holiday family gatherings often have moments of political fodder or social commentary. eruptions of political discourse can be as unappetizing as atomic “marror” aka bitter herbs. in the spirit of “shut up, let’s eat” philosophy of avoiding diatribes that will never result in consensus and dampen festivities, i make this post as to what topics will be avoided this passover seder. as the seder’s leader, i offer my “shut up, let’s eat” pledge to not touch on the following matters:
i will not say that i came to the passover seder because i heard that chocolate chip ice cream was going to be served. i will not brag that i have containers the non-kosher for passover dairy desert, upstairs. as a meat will be served, assertions of ice cream would be a cruel joke. ice cream, after all, is not a symbol of slavery, freedom or of comfort for those who lost their loved ones in a tragic nashville school shooting.
i will not opine that global climate change may have been used for good in the exodus story. yes. i will not posit that perhaps the middle east famine, which joseph interpreted in his dream, was, as scholars now call it, was climate change. i will not further elaborate that this climate change played a heavy role in the children of israel becoming a nation. i will not further opine that perhaps the ten plagues were the master of the universe’s imposition of climate change to redeem the children of israel.
when taking of the ten plagues, i will not discuss how many states and countries have relinquished their emergency covid-19 powers and that the pandemic has now “passed over” us.
finally, i will not raise the question as to whether israel’s political turmoil has been caused or promoted by united states involvement. rather, when we open the door for elijah the prophet, we will hope for a time of peace and tranquility.
i will not “shut up and let’s eat”, however, to one thought. i will comment that despite pandemic and government attempts to disrupt family and social gatherings, the seder tradition spanning almost two thousand years is alive and well in 2023. the seder, with its message of freedom, will continue to survive as long as we continue in our obligation to re-tell the story to the next generation.
happy holidays!!
be well!!
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