Boker Tov. 

As we gather around our Pesach tables this year, we do so not only as families, but as a people shaped by history, resilience, and responsibility.

Last year, our Sedarim were marked by absence. Empty chairs sat at our tables—silent reminders of the hostages we prayed for and refused to forget. We spoke their names. We carried their stories. We asked, how such darkness could exist in our time.

This year, those chairs are no longer empty.

Hostages have returned home. Families have embraced loved ones they feared they might never see again even if it was only a corpse. As a community, we do not take this for granted. We recognize it for what it is: the power of hope sustained, of unrelenting advocacy, and of a global Jewish community that refused to look away.

Leadership also demands honesty. Redemption is not yet complete. There is a war going on. Pain, uncertainty and anger persist. And so, Pesach calls on us not only to celebrate, but to gather with one another — to hold complexity, to honor loss while affirming life, and to move forward with clarity and purpose.

 

At its core, Pesach is not only about freedom from the past; it is about responsibility in the present. It reminds us that we are not passive participants in our story. We are its authors.

As YOUR JFED we will continue to stand at the center of that responsibility—supporting those in need, strengthening Jewish life, and ensuring that no member of our people stands alone in moments of crisis or in moments of renewal.

When we say, “Next year in Jerusalem,” at the conclusion of the Seder, let it be a statement of vision and commitment—a future defined by security, unity, and peace.

Chag Pesach sameach. May we go forward with strength, with purpose, and with unshakable hope.