Thousands of years ago, after having been enslaved for 430 years, we depended upon a radical appearance of some higher power to be redeemed. We found this power in Moses and God, who blasted into history and changed our fate forever.
As we struggled to define and redefine our relationship with God through the centuries, we have depended upon Judges, Prophets and Kings.
After the Babylonians defeated Judea, destroyed our temple and exiled our elite, we lost our dependence upon the kingly line traced back to David. Yet, for centuries, we waited, waited and waited for our once and future king, descendant of David, radically to appear and redeem us once more.
In the 19th century, two major movements got tired of waiting. We founded Zionism to resettle our Promised Land, rather than waiting for our Davidic messiah to do so for us. Also, the founders of Reform Judaism rejected the very concept of a messiah and instead embraced the challenge of creating a messianic age.
Enough with the waiting.
On Wednesday night, we will gather again around the Seder table and tell the story of our freedom and redemption through the hands of God and Moses. For those of us who continue the Seder after the meal in concluded, we speak of the redemption of humanity — all of us — Jews, Christians, Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus, agnostics and atheists.
Those who are hungry are still enslaved. Hunger is pain, suffering and bondage.
“MAZON: A Jewish Response to Hunger” is one group that has harnessed Jewish ideals and wisdom in order to get one step closer to the messianic age. As we eat to our hearts’ content and enjoy our freedom, safety and security, let us remember those who long for what we all-too-often take for granted.
Acting for the sake of justice for all is our niche as Reform Jews. We have a responsibility to make a contribution to MAZON today. Visit www.mazon.org
Our prophets teach: “to all who are thirsty bring water … greet those who wander with food.” Our redemption is not complete until all are redeemed.
Next year in Jerusalem … next year may we be closer to the eradication of hunger.
April 7, 2009 at 10:54 am |
Hunger is the new Pharoah? When did Judaism become a political sect and depart from its original values. Has the development of Reform political Judaism been good for the religion and mankind which was blessed so much from the wisdom of the Jewish monotheistic way of life and spiritual values.
April 8, 2009 at 9:08 am |
With all due respect, have you read any of the prophets of our Tanach? Reform Judaism is hardly a “political sect.” It is a viable, beautiful expression of Judaism. If God brought back the practice of identifying prophets, they would be horrified at the state of our society. Our acting to eradicate poverty is the logical next step of responding to the prophetic call for justice and repairing our sadly broken world. So tell me: how do you act tap into our monotheistic values to repair our world? We all should ask ourselves the same question every day when we awake and every day before we go to sleep.