This
coming Friday night, Passover begins at sunset. I have such cherished memories,
some of which I've already shared, but there is a lesson here for all of us as
well. The "Exodus" from Egypt is a universal story. It reflects
something about human experience. I maintain, that none of us ever voluntarily
leaves their "Egypt", we have to be thrown out!
"Egypt"
to me, is a metaphor for what is familiar, what is known. Very few of us
voluntarily leave what is familiar and known for what is unknown and unfamiliar.
Most
people do not like changes, no matter how small. We become used to doing things
in a certain way, expecting certain results. Change is usually put upon us,
whether we like it or not. All of us have our "Egypts." Many people
will stay in situations and relationships that are toxic, because they are used
to it. When someone suffers abuse, in a number of cases, the abused person
remains because the situation is familiar. Even being able to leave and go to a
shelter raises anxiety about what will happen next.
Financial
problems, illness, death and changes in status all bring with them the specter
of the unknown. When my wife Karen died, my first thoughts were about, "What
am I supposed to do now? Will I be able to continue this by myself?" This question
has appeared in many forms, by many people in the work that I do.
Think
for a moment. What is your "Egypt?" Where in your lives have you
become too comfortable with known quantities, good or bad? What can we do when
life changing things are forced upon us?
Here
is where I take a lesson from Passover. My observation over many years is, that
these occurrences, which take us out of the familiar are the only times that
people really change anything. This is because nothing can ever be the same.
That is a scary notion. Things may not ever be the same, but they can be
different. These are the times when humans grow. There is no way through the desert, except through the desert.
It
is interesting that in the Biblical story of the Exodus, the Israelites and
other Semites, the mixed multitude that left with them go out into the Midbar, the Hebrew word for wilderness, not desert. A desert can be waterless, lifeless, but there is life in
the wilderness. More important, it is in the Midbar that the Israelites receive the Torah, a constitution of
instruction, which allows them to eventually become a nation.
It
is in the wilderness, that a number of Biblical personalities encounter their
Higher Power or Highest Self. This experience leads them to their destinies, to
their purpose. I feel it is the same for all of us. It is the unfamiliar and
the unknown which brings us to where we need to be. Life without Risk is no life, Love without Risk, is no love. I
always encourage people not to waste the valuable lessons the unfamiliar and
the unknown teach. There is no real progress when we remain in the safety of
our "Egypts."
The
Hebrew month of Nisan (not the car),
in which Passover occurs is the first month of the Hebrew calendar. I view it
as a new spiritual beginning and a time to embrace the changes that are sure to
come from leaving the known for the unknown, the familiar for the unfamiliar
and the safety of "Egypt" for the growth, knowledge and
accomplishment that Risking brings.
May
we all be blessed as our new adventures begin!
Rabbi
Jeffrey Leynor
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