Rabbi Plevan questions the joy of Passover, of celebrating our liberation, at a time of turmoil and ongoing violence. He suggests that we consider what it is that makes a seder a meaningful and spiritual event. He cites Martin Buber, show said that as Jews, our very community is based on common memory, that connections generations. The transference of memory involves both continuity and change
Rabbi Lyon questions the meaning of being commanded in our time and place – we can’t hear the commandment to make Passover the same way it was heard in previous generations. He cites Rabbi Schaalman, z’l, who wrote that God’s voice can be heard as the “Commander” behind each mitzvah; “am I ready to live my life in relationship to God, in my acceptance of His being Commander and of me as His covenant partner?”
Why did God choose sacrifice as a means to an end? Rabbi Sacks cites Rabbi Joseph Albo, who raised 2 other questions: Why did God permit human beings to eat meat after the Flood, and what was wrong with Cain’s offering of “fruits of the soil”? Perhaps animal sacrifice was allowed because the world was filled with violence.