Leap of faith: Questioning is the secret to survival

As we each prepare for our seder, there is one thing they will likely all have in common – bowls smeared yellow with the discarded egg yolks that the children refuse to even try.

I am honoured each year to attend a seder at our local Jewish community school, Clore Tikva Primary School, where the pupils are always quizzed about the meaning of this soon-to-be bifurcated egg. They answer with certainty that the egg symbolises the rebirth of spring. They are right, but – typically Jewish – there are many other answers, too.

Curiosity is at the heart of Judaism, even to the degree that the rabbis of the Talmud would do silly things until they could awaken the questioning in their children and organically draw out the classic: “Why is this night different from all other nights?”

Whilst the egg almost certainly refers to the festival sacrifices at the ancient Temple in Jerusalem, the Chatam Sofer is sometimes quoted as saying that the more the Jewish people are boiled, the harder we become.

This is a tempting explanation to adopt today, when we feel pressures from the outside and sometimes think the only answer is to develop a thick shell and a hard inner resolve. There are many who react to hardship by closing down and toughening up. More and more, those who claim a ‘true Judaism’ are acting defensively and trying to solidify the legitimacy of one type of Jewish practice. They forget the value of intermingling with neighbours and invest only in high walls and gates.

The Iftars (post-Ramadan meals) at Progressive synagogues across the UK – including London, Hertfordshire, Birmingham and Newcastle – are helping bonds of friendship of the strength which only exists when we invite others into our homes and our synagogues. Judaism has never been a religion of hardened hearts – that description applies only to Pharaohs.

Indeed, according to the modern Jewish novelist Dara Horn, “the opposite of hatred isn’t love or empathy. It’s curiosity”. Judaism, under immense pressure, has never set. This is the secret to our survival.

As we gather around our seder tables – whether with family, friends or our communities – without a doubt, there will be at least three opinions as to the best way of serving the eggs (salted or not, in warm water, or just by themselves).

I’m sure there will be a similar number of disagreements around whether the current governments here and abroad are “good for the Jews” and our country. Fixed opinions are the yellow yolk we should be leaving at the side of the bowl. After all, we are the ever-questioning people, as four questions double (increase?) exponentially and the conversations spark to life in our synagogue halls and homes.

So, this year, as we gather for Pesach, I hope that we are able to find friends who will join us in the questioning of how things are and how they got here. I pray that the age-old mantra of: “They tried to kill us. We survived. Let’s eat,” is translated into the present tense: “We survive. Let’s talk about it. And, of course, let’s eat.”

Rabbi Jordan Helfman is at Oaks Lane Reform Synagogue