Pesach feels different this year. Likely, we are all experiencing a mix of emotions; sad, angry, scared, frustrated, and stuck in place, like it has forever been Oct. 7. We’re supposed to celebrate with joy this festival known, as Zman Cherutaynu, season of freedom.
Yet, it is hard to feel “free” or a sense of freedom this year when there are still 133 of our sisters and brothers being held captive in Gaza, when there is still a war between Israel and Hamas in which too many lives have been disrupted and taken, and when today, in 2024 in the United States, many of our children (maybe even ourselves) are having to decide whether to openly identify and express their Judaism or hide it because they don’t feel safe. How do we celebrate freedom this year? How do we do it joyously?
This year, I hold onto the notion that what I am feeling this Pesach, is not new to our people. This is not the first Pesach in which Jews have had to hide nor the first in which Jews have felt unnerved and uncertain. I can recall visiting Terezin, and learning how an underground synagogue was created, under the nose of the Germans, so that even while being held captive, our people found ways to remember and to celebrate as joyously as possible.
During the seder, we see ourselves in the story, imagining that we are the ones experiencing God’s miracles, dancing on the shores of the sea, and beginning the journey toward the Promised Land. And even when we are pulled back into the present, we are afforded the opportunity to look toward the future, as we make space to welcome Eliyahu, Elijah the Prophet. Our tradition teaches that Eliyahu is the harbinger of the Messiah, ushering in a time when war, intolerance, injustice, famine, and the other ills of the world will cease, and peace will reign. BUT our tradition teaches the Messiah will come, ONLY, when our world is ready.
Since Oct. 7, our prayers have been overflowing, as we continually ask God to redeem the captives, to bring hope and healing to both Israelis and Palestinians, to bring peace to Israel, to bring peace to our world, and to end the cycle of antisemitism and hate that we are experiencing. And, as we continue to pray and ask God for help, we must also do our part to bring peace to our world, to make the redemption and perfection of our world a reality. We can do so by stopping, every so often, to recognize the “divine” sparks of holiness in our world and in others. allowing those sparks to give us glimpses of hope and good. When we raise our voices and speak our truth, let us also listen, and learn from those with whom we may not agree. And we must contribute our energy, and our talents, doing whatever it is we can, to help ensure that our world is ready for Eliyahu when he arrives.
During this Pesach, even amid the myriad of emotions, we may be feeling, may we find moments of joy and blessing, and may we consider how we can make the world a little brighter and a little better, so that perhaps soon, Eliyahu might enter, when we open the door.
Chag Pesach Sameach!
Rabbi Brigitte Rosenberg serves United Hebrew Congregation and is a member of the St. Louis Rabbinical and Cantorial Association, which coordinates the d’var Torah for the Jewish Light.
