Next Year in Jerusalem...Really!

Question of the Week:

Here's one I always wanted to know. We traditionally end the Passover Seder with the wish, "Next Year in Jerusalem!" What if you're living in Jerusalem? Do you say, "This year in Jerusalem!", or just leave that line out?

Answer:


The Jewish story can be summed up as a long journey from Egypt to Jerusalem. These are not just geographical locations, but they symbolize two opposite spiritual states. The journey from Egypt to Jerusalem is a spiritual odyssey. Both as a nation and as individuals, we have always been leaving the slavey of Egypt and heading towards the freedom of the Promised Land. By analysing the psychological Egypt and the inner Jerusalem, we will see how this is a road that we are still travelling.

The Hebrew name for Egypt is Mitzrayim, which means limitations, restrictions, obstacles. It represents a state in which our souls are trapped in our bodies, enslaved to material desires and tied down to physical limitations. It is a world in which righteousness, justice and holiness are held captive to corruption, selfishness and egotism.

Jerusalem means "the city of peace" - a place of peace between body and soul, heaven and earth, ideal and reality. When our body becomes not a prison for the soul but rather a vehicle for the soul's expression; when we live our lives according to our ideals rather than our cravings; when the world values goodness and generosity over selfish gain, then we are in Jerusalem, we are at peace with ourselves and the world.

Let's say you are stuck in heavy traffic, late for an important meeting, and you see someone struggling to enter your lane from a side street. You are faced with a choice: to be kind and let them in, or you can worry about yourself and drive on. You could not allow them in, justifying yourself by thinking of how late you are. That would mean that you're still in Egypt

The Jewish people were born in Egypt, in slavery. But they were told that their destiny lay across a vast desert, in a Promised Land. As our forefathers walked out of Egypt - 3320 years ago Saturday night in 3 weeks - they were taking the first steps in a long journey to Jerusalem. Every generation since has pushed further forward along the road to Jerusalem. The journey continues with us. But we haven't got there yet. Even if you are living in the city called Jerusalem, as long as there remains suffering, injustice and unholiness in the world, we haven't reached the Promised Land. As long as we remain slaves to our own negative instincts and selfish desires, we are still trying to truly leave Egypt.

As we sit at the Seder, we note that another year has gone by, and we have yet to complete the journey. But we are getting there. We are that much closer to the Promised Land than we were last year. We have advanced a few more steps in a march to freedom that has spanned generations.

Perhaps this year, our efforts to better ourselves and our world will bring the fulfilment of the words of the Haggadah:

"This year we are here, next year we will be in the Land of Israel. This year we are slaves, next year we will be free.

Next year in Jerusalem...literally.

A happy and Kosher Pesach,
Rabbi Moss