Week of Pesach 2025
My sedarim were wonderful: meaningful, challenging and of course delicious – expert catering by Ian and Ruthie Gaskin and their cre
w at the communal seder for 80 and my own for the first night, where our lingering conversations – from Empathy, to the Prince of Egypt, to Passovers past – served only to make the cooking chickens more tender. We made every word of the Haggadah speak to us personally, bringing sensitivity to our story as Jews from Egyptian bondage, through Roman occupation, to the European pogroms and crusades, to the inquisitions, then through to the Holocaust and now into this aching moment of history. Throughout this, the quest has been for freedom for all. ‘Unless all are free, no-one is free,’ were our closing words. What a hope. What a prayer. We have scars for our trauma, clear battle marks of it all.
We also know that personal liberation must precede every communal one, that freedom always begins with us, in our hearts.
Min hameitzar karati yah v’anani v’merchav yah.
From narrow straits I called to you and You answered me in wide expansiveness.
This verse of Hallel, Psalm 118, is the heart of Pesach for me: it is an invitation and encouragement to notice where you are, to observe that the bars that surround you may come from your own habits, choices and fear, then to seek to move beyond them and then to free yourself – even partially.
This moment of Hallel, this moment of reaching for personal release, is the hidden gift of Passover. It speaks of relief from illness, from the awful paralysis of grief, from struggle and disappointment into a wider expansive existence not confined by the narrow straits in which we have been held. We may not be cured of our afflictions or our situations but somehow, we may be looser and easier with them.
This personal idea of freedom, which is deeply compelling to me, is right there.
We can seek this opening for ourselves and interrogate what a freer, more expansive existence might look like. In the opening lines of her poem, Ruth Brin, poet and liturgist, suggests this so gently:
No one ever told me the coming of the Messiah
Could be an inward thing.
No one ever told me a change of heart
Might be as quiet as new-fallen snow…
I hope you find a little change, newness, courage this Passover.
Below is a reminder of all the things going on for which we need your support and engagement.
Yom Hashoah next Wednesday evening. 23rd April Ella Ebner Garai (child of FPS members Mark Ebner and Janine Garai will speak about her grandfather at a G2G Yom Hashoah event. https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/jan/27/holocaust-grandpa-experiences-survivor-testimony.
At our seder one of our story tellers shared this-the young become older and the old become younger, and we take it seriously in our remembering.
Shabbat Shalom,
Rebecca
Israel
When I was there in February we met Rabbi Gilad Kariv MK (first ever Reform Rabbi) who critiqued eloquently the current government and the situation pre October 2023 and since. When we asked what we could do he begged us to vote in the World Zionist Elections. This is why we are urging you with the help of our Voting Captain and Rep David Rigal to register and be ready to vote and ensure a progressive voice (Maasorti, Liberal and Reform UK) are represented. Progressive Judaism and our vision of Israel as a democratic, pluralistic state face historic challenges. Ultra-Orthodox rabbis and extreme politicians control key levers of power and aim to relegate non-Orthodox Jews, women, LGBTQ+ Israelis, and ethnic minorities to secondary status. All FPS members will be entitled to have a vote that directly impacts resources and funding for Israeli Reform synagogues, rabbis, values, and advocacy.
What is it? Founded by Theodor Herzl in 1897, the World Zionist Congress election happens every 5 years. This year in the UK it is coming down to a real electronic vote.
How urgent is it? 8 April – 13 May, is the registration period. Anyone who is going to vote has to register at this time. This is how you register: Click Home | Arzenu UK and just follow the Register to Vote procedure. It will cost you £1 which is a token amount to help to underwrite the cost of the election and to make sure that automated ‘bots’ do not undermine the voting. In the process you will be asked to accept the ‘Jerusalem Programme’ of the World Zionist Congress. If you click The Jerusalem Program Explained – ARZA then you can find an explanation of how this document came about and Reform Jewish reactions to it. The vote itself is 9-16 of June but it will be won or lost in the 8 April – 13 May registration period.
Why is it important? Progressive Judaism in Israel, Pluralism, Democracy, Equity, Security, Justice, a path to Peace, with billions of dollars in the balance. If we don’t take our rightful share of the votes and resources, they will go to those who actively work to oppose our members’ rights, our movement’s presence, and the values that animate many of our Zionism. Our people on the ground need our support and our votes.
Yom Ha’Atzma’ut
On Wednesday 30th April we join with four other synagogues, in a very special initiative will share Israel’s Independence Day Yom Ha’Atzma’ut in a service together and with several learning sessions structured around the Declaration of Independence and the core founding principles of values. We will end with eating together . The evening will ensure there is something for everybody; whatever your feelings about the state. A chance to explore hope and empathy and raise up the voices of those working hard for democracy there, as well as dance and poetry and Israel’s history. Please book for food prep.
It has been a heartbreaking year and this Pesach we feel it deeply.
Whilst in Israel I met with the most extraordinary rabbis and educators and those working for shared hope. Many of them work on and encouraged us to attend this service. Tuesday 29th April will be the 20th shared Israeli-Palestinian Memorial service of Yom HaZikaron organised by the Israeli and Palestinian Bereaved Families for Peace and Combatants for Peace. I hope to arrange a virtual watching group and would ask you to let me know if you would like to join me.
On that day tell your child, ‘I do this because of what the Eternal did for me when I came out of Egypt.’
This is not just an empty verse we will read in the Haggadah; it is an obligation we all carry to bring contemporary meaning and relevance into the Seder. When I was a teenager, we brought the plight of Jewish refuseniks leaving the USSR. A few years later, we described Operation Moses and Solomon bringing Ethiopian and Yemeni Jews to Israel. All of these acts of contemporary liberation added to our understanding of the Seder story.
Now similarly, we must bring the suffering of Israel and the Palestinians to our Seder. We will not be alone. Many, many Jews and many of those in Israel will bring this to their tables. They will bring the plight of the remaining hostages and of their families still waiting and mourning them. They will also bring the terrible challenge of the story of liberation at our Seder tables whilst Palestinians experience such oppression and lack of freedom in their homes in Israel and West Bank. ‘Liberty is at the heart of the Jewish story,’ says Rabbi Avi Dabush, ‘not just freedom but breaking the cycle of suffering. If those around you are not free, you remain enslaved. If you use your power to enslave others, you will no longer be free.’
I find these words poignant and powerful this year because having seen it for myself, I know it to be true. When I was in Israel in February, we visited so much in the country, beginning in the South where I saw the Nova festival site. We said Kaddish amongst the red anemones that have spontaneously grown there in this place of brutality and murder. We sat with rabbis in Kibbutz Nirim. I attended Havdalah in Hostage Square and felt an important witness at each of these moments.
A group of us were taken to the West Bank with 10 other British rabbis and 4 Israeli rabbis and educators. That day, being shown the terrain of the Southern Hebron Hills and in particular, one destroyed Palestinian village of Zanuta, we were attacked by a settler. Not just shouted at, but physically attacked and threatened. He drove his truck with purpose towards us as we scrambled higher and higher, unable to escape from his forceful 4×4 vehicle, until we calmly edged past him to the bus, terrified by his presence. He spat at our driver, damaged the car of one of the educators and attempted to drive our little bus off the road once we’d managed, shaking, to clamber back on safely. There was aggression and intent to harm and we all saw it clearly. If this group was demonstrably Jewish to us, then how much more so to others?
We saw it later in Hebron when Jewish children attacked Muslim women walking down the street, whilst the inexperienced soldiers did little to protect them. Then the children turned on us too and no-one stopped them.
As concerned and loving Jews, we have an obligation to support colleagues on the ground and raise up their voices both at Seder and beyond. Liberation is a potent idea this year in so many ways.
Monday 7th 7-8pm online and Shabbat 12th April I will bring writings, resources and pieces to brighten and deepen your Seder.
There is something we can do to support Israel and its values.
Support Progressive Judaism and our vision of Israel as a democratic, pluralistic state face historic challenges. Ultra-Orthodox rabbis and extreme politicians control key levers of power and aim to relegate non-Orthodox Jews, women, LGBTQ+ Israelis, and ethnic minorities to secondary status. We have a vote that directly impacts resources and funding for Israeli Reform synagogues, rabbis, values, and advocacy. This video (click here to watch) is a great but utterly terrifying example of why our campaign matters so much.
What is it? The World Zionist Congress election happens every 5 years. This year in the UK, it is coming down to a real vote, where each of us will need to cast an electronic ballot.
How urgent is it? 8 April – 13 May is the registration period. Anyone who is going to vote has to register at this time. The vote itself is 9-16 June but it will be won or lost in the 8 April – 13 May registration period.
Where’s the link? We don’t have it yet!!! As soon as we have the destination for registrations, we’ll share it. David Rigal () is our captain and will be happy to help register folk from 8th April to 13th May both before services and you can email him.
Why is it important? Progressive Judaism in Israel, Pluralism, Democracy, Equity, Security, Justice, a path to Peace, is very much at risk. There are billions of dollars in the balance and if we don’t take our rightful share of the votes and resources, they will go to those who actively work to oppose our members’ rights, our movement’s presence, and the values that animate many of our Zionism. In the UK election the joint Reform, Liberal and Masorti slate is called ‘OUR ISRAEL’.
Our community is having a difficult time around Israel. Is this going to make it worse? The elections are going to bring up a whole new series of conversations in our wider community, and therefore also in our shuls. Nobody HAS to vote, and even though we’d love all progressive members to vote with the movement, there are other groups running in this election if they’d like to make a different choice.
We have just started the month of Nissan and moved to British Summer time last Sunday. Pesach is less than two weeks away. My kitchen cupboards look at me with relief at this time of year, knowing I will be cleaning them and tidying what’s amassed during the year. The physicality of the festival is comforting beyond measure; my shank bone is safely in my freezer already. Our Seder menu is coming together.
The literal act of clearing out is always welcome, resulting in making one lighter through the process of removing all that is unnecessary in your drawers and cupboards, hallways and even your car. So, you remove the leaven and free yourself a little. The core of Passover offers this: chametz is both heavy baggage you carry with you and unnecessary ‘stuff,’ both material and metaphorical. Chametz is any food that has risen or been leavened and is forbidden on Pesach because, as our Torah teaches us, the Israelites, rushing after the final plague, did not have time for their bread to rise as they were leaving Egypt.
Yet there is another layer of this ritual for us. We refer to this as spiritual chametz. It’s this that causes our egos, our sense of worth and importance, to inflate. Rabbi Arthur Waskow refers to this type as ‘the swollen sourness in our lives.’ This is chametz that prevents us from being free to encounter the world unencumbered, in a more spiritual way. There’s something about this small (albeit exhausting, if your house really needs it) ritual that can model so much and pave the way for a more honest engagement with Passover. The communal begins with the personal. I love these layers to Passover. Reaching for personal freedom from being stuck and fixed can only be a good thing. We start with ourselves and wrestle meaning from the Seder and Passover experience. I’m looking forward to sharing extra readings and ideas at an online learning session on Monday, 7th April at 7pm and in person on Shabbat on 12th April at 10am.
Shabbat Shalom,
Rebecca
Marking the Coming of Spring.
There are official website alerts in Japan for the cherry blossom season. Sakura Watch, a sort of national Spring watch by everyone who wants to see the opening of those pink and white petals/flowers, will anticipate the flowering dates in different cities. This week the first blossoms have been spotted.
I am taken by this collective watching of Spring and what it can teach us – particularly now.
Our collective hearts are breaking at this outbreak of fighting, the escalation of violence in Gaza and in the West Bank and the misery of the last few hostage families waiting and terrified by what it means. Our eyes are glued to the news and the geo-political situations. Our hope is sapped as we witness yet more suffering.
We have good reason for that – paying attention is our responsibility. You are not allowed to be indifferent – Lo tuchal l’hitalem – as Deuteronomy reminds us.
But in all of this we forget to watch for Spring, to keep our eyes looking outwards to nature and the passing of seasons. Yet to watch that is also our responsibility.
Always at this time of year, I remind myself of Rabbi Nachman of Bratzlav’s invitation to take time out of doors in nature:
Grant me the ability to be alone; may it be my custom to go outdoors each day among the trees and grass – among all growing things and there may I be alone, and enter into prayer, to talk with the One to whom I belong.
The trees, grass and onset of spring, wherever you are, even without the glorious Japanese sakura, do give energy and nourishment and the capacity for hope. Seasons wait for no-one. We can watch the natural passage of time.
An American synagogue offered an innovation a few years ago of a green thread to be worn during, and even in the build-up to, Passover: green for spring and the thread a reminder of all those not yet free. On Pesach, we’ll offer Hallel, those psalms 113-118, both at synagogue and round our Seder tables – ‘min hametzar karati yah v’ani b’merchav yah,’ from a narrow place I called to You and You answered me in wide expansiveness. What a brilliant, visceral wearing of hope.
I love the integration of both together. It grounds us in the outdoors and the greenery of Spring and yet pulls us to hope for a better, safer future.
From that most familiar of anthems, od lo avda tikvateinu – let us never be without hope, may Spring and its burgeoning blossoms and greens inspire us.
A version of this is being published in London Jewish News this week.
Shabbat Shalom,
Rebecca
Take from amongst you gifts for יהוה; everyone whose heart is so moved or willing shall bring them—gifts for יהוה
This verse is at the start of our portion Vayakhel. It was written millennia ago, yet could be the blue print today of every thriving congregation who understand its health to be predicated on the willingness and desire of its folk to be involved. It is the very best verse.
Rashi explains that everything we do and give is generated by our heart’s impulse. That is why it says here ‘willing heart’. I can think of no better way to describe generosity and intention than a willing heart.
The passage continues with And let all among you who are skilled come and make all that יהוה has commanded.
It’s gifts and skills, time and resources that will make this biblical sanctuary. But we know it also makes contemporary synagogues full of people that care for its present, past and future. In Hebrew, nadiv lev means a generous, a willing heart. It’s the greatest thing about community: having members who care deeply and are invested in the congregation they share. One only had to watch the glorious Purim Spiel to see that in evidence last Shabbat.
I want to remind you how extraordinarily well we have done in raising £1.8 million. We are so close and this next step is being held by many skilled members of FPS, both by those who are able to give so generously and those who are giving their time to organise and encourage us all.
I so hope you will register for this big sponsored walk on 26 April. It is called Walking Home because we will be! At the same time, we will be sharing stories of FPS beginning and history leading us up to today. It is a community-wide event, with the hope that we will ask others in our network to help us. In the email that went out last week, we included short paragraphs to help you put into your own Just Giving page.
Whether you can help materially or not, I still hope your willing heart will bring you to the walk. Share in this community wide event for 1,000, 20,000 or 40,000 steps and anything in between. We are who we are because of generous, willing hearts and because of those who bring their skill, enthusiasm and sweetness into FPS.
Walk as long as you like, join the team, raise funds or just support us on the day.
Shabbat Shalom,
Rebecca
Hillel said: “Do not separate yourself from the community, Say not: ‘when I shall have time I shall study;’ perhaps you will never have time.” Mishnah Avot 2:4
I find these words from Hillel repeated so often. They are taken from Pirkei Avot (Verses of the Fathers) in the Mishnah, which was the first piece of Oral Torah recorded after the Temple was destroyed and a new way of Jewish life under Roman occupation existed for Jews.
What does it mean to be told not to separate oneself from the community? Last week I taught B’nei Mitzvah students and their parents about the concept of minyan, ten Jews needed in certain circumstances for the community to function. Originally, this was for some of the prayers and moments in the service. Now I see it as speaking to all that happens in community and how we need to show up for each other. BM children need to show up for the class to make it viable and to honour each other. We in the community need to show up for each other, for learning together and for key moments in congregation to forge our identity. This week, I sense we need such a reminder. One rabbi I knew loved to say there are Purim Jews and there are Passover Jews. I want to hear which one you are!
Please forgive the infographics but there is much happening right now that I so want you to be a part of.
Shabbat Shalom,
Rebecca
Obviously, I have much to share from my trip to Israel. So much learning in a country deep in trauma and mourning; a longing for the return of every last hostage-felt so keenly as if one whole family. We also witnessed the inspirational work by activist Rabbis and colleagues there-from the services they lead to the peace work they commit to. Saturday evening I was at ‘Hostage Square’ for Havdalah with so many Israeli colleagues who lead in such a humane and hopeful way.
This weekend is Shabbat Zachor, named so as the Shabbat before the festival of Purim. We will read the book of Esther next week as is obligated on the festival. The book turns everything topsy turvy. The Persian Jews were due to be slaughtered and instead, they manage to do the slaughtering. Liberal Judaism banned this festival for much of the 20th century because of the violence described. On this Shabbat (preceding Purim) we are commanded to read from the book of Deuteronomy and the words about Amalek, the proverbial enemy of the Israelites.
“Remember what Amalek did to you on your journey, after you left Egypt. How, undeterred by fear of God, he surprised you on the march, when you were famished and weary, and cut down all the stragglers in your rear. Therefore, when the Eternal your God grants you safety from all your enemies around you, in the land that the Eternal your God is giving you as a hereditary portion, you shall blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven. Do not forget”
These verses call us to remember moments of extreme vulnerability and hurt-Biblically and beyond. It doesn’t take much to recall 7th October 2023 as we do so. But it also calls for these memories to be renewed and sustained forever.
This can be tricky. Recalling, renewing and re-committing to anger and revenge is, or course, damaging, like taking poison and waiting for your enemy to die. We’ve seen how this can hurt. As a group of rabbis we experienced settler violence towards us fellow Jews. And the anger was shocking.
We were reminded of another event fuelled by righteous anger over 30 years ago that still has repercussions in the region. February 25 1994, which was also Purim, Dr. Baruch Goldstein, an extreme right ring settler, walked into a mosque, locked the door, dressed in his army reserve uniform, and killed 29 Muslim men and boys at prayer, injuring a further 150, and was then himself killed in the struggle to stop the shooting. The Prime Minister Yitzchak Rabin and his government called it a terrible act of brutality-an insult to sensible Judaism and the whole Zionist enterprise. Despite this his grave has been treated as a shrine, even after it was explicitly forbidden do so. The language on the stone describes him as a holy martyr, who died for his people his Torah and his country in honour of God’s name. I have often thought of this event and his actions, but this was the first time I saw his grave. And was again reminded how ancient biblical texts can lead to chaos when read literally.
There is much we can do with this injunction to remember and hold on to pain. Amalek can remind us of hurt, fear and vulnerability, of course very familiar right now. But the verses can also challenge us in how we use them and the assumptions they can lead to. One Israeli Reform rabbi Dana Sharon explained, “So much and so many were taken from me on 7th October 2023. I will not allow my compassion and belief in humanity to be taken as well.”
It is a challenge indeed.
There is much to consider this Shabbat Zachor. I look forward to seeing you and marking Purim together next Friday 14th March.
Rebecca
I am in Israel. I arrived only on Sunday and for the next four days, I am travelling with a group of Liberal, Masorti and Reform rabbis on a tour arranged by Yachad. Today, as I write this, we have spent the day in the South. We travelled through the Gaza Envelope, as it is known, the stretch of land that borders Gaza, the several kibbutzim that experienced the most profound losses on 7th October 2023.
We planted an olive tree of remembrance in Kibbutz Nirim and heard from resident Rabbi Avi Davush, who leads Rabbis for Human Rights. Standing on the hillside of Sderot, we could see into Gaza and its devastation. We were with ten rabbis from the organisation RHR. One of them, Orthodox rabbi Jesse Burke, lost his son three months ago. He was serving in the IDF. Jesse shared a living hesped (eulogy ) for him, even as he spoke of the loss of children in so many Jewish and Palestinian homes. Each of these rabbis told extraordinary stories of resilience and loss these past sixteen months and they also described a strengthening of their commitment to humanity and the values they see underpinning their Judaism. They dedicate themselves to this. Meeting Rabbi Gilad Kariv at the Knesset, the first Reform Rabbi MK, he described his commitment to the hostage deal holding, the fighting stopping and to a just democracy here in Israel.
Today we hope to be meeting with families of hostages. I will be in Hostage Square on Saturday evening for Havdalah.
The Torah portion for this week, Parashat T’rumah, describes building the mishkan, the sanctuary in the desert.
God says to the people:
Asu li Mikdash v’Shachanti b’Tocham.
Build me a sanctuary and I will dwell amongst you.
Not in it but amongst the people, God is saying.
Being here and meeting those who are dedicated to building a safe, just and fair society, I am so struck by these words. It is not always easy for them but I am overwhelmed by the endeavours of those here working for this. In that way a ’sanctuary’ is built.
At home, services are being led by able and gifted FPS folk building our sanctuary of community (even as our building progresses) and I am so grateful for that.
Refugee Shabbat is being marked by many synagogues in the UK and there will be a special service this Saturday with B’Yachad and guests. See below.
Shabbat Shalom and looking forward to seeing you next week and sharing more.
Hannah
| When I spoke to one of the mourners at a Shiva this week, we talked about people who resist ’smart phones’ and choose to communicate more carefully.
In January, I noted with interest, as maybe many of you did too, that Facebook, indeed all of Meta , announced they were stopping ‘fact checking’ before allowing things to be posted. They explained that they now saw this as a form of censoring. The ability just to ‘be’ is not so easy anymore. The frantic and intense nature of online information is something that must concern all of is at various moments. I think about it a great deal, as I know many people, especially our children, glean much information in this way. It is often hard trying to escape from the ensuing chaos. Buffeted as we are by information, entertainment and general distraction, it is harder than it used to be to think and reflect and commit and even to just rest. So imagine this week’s portion Mishpatim, following the intensity of the gathering at Sinai in last Shabbat Yitro, containing this extraordinarily calm moment as God calls Moses and Joshua , to come up to God at the summit of the mountain again and just be there. וַיֹּ֨אמֶר יְהֹוָ֜ה אֶל־משֶׁ֗ה עֲלֵ֥ה אֵלַ֛י הָהָ֖רָה וֶֽהְיֵה־שָׁ֑ם And God spoke to Moses and said Come up to me on the mountain and just be there. How rare it is ‘to just be’. And how noticeable this invitation is. The anagram of וֶֽהְיֵה ‘be there’ is of course יְהֹוָ֜ה ‘divine’. Whatever that means to you, it is an invitation to go deep and quiet to find the holy. Moses was there for 40 days and 40 nights with God as he wrote all the details on the Tablets. Sometimes we have to shut off the cacophony of voices, of information, of facts (not checked) and just be quiet with ourselves and just be present. I welcome this reminder. I hope you might too. Shabbat Shalom and see some of you for just such a moment over Shabbat. |
This week’s portion, even before we get to the 10 commandments, offers a pretty compelling message.
Indeed, it is widely understood to be the first Management Consultancy advice when Yitro, Moses’ (non-Israelite) father-in-law, offers his observations on the way that Moses is running his community. He sits alone in judgement for hours each day, forcing long, snake-like queues of people desperate for his attention (think 1980s Harrods’ Sale).
“The thing you are doing is not right; you will surely wear yourself out, and these people as well. For the task is too heavy for you; you cannot do it alone” (Exodus 18:17-18).
It’s not insignificant that the most important portion of Torah that contains the revelation at Sinai is given the name of a Midianite priest.
I take two vital ‘learnings’ from this and they really inform my life and my Jewishness.
The decision to merge, or better co-create, a larger Progressive Judaism out of Liberal and Reform Jewish movements is responding to just this. As Dr. Ed Kessler, committed Liberal Jew and Chair of the Advisory Board, describes, we have been ‘punching below our weight for a long time’ and this coming together allows us to be a greater force to be reckoned with, transforming the contours and landscape of British Jewry in ‘the most exciting Jewish initiative since the war.’
Change always brings uncertainty but in terms of our synagogue experience, things will remain the same. Our movement’s contributions may be even more cost effective. We also stand to benefit from being better seen on the wider stage, so that our young people see their Judaism represented more publicly.
I am truly optimistic for this ‘better together’ move forward and I take Yitro’s advice seriously.
It is not just that each of us was present at Sinai, but that revelation is ongoing; we continue to receive Torah throughout our lives. These words are from the Hasidic leader known as the Kotzker Rebbe (1787-1859, from Martin Buber, Tales of the Hasidim). And they feel pretty compelling right now.
Shabbat Shalom,
Rebecca
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