Celebrating Freedom With A Broken Heart
Shalom friends,
We are about to enter Pesach, the holiday of freedom. However, Seder night also will mark 200 days since one of the most brutal attacks on our freedom our nation has seen.
As we sit with our families and celebrate the freedom of our ancestors, we are reminded of the fragility of that freedom today.
Inside of Israel and around the world, the Jewish people continue to walk the fine line of hope and despair. The questions of the past echo around our seder tables, and the question of concern and confusion must continue to be shared at our holiday and Shabbat gatherings.
Whatever can be said, it is our time to say it now - without political pedestals, we must stand united against the senseless violence thrust on our lives again and again.
We do not want our days darkened by the sadness, but our hearts would not be whole if we did not feel for the pain of the families who are suffering the loss of these innocent Jewish lives simply for being Jews. So as we gather and try find hope amidst the pain of our aching hearts - thinking of the hostages and all the bereaved families, displaced families, and all Jews in the world suffering from fear - let us all consider what more we must do to protect the freedoms our people deserve, in our homeland and every corner of the world.
Let our voices of courage and resilience be heard, let us raise our flags of pride and hope, and let us declare - we will always be stronger together as one!
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Hostages. The word alone defies imagination. How can one conceptualize, relate to, or understand the agony of captivity? How are people talking about it? Considering what ways we can engage with the event, or what it means for us in a spiritual, existential way? LET MY PEOPLE GO. Emboldened by Moses in his plea to Pharoah, used as the chant calling for the release of Soviet prisoners of Zion, this should now be the call that every single Jew is making to every single organizational body that can do something, anything, to release our hostages. |
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HEROIC JEWISH RESISTANCE: PASSOVER 1943 As we celebrate our freedom, it is incumbent upon us to take pause and remember another, less joyous Passover, when a few hundred ragtag Jewish fighters held off the might of the Nazi Army. |
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GUARDIANS OF ISRAEL GIFT CARDS YATAR's elite soldiers are separated from their families, away from their businesses, and volunteering on the front lines. They are taking risks daily to zoom in and out of battles to rescue injured soldiers, chasing terrorists and capturing those who infiltrate into the sands by the sea. Soldiers such as these deserve to be able to enjoy something special this Pesach. Let them and their families feel a taste of the freedom they are fighting for by giving a Guardian of Israel gift card. |
Vehi SheAmdah - this is what stood for us. In every generation, they rose to destroy us, but we survived and persevered, that G-d saved us. Ancient Egypt. Haman. The Hellenists. Ancient Rome. The Inquisitors, the Crusaders, the Nazis. Hamas, Hezbollah, Iran, and the hate that grows around us. While we may not survive unscathed, our national destiny is to survive and thrive - and Israel Forever is part of making that possible.
Now, more than ever we must speak up as Virtual Citizens of Israel. Declare your commitment to our Jewish hope.