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Why "This Night" Is Still Different

(Jerusalem Post) Gerald M. Steinberg - Over 90% of Israeli Jews, we are told, celebrate the Pessah Seder, in some form or another. For a society that is often described as predominantly secular, this is a very high proportion. This tradition has continued for over 3,500 years. As Jews, we are defined by our common history, with the Exodus from Egypt, from slavery into freedom, and the entry into the Land of Israel as the defining events. In 1947, David Ben-Gurion appeared before the UN Commission weighing Jewish and Arab claims as the Mandate period was ending, and his remarks focused on Jewish history: "More than 3,300 years before the Mayflower set sail, the Jews left Egypt. Any Jewish child, whether in America or Russia, Yemen or Germany, knows that his forefathers left Egypt at dawn on the 15th of Nisan....They ate matzot, and arrived at the Red Sea after seven days." The attempt to deprive us of this history denies the link between the Jewish people and the Land of Israel. Jews are portrayed not as the indigenous people returning to their homeland, but as "imperialists" and "neo-colonialists," while the history, including the Exodus, is downgraded to the status of "myth." The Pessah Seder is our collective opportunity to reclaim and reassert Jewish history and the centrality of this legacy. As Ben-Gurion told the diplomatic jury in 1947: "Jews worldwide still eat matza for seven days from the 15th of Nisan, and retell the story of the Exodus, concluding with the fervent wish, 'Next Year in Jerusalem.' This is the nature of the Jewish people."
2006-04-11 00:00:00
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