A Guide to a Meaningful and Enriching Pesach Page: 17 of 24
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21
table represents the matzoh on Pesach,
A SPECIAL SEDER PRAYER
(To be recited during the Seder at Yachatz - when breaking the middle Matzoh)
COUNTING THE OMER
Jews of the Soviet Union encountered decades of suppression. Struggling to live as Jews,
many sought valiantly to leave for Israel, the homeland of the Jewish people. Many suffered
harassment; some endured prison, and some lost their lives.
We pray that all Jews may find freedom this year - in a world without war - and with Israel
at peace. Amen.
In Jewish tradition, matzoh is "the bread of affliction0, used on the road to redemption. As
we celebrate Pesach, our festival of freedom, we know that the theme of the Exodus
resonates in all that is happening around us.
We are about to take the middle matzoh and divide it in half. As we break this matzoh and
set it aside, we link ourselves symbolically with all Jews who have lived in the former Soviet
Union, We will not conclude our Seder until the missing piece of matzoh is found and
brought again to our table. That actions reminds us of the indestructible unity which binds
all Jews together as a world family.
We also remember the several million Jews who still remain behind. We pledge our
vigilance, our support, and our solidarity with them, as they endeavor to sustain their
community, reaffirm their Jewish identity and courageously resist anti-Semitism.
At last, most Jews can leave the country that represented a prison for so long. For now, the
door to freedom remains open. We walk with diem in their Exodus and commit ourselves to
help them in their quest for a new and better future for themselves and their children.
As Jews from the former Soviet Union, Ethiopia and other countries settle in Israel by the
hundreds of thousands, we know that their reunification with the Jewish people requires our
caring and loving concern. May we be worthy of that challenge.
"Sefirat Ha-Omer”, the traditional obligations to count the 49 days which span the gap
between the first day of Pesach and the Yom Tov of Shavuos, begins on the second evening
of Passover. It is incumbent upon every Jew and Jewess to count the days of the Omer every
night of the period beginning on the second night of Pesach and extending until Shavuos.
These 7 weeks are known as "Sefirah". Jewish history transformed this originally joyous
time into a period of mourning when the students of Rabbi Akiva were ravaged by a plague
during the Sefirah days. Because of this tragedy, weddings and joyous occasions generally
do not take place during Sefirah.
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United Orthodox Synagogues of Houston. A Guide to a Meaningful and Enriching Pesach, pamphlet, Date Unknown; Houston, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1417199/m1/17/: accessed July 8, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Rice University Woodson Research Center.