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Then as now
By WAVENEY ANN MOORE, Times Staff Writer
ST. PETERSBURG -- "Next year in Jerusalem!" Ever since the destruction of the second Temple in Jerusalem in 70 A.D., Jewish families have repeated those words of hope at the end of the ritual meal, or seder, that commemorates the festival of Passover. In more modern times, the vicissitudes of the Middle East have brought only new poignancy to the yearly call. This year, the central Passover themes of freedom and hope hold even deeper significance for Rabbi Jacob Luski, who traveled to Israel this year. By his own admission, Luski, head of Congregation B'nai Israel of St. Petersburg, has talked incessantly of his January trip. And, he says, those who attend Passover services and the synagogue's second night seder can expect to hear more about his visit and his thoughts on how the experiences of present-day Israelis parallel those of their ancestors who were led out of bondage in Egypt by Moses. "The festival of Passover reminds us of the Exodus from Egypt, when the children of Israel, through the grace of God, were taken from slavery to freedom," Luski says. "Freedom was ultimately the arrival of the children of Israel in the land of Israel. So the Passover seder is an opportunity to reflect on the meaning of slavery, the meaning of freedom and the importance of the land of Israel as the homeland of the Jewish people." The holiday, which begins tonight at sundown, commemorates the Israelites' deliverance more than 3,300 years ago. Family festivities will continue for eight days for Conservative and Orthodox Jews and seven days for Reform Jews and Jews in Israel. Tonight and Thursday, prayers and songs will intersperse the multicourse Passover seder, along with the annual retelling of the beloved exodus story. One of the objects is to draw present-day lessons from the ancient account. "When I define slavery and freedom this year, I will be doing so in the context of what my Israeli brothers and sisters are experiencing. Daily terror threats from the different Palestinian organizations ... the threat of attack from the Islamic Jihad and Hezbollah based in Lebanon and supported by Iran. All of these threats to the physical well-being of all Israeli citizens fit into the model of slavery in Egypt," Luski said during an interview in his office last week. "Last year we experienced that horrific attack in the city of Netanya in the Park Hotel on Passover Eve. So, when we speak about models of what does it mean to be a slave and what does it mean to be free, you don't have to say much more. ... When I think of freedom, I give myself the luxury of daydreaming and envisioning a modern state of Israel at peace with its many Arab neighbors." A member of the executive committee of the rabbinic cabinet of the State of Israel Bonds, which promotes bonds as an investment in the almost 55-year-old nation, Luski made his January trip with 39 other rabbis from the United States and Canada. Writing about his observations, he noted, "Operating under crisis seems to be the motto of today's Israel." Yet, he added, he and his colleagues couldn't help being uplifted by the valiant spirit of the Israeli people. "When you think of Passover, you think of heroes. You think of Moses after leading the Israelites out of Egypt, after having confronted the evil pharaoh," Luski said. Today's heroes for the Israeli people are those who protect them, the guards at restaurants, schools and hotels, members of the military and the many volunteers who offer a balm to those who are suffering from the effects of terrorism, Luski said. Specifically, Luski, who served as chairman of the conference he and his colleagues attended in Israel, recalled listening to Maj. Gen. Amos Yadlin, head of the Israeli Defense Force's National Defense College. Yadlin told the rabbis that Israel faces military challenges, but that the nation is stronger than at any time in Jewish history. Luski also was touched by his visits to hospitals and schools and said he was saddened to realize that the restrictions that come with increased terrorism have become part of "the new norm" for Israeli citizens. "I saw a certain slavery being imposed, even though you were sitting in your own country, in a free land," he said. He repeated the story told by a guidance counselor whose young son had been playing with his Legos. "He built something and she said to him, 'What are you building?' And he said, 'A cemetery for Jews,"' Luski said. "That's an example of slavery." Luski further illustrated his point by speaking of an e-mail he had received from one of his colleagues who was visiting his family in Israel. The rabbi wrote to say that his granddaughter, when asked what she had done in elementary school one day, proudly responded that she and her class had decorated the boxes that hold their gas masks. It was during Luski's visit that two of the deadliest attacks in months took place. The blasts in central Tel Aviv took the lives of almost two dozen people and wounded more than 100. Forty-eight hours after it occurred, Luski and the other visiting rabbis went to the site to hold a memorial service. Jewish people continue to have hope, Luski said. "When the second Temple was destroyed in the year 70 of this era, almost 2,000 years ago, the center of Jewish life in those years was Jerusalem," he said. "So just imagine, for the last 2,000 years, we have in our Passover celebrations been saying, 'Next year in Jerusalem. We're going back.' And today we say, 'Next year in a redeemed Jerusalem,' because we want redemption to come and with redemption will come peace."
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