This is what Nicole Carty seems to be missing when she talks about trauma my- opia at the seder. There are many Jews who have taken these lessons to heart—many who feel the pain of others and do the work needed to make meaningful changes. But that work often needs to be rooted in some- thing else, in our own story. I don’t expect others to center my story in their lives, and I want to be able to celebrate my story alone at certain points in my Jewish life. T his year, in the wake of Oct. 7 and the ongoing war, Passover will inevitably have a different feel to it. Many people will, naturally, want to discuss those events at their seders—and this is not, I don't think, a collapse into universalism. The very nature of what we discuss in the Haggadah is at the core what is current- ly happening with this war. Many of our values as Jews stem from this origin story, and there is so much to draw from when we discuss this conflict that is rooted in these very nation-forming values. Ignoring them would be foolish and pretending that this story is just ancient history or myth is just plain wrong. It would also be wrong to assume to know what lessons the Hagaddah holds about the war. In the seder, we are reminded that in every generation there are those who rise up to annihilate us, and we are saved from them, and we ask God to pour wrath upon the nations that do not know God. So maybe let's hear out what cousin Shmuli from Sderot has to say about how this is manifesting today, and accept that we are dealing with a fear that runs deep and is part of our collective unconscious. But this is not the end point. The fact that we were once slaves in Egypt is exactly why the rabbis remind us to care for those that are less fortunate than us and are in need of care and comfort. We are required to im- agine ourselves as if we are leaving Egypt. If that doesn’t make you feel compassion for a Palestinian who is starving and under constant bombardment, then you might be doing it wrong. The seder is the perfect moment to cele- brate our particularism as a nation, and also to remember that it was shortly after our own liberation that we were given a set of rules about how to govern ourselves, not just internally, but with relation to the rest of the world as well. n
The giving of the law on Mount Sinai. Illustration by William Hole (1925)
Sid Schwarz, a rabbi who grew up Ortho- dox, was ordained in the Reconstructionist movement, and now works extensively in trans-denominational settings, put it this way: “Most lessons about chesed and the responsibility towards the other are best learned in a particularistic setting.” He continued by stressing that if someone remains in a particularist setting, however then you haven't actually learned the les- sons you're meant to. At Passover, the story of going from slavery to freedom is certainly a particular one. But it is the start of an emotional and intellectual journey, not an end in and of itself. The lesson in the story is to help others, whoever they might be, in their journey from slavery and oppression to freedom and autonomy.
the historic Sixth & I synagogue in Washing- ton D.C. (and can be heard weekly on the Chutzpod podcast) told me that for her, par- ticularism is unequivocally important even in a time of universalism. “In our moment in history, it's about a balance between the two. When do we lift up universalism and when do we lift up particularism?” Stutman also remembers the moment of disbelief she had when she learned that some Jews don’t have any non-Jews at their seders. She thinks that for many Jews, Passover is the not only the story of our lib- eration but also a way to support liberation for all. This universalist gloss on a what was once a particularistic holiday is one of the main reasons why many Jews continue to celebrate the seder.
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