There will be one additional candle on my seder table this year. Thanks to the Velveteen Rabbi for bringing this to my attention. May you all have a blessed Shabbat and a wonderful, joyful Pesach that liberates you from whatever keeps in bondage.
We are the guardians of the fire.
We pass the flame to connect the sparks.
The sparks connect the web of life,
But sometimes we forget.
When we forget we create a hole.
We create dark where once there was light.
We are the guardians of the fire.
We pass the flame to change dark to light.
The light feeds all life,
But sometimes we forget.
When we forget someone is lost.
There is no beacon to guide them home.
We are the guardians of the fire.
We pass the flame to mark the way.
For those who walk with us, and those who may follow;
We leave this world brighter, with hope for tomorrow.
May we open our hearts to the Heart of the Universe, and feeling the light of the Divine within all, know that we are one.
from Peeling a Pomegranate Haggadah
[tags]freedom, liberation, passover, pesach, unlit candle, tibet[/tags]
Wow. That's amazing. I really love it when at a feast celebrating freedom from slavery, celebrators remember those who are not yet free.
You probably already know that in the days of slavery in the US, many slaves strongly related to the biblical story of Israelites enslaved in Egypt…and thus, it seems to me, found inspiration for their own freedom. The different stories becoming one–that's so beautiful to me.
I certainly hope Tibet's story has a happy ending…
We ended up not just calling out Tibet. The reality is there are so many places right now where people are oppressed — some far worse than Tibet — that we decided to mention the "unlit candle" movement and use it as a reminder that oppression isn't just a thing of the past.
oh yes, very true.