The association of Pesach with the prophet Elijah is well known: Elijah's cup sits in the center of the Seder table, and it is to him that we open our doors before concluding the Seder. Elijah is also the speaker in one of the rare appearances of the word pasach in the Prophets: "How long will you keep hopping (poschim) between opinions?" he demands of the Israelites on Mt. Carmel. "If the Lord is G!d, follow him; and if Baal, follow him!" As R. Yaakov Madan points out in a pre-Pesach sermon published on the Internet, this doesn't meant that the Israelites were dithering between G!d-worship and Baal-worship; rather, having failed to make a decision, they were doing both at the same time. This course, Elijah warned them, was untenable; it would lead to corruption, violence, doom.
As some modern commentators point out, it's not always bad to dither; sometimes it is wise to draw back and consider the many facets of a situation before making a decision. Indeed, to make a wise decision, critical thinking is called for -- critical thinking that allows us to comprehend things and their opposites, differences of opinion, multiplicity, and the possibility of numerous truths, or numerous facets of truth -- the "70 faces of Torah." By contrast, action is brutal; in taking one course and persisting with it, we reject others. Yet it is by taking decisive action that we achieve tikkun ha'olam: liberation, the rectification of injustice, and the fulfillment of dreams.
Indeed, that is part and parcel of the Passover story. Legend tells us that not all the Israelites came out of Egypt: Only those who were willing to make a stand and paint their doorposts red with the blood of the sacrifice were liberated.
I thought of Elijah recently when I attended a demonstration against sex segregation on public buses serving (among others) the ultra-Orthodox population in Jerusalem. Yes, one could make an argument that such segregation is justified by the religious sensitivities of this population -- or by the economic needs of the public bus company, which fears competition from private companies serving this population alone. For these reasons, as one of the speakers at the demonstration pointed out, the government is pursuing a policy of trying to have it both ways --both approving and rejecting sex segregation -- rather than taking a firm stand on a policy that may render women second-class citizens in the public transportation system, of which they are prime users.
But isn't this also true of some other important aspects of our existence? Where it comes to the territories, too, we want to have it both ways: We want to stay in the territories and to withdraw from them. To keep Jerusalem united and to keep it on the negotiating table. To have a Jewish state and to keep the Palestinian population under our control. When I say to people: OK, so we're going for a bi-national state, they look at me with horror. But: Isn't that what we have?
The Passover story, the leap of Nachshon into the Red Sea, the story of Elijah on Mt. Carmel -- all these teach that there are times when we need to make decisions, however heartbreaking they may be in some respects, and see them through. Notwithstanding the blood smeared on the doorposts, the path of the Israelites led to freedom, spiritual uplift, and dreams of universal justice. May we all be blessed with knowing when we are called upon to take a stand, and may we have the courage to do so.
Postscript -- there are also spouses who want to stay married and be separated at the same time, to keep their wives tethered to them and be free to do as they please. Here, too, "hopping between two opinions" is the way to destruction.
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