Preparing for Passover

by Audrey Lichter

This is year is different. The usual early preparations for the cleansing of the chametz – scrubbing the cupboards, taking and inventory of chametz meals for the next few weeks to make room for Passover foods, the unpacking of  the Passover bins of cookware and the process of making the soup well in advance  for our vegetarian seder –are all the same. What is different is the dark cloud that we carry for the deep pain we feel for Israel and the rising ugly antisemitism that we are experiencing stateside and worldwide… on our college campuses, media, and beyond. It is everywhere.

What is different is the dark cloud that we carry for the deep pain we feel…

Israel is condemned in the press and on the streets, and there is no talk of Hamas. We all decry the loss of life, but those who defame Israel offer no viable solutions for how Israel is to move forward with enemies on its southern border who vow to do this again if given the chance, and attacks from the north,  the west bank and beyond. We hold Israel accountable for every loss of life, but no mention of the human shields Hamas has purposely so callously put in place to hide their nefarious terror tunnels and military apparatus. Nor of the friends of Israel in the Arab world who are too timid to roll up their sleeves and take a stand against the tyrannical Iranian machine they all loath. I imagine that we Jews have been here before…. many times throughout our long history. I just thought that  this history was in the past. We are living this history one more time. Even so, we will recite our story and celebrate our liberation as we have done throughout the generations. 

 The Academy for Jewish Religion just published a Haggadah supplement called Seder Interrupted that has some powerful readings post October 7th to add to your seder this year. May we all find renewed meaning and comfort this year as we gather with family and friends to mark our liberation from slavery and our road to redemption. Next year may we all be free.