On Monday night, March 29th, Jewish people worldwide will join together in celebrating the holiday of Passover. A highlight of the celebration is a festive meal called a Seder. The holiday commemorates the Exodus of Jews from slavery in the land of Egypt some 3322 years ago. On this evening families gather together and observe the holiday by reciting the story of Jewish enslavement and redemption, from a book called, The Hagaddah. The meal is replete with many symbols. The wine represents wealth and happiness. The bitter herbs, called marror, represent the bitterness of slavery and the unleavened bread, matzah, represents unleavened bread baked hurriedly by Jews before their departure from Egypt. After the Exodus the Jewish nation wandered forty years in the desert culminating with the arrival in the land of Canaan, currently called Israel.
In the Haggadah, “The Bible speaks of four sons, the wise, the wicked, the simple, and the one unable to ask a proper question.
The late Lubavitcher Rebbe, world Chassidic leader, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson (1902-1994) instructed Jews to have everyone at the Seder. He stated that there is a fifth son and that is the lost one, a child estranged from his noble roots, who needs to be addressed. That child, too, must be encouraged, brought to the Pesach Seder and made to feel connected..
I have made the following observation. We live in the most technologically connected generation with mobile phones, wi-fi, lap tops, I-phones, and podcasts. Internet connections are reaching almost anywhere in the world. Yet remarkably, there are times we do not connect with our family members who live in our own homes or communities. So many live in a world of total disconnect.
What is needed, I believe, is a time to reconnect to our families, friends, and religion. We need to connect to friendliness and show unconditional love. We also need the time for spiritual connection.
Just recently our great country has been debating passage of a health bill. The President feels strongly that everybody needs to be covered by health insurance. On that note I think we need to pass a “connection bill”, making sure that everybody is connected. After all, friends and families that spend time together are healthier when connected. They extend friendship and care for one another. It’s like health benefits, insuring a healthier people.
So let’s all take a lesson from Passover, by making sure that we all have a place at the table. No one should be shunned or forgotten. Then we will have a transparent and healthy nation.
A happy Passover to all.