The Talmud teaches that 30 days before Passover, we should start learning about the holiday and its meaning. In that spirit, I humbly offer "30 Days of Liberation." For each of the next 30 days, I will offer a brief message drawn from the wisdom of Passover. I hope you find these messages meaningful and inspiring. Feel free to share/forward.
30 Days of Liberation: Day 6
According to the Torah, after years of oppression, “the Israelites were groaning under the bondage and cried out; and their cry for help from the bondage rose up to God.” God hears their cries, and is moved to come to their aid. But God is not the first character in the narrative to leap into action. Pharaoh’s daughter sees baby Moses crying and saves him. Moses sees an Egyptian beating a Hebrew and intervenes. Then, Moses chases away a group of shepherds he sees harassing some Midianite girls. Maybe God refrained from rescuing the Israelites until people began taking action themselves. Or perhaps God’s intervention is a metaphor for the process of liberation that had already begun with these heroic human deeds. Or maybe, just maybe, God follows our example, and not the other way around. Divine action in the world corresponds with our own. When we lift up, God joins to bolster our efforts.
In the spirit of taking action, an anonymous Beth-El member has set a $50,000 challenge - The Passover Challenge. If we, the members of Temple Beth-El, raise $100,000 by the end of Passover (April 7th), he will donate $50,000 - for a total of $150,000 - to cover the current operational budget. Achieving this goal is one step towards financial freedom for our congregation. We can only meet this challenge if we ALL participate as generously as possible. To donate, please email Faith Kallman or call 804-355-3564 ext. 104.
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