A Message from Rabbi Yitzhak (April, 2005)

This morning I had the pleasure of participating on a panel at Churchill High School’s annual Human Rights Day. Religious and civic leaders sat together and responded to the questions presented by students. The questions were extremely provocative and dealt with such complex issues as prayer in schools, the rights of transgender individuals, same gender marriage, civil unions and the separation of church and state. I believe that this morning was a particularly worthwhile learning opportunity both for the students as well as the panelists. It felt important to discuss with young adults the great issues that are shaping our society. It felt important to be able to contribute to the possibilities that were formulating in their quickly developing view of the world and their growing sense of responsibility for its well-being.

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Pesach – A Time to Contemplate Our Freedom

My awareness that this newsletter will be in your home before Passover, our Festival of Freedom, prompted me to share some thoughts about Human Rights and freedom as I reflect on the panel discussion.

In recent years more and more Americans have felt concern about the preservation of human rights in this country. The Patriot Act, talk of a federal constitutional amendment defining marriage as exclusively between a man and a woman, a Senate majority that is now pondering and planning (if it hasn't already implemented) to change Senate rules in a way that could significantly impact judicial appointments and impact the system of checks and balances between the branches of our government. These create an environment in which we must have great concern for the future well -being of freedom in this land. Our freedoms are only guaranteed by the degree of vigilance with which we protect them.

Passover provides us with a perfect opportunity to engage in serious discussions about the state of freedom in our lives. As tradition teaches, each person is to experience Passover as though they personally have come forth from enslavement. It is only with this mindset that we can fully appreciate the great blessing of the freedoms we have. Our Passover seder must be far more than merely the retelling of the ancient, albeit inspiring, tale of our exodus from slavery to freedom. We are each to taste the bitterness of enslavement as we taste the bitter herb on our seder plate, and we are to celebrate the joy of liberation as we recount the Blessings of G-d recounted in the Dayenu song. We are to look at the condition of freedom in our own lives, communities and nations and reflect on the emerging freedom that we believe is G-d's will, as it was expressed in the biblical story, as well as its continued unfolding in our own day.

Just as we on this morning's panel had the enriching opportunity to discuss the crucial questions of the day, our Seder offers us an exquisite opportunity for delving into our concerns for freedom and human rights. Pesach is a time to recommit to a vision and awareness of freedom, a condition which is among the greatest blessings life can offer. I hope that we will all have a sense of the awesome and sacred gift and responsibility that comes with freedom.

Hag Sameach.
Have a good and joyfully meaningful Pesach.

Rabbi Yitzhak