Prayers for a somber Passover
Passover began Monday night (April 22, 2024), and with war raging in the Middle
East, it hasn’t been a typical Passover. There is much trouble accompanying
this holiday, and antisemitism is at an all-time high.
In this column, published in the April 20-21 Weekend edition of The Sun
Chronicle of Attleboro, MA, I shared my prayers for this Passover season.
The link to the column, as it appears on the newspaper’s website is: https://www.thesunchronicle.com/opinion/columns/larry-kessler-a-passover-like-no-other/article_f002c65f-a5fc-5711-b6ac-a7ca5c623fb3.html
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Passover, the eight-day Jewish Festival of Freedom, will arrive later than
usual --- the holiday will begin the evening of Monday, April 22 with the first
of two ceremonial meals called Seders --- because the current Hebrew calendar
year of 5784 is a leap year.
It's no secret that the holiday hasn’t been normal since 2019. First came the
pandemic years of 2020 and 2021, followed by an improved, but cautious, year of
2022. Although the pandemic was a fading memory by last Passover, the sharp
rise in antisemitism cast a pall over the holiday.
But this year may be the worst year in decades to celebrate Passover, or
Pesach, as it’s called in Hebrew, because of Israel’s never-ending war against
Hamas, which has divided loyalties at home and abroad like never before as the
death toll mounts to unimaginable heights in Gaza.
That’s why it appears that the theme of Passover will be one of tsoris (Yiddish
for trouble, heartache and distress) due to the serious challenges that the
Jewish people are facing.
Given that harsh reality, I thought it’d be appropriate to suggest several
things that I'll be praying for during this Passover holiday --- which is still
my favorite Jewish holiday because of the treasure-trove of family memories
that the holiday conjures up.
As the holiday approaches, I’ll be praying:
*For a long-term, enduring cease-fire that leads to a permanent truce and
lasting peace in Israel and the Middle East.
The extent of the destruction in Gaza, which followed Hamas' brutal attack on
Israel and hostage-taking on Oct 7, should give all peace-loving American and
Israeli Jews multiple reasons to pause.
The civilian casualties in Gaza have been especially shocking and frightening,
and any attempt to rationalize the carnage by invoking the Biblical "eye-for-an-eye"
argument seems way out of line.
In addition, the devastating humanitarian toll on the vast majority of innocent
people living in Gaza, who are desperately in need of medical and food
supplies, is needlessly punishing those victims of this horrendous war. All of
that --- plus the women and children who have been killed or horribly maimed in
both Gaza and Israel since the war began --- should be ample reason for Jews to
pray for an immediate end to all hostilities.
The hard truth is that what's been happening in Gaza is only going to further
fracture relationships between Jews and the Arab and Palestinian peoples. In
addition, it will make it easier for those embracing antisemitic tropes to spew
forth their hatred against Jews now and for decades to come, which brings me to
my next prayer …
* For a reduction in, if not the outright eradication of, antisemitism in the
region, country and world. That includes the alarming rise in antisemitism on
campuses at U.S. colleges, where far too many students say they’re living in
fear.
Although antisemitism had been sharply increasing the last couple of years,
according to statistics by the Anti-Defamation League and other sources, it has
unfortunately skyrocketed out of control since the Oct. 7 attack and Israel’s over-the-top
response to it. Israel’s right-wing government is sorely out of touch with the
majority of Jews in the United States and Israel. As a result, the war has unfortunately
enabled antisemites to not only intensify their ugly hatred, but to make it
acceptable --- a terrifying outcome for Jews, including many in Israel who have
been protesting the government’s war policies, who have no connections to the
Israeli government.
* For an end to the disdain and contempt directed against all minorities and
those with opposing political viewpoints that has been poisoning our national
discourse. Intolerance, anger and irrational hatred have sadly replaced
compassion, compromise and any desire or willingness to work together --- and
that doesn’t bode well for the future of the United States.
*That the leaders in both major American political parties will put the
national interest ahead of partisan politics and get serious about tackling the
immigration issue that has plagued us for decades. In late February, a
bipartisan agreement had been reached in the U.S. Senate before it fell apart
after first House Republicans and then most of the GOP members in both houses
of Congress decided to put their prospects of winning in November ahead of passing
legislation to improve the border situation. Which leads to my next prayer …
* That politicians and far too many Americans will stop demonizing immigrants,
who have historically had a positive impact on the American economy. Smearing
all immigrants as evil and making them the scapegoats for what's wrong with the
country is not only inaccurate, but it's also disingenuous and plays into all of
the stereotypes used to foment hatred instead of attacking the problem of
overhauling the nation's immigration policies.
Plus, it ignores the history of the United States as a haven for immigrants,
which we all were at some point. This prayer is especially fitting for
Passover, which relates the story of the Israelites, who were immigrants in
Egypt, leaving slavery there to emigrate to a new nation.
* That the two-plus-year-old war in Ukraine will come to an end, and that
America’s leaders will be united behind the need to stop Vladimir Putin’s
desire to take over that country.
These are tough times, but if we vow to work together, we will have the
potential to narrow some of our differences and solve some of our problems. But
if we continue to stake out extreme views --- and support extreme leaders ---
then we will doom ourselves to being a dangerously polarizing country, which
will adversely affect the nation’s standing in the world.
Larry Kessler, a retired Sun Chronicle local news editor, can be reached at larrythek65@gmail.com. He blogs at larrytheklineup.blogspot.com
Rest in Peace, dear Larry. And may God answers all your prayers. — Bill S
ReplyDeleteWe miss you Larry. May you be at peace with all those family members, friends and pets who went before you. I'll see you on the other side one day my friend. Until then, keep the coffee warm.
ReplyDelete