Passover begins this Saturday night, and I am looking forward to Seder in Jerusalem with my family and friends.
It’s impossible to reflect on the story of enslavement and liberation without thinking of the hostages — both those who have come home to their families and loved ones, and those who remain in Gaza. As Rachel Goldberg-Polin put it recently, there’s really only one question this year: “How are they still there?”
At this fraught moment in Jewish history, I find myself returning to the rabbinic interpretations of the Israelites’ escape from Pharaoh and slavery, and the splitting of the sea. The many versions of this story emphasize different aspects of it: existential fears, journeying into the unknown, leadership, agency, and faith. Some focus on the community of Israelites and the ways in which the intensity of the experience might have divided them, perhaps even turned them on one another.
In this short video, I share reflections on a beautiful midrash (rabbinic story) that imagines the entire People walking together into the sea, and the water rising up to their noses, until the sea finally parts.
I love this story because it’s honest about how scary that moment must have been, and how close to drowning they must have felt, and also because it’s a message about community. When the people walked forward together with courage and conviction, they were active participants in the miracle. This is an incredibly empowering message about what it means to be Jewish and to be human.
When we have the courage to step up, come together, and walk forward, even into the unknown, we can change the course of history. On Passover, we’re not just telling the story of the past, we’re writing the story of the future.
Wishing you and your families a Chag Kasher v’Sameach, a Happy Passover.
