Pour out your wrath on the Others ( who are your enemy )
Rabbi Sid Schwarz
This year , we need to set a higher bar for the wise child . It is not enough to celebrate this child because s / he dutifully participates in the Seder ritual , unlike her siblings .
I am thinking of the line in the Haggadah that instructs us to pour out our wrath on the “ others ”, who are our enemy . True , many of our festivals tell tales of how Jews overcame an evil ruler . The fact that Jews prevailed becomes evidence of God ’ s love for his chosen people , Israel . It is an effective narrative device : good guys overcome bad guys . Sometimes , it even comes close to being historically accurate . But this year , in the face of the atrocities and slaughter that Hamas perpetrated upon Israelis on October 7 th , and then the Israeli assault on Gaza , which has cost the lives of over 30,000 Palestinians , more than half of whom , are women and children , I am hoping that the wise children ( and adults ) at the Seder table might make a courageous break with the Exodus narrative to reject the demonization of the “ other ”. That narrative becomes a justification to dehumanize that “ other ” and , once dehumanization happens , innocent people are killed .
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