How do we find our face in a faceless society? The psalmist King David in the very first psalm provides us with a clue, and here it is. “Happy is a person who does not follow the directions of those who are said to be destabilised, but rather, the teaching of the LORD is his delight. He is like a tree planted beside streams of water, as opposed to one who is said to be destabilised, for they are like a chaff that the wind blows away”.
Passover is the hallmark of Jewish Identity. It beckons us with the deepest question any of us can ask: Who am I? Of what story am I a part, and how do I continue the Jewish journey which our ancestors began? “Moses, confronted with his mission, asked “Who am I?” The modern Jew uses the same words but asks a different question. For Moses the doubt was about personal worthiness. For the modern Jew the doubt is about personal identity.
Passover is the spiritual gift which we inherited, and that gift is the story of our past which we will shortly recap at our Seder. In a world that has largely abandoned its identity in exchange for whatever makes us most popular or liked, let us not forget our roots. Let us not be like a chaff that the wind blows away, but instead like a tree planted beside streams of water.
Wishing you all Chag Kasher Vesameach.