'Why Passover is my favorite holy day'

In the first place, I love the mood of Passover. It comes at the season when the earth discards its bleak winter garments and dresses itself in its most alluring colors. Hopefully for us, this season signifies the rebirth of nature and the end of all the nor'easters!

In the second place, I love the meaning of Passover.The Haggadah, which tells the story of the miraculous Exodus and from which we read and sing around the seder table, tells us of a God who wants all people to be free. He is a God who hears the groaning of the slaves and sends a messenger to remind them in their agony that their cries have been heard: “I am the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt out of the house of bondage.” In the third place, I love the method of Passover. It activates us. It makes demands on us. It puts us to work. Change the dishes! Order the matzot and the wine! Clean the house! Get rid of the chametz! Passover is not a holiday you confront casually. You have to prepare carefully and diligently. When the seder finally arrives, we keep busy. We are all involved. Mother, father, grandparents, children are all actors in a great drama of liberation. Each has lines to speak, songs to sing, and a role to play. And the symbolic foods of the seder help us to relive and recapture our past.

Lastly, I love the message: Legal slavery may have ended, but according to Anti-Slavery International, the world’s oldest human rights organization, there are currently over 20 million people in bondage. Though most of us believe slavery was abolished with the Emancipation Proclamation in this country more than a century ago, the horrors of human beings held in bondage still exist today. At this time of year, we, too, must speak out against modern slavery as it exists across the world.

It is in the spirit of love that we wish all our Christian friends a happy, holy and meaningful Easter, from our house of prayer

to yours.