Chaveirim y'karim - dear friends,

 

With Passover coming, foremost on my mind is: how will we negotiate conversation at the table this year if there is a disagreement about Israel?

 

I'm not thinking about charoset or afikomen-prizes. I'm not thinking about clever ways to tell the maggid and I'm not finding new melodies or brushing up on old ones.

 

I'm actually principally concerned about the dinner conversation and how elements of the seder will inevitably and uncontrollably lead to addressing the reality of what the Jewish people and the State of Israel have faced since early Fall. And in full disclosure: I have little room in my heart for disagreement about Israel right now. I may in my mind ... but my heart is different. I've tried to hold a reasonable range of ideas at once but since Iran's Saturday night special of over 300 lethal missiles and drones, there is little room to see this moment as anything other than existential. And though not an existential threat, a deep nuisance and disgrace are the people who block roads and bridges, entries to airports and tunnels for a cause that seeks the elimination of the Jewish people (or at least the country where half our people lives).

 

It is remarkable the amount of writing and speaking that has happened since just Sunday morning. I have included only two (!!) podcasts below. I tried to control myself. One of the best articles highlighting this moment came from David Suissa, editor of The Jewish Journal, "Oct. 7 & April 13: Old Jew vs. New Jew." Suissa summarizes what this moment means and the significance of those two distinct days. You might also check out Matti Friedman's article in The Free Press, "The Real War in the Middle East Comes into Clear Focus."

 

A QUICK PLUG

 

On this note of learning more: I cannot encourage you enough to attend next month's lecture, which our temple is helping to sponsor at the Jewish Federation in Southbury. A link is below. Yossi Klein Halevi is a teacher of mine and Amy's. He is a friend and a mensch. He is a scholar and has remarkable insight to Israel and has been a voice of reason and clarity. If you are unfamiliar with his Times of Israel blogs and/or his "For Heaven's Sake" podcast with Rabbi Donniel Hartman, I encourage you to get to know his work further through those outstanding resources.

 

SPRING HAS ARRIVED AND PESACH IS COMING

 

Soon, Pesach will arrive with the incessant matzah crumbs and the conversations which will, hopefully, elevate us - and not plague us. At a minimum, I am looking forward to matzah brei in the morning, which is my personal favorite part of the holiday.

 

I am taking great comfort in the haggadah's words which have been uttered under far more strenuous circumstances and yet I am tempering my reclining this year because: how can I/we not? How comfortable can we possibly be with over 130 Israeli and Jewish lives unknown in the darkness of Gehinnom in Gaza? How can we recline, with soldiers deployed not just in Gaza (where there are actually very few) but largely in the West Bank and especially in the North? How much can we recline when over 150,000 Israelis remain locked out of their homes as internal refugees?

 

MY PRAYER

 

May there be relief for those who sit in darkness, for those who mourn the loss of loved ones, for those who have no home due to the war in Gaza.

 

MY HOPE

 

Like the child who does not know to ask, may we have teachers to guide us toward insight. Like the child who is simple, may we know enough to ask and be ready to learn and understand. When we are the wicked child, may we find humility to understand why our "teeth have been blunted." Like the wise child of the seder, may we ask proper questions in search of meaningful, practical, and sustaining answers so we can live with peace in our homes, among our people, and most assuredly: for our brothers and sisters in the Land of Israel.

 

L'shalom, wishing everyone a zissen Pesach - a sweet Passover,

 

Rabbi Mark Cohn, 17 Aoruk 2024

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PLEASE REGISTER for Thursday, May 9th at 7 PM, "HOW OCTOBER 7TH CHANGED ISRAEL AND THE JEWISH WORLD" at the Jewish Federation of Western CT (444 Main Street North, Southbury). Guest speaker, Yossi Klein Halevi, will address the ever-shifting reality of what our Jewish world - and Israel, in particular, has been experiencing over the last seven months.