Stop politicizing Passover and let the Seder spiritually transform you

Every year, people choose Passover to push partisan agendas. This year, Jewish human rights groups have already begun promoting Passover Haggadah materials that encourage people to “put social justice on your table” and confront “racism,” poverty, authoritarianism and the climate crisis. Instead of letting the holiday change us, we continue to employ it to support causes.

Predictable columns reframe the holiday as a lesson in immigrant rights. Reform Judaism even encourages the addition of modern political symbols to the seder plate, such as olives symbolizing solidarity with Palestinians, oranges symbolizing LGBTQ+ inclusion, fair trade chocolate representing workers’ rights, and acorns honoring American Indians.

I’m guilty of this. I once wrote a column arguing that the inclusion of the “bad boy” at the Seder table symbolically rejected cancel culture, and that the Exodus story defended freedom of expression because Moses demanded that the Pharaoh “let my people go” and that the Israelites deserved salvation by preserving their language in partial slavery.

But politicizing religion risks obscuring its personal and spiritual essence.

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That’s what progressives do. So are conservatives. The right appeals to the Bible to oppose abortion and defend traditional family values. The left calls on him to defend social justice.

Pope Benedict XIV In a recent speech to diplomatic officials, Leo insisted that “every immigrant is a person with “unalienable rights” and warned governments not to use crime and human trafficking as excuses to undermine the dignity of immigrants.” Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde, who called for mercy on refugees in the name of God after the inauguration of President Donald Trump last year, re-entered the immigration fight in January 2026 by participating in anti-ICE protests in Minnesota.

Even matzoh teaches us. Unlike puffed bread, it is flat and modest. It’s a stark contrast to a culture obsessed with image and ego. In a world that rewards over-self-importance, matzoh reminds us that true salvation begins with humility.

Each side comes up with its own justification, often citing contradictory verses to prove its own case. Nehemiah 4:13-14 is used to justify border security by comparing it to defending the walls of Jerusalem, while Leviticus 19:34 is used to advocate a more tolerant immigration policy because it commands civility towards strangers. Genesis 2:15 supports environmental policy because it presents humans as protectors; Genesis 1:28, on the other hand, speaks of sovereignty over nature and can be used to justify the exploitation of natural resources.

Religion loses its meaning when reduced to political ammunition. Instead of being transformational, it becomes performance-based.

In this photo taken on Wednesday, April 20, 2016, the famous Bird’s Head Haggadah, a medieval copy of a text read at the Passover table, is on display at the Israel Museum in Jerusalem.

Of course, faith can also be a force for moral clarity in public life. Exodus inspired abolitionists. Rabbis marched for civil rights. But faith must do more than fuel activism. Faith is deeply personal.

This is similar to the old ethical teaching about a person who spends his life trying to change the world, his country, his town, and his family, and eventually realizes that if he wants to make the greatest impact, he must first change himself. Passover expresses the same demand. Before we use the holiday to fix the world, it asks us to confront our own demons.

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I felt this tension at my Seder table, too. Instead of soul-searching, I mindlessly browse through the Haggadah, ponder scientific explanations for the division of the sea and the ten plagues, or drift into politics. Everything except the inner workings.

But Passover is not about solving the world’s problems. It’s about the bondage within us. It’s about letting the story transform us. The Haggadah commands everyone to view themselves as having left Egypt themselves. This is not a metaphor for someone else’s struggle, no matter which political leader you think Pharaoh represents, or which oppressed people reflect the Israelites. It is a challenge to confront our own limitations and pursue our own salvation one good thing at a time.

With this principle, the Lubavitcher Rebbe rebuilt Jewish life from the ashes of the Holocaust. As documented in “Letters to Life,” the Rebbe focused not on politics or ideology but on promoting one positive action, one mitzvah at a time, to create lasting transformation. Psychology supports this. Behavioral activation therapy, used to treat depression, shows how goal-directed action can reshape the mind even before motivation arrives.

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The Seder reflects the same idea. The four glasses of wine represent the stages of breaking destructive patterns, embracing positive change, developing ethical awareness, and internalizing growth.

We move towards freedom through ritual and storytelling. We don’t just remember the Exodus. We are experiencing this.

Even matzoh teaches us. Unlike puffed bread, it is flat and modest. It’s a stark contrast to a culture obsessed with image and ego. In a world that rewards over-self-importance, matzoh reminds us that true salvation begins with humility. If you are still a slave to your own self, you cannot escape Pharaoh.

Even matzoh teaches us. Unlike puffed bread, it is flat and modest. It’s a stark contrast to a culture obsessed with image and ego. (iStock)

We eat bitter herbs at the Seder not only to remember the suffering of our ancestors, but also to confront our own suffering, to taste the pain we carry, and to unearth what we have buried.

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Egypt is not just a historical place. This is a personal metaphor. Mental chains are just as real as physical chains. Fear, shame, addiction and anger are our modern Pharaohs. The Seder gives us a spiritual road map to liberation.

Faith does not mean serving our platforms or validating our political biases. It means challenging us and turning us into better people.

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