This is a Passover message for you, especially today

The very first holiday experienced by the Israelites in the Bible unsurprisingly marked their long awaited liberation after centuries of slavery under the oppressive pharaohs. 

In Exodus, we are told that the Almighty ordered Moses to command the people to remember this watershed anniversary as a festival that should be kept throughout all generations into eternity.

Some 3,300 years later, Passover in 2024 will begin at sundown on Monday, April 22.

Interestingly the name given for the celebration in Exodus, Leviticus and elsewhere in the Torah is Chag HaMatzot, the Festival of Matzah (unleavened bread).

So how is it that we know it as “Passover?”

In Hebrew, the word is Pesach, and upon examination, the ancient text tells us that this is actually the moniker for the lamb sacrifice that initiates the observance.

Recall that this replicates the start of the tenth and final plague, when the Hebrews slaughtered a lamb, smeared its blood on the doorposts of their homes so that the Angel of Death would pass over their homes and only strike the Egyptians.

For millennia the Jews of the Levant would bring the Pesach lamb offering to the altar of the Grand Synagogue in Jerusalem.

However, after the destruction of the Temple by the Romans in the year 70, no longer was there the place nor the ability to carry out the ritual of the Pesach-Passover sacrifice.

This is why from the first century until now we call the holiday of the Seder dinner and matzah, “Passover,” in honor of the animal sacrifice that was at the heart of the remembrance.

But why was a sacrifice deemed so significant so as to cause a nation to transform the name of the day its members memorialized their freedom?

According to the Jewish mystics, it was because of the underlying philosophical and theological concept of sacrifice.

They began by noting that the word for sacrifice in Biblical Hebrew is korbon, which means “to draw near.”

We all know this intuitively. When we give something of value to others we become closer to the recipient.

A parent, a spouse, even a businessperson or employer is aware of this basic truth.

The encoded broader lesson is clear and so meaningful, especially in our time.

Passover stands as an eternal reminder to reach out to all people and give- sacrifice your time, talent, experience, and when necessary any of your resources so as to reflect your genuine care, concern and respect.

In this way you bond, you become close in a manner that results in seeing the dignity and humanity within each human.

Instead of fear, animosity, xenophobia, violence, war and enslavement, if we create an opportunity for emotional proximity, a nexus of sincere connection the world has a better chance of being a place of peace and freedom.

For individuals of any and all faiths this message of Passover is needed in our country and around the globe now more than ever.

Rabbi Jack Zanerhaft is the spiritual leader at Temple Emanu-El, 455 Neptune Blvd., which is located in Long Beach.