From Rabbi Brooks Susman: People are wondering how to respond at Seder to this horror in Overland Park. Just as we diminish our cup for each plague...take a drop for this plague: the plague of hate that we can and must overcome! It is a Passover tradition that as we name each of the ten plagues that God inflicted upon Egypt to persuade Pharaoh to release the ill-treated Israelites from slavery we dip our finger in our glass of wine and remove a drop for each plague...according to our beliefs God said: Rejoice not when your enemy falls. Our Rabbis taught that when the children of Israel sang songs of praise to God as the Egyptians drowned in the sea, the angels on high wished to join in these songs and were stopped by God who said, These are my creatures who are drowning in the sea! For this you would sing songs of praise?. Thus we too lessen our joy at Passover time at the mention of these plagues, for there can be no rejoicing at the death or suffering of human beings, even our enemies. And so we diminish this cup of joy, for our redemption had to come through the destruction of others. So...this Passover well dip another drop of wine for the plague of senseless violence in our country.
Posted on: Mon, 14 Apr 2014 18:07:23 +0000
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