Passover is coming. Soon, the table will be set and the food will be ready. The Haggadah will be open to the familiar story of our people’s past. The Seder will commence as it often does, but it won’t conclude without deep conversation on traditional themes and contemporary issues.
What Seder will be without conversation about the economy and today’s hardships? There isn’t a single person who hasn’t been affected. Jobs are lost. Stocks are down. Portfolios and retirement accounts are way off. Talk about bondage!? Then it was slavery to Pharaoh. Now, it’s slavery to an economic disaster. We feel strangely insecure. Like our ancestors, we are wandering in a vast wilderness looking for the way through to better times. At the end of their story, they arrived at the Promised Land. It was flowing with milk and honey. Our story is still unfolding. The Promised Land is not in view, and the only thing flowing is red ink.
Don’t despair. But, let’s be honest. The Promised Land we’re looking for is a place we haven’t known, just as it was for our ancestors. The difference is that in our wilderness journey, unlike our ancestors’, we are coming from prosperity, not slavery. It’s hard for us to give up something that seemed to work so well. But, as we now know, not all of it was real. Much of the prosperity was a house of cards built on quicksand. To adjust, we have to reorient ourselves to live within our means, and to return to expectations that are linked to hard work and long hours.
In discussions I’ve had with business and community leaders, I’m often asked if we’re doing anything to assist in job searches. Yes, we counsel those who are stressed and anxious about their job loss and financial conditions. We lead them to workshops where networking might help them find new employment. But, my fear, which I’ve shared with some of you, is that ordinary job fairs, employment workshops, and other such groups will only help in the short-term, if at all. Workers will fail if they’re preparing to re-enter a work environment that doesn’t exist anymore. We have to do two things simultaneously: map the new economic environment and retrain the workforce to navigate it.
The synagogue plays a crucial role. It cannot be a place only for worship, education and community. In new and relevant ways, the synagogue has to articulate the core values of Jewish living found in Torah. We have to search Torah for new definitions of success; we have to wrestle with our purpose in this world; we have to reformulate what is fair, equitable and merciful in a greedy, selfish, and insecure market. Torah contains enduring values. What will you tell your children who are graduating college and looking for what they believe they’re entitled to, now? How will you tell young adults that a strong work ethic is the backbone of success? The answers are found in Torah. They’re also found in the stories from your parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents who built businesses, sold goods and services, and didn’t know the first thing about derivatives and credit default swaps. Their answers came from Torah, too.
As Passover is observed in your house, take up the challenge to talk about slavery and freedom. In a world of relative freedom, how did we get shackled to this economic mess? And, how will we know freedom again? “Next year in Jerusalem” sounds easy compared to “Next Year in the black.”
From my desk to yours, and from my family to yours, Shabbat Shalom and a Happy and healthy Passover.
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