I came home early this morning from special pre-Passover prayers in which it’s customary for first-born men to take part, recognizing that if God had not liberated the Jewish people from slavery in Egypt 3326 years ago, we might still be enslaved. First-born boys would have been murdered and thrown into the Nile river. I am a firstborn, and this year, that reality then and our reality now have never been more vivid. 

I came into the house to hear news of a terrorist attack in Jerusalem, following news this week of several other terrorist attacks, and antisemitic riots on the verge of pogroms at Columbia University.

This all takes place in the context of Israel at war since October 7, not just six months of war, but the fist time that Israel has been at war during Passover since 1948.  This takes place in the wake of the inhuman Hamas massacre of 1200 human beings on October 7, more than 250 kidnapped of whom 133 remain in captivity, and many of those presumed dead. This takes place while the country is still grieving for those murdered on October 7, more than 260 soldiers who have been killed since the ground operation began there, and thousands injured, and families of victims and survivors still grieving. This takes place with Jews across the US and throughout the diaspora experiencing overt and hostile antisemitism at levels not seen since the Holocaust. And this takes place as we begin the first Biblical festival since the massacre which took place on the last day of the last Biblical festival. 

While things are relatively quiet at the moment in terms of threats from Hezbollah in Lebanon and Iran itself, which launched the largest attack against Israel using ballistic missiles, in history, things are on edge. The operative words are “relatively quiet.” On a daily basis, Hezbollah has been firing rockets and drones at Israeli communities, several times a day.  As I am writing, the red Alert app on my phone sounded, reporting attacks on five Israeli communities, one of which was “successfully” hit by a Hezbollah weapon this week, injuring more than a dozen and killing one. This is the norm with which we are beginning our Festival of Freedom. 

For not only one (enemy) has risen up against us to destroy us,

but in every generation they rise up to destroy us.

But the Holy One, Blessed be He, delivers us from their hands.