24 | APRIL 9 • 2020 

Breaking 
Free

What freedoms are we 
celebrating this Passover?

SHARI S. COHEN CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Passover

T

he Passover Haggadah tells us: “In 
every year, each person must look 
upon himself as if he just left Egypt.
” 
But what does freedom mean for Jewish 
Americans today? As local community mem-
bers reflect, freedom encompasses more than 
political and physical liberty.
“There are things that enslave you that 
you don’
t even realize. The pivotal moment 
is when the Hebrew slaves cried to God for 
help,
” said Rabbi Joseph Krakoff, 
senior director, Jewish Hospice 
and Chaplaincy Network. 
“When I cry out like that, I am 
ready to take the hard steps to 
being my best self. 
“We need to look at these 
challenges, the things that hold 
us back from our best relationships with our-
selves, others and God,
” he said.
At Krakoff’
s seder, a mirror is passed 
around so individuals can look at themselves 
and ask, “What do you like about yourself 
and what do you want to change?”
Joel Young, M.D., 58, a psy-
chiatrist who is medical director 
of the Rochester Center for 
Behavioral Medicine, believes 
people can be physically free but 
not mentally and emotionally 
free. He explains that many 
people suffer from addictions, a 
sense of inadequacy, ADHD, despair or fear. 
“This is not necessarily rooted in reality 
and may be overblown,
” he said. “Psychiatry 
and psychology can help. That’
s modern-day 
liberation — helping people to liberate them-

selves and allowing the individual to be her 
own self.
“Jewish thought mandates that the individ-
ual needs to be strong and self-care is very 
important — to take care of ourselves, our 
family, friends and community. There is so 
much we can do for people. There has been 
such an expansion of available treatments 
that can reduce the suffering,
” he said.
Scott Lowen, 32, who lives in Hazel Park, 
grew up in the Detroit area with all the free-
dom and privileges that millen-
nial Jews typically have in the 
U.S. He views religious freedom 
within the context of generation-
al differences.
“I like to think that I have 
the freedom to choose — like 
whether to go to seders or ser-
vices. It’
s more of a choice than it was for my 
father, when things were traditional,
” Lowen 
said.
When asked if recent increases in 
anti-Semitism have changed his outlook, he 
said, “I do think a little more about what I 
put on the internet. I don’
t publicize that I’
m 
Jewish on Facebook. It’
s not that I’
m embar-
rassed or not proud, but I don’
t know who 
sees it.
” 
Lowen is director of youth engagement at 
Temple Beth El and works with students of 
all ages. “Some have experienced anti-Sem-
itism. A few are hesitant about expressing 
their Judaism. Others are loud and proud,
” 
he said.
For many individuals who grew up in 
Europe, being Jewish meant constraints on 

freedom. 
Irina, a teacher in her 60s who lives in 
West Bloomfield, emigrated from Russia sev-
eral decades ago. 
“In Russia, I did not have freedom. I 
couldn’
t travel. I couldn’
t have friends from 
abroad,
” she said. “It was very difficult for 
Jewish people to get into the best colleges. 
Here I can say that I am Jewish. There I could 
not even say the word. It would show me as 
very different. ‘
Jewish’
 was like a bad word,
” 
she said.
Ruth Webber, 86, a West Bloomfield res-
ident, was born in Poland and was impris-
oned in Auschwitz as a child. There, her 
mother would talk to her about happy family 
Passover celebrations from years past.
Since emigrating to the U.S. after the war, 
Webber has celebrated Passover and other 
Jewish holidays with her family for many 
years. But this year, 
the coronavirus has inter-
vened.
“I don’
t want to do anything that will 
endanger human beings,
” Webber said. 
“People’
s lives are more important than get-
ting together for Passover. It hurts me that we 
cannot do this. I will talk to my family about 
the wonderful things we were doing for them 
(in the past) as my mother did for me. I have 
my past and I can go back to that. I hope and 
pray that this will pass soon.
”
Rabbi Krakoff thinks their seder may be 
for immediate family only. Some families will 
be using Zoom or Facetime to connect. 
“We’
re not canceling Passover,
” he said. “It’
s 
so important in so many ways to tell the story 
of the transition and journey from slavery.
” 

Scott Lowen

Dr. Joel 
Young

Rabbi Joseph 
Krakoff

