Roger Froikin @rlefraim wrote, "Jews have two major New Year celebrations.
Most do not know or do not remember.
But one major New Year celebration, at the end of summer and beginning of cooling weather, is Rosh HaShana.
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Most do not know or do not remember.
But one major New Year celebration, at the end of summer and beginning of cooling weather, is Rosh HaShana.
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Rosh HaShana was a general celebration of the new year in Mesopotamia, recognized until Roman Empire influence by all Semitic peoples.
But Torah teaches that we have a second New Year celebration in the spring, in Nisan—Passover—when we Jews became a nation.
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But Torah teaches that we have a second New Year celebration in the spring, in Nisan—Passover—when we Jews became a nation.
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This year, for the 3,360th or so time, we celebrate becoming a nation on the night of the full moon, the night of the 14th of Nisan—the night where the moon washes the flat land of Eastern Egypt and the Sinai in light, and our people were on the move—not just to freedom,
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but to nationhood, cultural autonomy, and what we were destined to become.
And on that night, we read the story of the Exodus, as told by people who were suffering under the tyranny of Rome, making analogies with the memories of fleeing repression and
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And on that night, we read the story of the Exodus, as told by people who were suffering under the tyranny of Rome, making analogies with the memories of fleeing repression and
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cultural compromise 1,400 years earlier, expressing hopes for renewed liberation.
But I want everyone to think about something. Our sages knew that people celebrated Rosh Hashana at varying degrees of dedication.
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But I want everyone to think about something. Our sages knew that people celebrated Rosh Hashana at varying degrees of dedication.
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But they said something special only about Passover. They said that any Jew who does not celebrate Passover will be cut off from the people. That sounds drastic, doesn’t it? But it is realistic.
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They saw back then, 2,000 years ago, that celebrating Pesach was about more than belief. It was about our Jewish soul, about our connection to the nation, about what made us a people distinct from all other peoples.
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And they understood that those who stopped recognizing Pesach would not be cut off by us, but were removing themselves, severing the connection with us.
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This is why it is so important that Passover, and the Passover Seder, does not get compromised, does not get redefined to be inclusive of every other people. It is not just a celebration of freedom.
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It is not like Lincoln freeing the slaves or the establishment of some UN commission on human rights.
It is something relevant to us alone, the Jewish nation."
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It is something relevant to us alone, the Jewish nation."
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