By Rabbi Mitchell M. Hurvitz
There is so much data overload and so much to remember on a daily basis that it can sometimes feel overwhelming. It is easy to become distracted and let non-important information dissipate from our minds. But what about the essential items we don’t want to forget?
We must create lists to remind us of our daily goals and help us prioritize our time. Equally as important, these lists remind us who we are and where we are going.
As Jews, we are commanded to “remember.” We understand that our collective heritage is only retained because each generation passes it on to the next. So, we retain our sacred memories and anchor them with ritual and liturgy. There is no greater example of this than our Passover observance.
Our Seder observance is the rabbinic lesson plan by which we “eat” our history.
Each seder ritual item and every Haggadah word pronounced captures our Jewish memories.
• Matzah – the bread of poverty; a reminder of the haste by which we fled Egyptian bondage.
• Maror – the bitter herb; so we might taste our reminder of the bitterness of our enslavement.
• Haroset – the sweet concoction of apples, wine, and nuts; looks like the mortar by which the slaves had to build Pharaoh’s cities, and yet tastes sweet to remember our ultimate redemption.
• Karpas is the green vegetable – our reminder that spring comes with its seeds of renewal and hope for a better future.
• Beitzah – the roasted egg; a reminder of the sacrifices offered to God by our spiritual ancestors and a symbol of life.
• Z’roa – the roasted shank bone; the remainder of the lamb sacrificed and whose blood went upon the Israelite’s doorposts so that the angel of death would “Passover.”
The seder plate creates our interactive Jewish historical memory experience as we then continue:
• We dip the green vegetable twice to taste the tears from the slaves’ eyes.
• We diminish our full wine cup, a drop for each plague, noting that our full cup of “life” is reduced because evil brought horrible consequences to other human beings.
• We open our doors and invite Elijah to come and sip from the cup of wine we have set aside so that he can announce the coming of an era of peace.
• We sing from Moses Maimonides’s words, written 900 years ago: “Ani ma’am…” “I believe with all my heart in the coming of a messiah, and even though he may tarry, I will wait each day for his arrival.”
• While we recite Maimonides’ words, we also share the words of the Jews of Germany written in 1939: “I believe in the sun even when it is not shining. I believe in love even when I do not feel it. I believe in God even when he is silent.”
With each ritual word voiced and our seder experience rediscovered, we find our memory and relearn who we are and where we’re going.
Memory can be elusive, yet it is critical to our very being. It shapes, guides and anchors us.
God tells us that each week during our Sabbath observance, we must take the time to remember who we are and why the world was gifted to us. By annually re-telling our Passover story, we are linked to all of our past generations, all of our People in the world today, and all of our future generations. With Passover, we become “One” with eternity.
It is frustrating when an individual begins to have trouble remembering. However, profound individual memory loss is tragic. People often become wholly dependent on others for help and support; but while they may not remember who we are, we remember who they are.
As a sacred community, the loss of memory by some exposes all to vulnerability.
We embrace our holy rituals, words, and narratives because we know the power of our spiritual anchor. Without our shared memories, we would be empty and directionless.
Our memories fill us up, remind us of what’s possible, and motivate us to take more significant actions moving forward. Our preservation of collective memories through our stories, ritual observances, and liturgy drives us to bring the possibility of being a little closer to a messianic era each day.
This Passover season, let’s share the memories of our history, biblical and personal. Let’s remember and help others remember so we can preserve our past, anchor our present, and shape our future.
Shabbat Shalom.
Temple Sholom’s Senior Rabbi Mitchell M. Hurvitz is a scholar, teacher, community activist and preacher, and is recognized as one of the prominent religious leaders in the Greenwich area and beyond. A frequent guest speaker at synagogues and churches, study groups, community institutions and universities, he is a charismatic personality who engages individuals and stimulates hearts and minds. His teachings can be found in Greenwich Sentinel and in other local and national publications.
