Sherry Frank’s 2022 Passover Message

Passover is that unique moment in our year when families and friends gather at the table to retell the remarkable story of the Exodus and the Jewish people’s liberation from slavery.

As women’s voices continue to be more widely heard, traditional Haggadot have — at many seders — been replaced with creative and inspiring renditions of the Exodus story of freedom.

And those women who elevated this story — Moses’ mother, Yocheved; the midwives, Shifra and Puah; Moses’ sister, Miriam; and Pharaoh’s daughter, Batya — are increasingly being celebrated for their significant roles.

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In every generation, we are told to make this tale of survival relevant to the struggles for liberation in our own time. This year, when we ask the traditional four questions about matzah, bitter herbs, salt water, and reclining, perhaps we ponder new questions:

Why does food insecurity exist in such a wealthy nation as ours?
Why is whom one loves and marries reason for fighting?
Why, after 49 years, is the right for a woman to choose what is right for her own body still up for contentious debate?
Why have antisemitism, prejudice, and bullying been allowed to fester and increase?

And when we dip our fingers in wine to recite the ten plagues, perhaps we consider a more contemporary list:
War
Antisemitism and Bullying
Erosion of Freedom
Perversion of Justice
Homelessness
Environmental Pollution
Violence Against Women
Depression and Mental Illness
Voter Suppression
Political Polarization

I look forward to robust discussions at my seder table as we bring our ancestorial tale of slavery-to-freedom to rest beside our 2022 story of today.
Happy Pesach!

Sherry Frank is president of NCJW Atlanta section.