A brilliant colleague of mine has coined the term “the elephant on the seder plate this year” and I cannot get the image out of my head.
How can we sit down to our annual “festival of freedom” as we contemplate the ruinous situation we are in:
There are still hostages, both alive and dead, held by the terrorists in Gaza-and this is their second Passover in captivity
Our brothers and sisters in Israel are still at war with an enemy sworn to their deaths…and sacrifices of life and body are being made every day with a heroism at which we can only marvel
The government of Israel is led by a man entirely consumed by his own desire for power and influence-and he has surrounded himself with the worst collection of thugs and miscreants ever to rule over the Jewish people in modern history
Our nation, the United States, is deporting innocent people to be tortured and perhaps worse-
Our nation is led by a cruel and self serving tyrant, bent only on enriching himself, and he is aided and abetted by sycophants and cowards many of whom are building great fortunes as a reward for their scheming and compliance and bending of the knee
At the beginning of the seder we recite-This year we are slaves, next year may we be free…in my lifetime, never have these words been more true…
Some may read these words and be dismayed by my overt and pointed words-but it would be a poor religion indeed if it did not inspire us to be better then we are…
Remember the words of the seder-“Let all who are hungry come and eat-let all who are in need come and celebrate the Passover!” May it be so!
Rabbi Doug Sagal aka “The Boxing Rabbi”-