Dear Readers,
This week, we welcome the month of Nissan, which is a month of miracles, and the month that we celebrate Passover, our freedom from Egyptian bondage.
After Moses delivered a message of hope and freedom to his people, the tyranny and suffering of the Jewish slaves in Egypt became worse. But while externally their hardships were intensifying, the potential of their freedom was preparing to burst through the unyielding surface. Despite the desperation of their situation, after hundreds of years in exile, the Jewish people marched triumphantly out of Egypt.
Perhaps that’s why the month of Nissan is always in the spring. Spring signifies new beginnings, new opportunities. Nature has awakened from its long hibernation and is getting ready to surge into new life. So, too, each of us has an opportunity for new potential and growth. Just as the greenery breaks forth from its hiding place in the dark earth, we can break free from whatever was holding us back in our past, to embrace a future, replete with possibilities.
In just a few weeks, we will celebrate the holiday of Passover, whose Hebrew word, Pesach, means “to leap.” We were miraculously freed from Egypt, whose Hebrew word, Mitzrayim, means “restraints” and “constrictions.” This month has the energy to help liberate us from former restraints and is brimming with new promises.
And perhaps this is the message of the Jewish people’s liberation in this season. Even in moments when we feel frozen over, impoverished, and stripped of our strength, we need to remember, growth and positive change are taking place deep within.
The world situation may look bleak, as we continue to wait for our hostagest to be freed, and we pray for the safety of our brothers and sisters the world over. May this month of miracles finally bring us the long-awaited redemption, as all of humanity springs forth into an era of peace and prosperity!
Chana Weisberg
Editor, TJW
