We all know the classic Four Sons - Wise, Wicked, Simple, and One Who Doesn’t Ask. This year, let me introduce you to another four sons: Active, Affiliated, Ambivalent and Alienated.
The Keren Keshet Foundation recently undertook a new survey that found American Jews are splitting along new lines. Respondents appear to break down into four new descriptive categories: Active, Affiliated, Ambivalent and Alienated. As reported in Tablet:
“Active Jews, some 16% of the American Jewish population, are those who center Jewish communal and religious life; Affiliated Jews, constituting 34%, have strong Jewish identities even if traditional or communal practice plays a less central role in their lives; Ambivalent Jews, again 34% of the American Jewish community, straddle the line between interest and avoidance; Alienated Jews, representing 16% of respondents, are those with little Jewish connection at all.”
As with the Four Sons of the Seder, I think we can find a little of each category of Jew in ourselves. I try to be wise, while, at times, I might be wicked. I’m a big believer in keeping things simple, and, sometimes, I just don’t want to say anything to anybody and be left alone. Similarly, I pride myself on being an active and affiliated Jew. At times, I may be ambivalent, and there are times I want nothing to do with my fellow Jews.
We can probably discuss the Four Sons of the Haggadah and the “new” Four Sons of the Jewish community for hours. On Pesach, the most important thing about the Four Sons is that they’re sitting around the table together. The Seder is a “Night that Unites.” Whichever “Son” we are, we‘re incomplete without the others. It is not always easy to see ourselves as one family, but that is the beauty of Pesach. We all left Egypt. Most American Jews today (some 70%) attend the Seder and are anchored in our common origins. Whether we’re Orthodox or Reform, Wise or Wicked, or Active or Alienated, we are all Jews, and that is reason to celebrate.
And yet…
In
1957, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, the late Lubavitcher Rebbe, issued a
pre-Pesach letter with a call to find and invite “The Fifth Son,” any
Jewish man or woman who “is conspicuous by his absence from the Seder service.”
He writes:
This presents a grave challenge…For no Jewish
child should be forgotten and given up. We must make every effort to save also
that “lost” child, and bring the absentee to the Seder table. Determined to do
so, and driven by a deep sense of compassion and responsibility, we need have
no fear of failure…There is no room for hopelessness in Jewish life, and no Jew
should ever be given up as a lost cause.
The Rebbe is clearly speaking the language with which he inspired his followers to engage Jews world-wide. He is also speaking to each and every one of us. On Pesach, gathered around the table are all types of Jews, but they are the ones who choose to be there. We need to be aware of those who opt out completely from the conversation or the celebration and commit ourselves to seeking them out.
The word “Haggadah” comes from the root which means “to tell.” The same letters also form the Hebrew word “to join.” Retelling the Exodus story is meant to bring us together as well as to reach out to bring all Jews together. In an age when more and more Jews are opting out, separated, or divided by different viewpoints, we need to be mindful of the call of the Haggadah to connect with all Jews – even those who don’t seem to want to connect with us.
This year, there are Jews polarized by politics both here and in Israel; there is a large Jewish community in Ukraine still plagued by war; and there is a Jewish journalist, Evan Gershkovich, jailed in Russia. Let’s keep them all in mind. Let’s discuss the ways we remain connected. Let’s focus on what unites us and discuss how to live with what divides us. Let’s commit to find ways to meaningfully seat everyone around the table.
No comments:
Post a Comment