WHO IS THE LEADER WHEN THERE IS NO MOSES TO BE FOUND?

Passover is one of the most widely celebrated Jewish holidays on the calendar. It is a time of reenactment, of storytelling, of asking some obvious questions, and hopefully of some more difficult ones as well.  But Passover is something else as well; it is a reminder of our obligation to see the world around us, identify what is unjust and unfair, and to take action to change it.  In our Hagaddah, we receive the lesson over and over again that this is not only our past, but also our present.  Traditionally, each one of us was there at our people’s greatest moment, to receive the Torah at Mount Sinai.  But, alternately, each one of us must retell the story of the Exodus, our journey from our lowest point of slavery to freedom as if we were there as well. We do not see an easy path, yet we are told to experience this path anew each year, that we may never forget its lessons and its immediacy in our lives today.

We all learned the basic story when we were children. The Jews are enslaved in Egypt, God instructs Moses to demand that Pharaoh let His people go, and ten plagues later, Pharaoh gives in. Moses leads the people to the edge of the Red Sea, with the Egyptian army at their back; just as they think they have nowhere to go, commanded by God, Moses lifts his staff and parts the Red Sea. The Jews walk through safely to freedom. Moses is clearly central to the story line, so where is he at our seders? Why is there only one small mention of Moses in our Haggadah?

There are traditional views that point to making sure Moses is viewed as a man, rather than a deity. His works were so great, we need to be reminded that it was God who gave Moses his abilities, and God who molded him into the great leader of our people. Towards the middle of our seder we recite this line: B'chol dor vador... " In every generation each person is obligated to see him/herself as if he/she personally came out of slavery in Egypt." Listen to Debbie Friedman’s inspiring and uplifting version from the album, “The Journey Continues” The Ma’yan Passover Hagaddah in Song, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_gw2GqbMDUc

It is tempting to read this story of miracles as a magical tale of the past. It is so hard for us to imagine ourselves as slaves in Egypt, harder still to imagine the fear and the courage it took to flee Egypt and follow a leader towards a great sea with an army following close behind.  It is overwhelming to imagine that any one of us could have the ability, the stamina and the belief in ourselves and God, to become a great leader and change the reality of an entire people, leading them from slavery to freedom as Moses did, but all of these our obligation. We must be active participants in the story rather than stand at the sidelines retelling it as if it belongs to someone else. 

The Passover seder is a time of joining together in story and song.  Among the most widely known and beloved songs is “Dayeinu.” Listen to “The Music of Pesach at BJ” for a melody quite different than the traditional chant.  This Dayeinu, cited as Traditional from Poland, (The second Dayeinu) http://www.bj.org/music-of-bj/the-music-of-pesach-at-bj/ is written in minor rather than major, and the rhythmic nature of this melody provides an urgency not present in the more commonly known version.  Whichever setting you choose, the questions of Dayeinu remain the same and to them I will add one more: Would it have been enough if we celebrated the Passover story as we read it in the Torah, with Moses as God’s representative to the people of Israel?  Clearly not, otherwise Moses would be at the forefront of our Haggadot.  So again, I ask, where is he?

Passover is a time of great celebration, of great miracles. It is a time when we must suspend our experiences of the present, and retell the story of the past as if we were each there, experiencing it alongside our ancestors. Maybe in years past, you have imagined yourself walking, one of many, in the great mass of the Exodus to freedom, but have you ever imagined yourself as Moses? While normally I would never compare myself to Moshe Rabe-inu, our great leader and teacher I feel this too becomes an integral part of ownership and responsibility.  I imagine I would be terrified in his circumstances, Was he?  When faced with overwhelming problems I often doubt myself and my abilities, did he?  What must it have been like to have so many lives depending on your actions, and to know that your actions are based on trust and belief in God?  In my life, what does it mean to do what is right, to make the just and more righteous choice, even if means facing consequences?  

In “Pesach: Song of Creation” by Klezmer pop/ rap artist Danny Raphael we hear the phrase over and over again,  “I’m not scared of Pharaoh anymore.”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wf756B1Ca7g
His modern musical approach matches his contemporary posit to the strength of not only Moses, but rather the women within the Passover story.  His edge brings a much welcome perspective to the Passover conversation and another inroad to envision ourselves as participants and potentially leaders of the Exodus as we are commanded to do.

Perhaps Moses is omitted from the Haggadah to make room for each one of us, so we may bring the story of the Exodus from the past into the present. This story and its struggle belongs to each one of us.  Inherent in our obligation of retelling in first person is the added obligation of identifying the slavery and unjust circumstances in our own personal lives, our communities, and our world.  Not one of us is granted a pass, not the wise child, the wicked child, the simple child - indeed not even the one who knows not what to ask.  We are all accounted for and obligated to open our eyes, to ask the difficult questions, and to walk into the sea as Nachshon did, believing that it will part if we make the first move.  We must take whatever action we are able, to do our small part to heal the world. 

This year, may we each celebrate and experience the renewal of freedom through a different perspective than we have in years past and see ourselves as agents of change and leadership in the present.

Next year in Jerusalem!
Chag Sameach