Remembering humble beginnings

Danette Goulet

NEWPORT-MESA - It is one of our oldest celebrations.

For 3,313 years, Jews have continuously observed the feast of

Passover.

The eight-day observance commemorates the freedom and exodus of the

Jewish slaves from Egypt during the reign of Pharaoh Ramses II.

“Passover, we celebrate the historical freedom of Jewish people from

Egyptian bondage,” said Rabbi Reuven Mintz of Chabad in Newport Beach.

“That concept actually manifests itself every year with the hope of true

peace for all mankind -- freedom from oppression, war and bloodshed with

the vision of a perfect world, a world of no war and famine.”

In the Book of Exodus, Moses, a simple Jewish shepherd, was instructed

by God to go to the pharaoh and demand the freedom of the Israelites.

Moses’ plea of “let my people go” was ignored. Moses warned the

Pharaoh that God would send severe punishments to the people of Egypt if

the Israelites were not freed. But again the Pharaoh ignored Moses’

request.

And as the Bible reports, God unleashed a series of 10 terrible

plagues on the people of Egypt -- blood, frogs, lice, flies, blight,

boils, hail, locusts, darkness and the slaying of the first born.

Israelites were told to mark their dwellings with lamb’s blood so that

God could identify and “pass over” their homes.

It is this salvation that is celebrated during the first two days of

Passover with the traditional Seder meals and is the focal point of the

celebration that began Saturday night, the 15th night of the Jewish month

of Nissan.

The next four days of Passover are what are known as intermediate

days, which are semi-holiday days, Mintz said.

“The last two days actually represent when they left Egypt and crossed

the sea of reeds,” Mintz said. “We crossed, heading toward Sinai and the

Jews became a people.”

It was in Israel, the promised land, that the Jews became God’s chosen

people and he gave them the Torah, Mintz said.

It is crucial for Jews to study their heritage, said Rabbi Mark S.

Miller of Temple Bat Yahm in Newport Beach.

“While many people, when they look back at their heritage, try to

identify the leaders and great people, the warriors and wealthy, in

Judaism we are identifying slaves, a humble origin,” he said. “So it’s

not a point of pride so much as humility as we look back. Passover is a

call to empathy.”

It is much more than a history lesson, Miller said. It is also about

the present and what Jews hope to keep the future from being.

“We are all enslaved in one way or another,” Miller said. “We are all

in chains and Passover calls us each year to go forth from what restricts

our lives.”