Ruth King

On April 24th Jewish families and friends throughout the world will celebrate the feast of Passover commemorating the exodus of Jewish slaves from Egypt during the reign of the Pharaoh Ramses 11. Moses led them to freedom to the land of Israel.

As we read the Haggadah which tells of this remarkable epic, here are four more questions to add to the traditional ones.

How many remember that biblical Israel encompasses the area of present-day Israel?

How many reflect that Israel was the cradle of a great faith that sustained its adherents in spite of millennia of dispersion and persecution?

How many recall that Israel’s sages and prophets wrote the words that have inspired the founding fathers of our great nation and that are inscribed in Hebrew letters on the gates and walls and in the symbols of universities, courts, hospitals, and major institutions?

And, finally, how dare anyone rule that Jews be outlawed from any part of their biblical home?

We must also remember the martyrs of the Warsaw Ghetto rebellion which also occurred during Passover, on April 24th, 1943. Approximately eight hundred Jewish fighters armed with knives, handguns and gasoline fought well-armed and well-trained Germans who called for reinforcements. They held them off until May 16th, 1943 when the revolt ended. Of the 56,000 Jews captured, seven thousand were shot and the rest sent to the killing centers.

The words on the martyrs’ lips as they faced their inevitable death were: “Hear oh Israel.”

On May 15th, 1948, only five years later, their dying prayers were answered when Israel declared itself an independent Jewish state. Again, the seas parted for ships that carried Jews home from every corner of the Diaspora. Hebrew became the language of scientists, performers, entrepreneurs, social workers, professionals and laborers, farmers and yuppies, policemen and generals. In spite of implacable enemies, wars, terrorism, a resolute people created a model nation in their ancient homeland and a thriving and lively democracy. Israel, more than any museum or institute, is a living commemoration of Jewish martyrs from the time of Moses to the Warsaw ghetto.

What went wrong will be the subject of much future prayer and study, but this Passover, with Israel in retreat, there are bitter herbs to eat in the midst of our celebration.