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When faith becomes political theater, Passover loses its deeper meaning
Every year, people co-opt Passover to push partisan agendas. This year, Jewish human rights groups are already promoting Passover Haggadah materials that urge people to put “social justice on your seder table” and confront “racism,” poverty, authoritarianism, and the climate crisis. Instead of letting the holiday change us, we keep recruiting it to endorse causes.
Predictable columns recast the holiday as a lesson in immigrant rights. Reform Judaism even encourages adding modern political symbols to the seder plate, like olives in solidarity with Palestinians, oranges to symbolize LGBTQ+ inclusion, fair-trade chocolate to represent labor rights, and acorns to honor American Indians.
I’m guilty of this myself. I once wrote a column arguing that including the “wicked child” at the Seder table symbolically rejects cancel culture, and an article arguing that the Exodus story defends free speech because Moses demanded that Pharaoh “let my people go,” and the Israelites merited redemption, in part, by preserving their language under slavery.
But politicizing religion risks overshadowing its personal and spiritual essence.
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Progressives do this. Conservatives do too. The right invokes the Bible to oppose abortion and defend traditional family values. The left invokes it to champion social justice.
Pope Leo XIV used a recent address to the diplomatic corps to insist that “every migrant is a person” with “inalienable rights” and to warn governments against using crime and trafficking as excuses to erode migrant dignity. Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde, who in the name of God publicly called for mercy toward refugees after President Donald Trump’s inauguration last year, has reentered the immigration fight by appearing at anti-ICE protests in Minnesota in January 2026.
Each side finds its cause, often citing contradictory verses to prove its case. Nehemiah 4:13-14 is used to justify border security by comparing it to defending Jerusalem’s walls, while Leviticus 19:34 is used to advocate for a more permissive immigration policy because it commands kindness toward the foreigner. Genesis 2:15 supports environmental policy because it presents humans as caretakers, while Genesis 1:28 speaks of dominion over nature and can be used to justify exploiting natural resources.
When religion is reduced to political ammunition, it loses meaning. It becomes performative instead of transformative.
Of course, faith can also be a force for moral clarity in public life. The Exodus inspired abolitionists. Rabbis marched for civil rights. But faith should do more than fuel activism. Faith is deeply personal.
It’s like the old ethical teaching about a person who spends his life trying to change the world, his country, his town, and his family before finally realizing he had to change himself first if he wanted to make the greatest impact. Passover makes the same demand. Before we use the holiday to fix the world, it asks us to confront our own demons.
I have felt this tension at my Seder table. Instead of soul-searching, I mindlessly skim the Haggadah, muse about scientific explanations for the splitting of the sea and the ten plagues, or drift into politics. Anything but inner work.
But Passover is not about figuring out the world’s problems. It is about the bondage within ourselves. It is about allowing the story to transform us. The Haggadah commands each person to see themselves as if they personally left Egypt. It is not a metaphor for someone else’s struggle, for whichever political leader you think Pharaoh represents, or for whichever oppressed people mirror the Israelites. It is a challenge to confront our own constraints and pursue our own redemption, one good deed at a time.
The Lubavitcher Rebbe rebuilt Jewish life from the ashes of the Holocaust through this principle. As documented in “Letters for Life,” the Rebbe focused not on politics or ideology but on encouraging one positive act, one mitzvah, at a time to create lasting transformation. Psychology backs this up. Behavioral activation therapy, used to treat depression, shows how purposeful action can reshape the mind even before motivation arrives.
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The Seder reflects the same idea. The four cups of wine represent stages of breaking destructive patterns, embracing positive change, developing ethical awareness, and internalizing growth.
Through ritual and storytelling, we make our way toward liberation. We do not just remember the Exodus. We live it.
Even matzoh teaches us. Unlike bloated bread, it is flat and humble. It stands in stark contrast to a culture obsessed with image and ego. In a world that rewards puffed-up self-importance, matzoh reminds us that true liberation begins with humility. You cannot escape Pharaoh if you are still enslaved to your own ego.
We eat bitter herbs at the Seder not only to remember our ancestors’ suffering but also to confront our own, to taste the bitterness we carry and draw out what we have buried.
Egypt is not just a historical place. It is a personal metaphor. Mental chains are just as real as physical ones. Fear, shame, addiction, and resentment are our modern Pharaohs. The Seder gives us a spiritual roadmap to break free.
Faith is not meant to serve our platforms or confirm our political biases. It is meant to challenge us and transform us into better human beings.
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WWE star Kit Wilson expresses support for Cody Rhodes after Pat McAfee promo, no animosity after ‘toxic’ move
Cody Rhodes was running hot earlier this month after Pat McAfee was inserted into his WrestleMania 42 feud with Randy Orton just days before their match was set to take place.
Kit Wilson was the punching bag after McAfee kicked Rhodes in the groin, ripped the pro wrestling business and said that Orton was going to save it. Wilson had just finished a match with The Miz against Damian Priest and R-Truth when Rhodes rushed the ring.
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Rhodes targeted Wilson with a Cross Rhodes and cut the scathing promo on McAfee.
Wilson told Fox News Digital that he didn’t know Rhodes was coming and that he would be targeted. However, he praised Rhodes’ message.
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“I was just trying to look out for my mentor, The Miz. I was just trying to do the right thing by him. Yeah, I had no idea it was coming,” Wilson said. “It was interesting because I think Cody was speaking from the heart there and what he had to say was quite informational and important in the current zeitgeist of the world.”
Wilson said that he did think Rhodes’ decision to take his anger out on him was “toxic” but he had no ill will toward “The American Nightmare.”
“So yeah, I think he was taking his anger out on me,” Wilson continued. “I don’t appreciate it. I do think it was toxic. But I see the side of him that had a lot of things to say. In my own way, I think I’ve forgiven him.”
Rhodes and Orton will battle for the Undisputed WWE Championship on Night 1 of WrestleMania 42. McAfee is sure to be at ringside in Orton’s corner, much to Rhodes and fans’ chagrin.
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Charlie Kirk podcast pans Utah Valley University citing ‘safety concerns’ in scrapping controversial speaker
The producers of “The Charlie Kirk Show” panned the stated reason Utah Valley University (UVU) canceled the commencement speaker invitation of author and educator Sharon McMahon, whose selection sparked outrage among supporters of the late conservative leader, who was murdered on its campus.
On Thursday, UVU issued a statement saying, “Due to increased safety concerns related to the speaker and in consultation with public safety professionals and Sharon McMahon, Utah Valley University has decided to proceed without a featured commencement speaker for this year’s ceremony.”
The statement didn’t sit well with podcast co-hosts Andrew Kolvet and Blake Neff.
“Here’s what’s annoying,” Neff reacted. “They say it’s not because ‘Oh, we picked a terrible speaker and that was our bad.’ They say they have ‘increased safety concerns’ about what happened.”
“Basically it’s our fault we were engaged in menacing behavior, they say,” Neff continued. “But regardless, it’s a speaker they shouldn’t have chosen… Nobody was making any threats about this. Not on this show or anywhere else.”
“We were saying it was a bad idea,” Kolvet responded before saying, “Hallelujah.”
Representatives for UVU did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital‘s request for comment.
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UVU came under fire for its selection of McMahon, who attacked Kirk just days after his assassination.
“Millions of people feel they were harmed, and the murder that was horrific and should never have happened does not magically erase what was said or done,” McMahon wrote on X at the time.
The now-deleted social media post sent two days after Kirk’s death also included a pair of quotes that many Kirk supporters said were taken out of context.
“It’s important to remember that the incredible tragedy of a public assassination does not erase the harm many experienced from his words, and the ensuing actions his followers took,” McMahon said.
The university’s selection of McMahon as its commencement speaker drew outrage among Kirk’s supporters. A spokesperson for McMahon declined comment.
Her team previously dismissed the notion that she celebrated Kirk’s death, telling Utah outlets that she “unequivocally condemned the murder of Charlie Kirk, repeatedly and publicly, calling his death a tragedy and stressing that public debate must never be met with violence.
The 31-year-old Turning Point USA co-founder was participating in a public speaking event sponsored by the campus chapter of Turning Point when he was shot and killed on Sept. 10. The suspect, now 23-year-old Tyler Robinson, was charged with seven counts, including aggravated murder. He faces the death penalty if convicted.
Fox News’ Max Bacall contributed to this report.
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Doctors warn of ‘looksmaxxing’ dangers after influencer’s livestream emergency
“Clavicular,” the controversial “looksmaxxing” influencer, was reportedly hospitalized due to a suspected overdose Tuesday night during a livestream.
The Miami content creator, 20, posted a photo of his bloody face and commented on X Wednesday.
“Just got home, that was brutal. All of the substances are just [to] cope, trying to feel neurotypical while being in public, but obviously, that isn’t a real solution. The worst part of tonight was my face descending from the life support mask.”
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The influencer, whose real name is Braden Peters, was hospitalized after his livestream was cut short when he began slurring his words and repeating phrases, according to reports.
Looksmaxxing is a social media trend focused on enhancing appearance, ranging from basic skin care to extreme practices like hitting cheekbones with hammers to alter facial structure.
The potentially dangerous trend has been popular with young males, plastic surgeons told Fox News Digital.
“In my practice, we’ve seen it primarily in young men in their 20s,” Dr. Josef Hadeed, a plastic surgeon in Beverly Hills, California, told Fox News Digital. “We have had a few women, but I’d say by and large, it’s been mostly men who have come into our office wanting these various looksmaxxing procedures.”
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“Patients are increasingly seeking to align how they look with how they feel,” he said. “The difference today is that the tools and technologies available to achieve that have never been more advanced or more accessible.”
Looksmaxxing can be divided into two categories: “softmaxxing” and “hardmaxxing,” according to Hadeed. Softmaxxing is a more simple, non-invasive approach to improving one’s looks.
“It’s really like self-care or grooming – things like going to the gym on a regular basis to try to improve your body composition, or using various skincare products to try to improve your skin texture,” the surgeon said.
Softmaxxing techniques – which can also include teeth whitening, beard grooming, or upgrading a wardrobe or hairstyle – are not usually a problem, according to Hadeed. Hardmaxxing, which involves more extreme measures, can have riskier consequences.
Some individuals in the looksmaxxing online community do things like “bone smashing,” Hadeed said.
“[It’s] literally what it sounds like, where you smash the bones to change the facial structure, and that is obviously not recommended because it can lead to potential complications,” he warned.
“Once you cross that line and start getting into more extreme things, I feel like that’s where most plastic surgeons should draw the line.”
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Dr. C. Bob Basu, president of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, said the biggest safety risks with the looksmaxxing trend come from pursuing treatments without proper medical guidance.
“Social media can make procedures seem easy or risk-free, but even minimally invasive treatments carry real risks if performed incorrectly or by an untrained provider,” the Houston-based plastic surgeon told Fox News Digital.
To achieve quality results, it is critical to be treated by a board-certified plastic surgeon who understands both safety and anatomy, Basu advised.
The convergence of social media, constant digital visibility and “unprecedented access to aesthetic treatments” – along with a cultural shift toward optimizing wellness and longevity – are fueling the looksmaxxing trend, according to Basu.
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Hadeed agreed, noting that social media puts pressure on individuals to look perfect.
“People are constantly comparing themselves to other people online,” he told Fox News Digital. “It can quickly develop into body dysmorphia for a lot of people, and that’s when they start pursuing more and more procedures that they don’t need by any stretch – it’s kind of like keeping up with the Joneses.”
Dr. Nancy Frye, a professor in the psychology department at Long Island University in Brookville, New York, also weighed in on what’s driving the looksmaxxing craze.
“We figure out how attractive we might be by comparing what we see in ourselves to what we see in others,” she told Fox News Digital. “This social comparison is especially problematic with social media and filters, as people compare themselves to filtered versions of others.”
While experts warn of the risks of looksmaxxing, they say a thoughtful approach can have some benefits, including pride in one’s appearance and health.
The most tangible benefits are associated with the softmaxxing approach, which includes following a fitness routine, eating a clean diet and following regular skin care routines, according to Hadeed.
With healthy guidance, aesthetic care can “enhance confidence and self-esteem, helping patients feel more aligned with their sense of self,” Basu added.
Both plastic surgeons emphasized the importance of taking a responsible approach when considering the looksmaxxing trend.
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“The goal should always be thoughtful self-improvement, not perfection,” Basu said. “It should never be about looking like someone else or a filtered version of yourself, but rather about becoming a confident, natural and authentic version of you.”
Anyone considering this trend should consult a licensed healthcare professional rather than relying on advice from social media influencers, the doctors advised.
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