If Not Now

For Jews forced into the diaspora 2,000 years ago, wandering always in countries which were sometimes safe harbors and sometimes nightmares, the dream of Jerusalem was more than the city itself.

To dream that next year would be in Jerusalem is to dream of a land and a time of autonomy, safety, self-determination, the right to one's own culture, language and spirituality, to live on a land that can't be taken from you by the whim of an outside power. To live with the basic right to be who you are. Jerusalem comes from the same root as "shalom," which is usually translated as "peace," but actually means "wholeness."

This year in Jerusalem, wholeness is sitll very far away. And yet, when we look for the sparks of resistance, we see them everywhere. Fed by an aching for ustice, some sparks have already grown to small brush fires, and grow in strength each day. This year we say instead:

L'Shana ha'ba'a b'shalom!


haggadah Section: Nirtzah