The Movement for Reform Judaism

Those who listen to sermons are told repeatedly that chametz (leaven) isn't only that which we are forbidden to consume over Pesach but, above all, everything within each of us and the society around us that has gone "sour" and poisons body and soul. Pesach preparation, therefore, isn't only scouring cupboards but also an opportunity to look within and around to come clean.

The subject has become very topical these days in Israeli pubic life. For there's plenty of chametz around, even at the cabinet table. Prime Minister Olmert is still under investigation for dubious dealings in connection with his sale of his home, the purchase of a new one and the illicit promotion of rich friends. Finance Minister Hirschson has now been questioned by the police on three separate occasions and there's more to come. He's suspected of taking large sums of money from charitable organizations he was in charge of. Another senior minister, Avigdor Lieberman, allegedly received millions of shekels from unknown sources abroad for his "consultancy" firm which he ran before he returned to politics and which was registered in the names of his young daughters.

There's a law in Israel that forbids Jews from handling bread and other leaven products on Pesach. To ensure that the law is kept, inspectors are sent out to check stores and restaurants. They periodically fine law breakers. But the fine is so low that business owners find it lucrative to ignore the law. They sell chametz and, if caught, pay the fine and carry on. A similar situation seems to have prevailed in public life. The inspectors here are usually retired judges whose task is to discover corruption and expose it. As the discoveries were rare and mild, the culprits took their chances.

But things may be changing. First, the State Comptroller, Judge Lindenstrauss, is about to expose irregularities in the Prime Ministers political and financial cupboards. The latter insists that it's a personal vendetta on the part of the Comptroller. When in doubt, as I am, I tend to believe both sides.

Second, when next month the commission investigating last summer's war in Lebanon, chaired by Judge Winograd, will submit its report, more chametz is likely to surface, probably leading to the resignation of the Defense Minister and perhaps even the Prime Minister. The Chief of Staff has already been replaced, for it's easier to get rid of appointed officials than elected ones. The defense establishment is already cleaning out its cupboards and putting in new, better hardware and more skilled personnel.

Though on one level the potential scandals that have put the judges to work mar Israeli public life, on another people seem to think that they're a timely removal of chametz in high places and that the result is likely to be a more kosher government. In the same way as the chores in every home for preparing for the festival are cumbersome, yet in the long run wholesome, so the cleaning out of chametz in high places, though painful at present, may make Israel a better place - at least until next Pesach.

The attempt to fine shopkeepers who sell chametz does nothing to promote the sanctity of the festival. It only makes the establishment look ridiculous. Whether the efforts of Lindenstrauss, Winograd & Co will make for greater government integrity in the future remains to be seen. The optimists sincerely hope so. Others are more cynical. By temperament I tend to belong to the latter camp.

Jerusalem 7.4.07 (Motzaei Shabbat Chol Hamo'ed Pesach) 

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