Thursday, April 2, 2015

Passover is a time to End Slavery



"In every generation, each of us must see ourselves as if we personally went out from Egypt."
 –The Haggadah

     This Shabbos, the Jewish world embarks on a journey. Pack your stuff, we are leaving quickly! Take some wafers and prepare to be a wayfarer or willing to accept one in. For as we retell the story of our sacred passage from slavery to freedom, Micah prays that one day, all people who are still enslaved will be free. We celebrate Passover not simply to repeat the tale of our enslavement and liberation, but to find new and personal meaning in that narrative each year. The Seder - its rituals, narrative, prayers, and songs - helps us remember what slavery felt like - to fuel gratitude for our liberation and to remind us not to oppress the stranger, for we were once strangers in Egypt.
     Last year at this time Rabbi Flip traveled to Turkey and along the way made several contacts. One such friend is Wayne Barnard, Director of Church Mobilization in the Southwest for an organization called International Justice Mission https://www.ijm.org The Haggadah calls upon us to not avert our eyes from bondage in the form of human trafficking. Slavery remains very much alive in our world. There are people who are doing something about it.

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