Passover's message to Jews and those under oppression
Rabbi Steve Burg shares the meaning of the holiday in an interview in 2015.
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As a result of the coronavirus pandemic, Jews around the world are preparing to observe Passover beginning Wednesday night in a manner that is unprecedented in the last 3,300 years.
Like people of all faiths, Jews are unable to assemble, worship and pray together as one body of believers due to social distancing and efforts to flatten the curve of COVID-19 around the globe.
The central theme of Passover is freedom. But the entire world is currently gripped by feelings of uncertainty, isolation and fear.
It's axiomatic that a large percentage of the population generally walks through life feeling small, irrelevant and obscure on a regular day. Right now those feelings have been exacerbated a hundredfold.
A quick scroll through my newsfeed and social media accounts shows me that many people are feeling powerless and dispensable. Many are suffering from high levels of anxiety and depression in the face of the pandemic that has tragically claimed thousands of lives.
According to the Jewish tradition, on an individual level one of the most liberating feelings in the world is to discover that YOU – the individual – matters.
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Even when we are sidelined at home and unable to go to work, school or anywhere else that is not essential, every person is inherently valuable. Our value lies not in what we do or how much money we earn, but simply because we are human beings and were fashioned in the image of our Creator.
As a society, we need to accept that just as this pandemic began with one person – a “you” – likewise it has to end with each of us.
Each of us has to regard ourselves at this moment as being weaponized and as a potential carrier of the coronavirus. We are currently each potentially as dangerous as a loaded gun in the hands of a killer.
With a simple unguarded cough or sneeze, or a callous and foolish refusal to follow government guidelines, we literally have the power in our hands to destroy lives and families.
Conversely, by embracing our personal power each of us can be part of the solution. By adhering to social distancing guidelines, even when it causes us to feel isolated or lonely, we show compassion and respect for the lives of our fellow human beings.
The Talmud (Sanhedrin 37a) says: “Every person should say that ‘the world was created for my own sake.’”
At first glance, this seems like a peculiar passage. Were the ancient Jewish sages suggesting we adopt a delusional, haughty attitude? Far from it.
Nobody should be getting lost in the crowd right now, because there are no crowds.
The sages explain this passage to mean that every person should realize that he or she – the individual – has the power to make choices that can change all of humanity from one end of the globe to the other.
We can make choices that benefit humanity or make choices that harm humanity with a deed, a word, a glance, and as it turns out … even with a cough!
When I read incidents in the news of people who refuse to heed the guidelines on social distancing, I’m reminded of a famous Midrash (Vayikra Rabbah 4:6).
The Midrash speaks about a man who is on a boat in the middle of the water, and he decides to take out a drill and begins drilling under his seat. The other passengers ask him what he's doing, and in response he says it's nobody's business. Of course, the other passengers reply that if he persists, he is going to drown them all!
This is akin to what is going on in some pockets of many communities today. We must to come together as a country and turn this sort of “me” thinking into “we” thinking in order to beat this.
In addition to inculcating a new way of thinking and regard for ourselves and our power, this pandemic has exposed our faulty societal views concerning who is important and essential and who is not.
We are a culture that worships celebrities, professional athletes and other influencers made famous in the media. However, there is an endless number of such people who’ve been unable to use their perceived prestige to change the course of this pandemic – even to get their fans to adhere to social distancing guidelines.
When this pandemic passes over us, I hope we will remember that – to a significant degree – our lives and society were sustained by those who are often unseen, overlooked and typically never thanked for a job well done.
It is not the celebrities and professional athletes who will save us now, but individuals such as health care professionals and the many others who can’t do their jobs from the comfort of home – police officers and firefighters who protect us, janitors who disinfect public spaces, farmers and supermarket workers who enable us to get life-sustaining food, and so many others. All these people risk infection with the coronavirus because of their dedication to serving us.
As it says in the Mishnah (Pirkei Avot 4:3): "Do not look down upon any person, and do not be disdainful of anything, for there is no person without his hour, and no thing without its place."
In Hebrew, a plague such as COVID-19 is called “dever.” Interestingly, this word in Hebrew and throughout the Bible shares the same spelling as the word “dibur,” which means speech. What is the connection?
The great medieval Torah commentator known as the Radak answers that when a dever strikes, it’s because the Creator of the universe is attempting to speak to us.
May I humbly suggest that from the countless worthwhile lessons we might wish to take from this difficult time we should also take this opportunity to remember the value and power of each individual.
All it took was one person to overturn the world as we knew it by beginning the spread of the coronavirus. Likewise, one person can bring about incalculable healing and blessing to others.
I offer you my personal blessing that each of us should avail ourselves of the distancing at this time to really take a good look at our neighbors – to really see them.
We can use this enforced spacing to recognize the power of each individual. Nobody should be getting lost in the crowd right now, because there are no crowds.
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Realize that each person is irreplaceable and valuable, and you don’t need followers or a blue checkmark next to your name to be deemed important.
You are unique, essential, intimately created and indispensable, just as you are. And although many of us feel lonely in quarantine and within the walls of our homes, we can use this solitude as a rare opportunity to reflect upon our individual power and significance.
Although the world at large is decidedly negative towards boundaries and the exercise of limitations or personal restrictions, the Jewish tradition is of the view that they are not only sometimes necessary – such as during a pandemic – but that they also bring blessing, self-awareness and personal freedom in their wake.
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The incalculable pain and loss of COVID-19 will one day pass. Then we can all celebrate our individual contributions – together – and our individual and collective redemptions.
May it happen speedily in our days.
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