Passover and slavery

The story of the Exodus from Egypt has enduring relevance, even after more than 3,000 years.

It's sobering to report that tonight will be my 60th Seder. Probably. Neither I nor my parents can recall for sure where we were in the spring of 1947, but let's stay with 60.

The Seder is the Jewish family re-telling of the story of the Exodus from Egypt. At its heart is the injunction to see myself as though I've actually taken part in the experience - in the journey from slavery in Egypt to freedom in the wilderness of Sinai.

Sixty times! Yet I'm not bored and I'm not Passover-ed out.

It's always good to be with family. But more significantly, the Seder represents one of the iconic stories (note use of vogue terminology despite Christian overtones!) of the modern western world. The journey from slavery to freedom which resonates across contemporary culture and the globe: Go down Moses ... and tell old Pharaoh to let my people go.

Each Seder, I reflect on my personal journey from slavery to freedom, a journey I will never complete. I also reflect on the obscene resilience of slavery in the modern world - literal servitude still persists across the globe, not to mention human trafficking and the enslavements of our time and culture - by consumerism, by addictions, by economic forces and circumstances.

If you define the slave as someone who acts for others, benefits others, serves people and interests not his own, the persistence of slavery becomes clear. I'm excited and moved by this tradition I've inherited, with its enduring relevance and profound contribution to humanity.

At this point, my blog gets dangerous because I want to acknowledge something else as well. The Book of Exodus tells the story of the Exodus from Egypt and yet it also contains legislation that acknowledges and regulates that self-same evil institution. Yes, the legislation is relatively humane and an advance on surrounding societies but it's there, in the same book, in the same sacred scriptures as the account of the journey from slavery to freedom.

This is not, not, not a beat-myself-up session. It would be literally incredible if scriptures more than 3,000 years old corresponded absolutely with the values of the 21st century western world. But I want to acknowledge it to make this point. Religions have contributed a staggering amount to society.

The contemporary fashion - Richard Dawkins - to brand religion as a bad thing is nonsense and those who dismiss religion out of hand do humanity a grave disservice. But the point that I want to make is simply this. Every religious tradition has its dark side, its potential to mislead and misdirect, its mistakes, and its time-bound teachings which need discarding.

By and large we aren't very good at being self-critical and we lack the humility we so often claim and urge on others. This is not only - or even particularly - true of Judaism. It's also true of Christianity, Islam and humanism/secularism.

So what's the point?

At this time of Passover and Easter, let's celebrate the huge contribution of religion to humanity. Not the least the vision of freedom. But let's also reflect on the dark side, not just of religion but of all forms of human philosophy and ideology - the hubris, the arrogance, the false certainties, the shrill proclamations of crass convictions - to which we so often become enslaved and to which we so often enslave others.