34 | APRIL 18 • 2024
BY RABBI AARON STARR
[To be read responsively, first by
the leader and then by those
gathered]
Tonight, we celebrate our
freedom, and we sing psalms
of joy.
Tonight, we pray for the
release of our brothers and
sisters suffering in captivity.
Tonight, we relish the warmth
of our homes, surrounded by
family and friends.
Tonight, we are mindful of
hundreds of thousands of
Israelis displaced from their
homes.
Tonight, we give thanks for
the abundance of food and
drink.
Tonight, we note the millions
around the world who lack their
most basic needs.
Tonight, we sit at the
Passover table.
Tonight, we stand for the right
of Jews everywhere to live in
safety.
Tonight, we remember that
we came out of Mitzrayim.
Tonight, we hope that no one
will experience Mitzrayim ever
again.
captives this
year. He said
the passage,
taken from the
weekday Torah
service and sung
every day since
Oct. 7 among
world Jewry, is
particularly relevant.
The prayer translates:
“May the Holy One be
merciful to our fellow Jews
who wander over sea and
land, who suffer oppression
and imprisonment. May God
soon bring them relief from
distress and deliver them
from darkness to light, from
subjugation to redemption.
And let us say — Amen.”
Rubenstein said he also
concludes seder with the
singing of “Hatikva,” which
will also feel different this
year than from past years.
“Celebrating Pesach at our
seder has always been about
the context in which we
celebrate,” Rubenstein said.
“Even without any changes
or additions to the seder, it
will be impossible for most
Jews to sit at the seder table
and not think about the war
in Israel — those who died
on Oct. 7 and those who
remain in captivity.”
A WAY FORWARD
Rabbi Blair Nosanwisch of
Adat Shalom of
Farmington Hills
said the Passover
story is a story
of “creating a
way out of no
way.”
“Passover
is about moving from
slavery to freedom, from
sea crossing to shore, from
the narrows (mitzrayim) to
the expanse,” Nosanwisch
said. “This is our yearly
ritual of reminding ourselves
that there is always a way
forward, no matter how hard
it is to see.”
Nosanwisch added:
“What is unique about the
story of the Jewish people
is that we never know what
path forward each of us
needs to cultivate. Every
individual has to move
from their personal narrow
place to a place of openness
and possibility. When we
each make these journey’s
authentically, it opens
pathways forward for the
collective as well.”
When she thinks about
the deep despair of the
current moment, she
reminds herself she can only
be exactly where she is in the
present.
“I have to do work and
contribute to possibility and
growth from that position,”
Nosanwisch said. “I cannot
change the reality (in Israel
or Gaza), but what channels
can I open that will help to
move my people forward
across the turbulent sea of
today?”
SEEDS OF REDEMPTION
Rabbi Aaron Starr of
Congregation Shaarey Zedek
of Southfield
said for most of
Jewish history,
we celebrated
Passover while
Jews were
enslaved and
oppressed.
“Within my lifetime, we
worked to free Soviet Jewry
even as we gave thanks for
our freedom in America,”
Starr said. “Sadly, Passover
5784 will be no exception.
Just as we are obligated to
observe the laws of Passover,
so, too, are we duty-bound
to remain mindful of the
plight of the hostages in
Gaza, of the current war
in which Israel is engaged
and the pending one in
[Northern Israel] as well
as the rise of antisemitism
around the world.”
Starr said, “Just as we
recognize our current
oppression, we pray that we
will be redeemed just as God
redeemed us from Egypt.”
Starr added that the seeds
of redemption were planted
by our ancestors who
remained resilient against
their enemies, who kept
their traditions despite their
exile, and who united to care
for each other to collectively
overcome the struggles they
faced.
A SEAT FOR THE
HOSTAGES
Rabbi Natalie Shribman of
Temple Kol Ami in West
Bloomfield
said she thinks
about the
hostages each
week during the
recitation of the
Mi Chamochah
prayer that
depicts the
Children of Israel celebrating
the parting of the Red Sea.
“We celebrate our freedom
from Egypt, yet we know
there are so many in the
world, including the Israelis
being held hostage, who are
not free,” Shribman said.
“
As Emma Lazarus said,
‘We are not free until we are
all free.’ This Passover seder,
we will have a seat for Elijah
and the door open for him,
and leave a seat open for the
hostages as well. May the
door open for them soon in
due time.
“Next year in Jerusalem,
next year in freedom for
everyone.”
An
Introduction
to the Seder
Rabbi Blair
Nosanwisch
Rabbi
Aaron Starr
Rabbi
Natalie
Shribman
Rabbi
Steven
Rubenstein
PASSOVER
continued from page 32