Thank you so much for this and for, well, everything. It is so appreciated.
And yes, you hit the nail on the head. I can deal with the open haters. I kind of knew that they were always out there. Now, it's just out in the open. But, and to your point, it is the deafening silence from those who claimed to be friends that has been most hurtful. If anyone is still wondering how the Nazis were able to orchestrate the killing of 6,000,000 Jews, we are getting a living example of how that happened. As Eli Wiesel said, the opposite of love is not hate, it's indifference. There has been an insane amount of indifference since October 7, 2023.
Thank you Pat! Absolutely true that the silence has been the most hurtful and unsettling. Your message in this post is the kind of thing I would want my non-Jewish friends to read, but alas they aren’t here.
Thank you Pat. It feels awfully lonely this Passover but reading this has made it feel less so. To my fellow Jews; Haha Sameach Pesach. To the allies reading this, thank you from the bottom of my heart for your continued support and kindness. ❤️✡️
“The explosion of antisemitism ever since makes the story of Pharaoh and historic oppressors sadly urgent.”
This past year-and-a-half has brought home more viscerally than ever the passage from the Passover Hagadah (the book of liturgy for the seder) that says
Your thoughts, Pat are a ray of sunshine in a very dark space. For the most part, the silence will continue among our non Jewish "friends" though your words are recomforting to us all.
Passover begins on the 14th of the month of Nisan, the night of the first full moon of Spring. Easter falls on the Sunday immediately following. Because of the vagaries of the Jewish calendar, they sometimes get separated by one lunar month, but usually they fall in the same week.
Thank you, Pat for a wonderful post. You are so right that a few supportive words will mean the world to us Jews as we feel very alone sometimes. I don't know how your blog got to my email - but I'm happy it did and I do believe that you have a different and interesting perspective.
Keep up your great writing and have a Happy Easter
I find friends of Jews are as clueless as friends of the grieving. Not only do they not know what to say the just generally ignore you relative to 'grief' or 'Jew-ness' altogether. Sigh. Maybe it's better that way. Sometimes you just think, leave me the f alone.
Thank you so much for this and for, well, everything. It is so appreciated.
And yes, you hit the nail on the head. I can deal with the open haters. I kind of knew that they were always out there. Now, it's just out in the open. But, and to your point, it is the deafening silence from those who claimed to be friends that has been most hurtful. If anyone is still wondering how the Nazis were able to orchestrate the killing of 6,000,000 Jews, we are getting a living example of how that happened. As Eli Wiesel said, the opposite of love is not hate, it's indifference. There has been an insane amount of indifference since October 7, 2023.
Perfectly stated
You are a light unto the nations, Pat. Thanks for all you do.
P.S. I think I saw you at Sinai. :-)
Haha. Was that you?
Thanks Pat.
For many of us, your article will be the only Passover wishes we get from a non-Jewish friend. Thank you for being that person.
Thank you Pat! Absolutely true that the silence has been the most hurtful and unsettling. Your message in this post is the kind of thing I would want my non-Jewish friends to read, but alas they aren’t here.
Thanks! I took the hint and contacted, to introduce myself and express my solidarity, the Jewish community of my home town, Verona.
Grazie, Alessandro!
Ma che bello 💙🇮🇱
Thank you Pat. It feels awfully lonely this Passover but reading this has made it feel less so. To my fellow Jews; Haha Sameach Pesach. To the allies reading this, thank you from the bottom of my heart for your continued support and kindness. ❤️✡️
“The explosion of antisemitism ever since makes the story of Pharaoh and historic oppressors sadly urgent.”
This past year-and-a-half has brought home more viscerally than ever the passage from the Passover Hagadah (the book of liturgy for the seder) that says
שֶׁלֹּא אֶחָד בִּלְבָד עָמַד עָלֵינוּ לְכַלּוֹתֵנוּ, אֶלָּא שֶׁבְּכָל דּוֹר וָדוֹר עוֹמְדִים עָלֵינוּ לְכַלוֹתֵנוּ.
She-lo ekhod bil’vad amad aleinu le-khaloteinu, ela she-b’khol dor va-dor omdim aleinu le-khaloteinu.
For not one alone has stood against us to exterminate us, but from generation to generation they stand against us to exterminate us.
Tears to eyes.
Pat, thank you for your ongoing resolute and sincere support. In standing up, you are standing with us which we deeply appreciate.
Beautiful. I will restack. I hope I hear from my community. 🙏🏼
Your thoughts, Pat are a ray of sunshine in a very dark space. For the most part, the silence will continue among our non Jewish "friends" though your words are recomforting to us all.
You are right that we Zionist clear thinking Jews greatly appreciate our gentile supporters. Thank you.
Thank you Pat, for reminding us of this
I have always known the Passover is always close to Easter, but I am never sure exactly when it is
Chag Sameach!
Passover begins on the 14th of the month of Nisan, the night of the first full moon of Spring. Easter falls on the Sunday immediately following. Because of the vagaries of the Jewish calendar, they sometimes get separated by one lunar month, but usually they fall in the same week.
Thank you, Pat. Yes, the silence is hurtful.
Thank you, Pat for a wonderful post. You are so right that a few supportive words will mean the world to us Jews as we feel very alone sometimes. I don't know how your blog got to my email - but I'm happy it did and I do believe that you have a different and interesting perspective.
Keep up your great writing and have a Happy Easter
I find friends of Jews are as clueless as friends of the grieving. Not only do they not know what to say the just generally ignore you relative to 'grief' or 'Jew-ness' altogether. Sigh. Maybe it's better that way. Sometimes you just think, leave me the f alone.