This past week I celebrated Passover with 15 million other Jews across the world. This weekend almost 2.5 billion Christians will celebrate Easter. Both holidays signify a new beginning. One celebrates freedom from slavery, and the other a rebirth.
I have always loved the story and significance of Passover. Even as a kid when I begrudgingly sat at the children’s table with my siblings at what seemed like the Seder that lasted forever. The older I get, the shorter the Seder seems to become, but the significance of the story and message resonates deeper. This year was no different. We (the world) still face the same issues we did thousands of years ago and we still celebrate the same principles. The ones that resonate most with me this year are...
1) Freedom from slavery. How is it that we still find ourselves in a world that discriminates against people who are different than us?
2) The strength of family and community. After a year of mostly quarantine, most of us have reset our priorities and focus on the people who are most important to us.
3) Welcoming and embracing strangers with an open door. Looking at the devastating effects of the immigration policies of the past four years, we are hopefully on a more humane path to becoming a country that celebrates our differences.
4) Taking time to reflect. This past year was a moment in time that forced everyone to take stock, and hopefully make positive changes to their lives and environment.
5) Honoring and learning from the past to inform our future. Even though we didn’t have a kids table, I made sure I spent enough time “torturing” my four children with stories of our past and their relevance to our future.
Next year we probably won’t be in Israel, but we will be free to either travel wherever we want or remain at home – with our doors open to strangers.
Let’s do this
-Shaun