Melville H. Nahin, 33°

Passover teaches that indifference to knowledge leads to the loss of freedom.

During this time of the Masonic year, we look forward to the observance of the Festival of Maundy Thursday. In Roman Catholic theology, it is called Holy Thursday. As beautiful as these observances may be with the pageantry and festivity surrounding them, I wonder how many among us realize that these customs, like the observance on which the Last Supper is based, are really outgrowths of the Seder observed by those of the Jewish faith.

When we recall the years when Jesus and his disciples met and ate together and performed certain rituals and ceremonies, we also remember that Jesus entered the Holy City of Jerusalem during the festival of Passover, when the fate that lay ahead of him was known to him. Yet, accepting his fate, Jesus taught dedication to the concept of freedom for the soul and the spirit.

At the Last Supper, those present observed what was traditionally called a Seder, a Jewish festival focused on the meaning of the Passover holiday and the foods used in that ceremony, all indicating the hasty departure of the children of Israel from Egypt and symbolizing their freedom. In Exodus we are taught about the ancient story of Israel's redemption from bondage in Egypt and from the land of Pharaoh, and we are directed to recall the dramatic and miraculous events which led to the exodus from the ancient land of slavery.

During the traditional Seder dinner, there is a representation of four sons who symbolize the effects of knowledge and freedom. An emphasis on learning and study has always played a significant role in the heritage of the Jewish people. Perhaps there is a connection between this tradition of learning and the heritage of freedom.

We are told that the wise son asks, "What does the service mean to us?" The wise son shows interest in the story of Passover and asks questions concerning its meanings to himself and to his fellowmen. This wise son is immersed in the world yet attentive to those around him. He wishes to gain knowledge to better his relations with others. By gaining knowledge, he becomes more free from manipulation, bigotry, hatred, and superstition. He becomes free to make his own decisions with wisdom and his judgments with an open mind. The voice of the majority is not his criteria for what to do.

But knowledge can also be used wrongfully. The wicked son has a reason for learning how Passover affects others. He asks, "What does this service mean to you?" The wicked son is interested in knowledge as a means of power over other people. He realizes that by learning the motivation of others, he can manipulate and control them. His knowledge is used for his own enslaving end; the welfare of this fellowman does not concern him.

By the perverted use of his knowledge, the wicked son has the power to divest others of their ability to make reasonable judgments. Their actions and thoughts can be swayed by bias, fear, and propaganda. Their thoughts are controlled, and they are enslaved by a tyrant.

Then there is the simple son who is indifferent to knowledge because his is not concerned with finding truth and is, therefore, the one who can be controlled and enslaved. The simple son asks, "What is all this anyway?" The danger of tyranny arises when enough people are indifferent to the truth, when there is a general failure to delve beneath the surface and consider statements carefully. Then people are subject to lies and deceits through which tyrants win power. Indifference to knowledge leads to the loss of freedom.

Last, there is the son who is still too young to ask and must be taught. The love for truth and knowledge must be instilled in him. This son may be molded into a wise, wicked, or simple son. Though we love and protect our children, though we lavish them with experiences to stimulate their imaginations and their intellects so that they may find what is beyond our own reach, our children still belong only to themselves.

No one belongs to anyone else; our children are not ours. We nurture and love them, but we have them as a trust. We are given them as a stewardship, and this trust achieves fulfillment when we set them free. Our children are not our children; they are the sons and daughters of life.

And so as Masons observe the Maundy Thursday festival and join with Brethren of the Jewish faith in the reading of the Haggadah, the story of the Passover, may we continue to tell all our children the story of freedom.

"Why is this night different from all other nights?" a child asks at the Jewish Seder. We might answer, "This night is different from all other nights of the year because on this night we are celebrating and recalling the liberation of the people of Israel from Egyptian slavery and the effect that this has had on our own heritage of freedom. The people of the world have continuously been involved in the struggle against those who wish to usurp freedom."

When the struggle for freedom is no longer necessary, perhaps this observance will lose some of its importance. But until that time comes, we must continue to remind ourselves of the blessings of freedom given to us by the Great Architect of the Universe.

There are always men who have sought power by forcibly subjugating other men to their wills, men who have acted as if they were gods entitled to complete obedience. Also, men have been enslaved by poverty, inequality, ignorance, and limited vision. The Passover bids us to try to break all chains that bind human beings. We in Freemasonry know that as long as some men are in chains, all men are in chains. As long as all men are not free, no man can be free. This is the message we must teach to the son who is yet too young to ask. This is the true meaning of Passover for Jew and non-Jew alike, for Mason and non-Mason alike—a lesson for all men of good will. 

Melville H. Nahin  an attorney in Los Angeles, is Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of California (1998–99), Past Venerable Master of Los Angeles Valley, present Chairman of Los Angeles Scottish Rite Childhood Language Disorders Clinic, Past Master Ionic Lodge No. 520 and Southern California Research Lodge, and Chairman of the Board of Governors Shriners Hospitals for Children–Los Angeles Unit.