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Standing Together

Commentary by Dr. Ursula A. Falk

 

Pessach, Its Joys, Its Memories

Pessach is a joyful, very meaningful holiday.  It is about the Jewish people, our strengths, our history, our memories and our past.  It reminds us of the Pharoahs of the world, the Hitlers, those who wanted to hurt us, to destroy us. They succeeded in annihilating six million of our people.  It made the Germans and Poles feel “heroic” by managing to destroy helpless unarmed human beings who had no means of protecting themselves.   It shows us and our Jewish brethren what is important in our lives and much more. There were many lessons learned.  Giving in to murderers and sadists was never and never is a way of protecting ourselves against the psychopaths of the world.

  The Israelis are our people who learned from the past that they cannot and will not accept the evildoers who are there to destroy them.  Courage, understanding, instant retaliation for the determined evil killers among the Arabs in Israel have taught the world that psychopaths will not be permitted to express their evil deeds without immediate reprisal by the Israelis.

 If we keep this holy eight day celebration, we learn that we can control ourselves by eating Matzos, not Chometz, staying away from foods which are forbidden, using our energy to bring forth the special dishes that are only used for the eight day Yom Tov  once a year.  It is a time to give Tzedakah (charity to the poor), to invite  our Jewish brethren who do not or cannot have a Seder for themselves, be proud of our Jewish religion, and glow in the light of our beliefs and our survival.  We are together with our family and those that believe in “Haschem” and the miracles that are possible if we have faith. It takes us into the path and reminds us of all we have suffered, the many days in the desert, the slavery our ancestors experienced, the miracles that hashem produced by sending the ten plagues to our enemies.  It gives us hope that the world can be better, that we will survive and not be totally destroyed by the Hamans, the Pharaoahs, the Hitlers, of the world.  We have hope and faith that we will not be the scapegoats of the universe for the aggrandizement of the evildoers.  This holy day teaches us that there is hope in being the “chosen people” for the good of humanity; to add to the world’s kindness, reality, insight, and knowledge. We have learned over the centuries that those who damn us, those who have killed us to satisfy their own hostilities, are the evildoers of society, the jealous ones, the incompetent ones, the thieves, murderers, and criminals in the world.  They only feel satisfied when they can do as much damage to their fellow men as possible.  They have no conscience to halt them in the performance of their evil deeds.  They only feel satiated when others starve; they feel strong when they can annihilate those who seem to be in their way.  They are the sadists of society who by torturing, minimizing, and besmirching their neighbors can feel important.                       

As Jewish people, let us celebrate Pessach with the lessons of the past, the joy of the present, with the happy anticipation of the future, as we stand together with our brethren and our neighbors.

 Lehitraot.

 Dr. Ursula A. Falk is a psychotherapist in private practice and the author of several books and articles.

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