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With fear and division on the rise, the Jewish example of opening their hearts and homes and embracing others is more important than ever.
BACKGROUND
All other civilizations – the Egyptians, Babylonians, Persians, Greeks, Romans – rose and fell but the Jews remain, as Mark Twain famously noted. Central to the story of Jewish survival is the Exodus of the Israelites from Egyptian slavery to the Promised Land that is retold every year on Passover. This historic Jewish holiday is a story of freedom, faith and family.
Jews have been celebrating Pesach (Passover) for more than 3,000 years. It originated in the time of Moses and commemorates the Israelites' freedom from oppression. The holiday is one of the oldest and most significant Jewish festivals. It is filled with symbols and rituals that connect Jews to their ancestors and faith. The ancient tradition unites Jews – most American Jews attend a seder, even those who don’t belong to a synagogue or observe other holidays.
A traditional Passover meal features a seder feast and Haggadah reading – a retelling of the Book of Exodus story. Seder refers to the order of the ritual meal, and includes a variety of symbolic foods. A major story recounted in the Haggadah is the 10 plagues G-d inflicted on Egypt to convince the Pharaoh to free the Israelites from slavery. The seder is an interactive experience, allowing families to connect and pass on traditions and values from one generation to the next. The Haggadah is often passed down within Jewish families and is a cherished part of Jewish culture.
Seder participants take turns reciting the story of Exodus and explaining the significance of each of the symbolic foods on the seder plate – serving as a visual aid to help tell the story of the Jews' liberation from slavery: maror (bitter herbs) representing the bitterness of slavery; karpas (parsley) symbolizing the tears shed by the Jewish slaves; and z’roa (chicken wing) signifying the sacrificial offering at the Jerusalem Temple – destroyed once by the Babylonians and again by the Romans. Jews also eat traditional Passover foods, such as matzah (unleavened bread) to commemorate the hurried departure from Egypt, when there was no time to let bread rise.
The phrase "Next year in Jerusalem" has always been recited at the end of the Passover Seder. The promise expresses the Jewish people's hope and longing for rebirth and a time when they can return to Jerusalem and their ancestral land. The vow is believed to have originated during the time of the Babylonian exile when Jews were forced to leave Jerusalem and were unable to practice their religion. The pledge represents Jewish civilization’s resilience, hope and determination to overcome adversity and fulfill aspirations to return to Jerusalem and rebuild the Temple as a symbol of faith and national identity.
Jerusalem is mentioned several times in the Haggadah. Passover was one of the three pilgrimage festivals that required Jews to make the journey to Jerusalem during the Second Temple period. During Passover, many Jews make a special effort to visit Jerusalem and pray at the Western Wall.
Passover is a story of the power of faith. The Israelites were enslaved in Egypt for many years, but they never lost conviction in G-d's promise to deliver them from bondage. Even in the face of great hardship and suffering, they continued to trust that G-d would help them achieve their freedom. Passover’s central themes of freedom, faith and family remain as relevant today as they were thousands of years ago.
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