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Pita Fw
TBE SOUTHERN ISRAELITE
Friday, April 21, 1967
THE SOUTHERN ISRAELITE
Published weekly by Southern Newspaper Enterprises, 390 Court
land St., N. E., Atlanta, Georgia 30503, TR. 6-8249, TR. 6-8240
Second class postage paid at Atlanta, Georgia. Yearly subscription
S7.50. The Southern Israelite invites literary contributions and
correspondence but is not to be considered as sharing the views
expressed by writers. DEADLINE is 5 P.M. FRIDAY, but material
received earlier will have a much better chance of publication.
Adolph Rosenberg, Editor and Publisher
Kathleen Nease, Joseph Redlich
Vida Goldgar, Harry Rose, Betty Meyer, Kathy Wood
Passover —A Symbol of Freedom
Georgia Press Assn.
NATIONAL NEWSPAPER
7 Arts Features
Jewish
Telegraphic
Agency
World Union Press
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Why Is The Night Different?
At Pesach time, every one is or should be happy The
holiday comes at the right time when, in the words of Scrip
tures, “'the winter is gone and the voice of the turtle dove is
heard in the land.” Arid when the turtle doves begin to sing,
who will not sing with them?
These are the days for matzos and kneidlech and even
bitter herbs, symbolic of the oppression of enslavement, tastt
good. And of course there are also the four cups of wine for all
to imbibe. So let no skeptics or iconoclasts diminish their num
ber or import.
Properly enough Pesach is a holiday for children, and so
on the nights of the s’dorim they are elevated to the high posi
tion of asking the eternal question, “Why is this night differen;
from all other nights?” And on this night of wonder there i
still another wonder for them when they are summoned by
the master of the table to open the door for the expectation
that is Elijah.
Some three thousand years back, a man who was a relative
stranger to his .people appeared to the children of Israel in
Egypt and called on them to follow him to freedom. Fears and
doubts must have assailed him. The immortal Heine once said
that whenever he conjured up the picture of Moses standing
on Sinai, the mountain seemed dwarfed under him.
What mountain of faith must have been in this man Moses
to believe that he could take this inchoate mass of slaves,
lead them through a wilderness and render them into a nation
which woulcl raise a torch to the world.
The Hagada bids us celebrate Passover with the feeling
that we ourselves went out of Egypt. For this generation, the
identification with our ancestors should not lie difficult. We
witnessed a tyranny in our times surpassing mat of Pharaoh
and we too have seen the children of Israel going up again unto
the land which the Lord their God promised tc Abraham.
Father Abraham would probably be pleased to see his
native Beersheba today. In his day, according to the Midrash,
his house had doors open on all sides so that all wayfarers,
from whatever direction they came might partake of his shel
ter and hospitality. Beersheba today has no exact counterpart
to Abraham’s dwelling, but it has nice hotels and Mr. Ben
Gurion is even planning to build a college adjacent to that
ancient site. In Abraham’s days the dwellers were few. Today,
thanks largely to Israel Bonds, some 250,000 Jews are settled
in the Negev, an area whose development “is our most pressing
current task,” as Ben Gurion recently told us on his three-
week whirlwind visit to the United States.
In the spirit of the Hagada, we who live in America can
identify ourselves with that too, directly or indirectly. It is
both a duty and something to recall with pride in later days.
Let the wine of rejoicing be in all Jewish homes as we
sit down in remembrance of that distant day when enslave
ment gave way to freedom, despair to expectation and land
lessness to roots.
By Rabbi Samuel Umen
“Even though we may consider
ourselves wise, understanding,
and possess a knowledge of the
Torah, yet it is incumbent upon
us," say the rabbis (Hagarah),
“to rehearse the story of our
going-forth from Egypt.”
Why did the rabbis consider it
so important that we recount,
from year to year, the experi
ences of our forefathers in the
House of Bondage and their final
redemption therefrom?
It seems that our sages aimed
to convey two precious lessons:
First is the lesson that the free
dom which our ancestors wrested
from the Egyptians was a long
drawn-out process. It entailed
many conferences on the part of
Moses and Aaron with King of
Egypt, it involved patience on the
part of the people and, more im
portant yet, it demanded their de
termination to be prepared for
battle if necessary in order to
free themselves.
The second lesson the wise men
sought to convey through the
story of Jewish enslavement and
redemption was that the free
dom won by others is not trans-
mittable. . . Only the principle
of liberty can . be handed over
from generation to generation.
“Liberty is a living, growing
thing, and not something won in
the wars and resolutions of long
ago and placed on files in the
archieves of the State.’’ Liberty
is never fully won. Again and
again, it mu$t be fought for and
again and again it needs to be
won.
The degree of freedom a nation
enjoys at a given period depends
primarily upon the mental ca
pacity of its citizens. The more
a people advances intellectually,
the greater is its need and de
mand for freedom.
People outgrow their freedom
as children outgrow their clothes.
This explains why the cry for
freedom is continuously sounded
in different parts of the world at
different times. The battle for
freedom then is virtually cease
less.
In our day, as in days past,
people are expressing their de
sire and will to free themselves
from their enslavers so that they
may live fuller lives and be af
forded the opportunity of creat
ing and enjoying the fruits of
their labors.
The greater the desire for free
dom, the clearer is the sign of a
people advancing from darkness
into the light and the greater is
the promise for better things to
come.
Jewish deliverance from
Egyptian bondage produced a
system of laws which proclaimed
the dignity of man, the sacred
ness of human life. Similarly, the
breaking away of the American
colonies from British rule result
ed in the American Constitution,
things go
better,!
Coke
lOniEO UNDER AUTHORITY OFTHE COCA-COLA C&MPANY »Y
THE ATLANTA COCA-COLA BOTTLING COMPANY, INC.
the Bill of Rights, the Declara
tion of Independence—documents
guaranteeing the equality of all
human beings regardless of race,
color or credo.
“The Life of the Law,” said
Oliver Wendell Holmes,” has been
experience. The felt necessities of
the times. . . The law embodies
the story of a nation’s develop
ment through many centuries.”
The development of the law in
effect is a reflection of the de
velopment of a people’s march
toward new spiritual frontiers.
Freedom is the greatest crea
tive force. It enables a person to
be himself, to flourish, to pros
per, to contribute his talents and
genius for the welfare and bene
fit of all mankind.
Freedom is as essential to man’s
inner growth as food is to his
body.
No law, therefore, can be en
forced for long if it cuts off free
dom from the human soul; no
government or society can long
endure unless its laws are de
signed to encourage and protect
man’s growth and his need to be
free.
The festival of Passover is an
eternal reminder that the free
dom which our forebears gained
for themselves in their day is for
us to regain in our own days.
JEWISH
CALENDAR
TASSOVFR
April 25 Tuesday
(First Day)
May 2, Tuesday
(Eighth Day)
LAG B’OMER
May 28. Sunday
•SHAVUOT
June 14, Wednesday
•ROSH OASHANA
Oct. 5-6, Thurs.-Fri
*YOM KIPPUR
October 14, Sat.
•HOLIDAY BEGINS
SUNDOWN PREVIOUS DAY
Passover Greetings
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