“And the supplies outside the houses where you are staying shall be a sign for you: when I see the three rolls of toilet paper, two packages of gloves, and one large bottle of Purell, I will pass over you, so that COVID-19 will not strike you. Ok so I’m not really sure what the modern-day equivalent of the Passover sacrifice would be, but it’s interesting to imagine what this situation must have been like. I truly can’t imagine...If someone had told me that eating a sacrificial lamb and putting its blood on my doorposts would protect me from a plague of death, I would of course comply. I would also probably sleep with a knife under my pillow and at least a few heavy furniture items blocking the door. But what did the Israelites do? Did they panic? Did they ask questions? Did they try to run away? No. The Torah simply says, “And the Israelites went and did so; just as the LORD had commanded Moses and Aaron, so they did” [Exodus 12:28]. In other words, they were told to coat their doorposts with the blood of the lamb, and so they did. End of story. The commentator Or HaChaim writes that “they did so” is repeated to emphasize that the Israelites did not obey the command because it made perfect sense to them. No. “They did so” in spite of the fact that “they did not understand the meaning of all these regulations.” “They did so” because that’s what they had been commanded to do and they believed that G-d would spare them. Indeed, He did. Because of this, for many, the Passover sacrifice has come to symbolize faith. At this point, it would be easy to say that just as the Israelites had faith in G-d that night of the tenth plague, so too should we have faith that things will turn out ok. Many might draw parallels between the Israelites on that first Passover night and our situation today. Like them, we wait and watch as the world outside endures tragedy after tragedy while we stay protected in the safety of our homes. However, (at least) one key aspect causes me to reassess this parallel and complicate the lessons we can learn from the Pesach offering. That is the presence of information. Way back when, the Israelites were given clear information according to the Torah. They were told in advance what to do with the lamb, when to do it, and at what point they would be safe to leave their homes once again. In our world today, we don’t have the benefit of information. We didn’t know this virus was coming, we are learning every day new information about what to do and not to do, and we have no idea when we will be able to re-emerge. Considering this seemingly small but essential situational difference, I would venture that our current situation is actually much more like that of the Israelites wandering in the desert. After dancing and celebrating the crossing of the Red Sea with Miriam’s timbrels, I imagine the Israelites turning around from the crashing waters and being confronted all at once with the reality of the unknown: the interminable desert horizon. Despite having just witnessed the great miracle of G-d splitting the sea, their rejoicing quickly fades into concern and “grumbling” over the uncertainty and direness of their situation. Without much information, they’re left with many questions. After days without water, they ask Moses “What shall we drink?” [Exodus 15:24]. And later, “Why did you bring us up from Egypt, to kill us and our children and livestock with thirst?” [Exodus 17:3]. They even express a longing for the days of slavery in Egypt, when they “sat by the fleshpots” and could eat their “fill of bread.” “If only we had died by the hand of the LORD in the land of Egypt,” they say [Exodus 16:3]. Shockingly, they’d rather die as slaves in Egypt than die free. While most of us thankfully don’t want for water or food (we have roofs over our heads, pantries stocked with pasta and beans, toilet paper, and Netflix), we too are in a world-wide moment of uncertainty. We too have many questions that remain unanswered. We too look out onto an interminable horizon. In this desert of sorts, we ask daily: How long will this last? How many more people will fall victim to this virus? When will normal life commence--if ever? When we look more closely at these questions, we can see that, much like the questions of the Israelites in the desert, they are motivated not so much by a lack of faith as by an existence of fear (Read more on this by Lilly Kaufmann). And with the absence of information, fear is understandable, possibly unavoidable. Our fear is, after all, what makes us human. But it is our faith that makes us Jews. At times like these, when information is scarce and the weight of uncertainty is heavy, faith is often challenging. And yet, it could be argued that it’s times like these that it’s also most necessary. So while we may empathize more with the wandering Israelites of the desert who know not what the future will hold, let’s take a lesson from the Israelites of that first Passover night. Together we can metaphorically mark our doorposts with metaphorical lamb’s blood and in doing so--perhaps not dissolve completely, but at least begin to--stave off our fear and make room for faith. Faith that our sea will part, our water will sweeten, and our manna will rain from the sky.
14 Comments
Shayna
4/6/2020 10:52:44 am
Humorous and poignant. Beautifully written.
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Elana
4/6/2020 11:59:56 am
Thanks, Shane (:
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David
4/6/2020 02:48:07 pm
Welll stated ELANA. I particularly like your line about fear making us human but faith making us Jews. Im going to send you an article by French which gives a similar message though from a Christian perspective
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Elana
4/6/2020 06:10:37 pm
Thanks for reading and for sending that article, Dad!
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Lonnie
4/6/2020 09:48:28 pm
Elana, you amaze me! Well written and inspirational!
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Elana
4/7/2020 10:10:14 pm
Aww thanks, Aunt Lonnie! Thanks for reading!
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Jackie
4/7/2020 01:07:48 pm
I loved this Elana! I've been seeing a few different takes comparing the current situation to the Passover story, and your point about lack of information is really interesting. It makes me think about how asking questions is such an important part of the Seder, even though most of those questions don't have guaranteed satisfying answers.
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Elana
4/7/2020 10:10:59 pm
Thanks, Jackie! That's a great point about asking questions. Thanks for reading and commenting (:
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Mom
4/8/2020 01:24:05 am
I just finished your insightful and beautifully written blog. So much food for thought! Have you completely abandoned the idea of becoming a rabbi? (JK) Please alert me about your future blogs. I loved this and want to read them-I forget and don’t have FB to remind me!
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Elana
4/9/2020 06:08:10 pm
Thanks, Mom (:
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David G.
4/8/2020 09:27:03 am
Food for thought. Thank you for sharing. Have a lovely holiday.
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Elana
4/9/2020 06:08:44 pm
Thanks for reading!
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Sharon Kugelmass
4/8/2020 12:45:11 pm
Thank you, Elana, for sharing your wise words of honesty and faith. Like dad, I especially liked the way you connected fear and faith. This year, Passover means more to me than ever. In celebrating together, while apart, I feel connected and not alone. I hope you do, too!
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Elana
4/9/2020 06:09:21 pm
Thanks for reading, Cousin Sharon! And love the songs! Thanks for sending.
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AboutAs I gear up to spend my first Passover alone, I'm temporarily repurposing my study abroad blog (Elana, But Abroad) to feature a series of reflections on Passover 2020 (Elana, But Alone). Chag Sameach to all who celebrate! Archives |