Hear Our Voice

I’ve always loved this not so well-known movie called “Pleasantville,” in which a brother and a sister from the color-filled 1990s accidentally fall through the television set into the black and white 1950s. Their presence in the 1950s infuses a tremendous amount of w'rldliness.  They are in color, while the rest of the world around remains in black and white. However, their “roygbiv” color has a way of “infecting” the 1950s black-and-white television characters to the point where, as you can imagine, all heck is breaking loose. The movie ends with a scene in color in which black students enter a yellow school bus surrounded by white children. The message of the movie seems to be clear. While our goal should be to move towards enlightenment, and a richer, more beautiful multi-colored fabric of life, let us never pretend that life isn’t made more complicated (even if richer and more rewarding) when we step out of our narrow and fixed boundaries of comfort. When I was asked recently how I responded to the question of Christians celebrating Passover with a Seder, I knew this would require a multi-tiered approach.  The truth is, it’s complicated.  However, I think that is part of what leaving Mitzraryim is all about – leaving the narrow places that are kept narrow by simple answers to complex questions.  I think you will find this Vlog (Video blog), “Passionate Our Holidays,” a great place to consider these and other questions that surround what it means to live in a multi layered and textured world.