This Passover, Talk about Power

(Disclaimer: In order to speak the language of the holiday, I use the word "God" in this post. I'm using it because God is a character in the Passover story; I'm not intending to make any claims about the historical veracity of Passover or the existence of an actual god.)

This Passover, can we talk about Power instead of Freedom?

We’re American; “Freedom” always sounds like a good thing. On Passover, liberal Jews love to celebrate it as a holiday of freedom. The clever ones among us like to add nuance to the conversation, things like “Freedom from or Freedom to?” and “What kind of freedom is truly free? Don’t we always serve something?” These are great questions, ones that point at the same thing I’m pointing to--

Why not just talk about Power?

To me, the whole story makes more sense when seen through this lens. The Hebrews are under the power of Pharaoh. God can only take them through a superior show of power. Then they are under God’s power instead.

I think we prefer the “Freedom” version because freedom sounds so unambiguously virtuous, and power does not. Power sounds desirable but suspicious, dangerous. What makes God’s power morally better than Pharaoh’s? That’s unclear; that depends on how define our terms.

And that’s why I’d rather talk about Power this year. Our minds link power and corruption, power and abuse. If we talk about power, it will drive us to think and talk and figure out what the heck “good power” looks like. Then we can consider the Hebrews in the desert in a different light-- not asking about how God’s law makes us free, but how God’s power succeeds or fails in empowering us, how power should be used or shared in the relationship between God and the people, and how we can discern whether or not God’s means and ends reflect “good power.”