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Searching for meaning in a post-Oct. 7 Pesach

Let us rediscover clarity, understanding, moral vision and spiritual memory.

Israeli Defense
An Israeli air-defense battery fires interceptors at missiles fired from Iran, as seen from Jerusalem, April 14, 2024. Photo by Jamal Awad/Flash90.
Rabbi Warren Goldstein is the chief rabbi of South Africa and the founder of the International Shabbat Project.

As the night sky of the Middle East lit up with a deadly barrage of drones and missiles being shot down on the night of April 13-14—halting Iran’s genocidal intent in its tracks—it was clear to all that this war has never been about Gaza or the Palestinian cause. There is something much bigger at play.

In this video, I explain how the Passover seder provides a frame of reference for understanding Iran’s recent attack, the Hamas terrorist attacks in southern Israel on Oct. 7 and the vicious antisemitism that has awoken across the globe—unlocking the mystery of Jewish history and the secret of Jewish identity.

Pesach is the key to making sense of our world amid the utter bewilderment and shock Jews have experienced since Oct. 7. The barbaric attacks themselves. The Iranian bombardment. The massive surge in global antisemitism. Israel’s ongoing demonization. The global obsession with the Jewish state.

I hope to offer a framework of the meaning of the turbulent times we live in, and to give Jews in Israel and the Diaspora a sense of purpose and direction amid the chaos and uncertainty—a theory of Jewish identity that informs Israel’s national security, but also explains Jewish destiny and identity to a new generation of Jews asking burning questions.

Let this Pesach be a watershed moment for all of us. Let us rediscover the clarity, understanding, moral vision and spiritual memory that we need to navigate this post-Oct. 7 world.

“So much of the New York Oct. 7 story is the role that the New York Jewish community played in fighting for the return of the hostages,” Hindy Poupko, of the UJA, told JNS.
“Jewish New Yorkers deserve to mourn in peace, free from hatred and intimidation,” stated New York Gov. Kathy Hochul. “There is no excuse for this. None.”
“The charging by the FBI of Haverford College associate professor Guangtian Ha for harassment and intimidation of a Jewish Israeli professor closes the dotted line between verbal acts of harassment and actionable violence which, when Jews are the recipients, is far too often ignored,” Lori Lowenthal Marcus of the Deborah Project told JNS.
“Mamdani could not even give us one day to mourn without defaming the Jewish people and giving cover to our enemies,” Inna Vernikov, a Jewish member of the New York City Council, told JNS. “We will not let Mamdani and his radical pals rewrite Oct. 7.”