Page 56 - HaMizrachi #28 Pesach USA 2021

GENERAL INTEREST SOCIAL COMMENTARY

Rabbi Chaim Navon

To Be a Nation

tudies approximate that 90% of establishment had been replaced by a out that law and tradition did not allow
Jews in Israel celebrate Seder night. parallel Hebrew one. The Hebrew gov- the king to behave as was customary in
SSome even speak of 94%. It’s a little ernmental establishment was probably other kingdoms, and simply expropriate
surprising, because leil haSeder clashes quite loose in the desert years. In fact, the property of his citizens.
head-on with the prevailing values in our ancestors did not even have an
today’s world of Israeli thought. We orderly legal system, until Yitro came On the political level, the Torah believes
would expect a night so familial, so on the scene. in freedom and suspects overly powerful
tribal, so national – to arouse disgust regimes. But nowhere in the Torah is
and alienation rather than sweeping Bnei Yisrael passed from a life of slav- there a contemporary interpretation of
devotion. Indeed, Israelis often com- ery to a life of freedom, with a political the concept of freedom, which includes
plain about the stifling family evening. system that does not enslave or oppress. alienation from communal identity.
They enjoy complaining about the event, But at no stage were they freed from The Torah does not perceive family
but probably enjoy the Seder itself even the world of family, community and and national identity as burdensome,
more. people, and from all the structures of but rather as a constitutive element of
language and customs that accompany
Why is it so accepted (in some circles, these frameworks. a person’s personality. The ideal that
almost expected) to complain about contemporary culture strives for is a
a family event such as leil haSeder? The Children of Israel suffer together, person who is not bound by the shackles
Because the dynamics of this occasion are redeemed together, sing together. of family, community and people. He or
threaten the highest value of modern If a person had chosen to disengage she is an abstract, theoretical human,
Israeli society: “freedom.” When I sit from this identity, it is to be assumed from whom the deep and basic layers
between Aunt Gila and Aunt Tzila, I do the Torah would not have called it of identity have been stripped.
not have the freedom to listen to music “freedom.” Perhaps it would actually be
I like, or drink beer (which is chametz “exile.” In the ‘99 election campaign, Meretz’s
anyway), or dress as I please, or talk election slogan was: “To be free in our
about topics that interest me and tell When Bnei Yisrael request a king, country” (lehiyot chofshi beArtzeinu).
the jokes that make me laugh. Instead, Shmuel clarifies what they will receive: The “nation” (am) was forgotten, proba-
I must behave according to the family “He will take your sons and appoint bly by mistake. But our national anthem,
rules. Despite this, Israelis earnestly them as his charioteers and horse- HaTikva, insists on the “nation,” ת ֹוי ְ ה ִ ל
devote themselves to Seder night. It men… He will take your daughters as ּונ ֵ צ ְ ר ַ א ְּ ב י ׁ ִ ש ְ פ ָ ח ם ַ ע. We experience freedom
turns out that after paying lip service to perfumers, cooks and bakers... you together, as one nation. Our shared
the idol of “freedom,” we are very happy shall become his slaves.” Quite a few of identity does not trample on freedom
to be integrated into a close family-tribal the kings of Yehuda and Israel did act at all. On the contrary. It is one of the
framework. as Shmuel feared. Still, one can get the conditions for it.
impression that the Jews maintained a
Pesach is the holiday of freedom. But healthy suspicion about their kings, and And if we forget that all year long, Seder
what sort of freedom are we talking severely limited their authority. When Night reminds us of the truth.
about? The Haggadah describes it: Navot refuses to sell his vineyard to the
“We were slaves to Pharaoh in Egypt. powerful king Achav, Achav responds
And the L-rd our G-d took us out.” The surprisingly like an adolescent – going
slavery was national-political, and the to his house, lying in bed and turning his
freedom was national-political. We face to the wall. Even his evil wife Izevel
rejoiced in our national autonomy, but can’t wrench the vineyard out of Navot’s Rabbi Chaim Navon is a renowned author
that didn’t mean the enslaving Egyptian hands without a cunning trick. It turns and educator.

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