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Rabbi Linda's Weekly Message |
April 11, 2025 |
Dear Friends,
I wish you meaningful conversations, good food, music and hope for the future as you enjoy your four cups of wine tomorrow night.
The Seder is a night of learning, eating and singing. We ask that if there are children at our table for them to lead the way as we confront the difficult questions that this liberation puts before us. The seder is an event that demands the most of our imaginations. We are to put ourselves into the roles of slaves, into the role of the ordinary Egyptian, and we do it within a framework (the seder, which means order) that is different in every household yet bound together by certain elements.
In this moment, where the differences among us as human beings seem to be garnering the most attention, the seder is an event that celebrates both our differences and the things that bind us together. It can serve as a potent model as we go forward. With that in mind I offer you three thoughts/readings for your Seder:
I truly believe that we are stronger together and fear cannot overwhelm us.
Mitzvah of the Week
Ha Lachma Anya - A Strange Invitation
The Haggadah tells us: This is the bread of anya (the bread of the poor) that our ancestors ate in the land of Egypt. Anyone who is famished should come and eat, anyone who needs should come and partake of the Pesach sacrifice.
"This is a strange invitation: This is the bread of oppression our fathers ate in the land of Egypt. Let all who are hungry come in and eat. What hospitality is it to offer the hungry the taste of suffering? In fact, though, this is a profound insight into the nature of slavery and freedom. As noted, matza represents two things: it is the food of slaves, and also the bread eaten by the Israelites as they left Egypt in liberty. What transforms the bread of oppression into the bread of freedom is the willingness to share it with others...." Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, Pesach Haggadah, pp. 22-25
May this be a reminder that oppression has the capacity to be transformed when we join together and share what we have with those around us.
| Oseh shalom bimromav, hu ya'aseh shalom aleinu ve'al kol Israel, ve'imru, Amen. |
| May the One who makes peace in the heavens, make peace for us all and all the people of Israel. |
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