Become a Member
Shoshanna Keats Jaskoll

By

Shoshanna Keats Jaskoll,

Shoshanna Keats Jaskoll

Opinion

I feel blessed to be sharing Pesach with Israel

We went from being a family joined in slavery to a nation united by redemption — with not only a collective history but a shared destiny, writes Shoshanna Keats Jaskoll in this joyful piece

April 4, 2018 10:04
GettyImages-675788910
3 min read

More than any other holiday, Passover represents Jewish nationhood. Perhaps that is why 97 per cent of Jews in Israel take part in a Passover Seder, making it the most observed Jewish ritual.

The Passover season (and it’s a season here) is identifiable by massive sales — on clothing, homeware, food, garden furniture, you name it — as well as frenetic cooking, cleaning, preparing and, eventually, clearing up. Radio stations play songs from the Haggadah and announcers discuss their holiday plans.

There are bags of clothing to be given away (gleaned from the spring cleaning that often accompanies the ritual ridding the home of leavened bread); the queues at the car-wash involve an hour’s wait; and children bring home from school many wondrous creations that must be kept safe until Seder Night.

So much preparation for one evening. But, in that evening, we tell the story of our becoming a people. Of God’s rescuing us from bondage. Of the heroism of Jewish women and men whose actions collectively saved their people. The midwives’ resistance. A mother’s love. A sister’s determination. A stranger’s compassion. A reluctant leader. A loyal brother.