April 2004 No Final Answers By Rabbi Alvin Kass The basic meaning of Passover is stated clearly and unequivocally in those famous lines from the Haggadah: Avadim hayeenu l'faroh b'mitzraim, "We were slaves to Pharoah in Egypt. And the Lord our God took us out of there with a strong hand and an outstretched arm." It is surely an occurrence worth celebrating in the grand fashion which Jewish tradition has evolved over the millennia. Yet the issue posed by this event remains alive. Although, thank God, we have our own homeland, its well-being and security are as precarious as ever. It is besieged by unyielding foes whose suicide bombers continue to exact a high toll in lives and property. Many millions of Israel's Arab neighbors remain bent on robbing Israel of her freedom, her sovereignty and her very life. Furthermore, although many Americans gave their lives to secure freedom for the people of Iraq, the daily casualty list of our soldiers in that country climbs ever higher, demonstrating that many Iraqis do not treat their freedom as a very important or precious asset. Henry Kissinger has said that in foreign policy all our instincts are for final solutions. But the actuality is that "we are in an endless process in which each solution of the foreign policy puzzle is an admission prize to another problem." Wouldn't it have been wonderful if the question of Jewish freedom and security had been satisfactorily resolved once and for all at the time of the Exodus? We could have been spared all the heartache and pain that have plagued our people's existence over the last 3200 years. But it hasn't. We are still involved in a life-and-death struggle to preserve the life and liberty that Moses achieved for us at the inception of our national history, and the prospects are that the battle will continue on into the indefinite future. The fact is that not only has the issue of Jewish freedom not been satisfactorily resolved once and for all, but in truth none of the important issues of our lives ever receive final answers. We often worry about financial security. We think that if we just put so much money in the bank by a particular age, we won't have to worry about financial difficulties anymore. Yet, very low interest rates such as we have experienced recently show that no matter how much you put away, your funds will not grow very substantially. What's more, the gyrations of the stock market mean that money invested in that sector cannot be counted upon for stable growth. How then can you ever be sure that your savings will be "enough"? We say that we'll have more time for personal pleasure or to serve the community once the problems of bringing up our youngsters are over because they will have grown up. However, as the old saying goes: "Small children, small problems, big children, big problems." Each age brings its own problems and we never stop worrying about our children. Thus, life gives no final answers. We are constantly challenged and we must constantly struggle. Charles Darwin was right when he said that struggle was the fundamental rule of life. We shouldn't complain, however, for we have the privilege of grappling with the challenges posed by the most extraordinary and fantastic miracle of all time - the gift of life. Miryom, Sarah, Lewis and Sarah, Danny and Debby, Judah and Bennett join me in wishing you all a chag sameach v'kasher, a happy and healthy Passover.