The God Blog

Email | Print | Text - Text +

April 25, 2008 | 1:09 pm

Redux: ‘The true meaning of Passover’

In case you missed David Sackman’s thoughtful comment here about the Rev. Eric Lee and the true meaning of Passover, his words were reprinted today as an op-ed in The Jewish Journal. To refresh:

I am Jewish, of European ancestry; my wife is black, with Chinese and Native American ancestry included. What shall we tell our son this Passover, when we retell the tale of how his Jewish ancestors were freed from slavery in Africa?

Shall we trade accusations against each other? The statement reputed to have been made at a fraternity event, that some Jews in the entertainment industry exploited and profited from black performers, is probably true. It is also true that Jewish union leaders, lawyers and agents in the entertainment industry have fought for better wages and working conditions for blacks and others in the industry. Many Jews played crucial roles in the struggle for civil rights, and undoubtedly there were some on the other side as well. We can go back farther to trade accusations. Were there Jews who owned slaves and were involved in the slave trade? Probably so; and yet there were also Jews fighting for abolition. Does it matter whether those on one side outnumbered those on the other?

To be honest, I must tell my son that his African ancestors were on both sides as well.

Posted by Brad A. Greenberg in 2 Comments — Leave your comment

Tags: anti-semitism, holidays, judaism

Share this post: del.icio.us Favicondel.icio.us Digg FaviconDigg Facebook FaviconFacebook Google FaviconGoogle Reddit FaviconReddit StumbleUpon FaviconStumbleUpon Technorati FaviconTechnorati YahooMyWeb FaviconYahooMyWeb

COMMENTS

We welcome your feedback.

Privacy Policy

Your information will not be shared or sold without your consent. Get all the details.

Do Jews control the world?

THAT is the question and honestly, it is an insipid question.

Truth of the matter, Allah created the “all”, controls the “all” and legislates the “all” regardless of the fact of anyone liking it, knowing it or agreeing with it.

How it is.

Peace on those who deserve it, want it and know exactly how to find it.

Comment by Meg on 4/26/08 at 4:47 am

Hmmm… Does this mean that Passover is no longer about the Jewish exodus from slavery in Egypt?

Why is it that the “Christians” are always the last to be told about the latest update, bugfix, or service pack? LOL…

Can I at least blame Tom Cruise?

Comment by Guy Vestal on 4/26/08 at 11:45 am

Post a Comment

Name:  
Email:  
URL:  

Type the word you see below:

Comment:

About this Blog

Blog Home
About the Blogger(s)
Contact

RSS


Blog Archive

Blogs

Jewish Journal Blogs


Featured Stories

Picks and Clicks
Calendar Girls Picks and Clicks Nov. 29 - Dec. 5: NFL to frum; Shiksa syndrome, ‘Waltz with Bashir’

Music
Danny Goldberg: Hangin’ with the ‘geniuses’ of rock ‘n’ roll

No one ever said the life of a rock 'n' roll star was easy, and if you're the one responsible for their success, keeping an artist both successful and happy can be no less daunting

U.S.
SF cops probing death of Israel activist—body found in elevator shaft

Daniel Kliman's body was found Monday in a San Francisco building where he was taking Arabic classes. It had been at the bottom of the elevator shaft since Nov. 25, building manager Brad Bernheim told the San Francisco Chronicle. There were no classes held last week, and the

Israel
Palestinian civil war casts shadow over peace process

Until now it is unclear whether Obama and his advisers will address the internecine Palestinian conflict as a key component in their Middle East foreign policy. If they fail to confront this critical issue, we risk engaging in yet another failed round of diplomacy. And as we

Singles
True confessions of an online dating addict #17: Things are not going well

Education
UCLA chancellor Gene Block tackles economy, civic responsibility

Block is known to his colleagues as a workaholic and multitasker but also wins praise for his patience and optimism. He displayed his patience and humor during an hour-long interview at his UCLA office and needs all his optimism to tackle the problems at hand.

Films
Q&A with producer Jeff Silver: ‘Making fewer films is good’

" . . . Making fewer films is good, because there are too many films in the marketplace and too much pressure to perform in the first weekend. I think it's a market correction to have fewer movies out there, and maybe there will be more of a premium on originality. Right now, there's a lack of ideas in Hollywood. People are recycling ideas, not reinventing them . . . "

Cartoons
Where in the world is Joe Lieberman?

Food
Postville Jewish community struggles to survive after raid

After former Agriprocessors executive Sholom Rubashkin was arrested earlier this month, Rashi Raices joined several dozen members of this town's Jewish community in volunteering the equity on their homes to guarantee his return to face trial.

Torah Portion
Lentil soup

Parshat Toldot (Genesis 25:19-28:9) Why does a mourner eat a round food? The circle represents the circle of life, and it is supposed to remind the mourner that life is cyclical: The tragedy of death that has stricken me today will strike my neighbor tomorrow.

World
African AIDS fight uses Israeli circumcision skills

The United Nations announced last year that the procedure could reduce the rate of HIV transmission by up to 60 percent. It was in Israel, with its experience performing adult male circumcision on a wide scale, that the international medical community found an unlikely partner

Los Angeles
Judge dismisses charges in ‘kidnap’ case

A Los Angeles Superior Court judge last week dismissed the criminal case against four Iranian American Jews. One woman and three men were accused of kidnapping and holding for ransom a man the defendants claimed had cheated them out of $100,000 in a business deal.