At the Sinai Temple, west of Los Angeles, a blue ribbon demarcates more than 130 seats that recall the hostages left in Gaza after the October 7 attack on Israel.
Jason DeRose
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Jason DeRose
At the Sinai Temple, west of Los Angeles, a blue ribbon demarcates more than 130 seats that recall the hostages left in Gaza after the October 7 attack on Israel.
Jason DeRose
At Temple Sinai, west of Los Angeles, Rabbi Erez Sherman unlocks the sanctuary doors and walks toward row after row of seats marked off by blue ribbon. Each seat represents a hostage taken by Hamas during the October 7 attack on Israel.
“We decided to put names and ages in 14 rows,” says Sherman, “which is about 240 seats.”
The congregation suppressed the names of those released. However, more than 130 seats remain reserved in memory of those who remain captive.
“This is our Hostage Square,” Sherman said, pointing to the rows and referring to a public square next to the Tel Aviv Museum of Art in Israel where families of hostages regularly gather. “These are our hostage seats.”
The seats remind Sherman of the words of the Haggadah – the ritual script for telling the Passover story at Seder evening meals.
“In every generation,” he says, “we are forced to see this story as if we ourselves came out of Egypt. It was always a metaphor. This year, it is reality.
Jews around the world begin celebrating Passover Monday evening. The holiday recalls the story of the Exodus – escape from Egypt and passage from captivity to the promised land. This year’s observation is poignant for many after October 7th.
Feeling under siege and craving allies
The painful reality of hostages is something that Rabbi Nicole Guzik, also at Temple Sinai, says is especially important to recognize at Passover.
“We must tell the story of the hostages who continue to be held captive in Gaza,” she said. “It reminds us that the story of Egypt continues thousands of years later – all the stories held captive right now that won’t be around a table during Passover.”
The violence of October 7 and the rise of anti-Semitism that followed were difficult, Guzik says, especially for many American Jews who stood alongside Black Americans, immigrants and LGBTQ people during the long fight for freedom and now feel abandoned.
“It’s considered that Jews don’t deserve to have the same type of ally or that Jews don’t suffer as much as other minorities,” she says. “I hope that the community at large and the world will understand that as a minority, the suffering is profound.”
The need for conversation beyond differences
So that the broader community can better understand, Jewish federations across the United States are viewing annual interfaith seders this year as opportunities to deepen conversations with their neighbors.
“Resilience, strength, freedom and triumph over adversity resonate across cultures and religions,” says Mary Kohav, community engagement manager at the Jewish Federation of Los Angeles.
“This year there will be a lot of mourning. It’s been a really tragic and traumatic time,” she says. “You know, we hope that bringing people together to experience this ancient ritual will give us some optimism about how we can move forward.”
In the weeks leading up to Passover, the Jewish Federation of Los Angeles coordinated an interfaith Seder for more than 200 people. During the meal held last week, before Passover itself, participants were invited to talk about how they understood the themes of triumph over adversity and freedom in their own traditions and how these understandings could help bridge differences among believers.
Remember the past, imagine the future
How to move forward together, even as suffering continues in Israel, Gaza and the United States, is a question with no easy answer. But asking the question gives hope to Robert Bank, president of the human rights organization American Jewish World Service. And as he points out, asking questions is part of the Passover practice.
“It’s about this duality between oppression and freedom,” Bank says. “This is the Jewish moment to reflect on what is broken in our world and what we can do to fix it.”
Bank says the war between Israel and Hamas also leads him to quote and reflect on the two-millennia-old words of Rabbi Hillel: “If I am not for myself, who will be for me?” And if I am only for myself, what am I? And if not now, when? » It’s a sentiment that reminds Bank of the different levels of ethical obligation – to oneself, to the community and to strangers – and the wisdom of discerning when to act to meet those obligations.
Traditionally, Seder meals end with the phrase “Next year, in Jerusalem,” which points to a future when all Jews can celebrate the holiday in freedom and peace. But the American Jewish World Service publishes a Haggadah with these concluding words: “Next year, in a just world.”
“That means we need to remember times when human beings created change for the better,” Bank says, “because that allows us to start again.”
Remembering the past by telling the Passover story, he said, helps people imagine something that isn’t yet, but might be one day.
“It means a prayer for peace for Israelis and Palestinians,” Bank says. “It means hope.”
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