A very late Seder

While we were busy enjoying our generations of privilege, having not recently been enslaved in Egypt, Jews around the world celebrated Passover. We were truly reaping the joys of tourism, all things old and dusty, and lots of men named Mahomound in this land of the Pharaohs. Passover is the time of year when Jews and their friends come together for a long, relaxing dinner (called a Seder) when the elders retell the story of the Jews and the Pharaoh, the parting of the Red Sea, and the eventual walk through the desert leading Moses and the Jewish people to the land of Israel.

We joined some of our other Jewish kindred and a few not of The Clan who had also journeyed to Egypt over Pesach (the Hebrew work for Passover) to celebrate with a Seder last Shabbat (friday night dinner that is a weekly tradition for Jews around the world to mark the Sabbath). The dinner was complete with Matzaball soup, bitter herbs, a leg of lamb,and way too much wine.

The way these Seders usually look is that folks settle in around the table and each person has a reader to follow along with. The kind of Seders we especially enjoy are those where the retelling of the challenges of the Jews in Egypt are equated with those of all of the enslaved, struggling people of the world. This one was no different.

We sang spirituals, clapped our hangs, shouting, "Pharaoh, let my people go!", read from a Buddhist article about the spiritual symbolism of the parting of the Red Sea and the personal transformation of the Jewish people that was required before Israel and its milk and honey were able to appear. There was lots of wine drinking, way too much eating, and lots of honoring of those who toiled before us to clear our path as Jews, and as members of humanity.



Adam and I like to take time during this holiday to reflect on those still struggling each and every day against current day Pharaohs like the Janjaweed in Sudan, those living the daily terror of the on-going war in Iraq, those living in poverty, and the current discontent in my region of the world. We try to spend some time talking about what we can do in the coming year to support the liberation of people everywhere, and this year was no different. We look forward to honoring this tradition throughout our lives together. Seeing how people, civilizations, and governments deal with rebellious folks like Moses demanding that injustice, slavery, and oppression cease and that the current day Pharaohs, "Let my people go!"...Viva la revolucion!!!