JUDAISM EVOLVES....past 150 years #2

Continuing  with  Professor  Cherry's  lecture:

AT  THIS  POINT  I  WANT  TO  INTRODUCE  A  TORAH,  AN  "HASIDIC"  READING,  OF  A  PARTICULAR  LINE  FROM  THE  "PESACH  HAGGADAH"  -  FROM  THAT  SCRIPT  THE  JEWS  READ  ONCE  OR  TWICE  A  YEAR  AROUND  PASSOVER.

THE  LINE  FROM  THE  PASSOVER  HAGGADAH  IS  AS  FOLLOWS:  "IN  EACH  GENERATION  THEY  RISE  UP  TO  DESTROY  US,  BUT  GOD  SAVES  US  FROM  THEIR  HAND."

THE  WORD  FOR  "DESTROY"  IS  KALOTEINU  AND  IN  THE  CONTEXT  OF  THE  PASSOVER  HAGGADAH,  WE'RE  RE-COUNTING  IT  WAS  THE  EGYPTIANS  THAT  WE'RE  TALKING  ABOUT  IN   THE  PASSOVER  REGATTA,  PLANNING  TO  DESTROY  AND  THE  ISRAELITES  SUCCESSFULLY  LEAVING.

IN  A  DIFFERENT  GENERATION  IT  MIGHT  BE  THE  ROMANS,  IN  A  YET  DIFFERENT  GENERATION  IT  MIGHT  BE  THE  NAZIS;  NOW  THIS  WAS  WRITTEN  IN  THE  18TH  CENTURY  BEFORE  THE  NAZIS  CAME  TO  POWER;  BUT  THE  IDEA  OF  BEING  PERSECUTED,  THAT  SEEMS  TO  BE  WHAT  THE  RABBIS  WANTED  TO  INCLUDE  IN  THE  HAGGADAH.

FAIR  ENOUGH,  ALTHOUGH  IT'S  A  PART  OF  JEWISH  HISTORY,  THE  RABBIS  FELT  THAT  AT  THE  MOMENT  DURING  THE  PASSOVER  SEDAR  IT'S  WORTH  THE WHILE  TO  FOCUS  ON  THE  ASPECT  OF  JEWISH  HISTORY,  OF  PERSECUTION.

NOW  WHAT  THE  HASIDIC  RABBI  DOES,  IS  RE-READ  THAT  WORD  KALOTEINU,  WHICH  MEAN  "TO  DESTROY  US"  -  HALAH  IS  BRIDE;  SO  THE  HASIDIC  RABBI  GOES  ON  TO  SAY,  IN  THIS  GENERATION,  WHAT  THE  NATIONS  WANT  TO  DO  IS  BETROTH  US;  THEY  WANT  TO  MARRY  US,  AND  THE  CONTINUATION  OF  THAT  LINE  FROM  THE  HAGGADAH  IS,  "BUT  GOD  SAVES  US  FROM  THEIR  HAND."

SO  THE  HASIDIC  RABBI  SAYS  "THEY  ARE  EXTENDING  THEIR  HAND  TO  US  IN  MARRIAGE."

IT  IS  COME  LET'S  BE  ONE,  THE  GROOM  AND  THE  BRIDE,  WE'LL  MOVE  INTO  THE  SAME  HOUSE,  AND  HAVE  THE  SAME  CUSTOMS  AND  THE  SAME  TRADITIONS.  THIS  IS  NOT  A  RABBIS  PUN,  BUT  IS  THE  HASIDIC  RABBI  AS  SAYING,  BEWARE  BECAUSE  NOW  IN  WHICH  OUR  ENEMIES  WANT  TO  DESTROY  US,  IS  BY  MARRYING  US,  BY  MAKING  US  JUST  LIKE  THEM,  BY  BRINGING  US  INTO  THEIR  HOUSE.

THIS  THEN  IS  INDEED  THE  PRODUCT  OF  EMANCIPATION.

IT  WAS  TO  MAKE  THE  JEWS  A  PEOPLE  JUST  LIKE  ANY  OTHER  PEOPLE,  BY  HAVING  THEIR  ETHNIC  IDENTITY  REDUCED  TO  A  RELIGIOUS  IDENTITY.  SO  THEY  WOULD  NO  LONGER  CONSIDER  THEMSELVES  TO  BE  IN  EXILE  FROM  ISRAEL,  SO  LONGING  TO  GET  BACK  TO  ISRAEL,  BUT  RATHER  THEY'RE  GOOD  MEMBERS  OF  WHATEVER  NATION  STATE  THEY'RE  RESIDING  IN  AT  THE  TIME.

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TO  BE  CONTINUED