by Rabbi Burton L. Visotzky

April 17, 2008

No sooner do we put away our groggers at the end of Purim than Jews everywhere begin preparing for Passover.

Lists are made, invitations sent, menus planned.

Observant Jews can look forward to changing their kitchens during the weeks before Passover: scrubbing every surface free of leaven and changing year-round dishes and flatware for Passover place-settings.

Lots of hard labor to celebrate our freedom from bondage.

Yet this year, in addition to preparing for Passover, I will also be stepping outside the comfort zone of my own rituals to visit a local mosque and travel to Washington to meet with the Pope.

Why make life any crazier at this time of year?

Spiritually, at this season, Jews recall a seminal moment of Jewish memory — the redemption from Egypt. In Hebrew, the word for Egypt is Mitzrayim. Preachers for centuries have noted that at the heart of the word is another Hebrew word: tz-r, or narrow.

We celebrate not only the Exodus and the crossing of the Reed Sea, but our own transformation, our passage through the “narrow places” in our hearts, from internal servitude to personal redemption.

Passover becomes another occasion in the Jewish year, along with Yom Kippur, for searching our hearts, purging ourselves of the “leaven” that puffs us up.

Sitting down to festive meals on the two seder nights (this year, beginning Saturday night, April 19) is excellent, but like all good things, it requires much preparation. The incredible pleasure of sharing a banquet meal surrounded by friends and family is balanced by the stress of preparation.

What could justify taking time from Passover preparation to meet with Muslims and Catholics?

My answer is Jewish history.

Passover is precisely the time that Jews contemplate their relationship to the non-Jewish world. In part, it is a consideration of what happens to a Jewish community living in a host nation, whether it is ancient Egypt or Germany in the 1930-40s.

On Passover we Jews can recall a millennium of problematical relations with the Catholic Church. Those difficult relations were framed by the Church’s equally hostile relations with Islam.

During the past generation Jewish relations with the Catholic Church have grown much better. In some places, Jews have even improved relations with our Muslim neighbors. But there remains a broad perception of a clash of civilizations between the West (Christianity) and Islam.

So, in addition to cleaning the pantry and scrubbing the stove, what spiritual preparations can I make for Passover?

I can remember the Jews did not leave Egypt alone. In fact, the Bible tells us there were others who joined us in the Exodus. Those hearty souls longed for their freedom, too, and so took a chance on partnership with the Israelites. As a student of Jewish history I know that not only Jews, but Christians and Muslims also recognize the moment of redemption.

I can also accept the invitation by the Imam of my local mosque to address his congregation.

And I can enjoy the rare privilege of joining the Jewish delegation greeting the Pope during his visit to America.

Most of all, I can look forward to a personal passage between the narrow places, to reach out and broaden my religious worldview to include my fellow travelers on the road to redemption.

If we believe there is One God who is our Redeemer from bondage, then it is the same One God for all of us.

Rabbi Burton L. Visotzky is Appleman Professor of Midrash and Interreligious Studies at The Jewish Theological Seminary and the author of the recently released A Delightful Compendium of Consolation: A Fabulous Tale of Romance, Adventure and Faith in the Medieval Mediterranean.

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Man of letters

Although perhaps best known as the Jewish scholar whose popular Torah study group inspired Bill Moyer’s Genesis series on PBS, Rabbi Burton L. Visotsky is also a novelist.

In A Delightful Compendium of Consolation: A Fabulous Tale of Romance, Adventure and Faith in the Medieval Mediterranean, Visotzky explores the historical realities of the 11th-century Jewish world. The swashbuckling tale of caravans and pirates is written as a series of letters among sister and brother, father and rabbi. His inspiration is the Cairo Geniza, the synagogue storeroom whose manuscripts, letters, and business documents have been a rich resource for Jewish scholars since its discovery a century ago.

The novel is published by Teaneck-based Ben Yehuda Press.

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