Opinions

It was a dark and quiet evening; we walked into a forest where we were confronted with a large grave. The grave contained 801 children who were brutally murdered for one reason and one reason only – they were Jewish.

Last year on Passover, the anti-Israel group Jewish Voice for Peace staged what they called an anti-Zionist Seder at the University of Southern California.

I was bewildered at how such a Seder can even be constructed. The following serves as my open letter to JVP, going through each of the Seder’s 14 steps and demonstrating how each and every step contains a connection to the Holy Land:

The Torah commands that leavening, chametz, disappear from Jewish homes and lives for the duration of Passover. For many, the mitzvah extends much further: thoroughly cleaning homes down to the smallest crumb, removing from storage special Passover dishes and utensils, and selling or otherwise disposing of all leavening a family owns.

On May 5, 2000, I delivered a very strong message to the community about Passover. In reading it over again, I think it is even more true today. It was based on remarks of the late blessed Lubavitcher Rebbe. He wanted to know where the fifth son was from the Passover Haggadah, why he was missing.

During our Passover Seders, we recount our ancestors’ Exodus from Egypt, celebrating our liberation from the shackles of Egyptian slavery into the promise of freedom. Yet, as we celebrate our freedom, we must also confront a painful truth: For too many in our community, the journey to freedom remains incomplete. Domestic violence — a modern form of bondage — persists, even within Jewish homes, undermining the peace and dignity we cherish.

Passover is, hands down, one of my all-time favorite Jewish holidays. A gripping story? Check. A delicious meal? Absolutely. A gathering of friends and family filled with song, laughter and a high-stakes game of afikomen hide-and-seek? Check, check and double check.

So, it’s Passover again. Another Seder night where we reunite with distant relatives we nearly forgot about to retell a story we are never allowed to forget. One might wonder: Is it really necessary, more than 3,000 years later, to still commemorate our ancestors’ freedom from slavery in Egypt? Can’t we move on to more pressing and contemporary issues?

One of my favorite quips about Passover is that it’s the holiday on which everything needs to be “just right.”

BBYO is an organization built on friendships, programming, traditions and teen leadership. Since Nordaunian AZA #22 was founded on April 18, 1926, it has worked hard to cultivate all of these things.

Do you remember where you were on April 13, 2014? I do. I was eight years old, sitting at home on my couch, watching YouTube videos when my best friend texted me that she was at the AMC Town Center 20.