Chag Pesach Sameach! Your are truly an inspiration and have demonstrated such courage in the face of adversity. I admire how you always wear the Magen David around your neck proudly and publicly.
Apr 15, 2022·edited Apr 15, 2022Liked by Eve Barlow
Chag Pesach Sameach - in every generation there are lions and lionesses who rise up to meet the challenge of leading the JEWISH resistance. Thank you for heeding the call to educateour people and heighten awareness of the diaspora.
Chag Pesach Sameach! And the last paragraph “in every generation” reminded me of my favorite tv show of all time , Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Eve, you are our BDS and antisemite slayer!
And now that our celebration of Pesach is complete (both here in Israel and in chutz-la'aretz), JVP now claims that we here in Israel "co-opted Mimouna to 'brownwash' colonialism" https://www.jpost.com/bds-threat/article-704949
The story of the Exodus seems heroic. Just as the American Civil War seems heroic. But considered carefully it might not be so heroic for either. For the Jews in Egypt, consider how they became slaves. Joseph was sold into slavery by his own brothers. The rest of the family migrated to Egypt in a flight from famine.
Yes, they were welcomed into Egypt because Joseph had become a great and wise leader of Egypt. But there was another Pharoah who knew not Joseph. And the Jews who had become wealthy, and after the famine was long past they remained in Egypt rather than returning to their own land. Under the new pharoah the Egyptians began to see the Jews as foreigners who had become rich at their expense.
As people will do, they envied the Jews and envy grew to hatred, as it always does. Certainly not overnight, but inevitably, envy and hatred morphed into the right of the Egyptians to enslave the Jews. Why didn't they see it coming and flee back to Palestine while they still could? I don't know, but there came a time when they couldn't flee, and for almost five hundred years they lived as slaves.
No doubt the religious leaders kept telling them that some day God would remember them and send them a deliverer. And, sure enough, along came Moses, willing to stand before Pharoah, demanding of him in the name of God to "let my people go." And the great deliverance happened.
In much the same way, Africans were sold into slavery by their own leaders. Surely they were aware of what African Chieftains were doing. They had been doing so for centuries, sending their captives to be slaves of northern Muslim warlords before Europeans began to take advantage of the black-on-black slave trade to supply labor needs of the new American lands, much of which were inhospitable to white workers. The African blacks were much more fit for the hot, wet climate of southern American colonies.
It was not a stretch for Europeans, who already considered themselves as superior to everyone who they came into contact with, to see themselves as having the right to use their inferiors as slaves. And to convince their slaves that they were obviously inferior and therefore they should submit to their betters.
And the black slaves toiled in slavery for two and a half centuries before someone came along to free them. And then another century living on whatever scraps were left behind by wasteful whites until a few began to realize that they might be worthy of being treated equally.
Why did it take hundreds of years for them to realize that they had been taken advantage of? I don't know. But I know that the descendants of the slave holders probably won't admit any responsibility for the acts of their forebears. And the descendants of the slaves probably won't take any responsibility for the submission of their forebears.
And neither should they. For none of us could possibly be responsible for actions and attitudes of folks about whom they weren't around to correct them. Besides, if we could time-travel back to our history, we would be more likely to agree with them than to try to instruct them. Our instructions would be certain to be taken as nonsense at best, as meddling at worst.
As Jesus taught in the parable of the rich man who in Hades begged Abraham to send Lazarus to warn his five brothers about the torments of Hades. Abraham told him that if they won't listen to Moses and the prophets, they won't listen to one though risen from the dead. Truly, "there is a great gulf fixed, so that those who want to pass from here to you cannot, nor can those from there pass to us." Luke 16
The story of the Exodus seems heroic. Just as the American Civil War seems heroic. But considered carefully it might not be so heroic for either. For the Jews in Egypt, consider how they became slaves. Joseph was sold into slavery by his own brothers. The rest of the family migrated to Egypt in a flight from famine.
Yes, they were welcomed into Egypt because Joseph had become a great and wise leader of Egypt. But there was another Pharoah who knew not Joseph. And the Jews who had become wealthy, and after the famine was long past they remained in Egypt rather than returning to their own land. Under the new pharoah the Egyptians began to see the Jews as foreigners who had become rich at their expense.
As people will do, they envied the Jews and envy grew to hatred, as it always does. Certainly not overnight, but inevitably, envy and hatred morphed into the right of the Egyptians to enslave the Jews. Why didn't they see it coming and flee back to Palestine while they still could? I don't know, but there came a time when they couldn't flee, and for almost five hundred years they lived as slaves.
No doubt the religious leaders kept telling them that some day God would remember them and send them a deliverer. And, sure enough, along came Moses, willing to stand before Pharoah, demanding of him in the name of God to "let my people go." And the great deliverance happened.
In much the same way, Africans were sold into slavery by their own leaders. Surely they were aware of what African Chieftains were doing. They had been doing so for centuries, sending their captives to be slaves of northern Muslim warlords before Europeans began to take advantage of the black-on-black slave trade to supply labor needs of the new American lands, much of which were inhospitable to white workers. The African blacks were much more fit for the hot, wet climate of southern American colonies.
It was not a stretch for Europeans, who already considered themselves as superior to everyone who they came into contact with, to see themselves as having the right to use their inferiors as slaves. And to convince their slaves that they were obviously inferior and therefore they should submit to their betters.
And the black slaves toiled in slavery for two and a half centuries before someone came along to free them. And then another century living on whatever scraps were left behind by wasteful whites until a few began to realize that they might be worthy of being treated equally.
Why did it take hundreds of years for them to realize that they had been taken advantage of? I don't know. But I know that the descendants of the slave holders probably won't admit any responsibility for the acts of their forebears. And the descendants of the slaves probably won't take any responsibility for the submission of their forebears.
And neither should they. For none of us could possibly be responsible for actions and attitudes of folks about whom they weren't around to correct them. Besides, if we could time-travel back to our history, we would be more likely to agree with them than to try to instruct them. Our instructions would be certain to be taken as nonsense at best, as meddling at worst.
As Jesus taught in the parable of the rich man who in Hades begged Abraham to send Lazarus to warn his five brothers about the torments of Hades. Abraham told him that if they won't listen to Moses and the prophets, they won't listen to one though risen from the dead. Truly, "there is a great gulf fixed, so that those who want to pass from here to you cannot, nor can those from there pass to us." Luke 16
Chag Pesach Sameach! Your are truly an inspiration and have demonstrated such courage in the face of adversity. I admire how you always wear the Magen David around your neck proudly and publicly.
Chag Pesach Sameach - in every generation there are lions and lionesses who rise up to meet the challenge of leading the JEWISH resistance. Thank you for heeding the call to educateour people and heighten awareness of the diaspora.
A zissen Pesach to you, Eve. Thank you for all that you do to defend us.
Eve, Thank you for your advocacy and for your courage and for your inspiration.
Thank you for your wonderfully written words! I will read this to start my seder this evening. An excellent timely essay.
Wishing you a wonderful and meaningful Pesach.
Chag Pesach Sameach! And the last paragraph “in every generation” reminded me of my favorite tv show of all time , Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Eve, you are our BDS and antisemite slayer!
Wonderful as always - Chag Sameach, Eve.
And now that our celebration of Pesach is complete (both here in Israel and in chutz-la'aretz), JVP now claims that we here in Israel "co-opted Mimouna to 'brownwash' colonialism" https://www.jpost.com/bds-threat/article-704949
The story of the Exodus seems heroic. Just as the American Civil War seems heroic. But considered carefully it might not be so heroic for either. For the Jews in Egypt, consider how they became slaves. Joseph was sold into slavery by his own brothers. The rest of the family migrated to Egypt in a flight from famine.
Yes, they were welcomed into Egypt because Joseph had become a great and wise leader of Egypt. But there was another Pharoah who knew not Joseph. And the Jews who had become wealthy, and after the famine was long past they remained in Egypt rather than returning to their own land. Under the new pharoah the Egyptians began to see the Jews as foreigners who had become rich at their expense.
As people will do, they envied the Jews and envy grew to hatred, as it always does. Certainly not overnight, but inevitably, envy and hatred morphed into the right of the Egyptians to enslave the Jews. Why didn't they see it coming and flee back to Palestine while they still could? I don't know, but there came a time when they couldn't flee, and for almost five hundred years they lived as slaves.
No doubt the religious leaders kept telling them that some day God would remember them and send them a deliverer. And, sure enough, along came Moses, willing to stand before Pharoah, demanding of him in the name of God to "let my people go." And the great deliverance happened.
In much the same way, Africans were sold into slavery by their own leaders. Surely they were aware of what African Chieftains were doing. They had been doing so for centuries, sending their captives to be slaves of northern Muslim warlords before Europeans began to take advantage of the black-on-black slave trade to supply labor needs of the new American lands, much of which were inhospitable to white workers. The African blacks were much more fit for the hot, wet climate of southern American colonies.
It was not a stretch for Europeans, who already considered themselves as superior to everyone who they came into contact with, to see themselves as having the right to use their inferiors as slaves. And to convince their slaves that they were obviously inferior and therefore they should submit to their betters.
And the black slaves toiled in slavery for two and a half centuries before someone came along to free them. And then another century living on whatever scraps were left behind by wasteful whites until a few began to realize that they might be worthy of being treated equally.
Why did it take hundreds of years for them to realize that they had been taken advantage of? I don't know. But I know that the descendants of the slave holders probably won't admit any responsibility for the acts of their forebears. And the descendants of the slaves probably won't take any responsibility for the submission of their forebears.
And neither should they. For none of us could possibly be responsible for actions and attitudes of folks about whom they weren't around to correct them. Besides, if we could time-travel back to our history, we would be more likely to agree with them than to try to instruct them. Our instructions would be certain to be taken as nonsense at best, as meddling at worst.
As Jesus taught in the parable of the rich man who in Hades begged Abraham to send Lazarus to warn his five brothers about the torments of Hades. Abraham told him that if they won't listen to Moses and the prophets, they won't listen to one though risen from the dead. Truly, "there is a great gulf fixed, so that those who want to pass from here to you cannot, nor can those from there pass to us." Luke 16
The story of the Exodus seems heroic. Just as the American Civil War seems heroic. But considered carefully it might not be so heroic for either. For the Jews in Egypt, consider how they became slaves. Joseph was sold into slavery by his own brothers. The rest of the family migrated to Egypt in a flight from famine.
Yes, they were welcomed into Egypt because Joseph had become a great and wise leader of Egypt. But there was another Pharoah who knew not Joseph. And the Jews who had become wealthy, and after the famine was long past they remained in Egypt rather than returning to their own land. Under the new pharoah the Egyptians began to see the Jews as foreigners who had become rich at their expense.
As people will do, they envied the Jews and envy grew to hatred, as it always does. Certainly not overnight, but inevitably, envy and hatred morphed into the right of the Egyptians to enslave the Jews. Why didn't they see it coming and flee back to Palestine while they still could? I don't know, but there came a time when they couldn't flee, and for almost five hundred years they lived as slaves.
No doubt the religious leaders kept telling them that some day God would remember them and send them a deliverer. And, sure enough, along came Moses, willing to stand before Pharoah, demanding of him in the name of God to "let my people go." And the great deliverance happened.
In much the same way, Africans were sold into slavery by their own leaders. Surely they were aware of what African Chieftains were doing. They had been doing so for centuries, sending their captives to be slaves of northern Muslim warlords before Europeans began to take advantage of the black-on-black slave trade to supply labor needs of the new American lands, much of which were inhospitable to white workers. The African blacks were much more fit for the hot, wet climate of southern American colonies.
It was not a stretch for Europeans, who already considered themselves as superior to everyone who they came into contact with, to see themselves as having the right to use their inferiors as slaves. And to convince their slaves that they were obviously inferior and therefore they should submit to their betters.
And the black slaves toiled in slavery for two and a half centuries before someone came along to free them. And then another century living on whatever scraps were left behind by wasteful whites until a few began to realize that they might be worthy of being treated equally.
Why did it take hundreds of years for them to realize that they had been taken advantage of? I don't know. But I know that the descendants of the slave holders probably won't admit any responsibility for the acts of their forebears. And the descendants of the slaves probably won't take any responsibility for the submission of their forebears.
And neither should they. For none of us could possibly be responsible for actions and attitudes of folks about whom they weren't around to correct them. Besides, if we could time-travel back to our history, we would be more likely to agree with them than to try to instruct them. Our instructions would be certain to be taken as nonsense at best, as meddling at worst.
As Jesus taught in the parable of the rich man who in Hades begged Abraham to send Lazarus to warn his five brothers about the torments of Hades. Abraham told him that if they won't listen to Moses and the prophets, they won't listen to one though risen from the dead. Truly, "there is a great gulf fixed, so that those who want to pass from here to you cannot, nor can those from there pass to us." Luke 16