Seder prayer 5786-2026 - The Jewish Standard

Amid this aspirational Feast of Freedom, redemption still awaits us. The pain of war continues unabated. Fulfilling the vision of Israel at peace with all its neighbors still eludes us. Soldiers and civilians — American, Israeli, and others — remain in harm’s way.

And yet, as we gather at the seder table, there is a moment of relief. Our hostages, dead and alive, have been returned to their families and to all of us who came to know them as brothers and sisters.

Like the Israelites who would not leave Egypt without retrieving Joseph’s bones, we were not free until the last of our dead were brought to burial in the Land of Israel.

We carry our Jewish values forward. The deliberately spilled droplets of wine during the recitation of the ten plagues expand our circle of human empathy. We remember the innocents of all peoples who have perished. All are created in the image of God.

We will not let the murderous antisemitism of Bondi, Washington, and Boulder determine who we are and need to be. In the words of the Haggadah, we thank God for transforming our despair into joy, our mourning into celebration, our darkness into light, our enslavement into freedom.

As we sit together, let us be mindful that we are not alone. We have friends in the world, like Shifrah and Puah of the Exodus story who saved Jewish lives and thwarted Pharaoh’s plans for us. Those who have stood with us deserve our gratitude and love.

“Od lo avda tikvateinu, l’hiyot am chofshi b’artzeinu.” Our hope is not lost, to be a free and safe people in our land, to be secure wherever we find ourselves in the world.

“Adonai oz l’amo yitein, Adonai y’vareikh et amo va’shalom.” God, give your people strength. God, bless your people with peace. Amen.

Rabbi Noam Marans of Teaneck is the director of interreligious affairs at the American Jewish Committee.