Last night was Passover's Second Seder, which concludes:
"Ended is the Passover Seder, according to custom, statute and law. As we were worthy to celebrate it this year, so may we perform it in future years. Oh pure one in heaven above, restore the congregation of Israel in your love. Speedily lead your people to Zion in joy. Next year in Jerusalem!"
Cairo columnist Tarek Heggy has been a frequent contributor here at Winds of Change.NET. In the wake of his 2004 Passover greetings, we had an interesting email exchange around the story of Passover, the role of the Egyptians, and one specific part of the Passover Seder: the spilling of 10 drops of wine, as the plagues visited upon the Egyptians are recited.
Why do we do that? The more I thought about it, the more I wondered if perhaps the standard explanations were missing something - something that goes right to the heart of this holiday of freedom.
Just out of curiosity, what do the people in Jerusalem say?
Rod, that's actually an excellent question. They say the same thing, for 3 reasons:
(1) They're already fulfilling the hoped-for task that animated Passover Seders for 2,000 years: rebuilding Zion, and being in Israel which is the only place certain "Mitzvahs" can be performed. Next year, it's good to still be around, and for Jerusalem to still be around, and to still be performing that mission. So yeah, "Next year (too) in Jerusalem!"
(2) The wish is a collective one... "next year in Jerusalem" for all Jews. After all, the in-gathering of the exiles is a precondition for the Messiah's arrival.
(3) As #2 hints, the phrase has multiple overtones that include geography but go beyond it. To use a 1960s analogy "in Jerusalem" is something like being "on the bus" - a deliberate and successful participant in changing one's own consciousness, and making the world a better place, as part of G-d's plan. You can be in Jerusalem the city without being "in Jerusalem," therefore.
Always good to have more people on the bus.
SIDEBAR:
Mitzvahs... lit. "commandments," loosely translates as praiseworthy deeds. There are 613 total for Jews, and only 7-17 required for everyone else (7 Mosaic Laws and/or The 10 Commandments).
If this sounds like it's harder to get into heaven as a Jew... uh, you're right. You can see where the Christians had a bit of an advantage in the recruitment department.