God – Adult Reflections
I am sure that for God, dealing with the Israelites must have been quite frustrating. God performed wonders and miracles for them through Moses, and the only thing God seemed to want was some loyalty and allegiance. Yet, those were not easy to obtain from the Israelites.
God was clearly very frustrated, so much so, that God offered Moses to destroy the Israelites and start a new people only out of Moses, his faithful servant. Moses succeeded in convincing God not to do it. Somehow God moves on and keep the special covenant with the Israelites, one that we still uphold today.
The lesson that I gather from this is that even when you help people, it doesn’t buy allegiance. In as much as we are commanded to be Godly and God-like, we must understand that we should help people without expecting anything in return.
God for Younger Children
God probably had a very difficult time with his Israelite children. God did all sorts of wonderful things for them, and yet they misbehaved a lot of the time! And all God wanted was for them to behave!
Discuss with the children times when they make the wrong choices on behavior.
Do you ever whine or argue with your mom or dad when you are tired, or hungry?
Have you ever decided to just sit and pout and not clean up your toys?
Does it feel easier, sometimes, to just misbehave!
Develop a secret signal with them for Passover that will remind them they are headed down the road of misbehavior. When they see the secret signal they should stop and ask you what they should do instead!
God for Older Children and Teenagers
God probably found that dealing with the Israelites was really frustrating. God performed wonders and miracles for them through Moses, and the only thing God seemed to want was some loyalty and allegiance. Yet those were not easy to obtain from the Israelites.
God was clearly very frustrated – so much so, that God offered to destroy this people and start a new one for Moses!
Moses convinced God not to do it. Somehow God moves on and keeps the special covenant with the Israelites, one that we uphold till today.
When you help people, or do the right thing, it doesn’t buy allegiance. Inasmuch as we are commanded to be Godly and God-like, we must understand that we should help people and do the right thing without expecting anything back.
During this Passover, find a good deed that needs to be done. It could be in your community, school, at Temple, or anywhere. Get your family involved and do what you can to make some situation right…anonymously. The joy of helping and doing the right thing is often the best reward. No public recognition is necessary!
**Tonight, Passover ends – and we’ll be able to have our traditional challah again after Shabbat services! Also, if you’re still craving carbs, join some of your fellow congregants for dinner at Cinzetti’s (just west of Metcalf on 91st Street) after services.**
For the past week, Margaret Lange and I have given you some points for reflection in a daily e-mail focused on one of the players in the Passover saga. Once more, I encourage you to respond with your thoughts, opinions and insights about the daily topic.
Rabbi Jacques Cukierkorn
rabbi@templeisraelkc.org