Fleeing Now and Then
Passover Email 2015
Hi Fellow Israelites,
Each year we are asked by the haggada to consider ourselves as though we are the ones leaving Egypt, fleeing from oppression and wiggling free from the shackles of slavery. Luckily, in my lifetime the most handy and effective tools I’ve had to help me recreate this experience have been things as superficial as haroset and marror. The notion of Jews having to flee from the country in which they live has been something that belonged to my Grandparents generation, their story to tell not mine.
This year, as we head into this redemptive season, I am asking you to think of the Jews of Europe who are grappling with the idea of whether or not their homes are safe. It is not my intention to be an alarmist or to exaggerate the current condition in Europe. Nor is it my intention to meddle in the arena of whether or not Jews have a historical imperative to move to Israel. My ask is for us to consider what we would do if we were living in Paris, Copenhagen, Berlin or London.
In his recent piece “Is It Time for the Jews to Leave Europe?” (click here) Jeffrey Goldberg confronts this ‘agonizing choice’ that is being made. At one point he speaks to a man named Marcel who said, “Running, running, running…That’s the Jewish way. We ran from Tunisia. We’re not running from here.”
Before reading that article I was sure that I would have left Europe in the face of danger. I hadn’t put myself in Marcel’s shoes. Hadn’t considered the patriotism that European Jews feel for their countries. Hadn’t thought about their language, their national holidays and their history.
So now what? Is there anything for us to do other than spectate? Do we have a stake in this decision?
David Brooks thinks through some of those issue here. He also moves the conversation in a slightly different direction when he considers the Anti-Semitism in Arab countries noting that “The challenge for Israel is to respond to extremism without being extreme.”
I don’t have any answers but I do think that this year we can be conscience of the plight that our brothers and sisters are enduring in Europe.
And, while we are closing our eyes tightly and imagining ourselves fleeing from Pharaoh sneak a peak at your table and be grateful for America. Be grateful that we live in a country that affords us the comfort of being able to walk home from shul with our kippot on our heads, smiling and laughing without a worry of who might be walking behind us.
Chag Sameach,
Alex
