I remember many car rides with my children when they were younger when the cassette player in the car (remember them?) had to play the favorite Sesame Street tape called “The Count’s Countdown.” The favorite song just happened to be “I just Adore Four.” Funny thing is that, as Passover approached, I kept replaying that song because it stresses the number four which, as you know, plays a major part in our festival. After all, we have four questions, four children, four cups of wine, etc. So, I began to think of what possible message could this number hold for us this year? The number four is represented by the Hebrew letter “dalet,” and so began some exploration into what values and messages could we glean this year from this letter?
The mystical tradition in Judaism sees in the number four a representation of the physical world that extends in four directions: North, south, east, and west. The Exodus story can be understood through four words found in Exodus 6:6-7, “I shall bring you forth,” (“v’hotzeiti”), “I shall save you (“v’hitzalti”), “I shall redeem you” (“v’ga’alti”) and “I shall take you” (“v’lakachti”). Classic Jewish tradition sees God’s hand in history. No doubt there will be some discussion in many Seders this year as to people’s ability or desire to believe in this classic theology. Do you believe that there is some Divine force at work in history?
There is a wonderful Hebrew word that begins with our “dalet.” The word is “dugma,” and it means “example.” The Seder liturgy is replete with reminders about leading a life that sets an example for others. We read that we need to remember the fact that we were slaves in Egypt, that we were subjected to ridicule and treated as “the other.” Thus, the Passover calls on us to rededicate ourselves to living a life of example, a life that brings the sacred into daily living. This seems to be getting more difficult. Much of our community seems to have forgotten this message. Too few voices are being raised against the singling out of members of our society, from transgendered people to minorities to immigrants. The Seder reminds us that we also have been marginalized at times in our history, and the current epidemic of antisemitism should serve as a stark reminder that we ignore history at our own peril. Perhaps a goal of the Seder this year may be to have us speak to how we will choose to set that example of sacred service in the coming year. We need voices of reason and unity, not screams of division. We search now for those voices and vision that seek unity.
There is another great symbol that carries with it the “dalet.” That letter stands for the Hebrew word “delet” or door. We have several commentaries on this word. For example, one notes that the letter “dalet” is shaped like a door. It is open to the next Hebrew letter, the “hey,” a letter that is shorthand for God. Do we walk through the doors of life living a life that is holy? Remember, that we place the mezuzah on the doorpost of our houses to, we hope, bring the sacred into our very home. We also focus on a ceremony as the Seder draws to a close that features a door. We open the door for Elijah, and the symbolic hope for that Messianic Age. But this year, why not think that instead of waiting for Elijah to come through that door, we pledge to ourselves that we will walk through that door into a world in which we will set the example for a life of ethics and justice, of compassion and caring, and one in which we will raise our voices against the Pharaohs of modern life. Once again, the choice is ours.
Have a sweet and healthy Passover!
Rabbi Richard F Address
Rabbi Richard F. Address, D.Min, is the Founder and Director of www.jewishsacredaging.com. Rabbi Address served for over three decades on staff of the Union for Reform Judaism; first as a Regional Director and then, beginning in 1997, as Founder and Director of the URJ’s Department of Jewish Family Concerns and served as a specialist and consultant for the North American Reform Movement in the areas of family related programming. Rabbi Address was ordained from Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in 1972 and began his rabbinic career in Los Angeles congregations. He also served as a part time rabbi for Beth Hillel in Carmel, NJ while regional director and, after his URJ tenure, served as senior rabbi of Congregation M’kor Shalom in Cherry Hill, NJ from 2011-2014.
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