Beth Schafer
Each year at Passover, we gather around our tables and tell an ancient story: “We were strangers in the land of Egypt.” It is not simply a historical claim; it is a call to personal transformation. As the Haggadah teaches, “In every generation, each of us must see ourselves as though we personally went out from Egypt.”
Again and again, the Torah reminds us: “You shall love the stranger, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt.” This is not framed as optional kindness. It is a sacred obligation rooted in memory.
And where does that obligation begin? It begins at the table.
The Passover seder is one of the most radically inclusive rituals we have. Before the story even unfolds, we declare: “Ha lachma anya, Let all who are hungry come and eat.” The seder is not meant to be a closed circle of familiarity, but an expanding one, making room for those who are new, those who are searching, those who may feel like outsiders in other spaces.
To welcome someone to the seder table is to do more than offer a meal. It is to say: You belong in this story. Your voice matters in this conversation about freedom.
My friend and colleague, Craig Taubman, wrote this beautiful song Open The Door that so powerfully amplifies the message of Passover in this season. I hope you’ll take a few moments to listen here and perhaps even share it at your seder table.
But Passover does not let us stop there.
The journey from Egypt is not complete when we reach our own comfort. The message of Passover pushes us further from welcoming the stranger to loving our neighbor, a passage of Torah we will read just a few weeks from now. We are to love not only those who are like us, but those who are different. Not only those within our immediate community, but those across lines of faith, culture, and experience. If the seder opens the door, then the rest of our lives must keep it open.
This year, our community has a beautiful opportunity to live that value out loud.
On April 30 at 7:00 pm, we will gather once again for a multi-faith Love Your Neighbor Concert, this year hosted by The Weber School and featuring participation from Temple Sinai, Holy Innocents’, Mt. Vernon Presbyterian, Or Hadash, and B’nai Torah.
This evening will bring together a communal choir singing songs of unity and faith, alongside individual offerings from each participating institution. It is a chance to experience what it looks like when different traditions do not simply coexist, but actively celebrate one another.
At its heart, this concert is an extension of the Passover story. It is about widening the circle. It is about recognizing that the work of liberation is ongoing; not only an ancient memory, but a present reality. And it is about understanding that loving our neighbor must include responding to the very real needs in our own community.
All proceeds from the concert will benefit the Community Assistance Center, an essential organization serving residents of Sandy Springs and Dunwoody who are facing food insecurity, joblessness, and homelessness – realities that echo the vulnerability our tradition calls us never to forget.
To attend, register here.
To sit at the seder table and tell the story of liberation is powerful. To rise from that table and build a more compassionate world is the fulfillment of the story.
This Passover, may we open our doors a little wider.
May we make room at our tables and in our hearts.
And may we carry the message of freedom beyond our homes into our communities, our relationships, and our shared future.
Shabbat Shalom, and from my family to yours, a zissen Pesach filled with sweetness and hope,
Beth
