Could Pesach 2026 Be A Blessing In Disguise?

Could Pesach 2026 Be A Blessing In Disguise?

ByDavid Harbater

This year, many Israelis find themselves in an unfamiliar and unsettling reality. Travel is restricted. Flights are limited or unavailable. The option of “getting away” for Pesach—so common in recent years—has suddenly disappeared. For some, this evokes disappointment, even a sense of confinement. Yet perhaps this moment invites us to rediscover something essential about Pesach—its deep and enduring connection to the home.

For the first Pesach was not only a festival of redemption; it was an experience of safety, protection, and intimacy within the home.

Tzav: The Thanksgiving Offering and Dayenu in a Time of War

Tzav: The Thanksgiving Offering and Dayenu in a Time of War

ByDavid Harbater

Parashat Tzav introduces us to the korban todah—the thanksgiving offering. Unlike other sacrifices, the todah is not brought for sin or atonement, but in response to salvation. A person who has emerged from danger—a journey across the sea, the wilderness, illness, or imprisonment—may offer a sacrifice accompanied by loaves of bread, to be eaten in a limited time and shared with others. Gratitude, the Torah teaches, is not just a private emotion; it is something best expressed publicly, urgently, and expansively.

An echo of this idea appears in the Pesach Seder, in the song of Dayenu. There, we recount a series of divine acts—from the Exodus to Sinai to the Land of Israel—and after each one we express our gratitude by declaring: “Dayenu”—it would have been enough. Of course, it would not truly have been enough. The story is incomplete without its culmination. But Dayenu trains us to pause at each stage and recognize the gift within it. Even partial redemption deserves full gratitude.