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 Plevan questions how we should celebrate an ancient holiday of redemption, while acknowledging pain and suffering in the present time. He cites Martin Buber, who wrote that the handing down of memory from generation to generation involves both continuity and change. Judith Plaskow wrote that memory shapes communal identity as Jews, so that we integrate our own understanding of them into the way we recount them.
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.