Tzav (Pesach) 5786 - Pour Out Your... What?

Passover is upon us, so it’s time to break out the ol’ wine-stained, well-used Haggadot - the books that guide the Passover Seder - and once again brush up on the Four Questions and the Ten Plagues. Most of us recite the same sections of the Seder every year, spending more time on our favorite parts and skipping the dull ones. I did, however, want to bring your attention to a page that almost certainly never gets a lot of play, but which may feel especially relevant this year. Perhaps you’ve never even noticed it; not a lot of wine has dripped on this one. It’s called “Shefoch Chamatcha,” and comes right after the Grace after Meals and before a section called Hallel. “Shefoch Chamatcha” literally means “Pour Out Your Wrath”… and it’s a doozy. 

In four, short verses, we beseech God to punish all our enemies: “Pour out your wrath on the nations that do not know You, and on regimes that have not called upon Your Name.” Many of us skip this reading because it feels gruesome and angry, and it doesn’t fit the mood of our joyous, family-friendly evening… especially right before the fun songs, “Who Knows One?” and “One Little Goat.” So why is it here? Because our ancestors felt it was hard to sit and sing about Israel’s redemption from Pharaoh’s oppression without acknowledging their own evil “Pharaohs” - in every generation - who were making their lives miserable. If God could stop that ancient foe, maybe we could humbly ask for some plagues to smite our own oppressors too?? 

Right now, Anti-Semitism and Anti-Israel sentiment seem on the rise more than ever. Yet as a people, we’ve endured some horrible predicaments before. How do we respond to hatred and violence? Sometimes spreading hope, peace, and good will can be enough. However, “Shefoch Chamatcha” reminds us that other times our enemies are simply hell-bent on our destruction. The Festival of Freedom also comes to remind us that freedom isn’t free, and there are always forces working against us. This prayer reminds us to also stand up for ourselves and fight to protect our people. Maybe this year, pause at this troubling page and invite everyone to discuss why it’s here and what it asks of us. Remember all the pain our forbearers endured and what a genuine miracle it is that we’re still here. Anti-Semitic forces may never disappear fully, but neither will we. We endure no matter what. And that is truly worth celebrating.