Passover is still fresh in my mind and one of my favorite Passover memories going back to childhood is the part of the seder during which we dip our finger in the wine and take a drop out for each of the plagues.
Over the years, the fascination with the act has blended with the concept behind it. It’s not just fun to dip our finger in the wine glass… we’re removing the sweetness. We’re diminishing our joy.
Here we are celebrating our freedom, reliving our redemption from slavery and we take a moment to admonish ourselves, we take drops away from our celebration to remember that in our rescue, Egyptians died and they are God’s creatures as well.
There’s been much celebrating this week over the death of Osama bin Laden. I do believe in justice and I do believe in the necessity to debilitate terrorists and terrorist organizations. I do not believe in rejoicing over a death whether or not it was necessary for saving lives. We may feel relief, we may even feel like rejoicing, but if we are going to achieve peace, then we ought to practice restraint.
I’ve seen plenty of messages in the last twenty-four hours reminding us of the precious nature of life. Here’s a quote several people posted…
“I mourn the loss of thousands of precious lives, but I will not rejoice in the death of one, not even an enemy. Returning hate for hate multiplies hate, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that.”
Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Well said Rabbi!
Posted by: Tina | May 03, 2011 at 06:54 AM
Very well said! Though the quote turns out to be not entirely MLK's http://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2011/05/anatomy-of-a-fake-quotation/238257/
Posted by: Marina | May 03, 2011 at 09:59 AM
Thanks for the clarification. I actually checked a few places for confirmation of the quote, but I don't think I picked up the dates on them. I also read the link you sent, which looked like it was properly done. My concern came from experience. Years ago, my son was doing research for a report on MLK and came across a well put together, professional looking website that indicated that many of his speeches were borrowed. I looked deeper to figure out what was going on and it turned out that the site, that looked academic had been created by a hate organization.
It is amazing how these things take on a life of their own. Relevant to my original image from the Passover seder, the new custom of placing an orange on the seder table has taken on its own urban mythology, but the underlying message is still quite valuable.
Posted by: Rabbi Rick | May 03, 2011 at 10:30 AM