Let's open our homes

Editorial

Seated around the seder table, we read the words, "Let all who are hungry come and eat. Let all who are in want share the hope of Passover."

Everyone, every year, should retell the story of our redemption. But for many Valley residents, participating in a family seder is a seemingly impossible endeavor. So many of us are transplants, without local family connections.

Fortunately, one program fosters connections with those searching for an entry point into the community. Operation Elijah, founded 10 years ago by a local synagogue and the Jewish Federation of Greater Phoenix's Women's Division, and now run by the federation's Young Leadership Division, links seder guests to seder hosts in homes throughout the Valley.

The program responds to the challenge of creating a cohesive Jewish community here. Some are natives. Others have lived here for decades. Then there are those of us who settled here a handful of months or even days ago.

At our seders, we traditionally invite Elijah the Prophet to enter our homes. This year, we can set additional places for newcomers.

The prospect can be daunting. Our homes are our sanctuaries, an escape from the pressures and anxieties we face every day. Opening our doors to others may not be easy.

But around the seder table we can relax as we share in the ritual words and foods, and as we exchange ideas and opinions. Strangers can become friends.

This openness need not end after one night. We read in the Haggadah that our redemption from slavery represented a beginning, not an end. Forty-nine days after departing from Egypt, we gathered at Mount Sinai, where, tradition teaches, we received the instructions that have kept us thriving for millennia. In the seven weeks that follow Pesach, we can welcome our fellow Jews to join us at the Shabbat table, mirroring our ancient ancestors' efforts to foster community.

Among the instructions we received at Sinai was what should happen around the dinner table. Starting with Operation Elijah, we can carry this tradition forward.

Seders and Shabbat dinners have helped keep us together for centuries - in Babylonia, Lebanon, Egypt, Spain, France, Poland, the United States, Australia, South Africa - and the Promised Land. This Passover season, and in the weeks that follow, let us continue the ritual.

The first seder is Wednesday evening, March 27. To be an Operation Elijah host, call 602-274-1800, ext. 147; to be a guest, call 602-274-1800, ext. 154.

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