The story is told this time of year
in Jewish households around the world.
A story of freedom and redemption,
of a God that speaks directly to man
and causes miracles as well as hardship.
A vengeful God that in the end
takes away the life of one Egyptian generation
so that a new generation of Jews
can have freedom to search for a new land.
The story is told in symbol and song,
with a plate filled with items that, the book tells us,
represent the Pascal Lamb, the mortar used to build bricks,
the bitterness of slavery,
and Spring vegetables dipped in the tears of life.
But what of the egg?
The egg sits on the Seder plate, with nary a mention in the story.
This symbol of rebirth, of fertility,
is the unspoken connection to our Pagan past.
The Jews believe in one God,
but the holiday traditions still speak to the rituals
of celebrating and acknowledging the seasons.
It is no coincidence that the Festival of Lights falls near the Winter Solstice
nor is it an accident that Passover takes place during the full moon
around the time of the Spring Equinox.
The egg does not fit in the Haggadah;
It precedes the story
It is what came first
It is the new beginning
the new birth of the world
our connection to our primordial past
and a chance for us to make a better life in the future.
No comments:
Post a Comment