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Dec. 3, 2008

Steven Emerson: Yes, the terrorists are winning

Don Terry: Lifetime, no see

Dec. 2, 2008

Melanie Phillips: The Mumbai atrocity is a wake-up call for a frighteningly unprepared world

Stratfor Geopolitical Intelligence Report: Strategic Motivations for the Mumbai Attack

Dec. 1, 2008

Max Freidlander, as told to Jacklyn C. Wadler: India Inkings

Mark Steyn: Whodunit!?

Nov. 28, 2008

Rabbi Ahron Rapps: An evil seed that didn't have to be

Melanie Phillips: Carpe diem --- or can we all relax now?

Nov. 26, 2008

Michael Feldberg: Meet the Orthodox Jew who laid groundwork for scientific development of ordnance that undergirds America's current world leadership

Andrea Simantov: Shades of life

Nov. 25, 2008

The Jewish Ethicist by Rabbi Dr. Asher Meir : Getting Emotional For Influence

The Kosher Gourmet by Ethel G. Hofman : Thanksiving feast!

Nov. 24, 2008

Rabbi S. Binyomin Ginsberg: 'I just Became a grandchild!'

Barry Rubin: Don't flatter your enemies, protect your friends

Nov. 21, 2008

Rabbi A. Henach Leibowitz: Money matters?

Caroline B. Glick: Civilization walks the plank

Nov. 20, 2008

Rabbi Avi Shafran: Bronfman's blindness

The Kosher Gourmet By Linda Gassenheimer: Portobellos add a hearty flavor to pasta with pesto

Nov, 19, 2008

The Jewish Ethicist by Rabbi Dr. Asher Meir : Spread the wealth? Jewish tradition and income equality

Elliot B. Gertel: 'Mad Men': Tackling prejudices or reinforcing them?

Nov, 18, 2008

Dr. Debby Schwarz Hirschhorn: The End of the Age of Reason

Jonathan Tobin: Does Barack + Bibi = Disaster?

Nov, 17, 2008

Rabbi Yonason Goldson: The End of the Age of Reason

Diana West: Gulling Americans into making terror legit?

Nov, 14, 2008

Rabbi A. Henach Leibowitz: The Power of Spiritual Inertia

Caroline B. Glick: The perils ahead

Nov, 13, 2008

Stratfor Intelligence Briefing: How Bush and Obama together could change the Middle East dynamic

The Kosher Gourmet by JeanMarie Brownson: Sweet and savory, crispy and meltingly tender bestilla

Nov, 12, 2008

The Jewish Ethicist by Rabbi Dr. Asher Meir : Tyrannical Co-Workers

Michael Doyle: High Court to consider today donated monuments that may have religious messages in public parks

Nov, 11, 2008

Frank J. Gaffney, Jr.: Will Obama stop government officials considering institutionalizing financial jihad?

Jonathan Tobin: They Will Decide Their Own Fate

Nov, 10, 2008

Rabbi Avi Shafran: $8 billion, modern-day Tower of Babel being built?

Barry Rubin: A letter to the president-elect from a Middle East realist

Nov, 7, 2008

Rabbi Francis Nataf: Of Children and Immortality

Caroline B. Glick: Livni's Obama strategy

Nov, 6, 2008

Rabbi Yonason Goldson: How I tricked a classroom of apathetic students into grasping the fallacy of moral relativism

The Kosher Gourmet By Gina Kim: Tips for making the perfect soup --- includes recipes

Nov, 5, 2008

The Jewish Ethicist By Rabbi Dr. Asher Meir: Destitute Debtors

Bruce Weinstein: 'Religulos': Bad title,even worse movie

Nov, 4, 2008

Frank J. Gaffney, Jr.: Treasury Dept. submits to Shariah law

Frida Ghitis: A surprise for Obama in the Middle East

Nov, 3, 2008

Jonathan Rosenblum: Who says Jews are Smart?

Jonathan Tobin: Was He Wrong About Everything?

March 22, 2007

J-Rhythms with Avraham Rosenblum: JWR's cutting-edge music program showcasing performers -- singers, song writers, musicians, and bands -- who learn and live the Torah lifestyle (OUR NEWEST IGODCAST !)

Oct. 29, 2003
Mortimer B. Zuckerman: Graffiti On History's Walls (MUST-READ!)

Jewish World Review April 2, 2004 / 12 Nissan, 5764

A truly American Passover

By Rabbi Yaacov Polskin


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Civil War seders that have an important contemporary message


http://www.jewishworldreview.com | The effort and hard work preparing for the Passover seder culminates with the commemoration of our historic exodus from Egypt and thanking the Divine for His kindness.


Throughout our history, the annual rite has been observed despite difficult periods for our People. Against all odds, and improvised under harsh conditions, we've always strived to conduct the ceremony properly.


An exhibit now touring the country, "From the mountains to the prairie: 350 years of Kosher & Jewish life in America" includes the poignant accounts of two Civil War servicemen. Though political enemies — one was a Northerner and the other a Southerner — as Jews, they both persevered to observe Z'man Chayruseinu, the season of our freedom, when doing so seemed an impossibility.

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In the Spring of 1862, J.A. Joel, a member of the 23rd Ohio Volunteer Regiment, was stationed in what is now West Virginia. Four years later, in an article in The Jewish Messenger, he described the scene when he and twenty other Jews in the regiment were relieved from duty to be able to hold a Seder.


The camp supplier, who was traveling to Cincinnati, had provided the Jewish soldiers with seven barrels of matzah, two Haggados and prayer books.


But that was it.

One group of the young men built a log hut to serve as a temporary sanctuary for the service. Another was sent off to forage for more supplies. They returned with cider instead of wine, a lamb, chickens and eggs. Missing, though, were the traditional horseradish or parsley — integral seder ingredients.


"In lieu we found a weed, whose bitterness, I apprehend, exceeded anything our forefathers 'enjoyed,'" writes Joel.


They were unable to make charoses, the sweet mixture representing the mortar used by the Israelites to build the pyramids in Egypt. So, Joel recounts wryly, "we got a brick which, rather hard to digest, reminded us, by looking at it, for what purpose it was intended."


Everything went well until it came time to eat the substitute bitter herb. "The herb was very bitter and fiery like Cayenne pepper," he writes. The celebrants gulped down the cider, which was apparently hard and had its effect. "One thought he was Moses, another Aaron, and one had the audacity to call himself Pharaoh. The consequence was a skirmish, with nobody hurt."


Moses, Aaron and Pharaoh were carried back to camp to sleep it off.


"There in the wilds of West Virginia, away from home and friends," Joel states prouldly, if not deservedly, "we consecrated and offered up to the ever-loving G-d of Israel our prayers and sacrifice."

Isaac J. Levy, of the 46th Virginia Infantry, was stationed at Adams Run, S.C., in 1864. In a letter to his sister, he described observing Passover with his brother, Ezekiel, a captain, who arrived for the holiday with enough matzah to last a week.


"We are observing the festival in a truly Orthodox style. On the first day we had a fine vegetable soup. It was made of a bunch of vegetables which Zeke brought from Charleston containing new onions, parsley, carrots turnips and a young cauliflower also a pound and a half of fresh (kosher) beef, the latter article sells for four dollars per pound in Charleston. Zeke E. did not bring us any meat from home. He brought some of his own, smoked meat, which he is sharing with us, he says that he supposes that Pa forgot to deliver it to him."

These descriptions are timely because of their timelessness. The memoirs are picturesque as they depict the Jewish soul's yearning to relive Yetzias Mitzraim, the Exodus


These historical riveting anecdotes embody the seder's mystique and should have an important message for us, now: Somehow the interrogative dialogue surrounding the Four Questions retains its vitality no matter where it takes place. Three millennia later, the zeitgeist of the miraculous Exodus from Egypt is recaptured each year in every day and age.


What is it that underscores this phenomenon?


The Haggadah comments of the Jews' experience in Egypt that they were distinguishable as a nation apart. Their style of dress and language differed than those of their host country. Our sages further comment that even in the fleshpot of Egypt, the Israelites observed the mitzvos, the precepts handed down orally from their forefathers, preserving their identity.


This is a precursor for the Jewish experience. The Torah inspires that those who remember their glorious past are destined to repeat its success, for a Supreme Entity ensures Jewish continuity.


West Virginia circa 1862 and Adams Run, South Carolina, are a case in point. The United States was largely terra incognita for most Jews. Yet these dedicated individuals brought the homefront to the warfront to uphold their traditions.


In a signature phrase, the Haggadda narrative declares: "One who expounds on the Exodus story at length is meshubach", praiseworthy. The classic commentators remark that by incorporating the lessons of the miraculous Exodus into one's personality, one becomes a better individual, as he discusses how the One Above charts the course of human events for all of civilization.


The seder night carries the day; like the High Holidays, it leaves its mark on the remainder of the year. Indeed, a story is told of a guest who once graced the table of Rabbi Yitzchok Hutner. Inadvertently, he spilled some wine on the pristine white tablecloth. It was an awkward moment. But with his sagacious counsel, the sage put the guest at ease. "Feel at home," said he. "A tablecloth Passover night without any droplets of wine is like a Yom Kippur machzor (prayer book) without any tears."


The seder is a table of contents that infuses us with hope from the past to believe in the future. He Who performed miracles long ago will sound the shofar as we hail the clarion call, "Next Year in Jerusalem."

Every weekday JewishWorldReview.com publishes what many in uplifting articles. Sign up for the daily JWR update. It's free. Just click here.

JWR contributor Rabbi Yaacov Polskin is a lecturer with the Gesher Outreach organization. Comment by clicking here.


© 2004, Rabbi Yaacov Polskin