Ping. The last desperate attempt of uncovering the fate of the 239 passengers of Malaysian Airlines Flight MH 370 that has kept the world in suspense with bated breath.
In a coincidence bordering on the miraculous, advance ‘ping detector’ ships and towed submarines detected a ping signal consistent with that of the Malaysian Flight for just ninety seconds. The black box of the airplane has battery power to send aping signal every second for thirty days. It seems that this week’s ninety second signal was in the last ninety seconds of the battery of the black box!
As I collect my thoughts top prepare for a more meaningful Passover Seder this year, I realise that each and every Jew too, has a ping signal, a homing device. Unlike the black box of lost airplanes, it might go many months or years without emitting a signal. But the battery never dies out.
A Jew might live a life of decadence and G-dlessness for eighty or ninety years, but the time will come, later if not sooner, that his guilty conscience will start to beep. The Yiddishe neshoma, also known as the pintele yid, the Jewish Core, cannot and will not be forgotten. It will do whatever it takes to be noticed.
At the Seder we speak of four sons: the wise one the chilled out one, the simple one and the one who doesn’t know how what’s going on. All these four kinds of Jews at least are present at the Seder table. There is a fifth kind of Jew, who doesn’t even know that tonight is Passover.
Though he might not even realise it himself, he has a Pintele yid inside that desperately wants to be found. We all know this fifth son. We’re just too embarrassed to invite him to our Seder.
Think of him as MH370. He is lost at sea and is yearning to be found. Reach out to him with love. Invite him to your Seder. It’s never too late to come home!
Wishing you a wholesome and meaningful journey ‘Out of Egypt’!