Twentieth Century Jewish Wisdom on the Wisdom of the Jewish Tradition

The Wisdom of the Jewish Tradition and the Lack of Wisdom among Twenty-First Century Jews

Compiled, composed and translated by Benjamin Mordecai Ben-Baruch

Yahaz -- Dividing the Mazah

For an introductory reading to the Yahaz section of the Passover seder, see [Rabbi Mark Hurvitz, A Growing Haggadah, http://www.davka.org/what/haggadah/index.html , Pesah 5760

We divide the mazah. One part we keep here with the rest of the mazot. The second part we hide. After the meal, we will hunt for it and the finder will be rewarded. When the hidden part is found, we will put the two halves together again, and this will be a sign that what is broken off is not really lost to our people, so long as we remember and search. Each of us will then eat a bit of the ceremonial mazah, in place of the lamb eaten in the days of the Temple.
The mazah we eat is the bread of farmers, not the bread of oppressors. It is the bread of poor people: tortilla,, fry bread, corn pone, pita, chapati, bread baked in a hurry, in flight, eaten in the desert, when we were oppressed, before we became the oppressor, before we sundered into master and slave ourselves. [from the haggadah of New Jewish Agenda, Cleveland chapter, 1988 based on a text developed by the Pittsburgh chapter, ca. 1981]

We repair and heal the world when we learn to divide the mazah, the food for the poor and hungry, so that all may eat. [Rav Aryeh Hapoel, variously dated Minsk 1905, Palestine 1933, and New York 1955]

The wise person knows how to divide -- our food supply, the world's resources, the land, and even the Land of Israel -- so that all may share. A wise American president once taught that a house divided cannot stand. Our Jewish tradition teaches us that is only true when those dividing the house do not know how to share, how to live with each other respecting everyone's right to be free from oppression. A house divided by those who know how to share will soon grow into a neighborhood and then into a community. [R.G. Schmitt, November 1947]

Dayenu for Yahaz

If we were to divide the mazah but not come back together to share it at the end of the meal, lo dayenu!

If we were to divide ourselves into separate peoples and develop our own cultures and traditions but not celebrate our diversity, lo dayenu!

If we were to divide ourselves into separate countries with borders between us but not share the world and its resources, lo dayenu!

If we were to divide ourselves into various affinity groups so that we could each maximize ourselves as individuals but not recognize the bonds that tie us together and make us interdependent, lo dayenu!

If this mazah were to break into pieces without anyone finding the pieces so we could all share them at the end of the meal, lo dayenu! [Benjamin Mordecai Ben-Baruch, Pesah 5761]

Wisdom, the wise child, and the lack of wisdom among twentieth century Jews

The earliest haggadah contains the following three -- not four -- questions to be asked by the children at the seder:

On all other nights we dip only once, but twice on this night. Why?
On all other nights we eat leavened bread or mazah, but on this night only mazah. Why?
On all other nights we eat meat prepared in a variety of ways, but on this night only roasted. Why?

These are the questions that an intelligent inquisitive child would ask about the Passover seder of the time. As the rituals and observance changed over time, so did the questions that an intelligent inquisitive child would ask. Today, is dipping food something that separates our seder from other meals? Do we recline today at our banquet meals as they did in Roman times? Are the questions we tell our children they should be asking the questions we expect from intelligent inquisitive children?
The question we need to ask today is why a wise parent would want their children to ask questions rotely, relevant to a different time and place? How wise is it to teach our children that these are the questions they should be asking today? Is this the way a wise community trains its next generation? [Rav Aryeh Hapoel 5707]

Four New Questions regarding the ways in which we express our attachments to and support of Israel

Why is this issue-set different from all other issue-sets?

On all other issues we think twice;
on this issue we don't think at all.
On all other issues we lean to the left;
on this issue we lean far to the right.
On all other issues we look to our prophetic tradition for guidance;
on this issue we turn to our clericalist and political leaders for instructions.
On all other issues we aspire to act on our highest values, hopes and vision of the future;
on this issue we justify acting on our basest emotions, fears, and hatreds.

Life and Experience do not necessarily bring wisdom

Age does not necessarily bring wisdom; sometimes it just brings old age. Surviving the Holocaust does not give one special moral status; sometimes it just makes one a very angry and bruised survivor without a moral compass. Living in Israel does not make one a Jewish hero; sometimes it just makes one complicit in our oppression of the Palestinians. [R.G. Schmitt, after being introduced for the first time to an American Jewish audience, September 1982]

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