I went to my sister’s for Seder on Monday night, and there was a surprise when the 22 of us sat down: my brother-in-law had been called for a medical emergency and my sister asked me to lead. I’ve never done that; I promptly turned it over to my youngest sister, and she gave me a dark look; so we cut a deal to co-lead.
I understood that I was being challenged, in the moment, to express my universalist feelings about the liberation story, to make it not so much about the Jews. But I also didn’t want to rock the boat. My parents were there, etc. And I’m a wimp. (I say anything on this blog; but that’s the blogosphere!)
I went by the book for a while till there was a statement about this festival being about justice for all, and I grabbed it. I looked around at the table. There were at least six non-Jews there, if you count halves, including a couple of South Asian friends of my sister’s; and I said that the seder was not just a story for one people but for all peoples who struggle against injustice and seek freedom–wherever they are. Then in the reading I’d change stuff, like Jews to people.
My youngest sister did the rest. She talked about injustice in the lands around Israel. We had taken over the Seder!
The next day I got an email from the South Asian man at the table. He’s in high-tech; and he thanked me for my words.
I look back on the Seder as a celebration of philo-Semitism. The non-Jews who were there are enchanted by Jews. And the family they joined is not atypical: This is a generation in which many non-Jewish Americans are enchanted by Jews, beginning with the president. The Jews are sure pushing their luck with this Zionism brief, but still– we’re enchanting. Look at Steven Spielberg and Bob Dylan. I sometimes forget how alluring the Jewish world is. Kai Bird’s splendid new book Crossing Mandelbaum Gate is all about philo-Semitism, about his being enchanted by Jews, marrying one, revering Victor Navasky, and learning Jewish stories to retell. Then struggling to reconcile the Jewish story with the Palestinian one.
The South Asians were clearly intrigued by Jews. But in his email the guy said that he has to bite his tongue about Palestinians. I say, Get liberated, dude, your Jewish friends need some leadership.
