Standing at the sea

Rabbi Adam F. Miller

One of the most powerful images we have ingrained in our minds is that of our ancestors standing at the Sea of Reeds (those who attended People of the Book learned that “Red Sea” is a mistranslation). It is an image shaped in part by retelling the Exodus story at Passover each year as we sit around the Seder table. That visual is brought into focus with help from films like “ The 10 Commandments” and “Prince of Egypt.”

In your own mind, you can easily imagine the Israelites standing there with Charlton Heston, OK Moses, at the edge of the sea. They are anxious and restless, aware that Pharoah’s chariots are closing in. If you watch the films, Moses lifts his staff — praying that the waters will part. In the Rabbinic tradition, the waters did not part at first. Only when a man named Nachshon bravely enters the waters, believing they will part, does the sea actually split.

Either way, with the waters now separated, the Israelites rush across. Just as the last of the Israelites crosses, the waters crash down on the Egyptians, who drown as their mired chariots strand them in the sea.

Exhausted, yet still exuberant, Miriam and the women led a celebration throughout the Israelite camp. Men and women danced and sang, grateful for their freedom.

Standing at the sea, everyone was part of the people Israel. No one asked what tribe they were from, or their ancestral heritage. All were accepted, and that has been the theme of Passover — we seek out freedom on behalf of all Jews everywhere without qualification.

When we learned of Russian Jews who were refused the right to be Jewish or to leave the Soviet Union, we rallied to the cause of the Refusniks.

When it came to light that there were Jews in Ethiopia who sought to return to Israel, we provided the resources for them to reach the Holy Land. Like our ancestors, we did not ask “Who is a Jew? How Jewish are you?” We helped because they said they were Jews.

Our world is full of labels and distinctions. On Facebook, one finds the descriptions: Jew, liberal Jew, reform Jew, conservative Jew, secular Jew and orthodox Jew, and that is just a sampling. In our conversations about famous individuals, we talk about whether someone has one Jewish parent or distant Jewish relatives. At a time when the debate in Israel over “who is a Jew?” heats up again and our divisions are widening with tensions rising, we need to remember the feeling of unity that we experienced during the Exodus.

Instead of seeking out ways to differentiate ourselves — to put up walls and boundaries — we should remember the message that we read each year in the Passover Haggadah. Each one of us is called to imagine that we were there in the land of Egypt, standing in the shoes of our ancestors. We realize at that moment that there are no “good Jews;” there are no “bad Jews;” there are no half-Jews or quarter-Jews. There are just Jews — those individuals who actively identify as being part of the people Israel.

Passover is our holiday of freedom. We joyfully celebrate, grateful that the Israelites were freed from bondage and oppression under Pharaoh. This year, may we also free ourselves from the labels that bind, opening our minds so that we may embrace all of our Jewish brothers and sisters simply as Jews. In this way we will be one people — united in our faith, our heritage and our role as God’s partners called to make our world whole and holy.