Rabbi Yaakov Raskin | Passover, freedom, and the empty chair that’s waiting for every Jew

A RECENT survey on religion sent shock throughout the world. The Pew Research Center’s ‘Religious Switching’ survey, released last week, showed that over a quarter of Jewish adults no longer practise their religion. For people who care about Judaism as I do, this may appear to be a huge problem. However, when you dig a little deeper, you’ll see that there is much more to the story.

This coming Saturday, Jews across Jamaica and the entire world will gather to celebrate Passover, an eight-day Jewish festival beginning April 12. Passover, which celebrates the Jewish people’s redemption from slavery in ancient Egypt, is the most celebrated holiday on the Jewish calendar.

The central ritual of Passover is the seder, a traditional passover meal. Over the years, I noticed something interesting at each Seder I led or took part in – at least one of the participants would tell me that the seder was the only Jewish “thing” they did that year. People who didn’t light Chanukah candles, attend high holiday services, or pray in a synagogue, nevertheless chose to attend a Passover seder. After years of wondering why that is, I believe I finally figured out the reason.

MENTAL SLAVERY

First, Passover celebrates freedom – which is fundamental to the human experience. In addition to physical freedom from external slavery and oppression, Passover also celebrates the freedom from inner, mental slavery.

In 1983, the Rebbe – Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson, of righteous memory – explained that Passover “comes around every year not merely to remind us of the liberation of our ancestors from Egyptian bondage, but also to inspire us to strive for a greater measure of self-liberation from all limitations and distractions”.

Every person has a yearning to be free, but in this day and age, our greatest shackles are not external. We are confined not by physical cages, but by our mental hangups and emotional burdens.

Bob Marley’s Redemption Song captures this message perfectly. He sang, “Emancipate yourself from mental slavery, none but ourselves can free our minds”. This is true, and what Passover teaches us is that with divine help, we can achieve this ultimate state of mental freedom.

This leads to the second reason why Passover is such a widely observed holiday. It’s because the seder is not just a regular meal like other holidays. The Seder is an experiential night of teaching, learning, storytelling and transmitting our identity from one generation to the next.

We relive the 3,000-year-old story of our people’s exodus from Egypt using matzah, red wine, bitter herbs, and joyous song. We re-enact physically what it means to be oppressed, to be redeemed, to find our inner freedom. We invite children to ask a series of questions and discuss the answers.

The Seder rituals which we do are so simple – so connected to our hearts and minds – that people keep coming back year after year.

DEEPER CONNECTION

This is why I am not in a panic after reading last week’s Pew Study. Because despite what statistics say, there is something deeper which transcends labels or identifications. Everyone possesses a deeper connection that is felt at the soul level. This age-old feeling is reawakened every year when springtime rolls around and Jewish people invite their friends and family to celebrate Passover with them.

So while people may not identify with religion as strongly as they once may have, the truth is that every single person has a soul – a small part of G-d soul can be reawakened in a moment’s notice.

Whether it’s the familiar taste of Matzah – the unleavened flatbread symbolising our ancestors’ oppression; whether it’s the memorable holiday melodies – carrying with them pleasant childhood memories; or whether it’s the age old Passover rituals of dipping the bitter herbs in salt water or making a Matzah sandwich, it only takes one small moment to reignite the spark within ourselves.

The Haggadah – our Seder guide which tells the story of Passover – speaks of four children: a wise son, a rebellious child, a simple child, and one who does not know how to ask a question. However, there’s a fifth child that goes unnamed.

This child is the one who isn’t at the meal at all. Maybe they didn’t get the invitation or didn’t think they belonged. Maybe no one ever told them they were Jewish. Despite Passover’s widespread observance, it’s our job to reach out to this fifth child and invite them to our meal.

That’s why Chabad invites Jews of all affiliations and backgrounds to join us at our seders this year on Saturday and Sunday, April 12 and 13. If your mother is Jewish — or your maternal grandmother or great grandmother – that means you are Jewish. And if you’ve joined the Jewish people through a halachic conversion, you are a complete and beautiful part of the Jewish people.

Jews have lived in Jamaica for over 400 years – arriving in the 1600s as refugees from the Spanish Inquisition and setting up a new existence for themselves. For centuries, Jamaican Jews have held Seders, telling the story of freedom under palm trees and tropical skies, keeping the chain of tradition alive.

This year, we are still telling that same story at Chabad of Jamaica, with homemade food, beautiful Seders, warmth, laughter, and of course, handmade Shmurah Matzah. This round matzah is carefully watched from field to oven – the same way our ancestors made it on their way out of Egypt.

If you don’t have Matzah for Passover yet, we would like to send you one. Not just because it’s a mitzvah, but because it’s a link. One bite connects you to thousands of years of survival, strength, and soul.

Whether you live here or are just visiting; whether you speak Hebrew or can barely read the letters; and whether this is your first Passover or your hundredth, there’s a seat for you at our Seder.

Come experience a night of questions, meaning and nourishment of the body, mind and soul. Because our freedom is incomplete when even one soul is left behind.

Rabbi Yaakov Raskin is the director of Chabad of Jamaica, which has served Jewish locals and visitors on the island since 2014.To join our Seder or receive handmade Shmurah Matzah, visit www.JewishJamaica.com or call 876-596-2034.