Why this night is NO different for one California town

An article I read today detailed the judgement made against the Sriracha Hot Sauce factory.
In case you've been living in a cave... not just any cave, but a very bland cave... better yet, the gingerbread house... Sriracha is an immensely popular, and very pungent hot sauce.

The town where the plant is located (Irwindale, CA) filed a complaint (which they won) that "the strong smell of peppers being crushed at the plant was causing headaches and irritating the eyes and throats of nearby residents."

Though in reality it's more reminiscent of the 6th plague where the sky was filled with smoke and ash... it just brought up thoughts of our least favorite Passover food (no, I wasn't referring to Manischevitz).

At this evening's seder, millions of Jews will eat marror, the bitter herb symbolizing our decades of painful, demeaning oppression at the hands of the ancient Egyptians.  Some use lettuce, but many Jews use sharp, raw ground horseradish as their Marror.

If you've ever had a straight spoon of ground horseradish, you could probably lift a hot air balloon straight into orbit.  I don't mean the wimpy stuff they sell in jars (though, I'm not such a tough guy I mean buying a horseradish root and grinding it on the very same day. 
and I have trouble with that, too).

Why would I want to subject myself to that, if I can get by with romaine lettuce?

Why do you think the Torah obligated us to eat bitter herbs to begin with?  Why not just remember the bitter times?

Because it's not so easy to cry about something that happened three thousand years ago.

So this year, channel a little Irwindale. Eat your marror in a horribly bitter, painful and tear inducing freshly ground state.  Cry a bit.

It's at least as important as hot sauce...

Let My People Go... TO CAMP!

Here's a repost of an article I wrote a year or two ago.  Enjoy!

Jewish Camp and the Exodus
By Rabbi Dani Locker, Director, Camp Nageela West

Many words have been used to describe the institution of Jewish camp. Inspirational, Relaxing, Fun, even Epic. But Biblical?

With the advent of Passover this year, as any, Jews ponder the relevance of the Exodus story in their own lives. After all, as the author of the Haggadah puts it, “Each person is obligated to see him or herself as if he or she has personally exited Egypt.” In Las Vegas it has a literal meaning, as we take off from MaCarran airport with the pyramid of the Luxor in the background, toward our campus in Utah, a place which , although lacking milk and honey, is called Zion by many.

Vegas aside, think about the Exodus narrative. Sure, we think of the ancient Hebrews as slaves who had to work, work, work every day and every night, which is true. The more significant problem, though was that of a spiritual holocaust.
For two hundred and ten years, the children and grandchildren of Jacob settled into Egypt as Jews have done throughout history. They prospered, they multiplied, and became thoroughly Egyptian. Many Jews adopted Egyptian idolatry. When God announced to His heavenly minions the masterplan of the exodus, the angels reacted with confusion, "we can't tell the difference between the Israelites and the Egyptians!".
Leaving the oppressive confines of Egypt, our nation was able to develop our own identity, away from the confusing influences of Egypt.

When a Jewish child lives in our confusing World, it may become difficult for that child to pinpoint exactly what being 'Jewish' means. They may unknowingly quote the angels, "I can't tell the difference between myself and my friends. Am I different?"

Leaving the city, immersed for three weeks in a proud Jewish environment... Experiencing the excitement of a Shabbat dance, the electricity of a kumzitz and the clarity of a simple, explanatory service connects him in a real way to the Jewish people.
Independence is a factor as well, and I don't mean the national sort. As slaves, there are few decisions one can make on his own. Eat this, build this, wear this. Finally as free people, our ancestors were truly able to grow as individuals.
Children are oft comparing themselves to slaves. True, their complaints and their requests for unlimited jelly beans or to eliminate bedtime may not be justified. Yet three weeks in an Environment where they develop away from their family, away from school , away from who everyone else wants them to be, gives that maturing boy or girl a very special chance to be themselves. Really themselves.

Oh, and don't forget the camping under the stars...

We can continue making comparisons, but the
Message is clear... Let my people go... To camp!

And the gloves are off

It's been a while since I've blogged, but I keep seeing trends that puzzle, concern and, I have to admit, somewhat amuse me. Now my rant.

I just read an article describing the all-out brawl that took place at a hockey game at Nassau Coliseum.
That itself is surely a common occurrence, in a sport which glorifies fighting (a topic meriting its own blog post). What was unusual about this particular brawl is that it was at a charity game between New York's greatest heroes, the police and fire department (I use the term heroes quite literally. I have massive gratitude and respect for the members of both these groups). NYPD won the game (they have more experience shooting), but not before a  fight taking several minutes took place.

Just explain something to me please.  When did it become acceptable in society for adults to fight in anger (as opposed to competitive fighting which I have no problem with).  I get it that in an intense moment during a game a temper may flare. It's unfortunate, but I can even relate to a hard check or tackle (depending on your sport) in the heat of the moment.  But please explain how, according to the article, "players from both teams grappled with each other for several minutes as the crowd roared their encouragement."

SEVERAL MINUTES?  CROWD ENCOURAGEMENT?  I'm sorry. 
Sometimes a kid wets his bed. I've never cheered for that.   Have you?  

Ok, so cops and firemen, while doing really, really valuable, important jobs are fallible. Imperfect. I can get over that. They embarrassed themselves and the city they represent. Reprehensible but not 'world ending'. How do you roar your approval for an adult having a tantrum?
Am I missing something?

And make no mistake, every child in that arena got a clear message: "if you're angry, go ahead and tantrum, go ahead and lose your self control, it's ok to quit acting civilized. We'll cheer for you.
We'll shout our encouragement.