The most downtrodden, persecuted Jews be it in Spain or Germany or Morocco were often busy in their own private lives revolutionizing Jewish law, Jewish thought, Jewish poetry. He or she who can think freely is truly free. At the opposite extreme, if we live in a society which dictates societal norms, which makes those who are not in or with it or on the right page feel somehow inferior, then we can have all the freedoms in the world to travel, to do business, and yet we are not free.

If a Jew feels he or she shouldn't be seen praying in public because it is too Jewish, he or she is not free. If a person feels he or she cannot object to certain mores, certain behaviors, because it is not politically correct, then he or she is not free. If we feel we have to live in the stereotypical house with two kids and a dog, and if we don't we're outcasts, then we are not free. Freedom is more in the mind than in the flesh.

From whence does freedom come? From the freedom to ask, to inquire, to investigate concepts, rituals, values. This is true freedom. What Judaism teaches is that questioning is always welcome. The seder on Passover revolves around the questions because without freedom of inquiry there is no freedom. The Jew is always seeking to grow, to understand more and learn more.

Judaism at its core is a religion of intellectuals. Not intellectualism in an elitist sense, but in the popular sense. Judaism dreams not of a philosopher king, as Plato would have it, but of a philosopher nation. Everyone can study Jewish law, philosophy, liturgy. In an ideal Jewish community, everyone is engaged in the study of law. It's an amazing thing. A simple person, not so brilliant, not so learned, in Jewish tradition, can also and must also open the pages of the Talmud and try to read a little, try to understand a bit. As the
Haggadah says, she-eino yodea lishol, at petach lo, if he doesn't' know how to ask, we still have to try to stimulate him to understand the laws. In our schools, with all their technological progress,  never does a child have a chance to study laws. Increasingly, our youngsters don't even know their own constitution and certainly not the legal system.

But things are starting to change. I said at the outset that Judaism's teachings will become increasingly important in the coming decades. Look what we have seen recently, a tremendous interest in the OJ Simpson case, and the impeachment of the president. Suddenly, average citizens are sitting up in their chairs and observing how the justice and congressional systems work in this country. Look
at how many TV shows now are dedicated to courtrooms, whether actual or fictional. There is a growing awareness of what our system is about. Without this, democracy and society itself cannot function. If citizens don't understand the very premises which society is based on, it is doomed to failure.

The first aspect of Pesach which serves as a model for the next century is the obsession of the Haggadah with inquiry and study. Some of the rabbis stayed up all night studying.  No child is to be left out. Every ritual object of Passover must be understood and explained. This model of an informed electorate should and will serve as an outstanding model for democracy in the 21rst cent.

The second aspect of Pesach which can guide us and carry us into the next century is that there is meaning beyond productivity, beyond economics, beyond technology. What we taught the world in Egypt is that there is more to life than work, than building and creating. If we cannot worship freely, then all our work is meaningless. If we cannot live within our own national independence and self determination, then all the cucumbers and watermelons the Jews ate in Egypt are worthless. We turned to Pharaoh and had the audacity to say, if we cannot convey our beliefs to our children, then all is lost, meaningless.

At the beginning of this century, as the industrial revolution was forging forward, as Americans were experiencing greater wealth and a better lifestyle than ever man had achieved, we became obsessed with this pursuit of the material. Many Jews today are still consumed with their consumerism and the thrill of new found wealth. We are now entering a new era, though. We are now in what some have called, post materialistic man. We came, we saw, we conquered,
and now we sit back and need to reflect, to take pause, to wonder where we are going with all these advances. There is a growing frustration with the notion of just earning a living, just living in  a big house. People want more. People want to find meaning. Many Jews are turning to adult education, here and in Israel. People are changing careers more than ever.

The Exodus from Egypt, and Judaism itself, whose centerpiece is the Exodus, teach that we have to find meaning beyond technology, beyond success. We left Egypt, but never aspired to reach the technological heights of Egypt. We had more lofty goals of being a priestly and holy nation. Whereas other religions worshiped nature itself, the trees, the moon, the stars, Judaism always preached that there was more to life than met the eye, greater forces to aspire to than a big tree or  a remote planet.

Judaism is a religion based on miracles. The ten plagues, the splitting of the sea, all represent the fact that there is more to life than nature. We can aspire to go way beyond nature, way beyond ourselves. The second lesson of Judaism for the next century is that we must aspire to go beyond technology to something grander, more holy, and spiritual.

From this it would appear that Judaism is not interested in technology, in nature itself. This is too, is not true.  The third big lesson of Judaism for humanity is that the spirit and the body, religion and science, the world above and below, can be integrated, must be integrated.

In the early part of the industrial revolution, there was a sense that we had to free ourselves from religion in order to advance. It fostered a total disjunction, between the realm of the religious and the realm of the secular. We ourselves became convinced that if we were serious scientists, physicists, artists, philosophers, historians, we could not and we dare not mix religions and science. As a matter of fact, he or she who did mix them was performing the ultimate secular heresy. This is part of the lack of freedom of expression I
spoke of before. To believe in the bible is greatest heresy in certain so called intellectual circles.

Now that we have had science, unencumbered by religion for a few centuries, many people are now trying to bring the two back together again. There are now attempts to integrate evolution with the bible, the big bang theory with the bible, modern archeology and the bible.

Pesach represents a political and economic revolution intertwined in that special Jewish way with a religious revolution. We celebrate Passover with study, prayer, and song, but without actually eating the matza, the maror, and in the old days, the paschal lamb, the celebration is not complete. In Judaism, far from separating the sacred and the secular, we are constantly told to combine the two. We celebrate our spiritual freedom and exultation with plenty of food and drink. This is the Jewish way to celebrate holidays and shabbat.  In Judaism, the sacred and the secular intertwine and intermingle in magnificent harmony.

While it is important for science and religion to appreciate their differences and respect their boundaries, think of all the greatness which could  emerge in the coming century if religion and science and all the great minds associated with both would team up, work together, and come to a fuller, more holistic understanding of the world around us.

Pesach is the holiday whose themes of open inquiry, the search for greater meaning, and the integration of body and soul, mind and heart, can provide new constructs for living in the next century. We are the proud bearers of this amazing tradition which edifies, educates, integrates, and gives our lives meaning beyond the mundane here and now. On Pesach more than any other time, we
should be proud to be called Jews, proud to be part of a nation that never ceases to inquire, to investigate and learn, proud to be a part of a people who have always striven for a better and more meaningful life, and proud to be a part of a tradition which nourishes both our body and soul.