והגדת לבנך

The Sermons of Rabbi Allan

Mirvis

Passover 1943-1950

The Sermons of

Rabbi Allan Mirvis Passover 1943-1950

Table of Contents

1. Qualities of Leadership…………………… 1

2. The Four Steps to Freedom……………....... 4

3. The Power of Prayer………………………. 8

4. The Great Need for Calmness……………… 11

5. The Four Emissaries……………….………. 14

6. The Value of Symbols…………………….. 18

7. The Unending Exodus………………………22

8. Expressions of Gratitude……………........... 26

9. A New Note in the Song of Moses…............ 29

10. The Four Freedoms…………………........... 34

11. Song of a New Redemption………….......... 37

12. The Dawn of Prejudice…………………….. 41

13. Go Forward……………………………........ 43

14. Liberty and the Springtime……………........ 46

15. Counting of the Omer……………………....49

16. Passover: A Wedding Anniversary……........ 51

17. The Purpose of Miracles………………........ 54

18. Questions and Answers for Pesach……........ 57

19. Passover 1948……………………………… 60

20. The Plague of the Frogs…………………..... 63

21. Passover Message in 1949…………………. 66

22. Natural History of the Plagues……………... 69

QUaLIIi 02 LLEIJ II

1-1-43

Page 1

Ttfle idrth oa this week the first of the econd ook of 1Joses we read

about the birth and develonment of one of the gietest leaders in the historyof not only our neople but of cli mankind Hoses Let us for mojent reviewthe oirclmstL noes of his birth There is noting reinarahle or smDernntural inthe birth itself On the contrary the Thibie says expressly non wn

-TSP ttZS fljfl nt.n md thre ventaman of the horse of Levi and took wifdm1 Gero1LevianasonJa born to them In other words the birth of

oses is not enshrorded in any mystery In other religi ons the founders arerepresented as of supernatural birth Lot so in Judaism The leader of thepeoPle was the same as everyone else in regard to his birth iven ro5e5 is humanas to birth as also in regard to death There is no uncertainty as lair as his

simple origin is concerned hut it is the circumstances that oreceded his birththat se significant ________ _______________________

bR ent a.-n nfl i5b Djpilow there arose new king over gypt flo Imew not Joseph Lnd he said to his

people ehold the children of Isnel are too many and too strong for us Hefeared lest they multiply and fight against there It apnetrs as though threeschemes were esorteC to by the tyrant of 2gypt with regard to Israel for the

purpose of decreasing their number and reducing their strength The first twodevices comnulsory labor and destroying the Jewish male children at birththrouah the aid of the midwives did not acoomplih the desired end Regarding ti

first we read tfl Th$ 1ifl3 8t the morflafflicted them the more they multiplied and the more they grew in strencthRegarding the second we read bflD1 tnVW WI bthsa S1 JVTfl 1fl1fl

hut themlowlvecLearedGd and did not as tie king of .gy.p.todJndeft_tIienbut saved the male children

Lccording to our sages it was the forecast of the birth of oses the sooth

soyers of Hgypt that caused haroah to enroloy the third method of onen violencetoward thechildren of Israel Lharoah saw in dream man hold in scale iv hi

hands On the one side of the scale there vcs Egyot with all its riches with

all its material strength and resources while on the other side there was onlyone man and yet that one one man overhflanóedl and pulled down his side of the

scale Upset by this dream rharoah immediately called the wise men of iglntand the interpreted the dream to the efcect that man would arise out of the

children of Israel who would destroy Egypt and save his neonle To frustratesuch an event iharoah issued decree that all male children be thrown into thc

ile River____ ________________ __________

de all learned in the what hapenec after his birth His mother saw that

he was goodly child gnd she hid him for three months ut when she saw that

she cold no longer keep him she glcced the child in box and laid it amid

tha sea weeds by the brink of the river nd haronh daughter me to bathe

and saw Lbs casket opened it and found the child cruing io attracted did she

become to it that although she recognized its Hebrew origin she took it home

to be brought up in the royal court of her father

ma fl9 nVIhen .loses became great he went out unto his brethrenIn later ages it must alss he said of many son of Israel who had become greathat he went sway from his brethren Lot 5th Moses iie went out of the Palece in

the brickfields where is brethren toiled It was his lvingkindness to his

conic that impelled him to do so Tull of nity he watched his brethren groanibeneath their burdefls What hasxL1 to deserve such wretchedness he

wondered lthough as result os strange circumstances he is brought up in the

palace 0f the mighty bhcreah himself and from earliest inancy has resnect and

riches love and power showered upon him he proves step by step that he is destined to become great leader because of certain basic qualities of leadershipthat he accuires In rapid succession certain events happen which giMe directio

to his life and future work

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nd it came to pass in those days when i.ioSes was grown up that he went outunto his brethren and looked on their burdens and he saw an igyptian smiting

Hebrew one of his brethren ho this young nrince is not spending his daysin idleness hunting or pleasure making he is more interested in observing howpeople live especially his ovrn brethren the slaves of gypt 110w many othershad either failed to notice this injustice or become no hardened to the dailysight of master smiting slave ITot so jose He is tremendously shockedby this glaring injustice $ar fro ignoring it and going on to his own wursuitshe immediately determines to right this grievous wrong Dut he is yet to receiveanother greater shock and he went out ont.e_second day and behold two

men of the Tebreisweie fihtin to ether md nesidtothadid the wrongdhereIoresmitest thou thy fellow In sense this is even greater shQck to

him for here is not master striking slave not one class an upper class

nitted against lower class but actually two oppressea individuals bothhounded both held in contempt yet instead of fortifying each other in theirhour of comnon distress they find tme to strive against each other 2.ga.in he

protests aainstviolence and misunderstanding among the persecuted themselvesind for championing the right and the cause of the downtrodden he is banishedfrom his native soil

He flees for his life to nidian hut there too he encounters injustice theretoo his sense of fair play is outraged by the following incident gow theriest of JLidian had seveh daughters and they came and drew water0 And the shepherds came and drove them away but noses stood un and helped them and wateredtheir flock lthough an alien in new land this future leader recognizesthat the laws of morality of ri i1 wrong should and must be the same in

every country in every age lherei1ore unable to speak the language of iidianwith his usual courage he pits hinself against the powerful but unjust and

helpº the downtrodden who are innocently being put upon Lor is his sense of

fairelay CPF mercy limited only to humn beings some time later the rabbisof old relate while loses vas tending the flock of his father in law Jethro

little hid left flock and ran great distnce noses followed the kid

until he overtook it and found that the kid was eagerly lanping un water frobrook .ci.led with nity he said Idid not know that you were thirsty thirely

now you must be exhausteds Lnd with inainite tenderness he ulaced the kid uponhis shollacr and brought it back to the flock ihen the holy One hlesse he Hebeheld this He remarked bince you haveroved yourself with the flock of

humabeingou shalt become the shepherd of ny the children at Israel

In thin manner did noses orove himself eminently fit to become the leader of his

people and the greatest amancipator of all times His inainite patience and ten

derness his passionate championinc of the ceak and operessed and his utter

selflesness all nrocl imed the true glorious leader

Therefore it is no mere chance thEt our religion describes its leader not in

terms of military arrogance of one giving to shouting commands hut rather Anterms oa kindness mercy love of the weak and onpressed lecause men realizethat only those v/ho are motivated by acts of goodness can inspire others to live

lives that are noble and good only they are fit to he leaders and their

teachings only 8n mold peoples character and remain eternal

These were the oualities that were scught or in leader in days gone bythat the world of today would but have taken thin lesson and would have chosentheir rulerª based on these qualities we would today witness different

world

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El94

F-i

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tow the time that the children of Israel dwelt in Egyptwas four hundred nc thirty years ind it came to ss at

the end of the four Lindres and thirtr years even the selfSame day it came to pass Uhat 11 the hosts of the lord

went out from the land of Egypt Exodus xii 44lThis exodus of the ohuldren of Israel form the lana of Egypt is one of the mostimportat events our entire history 3lavery is terrible institution That

one men should be the possession of another that his body nay his life and

soul should be under the domination of another seems to us now inconnrehensiblinhuman Lnd yet the children or Israel br two hundred and ten years had dweltin EgTt CE slaves subjected to physical cruelty denied social and politicalrights comrjellec9 to practice their religion in secret life hd become wellnigh unbarahle Por the barest means of stbsisterce thexr had toiled the centuric through To look forward to escane from cr.son end to life of neace in thE

Troraised fl nd must have bro7hL to their souls unsuerk Lie joy ho ctin in nywi ortrL the feelings which must have been theirs Le caos tie

Red cc-r and faced life of rroedon Only one who has himself gone throughsimilar experience can possibly rnderstand it

This story means more chan merely the passage brom slavery to Ireectom It hass1rlt1cl lgnnlcsnce also The HaLo1st cvices Ia ever genenation ever

nerson should reard himdelf Us though he nersonelly had narticiested in the

xodus from Er..pit Each of us might well imagine himself as one of those whojourneyed out of gyt and so try to relive the exceriences of that historicevent Thus we are insuired to seek liberty for all men

Our bares tell us that there were four redemetions rom Egntinns slav er as

it is written dhere ore say unto the 3hldren of Israel am the Lord and

will briny you out from under the burdens of the Egyntiens and wil rid youof their bondage and will redeem you with outstretched arm and with greal

judgm-nts nd will take you unto ile rcr poule and will be to you Gdwould do well to scrutinize this statement and attempt to understand what is

meant by four redeantions from gypti slavery Then we may learn what is thE

meaning ci free osi as it has been conceived by Jude is-ri

lit the outset we are i.nressed by the cact that Israel liberation va not revolutionary It came about degrees Treed ow was won only a-s resulLt of long

period of struggle it came gr dual arid slowly The four reemptioxE referred

to imDly four stages of redemption or movements toward freedom Moreover we

are taush- that these four stages were all essentvl This lesson is found cxpressed in the Talmud The redemption of Israel slowly breaks forth in hrirhtness first the redemption comes little by little and then as it continues to

glow it sir cads wider and wider

Lnd so we pproach the first phase the- were given their bodies to with as

they chose inC will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egvntianshe longer with bent backs and bleeding hands must they build those hujge pyramida

which stand as mute evidence of the tyraimv of Egyntian kings hO dole must thetoil to construct the tresure cities for the Phvroehs nor labor in the build

ing of their roads Tree were they now from the bonds which had held hem so

tightly The shackels round their hands and feet had been broken t1ir hands

were free to do what the chose their feet free to go where they would

.s they left behind the teatming plains of the tile they carried with them some

thing of the outlook unon life of the people among whom they harm been ctwellind

True against them the had struggled ana from them sought release evrtheles

earS scent in the 2ynticn environnent 01 neces it hc cpresse ideas and

behaviors difficult to rub out ut J---d had said And will rid you irom thea

bondage Preedom now neant for them more than the release irom eniorced labor

it i-iclied also the right to think to do and to be The roreign L0 lb

-r

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left behizici ihen G.- care Loses t1 Ten Comrnr ndmants Pa SEtjd ni the Lordthi Gd who 1jroipht thee out the lan out the horse of honda

Lote nell the nhrasing hot only Uid Gcl bring Israel out of the land of Eggutbut even more he freed them from the house of iondage This house oi iondagwas more than physical slaveru it was the efro-ot won them of tradlition alieito their own

The going out of the children of Israel was then symbolic of their escpefrom ohrsioal slavery and from spiritual bond aye free they were ho longerwere the classed with the hosts of slaves and downtrodden in king ridden

countr And yet they were not wholly free Their going out Was tint of dieorganized group driven by the necessity of seeking way to escape from time

tyrant and his restraining bonds Devoid sense of discipline such groupamy easily degenerate into an incoherent mob The Jblioal account clearly mireroTs this real danger Under such conditions freedom cannot nrevail for freedora implies resonsibility it does rot mean indulging ones own whimsrecklessly

Israels redc-n-otion exhibits third uhase in growth toward freedom Lnd wilredeem you with an outstretched arm and with great judgments The free manis not he who lives without laws but rather he who accepts the laws and

understanding its reasonableness End its necessity adjusts his life to itTo Sonic peoule these restraints have come to he irksome and burdensome theywish to break through and he free They thmagine that life would be far hapnieif they ni ht do as they please

Judaism teaches us then tUft freedom is not the absence of restraint as found

in the savage but rather the acceptance of the fact that the highest kind of

freedom in that vhorein one chooses to live according to these lofty ethicalprinciplrs that rnany regard ais individual liberty or the opportu ity to do

merel Cs ane pleases is like the liberty of flobinson Crusoe on his desertisland Then rdr appeared Crusoe no longer could do vviat he would withouttakin.r him into consideration it is with every one of us Treedon neamS

the ability to ad just ourselves to others by macaws of lEws and restrictions

nd t-r final phase in the story of freedom as it is developed in the historyof the children of Tsrael is found in the last part of the verse cud willtake you to me for peonle and will be to you Gd Israel had begun to

feel their singleness their unitedness their oneness They became bound together for one cur 05c to serve @d It implies et more elevated and coin

plete redemption for Israel was not merely nation but nation b.edicated to

the service of Gd Lnd the worshim of Gd imnlies further obligation to live

according to its teachings It meant life in cocordance with the highest idea

and recognition of the fact tht the highest good for our fellowman must ever

be the object of our effort And it must the chief function of religion to

set men free and create world wherein people can live fearlessly This idea

is beautifull expressed in time following verseIs true freedom but to breakFettere for our own dear sakend with leathern hearts forgetThat we we mankind debtho True reed.omn is to share

All the chains our brothers wearnd with heart and hand tar-be

Earnest to mafle others free

Page 6

And with the approach of the Passover holidays which commemorate this

historic event the exodus of the children of Israel form the land of

Egypt every Jewish heart is roused with hopes of the coming of bette

days A1 become inspired with the trust and confidence that bondagewill end that darkness will cease and that light and freedom will rn ce

again become the lot of all mankind

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More tsrrib1 even then the sufferinc

fL 0c Pcc5cc

Page 8

LorQ terrible even thrn the suffering inflicted by slavery upon the slave is

thedegrading effect it gradually ha upon his personality lot only are theslaveTs whsical mouements circumscribed by the master hut in time the Slaveeven surrenders his spiritual and intellectual freedoms and expressions Gdtells 1.lOses rvLnd moreover huve heard the groanong of the children of Israelwhom the gyntians keep in bondage and have remembered ny covenant.. And

will bring you in unto the land concerning which lifted hand to

give it unto kbraharn to Isaac and to Jacob and will give it to you for

heritage cm the Lord ndiioses Snoke so unto tIe children of IsraelflTfl-nj flfl -fljn nn Sg

ut ther harkened not unto 1oees because of broken suirit and cruel bondage

110w sadLy our peonle had changed Once glorious and free oecple the descendants of deathless Lbrahu Is ac and Ja cob viho ever turned to Gd in timeof distress and in time of joy they had how become so broken in snirit and

understanding that thei turned deaf ear to the promise of Gd This conditionmighU be likened to that of child estranged fran its father and now criticallill who is totally unmoved by the news that its father is on his way with

grer specialist to save the child1 life Yes our ancestors were estrangedchildren who had lost contact with their father hoes not the Talmud in expresstheir condition in dgy state that fl

that the Hebrews were idol worshinpers as well as the iigyptic2ns Lnd no that

G_.d has sent oses to bring them back to their previous high lovel to restorethem to normal health nation they turned deaf ear to statementshct had for otten ho to pray

One of et dest shortcomings oa our genera tion is the act ti aY1Taeoplhave deaied the mnelves the insnir te coura ye and the hanniness thu

conies 31 Oh rr5 ire ohaei rn ieo reciti li TCi5 Ckfew reall pray th true seilse the word the devout mid era riding

peraon in tir- words 0L tie poet.aryrer is the souls sincere desire

Uttered or unexpressedThe notion of hidden ire

That trembles in tir ureast

ior that is eactly what wrayer the natur imiulse of tle human soul

long to come into corivnl.nion witi dd nd prarer is means of conversing with

our gather It is not merey a- so many peonle think petition to higherbeina for wealth social sthatus or 11k gimrr roads to ht.pniness iuch the

view of rh roah who ien the plagues wore visited upon him implored toses

and naron hntreat for me lso but the moment the danger ht passed he once

again rdened his heart do not mean the give me kind of prayer Lord

give rue this or ive me that the kind of prayer thu conceives Gd as some

glori ied bellhop who expected to do the slightest hidding of man meanthe Prayer that represents the closest comnunion between man apr the highest

irayer arovidos means of offering gratitude to for the blessings vie enjoyand of focusing our attention upon tIe nerfection that is Gd anC striving to

emulate hi to the best oa Our abilities Lot tht Od needs our prayers It

is rati er thu we grow in moral stature uhrn we snend tine in earnest and heartfelt pra uTer It has the power of enaobling our lives and nurifying our soulsso that we become wotthy of His blessings and more deserving of .1 is lovingcare and protection It is this iJiprovement that vie ouselves bring bout as

the result of rayer that is truly important Contrast th selfish r0jer of

hharoah that the locust he removrd from him or that for nersonal gain and

comfort utterer so many of us with the ollov.ing insniring prayerUnite our hearts to fear Tha name keep us far from what Thou

hatest brinm us near to what Thou lovest and deal mercifully with u.s

for Thy name Ta sake

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-Truly irarer is POvTeiflll ot in th sense that vie can exploit it to extractpersonal favors from but nither in that it can invigorate us VIith newhope new faith and new courage- It is prayer that enables us to lookbeyond the present disappointments to the dan-n of new day with new opPorti nitIt is that believe the poet has relerence to when he Says

Lore thins are Wrouaht I. mrs erThn this world dreams of

Yes more defeats have been turned into victorids core frustrations have beenconveated into determinations failures into suciess lJT means of prayer thanvie normally imagine Through prayers we hrin to the fore neal courage and hopethat heretofore were not -present in us an uhich enable us to carry on in

spite ci how dark the picture apears

nd ifoses spread forth his hands unto the Lord his is descriptive not onl4sof osec hut of every groat person thiH world has ver uroduced ihether it

was ..hraham the father of the Jewish people br ham Lincoln the greatemancdnator .ueen fsther or Joan rc all truly great in their humilityturnea to Gd in prayer for guidance and understanding Lnd as result of theipraers the received neal coun gc that enabled them to face their di ficultieswith renewed strength and vigor nd the mote recent story of the almost mir

OlIlOltS bcVl 01 tho lne Os Camain dc ie iclmrnbcci or ho a- found oriftinhopelessly in the great ocean after many weeKs tthat gave inn the courage andthe faith to carry on and keep alive in spite of his seeming honeless situationIn his own words it was the prayers that he offered that invigorated him withdetornintion that help would soon come

fhe arat .rsinonides who ia addition to hems the reatest Jewish philosouherand codifier in the middle ages wa- also celebrated physician In act soskill- was he in the art of healing that -cording to legend Richard theLion Fleatted of ngland attempted to prevail upon him to become his court

physician ivei this illustrious doctor afeir prescriuin to the pationt to

the best his ability would humbl day have prescribed to the best of Jr7

medical knovilede now let let us lioth crta to Gd that lie from whom all knowledge ficueth ma an nt ou recovery from four suf eriny ust picture to

0irsel yes the tremendous effect such ata tenent wo ld hve upon the us tient

The eftrst t-stinon to the nower ra yer is the var evistence of oureole today 110w wisely our ancient biAs took note oa thir iact viben they

commented on the iljlical verse Thc voice is the voice of acoh but theLands are the hands of Dsau the statement uttered by Isaac when he vias shoutto bestow his bessing uccn his son Jacob he rabbis interpret this by sa

Let oth-rs rely on ti arm of flesh Jaruel we non is raver Truly we arehere tcda not ecal.se 01 alight riies navies or vies non r- ruenals notby physical force have vie succeeded in overcoming- numerous enemies .1saneoplewe ye resorted to bi-t one weapon nra-er In all our trials and sorrows vie

dire sted our eyes and hea rts to Gd thereha reined the v41it to continuE

to carry on In oar hour of deliverance we Sam gratefully turned to RimTrustingly we relied unon bin at all times

Jth tLese thouhts in mind we cL areas the next sta tement ti ra olijs

that .bhl51U .1J Sijnj

that lon as the voice is the voice of Jacob tn hands of iisau cannot

prevail

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The Great eed 2cr Calmness

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2om an sides we are being urged today to be cairn ehen news from the military front is distressing be cairn In the event of an air raid be cairnIn the face of any emergency that may rise in tJis var he calm Once before

people heard such advise It was the people of Israelat the shores of theRed ea They looked from behind and saw the Egyptians in close nursait eforethem stretched the mighty waters menacing md untractable All about them wasthe vast wilderness perfect setting for panic Listen to aloses cautioningthem tand still and behold the salv tion of the Lord Transposed into ourown language it would be dont get eanicky be calm Let us at ome recognize an obvious truth CaLirness is the result of mood not of command AndJoses said unto the people of Israel is the way the Fible nuts it Fe diii notorder it Fe did not bellow it Pe himself was personification of composureLoud warnings over tie radio bold letters on the front nages of newspaperspersistent urging to be calm often has th very opposite effect Cu3ttivate

mood of calmness and see ho ra-i0ly its contagion sereads through conununity

Let us consider further fact Our enemies desire most to ciisti.rb our calmness

Experience has taught them that their most effective weanons are panic confusion and hysteric feveral states on the European continent bear tragic witnessto that fact Country after country fell not because of the enemies blitzkriehut because of its own citizens hysteria and confusion Oh how badly theyneeded foses to say to them in their hour of veed atand still and behold thsalvation of the Lord Another observation suggests itself Calmness can be

artificially generated One ca take sedative and be lulled into calmness Du

the resilt is not calmness but unconsciousness Confusion panic and hzsterL

are internalmuladies he cannot be cure by external methods .esides artificiall.r nroducea calmness is dngerous as dangerous as drug Leoole re

lulled into false security They fly awL from reality They become capable

of nressions like these The enemy is three thousand milcE away Fe is on

the other side of huge ocean It cant happen here Oh how some of us must

re ent the words In retroseect trier renresent tho milestones along the road

of trgedj Jut calmness that is generated froni within awakens consciousiless and

stiumlates alertness It lubricates t1e mental faculties and dispels confusion

vi doubt It causes the free flow of reason to flood ever crevise of uereon

ality mutdy pool does not reflect hemuty Onl dee one does

For one tIiing then without calamess there cc nrot he reason Thcro can ho emotion but not judgment In sta\i emotional excitation great activity is

possible Thit it is the activity of an elated psrcmonath might waterfell

may he more impressive then silent mountain stream It nlunges and eclurgesand drops from tremendous heights It shoots up ed fascinating snry thet glistens in the sun hut to he useaul it must he harnessed and controlled Then it

releases novjer

Reason is- power an.d to release it onc needs cuietude eace and comocure In

the din and roar of battle in the fury nd excitement oi conflict how easy it

is to lose all reL son .en become consumed by hate The forget that even inbthbät there are laws that nationu are epected to obey Cathedrals and librtr4ies ore deliberately destroyed huseums and hornitals are willfully bombedThousands of innocent civilians for whom international law decrees safety are

exposed to ever cruelty and indecency Oh hot hysteria and panic can banishall reason and make the words of the poet gruesomely true iudment Thouart fled to brutish beasts and men have lost their reson f1

Itit calmness in the midst of conflict can produce an atlantic Charter It isntstrane at all that surrounded by lurking enemies in constant threat of deathfrom the skies of from the waves two rophets of Democracy should chart the

course of humanity for generations to come tt5ne of these prophets the

super champion of Democracy is our oun beloved fresident frhtee .monipan4trill ih nve It prompts an added prayer on the occasion of

his approaching birthday that the almighty ma Prrne and health

end shower unon him his choicest hlesinds Thank Gfi for resident Roosevelt

Page 12

Iiltjjemjdst of chaos and confusion he on still stand still and behold the

salvation of the Lord

If calmness is essential to reason it is inisuensable to religion Of coursethere is emotionalism and spiritual exhilaration in religioTi mt to experienceits deeply mood of comnosure is necessary Consider charity as an exampleof religious ex erience That too renuires calmness and consideration Of

course there is charity tNt spring forth from emotionalism the casual the

compulsary and the exhibitionistic kind of charity hit that kind of charityblesceth neither him that giveth nor him that takes The charity which accordiiig to the salrnist unliftetha nation results from cairn consideration of

the obligations society to the individual and the resnonsibility of the

individual to society Says iaimonides the ideal charity is when the giverdoes not Irnow the receiver and th- receiver does not know the giver rchcharity you cannot give on the run Yoy have got to stand still to behold the

salvation oi the Lord Iithout calmness you cannot discover GdEo wonder our generation is spiritually found wanting Our genius is suent u-non

machines instruments and conveniences We have learned to travel fast and to

live even faster Daily we are solving another scientific puzzle and daily vie

are preparing another scientific miracles Yet spiritually our age has yet to

evolve on enduring philosophy and has yet to give birth to towering saintlycharacter There is too much din excitement tumult and confusion ie are

nervous generation Look at us and the pernetual mess that we get ourselvesinto Oh for loses who would say to us ston living on the run In Gdsname sttnd still and behold the salvation of thc Lord

Our thought would hot Vbe comnlete unles- we add that without calmness there can

be no persnective life may move but the camera lens criust remain still Otherwise the imag.e is blurred Calmness will.enable us to take candid snapshotof our present situation ihat are we fighting for Is it because ye seekretribution or because vie desire to inflictnunishrnent Is it because we cannot

forget kearl harbor Oh my friends ho much more there is to see hat of

the liberty that is trampled underfoot What of the dignity of man that is

crushed What of Gd who is being crowded out of life What of the oomFllexion

of the world Will it be world or jungle Will it be inhabited by men or

beasts ill it represent dds kingdom on earth or devils playground To

see all of that in the nroper perspective recuires calmness

Do you cannot live through hectic days like tese without an inner calm youcannot reach out ior Ctd and iind i1imn save with serene soul You cannot envision the world of tomorrow amidst tr- hac ows and chaos of today without cbmposure btand still an behold iL- salvation of the Lord

United Nations eekTo aid in impressŁng the largest number of people with the importance

of continued team work among the allied nations not only to win the

war but also to insure just and lasting peace

Page 13

THE POUR EMISSARIES

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Thç-oth of -Nisan Tp his- bbath in- heraldin theadvont -of the .great--fes-t-ival of-Israela.-l-irberat-ion- rouses in-- every Jewish hearthopes for -the coming--c-f br-ighte-r-and better days it animates us all with trustand confidence that bondage will eM darluiess will cease and light and freedomwill become-thelot for all- mankind

Pour emrnissaries four special Sabbaths prepare us for the reception of our expected guest the Feast of Passover Through the J9$ our minds becomeattuned to aright conception of the significance of Passover to full realization of its import for all generations of Israel But they have also an importance of their own Each of them conveys an idea each teaches alesson and

brings message The WtDfl-Ufl which we read on this Sabbath aóquaints us

with the ordinance of the sacrifice of the Pascallamb while on the Sabbathbefore in the tflb ewa we were taught that contact with anything which is

dead is source of contamination and defilement on 1t 113W we were remindedof the hostility of Amalek and on burb we read the law that equalizedall classes in Israel by the imposition upon all the people equally of the

contribution of the half shekel towards the erection of the Sanctuary

These four lessons are the necessary introduction into the new life whichbrought about the events commemorated by the Passover Without these ideas takingroot in the hearts and minds of the people the liberation from Egypt could nothave exercized the lasting influence which it was destined to do The principlespropounded in these four lessons are the pillars upon which Judaism is basedthey are the preservatives of the continuance of the Jewish race and the Jewishspirit They are the rings by which the Ark of Gds covenant has be-en borne

by our people throughout the lands of the earth they form the foundation uponwhich our existence as nation is based the conditions upon which our continuance as moral force in the worlds history has depended nd the purpose ofthese four lessons their connection vith and relation to the festival that

placed Israel among the historic nations will endeavor to elucidate in

brief remarks based upon an ancient Midrashic legend

Lost in reflection and contemplation meditating on great almost insoluble

problem stoo Moses on the eve of Israels redemption from Egypt Waves of

profound and conflicting thought stirred his agitated-mind tossing and shaldnghim to the very depths of his being At the moment of accomplishing his greatestmission he realized the tremendous and overwhelmirg difficulties thiflkHe had broken the chains of slavery that had enthralled his people for so manyyears He had at last made them free men great destiny awaited them Would

they be able however to withstand the onslaghts of time and circumaitances

Were they provided with the necessary equipment that should fortify them againstthe attacks which they were bound to meet on their journey What was the lifegiving elixir with which they should be inoculated that they might be enabledto resist the pressure to repel the influence of their surroundings

Amidst such conflicting thoughts Moses heard the voice og Gd callixg to himSpeak to all the- congregation of Israel that they shall take to them everyman lamb according to the house of their fathers lamb for every manThe lamb should be family sacrifice 1.11 the members of the-house should unitedly partake of it under the same roof Through the observation of this ritethe children of Israel should be taught that the house the home the familywas the foundation upon which would depend their preservation as free and

liberated people In the unity and purity of their family life should lie thurstrength Unity in the home loyalty and faithfulness between husband nad wifelove and resDect for parents affection an cooperation among all members of the

familythese were tJ-e guadian angels thatshould ftect and preserve themEràm destruction Though the destroying angel of time should smit and wipe out

many nations from off the face of the earth tlfl OnIsrael alone should remain living monument forever The lamb the family sacri

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should be eaten in haste4 with loins girded withfeetshodandwith theztaffin handa symbol that wherever they- they mightbe driven the home should sacred the family circ-iŒ-should- be- the sanctuarywhither to flee in the time of 4rôuble there they should seek and find consolatioüstrenght and encouragement And to us too this lesson is annually con.L

veyed Though we are out ogbondage emancipated and free the home1 our familylife must be kept pure and sacred This is our safeguard protecting nd shielding us from destruction from being swallowed up by the waves if materialismand assirhilation that threatens our existence as separate poeple

Months had passed and again Moses wtood wrapped in reflection The people forwhom he gave his life whom he was to train as bearers of light to all natiaasas the guardians of mankinds noblest treasure the people who were to be

tkingdom of priests and holy nation had rejapsed into the worshipgolden calf the image of Egypts -deity With his eyes yng on the tabletsof stbne lying shattered at the foot of Mount Sinai where he had so recentlyheard the commandment Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image theman of Gd stood perplexed How should the people be freed from the Fetters of

Egyptian superstition -How were they to be completely liberated fromthereligion of death from the cult of graves and dead objects

And the word of G-d came to him saying Speak unto the children of Israel sayingWhosoever touches dead body shall be unclean But uncleanlinss-aiddeW1sM could be purged by the ashes of the red Eeifer mixed with livingwater j4 fln1 tnb pmr The ordinance of the red heff er shouldcounteract the influence of the golden calf It should bring to their mindsthe dancer of the contact with things that were dead That which was dead

could have no godliness and was not to be worshipped Gd was revealed onlythrough through that which was living moved and aflimated by livinspirit And though the rite of the red heiEr exists no more the lesson it

teaches is of eternal value It is this idea that has given Judaism its extraordinary vitality that has enabled it to survive all its vicissitudeÆ It

teaches that true religion lives and has living interest for aræ xercizesliving influence over mankind Judaism has therefore never been stagnant

but constantly advancing and progressing closely bound up with life

Once more we behold the father all prophets musing and thinking Th penetrated the dm1 future with his prophetic eye He saw days coming when the nationsshould mock and deride Israel hate and persecute him for his faithfulness toG-ds law He heard the insolent remarks the insulting words and offendingspeeches that would be made against h-is people who true to their missionwould endeavor to live their own lives in accordance with their own aws and

traditions He saw the numerous graves enshrining the precious remains of tit

countless marjyrs who had preferred death to life of falsehood and deceitAlas would the peoDle havo tha strengtb to bear the terrible tribulation ttlay in store for them Would they survive it

And once more did Gd speak -to him saying Remember whatAmk did untothee Remeber the causes that made an amalek possible It was in bflDiwhen Israel became lax in observing the commands of G-d that nrnalek had the

power to assail them it was in Sm when Israel strove and temptedthe nlmighty asking 1Ir WtI Is the Lord in our midst or notthat the enemycould prevail against him Breaking the bonds of unityandlosing faith in Israel became prey to Amalek And ths is the leson to beremembered In unity lies Israels strength When Jews of all lands considerthemselves one people united ann bound together by the unbreskahle bond of

brotherhood malek is powerless against them When all look up to the law

giver Moses who with uplifted hand points to Gd the One and only Saviournntr 1Lfl Israel must prevail and outlive his most formidable enemy

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Aointh Oondition however was necessary for the preservation of Isrel a.rerytraelite must be conscious of his own personal moral strength conscious that

his salvation fly ill his own hand and that he could not depend on others to

work it out for him the Israelites had come out of country where differentiation into castes and classes was part of its religion where people were

taught to adore and worship humans men like themselves To counteract the

baneful influence of so degrading cult Moses received the commandment that

for the foundation of the sanctuary the symbol of unity and qquality of the

people of Israel everyone should bring an equal contribution the tioh shallnot give more and the poor shall not give less than half shekel.tt In Israel

there is not and cannot be any distinction between man and man As part of

the Jewish people everyone must work flccording to his strength andabilityafl tan sothat by the concentration of all individual effortL Israels sanctuary shouldbe safely reared and preserved forever

These ideas that the four Sabbaths bring to our mindswhon ab-ett-te---o-te-brste

Thea e-r-saw-e-f---or--ntt-i-one-flea-t-i-o-4 have in the course of our historica

career impregnated themselves upon our national character thet-hav-e__-be-c-eine

wt3-s-ac-i-a-i_-cm.aa-e-ter-i-stss- they have preserved us throughout centuries of

suffering and persecution The revival othese ideas among us today.wifl sayus from annihilation and assimilation

.1LLo\cLt ttr- \WL

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THE VALUE OF SYMBOLS

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The central message the underlying thought of the Passover festival is as

indicated in our liturgy freedom Pesach is Zman Oherusenu Tthe season ofour liberation There are two distinct ways in which this idea is brought to

our attention It is done nostively he means of the Seder service and the

Matzoths and negatively by the strictest prohibition of all that is leavenedIn the eyes of the sophisticated the effort put to by us into the executionof this purpose may seem needlessly exaggerated Is it realljr necessary to go

through such elaborate rites as those that we perform on rassover night inorder to appreciate the value of freedom and liberty And in what way does

the scrubbing of pots and pans and the precautions taken against the intrusioninto our food or dishes of the tiniest speck of Ohometz impress the idea offrredom more strongly on our minds These are questions that are constantlybeing asked by those to whom the practical aspects of Judaism seem undulyburdensome They find the same fault not only with the ritual laws of Passoverbut with all the ceremonial regulations of the Jewish religion Of whatbenefit is this service to you asks the wicked son in the Hagadah What end

does this punctilious observance of every iota of the Law serve

The answer given by Jewish tradition is that these are the decrees of GdAlmighty- htl Ditlfl mt aij nrnsand the Lord commanded us to carry out all these statutes and assuchmust be fulfilled without questioning However in keeping with the viewenunciated in the second half of this same verse that whatever has been commanded by Gd conduces to mans good fl 11bthat it may be well with us all the days these rites possess also psychological importance which the world is first beginning to realize nd recog

nize.Hitherto philosophers have held that thought alone determined and moldedmens beliefs that practice was governed by theory that people do what is

right when they iow what right is Now thinkers like the Americans WilliamJames and John Dewey come and tell us the direct opposite that more thantheory influences practices practice influences theory and there could be nono better proof of the validity of their thesis and no better illustration of

their Roint than the customs we Jews have been following on Passover for centuries It can certainly not be denied that Jewish child obtains auch morevivid impression of of what Israel experienced in Egypt from the rite and

symbols of the Seder than he could from any amount of lecturing or instructionand that housewife feels much more Intensely the meaning of Passover whenshe has for several days or perhape weeks been preparing for the advent of th

holiday than if she were to sit down for an hour and merely meditate on

freedom

Our Sages justly appraised the psychological effect of pratical symbols and

made capital of it in connectirn with the home ritual of Passover eve Numerousacts and gestures were instituted by them just for the purpose of stimulatinginterest and armising curiosity The lifting of the platter the dipping of the

vegetable in the salt water the distribttion of nuts all these devices wereinvented in order to impress the child so as to make him ask questions The

normal youngster is good observer and when he notices anything unusual he

is moved of his own accord to inquire about its why and wherefore aid in that

way he learns This is the natural method of education the method that triesto draw out the childs faculties to develop its spontaniety and not pedantically cram its head full of facts it cannot digest Far from being useless

burden then the Passover ritual is fine example of good pedagogy anexcellent discipline not only for children but for adults as well there could

scarcely have been devised more effective means for transmitting to posteritythe traditions of our people and its experiences than this

notNow symbols serve only as means of instruction They have other useshbesidesAs Oarlyle reminds us our entire mental life is made up of symbols It is

through them that we give concrete expression to our thoughts and emtions our

beliefs and feelings Language that most important and indispensable instrument

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osoial intercourse is nothing else than collection of symbols Lien communicate with one another by means of ceratin conventional signs or sounds That

these are mere symbols and not the thing in themselves is proved by the fact

that eury tongue has its own set of expresseions often differthng radicallyfrom those employed by others Thus also are music and art and dresssymbolicThey serve merely to express feelings of âadness or joy aestheticism or patriotism They do not constitute these emotions themselves In the same way doesJudaism employ symbols symbols that unite Jews the world over thateexpressloyalty to Gd or to the Jewish people The Sabbath for example is suchsymbol It betokens Israels devotion to the Eternal its recognition Himas the creator of the universe This is distinctly stated in the Scriptures and

is included in our Friday evening service Jl9S81tznhttV11fl..ns1.ps LnritjnWherefore the children of Israel sahll keep the Sabbath .. it is sign betweenMe and the children of Israel forever The putting on of the tephillin is

further symbol bonfirming this relationship as stated in the scriptures Andit shall be sign upon thy hand and for frontlets between thine eyes that

the law of the Lord may be in thy mouth tot rnl-ri is

All these symbolic acts have the function then of conveying thought or

sentiment and the more important that thought or sentiment the more sacredis the symbol that stands for them and the more scrupulously must it be keptFor when person for instance shows disrespect to flag it is not merely

piece of bunting that he is abusing it is the feelings that it rep-resentsthat he is outraging So is it also with other matters When Judge sits on

the bench clothed with the authority of the court disregard of his ordersand rulings affect not him alone It weakens the entire machinery of justice of

which he is single example That is why contempt of court is considered so

serious an offense And this explains alSo Judaisms severity in the enforcementof its symbolic laws Since these laws represent important ideals and the ideatwould suffer unless the symbols were properly observed no trifling even the

least detail of them is possible

However vital as they are as the vehicles of our ideals symbols possess value

only so long as they convey meaning to those wh employ them Once this meaningis lost they automatically forfeit whatever worth they may have No ritualhowever beautiful can be eroected properly to impress those who are uninitiatedinto its mysteries The beating of the tomtom that rouses the wild man of the

jungle into frenzy of excitement leaves the civilized onlOoker cold and

bewildered In the same manner would nonJew regard Jew coiling those

leather straps called Pephillin about his left tm before his morning prayersand thus too did the Romans look upon the Jews who for what to them seemed

perfectly silly reasons remained idle on every seventh day of the wk The

proper understanding and use symbols then presupposes instruction On

this acc.ount the rites of the Passover eve had to be supplemented by narrationthe Haggadah and by these two means together the practical and the theoreticalthe symbols and their interpretation is the task of transmitting the teachingsof Judaism successfully carried out

very important inference can be deduced from these observations rnd inferenceas to the reason for the failure of Judaism at the present time to fire the

imagination and retain the support of so many of our people It is due not to

the great number of its ritual regulations or the burdensomeness of its ceremonials Modern etiquette imposes just as many burdens and is practically as

rigid Just try to defy some of the conventions of society and see what will

happen to you It is simply that they have lost contact with symbols that

their hearts no longer respond to their impact because they lack knowledge that

connecting link between the past and the present They have not learned Theyhave never been brought in touch with these things Hence they have meaningfor them

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And uith the approach of the Passover holidays we gratefully lift our

hearts to Gd and thank Him for E1S neverending goodness to the house of

Israel Vie remember at this season that dur ancestors languished in Egyptianslavery they ate te bread od affliction Oftimes since that early day hasIsrael been pppressed by kings unfeeling as he Pharoahs and trampled unon

by men and nations as cruel as the Egyptians But evermindful of that first

deliverance our people has never lost hope because their trust was stongand firm Ever and ever were they saved from impending disaster And so we

pray in this season that as Gd has vouchsafed His prothection the

children of Israel throughout the pant may He be with them now and in the

future Iday He deliver them wherever they are still bowed beneath the yokeof the oppressor

May all persecution cease and every trace of bondage disappear from among menso that we shall soon behold universal feast of Freedom

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Phe Unending Jxodus

tt-1-3-3

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sn bIfllS ntafl ann wrn nts -nrAi2d Lioses said unto the people remember thŁs day on which you came out fromEgypt from the house of bondage

It is through the Passover festival that we recall the day on which we cameout from Egypt from the house of bondage For rio less than eight das do weobserve this festival And surelr such weekobserved every year shouldsuffice to celebrate remote and isolated event which took place three thousand years ago Yet the conscience of the Jewish people is not satisfied evenwith this prolonged and unfailing annual religious commemdtation For duringthe rest of the year we constantly hark back to the exodus remelibering it

over and over again in our prayers and religious observances Every Sabbatheve when we chant the Kiddush the sanctification of the Sabbath we hail tth

Sabbath as reminder of our exodus from Egypt The festival Shavuoth is in

sense prolongation and completion of the Passover festivals while of the

festival of Succqth the Bible explisitly states that Ye shall dwell in boothsseven dg all that are homeborn in Israel shall dwell in booths that yourgenerations may know that made the children of Israel to dwell in boothswhen brought them out of the land of Egypt

Throughout the Bible the theme of the exodus from Egypt is leit motif It

is recalled in the most unexpected relations In the Torah it is urged asmotive for such varied commands as that of using true weights and measuresnot exacting interest from the poor and even for the wearing of the

fringes on the four cornered garment The other holy writings recall the exodus repeatedly The very first command of the Ten Commandments introducingas it were Gd to Israel introduces Him not as the Gd of the universe but

the Gd who brought the children of Israel out from Egypt am the Lord thyGd who brought thee out of the land of Egypt out of the house of bondageThe prayer book continues this Bib1icartTrition of indelibly impressing the

exodus from Egypt on our Jewish consciousness as the cardinal influence in

the histthry of the Jews and of Judaism

Yet Egypt was goodly land rich and fertile country which one would not

ordinarily rejoice to leave It was land which one would not readily give

up for the more grudging soil of Palestine Described as the garden of the

Lord Egypt was land which almost without human effort brought forth abundant crops as year by year the Nile overflowed its banks and bt touch of the

foot was made to irrigate fields It was incomparably richer than PalestineFor the land whither thou goest in to possess it is not as the land of

didst sow thy seed and didstwater it with thy foot as garden of herbs I1eveifheless leaving igypctrto be rememberpd as thiTheginning of the happiness of fulfillment for the JewIt is the thrnreme moment in Jewish history and has been the motivation for

our festivals our commandments and our social ethics

To appreciate how striking is this emphasis on the departure from Egypt one

Should note that neither in the Biblical command nor in the traditions of

Jewish life is there any celebration of the entrance into the promised landEvery Jewish scool child is familiar with the story of the exodus from igyptIn the Eaggadah we rehearse it around the table and dwell on its detail But

how many know the story told in the third and fourth chapters of the Book of

Joshua describing the entrance into Palestine Every one knows the date of

the exodus midnight of the fifteenth day of Nisan the first day of PassoverBut who knows the date of the entrance to the promised land And tl peoplecame up out of the Jordan on the tenth day of the first month Every one

knows of assover the festival of our exodus from Egypt But the entranceinto .halestine is commemorated by no festival no observance no ritual The

act of enezing into th promised land has made no impression whatsoever on

our Jewish consothousness

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Vtou.l one appreciate still more keenly how unusual this is one may contrastit with our American attitude toward the pilgrim fathers Ow little impression is made on our American consciousness by the story of William Brewsterand their exodus to Holland and their stay in Leyden How little are we concerned with the detailed story of the final exodus -of the pilgrims from England But the American heart thrills to the story of their landing at PlymouthRock on December 21 l62 That episOde is one of the most beloved and venerated innmerican tradition The exodus from Europe does not live in thehistoric consciousness of the American people but the entrance of the pilgrimsilito the promiŁed land of America is one of the great and crucial moments in

our national history

How shall we interpret this emphasis on the exodus from Egypt and tour failureeven to recall the entry into Palestthne Much could be said in explanationhowever one fundemantal consideration most clearly illtnines this fact

When on Seder night we told the story of the exodus the narratj.pnconyeys.iiomoo4gfcoeveinent It recalls how we became slaves and how thruleaving Egypt the possibilities of freedom opened up for us But it does nothail freedom as something that has been attained This year we are here slavesbut next year may we be in the Land of tersel as free men is the openingand keynote of the Haggadah The exodus is dramatized not as the close of anera but as the beginning of hope for the future In the Haggadah we ado notpicture ourselves in the character of people comfortably settled in itsland with its mission achieved Scarcely once does the Haggadah even recallour entrance into the land It focuses attention on the exodus evbkingpicture of movement of setting out on journey of beginning quest

For the wandering Jewish people there is no stopping to gelebrate the entryinto the promiser land entering land is not synonynous with takinssession of it The pilgrims 2Iimofn d1r1idThtiidt1iiWTÆæd but they had

no the faintest glimmerings of the fabulous possibilities of magnificentdevelopment which was to come to that unpromising beginning. In this spiritwe Jewish pilgrims have always concentrated our attention fl9S on Josltuas

entry into Falestine and the painful conquest of the land but on the exodusfrom Egypt as the occasion of the birth of our historic mission Historicdestiny does not allow us to sit back and celebrate our entry inthb Pa1estinefor the promise4 land is ever before us tobe4pnQuered We are conscthous

or the disparity between the freedom attained by the little Jewish people as

result of the exodus and the limitless possibilities of the.developmentof liberty for all mankind We live continunuslyin the qpiritpf thechallenege presented exus never resting 6i past laurels but alwaysmoving onwards away from savery and Egyptian darkness toward the vision of

promised land and new dawn for humanity The promised la always_iptpfuture

This belief in limitless progress is the essence of Jewish optimism Life testi

fies to marvelous progress in the mechanics of living in mans continuallyincreasing power of dominating his physical environment and in his abilityJto make possible more planned and wiser economy of living But the Jew believc

that corresponding with his physical progress there can be and must be

4evelopment in mans spiritual progress The protest voiced by the exodus from

Egyfl was directed not against the physical and cultural achievements of Egyptbut against its spiritual corruption Bad the worlds future been dependentIon the development of physical control the protest of the exodus would never\Jave been evoked since Egyrt led the ancient wo rld in technical achievements

The exodue was from world oft classic builders who were able to hew and mouldthe elements of the earth according to.their desires towards world in

which man will be able to control stiblimate and beautify those desis The

exodus was required to organize the quest for society which would not onlybuild cities for our bodies but which would have soul The pilgrimage of

Israel from slavery to freedom has been from world in which the body of man

was fettered towards one in which not only the body of man might fly through

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the air but the soul of man might soar bthigher Israel had to marchforth from gypt to find world in which therewould be no more violenodno more hatred no more injuttice no more oppression and slavery worldin which every pwrson should sit under his own vine and fig tree and nonewould make him afraid With the exodus jtl.a aflaaton.tJn...uind worldgoverned not by Pharoah or his modern counterpart the ruthleas unmoralsuperman but byG-d

This being Israels historic quest Israels worlcis ever to be done Profoundly true is the worlds concetion of that tragic figure the wandering Jewbut the Jew wanders ceaselessly not as the world thinks to expiate somecrime that lie has committed but to expiate the crime of human opnression bythe Egy.pts of every generation The wandering Jew is forever setting ftrthanew to proclaim the summons to htman freedom Wander on then must theJew until that distant day when the world shall have learned the universallesson of Passover Until then Israel must continue to celçbtate the exodusOnly when that day shall come will Israel be free to celebrate the entry intothe promised land

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nqrns.04s -c Gc44e

1- -2-i44

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In this weeks S.dzifls we see the character .f Pharz ceipletely revea.ed Weread cf Phareah and his pesple suffering fri the Mteitatiens if the plaguesthat have everrun the seuntry and have beanie well sigh unbearable In hisdistress PhareOt eunnse Meses end Aaren pleads with them te intercedebefere G-d that he be relieved ef these itelerable plagues

len mine st ye Wt mn Xntreat the Len yeur Gad that He may takeaway rem we this death He suddenly acknewledges the righteeusness and thecc ereignty if Gad and praises free his peecle Sew- utterly different isthis tune fre the ene he expressed befare tp-Dwl laW II Se

The is the Len that eheuld heesa te lie nice But ne seener is herelieved ef this suffering that he fergets his premise te Meses the expreas4Len ef gratitude te Gad Site flies nSa sSe he refuses te send ferth the

Children ef Israel Again Phareak sine the tine 11 wgn sib

hlknewseGeI

Here we hate pictured befere us the pretetype ef these whe recegnise theautherity ef G-d ezUy in the h.ur .1 distress but when the need has passedbeceme ungteful and refuse te aokrewledge their dependence upen Hi-a Thisingratitude which is respeneible fer ass failure te recegnise the hand thatfeeds the pewer that sustains is shertceaing characteristic ef zanypeeple teday as in the days ef Phardah Thu and well knew ef many ieeplewhe when faced with aisfertune turn te prayer turn te G-d but as seenthe trying peried is gene they again beanie their eld selves Teu andca well peint the finger at ne wits when taken ill er evereene by serrewcaused bt the passing ef seme inc dee suddenly recegnize and acknewledgeG-d What is it that makes se ma_ny if ne ungrateful and acceunts fer curir.bility te be thankful and grateful fez all we peseess

The great ebstiuctien -in the path ef gratitude is the fact that cc many ef

us lack sense .f humility One csnet be grateful unless he is StablePride and gratitude are deadly rivals fer the pessessisa ef the hua heartWhen pride aid beastfulness take peseemsien ef us they chill cur spirit eftha_nkfulness Pharei ef elØ his aedern ceunterparts have been incapableef that emetien because ef tee lefty estimate cf themeelvee and theirattainie1its Pharet saw DbbMefl Sfl The wise men areelse able te

perfrem seemingly miraculeus stunts We lack humility tewarde cur aetghbersWe lack hurility ir the face nature are everwhelmed with pride wheiwe punt the scientific disceveries ef Wan We gleeS ever the fact thatwe have cecquered nature and that we are its masters and with hauty pridewe relate the story if sur numereus cenqussts We like Phareah if sld elsesee bbtflln r3l the greatness ef cur can genius

We have wrnstered the i-aging billews if the scoot trip acress ths ecenseat years ago meant endangering sic life Ths beat was plaything teemedabeut by the wind and the stezay waves Mere th century age it was thepracties- fez Jewish husband abeut te cressvthe ecean te grant his wifee.nditienal diveree lest he disappear and his life statue preve uncertainand when Jew weuld safely return hen he weuld Sen aaya recitespeeial prayer if tiankngiying ter having emerged safely fret tWi dangers efthe leurney Put new the creasing ef the ecean is ke -lager dangereus undertaking Ne serae ef fear lurks its thr hearts ef the passengers ship isrere like fleating palace centaining meet ef the cenferts ef At theend ef the jeurney therefere the passenger is evertaken with sense efpride rather than zratitude r.WDn %13fl Our wise men teda_y ire aleccapable if perfersing wer.dreus things Our en genius can acceaplieh wenders

We alse peint with pride te na_ss cenquest ef the air and we enumerate thegleries ef the radie and the airplane We all feel sense ct pride in-theknewledge that pots the werld that were ferserly nenthe aPart frecan be reached teday in Ratter ef hea us

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But such boastfulnese which prevents us from feeling ratsfu1 to Gd is vainand otpty For tan by trking these discoveries and irvertiIne did not conquernature nor change its 1avs We enjoy the blessing if the zadis and telephonenot because we have evorpewered natural forces but rather because we hageletrned to take dvntge of ther and aoply thn to our needsAnd when we observe our new scientific blessings we ought rather be inspiredto exclaim did Pharoah 01 old Qt the ed of the plagues Th W.pfl flSThis is the finger of Gd a1 then ae but manifestations of his wanderfulworks When we 3cquire wealth and prominence we ate inclined to fesi that we

have reached these heights entively by our awn Lbility and intelligenceusing the Biblical sentence flKtn fl fl nfl nw9 rDstJl fl3In.1- strength and the power of my hand hand earned all those blessings forHew c1n we be grateful to Gd if we consider ourselves alone the Cause ndsource of our success M.d if lack this gratitude in thi _ace of Gd howcan we hpo to possess it in dealing with ur follow won

Row is tke Jew taught this virtue of grtit.ude By what eanc is this greatest of human virtues made rsrt of tlH lif Aide 11 th various ritualsconnected with the obsew1nce ur ftstivls which promt us to cast flfall feelings of rrognee we arm constantly kept indfu1 of our dependenceuen Gd tpon rising in the norrting we recite those words ahich mast of our

axonte tuht us even before we ltamnod to talk cla4rlynrntn JntnhW T1tP

sit r.jvo thaflk5 unto Tb... living ad endurinij Kin because Thou hstmercifully restored av soul uito se Bfore p4rtair.6 of tha bltssins of

the erth of feed we iin j$knewledge our gratefulness by akin0arid conclude with the pjWPja the race 5iii bn fl Sfl3fl

in His rreat goodness He has riot trade us wntig and maY we no or to feuid

in nerd of the olessings of lifs At night befoze retiring to bed we gÆinrecognize our dependence upon Gd with the words w5we flfl9fl1 spP j3uyLet me lie don in peace and rise up again in peace thanking J-.i fir the

blessings of the day

All these together impres upon u.s the nessage of grtitiie The reciting of

these various prayers ad blessings like all our religious obseruancas and

erewonies ar not ends in therselve they are i-ia the goals toward which

we strive if we leek at them such they hcorLe me1nirrless Their fleanirar

is pprent only if we yin their noanó to ends roads leading to the

1ttai.nt of ideAls and virtues vriich ira this case is the iwplnting nddevelopnnt of feeling of gratefulness

hh but can hear some one asking the question Are these blessings neces

sary Cars tnis virtue be iathed in another way without these ceremonieS

Do they not lose their meaning in time ad tend to become mare expressions

mere habit

answer to these questions Se that these observances haue attached to thema

selves certain sacredness They have been put through the severest of al1

tests They have been tried in the test tube of time and have not been found

wanting By continuing in their practice we are carrying on part of our

great heritage They serge a5 the chain which links the present with the past

And just the Jew of this eneratiofl is tied up with the one gone by so

too do these ceremonies serve uniting factor of Jewish life today It is

by means of these practicosi and others that the Jew identifies himself with

the group rather than remain a- individual0

It behooves us to remember that the greatest stigma that can attach to

person is that he allOW himself to be called an ingrate No other attitude

is religiously and socially more worthy of sondepination because it destroys

the true approach of the heart to G-d and to man

Page 28

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Page 30

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Page 31

This Sabath ir addition to beng refered to t17O1 TflW men1ng the

Sahbath on which the Biblical portion known nW is read is alee Calld- rrW 3S.P the Sabbath of Song This Sabbath deries its secondflw nwfrom the fact that the portion of the Law assigned by the R1bhis of

old be rcsd in the synagogues or this abbath contains the aajestic songof praise which loses and the Israelites saLg urte Gd when the waters of

the Red Sas divided and the erstwhile slaves were able to march as en dryland to safety to the Promised Land0

This song of 31 IUYh iW tW Thea sang Moses ad trio children of Israel4 is rot enly read on this Sabbath but alsO forts the eeatrajthose of tho Scriptural lesson which ii road en the seventh d4y of PassoverIt has furthermore so impressed itself upon Jewish consciousness that everymoring in our daily prayers this sons is repeated it being the only chaptertakon whole from the Terah and transposed into our daily prayers andagain imrediately preceding the 3nw or Ajsidah we refer to it and

pronounce the statement tn bbW 1flJ rw OY18 miw nwnIt Was new song with which the redeemed people offered praise unto Thy

at the banks of the se i%3 unb j1fl nNI ifl1 rnTogether they all CaVe thar1kts and proclaimed Thy sovereignty and said TheLord will reign forever and ever

And here question presents itself to us and demands an explanation Why doesthe pryerbeok designate this QP this song sag so zany centuriesbefore by Moses as new song WhAt We the novelty or thenew note which the authors of the prgyerbok found emphasized by this songThen aflAn hew con that of the entire song with so many beautiful and

striking pges the prayerbook quotes only one small verse fl3thVb1 fl

The Lord will reign farevex and ever gs its surniration True this qereeembodies nhl sentiment but with al1 due respect for its beauty we must

say that contains ether equally beautiful sentiments There is

hardly ore verse that does not reveal the soul of the groat Moses givingexpression to the loftiest feelings of the people gratitude

Evidently the compilers of the prayorbeok saw something sre in this al1verse than they eaw in tne entire song g4d believe th4t the flQflh

the new note in the entire song is expressed in just this eat phraseEvery other neto of the song was old and failiar tLie alOAS gave expression to new thought new idea new sense of appreciatien of the Jewpl4ce in life

While slvimg in Egypt the Jews had little hope for future All darkbefore them Thex lived only in the memory ef the putt Thy xererbr.d the

glory of G-d He revealed Himself to grha IsaaC and Jacob But that

gloxy waS in ths p4st They knew enly tat Adonai bcalach ttht Gd WaS

powerful in the days genehy Sometiee they even felt that Adonai Melach

that nvw tee was with them giving then strsngth to endure ll their

sufferinss0 But that He would mean to their to their children in the

future what He meant to their ancestors In th past that they dared not

hipe

But when they stood at the banks of the Fed SCa brsathing for once the airof freedom and liberty secing the frustration of ths eney atts3pt to

bring them back into benage they saw far the first time in a-y centuries

the hope of the futurÆ New they began to feel that their glory WaS not oaly

ir1 the past but that they were beginning new life to be even mere glori

ous than the days gone by Per the first time they felt DtT

all of them together th1t new hope was born in their hearts0 Pro now

on it was not only Adflai Yalach Gd has reigned but Adnai Yimleeh

G-d will reign forever and iver This was the note winch marked ta new

epoch in the life of our people

Page 32

Asld froM that fl7OflerLt on in the wilderr.eos 4r.d in the land of italways the faith and the ceavtction of thin new song th4t their people wasdestined for great future that gave hope to thea that gave them the couragE and the inspiration to live to work to battle and to die

Even in the dark ages of cur exile after we were driven froz our land ndb.cmo the wandering tribe even thu the world eeuld net cruh this hopeof the future from sur hearts We rexenbered our glorious past hut that glory gave us the strength to hope and to work and to drea of yet rater daysNote well the intreduotery words of this hymnnngi nu fli

Then sing Yeses and the ehildrh Isr4 this song and they said lemorfollows Tb rabbis with their insight late the deeper eaning of theBiblical text noted that the last two words of this vers wire superfluousif not eanlngloss What was the nocestity of saying nan jftecthe Bible spnifieally states that they sang thie so AM tney answerthat these two words do got refer to what they zag but that fli8ineans they said or they pledged nt1 to bell1 their children andthat they in turn snoufl tell their descendants alSays isg before Gdin the m.anLor of tnit song thraugnout the ages the Jew has kept thatpledge H0 never lost tILe aTt of singing this new ijte cite that flphasizes the future

But my friends in our generation we have seen chp iii the outlook ofth Jew in the Cast of hi enslaved ancestors in Egypt he has lost allhepe for the future he has forgotten how to sing the the newsong and has gene back to the old nato of 44Onai Malach singing only ofthe past living only in the iemory of the past with no hoe no faith in thefuture This song which we read this Sabbath comes to this veryattituec vt art ever to see better day in the spiritual life of ourpeople in merica we shall have to learn fro2 our ancestors these erstwhile slaves to sing the nn nw the new note of Adsnai YimltcAof hope ad esnfidenoe

our Sages noted tnt fact that the word Yashlr is in the future tonse literally moaning the will einj rot tie past Sitar the sang Md they toll us

that from this future use of yashir we can learn the truth of rosun.ectienfm the Toras would thus paraphrase the statennt of the Talnud U0

you want to see the resurrection of those who aremosimwin ha Toarah of those

who are dead to our Torah to our faith to our G-d Then let us learn to si9in the nanner of Yshir with an eye on the future and not in the mannerof Az Sitar with eye to the past alofle

And if you would ask me to explain to you in one word the uadorlyiit philos

ophy of the Zionist movement would saY that it is tnt philosophy of

Adonai Yi mlooh it is the $hira Hadasha in Jewish life Long eno savo

we lived only in the memory of the dead though beautiful past it is time

to create future for our pcls futur that will bring blessedness to

Israel and to al1 nkin The difference between tnt assi1ilatl0i$t aAd

the itatisicalist is just this The aseimilatiflist says Adenai Jwialaeh vs

havc hid past but that past is gonenUer to return we have no nope for

the future therefore let us end our natiOnal identity The nationalist Jew

says True Adonai Malach we have bad beautiful past but we aro going to

sing Skirt Hadasba nov sons Adinai Yimloeh the song of our future

future in which our G-d our ezple our Torah oux language our land our

ideals will al roapptfl ita renewed vigor and youth

And 50 with the Psalmist would noa plead lot titerett emuh of the 011

Qflfl fl i%sad Tatt5

oing unto the Lord new song of hope and of youth Lot us be thankful

for what Gd has meant to us in the paste but let every Jew oxelaim

71Q78 WIll MW ojhtt Lord want to siltg new song

Page 33

s0

The iYour Preedon

g-j 44$

Page 34

Ter is part in the ritual of the PasE over beoer that not only illumines the

dark drama enacted in ancient Egypt but also offers vital message for us

and for the world of our day

Luring the Seder service with which commemorate our liberafion fthoL the

bondage of Pharoah we are bidoen to partake of four cups of wine The numberis regulated by tradition an is b..sed upon ancient authority Evidently theremust be good and valid reason for this requirement The four cups are not prescribed simply to make us feel hapry and jolly on ti_is joyous event if that

werethe sole reason the number would not be limited just to four

The Rabbis in our ancient literature point to the reason for this procedureThey note that in the Biblical account of Gds assurance to Loses that He

would emancipate the Israelites Gd uses four different expresseions to denotethat liberation fl MflSifl and will bring you out from under the burdensof the Egyptians sthi and will deliver you from their bondagand will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great judgments

4Xrnpii and will take you to Me for people flD rn nlDfl YTHow do we know they ask that we are to drink four cups of wine on the eve

of Passover And tney answer fl is is in keening with the

four redemptions mentioned in the Bible

But this ans er as commonly understood does not aear to exlain sufficientlythis ncient custom The question tLat naturally arises is why does the Bible

use four different expressions to denaote the act od libertion Are they mere

synonyms all exples ing the same th ught nd repeated only for emphasis We

may doubt such conclusion for we know that the Bible measures its words anddoes not repeat words for tie mere sake of repetition

sow the Talmud doEs not say In keening with the four words or expressions to

denthte recemution itsys 3b11flflWTh3Inkeeing with the four

reuemptaous no One in dow uii t- V.e d.enleveu buu sous sneuoi.S sous

different tynes of ii5ini of redemptions all of them essential if genuinelasting freedom was to be achieved And to this day as we sit at our Sedertable to mark that historic event we toast the four freedoms which all together make the coarlete freedom essential for the well being of man And it

is interesting to note that even before the reat task of emancipation was undertaken when Gd first apreared to herald the coming of Israels liberation from

Egyptian bondage He already had spoken to them not of one but of atflflI INof four kinds of redemption tn .t must be achieved Here is revealed the spiritual genius of the Jew how well he knew what freedom really means somethingthat the world is only now beginning to understand

The world some time ago vas thrilled with the announcement of the Atlantic

Charter as frmulated at the historic conference on the high seas betweenPresident Roosevelt and Prime Minister Churchill That charter reaffirmed the

now famous Four Freedoms proclaimed by President Roosevelt which are to serveas the goal afetr the coming triumph of the Allies hat are these Four Freedomsif not the echo of the same freedoms of which Gd spoke to the enslaved Israelites in Egypt of old Analyze them study them and you will see how they areall included in that memorable sentence sroken by Gd to those who hoped to

break the chains of their bondage to Pharoah

nssmi And will bring you out from under the burdens of the EgyptiansThis is the firstfreedom that must be assured to man if this world is to offer

him life worth while the freedom from burdens from oppression from fearNo man has the right to enslave another so that his body is not his own Might

not its own justification and the fear of cruel force must be lifted from

Page 35

th hearts of men This then was the first freedom that Gd assured the beatenand fear struck Israelites and this too is the first freedom of the AtlanticCharter for which tne civilized world is battling today

But that freedom fundemental as it is is not enoubh man may be released fromthe iron gc.tes of prison and yet not feel himself free He may be freed fromactual bonoage and yet remain in spirit slave And so the Bible addsand will redeem you There must be redemption of the human personalityThere must be what the Atlantic Charter also recognizes the freedom of the

human mind intellectual freedom freedom of speech and press freedom to

think to say and to write freecom to choose the men who are to govern you andthe freedom to choose the kinc of government you want The Bible recognizes that

no freednm is complete unless this kind of freedom is embraced in the term Andthe Atlantic Charter has thus reaffirmed this Divine truth giving new andsacred meaning to the battle which all liberty loving people are today calleduron to wage

It is to the credit of the Jew that at the very dawn of his history he alreadyrecognized the truth that genuine freedom must embrace more flfl9b fl38 flh1and will deliver you from their servitude They were to be saved not onlyfrom bondage but from Egyptian conception of labor their p-ilosophy of economic life There must be economic freedom man mazi be granted freedom from whysical opwression and freedom of thought and speech but if he remains slave

economically if willing to work he is denied the oportunity to work thenhe remains slave and what is worse the other freedoms too soon lose forhim their meaning and their value And so the Bible goes to the very heart of the

concept of human freedom when it emphasizes redemtion from their

conception of labor and of economic life If the Atlantic Charter is to stirthe hearts of men to battle and to sacrifice for the triumph of its cause it

must emphasize and reemphasize this freedom as one of its goals for only thencan genuine freedom come to blest the life of man

And lastly the Bible says And will take you to Me for peopleand will be to you Gd Here is the fourth freedom as vital as essential as the other tlree religious freedom the freedom to worship Gd according to the dictates of ones ccnsoience Religion te one force that ought to

unite all men into one brotherhood is still las grert cause of misunder

standing of rrejudice of the breeding of hate between man and man servingas an excuse to rob men of their other freedoms The frecdorj to worship Gd as

one will not because of toleration but of right this must be one of the

cardinal primci1es of the new freedoe if it is to usher in txe era of true

emanciation for ll mankind

Yes it was these four freedoms which gave the wromise of dawn of mew era to

the slaves of Bgypt It is these Four Freedoms proclaimed in tht JLtlantic

Charter which offer the world today the promise of the dawn of new day for

all humanity Out of this holocaust there Lust collie for all peoples and for

all lands this true liberation the liberation that shall fully embrace the four

freedoms the only emancipation that cn save the world from further bloodshed and turther ruin

Thus as we toast with the ouws of wine at our Seder table these four freomsfirst proclaired in the pages of our Bible and tod reoffirmea in the historic

Atlantic Charter let us hope andpray that we may soon be -riveleged to behold their fulfillment the rea1ization of the which alone

will bring lsting eace for all peoples

Page 36

1O a-c t1t.o

414-

8P

Page 37

one of the distinguishing characteristics of the Jew thn days gone by that

he not only remembered his past but that he also thought of his future The

past was ever dear to him but only for what it taught him concerning his futureThe Passover festival as we shall sonn see bears excellent witness to the

truth of this assertion

The first days of the Passover recall to the Jew his exodus from the land of

Egypt from the bondage of Pharoah They speak to him of his rast That exodus

was complete the Jew won his full emancipation in those ancient days And the

joy of the Jew too is complete as he recalls that remarkable incident in his

history he recites the full all the ptalms of praise to give voice to

his sense of gtatitude to Almighty Gd But no sooner do the first days o.fthefestival pass th his thoughts immediately turn to the present His joy turns

to sorrow Though freed from the bondage of ancient Egypt he sees the Jew in

bondage in many moderh Egypts he sees him suffering beneath the cruel lash of

dozen Pharoahs today He no lOnger sings the entire his heart will not

allow him to recite all the psalms of thahksgiving nd on the

Sabbath intervening between the first and last days of the festival he reads

the ororhets vision of the Th1Th9 of the valley of dry bones as if

to visualize before his very eyes the wicture of his brethren today

And ret sad the picture od the present is the Jew does not permit himselfto become despondent or to remain in despair Immediately he turns his eyes to

the future of his reowle Un the lst days of Passover he reads the Biblical

portion of he sings the song of Moses and as the Rabbis wisely tell

us that song does not only refer to the song that Moses and Israel sang in the

past but also tc the song that Israel and his deliverers will sing in days to

come The Bible does not say t$ then Moses sang but fl

then hoses will sing in the future tense and here we find the proof of

resurrection in the Torah Yes on the last day of Passover the Jew thinksand prays and hopes for the resurrection of his people

The grat trouble with mny of cur people today believe is that contraryto Jewish tradition the Jew observes only the first two dys of this festivalcontrary to Jewish teachings the Jew in inclined to think only of his pstand little about his present but alrost completely ignores his future He

remembers tie ex due fros Egyt but does not think or concern himself aboutthe exodus tt at must lead the Jew out of his present misery nd degradationthe message wnioh the last days of this festival brings to our ninds

This evening we can see more clearly the truth of is statement if we but

examine one ihase of Jewish life today the establishment of Jewish Homeland will cc in its beginnings in its first days cause for rejoicingthen as we view the present the intermedite days weiwill see our joy turnto sorrow and as we look into the future in thespirit of these concludingdays of Passover we can find reason for singing the tflDtW tR the song of

Moses

little over qnarter of century ago we oegan to see what was believea to

be signs of Jewish emanciration were thankful to Gd that we lived to see

the day when the naticns of the world publicly recognized the historic claim of

the Jew to his land Ve were indeed grateful to the Almighty tht we lived to

greet the Balfour Declaration which pledged Englands help and influence to

recreate the Jews national hon-c on his historic soil Our hearts were thrilled

by these areat events We had rLason for joy We had cause for celebration We

were able to sing with grateful hearts the whole When we learned that th.e

pioneers in Palestine had turned desert into spacious orange groves we voicedour thanks to Od with the full and oomlete

Page 38

Thitrio sooner did these first days of the festival pass by that our joy turned to

sorrow We began to realize that perhaps our joy was premature We were greetedby White Paper restricting Jewish immigration into Palestine We began to doubtwhether the Balfour Declaration will ever be realized 1Ve were confronted withArab uprisings with riots and skirmishes between Jews and Arabs believed to

have been instigated by the British in keeping with their policy of 4ivide andrule We then began to ask whether this declaration into which we put so muchfaith would not become just another scrap of paper In 1939 we received anothersetback in the issuance of another White Paper more severe in its restrictionson Jewish immigration and the amount of land Jews are ermitted to purchase inPalestine This White Paper fixes the proportion of Jews in Palestine as approximately one third of the totl population by provididcg that until March of this

year not more than seventy five thousand Jews be admitted to the country Afterthat date unless the Arabs will grant permission further Jewish immigrationis to be prohibited We began to wonder if all out efforts already spent in the

upbuilding of the land were not in vain This document further provides that Jewseven those who are citizens of Palestine will not be allowed to buy land in

nearly 95% of the total area of the country while non-Jews whether they arecitizens of Palestine or not have unrestricted purchase rights We cried for

justice and hoped that the joint resolution for Jewish Commonwealth in Palestine introduced into Congress would abrogate this White Paper and make theBalf our Declaration again reality But that too seems to have failed becauseof what is termed military reasons Arabian oil fields

Naturally we are sadly disappotnted that this resolution has been shelved But our

disappointment is offset by several condiderations which throw ray of cheeronthe butlook for the future and flve us reason to sing togetler hopefully the

song of Moses First of all our President has spoken He has made it perfectlyclear that he will see to it that justice is done the Jew when the Palestine

question comes up for considertaion at the end of hostilities In foreign affairsthe Presidents voice often carries more weight even thin resolutions of CongressThis is the first ray of cheer the Jewish pet-pie have enjoyed since the outbreak

of the war Secondly we know that the American people is with us The voice of

America was heard at the American Ptestine Conferebce in complete endorsement

of our position and the sentiment in both houses cf Congress is decidedlyfriendly to Jewish kalestine Thoirdly the resolution is only temporarilyput aside and has not been dropped At as auspicious moment it will be taken upagain

We however on our part must continue our agitation abd work We must make the

situation increasingly clear to the American people and especially to ourGovernment leaders We must let them know how much Palestine neans to American

Jews and to what lengths American Jews are ready to go in order to establish

homeland

You recall the the Biblical fact that tflUP Pt was not sung by Israel when theyleft the land of Pharoah but only after they had safely crossed the Red SeaTo me it al aye seemed strange and have often sought for an elplanation thatthe children of Israel did not sing this Song of Freedom immediately upon their

departure from Egyptian bondage Surely the ten plagues were all as wonderful and

as miraculous as was the separation of the waters of the Red Sea But the reason

issimple enough The Jewish people in Egypt did nothing to win their freedom

They were not responsive to the appeals of their leaders Who accomplished the

work of redemption Moses and Aaron and thetelders all working as messengersof Almighty Gd The people themselves gave these leaders very little help orassistance And so when freedom came the people felt ashamed because of the

little Iffort they had expended to achieve that.blessing They could not singthe SonS of Freedom because they realized that their freedom was won by others

Page 39

.Iby themselves But in crossing the Red Sea mattefl were different When thepeople saw the Egyptians ursuing them they plunged into the waters of the

sea ready to sacrifice their lives for their freedom preferring death ratherthan return to slavery And as the Rabbis tell us It was only when the

Israelites were almost drowning when they were submerged in the waters up to

their very necks that the waters divided and separated into two massive wallsBecause all the people were ready to sacrifice their lives for their freedomall the difficulties and obstacles passed away because they all showed howmuch they were willing ti suffer in order to win and retain their freedom theywere entitled to sing the nr hymn

These words apply with special force to the Jew of today We have not yetproven ourselves worthy to sing our peoples song of emancipption To do

that we must be willing to make certain sacrifices that our freedom may bemete more certain and enduring

This is the message and challenge of the last days of Pasüover to us

Page 40

The Dawn of Prejudic

Page 41

On of the most vexing problems facing world in its program of rsconstruction is that of the growth of rsligious and racial prejudics Myriads of booksand articlss have bsen writtsn in an sffort to determine the oausss of grouphatrsd Several ational organizations today hays as their main objectivsstudy of 1kb factors giving riss to the diseass of antisemitism and possiblemethods of stunting its rowth This evening should like to examine with youthe first record of group hatred in the history of the world as found in the

chapters of the Bible assigned to be read in the synagpgues on the currentSabbaths Breated great Egyptologist wrote of the contributions of Egypt to

world ethical progress in book entitled Dawn of Conscience picture ofthe other side of Egyptian life is found in our Bible story It is story ofthe Dawn of Prejudice This story of Egyptian hatred against Israel will help

belive explain the grŁup prejudices which are endangering the birth of thenew world we are all anxiously awaiting

The first is ignorance --fop il/c Al iSle .G nn flY There

rose new king who knew not Joseph Had he but known Joseph and his serviceto Egypt he would have been giatefu to his memory an friendly to his peopleMost people are ignorant of the worlds Mastery and can easily be led to prejudice Those who know the story of the past are aware of the fact that cultureis composite that many groups have conttibuted to it that we are allindebted to eagh other Antisemitism today like in ancient Egypt is increasing because fu .sIe pt 14tnk because so many people are ignorant of the

great contribution the Jews have made to world civilization

Then there is the element of fear or more correctly the exageration of fearhe g.e sftfBehold the children of Israel are too

mighty -they will join with 6ur eneilies Ancient Egypt leadin power atthat time supposedly feared the children of Israel And that has been the

pathetic side ef antisemitism throughout history powerful nations are afraidof the so-called Jewish world power We in our day have many times heard thisrefrain of psJria 4s ja sounded by the Nazis international Jewry seeksto rule the world Fear an5 ignorance are closely related Groups are fearedbecause they are unknown the more we know each other the less we fear oneanother

There is yet another clement in group hatred found in this Biblical accountOne of the Habbis of old in commenting upon the verse There arose new kingwho knew not Jospph states fl /fl%k p9p flyHe pretended not to know

Jospeh It was not mere ignorance or fear but sheer wilful evil This rabbiniointerpretation of the story comes close to the tragic reality that much ofgroup prejuttoe is due to cynical and conscious wickedness It cannot be cured

merely by knowledge and reassurance but by thc dow -purification of hrninnature

The Rabbis seem to be more realistic this Scripture they say that beyondignorsace and fear there is the evil chich refuses to know Joseph And yetthey too are optimistic as to fuller sweep of history for they have put intoour prayerbook the essential Jewish hope that the ancient prejudice between

groups will disappear and mankind will form one band of brothers that thishope and prayer may soon be realized

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Go Fonard

/.../r-g

/13

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itt have in our day boL.n thc critnesses to the rise and fall of one of the greatest tyrants of all time During the struggle that was waged against that forcewhich sought to enslave mankind we were able to comfort ourselves with the

thought that tyrannies always collapse that from the early beginnings of

history down to our time every tyrant who rose ip to oppress innocent peoplemet his doom and we were confident that the same would be true of the tyrantof the twentieth century We were comforted in the thought that history alwaysrepeats itself But we forget sometimes that democracies have also died that

frequently free governments facing crisis have failed to find the strengthnecessary to endure What has been the \cakness that destroyed them The answer believe can bt found in the story of the sedrah of this week known as

shallach

Israel now free people having been delivered from Egyptian bondage faces the

waters of the Red Sea on their way toward the Promised Land No sooner had

Israel gone that Pharaoah and his court regretted the emancipation There

followed swift marshalling of the chariots of Egypt and only few days after

beihg thrust out in to freedom the children of Israel beheld the hosts of

Egypt in hot pursuit after them The Midrash indicated that not only were the

people distracted by fear but they were also further demoralized by dividedcounsel One group frantic with despair cried Let us cast ourselves into the

waters of the Sn Another group said Let us go back to Egypt and submitourselves to slavery Others ere for giving battle to the enemy For the firsttime as free people Israel faced crisis 1oses the new leader hardly knowwhat to do He pleaded with the people to be patient and have faith But then

Gds ane or came to him in the orcLs Tell the

children ef Israel to go forward Here the ansder to our question Democracies cannot ndure free people cannot endure unless they go forward and

progress in certain definite fields

The first sphere in which the command of going forward must be felt is the rolitical Dnocracit have unfortunately tendency to grew politically corrurt after period of time Professional politicians despoil the state The

downfall of free government in Germany and France was due to the fact that the

peeple boubtee the efficacy of democracy because there was corruption amongits poitical leaders Democracies must therefore dLvelop honest and efficient

governemnt or else free governmen will collapse from within Peope mustremember that dLmecracy is tlic gevcrnment of the people and must remain that

The second sphere of progress is soctal Democracy is no guarantee againstsocill inequality Even here in the United States the great bulwark of democracy there is evidonee of this inequality Unscruiuleus men will sake advantage of the opportunities of liberty to oppress and exploit Social and economic fair dealin alone will win the average man to love and support his

govcrnrent Democracy the governemnt for the people and must be the government for all the people or else it will fail

And fànally there is the necd for progress in the ethical sphere Democraciesare in danger free the forgetfulness of its citizens People absorbed in theirown affairs grow indifferent to public duty Somu people naively believe thatone the skeleton of democracy was formed magically it would flesh itself

Theg are content to relax and enjoy the fruits of free governemnt But they mustremember that democracy is governnnt the poeple that democracies mustbuild character and repponsibility in the hearts ef its citizens They mustbeware of everybodys business becoming nobodys business

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We know that it is Gds will that man be froe that freedom harmonizes withDivin Law But ye cannot conclude t1st therefore democracies will automatically endure Sometimes free overnernnts facc crises and the crisis bill findit unprepared unles it obeys the command td go forward

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f2f

Liberty and the Sprinbtikie

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Thº predominant thought of the Peaach festival is freedom Passover is designatedin bur ritual as Y1L I.4 the season of our liberation the anniversary of

the redemption of our ancestors several thousands of years ago from the slaveryof Egypt And the whole purpose of the elaborate Cemer service with its symbolsand gestures its narratives and reflection and song is to keep this experiencefresh in our minds The bitter herbs are token of the hardships our forefathersendured under the yoke of the Pharoahs The Oharoses reminds us of the brick andthe mortar with which they worked and the salt eater of the tears they shed in

the cruel servitude while the Matzos represent the bread of affliction The

four cups of wine on the other hand the reclining position the serenity andfearlessness that imbue all the participants in the Ceder service all these are

expressions of sense of deliverance of the feeling of emancipatiofl with whichthe memories of the exodus from Egypt inspires the Jew

The wretchedness of the slave and the reetness of liberty that is the messagethat the holiday of Pesach conveys to us the lesson it aims to teach us Israel

ras onde able thanks to divine intervention to shake off the shackles of tyranny and become free people free to live its own life and to follow its ownideals And the moral to be derived from this lesson of history is that we toomust prize freedom seek to safeguard and preserve it Then we have it and take

advantage of the opyortunities it offers by living the full rich life it makes

possible

In the course of worTh history many peole hae teen receemed from slavery but

Israei is the only people to make its liberation part of its reliLion and to

set aside festival of freedom to comemorate that event In so aoing Israelhas meditated on tho meaninL of freedom for tLousd.nds of years and thereby has

gainec insipht into the true nature and meaning of freeuom lt therefore has

message concerning fresoom to give to the world One of the first statements made

by Moses to Israel following their redemption i-as tPn pkJ/ At/v a/OThis day ye go forth in the month of spring This statement plus the factthat our calendar is so arranged that Passover shoulu come in the springtimesuggests that there is relationship between liberty and the season spring And

indeed if we wish to understand -freedom se must appreciate the spirit of spring

The first mcsEag is that liberty like spring is haptiness opripgtime bringsmood of joy As expressed in the Cong of Songs ri jL ifl //ti P3JThe flowers appear on the oarth the time of singing is come.2 The birds singand all nature rejoices and mankind is glad So it is with liherthy Men arenever happy in slavery In tyranny people nay work hard hut they will never playTyranny itself lives in uncertainty in insecurity because of the bitterness andresentment of the people Only in freedom is man happy

Liberty to0 sug0ests groi th The happiness of springtime is the herald of growthIn spring every blade of grass and every plant increases in strength and in

beauty Similarly under freedom every individual has the power and opportunityto develop himself In tyranny each person is like plant in winter he justsurvives But in freedom man can grow and aevelop

And finaaly like spring liberty is the law nature Springtime always comesNothing can hinder it The streams during inter may appear to be frozen permanently an the trees to be forever lifeless But at iven time spring arrivesand brings with it new life It is the sure lay of Gd Tyranny may appear strongand unbreakable but it too vill surely melt away Freedom may appear to be

dead but it too will come to life because it is the will of Gd that libertyshall be the lot of mankind

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There were four hundred springtiraes of bitter slavery in Egypt Yet the daycame when spring brouht its message of joy its lesson of grovth and its

reassurance of the ftlfillment of Gds vcill This is the message of hopethat Peaach brings to vorld vhich seems to be losing its faith in the futureof liberty

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Couritin of the Orner

19 46

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Beginning on the second day of Passover and extending over period of seven

weGlts part of the evening service is given over to the counting of the Omer We

recite the blessing Blessed art Thou Lord our Gd King of the Universe who

sanctified us us by Ht commandments and commanded us to count the Omer Thenfollows the statement This is the first day of the Omer The next day it isThis is the second day of the Omertt And so it continues each evening until the

fiftieth day comes and that day is Shevuoth

At the time of the pii when the Holy Temple stood in Jerusalem on the

night peoeding thenEixtenth of Nisan the second day of Fassover emmisaries of

the Sanhedrin the Jewish court proceeded to the rural district in the vicinityof Jerusalem 1cith large group of people cut off sheaf of barley and broughtit in to the Temple During the night it was threshed and converted into refined

flour At day break priest took it in charge and offered it as meal offeringto the Lord This ceremony called Omer was the starting point for the countingof the forty nine days whose culmination was Shevuoth Since the number of daysto be counted is exactly seven weeks the same day of the \eek vhen the Omer wasoffered was also the day for Shevuoth The Biblical authority for this ceremonyis the verse jie- tIVu/ ye shall count from the morrow after the

day of rest from the day that ye brouLht the sheaf offering seven complete weeks

Maimonides and other sages maintain that the reason thy we were ordered to countthese days betveen the anniversary of our departure from Egypt and the anniversaryof tho revelation on ht Sinai is to emphasize the importance of the fiftieth

day the holiday of Shevuoth gust as one who- thagey awaits dear friend countsthe hours and mnutos to his arrival so does the Jew constantly look forward to

the moment vhen ho received his spiritual freeuom

Sefras HaOmer as the counting of the Umer is called in Hebrer is th hridgeconnecting Pesach with Shevuoth reveljtion on Sinai spiritual freedom cannot have an enduring effect on people unless it is first preceded by an exodusfrom Egypt physical freedom On the other hand liberty ot emancipation tin

out the acceptance of higher values must ultimately lead to enslavement Pesachwas not an end in itself It was prelude preparatory step to Sinai

It is for this reason perhaps that the Omer on Passover was to be meal offering of barley while the offerinon Shevuoth was to be brought from wheat Barleywas considered 0HPA e.t food given to animals while wheat is p9/c Cin

food for man Although the exodus from Egypt removed the shackles of bondagefrom the enslaved bodies of our ancestors they were nevertheless still fetteredwith thousand chains to the animal life to which they were accustomed They still

complained to Moses saying We remember the fish rhich we ate in Egypt Many of

them preferred the garlic and onions of Egypt to the bread of freedom

It was in this Sefira period that our ancestors had to undergo rigid and intensive training during hioh time he to cleanse himself from the impurities\.hich he acquired during slavery He was to yearn for loftier freedom And this

yearning .as to be expressed by counting the days as he was about to receive this

true freemen It as only ilen at tlie culnination of the Sefira period the

fiftieth day the holiday of Shevuoth when the received the Torah that theyvere entitled to secure symbolically pYle /en the food of man It was onlywhen one realizes that there is something higher in life than the fleshpots and

garlic that he isvortiy of the title man

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.-

Passover Wedding Anniversary

3ff--

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My beloved spoke and said unto meRise up my love my fair one and come awayFor lo the winter is pastThe rain is over and goneThe flowers appear on the earthThe time of singing is comeAnd the voice of the turtle is heard in our land

Arise my love my fair one and come away

According to an established tradition it is proper to read the Song of Songsafter the Seder at home on the first two nights of Passover as well as in the

Synagogue on the seventh day The several verses Ofthat book written by King

Solomon which just quoted as well as the entire book is accepted by us as an

allegory an earthly story with heavenly meaning describing the relationshipbetween Gd and Israel Gd is represented as lover who courted Israel duringits stay in the land of Egypt He spoke to Israel in terms of human loverRise

up my love my fair one and come away from the land of the Pharoahs The winter with its dreary days of cold and rain the four hundred year period of exile

with its suffering is over and gone Nature has awakened in all its beauty and

splendor Arise and come away to new life of freedom in the Promised Land

Israels willingness to forsake the fleshpots of Egypt and go forth into the wilderness signified her consent to become the bride of Gd The wedding was coicluded at the foot of Mount Sinai when Israel received the Ten Commandments the

marriage ring Palestine was the home which Gd prepared for his beloved Israeland the Sanctuaty was the place where He was to meet His people

This conception forms the background for the spiritual interpretation of the Songof Songs an as such justly belongg to Passover For this festival marks the

anntversary of Israels new life as Gds people and as free and independent people The Seder ritual was designed to awaken within us memories of the past whenIsrael was young

The custom of celebrating wedding anniversaries is quite popular in our day particulat3y after twenty five or fifty years of happy married life We see frequently grandparents standing under the Chuppah when ceremony is preformed for themand at that time the old couple relives moment of youthful happiness After

years of struggle toil pain and sorrow we like to recall the memories of the

past when our hearts were full of joy and in recalling them try as much as possible to relive them for the moment

Passover is just such celebration The observant Jew endeavors to dramatizeIsraels history in order to live through the moments of happiness which his

people experienced in the days of its youth The eating of matzos the unleavened

bread the morror the bitter herbs the charoses mixture that resembles mortarand the other symbols at the table are intended for the sole purpose of makingour ancestors life in Egypt as real to us as possible As we express it in the

Seder ritual It is the duty of every person in each generation to look uponhimslef as if he went forth from Egypt

In some parts of the world the dramatization of the Exodus is carried out more

realistically with an additional ceremony which is not practiced among us Beforethe Seder one man dressed up in old dusty clothes posing as wayfarer withpack on his back and staff in his hand Then the family is seated around the tablhe knocks at the door and begs to be admitted On enetering the house he is

greeted with the customary Sholem Aleichem and is invited to join the family

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around the table The host then asks him Where do you come from strangerThe answer is 01 came forth from the land of Egypt am wandering through the

wilderness hoping to reach the Promised Land

If it was difficult in th past to relive and vividly recall the evils and suffering of oppression and persecution because of its remoteness that is certainlynot true in our day Each of us as we will sit at our Seder tables and partakeof its meaningful symbols will think not only of the exodus that is severalthousand years old but of one that is much more recent We have had the horrorsof the modernPharoah thrust before our eyes and hearts all too well Many of ourbrethren have actually experienced redemption from the grave and because of ourcloseness to their lives and the feeling of kinship with them we can fully appreciate their Exodui and pray and work that they may find complete end to that

suffering and wandering in Eretz Yisrael

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The Purpose of Miracles

t-t/--47

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PØsach has been variously called the Birthday of Israel or the Independence Dayof the Jewish People or any of score of similiar names It is true that Pesachwas the birthday of the nation Israel just as it was the independence day of ourpeople Yet all these concppts convey only fraction of what Pesach meant to

those who left Egypt and what it should mean to us today

That Pesach meand more than mere birthday or independence day can readily be

seen when upon examination we find that the literal translation of the wordPesach is far removed from any of these terms Pesach is derived from the Hebrew

posach passed over for the Lord passed over the Jewish homes when He smotethe first born of Egypt Could not the Torah have chosen another name one more indicative of the spirit of independence that we commemorate The Torah howeverin naming the holiday desired that we always remember one essential factorlight to guide us towards truer understanding of Israels redemption We must

constantly reqember the Lords miraculous safeguarding of His people while destruction raged furiously on all sides while He brought upon Israels oppressors the

climax of the tern plagues The whole story of Pesach which takenin broad senseincludes all that led up to the glorious exodus can be recited as list of

consecutive miracles The birth of Moses his escape to Midian the burning bushMoses reappearance inEgypt to assume the leadership of Israel the ten plaguesthe diision of the Red Sea the manna in the desert are only several of the

outstanding miracles that tell the story of Israels emancipation

That is miracle What is the importance of miracles iii our religious philosophyJewish commentators and especially Nachmanides make it abundantly clear that

nature ad miracle are the same Can this be possible Can it be that nature so

uhchangeable that science has been able to formulate laws under which all earthlythings fall an accomplishinen that would be impossible unless the world was

undeviating unchanging is really identical with miracles which is unpredictablead forever different Ane yet it is so

clue to an explanation of this canbe found in the origin of the word miracleIt is derived from the Latin word which means to wonder miracle then is anoccurrence that causes one to wonder Nature and miracle are alike in the respectthat both cause wonder First let us look at nature Who can look upon glorious majestically colored sunrise -or who can smell beautiful fragrant lilacwithout wondering how great and powerful must be their Creator Who can understandthe orderliness among the planets as they hurtle through the vast space without

being curious about the Master Designer and Divine Architect In short who canlive in the world of nature without wondering about Gd As David sings so

beautifully in his Psalms 9Th -rfl VT flWJt1 TflLD ObflSbh tblYfl

The heavens recount the glory of G4d and the firmament declareth His handiworkOnly one who whose senses have been blinded can fail to conclude that there is

Creator who has divine purpose for this universe

But when we morta fail to see that which is so plainly written on every mountainand so prominantly displayed in the tiny atom -when we begin to take ourselves forgranted and fail to wonder at nature then Gd must stir our dormant wonder byother means by irregularities in that nature which we call miracles He causesbushes to burn without being consumed He causes unnatural plagues to come uponEgypt and not upon His chosen people He cleaves the sea and makes walls of waterfor Israel to pass safely through He causes manna to fall where food cannot grow

tien surely we must woder and meditate and recognize Gd

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And the miracles accomplished their purposefl1lTIfl Tfl flt Lnner n-ri

Israel saw the hand of the Lord at the Red Sea They were so aware of His existence that they could poibt to Him and sing mnt flt This is myGd and will glorify Him

This then is the purpose of miracles to arouse in us that wondering which we

should see in nature Nature is but quiet miracle commonplace because of its

regularity and common occurrence Thus in our prayers every day we thank the

Lord for Thy miracles which are daily with us for everything arOund us eachmoment is full of miracles

It is this view of Pesach that the Torah wanted us to retain that is why it

bears the name of the climax of the ten plagues And for this reason we arecommanded so strictly to preform the Pesach ceremony to eat matzos and arrange

Seder rites that are reminders of Gds miracles Each year we are to be

stimulated by thetr thought provoking observance as were as our ancestors

sitiliarly stimulated by the miracles of bygone days

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Questions Answers

for Pesach

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Theaskin of questions is definitely within keeping of the spirit of the Passover holiday whether it is the questions of the Jewish housewife in her preparations for the holiday or those raised by the youngster at the Seder table And it

is in keeing with this spirit that would like to present to you tonight seriesof questions and answers about the observance of Passover

By what names is this festival known and what do they mean

passover is known by several names in the Bible Chag Ha Pesach Chag Ha Matzothand Chag Ha Aviv Chg Ha Pesach the festival of Passover refers to the last plague in Egypt when the aggeth of G-d spared the homes of the Israelites by passingover them when he smote the first born in the Egyptian homes ChagjaMatzot the

festival of Matzoth refers to the fact itiat at the time of the xodus the Jewscould not prepare leavened bread because of their hasty departure and ate MatzothIt is also called Chag Ha Aviv the festival of sprigg because it marks the beginning of spring add celebrates the beginting of the barley harvest

What is the ceremony of Bedikas Chomets and when does it take place

edikas Chometz is symbolic search for Chomets on the eveting before Passover

say symbolic for in olden days real search was inttituted in all corners of

the house In later times the removal of Chomets took place several days before

Passover but in order that the commandment of Bedikas Chomets be not forgottenfigurative search is instituted With candle in hand the head of the house

searches for the small pieces of bread that had been carefully placed at various

poithts in the house and burns them the following morning

hat is Mechiras Chomets and what is its fun ction

Jewish law provides that any Chomets that remains in the possession of Jew during the Passover holiday is forbidden forever In order that the fulfillment of

this law should not require the destruction of all foods in Jewish possessionwhich would mean great losses formal sale of these foods is made to nonJewfor the week of Passover whereby the law could be observed and the loss avoided

Whatis the difference between Comets and Matzo

Chomets is aleavened bread matzo iineavened bread Common grain flour when

brought in cottact with water will begin to leaven or ferment Bread is made bymixing flour and water and allowing the mixture to stand until it leavens or adding yeast which hastens the process of leavening and then baking it Matzo ts

made by mixing flour and water and baking the txture before the process of leaveninecan take place

hat is the meaning of Seder and when is it held

Seder is Hebrew word meaning order and is the name given to the ceremony thattakes place in the home on the first two nights of Passover It is so designatedbecause it follows set pattern or order

hat is the Haggadah and the Fier Kashes

Haggadah literally Sans narrative or story and contains the special ritualservice for the Seder The story is ittroduced with the four questions asked bythe youngest child at the table The questthons concern themselves with the ceremonies of the Seder They are Wh only Matzo Why only bitter herbs Why the ceremony of dipping foods twice Why do we sit leaning on cushions It is interesting to note that the version of these questions found in the Mishnah does not givethe last question and instead has Why do we every night eat all kinds of meatwhether cooked potted or roasted while on this night of Pesach only reast meat

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The question was asked when the Padchal Lamb which was roasted was eaten and no

other meat was permitted

th ree matzos lac ed on the der able

The three matzos placed before the master of the house represent the three flndsof Jews koehn levi and yisroel Another explanation is that on any Sabbath orfestival it is customary to have two loaves of bread on the table that symbolizethe double portion of the manna which the Israelites in the desert received on

Friday Since one of the matzos is broken at the beginning of the service for the

Afikomen three are provided to begin with so that at least two whole ones remain

Why do we drink four cups of wine at the Seder and what is the Cup of Elijah

The four cups of wine are in keeping with the four expressions found in the Torah

telling of 0-sds redemption of the Israelites from Egyptian bodagei// 1jlfif1/ hjOi One Sage found fifth expression and thought

that five cups of wine should be used It is because of this difference of opinionthat we have the Kos Shel Eliyahu the cup of Elijah popularly so clled becauseall questions that remaind in doubt were left to be resolved by the prophet ElijahIt is also symbolic of the hope for redemption Elijah being the forerunner of

the Messiah

heirnportantsyrnbols employed at the Seder and what do they mean

The marror or bthtter herbs are explained as reminder of the suffering of the Jewsat the hands of the Egyptians who made their lives bitter with hard labor

The pJ rosa mixture of chopped nuts applecinnamon and wine is reminder of the

clay and mortar used by the Israelites in buildigg the palaces and temples forPharoah

The roasted shank bone is the symbol of the Paschal Lamb which the Jews aarrificedon the eve of Pesach dunn the days of the Temple

The roasted eggis symbol of the festival offering that was used by our peoplewhich on Pesach supplemented the raschal Lamb Others interpret the egg as tokenof grief for the destruction of the Temple

The fls or greens which is dijped in the salt water are relishes used at festivemeal in olden tithes

Ci dishes and cooking utensils used throughout_Ithe_year be used on Passover

It tE customary to set aside pepecial set of dishes and ttensils for the fetivalHowever under certain conditions some of the dtensils used throughout the yearmay also be used on Passover Dishes chinaware cannot be used under any circumstances Metal pots and pans and silverware can be kashered by first thoroughlycleansing them ad then pttting them in pot of boiling water Untensils used

directly over the fire such as frying pans may be kashered by playing them directly over the fire allo wing them to get red hot Glassware should be scouredand then soaked in water for three days changing the water every twenty fourhours

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So vee

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Our hearts and our minds turn at this Passover season to the ancient story of

our peoples liberation from boddage With each retelling we find new glory in

the heroic tale of Israels liberation from Egyptian slavery We find renewed

inspiration in the promise given to the people of Israel that they would findshelter and refuge in landflowing with milk and honey

This year as in the past we again heard the youngest at the Seder table ask the

ciuestions wherefore is this night different from all other nights In 1948 we

must ask ourselves another question Wherefore is this year different from all

other years from all the other years of homelessness and hopelessness which

many of our fellow Jews have suffered

American Jewry has designated this month as Freedom Month dedicated to an extraordinary effort in behalf of the Jews of the world through the campaign of the

United Jewish Appeal The designation of Freedom Month is indeed fitting oneApril marks the Passover celebration of Jewish deliverance April heard the firstshot in the American Rbulution in 1775 April of 1789 saw the convening of the

first United States Congress and April 1943 just five short years ago witnesses the heroic struggle of the Jews in the Warsaw Ghetto against the might of

the German Army

we have an opportunity during Freedom Month to make this year different from allthe years that have gone before It is up to us as American Jews to provide the

means by which the Jews of Europe and Palestine can build new lives We can makethis year time of liberation for those who have long suffered oppression and

persecution

From the hills of Galilee in the North to the desert outposts of the Negev in the

South Jewish men and women boys and girld stand guard today as they buildnew nation Even as our ancestors of old struggled for liberation and independenceso the heroic Jews of Palestine now stand in the front line of defense of Jewishfreedom and security

The land that flowed with milk and honey iii ancient days has again becovm fruitfulthrough the toil Jewish pioneers Enn though the lives of the 700000 Jews of

Palestine are in danger they are not forgetting their obligation to provide sanctuary for their displaced and homeless brethren Even though blood stains the

soil of the homeland the Yishuv has not interupted its task of cultivating that

soil of the homeland and building constructively for the future

more overwhelming task it would be difficult to imagine Yet the Jews of Palestine are neither discouraged nor afraid They are prepared to give their full

time their full effort their lives if need be to fulfill the sacred obligation whibh has fallen upon them

Our forefathers wandered in the desert for forty years before they could enterthe promised land After years in the desert of uncertainty and espair the displaced Jews of Europe today see an end to their wandeflngs For 75000 Jews who

will go to Palestine this year 1948 can be year of liberation from fear fromwant and from persecution

quarter million Jews in DP camps have this moth observed their fourth Sedersince liberation Remember how deeply moved all of us were when the first Sederswere conducted for the Jews of Nazi Europe by the adaancing troops of the American Army ktemember how confident we were that another Passover would see theseJews celebrating the festival of liberation in happier surroundings

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Well our hopes were little extravagant Three years after victory these victims of oppression have yet to find their true liberation They remain ill clothedpovjly housed inadequately fed they are denied the rights and the human dignitythat all of us in this country take for granted

Until the day when they can find refuge in homelands of their own choosing250000 Displaced Persons in Europe must be sustained physically and spiritually

Through consecrated effort in behalf of the United Jewish Appeal we can givefull and significant answer to the euestion which we must ask ourselves at this

Passover season We can indeed make this year different from all other years We

can make 1948 the year which witnesses the first great constructive steps towards

making our people all over the world tryly free

In the spirit of Freedom Month in the tradition of the Passover festival wemust dedicate ourselves to the liberation of the Jewish people

Page 62

The Plague of the Frogs

toy

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In the Secirah of this Sabbath we read concerning the plagues that came upon the

Egyptians because of Pharoahs refusal to free the enslaved Issaelites Our

Sages of old in studying the Biblical account of these plagues saw in them

not only the story of the rivers of blood the filth the disease the darknessand pestilence that visited the land of Egypt but also saw great truths that

give new meaning to the events of those days

would like to examine with you tonight one of these plagues the second ofthe ten that the Bible enwnerates the plague of the frogs The Rabbis werequick to notice that the Hebrew word deacribing the plague was in the stngularnymiber th OX%1 Jrisn tjpi Literally the translationshould readAnd the frbg arose b.nd it c6veed the ihole land of Egypt Shouldnot the text have read the frogs in the plural number ask theRabbis in astonishment WS there only one frog that appeared and that coveredthe whole land And strange to say two of the greatest sages of their day

Akiba and Elazar ben Azariah gave serious thought to this question andboth came to the conlcusion that in reality there was only one frog that appearedRabbi Akibah saidttTzfardea Achat Hoitah Vhi Hishritzah Umalah Et nol Eretz

Mitzrayim It was one frog that appeared but it begat countless other frogsthat soon filled every part of the land of Egypt Rabbi Elazar also said Itwas one frog that appeared Vsorkah Lohem Vhem Bau and it uttered harsh

cry and lo and behold countless hidden frogs suddenly appeared and coveredall the land

It is strange discussion seemingly childlike And it is stranger still that

sage like Akibah should indulge in such specytlation He was the legalistpar excellance He had little concern for legednary interpretation Indeed inthis very discussion his colleagues ask him in astonishment Akibah Mah LekoEtzel Haggadah Akiba what hast thou to do in the realm of legend or folkloreBut there was something revealed in this passage which even legalist of the tjtype of R.Akiba realized was of great significance The Rabbis found hidden inthese words truth that gave clear cnalyss of what actually occurred in theland of Egypt The Rabbis were at first puzzled at what happened After allEgypt had been land where liberality seemed to reign Jacob and his faLilj hadbeen accorded frindly welcome Joseph had risen to the hiLhest rank Theirdescendants for many years had enjoyed all freedom How had it been possible forthe dominant people suddenly to transform ththtr character and to become so

bigoted and so cruel How could country that had practiced such tolerancethat had shown such belief in liberty suddenly have changed into cruel taskmasters and thrown an entire people into bondage

Wexfind the answer to these puzzling questions in these two quaint interpretations It was just one poisonous frog that appeared in the person of the new

king But that was all that was necessary For he ltd such hate in his heartsuch cruelty in his mind that he soon begat other poisonous frogs who acceptedhis philosophy of hate and soon spread to all four corners of the land It is

in the very nature of such poisonous frogs to beget easily other noxiouscreatures

And the secondaRabbi goes even further in his interpretation ven in the daysof freedom and liberlaity there were many in Egypt who despiased that freedomwho believed in philosophy of force and bondage They were however ashamedto give public expression to their opinions and hates After all the majorityof the people still practiced the rules of human freedom It was still thefashion of the day to speak in praise of liberty And so those who rebelled at

this human freedom were forced to keep hidden in their hearts their deadly doctrines But no sooner did this one poisonous frog appear who had only to soundthe signal when lo and behold all the other potÆonous frogs suddenly arosexxfrom their hiding places ahd began to speak out their hate throughout the land

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What an insight into the events of the past decade is furnished by tnis ancientRabbinic comnent It explains how it was possibly for entire nations suddenlyto cast the ideals of freedom of democracy of brotherhood and fellowshipto the wind

In our day their message comes to us as stern warning ever to be on guardagainst even singular expression of bigotry and hatred singular meaningwhether it be expressed by one few persons and singularly whether it bedirected agitast only one group We must ever remember what happened in EgyptIt was the rnn v-nS the one poisonous frog that begat others that clledforth others from their hiding places and the result was that it soon spreadover the entire land It comes as warning to us not to permit the xnone frog to spread his poison else it will soon be echoed through the entireland

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Eryear of Hope and De1iverance

PM/

1949the biggest year the biggest job in history

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We are again celebrating the festival of Passover Seated arouisd the festivetables in our homes with our children and grandchildren we once again reviewed

the Hagaddah the wondrous story of the deliverance of our ancestors from the

servitude of Egypt And as we sat happy in our security our minds could not helpdwelling on the current exodus of our brethren from Europe and the long awaited

redemption of Israel and some of us perhaps began to review in our minds the

steps of how it came about And we went back to our Hagaddah and we read howwhen C-d first took our forefathers out of Egypt it wast if/e/i t/

mile E-c it was not done through the medium of at angel or

Seraph or messenger/4-Mji.o /r/ ep fe/it but G-d Himself deliveredthem

Yhat does this really mean How does G-d who is purely spiritual power operate if not through the elements of nature Does not the Psalmist tell us thatHe naketh tho winds His messencers Hs ministers the flaming fire Yet when

we try to und rstand the various methods resorted to during the past century andhalf in the attempt to solve the Jewish problem it becomes rerfectly clear to

us

The Jew longnr for redemption is not phenomenon of modern time It is as

old as the Galut itself On the very day that the Temple was destroyed and theJews lost their national indenendence the Arada tells us was the Iessiah thefuture redeemer of IsraeLi born During the first few centuries after the destruction the ho-co of speedy restoration was still very strene The TeIple maysoon be rebuilt was the thougt in everyone mind and Jews therefore feltthey ought to be prerared with te knowlodge of its ritual However as the yearsdraged along and relief was not in sight the date of the Gulah receded furtherand further into the future luring the entire millennium of the hiddle Ageswhen tie peoples of Europe were stoeped in ignorance and earbarism ruled theworld the Jew patiently waited a1d bore his yoke and left redemption for the-essiah

lut then there dawned new ore for Inn anit.v The eplions of Eurone awoke fromtheir stupor and as the obwebs of superstitton and prejudice began bo be blomaway by enlightenment the persecuted children of Israel took heart again Thehone of an earlr deliveranco was revived It was believed that education thecultivation of the mind woula refine nons characters and turn thc- savage into

human being with heact and soul Te Jew would be acceptecL by his rei-whorsand Israel troubles will be over forever for while it seemed as ough Viadream weo really -eirin tue Tx rentle aisLe1 enli itsnment was clouT butsureln liherati cg Jew TThus iany p0 Jews and nonJews reasoned .ey

bnlicved the mileninsa had ceac or the saks of their newly won librties anyJews rawe un their birthrirht hnir heritage Ter became assi nil ated

Ic fc1it if 11 the angel of enligatenment did not redeem Israel ioderncivilizticn and nulture played Jewry falsely Jews had to turn elsewhere fornhei ccssiah Awl cv I.e let cf ti Jew inn- felt was bound u-n with

nufferinc hunaiit as whele The cause of Jews nisery was not ignorance the reason was rather cconea1 Eliminate fr ci cc anemia structureof soi ety the elinewt of competition tThy reasnned end the Jews plight willhe over An so they pinned thain hones en the Seranh the fiery fiend of revolution who would ma clean sweep purrt of society And icr tite ft seemci as thcuih tThn rchi em of th Jew was solved In the one lare country in whichthc revolution was successnul in which tie new order of things had been able togain firm footing antisemitism was eutJawed mde crime and discriminationen cceunt of race and creed forever banished After short period of years howover doubts began to arise as to whether the revolution can be said really tohave benefited the Jew If it freed his person it killed his soul That is notthe kind of solution of the Jewish problem that the persecuted children of flraelhad looked forward to That is net the form that cur ciartrrs who had died forthe sanctiV cation of the name of G-4d had hoped the millennium would bring

yi fell not by the Seraph of revolution is Israel to be redeed

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And so disppointed by the Seraph of revolttion Jews have sought third wayout tile way of diplomacy of political baraining ot negotiating of the æíºThey hoped that by entering the arena international politics they might ahivefor theiiselves their longed for national independence They bided their timeuntil the opportune moment came and then they struck In November of the year 1917

declaration was issued by the government of Great Britain in which that greatpowtr expressed itself in favor of Jewis national home in Palestine The

shilichin of Israel had accomplished the unbelievable 1That Jews had hoped for

against hope for nearly 2000 years the recognition of their title to their original home was at last achieved The efforts to realize the return to Zion becamethe foremost Jewish public activity Already close to half million Jews hadestablished residence in the hthmeland and it seemed as though that which hadbeen thought to be impossible would soon be realized when the very governemntthat had made those solemn promises to Israels emmissaries began to go back onits word threatening to condemn the Jews of the Holy Land to the status of

permanent inority and thus blast the Jews fthndest hopes and dreams

No 41 not diplomatic negotiations not emissaries not politicalagreements and contracts however solenmly drawn are the means to Israels redemption What then No outside force no gobetween ho interiiediary but 9/cIsraelttself Hashem with the help of the ternal We cannot bank on the enlightenmant of the world We dare not build on revolution It is vain for us to relyon guanantees assurances promises The redemption the State of Israel hascome about as result of the of Israel itself and Hashem the help ofC-ct

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W4rv4flt HIS ToRy or TH At4Guey

3-3/-fl

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For thousands of years now we of tue house of Israel have been celebrating PassovØrin commemoration of the exodus of the Israelites from Egypt It is the oldest

and most significant of the festivals in the Jewish calendar as well as the onemost fondly remembered It is holiday for both synagogue and home for the child

and the adult for tie wise and the simple No other single event in Jeiwhs history so impressed itself on the consciousness of the Jewish people as their deliverance from Egyptian bondage Many refernces to it are found throughout the Biblcand almost every prayer speaks of it

Time has not blotted out the memory of this great event from the minds of the Jewish people On the contrary it has become more significant with tue passing of

years dince the days of Egypt the Jews have known the ttmitzraimsll of almost allthe world They lived among all races and nations on earth But it is yetziasmitzraim tithe going forth from Egypt that has en remembered for almost hundred generations

The Haggadah is oneof the most striking books in Jewish literature Its storiesand legends have kept the Jew breathless for untold generations What would theSeder ritula be without this wondrous book It is full of color and bauty It

dramatizes the exodus from Egypt in series of fast moving scenes and episodesthat have never been forgotthen The tragedy and triumph of our ancestors in Egyptfollow each other through the pages of the Haggadah We are made to live all the

great moments of the Exodus the terrifyin darkness the seas and lakes and rivers turning to blood the hail of stones coming down from the sky the raging pestilence the panic that culminates happily for the Jews at the Red Sea whosewaters stood up erect letting them pass through as on dry land while drowningPharoah and his chariots and horsemen who followed in pursuit

That is the power and majesty of the -assover story as told in the Bible as portrayed in the Hageadah and as adorned by Jewish sages and poets for untold generations Some have seen fit to ask whether such things really did happen at thetime of the exodus of the Israelites from Egypt Are they historically accuratefl4.4 4ln nrn nll nr fl4lCla m- lnnoc alnn nnncn -tr PI114

14 USSC..J 4CLi U4.J IJ.JS.I .S.L USL 14 SS.% VI OS 14 IJS

story with unquestioning faith these questions of course never occur Others

satisfy themselves by saying that the whole account of the Exodus with its miracles is something fantastic not true to facts

novel approach to these questions is to be found in the forthcoming bookWorlds in CollSion by Dr Immanuel Velikovsky The book while not primarily

religious work has been hailed as starter of back to the Bible movementfor supporting his arguments with great thearning and acholarship Dr Velikovskytends to confirm many of the Bible miracles that heretofore have been regarded asfantastic It is Dr Velikovskys scientific conviction that time and again theearth is changed by violent and sudden eruptions and upheavals By computingevidence gained from numerous sources he arrived at the conclusion that justsuch catastrophe as had visited the erath from time to time happened roughly3500 years ago at the time of the exodus of the children of Israel from Egypt

At that time Venus tore itself away from Jupiter and roamed tue earth as comet1As result it created heavy darkness sprayed things with rusty red colorso that all the world seemed painted red This red pigment caused the death of aflmarine life and was followed by the decomposition and subsequent appearance of

vermin irritating an dblfltering akin This according to the author accountsfor the plagues is the natural hiflory of the plagues visited upon the EgyptiansThis accounts too for the wind of enormous velocity which raised the watres of

the Red Sea allowing the Israelites to pass throtgh and for the manna which latexnourished the children of Israel The book has been previewed in the leadingmagazines of the country Harpers Colliers Readers Digest and the CongressWeekly hile it gives auded scientific surprt to the story contained in ourHaggadah doubt whether it will add or detract from our enjoyment of the Sedertomorrow night

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