The Phoenix Jewish news., 1962-04-13
Passover Story
Both Seder And
Of M oSeS

OSOS
with a literary creation which can
evoke a greater contempt for Slav-
erv and love of freedom than th6
narrative of the bondage and
Exodus from Egypt. And l do not
know of any other ancient mem
ory so entirely symbol of our
present and future, as the mem
ory of the Exodus from Egypt. .
THE SEDER, of course, is cru
cial to any celebration of Pass
over. During the Second World
War, l, like tens of thousands of
Jewish soldiers, sought out Army
bases and private homes where a
Seder was being held. /, and the
rest of the Jewish soldiers, l am
sure, made greater effort to
attend a Seder during those dis
tant days than during peaceful
days in the United States.
Still. the appeal and magnetism
of the Seder carried over, and as
a parent, l also became sharply
aware of the attractiveneSS of the
Seder as a family gathering, as
an educational force for Judaism
and as an opportunity to recall the
miracle of the Exodus story.
But the Passover holiday is
more than the Seder. 1t is a focal
point for stressing the leadership
qualities of men like Moses. AS
Ahad Ha-Am, the brilliant Jewish
thinker and eSsayiSt, has said,
Moses has led us not only during
the 40 years in the wilderness of
Sinai "but has led us for thousands
of years in all the wilderness iI>
which we have wandered since the
Exodus"
MOSES WAS NOT a warrior, nor
was he statesman. He was, how
ever, a prophet, and he represents
all Jewish leaders who have at
tempted to inspire and guide the
Jewish people.
1t was no wonder, then, that
when the military forces of Israel
fought against the modern Egyp-
tians in Sinai in 1856, the Jews of
Israel considered their soldiers to
be part and parcel of Jewish his
tory, and that they thought they
were carrying on the good fight
begun by Moses thousands of years
ago. The very fact that they were
in the Sinai desert-the same des-
ert through which the children of
Israel wandered-gave continuity
to Jewish life and heroism.
This is why millions of Jews all
over the world reacted with such
great emotion to the Sinai war We
instinctively related ourselves to
all Jews, past and present, and re-
called the agonies and uncertain
ties and victories of Moses and his
Jews.
so THE PASSOVER story is
both the Seder-with its careful
ritual, it's reading of the Haggadah,
its ceremonial grandeur-and the
tale of Moses.
Also the story of Passover is
woven into the history of Israel,
which was once a distant dream
and is now a reality. Centuries
ago, Egypt was the force that
threatened the Jewish people and
their existence. The same holds
true today. Egypt remains, per-
siStently, the foe of Israel.
When I visited Israel and looked
upon the GAIA Strip and saw, be-
tween Egyptian territory and IS
raeli territory the forces of the
United Nations, l recalled again
that the struggle for Jewish exis-
tence has not yet been won; that
the efforts of Moses have yet to
be completed.
The Egyptians of the past re-
presented oppression and the Jews
individual liberty.
TODAY, THE JEWS of Israel
are reliving the Passover story.
Again, they are building in free
dom while on their border stand
the Egyptians, oppressive and un-
willing to allow the Jews to live
in peace and rebuild their home
land.
Every inch of Israeli soil is
drenched in history and the ancient
Biblical places and names are Still
with us. The headlines in Hebrew
newspapers scream the m e
nameS-like MitZraim (EgypD-ot
the Passover era. I am convinced
the Jews of today, like the Jews
of old, will conquer their timeleSs