Parashat Chol Hamo'ed Pseach, Exodus 33:12-34:26; Numbers 28:19-25
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"We were Slaves to Pharaoh in Egypt"
Study with Baruch Sienna
The Roman Stoic philosopher, Seneca, wrote, "So show me a person who is not a slave! One is addicted to passions, another to money, a third to honour and all them to fear." Living in ancient Rome, Seneca knew about slaves, even if he didn't know about e-mail- the Blackberry device is so addictive it is commonly referred to as 'Crackberry.' Passover is an opportunity to reflect on our personal 'enslavement'- whether to addictions, unhealthy living/relationships, or work and technology. We feel Pesach's transformative power, because, perhaps more than any other holiday, Passover is not only about a historical event that happened thousands of years ago, but relates to the 'narrow straits' (literally the Hebrew word for Egypt- mitzrayim) each person must confront annually.
Not all of us can experience a Passover liberation as dramatic as the Ethiopians in 1991 who were airlifted from Addis Ababa, or the Yemenites a generation before who were rescued from Aden. But like the necklace that says, "plus que hier, et moins que demain", [more than yesterday, less than tomorrow] all of us can reflect on how we are more free than before, but yet have the potential to be more fully free. But considering our historical past and our personal present is not enough. The themes of slavery and freedom actually operate on three levels: the personal (the present), the national (the past), and the world (the future). In order to experience the full significance of Pesach we have to look to the future. According to the Rabbis, in Nisan we were redeemed, and in Nisan the world will be redeemed. But slavery prevents this final redemption.
I don't mean personal, or metaphorical slavery. I mean real slavery: forced labour, human trafficking, and child exploitation. An estimated 27 million people are in slavery around the world. We think of slavery as an ancient and obsolete practice, but the organization 'Free the Slaves' (website) suggests that there are more slaves today than in any other time in history! It seems that slavery is a hot topic this month. The movie, Amazing Grace, was recently released this year, the bicentennial anniversary of the act of Britain's parliament that ended the slave trade. The movie tells the story of British abolitionist William Wilberforce's lifelong effort to bring an end to the human suffering and exploitation caused by the slave trade. After 20 years of defeats, his bill finally passed, and slavery was abolished in the British Empire.
The movie's title comes from the Christian hymn, Amazing Grace, composed by Wilberforce's pastor, John Newton in 1748. The song is the most popular hymn of all time; the iTunes store has 150 versions. Newton, a cruel slave-trading captain, had a spiritual epiphany in a violent storm at sea (echoes of Jonah) and converted to Christianity. He became a pastor and wrote the lyrics for what he called, "Faith's Review And Expectation" inspired by King David's prayer: "Then King David came and sat before the LORD, and he said, "What am I, Adonai God, and what is my family, that You have brought me thus far? Yet even this, O God, has seemed too little to You; for You have spoken of Your servant's house for the future. You regard me as a man of distinction, O Adonai, God. " I Chronicles: 17:16, 17). The emphasis on 'God's Grace' in Newton's hymn is a Christian concept, and the roots of the abolitionist movement in Britain at the turn of the nineteenth century, were Christian. Newton's life story is cast in Christian terms, but seen through a Jewish lens, it as a classic example of Teshuvah. Newton changed his life radically- from actually being a part of the problem to becoming a part of the solution.
So the movie and Newton's life have lessons for us at this season of Passover. As Jews, we think we know something about slavery. After all, this week at our Seders, we began with the words, "We were slaves to Pharaoh in Egypt..." The centrality of the Israelite experience of slavery in Egypt has been often noted: dozens of times in the Torah we are reminded to not oppress the stranger because, "we were slaves..." Not just on Passover, but every Shabbat during Kiddush we recall the Exodus, and the first of the Ten Commandments mentions this important event. Although the experience of most North American Jews in the last century has been extraordinarily privileged, our religious texts insist over and over again that we remember that we were slaves in Egypt. And we don't have to go that far back. In many periods of our history, we were treated like slaves, or worse, when Jews were exterminated en masse during the Holocaust and at other periods of persecution. Because of the fresh memories of persecution, the Touro synagogue, (North America's oldest standing synagogue, built in 1763 in Rhode Island by refugees), had a special hiding place constructed under the Bimah. Of course, life in America for Jews has been relatively comfortable and secure, and the Spanish-Portuguese immigrants never had to use the secret chamber for themselves. But the Jewish community put their synagogue and its underground hiding place during the "Underground Railroad" at the disposal of the fugitive slaves from the South fleeing injustice on their way to freedom and finding safety in Canada.
Sadly, however, even though we celebrate being free at Passover, Wilberforce's efforts are not done and slavery is still with us. We are no longer slaves in Egypt, and there are no slaves working the cotton or tobacco plantations of the south. But there are plenty of slaves today. Several books have come out documenting the phenomenon of this 'new slavery' such as Bale's volume, Disposable People or Not For Sale by Batstone. Globalization ties us all to the new slavery: the sneakers we wear, and the bricks of the factories that produce our TVs connect us to this modern slavery. But this is not about 'wage' slavery: workers in sweat shops working for far below minimum wage. This is about millions of people held in 'chattel slavery' or 'debt bondage' - "enslaved by violence and held against their wills for purposes of exploitation." The modern slaveholders control their victim's lives and mobility; unlike 'old slavery' where slaves were an expensive investment, (so at least worth keeping alive and healthy), new slaves are cheap and expendable.
Bale argues that with even a small effort, we can help eradicate this modern day scourge. Raising funds, educating ourselves, buying responsibly, signing petitions and organizing others (Clapham Circle) to work to abolish modern day slavery are all things we can do. Five years ago at the Milken Community High School at the Stephen S. Wise Temple in Los Angeles, a Sudanese slave who escaped to America spoke to the students. One student wrote, "Before meeting Francis Bok, slavery seemed like a horrific nightmare, but I never imagined that the nightmare would stand right in front of me. To witness a slave was an enlightening experience, and I thank God every day that I am free." They raised $14,700 to free slaves.
Two hundred years ago, it was revolutionary to consider 'common' people's wishes and needs in the parliament. It was hard for regular people to even have their voices heard. The world has changed, and now people have been empowered through blogs and websites and YouTube. But changing the world remains difficult. Amazing Grace has inspired a campaign (http://www.theamazingchange.com/) to fight slavery. This past weekend before Erev Pesach, while we were discussing slavery at our seders, the Amazing Change Campaign made a concerted effort to invite people to talk about the issues of slavery today. I am sure that skeptics will see this website as simply another marketing gimmick to promote the movie, or as too Christian, but as Jews, we have an obligation to end slavery, and I urge you to add your voice in the efforts to improve the lives of thousands who live as slaves today.
Chag Pesach sameach vekasher and Shabbat Shalom
BDS
