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Dear Friends and Partners overseas,
In our prayers, Passover is known as “the time of our freedom” – a time when the Israelites escaped from bondage and began their journey to freedom.
At Pesach, we celebrate our deliverance from slavery and the right to be free. It is a mitzvah for us, in every generation, to see ourselves as if we had come out of Egypt, as if this miracle and deliverance had been performed for us. Each year, we are called anew to recreate our freedom.
Today in Israel, we are once again experiencing “the fear of bondage” According to the Biblical commentators, Egypt was like a strait in the throat, a narrowing so great that it is impossible to speak.
And yet, throughout the rallies that have spread across Israel, we hear the cry for democracy!
According to the Midrash, the Hebrew word for Passover (פסח) can be interpreted as the combination of two Hebrew words פה – סח, (Pe Sach), “A mouth that speaks” – once speaking the simple words required of us as slaves, and then being able to converse in more meaningful ways as we sought our freedom.
פה – סח: As sojourners through the wilderness, we had to leave behind the words of bondage from our exile. Today, Pesach teaches us that being free means to demonstrate, shout and demand the right to shape our lives in the Land of Israel.
Every day, our communities of the Reform Movement struggle to keep Israel a free, Jewish and democratic state. Soon we will, again, relive our liberation from Egypt and slavery at the Passover seder table, and we will pray we can safeguard our children from ever being enslaved again. It obliges us to ensure that all voices can be heard. Israel must be a place for us – those of us living on the Land and for those in the Diaspora.
“From the straits, I called to God.” – We all pray these days will not be “days of straits” without the ability to speak the words of our hearts and minds, but rather days of rebuilding hope and trust through fruitful dialogue. Soon Israel will celebrate her 75 years of independence. Even as we acknowledge that these are difficult times in Israel, during which we feel the Pesach story even more intimately, we will continue our journey toward freedom for all.
We left Egypt together as a people, and nearly lost our hope and vision at the foot of Mount Sinai. Like then, may we succeed in reuniting and resuming our shared journey to the Land of Milk and Honey.
On this Passover holiday, may we all take the time to notice the wonders around us - the flowering trees and the paths between them that lead to equality, justice, and freedom. May we be brave enough to walk on this path and to bring others with us, and may we not just talk but insist that our conversations be meaningful.
Happy Passover,
Rabbi Chen Ben Or Tsfoni
On behalf of Kehilat Ra’anan - Beit Samueli
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