Our Passover Seder has taken many different forms over the past decades. It has swelled and shrunk in number of guests. Some years it has been entirely Jewish, other years, we have had a mixture of Evangelical, Catholic, Mormon and Secular Atheists. A few years (after we made Aliyah to Israel), we had tables full of Lone Soldiers who had no other family here to celebrate with. We have had Teaching Seders, Broadway Seders, Beatles Seders, Children’s Seders and Family Seders. A couple years past, we had our lonely but meaningful COVID Seder, where we were convinced the plagues had begun descending – and now the ‘Thus Far, the Ultimate Seder.’

The Passover Seder is the yearly meal where Jews throughout the world, in a set order of liturgy (Seder means order), remember the first Passover. We remember how G-d, through Moses and Aaron, led the Israelites out of slavery under Pharaoh in Egypt to freedom. We recall the plagues, the crossing of the Red Sea, the gifts of protection, water in the desert, manna in the wilderness, and the giving of the Ten Commandments on Mt. Sinai. There are symbolic foods. And prayers. And songs. Despite years where we were super creative, the liturgy is set and the story remains the same. We experience it as best we can as if we had personally been delivered through the waters from slavery to liberation. As a people. As a nation. As a religion.

During the Seder, the youngest present recites the Four Questions: Why is this night different from all other nights? Our family celebrations have shrunk in size. We used to have four daughters around the table. They now have their own families in different parts of the world. This year my son was present for the last time. Next year he will be getting his Masters Degree in the UK. He had just returned home from his current job at university and from another tour of reserve duty on a Northern front of Israel. So that, in and of itself, added an additional layer of poignancy. Our son recited the Four Questions, possibly for the last time for us.

This year, our Pesach Seder was remarkably different. We sat at the table, trying to celebrate our collective freedom. Yet there was an empty place setting among us. It was representative of the 130+ hostages still being held by Hamas in captivity in some cell or tunnel. We don’t know their fate: how many are still alive or what condition they are in? We’ve had “news” that some of the girls are now visibly pregnant; that others being held have died or were killed; that some who were kidnapped are just lost. The empty place setting represents all those Israelis who were brutally massacred by the terrorists on 7 October – Jewish, Christian, Muslim, Druze. It made no difference. Age made no difference. Nationality made no difference. Over 1250 people now not among us. The empty place setting also represented the IDF soldiers who have given their lives fighting terror these past six months. Over 600 men and women. The empty place setting also represented those who are serving in active duty who could not be home with their families, because they are protecting this nation from further attack.

There is one part of the Passover liturgy, actually a beautiful song, Vehi sh’amda…” for it was not just one enemy who attempted to annihilate us, but in every generation there are those who have risen up to destroy us.” As we sang this (listen to the song by Yonatan Razel), pro-Hamas demonstrators had taken over the campuses of Columbia University, NYU, Yale, Berkeley, Harvard and others. Jewish students are in fear of their personal safety and are being told to go to their homes and return to classes via Zoom. Israeli American professor of Business at Columbia, Shai Davidai (my hero and modern day Maccabee) had just been fired from his position at the university. A visibly Jewish man in London was arrested for being openly Jewish while crossing the street. He would be too provocative in the mostly Islamist crowd, therefore instigating violence.

Sunday, right before Passover began, US Secretary of State announced that for the first time ever, the United States would be sanctioning an entire IDF unit. There is an Orthodox Jewish (Haredi) brigade that have been fighting terror cells in Judaea Samaria (the West Bank) since the outbreak of the war. They have been uncovering tunnels, smuggled weapons and explosives – RPG parts, grenades, machine guns – and stockpiles of cash. They have found drugs and weapons manufacturing factories hidden under mosques and near schools inside the West Bank. The IDF soldiers have arrested hundreds of terrorists and stopped scores of attempted acts of violence against Israelis at bus stops, driving on the roads, and infiltrating the Israeli towns and villages. They have demolished the homes of terrorists. And now they are being denied any joint military assistance or training. They are being labeled as terrorists and could face arrest should they enter the U.S.

Last Friday a 14 year-old shepherd boy, an Orthodox Jewish ‘settler’ in Samaria went missing. Groups from the village where he lived, along with search and rescue, set out to find him. They were accosted by rock- throwing and bullet-firing Palestinians from a neighboring village. The boy’s tortured and lifeless, mutilated and desecrated body was found just before Passover. And the US is sanctioning IDF in Samaria.

Just before the start of the Seder this year, another blood libel against the Jews (IDF) started and went viral. It was helped along by the likes of US Congresspeople, Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib. Supposedly, in Khan Yunis, a mass grave of over 2000 (then scaled back to just over 200) innocent Gazans was found. It was more than implied that this was the work of the IDF. In fact, there was a video of Gazan men in February, digging a large trench to bury “martyrs” from inside Nasser Hospital. It was for 38 injured Gazans who had succumbed to their wounds as a result of the war.

The world is crying genocide over the Palestinians. I posted to my social media on Friday a video of thousands of men and children in Gaza on the beach enjoying the beautiful weather and the waters of the Mediterranean on the Gaza beaches. The world is once again calling for a divestment from buying any goods made in Israel, and that all Israeli imports need to be labeled as such. The world is calling for violence against Jewish houses of worship and Jewish businesses in Europe, in Australia, in South Africa, Canada and the United States. The world is calling for Jews to “go home.” And on the other side of the coin, the world is calling for a free Palestine, an Israel free of any Jewish (or Christian) presence.

In the morning, as I was preparing the special foods for our Pesach Seder, to celebrate our freedom and our return to our ancient and ancestral homeland as a fulfillment of Biblical prophecy, I received this lovely reminder in the form of a text from the Homefront Command:

A stark reminder of the times in which we live. Yet just last week, we witnessed the protection of the L-rd. Whether it was in the form of an advance warning so we could prepare; or the coordination of international military; or effectiveness of our multi-layered missile defense systems, the end result was nothing short of miraculous. Last Sunday, Iran fired over 300 intercontinental ballistic missiles, cruise missiles and over 180 suicide drones laden with explosives at Israel. Not one reached its target. Only one little Bedouin girl was injured by a piece of falling shrapnel because the desert-dwelling Bedouin have no access to bomb shelters. We pray she makes a complete and speedy recovery. But it was a miracle nonetheless of G-d’s power to save. The number one google search in Israel after Iran announced its attack was “Tehillim,” Psalms. And ‘prayers and Psalms against missiles.’ This data proved that Israel is united in prayer and in faith in G-d.

I invite you, whether Jew, Christian or Other; whether living in the Land of Israel or abroad; whether an Israeli citizen or not, to pray for us. Pray for G-d’s protection and favor. Pray that you be given the Gift of Courage to stand up and speak the Truth against real persecution. Pray for eyes to see which side is truly disruptive and violent. When you hear calls for violence, report it. Write and petition your elected officials. Vote. Speak out in your homes, your neighborhoods and communities. Be firm, but always act peacefully and in love. And if you are Jewish, don’t delay in making the move to Israel while you still can.

As we say at the end of the Seder, “May we all celebrate next year in Jerusalem!” May those words be taken to heart. I know from experience, moving to a new place, a new life, a new job and culture with a new language is difficult. But it will be the most rewarding experience you can make. We eagerly await your return home and welcome you with open arms.