by Rabbi Lana Zilberman Soloway

The Jewish calendar is a smart calendar. It resembles wise grandparents, who have spent many years on this planet. They’ve seen it all, they know it all, and they know that history, as is nature, always repeats itself. There is a time for everything and a season for every purpose under the heavens, said Kohelet (Ecclesiastes 3:1) in the Bible three thousand years ago. 

Our calendar is connected both to nature and to Jewish time. It contains the stories we tell ourselves and others about who we are. It announces the seasons and the upcoming holidays, sometimes even before we are ready to celebrate them. 

If you haven’t yet noticed – spring has sprung. The weather is acting out. Maybe mirroring the behavior of this world and its inhabitants. Some days are bright, sunny, and warm, while others are gray, cloudy, and cold. 

This Shabbat we are finally saying goodbye to the month of Adar, which was double its usual length this year, because it is a leap year. We are getting ready to welcome the month of Nisan, which, among many things, invites us to explore and reflect on the theme of freedom. 

In a few weeks, we will gather with beloved friends and family members around the Passover Seder table. We will retell the story of our Exodus from Egypt all over again and teach it to the next generations. We will recite: In every single generation, one should see themselves as if they came out of Mitzrayim (Egypt).

Mitzrayim in Hebrew means “a narrow place.” 

What does it mean to you to come out of Mitzrayim this year? From a narrow place to a wide place? From slavery to freedom? How do we celebrate our own freedom when not all people are free?

I want to share with you a beautiful poem by my Israeli friend Rabbi Amnon Rivak, written many years ago. I read it every year around this time, and it always offers a new perspective. This year, as we mark six months of terrible war between Israel and Hamas, while 134 hostages are still held in the most narrow of evil places, this poem resonates more than ever before. 

Want to learn and experience more? Join us on so many beautiful opportunities during the month of Nisan: tonight’s Freedom Shabbat Service, next week’s celebration of Rosh Chodesh Nisan, Wisdom Wednesday, all-ages friendly ideas for a fun family Seder, our pre-Seder gathering with the Or Ami Village, and for the first time ever – a communal Mimouna celebration at the end of the month.  

Every Person needs to have a certain Egypt / Rabbi Amnon Rivak

Every person needs to have a certain Egypt,
to be as Moshe themselves inside it,
with a strong arm,
or with grinding teeth.
Every person needs terror and great darkness,
and comfort and promise and redemption,
That they would know to look up at the sky.
Every person needs one prayer, that would
constantly be on their lips.
A person needs to bend one time –
Every person needs a shoulder.
Every person needs to have a certain Egypt,
to redeem themselves from it,
From the house of slavery,
to go out in the middle of the
night to the desert of fears,
to march straight into the waters,
to see them open before them to both sides.
Every person needs a shoulder,
on which to carry the bones of Joseph,
Every person needs to straighten their backs.
Every person needs to have a certain Egypt,
and a Jerusalem,
and one long journey,
that they will forever remember in their feet.