'|V,\'
Thursday, April 10, 1941
JEWISH WESTERN BULLETIN
3
Passover In Jcwisli Mislory
By ABRAHAM BUBSTBIN
Abraham Burstein brings a new interpretation to the story of Passover in the following article;'w deals'With the promised land of the;; ;spirit to wliich Moses and hisXaw "would still guide us. ' \
—TBEJ SDITOB.;
The barbaric expulsions of Jews throughoutiEurope again:-justify the stress laid by the sages on the - story! ,'Of;the Exodus. Repeatedly the? gadah bids us remember' the:great ievent, imagine ourselves in the.situar tion of these wandering ancestors; and gfive new thanks for their escape. Ten years: ago • the story remained in the imagination, of the world's Jews; today it is a grim reality, v We never knew, .wherever we maybe, how soon we shall recall the. words'; of i the Sabbath and' festival Kiddush; "a memorial to the depart-; ure from Egypt."
The Exodus seems to have given the whole character to Jewish hi^ tory. Its circumstances and teachings; have been duplicated innumerable! times. But the most important ^les-son—one which only a Nazi .catastrophe can bring to the fore-^is that Eiloses was not at first welcomed by ;he people he came to save. Not the oy of deliverance is the main teach-lig of the: Seder; but the need of Jiving .up one's enslavement to p'gyp.t's fleshpots, of recognizing hoh-Tst and and saving leadership.
The great lawgiver was opposed by he cowering Hebrew bondsmen. The >rinciple3 of human freedom, morals, ind self-realization made no impres-ion on their brutish minds. Only iter did "Kra«''iUfiy* appreciate [OSes' achievement. Then was it seen lat had Israel remained enslaved, would have died out as race and tigion.
On other occasions Jewish leaders ave met the same difficulties, and ave had to fight a recalcitrant >ple for their own .good. Why lould they leave their comforts and sshpots? Why become bearers of special civilization? Why not give p all possibility of future suffering ;r complete assimilation?
Because Moses was first to cope ith this problem, because be posited >r all time the dictum that Judaism lUst not die and that Jews who ut-tr such sentiments are traitors, be-Luse in very despite he led thena the the glory of Mount Sinai, have le sages chosen the Exodus for most twerful emphasis in ritual and ob-jrvance. It is not a mere incident the life of Israel; it is an indica-in of what Jews werje to say and through all the years of Israel's ififering.' ■
The prophets always fulminated Pgainst the faults of the Exodus generation. Exile was the result of sin. And the greatest sin W4is backsliding from the spiritual doctrines of the past—the easy acceptance of the selfish and imperialist notions of the ancient environment; the desire to become as all the peoples; the conviction that no purpose would be served in remaining Jews.
Had the Israelites been content to live uprightly, to seek peace and pursue it, to tea.ch their ideals by example and precept, there would .haves been no destruction of the Northern Kingdom* in 722 B.C.E.; nor would the great; exile into Ba,bylon. have taken-place 136 years later. Imitation of the superficial aims and forms of Egypt, Bab y 1 o n i a, and Assyria brought havoc to the soul and body of Israel.
; The prophets of Isaiah and Jeremiah in particular assailed the false deals which marked the beginning >f the exile. Sudden remembrance >f the past came by the rivers of Lbylon. A new loyalty and idealism irose in the hearts of the exiles; and ifter seventy years a hardy band lucceeded in building the new Jewish sommonwealth.
A different sort of defeatism followed the second destruction, at the Lands of the. Romans. There was a liminishing aloofness from the customs of the gentiles. It became neces-lary to promulgate decrees against itlng gentile food, using gentile Ishes, or otherwise deviating from l-acial and religious custom. The'sal-itary eflfects that followed remain me of the most potent arguments [or dietary separatism in Jewish his-[ory. ,^
Then the destruction of the Temple
wrought on another form of despair.
[How can we continue living, and
rhy, if the center of our faith is de-
•oyed?" They could not imagine
Jewish life in the diaspora; every
lought and observance was woven
Ibout the hill of Zion. . *
But the Pharisees, great teachers
If lartiel, had vreckoned with this
(Continued on Page 6) See PASSOVER IN HISTORY -
PASSOVER MESSAGE FM REV. N. M. PASTINSKY
Passover is the beginning of all the Jewish Holidays. In fact, the entire Jewish code is based on Passover, because if the Children of Israel had not been liberated from Egjrpt, they would have had no religion. That is why in the various prayers for Sabbaths and Holidays, we always find the phrase, "as a remembrance of the exodus from Egypt." ^ .
The question may be asked: Why did God bring the Jews into Egypt if only to take them out in due course of time? On purely historical grounds -wteare not justified in asserting that the Jews were being punished for the sins they had committed. God had not yet revealed Himself to them. They had no Torah. However knowing the events'which followed the Exodus, we can see that the most logical answer to our question is that God had taken the Jews into Egypt in order to test their faith in Him. When we envisage Jewish history, we shall learn that Goluth can have no other meaning. It is a test of faith.
/ God had promised Abraham that his descendants would inhabit the land of Cannan. He had been chosen to preach the Divine Message to the world. However first they had to prove their fitness for this task. Thus God put them to the test. Would they prove worthy of their'mission? Were they deserving of the honor God had conferred, upon them? Were they qualified to receive the Torah? Four hundred and thirty years of Goluth proved that they were. For our sages tell us that the Jews merited their salvation. They had not changed their language, nor their names. Nor had they slandered one another. The Jews had passed the test God put to them.
This same interpretation can be applied to our modern Goluth. It is now almost two thousand years that God has been testing us, testing our faith in Him. The Jews who are alive today bear vritness to the fact that- Israel has not failed to pass the test. For if we had, there would
PASSOVER MESSAGE FROM ' RABBI SAMUEL OASS
Of all the festivals of the Jewish year,vPesach is indeed a. most welcome one. Its heartening message of FREBDOM>is an inspiration to all of us locked in combat with one of the mq^t. brutal .of: tyrants of human history., As Jews, through commemorating the anciehfci deliverance from Egyptian bondage, we transmit to the world our unshaken faith in the ultimate redemption of mankind from slavery in our own day. ) ^
Traditon has surrounded Passover with most colorful and warm ceremonials. I urge upon all in Beth Israiel and the community to attend Synagogue on these days. Let the Seder Service in the home be carried out in all its beautiful traditiohs. The Hagaddah contains all necessary directions. Where Hebrew is hot understood or is read with difficulty^ I would suggest the use of the English translation. Do not omit the chanting of the Kiddush, the four questions, the explanations of the symbols of Pesach, in partaking of the wine, the vegetable, the Matzohj an4 the Bitter Herbs Jn their proper order. In this way, we reaffirm the historic ideal of Freedom, and participate, in a spiritual experience of infinite meaning, for our world and our people today.
Let us be mindful too of those of our people and of all peoples who lie crushed under the heel of tyranny, enslaved in a bondage worse than Egypt of old. In expressing our gn:a-titude, let us pray for. them, and let Uf. resolve to leave no effort undone until the sun of righteousness and liberty shine once more upon the world. MAY GOD BLESS YOU ALL WITH A HAPPY YOM TOV.
RABBI SAMUfiL CASS.
be no Jewish people today. Loyal Jewry's faith in God that He will deliver us from bondage is strong as ever. Knowing God's ultimate end, let us remember that we have no cause to be disheartened. Our salvation is bound to come. God is testing Us, preparing us for the higher duties in life. We have yet to fulfill our Divine Mission. This is the meaning of Pesach.
—■REV. N. M.' PASTINSKY
Passover
ROGERS JEWELLERS
LIMITED
BROS.
MASTER FURRIERS
721 ROBS ON
We guarantee to satisfy the public with our supreme workmanship and finest quality fur pelts which we have in stock. Our prices are unequalled. Fur coats repaired and remodeled. Coats styled to your individual measurements.
DODEK BROS.
Master Furriers Take advantage of our Springr Fur Sale.
::'fi::::^^!;;;@K:;^Up to'50% savings.:
721 ROBSON STREET
FAcific 6752
This advertisement Is not published or displayed by The Liquor Control Board or by tij? Government of British Columbia