In less than two weeks, we will gather around the seder table, first night of Pesach as families, and second night as a community, our extended family. Passover is probably the most transformative of our Festivals.

It gives us the opportunity to rethink our lives and explore our relationship with ourselves, our closest friends and family and society at large.

Passover, and particularly the re-enacting of our liberation from slavery through the Seder experience, is at the core of our Judaism, and particularly of our Progressive/Liberal Judaism. Our Exodus, our liberation from slavery, from the house of bondage, is remembered constantly in our prayers and rituals. Search in any siddur and see how many times we cite the experience of our liberation, which biblical passages are inside our tefillin, even Shabbat is “zecher litziat mitzrayim”, a memory of our exit from Egypt. But why is the Exodus so important and paradigmatic? Liberation leads to freedom; freedom brings with it, responsibility.

Only if we are the masters of ourselves, can we be accountable for our deeds. The freedom gained through the Exodus experience is not meant as our possibility to do whatever we want, but the necessary condition to take upon ourselves the task of redeeming the world around us:  we were an oppressed minority (and still are), a bunch of slaves who have been redeemed by their God, so now it is our duty to take care of other oppressed minorities. In the Bible they are the widow, the orphan and the stranger. Nowadays they are women, immigrants, enslaved workers, LGBTQIA+ people, ethnic minorities, fellow Jews persecuted by antisemitism, Palestinians fighting peacefully for their own land. Justice, justice we shall pursue – says Deuteronomy. Seeking justice and freedom for the oppressed is what our rituals demand of us, a constant reminder of the most important task we are yet to accomplish. And so the Seder is our reminder.

Has our liberation been complete? No, of course not. Have injustice and oppression disappeared? Using the words of Rabbi Irving Greenberg in his book, “The Jewish Way: Living the Holidays”, we can say:

“No, the Exodus did not destroy evil in the world. What it did was set up an alternative conception of life. … This orienting event has not been converted into a permanent reality, neither for Jews nor for the whole world, but it points to the way to the end goal towards which all life and history must go. Thus, history counts, but it is not normative; it is something to be lived in, yet challenged and overcome.”

There are still too many Egypts in our world and each of us has their own personal Egypt to leave. Probably we won’t succeed completely this year, and in the years to come. But around our seder table we will remind ourselves what matters to us as Jews, as a Progressive/Liberal Norwich community. We will sing and celebrate and discuss and laugh and get emotional. We will share food and memories and customs among us and with our welcomed guests. Together with the Sukkah, there is not another better symbol than the seder table of the perfect place to be together while being each of us different, to share and discuss, to be community. Join us, without you our seder table will be less colourful, diverse, happy and rich. We are waiting for you!

Pesach Kasher vesame’ach! Rabbi Martina

During these weeks leading to Purim, we have read at length about the building of the Sanctuary. The objects donated by the Israelites for the construction of the Sanctuary are both everyday objects and objects dedicated to a specific purpose. Men and women bring their offerings to give God a residence, a home.

The list of offerings is repeated in every detail, because the objects that belonged to the Israelites for their daily use had now become special. They were given for a specific purpose. They had acquired a new meaning. Yet they still remained common objects that would be used to craft vessels and utensils, because God’s home, as any other house, has furniture and vessels: a tent, a table with bread, a lamp, tongs and shovels, a basin, the altar’s utensils for maintaining its fire and removing its ashes. Things that could be found in an Israelite’s house, are here crafted in a special way and used by priests during the daily rituals in the Sanctuary. If God’s house is suitable, The Eternal will descend from His highest residence to dwell near the people of Israel, amongst them. It’s not by chance, in fact, that the Hebrew word qorban for sacrifice – or offering – comes from a root whose meaning is ‘being near’.

Since my mother died, one of her tablecloths has become my Shabbat dinner tablecloth and one of my grandmother’s glasses has become my Kiddush cup. But being a rabbi who travels quite often, I frequently find myself spending Shabbat away from home. A tea candle, brought from home in my backpack, has become my Shabbat’s ner, a glass sitting on my temporary room console is my Kiddush cup. Not anyone’s first choice, to be sure. But isn’t it what we do in Judaism with our rituals every week, every day? We bless God over our daily meals, over bread and wine, we light candles, we use cloves as a spice during Havdalah, a piece of cloth becomes our tallit. The principle of embellishing the mitzvah makes us choose, whenever we can, beautiful objects or tastier food, nevertheless what we use in our rituals still remain a daily use object, that ceased to be hol – common or everyday, in order to become kodesh – distinct.

Through our rituals we try to bring God near to us, among us again, maybe even just for the moment of a blessing. Judaism doesn’t aim to bring humankind near to God. Its aim is to bring God near to humankind, to bring God’s Kedushah into our lives. The worst curse for us is to spend our lives with the feeling that everything is the same: minute after minute, hour after hour, day after day, that nothing is distinct, matters or makes a difference. Spending our lives without special moments to live, special meals to share or without the bittersweet memories of our beloved ones. We can build everyday, little sanctuaries and hope that God will dwell in them, making people, time and objects special. May our lives be enriched by those remarkable impalpable sanctuaries, like the lives of the people of Israel were enriched by the actual presence of God’s dwelling place, the mishkan.

Rabbi Martina

Service Information

Ki Tissa 14-15 March 2025/ 15 Adar 5785

Erev Shabbat – 7.00pm Purim Spiel!  The play will dramatize our Meghillat Esther in a meaningful but fun way. Join us in a costume of our choice or choose one of the characters in our meghillat adaptation by Ezra!

Shabbat morning – 9.45am Beith Midrash/House of Study – OMH Vestry (on zoom also!).

From the story with no God to the story where God takes a people for Him/Her self. In preparation for the upcoming Festivals, this week we will continue to explore how Purim and Pesach tell different stories about how we can react to oppression and persecution.

All members and friends are welcome to study with us and join our engaging discussions!

Shacharit 11.30 Peill Room and Zoom/Kiddush to follow

Torah reading: Exodus 34:1-10

Haftarah: Psalm 96

————-

Rabbi Martina Y. Loreggian

We started this new secular year immersed in the light of Hanukkah, but the world around us is not a very luminous place. The economy is pushing more and more people into poverty, racism, antisemitism and Islamophobia increase day by day, and in the Middle East war does not cease.

After 15 months, the Israeli hostages are still held captive, and those Israelis displaced by the war are still living in hotels and guest houses.  Meanwhile, the Palestinian population is facing civilian deaths in unprecedented numbers and are living in inhumane conditions, facing the winter without shelter, food and medical care.  Colleagues, who dare to speak out loudly against the war and are critical of the actions of the Israeli government are abused online, their families threatened and insulted.

When we feel like we could become hopeless, that’s the moment we need to stick to our commitment to the values of Liberal Judaism; justice, inclusion, openness, our search for truth and compassion. Our voice needs to be clear and strong, our engagement in Judaism modern but rooted. This is why as a Liberal Norwich community we are planning discussions and new activities that will bring us together in the spirit and the values that shape our Jewish identity.

Our Kabbalat Shabbat will become a very short service, giving space to open discussions on different topics. We will start with assisted dying this coming Friday. Other topics will be the war in Gaza, our Jewish identity(ies) and the environmental crisis. But please bring your topics of interest and they will be on our community agenda! We are working to have more Kabbalat Shabbat in person, and weather permitting, we will have an open air one, followed by a community meal.

Rabbi Nachman of Breslov used to say: “Know that a person has to cross a very narrow bridge in this world. And the main thing is that he shouldn’t fear.” During these difficult times, when many of us are crossing narrow bridges, our community can be a source of support and strength, and a place of mutual understanding.

Dear God,
Please help me to remember,
even at those moments when I feel suspended over the abyss,
that my fear of falling is what trips me up.
If I can only hold on
to the certainty that You’re with me,
of what could I possibly fear?
The bridge is narrow…
but it runs all the way to the other side.
(Based on Likutey Moharan II:48)

Best wishes, Rabbi Martina