Kaylene Ladinsky's 2022 Passover Message

Getting to the Other Side …

Other than the talking burning bush, my favorite part of the Passover story is when our people were fleeing the Egyptians and they get to the Red Sea. The Hebrews were worried, as they could see the Egyptians in the horizon drawing closer. That had to be terrifying, as they looked ahead and felt that there was no way that they would get to the other side of the sea and to safety.

Over the last couple of years, I have had some pretty serious and frightening issues, and when I looked ahead, I saw no way out. Several times it felt like I was just banging my head against wall, attempting to break through and get to the other side. Not always will there be a man blessed and all powerful, like Moses, that will take his staff and part the way for me to run and get to the other side of my problem or challenge.

One of the most important aspects of the Passover story is that not everyone made it across the Red Sea. There were several that lacked faith, refused to see the way to the other side and hesitated, then perished with the Egyptians as the walls of the Red Sea collapsed all around them.

Wow, what a story, right? Many layers of insight found in the story of the Hebrews escaping Egypt, as the Red Sea parted, can be applied to all our day-to-day. Whether you need to get the other side of a problem, an illness, getting your kids through college, paying bills or even bigger, such as a Pandemic and even war.

Keep moving forward, have faith, be obedient and whatever you do, don’t look back. The entire world was recently united by the Pandemic. Many lives were lost, hope was hard to grasp at times and just when I was about to give in to masks, solitude, and social distancing as a new way of life forever. The clouds, fog, smoke or even the Red Sea clears a way to the other side.

Just when I was about to be thankful for getting to the other side of the pandemic, another challenge arises. Right now, we are all sharing in the distress over of the Russian invasion on Ukraine. This war is so very hostile; so many lives are being lost and families torn apart, as Ukrainians are fleeing the country to escape persecution. Join me in praying and find a way that you can get involved and help them to “Get to the other side,” too.

Kaylene Ladinsky is the editor and managing publisher of the Atlanta Jewish Times.