Editor's note: On Friday night, April 14, Courtney Sattler was the Student Speaker at Chabad. The following is a transcript of her speech.
In the early spring, the eight-day event of Passover is celebrated, from the 15th through the 22nd of the month of Nissan. It commemorates the freeing of the Israelis from slavery in ancient Egypt. When the Jews were in slavery to the Egyptians, the Lord raised up Moses to be their deliverer. Moses told the Pharaoh about the plagues that would descend upon the Egyptian people if Pharaoh would not let God's people go. Of course, pharaoh refused and the plagues hit Egypt with anger. In Egypt they worshiped the Nile and the sheep as their G‑d. According to the book of Exodus, it’s believed that G‑d put ten plagues on the Egyptians until the Pharaoh would release his Jewish slaves, and a lot of it sounds like it would make for a freaky horror movie today: in the first outbreak, all the water in Egypt turned to blood. The tenth and final outbreak was considered the worst–the slaughter of the firstborn. Since the Jews lived in Egypt, they were subject to this plague the same as the Egyptians. However, the Lord provided a means of protection. If they would take the blood of a lamb and spread it over the doorposts of their homes, the Lord would "pass over" them and the firstborn in their homes would be spared By following the rituals of Passover, we have the ability to relieve and experience the true freedom that our ancestors gained. There’s no getting around the fact that our seder story is not a neat, tidy or particularly pleasant story. That’s because – as we all know too well the powerful never give up their power without a fight.
Jews were never really into the whole “happily ever after” thing. Probably because we’ve never seen it in our long, tortured history of slavery, and exile. Young Jewish children who grew up in proximity to Irish, German, Italian, etc communities, saw kids who were taught to stand up for themselves and fight back if they got messed with. For Jews from the old country, fighting back could mean soldiers on horseback coming down from the hills to set fire to your village. But here in America, those who fought back were heroes. Standing up for yourself in your everyday life is important for us fellow Jews.
I find it extremely important that each and everyone of us Jews Stand up for ourselves. That people whose race and religion are intrinsic to their individuation proudly call themselves “Jews,” yet they resent others calling them such. And that nation brought under Jewish defeat is America. What I mean is that, wearing the star of David as a necklace to show others that your proud of who you are. One man states, “In the local Christian community, I proudly wear the Star of David around my neck simply as DEFIANCE. This act of defiance is something personal within me. I realize that Christians do not understand and only think this Star around my neck is simply a Jewish symbolism acknowledging my Jewishness.
The mezuzah has always identified a home as being Jewish. Travelling throughout the world, one can often seek out fellow Jews by looking for a mezuzah on the door. If we want our internal world to reflect Godly ideals, we have to protect it against the outside world at the point of interface the doorway. Having this on your doorpost in a neighborhood where there is a diverse group of cultures. Being able to be who you are and not being afraid for standing up for being Jewish.
I personally feel that us as Jewish people, should stand up for ourselves when we attend services on a Saturday morning. Meaning, when our friends who are not Jewish ask us to go for breakfast on a Saturday morning, you telling them that you’re going to synagogue for services by doing this you are standing up for yourself, fellow Jews of today, yesterday, and the future.