The Worst Religious Holiday
By - Dean Van Drasek
Normally, I celebrate everything, any excuse for a good meal and friendly
company and you can count me in. But I have decided that there is one
holiday I will no longer participate in and I wish that people would be brave
enough to criticize it for what it is, a celebration of violence against innocent
people. Add some criticism of YHWH in the observance of this “holiday” for
the unjustified murders, and I would be OK with it. But otherwise, it is
unequivocally tainted with the crimes of genocide just as the Japanese
Yasukuni Shrine, for many people, is tainted by the presence of memorials
to war criminals.
Yes, I have been to Jewish seders, the ritual feast marking the start of
Pesah, on five occasions that I can recall. And I have had this conversation
with both practicing and former Jews, including three rabbis. It is a highly
emotional issue, as are all matters of religion to believers, and I will try to
cover some of the positions opposing my interpretation later on.
The Pesah
First, let’s look at what Pesah is for many Jews. The Pesah is one of the
oldest of Jewish holidays, and was one of the Shalosh Regalim festivals
which, like the Muslim Hajj, required believers to make an annual
pilgrimage, in this case to the Temple in Jerusalem. The Samaritans 1, a
remnant pre-Jewish sect of less than 1,000 people living in Israel, still go to
Mount Gerizim (their alternative to the Temple) when observing the Pesah.
There are many festivals stipulated in the Hebrew Bible, and that for Pesah
is at Leviticus 23:5. It is also mentioned as one of the Ten Commandments,
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