Message of Passover is One for All of Humanity: Jews, Blacks, Everyone

ISLAND PACKET
By Rabbi Brad Bloom

"The Captive Slave," by John Philip Simpson (1827) SUBMITTED PHOTO

SOUTH CAROLINA---I was strolling through The Art Institute of Chicago when I came across a painting from John Philip Simpson, an English artist, titled "The Captive Slave." Simpson painted it in 1827, and it portrays a black man wearing an orange shirt with shackles around his wrists. This painting was considered controversial at the time because of the national debate in England concerning the moral and political issues of slavery. This painting might have caught my attention because Passover is this week. The power of art is that it tells a story.  Slavery was, and is today, an abhorrent institution. Even though Passover is exclusively a Jewish holy day, it does possess a universal theme of freedom for humanity, which inspired writers and painters in history up through today. [link]