A Message From
Ran Ukashi
Executive Director The ultimate meaning of Passover is the redemption of the Jewish People not only from slavery, but from their own waywardness after centuries of exile in Egypt. We are all familiar with the story of Moses being raised in the Egyptian royal court, his calling by God to deliver the Jewish People, the ten plagues of Egypt, the parting of the Red Sea, and the ultimate freeing of the Nation of Israel and the beginning of 40 long years in the desert where we received the Torah on Mount Sinai, and—finally—entered the Promised Land of Israel. However, one oft-forgotten element of the meaning of Passover is why it was necessary in the first place. The Jewish People had fallen to such a low level of holiness, retaining only their Hebrew names, language, mode of dress, and overall Jewish identity, but in many other ways had adopted the traditions and customs of the Egyptians. The Egyptians worshipped idols, engaged in brutal slavery and all other manner of immoral behaviour, which negatively influenced the Jewish People—so much so that even in the face of God’s deliverance did the better part of the Jewish People resort to the building of the golden calf as Moses was receiving the Ten Commandments from God shortly after their deliverance from Egypt.
Where the fate of the Jews were once in the hands of brutal tyrants, now they had their autonomy under an eternal covenant with God. And in all of this, Jews were not “passive” in what transpired throughout the events of Passover. While God led them out of Egypt “with a strong hand and an outstretched arm,” the Jews did their part by committing to being better, to obeying God’s commandments, to trusting in God, to turn their backs on Egypt and toward their own destiny, and to understand that this is not the end of their journey, but merely the beginning. The beginning of many other beginnings.
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DR. JONATHAN HOLT, D.M.D.
Unit 1 - 1176 TAYLOR AVENUE WINNIPEG, MANITOBA R3M 3Z4
h! c a s e P y p p Ha
How then, is Passover a story about redemption? The very name of the Holiday “Passover” refers to the passing of the Angel of Death over the houses of the Jewish People in Egypt, sparing them from the tenth and most terrible plague—the Death of the Firstborn Son, but also alludes to a general state of transience. To pass over from one state of being to the next. Where the Jews were once wayward, they were now to be honoured with the Holy Torah. Where the Jews were once slaves, they were now free.
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