We will shortly be observing Pesach (literally ‘protection’) where we remember the Exodus, with the story that has been passed on from one generation to another, as if each generation has been present during these miracles and personally experienced slavery.
It is incumbent on each of us to thank, praise, and bless Hashem for delivering us from slavery to freedom, from suffering to joy, from subjugation as a people to redemption as a nation and from mourning to festivities.
During Pesach we remember that pivotal moment when we first became a people with a mission and a code for life. Pesach reminds us of both our freedom and the freedom of others. It offers a beacon of hope to the oppressed, in whatever form that oppression may take, and provides hope that with the help of Hashem the world can become a better place. It provides context for the struggles and sacrifices of all suffering peoples and reminded us that Hashem cares deeply about their plight and their wish for freedom and justice.
This context of restorative justice resetting the wrongs wrought against us has been repeated in struggles for freedom all over the world, as well as the struggle to overcome the wicked system of Apartheid in our own country. It has provided hope to Jews throughout the millennia that Hashem cares about our precarious existence and that every year we can reaffirm our hope that we will soon be set free from what binds us.
Our generation has truly been blessed to see the fulfilment of the prophecies and our hopes for the rebirth of the land that Hashem has promised to Abraham. We can truly mean it when we say “next year in Jerusalem.”
Wishing everyone a meaningful Pesach.
Esta Levitas,
Chairman SAZF Cape Council
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