A first Passover in Israel that was one, both of disappointment, but also profound revelation - by James Sinkinson

As devastating as the coronavirus pandemic is, it may bring the benefit—as it seems to have already done in Israel—of inspiring greater appreciation of one’s home country.

James Sinkinson..
Flame/JNS.org..
14 April '20

My first Passover in Israel was one both of disappointment and profound revelation. This conflicting combination, especially in the throes of the coronavirus crisis, served to underscore the strength of the Jewish people—and that of the world’s only Jewish state.

The coronavirus dampened the traditional excitement around Passover in Israel for everyone here, because each household was for the first time forced by government order to celebrate on its own. Zero visitors—no grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins or good friends—were allowed to attend seders outside their own homes.

Think of Thanksgiving dinner with no guests. Bizarre. The sense of isolation here was palpable, for us and everyone we spoke to, as well as on local social media. Remember, too, that Israelis have for the past two weeks been restricted to within 100 meters (328 feet) from our homes, except to buy groceries or medicine, or to get medical attention, under penalty of stiff fines—which are being aggressively dispensed.

On the other hand, my moving Passover revelation was born of the opportunity to see Jewish Israelis pull together in inspiring solidarity, with our people, our story and our nation.

(Continue to Full Column)

James Sinkinson is president of Facts and Logic About the Middle East (FLAME), which publishes educational messages to correct lies and misperceptions about Israel and its relationship to the United States.


Updates throughout the day at http://calevbenyefuneh.blogspot.com. If you enjoy "Love of the Land", please be a subscriber. Just put your email address in the "Subscribe" box on the upper right-hand corner of the page.Twitter updates at LoveoftheLand as well as our Love of the Land page at Facebook which has additional pieces of interest besides that which is posted on the blog. Also check-out This Ongoing War by Frimet and Arnold Roth. An excellent blog, very important work. 

A celebration from generation to generation, not to be taken for granted - by Nadav Shragai

...Indeed, neither the birthday of the Jewish people nor the birthday of the Jewish state, linked together by the chain of generations, lie within the realm of normalcy or self-evidence. While there is no problem getting used to their existence, we must always remember, recite and repeat, making sure such milestones are never taken for granted.

Nadav Shragai..
Israel Hayom..
First Published 14 April '14..
Link: http://www.israelhayom.com/site/newsletter_opinion.php?id=8075

It was a damp night in 1878. David Gutman was speaking to a group of pioneers who had joined him in celebrating the first Seder night on land known as Mulabbis, what later became the settlement of Petach Tikva.

"Today we are the first birds to greet the light of dawn," prophesied Gutman, an optimistic and tireless man. The reality in which they lived was quite dismal, rife with diseases and complicated by an existential struggle. But on that Seder evening, the pioneers bandied about their comprehensive vision of hope, liberation and light. (These details and more were revealed recently with the publication of Yoel Moshe Solomon's personal diary, by his family).

Tonight, 136 (now 140) years later, in much more prosperous times, living under true sovereignty and independence, we will mark Judaism's original independence day, the day our nation was born some 3,500 years ago. While this original independence day doesn't try to compete with modern Israel's Independence Day three weeks from now, it does imbue a phrase we will shortly recite with contemporary credence: "The nation of Israel, throughout the generations."

Gutman and his friends, just like Hillel who "put Pesach matzah and bitter herbs together and ate them," Rabbi Eliezer and Rabbi Yehoshua and their colleagues in Bnei Brak, or other generations of Jews, imagined themselves -- as individuals and as a nation -- going out from Egypt. If the generations of Jews had never imagined themselves undertaking that journey and establishing the traditional Seder evening, it's doubtful whether we would even be able to speak about a state of the Jewish people.

Why ‘this night’ is still different - by Gerald Steinberg

...Replacement theology is explicitly invoked by the leaders of the church-based boycotts, as well as in justifying Palestinian and Muslim rejection of the Jewish return to active status on the world stage. From this theological position, it is more convenient to erase this history than to deal with the assertion of Jewish rights that date back 4,000 years. In the face of this campaign, the Passover Seder is our collective opportunity to reclaim and reassert Jewish history and the centrality of this legacy.

Gerald M. Steinberg..
Times of Israel..
First posted 05 April '12..
Link: http://blogs.timesofisrael.com/why-this-night-is-still-different/

Over 90 percent of Israeli Jews, we are told, celebrate the Passover Seder. For a society that is often described as predominantly secular, or even anti-religious, this is a very high proportion.

But the continuing centrality of this tradition, which has endured for over 3,500 years, should not be surprising. As Jews, we are defined by our common history, with the Exodus from Egypt, from slavery into freedom, and the entry into the Land of Israel as the defining events. The Seder is a reaffirmation of this legacy, and its centrality to Jewish continuity.

In 1947, David Ben-Gurion appeared before the United Nations Commission, weighing Jewish and Arab claims to this land:

Three hundred years ago, a ship called the Mayflower left for the New World… Is there a single Englishman who knows the exact date and hour of the Mayflower’s launch? …Do they know how many people were in the boat? Their names? What they wore? What they ate?

Not to be taken for granted, a celebration from generation to generation - by Nadav Shragai

...Indeed, neither the birthday of the Jewish people nor the birthday of the Jewish state, linked together by the chain of generations, lie within the realm of normalcy or self-evidence. While there is no problem getting used to their existence, we must always remember, recite and repeat, making sure such milestones are never taken for granted.

Nadav Shragai..
Israel Hayom..
First Published 14 April '14..
Link: http://www.israelhayom.com/site/newsletter_opinion.php?id=8075

It was a damp night in 1878. David Gutman was speaking to a group of pioneers who had joined him in celebrating the first Seder night on land known as Mulabbis, what later became the settlement of Petach Tikva.

"Today we are the first birds to greet the light of dawn," prophesied Gutman, an optimistic and tireless man. The reality in which they lived was quite dismal, rife with diseases and complicated by an existential struggle. But on that Seder evening, the pioneers bandied about their comprehensive vision of hope, liberation and light. (These details and more were revealed recently with the publication of Yoel Moshe Solomon's personal diary, by his family).

Tonight, 136 (now 139) years later, in much more prosperous times, living under true sovereignty and independence, we will mark Judaism's original independence day, the day our nation was born some 3,500 years ago. While this original independence day doesn't try to compete with modern Israel's Independence Day three weeks from now, it does imbue a phrase we will shortly recite with contemporary credence: "The nation of Israel, throughout the generations."

Gutman and his friends, just like Hillel who "put Pesach matzah and bitter herbs together and ate them," Rabbi Eliezer and Rabbi Yehoshua and their colleagues in Bnei Brak, or other generations of Jews, imagined themselves -- as individuals and as a nation -- going out from Egypt. If the generations of Jews had never imagined themselves undertaking that journey and establishing the traditional Seder evening, it's doubtful whether we would even be able to speak about a state of the Jewish people.

Not to be taken for granted, a celebration from generation to generation

...Indeed, neither the birthday of the Jewish people nor the birthday of the Jewish state, linked together by the chain of generations, lie within the realm of normalcy or self-evidence. While there is no problem getting used to their existence, we must always remember, recite and repeat, making sure such milestones are never taken for granted.

Nadav Shragai..
Israel Hayom..
14 April '14..

It was a damp night in 1878. David Gutman was speaking to a group of pioneers who had joined him in celebrating the first Seder night on land known as Mulabbis, what later became the settlement of Petach Tikva.

"Today we are the first birds to greet the light of dawn," prophesied Gutman, an optimistic and tireless man. The reality in which they lived was quite dismal, rife with diseases and complicated by an existential struggle. But on that Seder evening, the pioneers bandied about their comprehensive vision of hope, liberation and light. (These details and more were revealed recently with the publication of Yoel Moshe Solomon's personal diary, by his family).

Tonight, 136 years later, in much more prosperous times, living under true sovereignty and independence, we will mark Judaism's original independence day, the day our nation was born some 3,500 years ago. While this original independence day doesn't try to compete with modern Israel's Independence Day three weeks from now, it does imbue a phrase we will shortly recite with contemporary credence: "The nation of Israel, throughout the generations."

Gutman and his friends, just like Hillel who "put Pesach matzah and bitter herbs together and ate them," Rabbi Eliezer and Rabbi Yehoshua and their colleagues in Bnei Brak, or other generations of Jews, imagined themselves -- as individuals and as a nation -- going out from Egypt. If the generations of Jews had never imagined themselves undertaking that journey and establishing the traditional Seder evening, it's doubtful whether we would even be able to speak about a state of the Jewish people.

(Video) From the Best - Chag Sameach!

idfnadesk..
26 March '13..





Watch a special holiday greeting from our soldiers in honor of Passover. Chag Sameach!



For more from the IDF:
http://www.idfblog.com/
http://twitter.com/idfspokesperson/
http://www.facebook.com/idfonline/
http://www.idf.il/english/

Updates throughout the day at http://calevbenyefuneh.blogspot.com. If you enjoy "Love of the Land", please be a subscriber. Just put your email address in the "Subscribe" box on the upper right-hand corner of the page.Twitter updates at LoveoftheLand as well as our Love of the Land page at Facebook.

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Pesach - Why ‘this night’ is still different

Passover Seder,
Kibbutz Mishmar Ha'Emek, 1953

Gerald M. Steinberg..
The Times of Israel..
First posted 05 April '12..

Over 90 percent of Israeli Jews, we are told, celebrate the Passover Seder. For a society that is often described as predominantly secular, or even anti-religious, this is a very high proportion.

But the continuing centrality of this tradition, which has endured for over 3,500 years, should not be surprising. As Jews, we are defined by our common history, with the Exodus from Egypt, from slavery into freedom, and the entry into the Land of Israel as the defining events. The Seder is a reaffirmation of this legacy, and its centrality to Jewish continuity.

In 1947, David Ben-Gurion appeared before the United Nations Commission, weighing Jewish and Arab claims to this land:

Three hundred years ago, a ship called the Mayflower left for the New World… Is there a single Englishman who knows the exact date and hour of the Mayflower’s launch? …Do they know how many people were in the boat? Their names? What they wore? What they ate?

He contrasted this record with that of the Jewish people:

More than 3,300 years before the Mayflower set sail, the Jews left Egypt. Any Jewish child, whether in America or Russia, Yemen or Germany, knows that his forefathers left Egypt at dawn on the 15th of Nisan. …Their belts were tied and their staffs were in their hands. They ate matzot, and arrived at the Red Sea after seven days…

At the opposite end of the spectrum, the attempt to deprive us of this history marks the greatest threat to Jewish survival — more dangerous than Iranian nuclear weapons or Hezbollah rockets.

(Video) To the world for Passover - An Israeli Soldier's song

LatmaTV..
18 March '13..




Latma brings you a word from proud Israeli soldiers and wishes a Happy and Kosher Passover to our wonderful soldiers, and to the entire Jewish people and our friends in Israel and throughout the world.

Updates throughout the day at http://calevbenyefuneh.blogspot.com. If you enjoy "Love of the Land", please be a subscriber. Just put your email address in the "Subscribe" box on the upper right-hand corner of the page.Twitter updates at LoveoftheLand as well as our Love of the Land page at Facebook.

.

Tobin - “Peace” Group Promotes Anti-Semitic Passover Seder

Jonathan S. Tobin..
Commentary/Contentions..
06 April '12..

As I wrote earlier, there is a disreputable modern American Jewish tradition of attempting to use Jewish liturgy and especially the Passover seder as an excuse to promote non-Jewish political issues. When Arthur Waskow created his “Freedom Seder” to make the holiday about American civil rights rather than the Exodus one could at least say it was an attempt to use Judaism to promote a good cause rather than a bad one. Other such attempts to make Haggadahs about immigration, the Labor movement or any other left-wing cause are less defensible. And using Passover to play partisan politics is simply pathetic. But the anti-Zionist group Jewish Voices for Peace (JVP) has now gone completely beyond the pale with a new version of Passover in which Israel is transformed into Egypt and the Palestinians have become the Jews.

This Haggadah, which was brought to our attention by the Anti-Defamation League, isn’t merely an expression of dissent against the policies of the Israeli government about which Israelis and Americans may differ. By appropriating the symbolism of the Festival of Freedom to promote a cause whose purpose is to deny the Jewish people their rights and liberty, the group is committing an act of spiritual vandalism. Identifying Israel with Pharaoh and Egyptians is an effort at delegitimization that crosses the boundary from bad taste to anti-Semitic invective.

Steinberg - Why ‘this night’ is still different

Passover Seder,
Kibbutz Mishmar Ha'Emek, 1953

Gerald M. Steinberg..
The Times of Israel..
05 April '12..

Over 90 percent of Israeli Jews, we are told, celebrate the Passover Seder. For a society that is often described as predominantly secular, or even anti-religious, this is a very high proportion.

But the continuing centrality of this tradition, which has endured for over 3,500 years, should not be surprising. As Jews, we are defined by our common history, with the Exodus from Egypt, from slavery into freedom, and the entry into the Land of Israel as the defining events. The Seder is a reaffirmation of this legacy, and its centrality to Jewish continuity.

In 1947, David Ben-Gurion appeared before the United Nations Commission, weighing Jewish and Arab claims to this land:

Three hundred years ago, a ship called the Mayflower left for the New World… Is there a single Englishman who knows the exact date and hour of the Mayflower’s launch? …Do they know how many people were in the boat? Their names? What they wore? What they ate?

He contrasted this record with that of the Jewish people:

More than 3,300 years before the Mayflower set sail, the Jews left Egypt. Any Jewish child, whether in America or Russia, Yemen or Germany, knows that his forefathers left Egypt at dawn on the 15th of Nisan. …Their belts were tied and their staffs were in their hands. They ate matzot, and arrived at the Red Sea after seven days…

At the opposite end of the spectrum, the attempt to deprive us of this history marks the greatest threat to Jewish survival — more dangerous than Iranian nuclear weapons or Hezbollah rockets.