"Because life isn't fair" the distressed mom whispered into the ear of the boy sitting next to me at the dinner as she breaks off another piece of Matzos. A second before the six year old was asking why his sister got a bigger piece. Somewhat of an appropriate statement for a festive dinner that celebrates the release of bondage and slavery of the Jews. We put our fingers into the grape Manischewitz wine and flick off a drop onto the Seder plate for each of the Makot Mitzrayim ,a representation that with the freedom came horrible destruction and death. You can't have a celebration without remembering the hardships that brought you there. Death of the firstborn, totally not fair. Slavery, really not fair. Swarms of locusts, flies, infliction of boils and lice, that sucks. I hear people say that with religion there is always guilt. You're a sinner and you can never be good enough, every wayward step you take riddles you with fear from the all-mighty. What can't be changed gets put on God. What we don't like about ourselves we also blame on God. When a beautiful thing happens, the birth of a child or a sunset painted so perfectly in the sky only the majestic could have mastered, we thank "him". If you win a Grammy you should thank him also.
Do we feel so small and insignificant in the grand scheme of this Universe, to place it all on God?
I'm getting to a point here. During the Seder as we dropped our wine from the cups, we then proceeded to drop out wine for these plagues:
1) Plague of burdened health care systems: Malaria infection significantly burdens health care systems. In some countries, the disease may account for as much as 40% of public health expenditures
2) Plague of over $12 billion in lost workforce productivity: Malaria debilitates those infected, preventing them from going to work. In Africa, this incapacitation nearly costs $12 billion in lost productivity a year, hindering the economic development of third world countries.
3) Plague of familial burden: Malaria causes human pain and suffering, hampers children's schooling and social development, causes permanent neurological damages and impacts families financial stability.
4) Plague of child death: Malaria is the leading cause of under-five mortality in Africa. Every 30 seconds, a child dies from malarial infection.
5) Plague of indifference to a preventable disease. Malaria is both preventable and treatable. When brought under control, death, heath care burdens and lost productivity can drastically decrease.
What I like about Judaism is that it's viewed as our duty to help those with Malaria, to fight for justices- economic justice, human rights issues, to stop hunger and the effects of disease, to help those in need. Because of not now, when and if not I, then who?
It's not because of religious guilt, but because like our ancestors struggled for freedom, it's our opportunity to help those who struggle.
Because life isn't fair, but we want to make it fair.
This great evil - where's it come from?
