As Abraham Joshua Heschel taught ,
“ Like fire , ( anger ) may be a blessing as well as a fatal thing - reprehensible when associated with malice , morally necessary as resistance to malice . Both alternatives are fraught with danger . ( Anger ’ s ) complete suppression even the face of outbursts of evil may amount to surrender and capitulation , while its unrestrained drive may end in disaster . Anger may touch off deadly explosives , while the complete absence of anger stultifies moral sensibility .”
When Shfoch Chamat ’ cha was added to the Haggadah is not certain , but it is thought to have appeared in the Middle Ages during other times of persecution . What a gift that our ancestors have left us with language , borrowed from Psalms , compelling to them as they grappled with their own experiences of persecution . Their words offer us a map of how to navigate the experiences of our times that demand response .
We do not have to wrestle with new words to hold our own anger , distress , and fear , as they have blessed us with theirs . In articulating their experiences , our ancestors have accompanied us into ours , leaving us resourced , and most important , not alone . We are provoked to cry out for God ’ s protection , as our ancestors did in Egypt . We are asked to take on the challenge of beseeching a God who poured out wrath in Egypt on those who mistreated us , a God we call on to have our backs when we are grieving and furious and at the limits of what we as human can
109