A new month – a new year – that’s what Passover is: the beginning of our understanding of freedom and the value of life. Most of all, solidifying our identity.

And this is a time to remember the past as we commemorate Yom HaShoah, and rejoice in the return to the Land of Israel as dreamt by generations past and is remembered each Passover at the seder table.

Passover allows us to discern the value of diversity through our own reasoning capabilities so that we can comprehend what freedom is. We also understand freedom a little more each year because freedom is not just breaking the yoke of servitude. There is freedom of thought and expression enabling us to become intellectuals for a moral encounter with all that society considers ennobling. There is freedom of knowledge allowing us to create sparks which in turn create fires which in turn creates the warmth of that knowledge to be part of our growing experience.

Each year something New becomes part of my participation in the telling of the story that has held the imagination of all people through the centuries. Every time I read the Haggadah I learn something different because I feel as though I personally traveled that journey bringing us to this moment in time.

I watch families reunited. I watch children smile as they search for the Afikomen. I watch the faces of mothers and fathers glow as they sit together reliving the past year and the history of our beginnings. I watch grandparents and great-grandparents “kvell” because they see the generations continue because of their dedication and devotion.

This surely is a holiday for the family because the whole family of Israel started a pilgrimage that gave them purpose and meaning and fulfillment.

Our community too has its legacies of encouragement and fortitude and bravery. We face challenges every day whether it is illness or the loss of a loved one. We share a common bond of caring and sharing that makes the journey we are on more bearable and enjoyable.

We will all gather at some table and marvel at our ability to survive another year. We will remember those no longer able to join with us but with reverence and understanding that they are here in spirit because life continues, and we are the testament to the continuation.

This year we will be welcoming our neighbors and faith- based friends from the Sun Lakes United Methodist Church to participate and join in celebrating freedom. Freedom is the one constant that unites all people regardless of belief or areas of birth.

As Americans we share a common heritage of understanding. The gifts we have been given and gained through great sacrifices help us appreciate even more the value of religious liberty and freedom of thought.

Coming together at the seder table we will enhance our understanding of tolerance and respect knowing full well that we are all endowed by one Creator with the gift of life.

The annual ritual of retelling the story of the Exodus experience will take place at the Sun Lakes United Methodist Church. We will toast life and liberty and the happiness we encounter as children of the Divine Spirit and know that our efforts will be appreciated by all.

Then truly we will understand that together we will have accomplished what Psalm 133 emphasizes: “How good and pleasant it is to dwell together in unity.” And as we learn in Romans 12: “Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves.”

I wish everyone an amazing Passover experience. I look forward to being with our Christian neighbors as we join hands and receive the blessings of God.

 

E Rabbi Irwin Wiener, d.d.  

 

 

 

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