Wednesday, March 27, 2013

Happy Passover and Holy Week

3/27/2013 – – Because I no longer celebrate the Passover holiday I lose track of the days of the Seder. Of course, no one in America can fail to note Good Friday and Easter, especially since I teach at a Catholic law school and school closes for the holiday.

So I want to wish all my religious readers the very happiest of holidays. I can see all around me how families reunite during this time of year.

I cannot myself say that I miss the Seder. I always found the food part to overwhelm the theology and religious teaching. I enjoyed Seders in my youth, especially singing them with my Dad, and I enjoyed them with my own children, of course.

For me, the most important line in all of the Old Testament concerns Passover, Exodus 23:9: “you shall not oppress a stranger: for you know the heart of a stranger, seeing you were strangers in the land of Egypt.”

It’s a little hard to believe that Jews and Muslims are at each other’s throats in the Middle East given this injunction. But just as clearly this teaching is for all of us and applies to the homeless here in Pittsburgh as much as it does in international affairs.

2 comments:

  1. I second Anna's post! I might not host them myself, but I've recounted ours twice this week! Chinese food (sorry that's my first thought rather than a passage from the Hagaddah) and the 10 Commandments! <3 Julia

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