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I must begin by offering words of tribute in memory of Pope Francis, who passed away just after Easter. He was a champion of the other, those in society that too often have become recipients of harsh speech and violence. He modeled what God expects of us. I had the privilege of being invited to and attending Mass on Monday evening at Saint Paul Cathedral, the seat of the Diocese of Pittsburgh. Bishop Zubik spoke lovingly of the Pope and offered one word to summarize him: mercy. May the Pope’s mercy extend to all of us to inspire us to be better versions of ourselves and may the Pope’s memory be for a blessing.

The dishes, silverware, serving platters, pot and pans are all put away in the basement until next year (Doesn’t everyone keep their Passover “stuff” in the basement?). Yet despite how many times I sweep and vacuum, matza crumbs just keep showing up. They simply won’t leave. I hope that your Sedarim were joyous, tasty and meaningful. That’s become a new adjective affixed to rituals and observances. Many now say, in lieu of wishing someone an easy fast for Yom Kippur, a meaningful fast. What are they wishing for you? It is understandable that wishing someone an easy fast is thoughtful, but fasting for twenty-five hours is supposed to be hard. If you come out of Yom Kippur changed in some manner, then indeed your fast was meaningful, a vehicle to help achieve Teshuvah. But what of Passover? Wishing someone a meaningful Seder seems like a good hope, but what are the remaining six days supposed to achieve? We do not have any additional rituals to perform. Rather, we abstain from eating hametz. How do we make the eight days meaningful?

I’ve been mulling this over during Passover, and studying the Haftarah for the eighth day gave me an answer. The text below is from Isaiah 11: 6-9:

The wolf shall dwell with the lamb, the leopard lie down with the kid;

     the calf, the beast of prey and the fatling together, with a little boy to herd them.

The cow and the bear shall graze, their young shall lie down together;

     and the lion, like the ox, shall eat straw.

A babe shall play over a viper’s hole, and an infant pass his hand over an adder’s den.

In all of My Sacred mount nothing evil or vile shall be done;

     for the land shall be filled with devotion to the Lord as water covers the sea.

Passover celebrates the Exodus from Egypt, from slavery to freedom.  But are we truly free? Are there not people and things that continue to shackle us? From Isaiah’s perspective, until all humanity can live in peace, we are not free. 

This coming Wednesday evening, April 23, Yom HaShoah begins. The first official commemorations began in the State of Israel in 1951, and the observance date of the 27th of Nisan (except if it falls on Shabbat), was established by law in the Knesset in 1959.  The date chosen marks the start of the Warsaw Ghetto uprising. Many will light their yellow candles that evening, and commemorations throughout the world will be held. Yet I wonder about a bigger question: Is the way that the Holocaust is being taught effective? The rise of antisemitism sadly tells me that the answer is “no”. That is not to denigrate those who are doing a wonderful job teaching about the Holocaust, but the bigger picture question must be towards what end?

The stain on human history on this planet of the Holocaust can never be erased, despite deniers, revisionists and antisemites. But what are the crucial lessons to be learned? Can we truly eradicate that kind of evil from the hearts of humanity? The lessons of the Holocaust demand that we must try. Children must learn how the evils perpetrated upon the Jews always remain possible. It takes but one charismatic leader to convince their citizens. The preferred state of Isaiah seems utopian and far beyond our reach. Does a dystopian vision seem closer, and if so, what does that say about us as a species? 

Every school child across the globe must come to learn of the potential evil that lurks in the heart of humanity, how its full expression was the Holocaust, and signs and vestiges of behaviors that led to the Holocaust are present every day in their schools, through bullying, name-calling, inappropriate jokes, fear because of a lack of understanding, singling out, othering and rejection. The world has experienced the full fury of a society gone bad, and the portends always exist for version 2.0. Only through a deep understanding of the Holocaust and clarity about the lessons learned can we create a society where the wolf dwells with the lamb and doesn’t devour it. I’m seeing too many wolves eating lambs. We must do better.