חַָו דוֹר כָ ל ־ דּ וֹ רְבּ אְִכּ
ב אָ דָ ם לִ רְָיּ
םִי רְַצ צָ א מִ מִָּי
Introduction
Dr. Ora Horn Prouser
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לּ וּ ה וּ א
א וֹ ת אֶ ת ־ עַ צְ מ וֹ
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In every generation we are OBLIGATED to see ourselves as if we were the ones who left Egypt.
This is one of the most profound statements in the Haggadah. It is not a suggestion, or a metaphor. We are told that we absolutely must do whatever is necessary to remember that we were immigrants. We must feel what it means to leave your home and to go into the unknown. We have to recognize the pain, the courage, and the need for a community that understands and cares. It is very clear that care for immigrants is a Jewish value, one that not only serves those who have joined our communities, but that defines all of us as a people with a moral code. We have a history as a people of being immigrants of necessity, not as a matter of choice. This is an area that touches each one of us deeply.
This volume is the fifth in a series of supplements to Jewish holiday liturgy and celebration. We work to make the supplements responsive to current issues in the Jewish community. Only a few weeks ago, many of us were focusing deeply on the plight of immigrants in the United States. Our collective attention has shifted in the past few weeks to the war in Iran and to our American soldiers and Israeli brethren. And yet, has the
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