והגדת לבנך
And you will tell your children:
Once we were slaves in a strange land.
We were beaten and starved, forced to work until our hands cracked and bled in the scorching heat of the Egyptian sun.
And God heard our desperate cries. And He brought 10 miracle plagues against our vile oppressors that defied all science and reason and logic.
In the still of the night we ran, our bread on our backs not having time to leaven.
We ran until our toes touched the deep dark waters of the Yam Suf unable to continue.
But our enemies chased us and attacked us from behind. They rained upon us a barrage of slings and arrows that God miraculously swallowed by His Holy cloud.
And God delivered us from bondage from the hands of Pharaoh and split the raging sea for us to walk on soft river banks.
Through dry desert sands we wandered for 40 years until God delivered us once again into a land flowing with Milk and Honey.
Into a land of miracles.
I too have just borne witness to God’s great miracles. For in that same land that God had delivered us to from slavery, a land flowing with milk and honey, our enemies once again tried to destroy us.
בכל דור ודור עומדים עלינו לכלותינו, והקדוש ברוך הוא מצילנו מידם.
“In every generation there are those who rise against us to destroy us, but God always saves us from their hands.”
This time our enemies came from above, raining down on us an expansive barrage of deadly drones, rockets and missiles with the sole intention of completely decimating our people.
על אחת כמה וכמה טובה כפולה ומכפלת למקום עלינו.
“How much greater then, incalculably great, are the benefits which God did shower upon us in double and redoubled measure!”
God blessed the miraculous success of our incredible army. On wings of eagles our brave soldiers flew, wrapping our country and our people in another godly cloud. Through the miracles of our aerial defense, David’s Sling and Iron Dome our entire country was enveloped in bravery, perseverance, skill, faith and prayer. And God’s miracles.
דיינו
It would have been enough that they are denying our Holocaust.
דיינו
It would have been enough that they are screaming for our destruction.
דיינו
It would have been enough that they have stolen our people into a dark tunnel abyss.
דיינו
It would have been enough that they have shot rockets and drones and tried to annihilate us for eternity.
דיינו
It is enough.
והגדת לבנך
And you will tell your children:
“Eleven brothers once went down to Egypt to be greeted by a brother they had sold into slavery.”
And so began our decades’ long story in Egypt.
A story that grew from the burning seeds of jealousy, hatred and anger.
A story that tugged and pulled the threads of a colorful coat until all was left was a mountain of string. And tears. And pain.
We are now only starting to recognize what happens to the fabric of our people if we tear at the threads of our nation through discourse and anger.
We have seen the ultimate beauty of what it looks like when we are forced to come together and weave as one. We have seen firsthand how holy and illuminating it is.
We have just borne witness to God’s great miracles.
It is up to us to remain worthy of them, so that very soon our fifth cup of geulah will be revealed.
לשנה הזה בירושלים הבנויה
This year in rebuilt Jerusalem!
Esti Rosen Snukal made aliyah from Teaneck in 2012 with her husband and four sons. She currently resides in Chashmonaim. Esti is a contributing writer for The Jewish Link documenting life in Israel. She can be reached at [email protected].
