Conclusion of the Seder - Or Is It?

Every year, we reach the end of the seder somehow -- whether by rote, by sleep, by questioning, by exhaustion, by exhortation, by investigation, by need, or some combination thereof. We discuss redemption and slavery, we grapple with history and present-day events. We rededicate ourselves to a thoughtful and courageous life, fighting tyranny and oppression.

We also end the seder by saying "Next year in Jerusalem," one of the final exhortations in the traditional haggadah. 

Jerusalem is one long-standing image of the ideal Jewish freedom, yet Israel itself is not an ideal state. Palestinians do not vote freely; the April 2019 elections in Israel involved oppressive monitoring of Palestinians and Arabs that explicitly discouraged those who were registered to vote from doing so. There is no system of absentee voting in Israel; if one is registered to vote as a citizen (already a hurdle), one must still be present on the day in question to cast one's ballot.

The treatment of Palestinians in Israel is a tragedy, not the hoped-for dream.

As we leave this seder, we must consider: what does it mean to long for freedom and yet know the Israeli state to be one of oppression?


haggadah Section: Conclusion