help, and courage to those who are ill. At this Season of our Redemption, let us together do what we must to bring the hope, the healing, and the freedom from fear and suffering that we all want and pray for.
Chag Sameach
Rabbi Sol Goodman
