The Jewish holiday of Passover will start at sunset, Monday, April 22 and conclude on April 30, 2024.

The story of Passover can be found in the Old Testament book of Exodus.

On Passover, it is celebrated how God took the Jewish People (Israelites) out of Egypt, where they had been enslaved by Pharaoh. With Moses as His representative, God brought 10 plagues upon the Egyptians until they agreed to send the Jews from their land.

Most people know the story from either the movie The Ten Commandments with Charlton Heston, or younger generations know Rugrats Passover.

For the local Jewish community in Rhode Island, and here in Cranston this year’s holiday holds extra emotion and anxiety.

Rabbi Jeffrey Goldwasser of Temple Sinai in Cranston tries to make some sense of the happenings in Israel since October 7, 2023 and offering healing and solace to his congregants.

“We have several congregants with family in Israel, including myself. It is a tough time to be living in Israel. But Israelis are likely to point out that it's never all that easy,” Goldwasser said.

His attitude of positivity still remains, albeit stretched thinly.

“The war against Hamas is certainly going to cast its shadow over Passover this year. Passover is known in Jewish tradition as, "The Time of Our Freedom" (Z'man Cheiruteinu in Hebrew), but it's hard to feel free when missiles from Hamas and Hezbollah are still raining down on Israel, when more than 100 hostages are still being held underground, when the memory of the atrocities committed on October 7 are still populating your nightmares, when antisemitism is on the rise, and when so many people in the world are angry at Israel for trying to prevent another October 7 from ever happening again. Here and in Israel, it's hard to feel free right now,” he said.

Goldwasser did acknowledge the citizens of Gaza, and their strife since October 7.

“Also, we cannot ignore the fact that the people of Gaza are suffering enormously because of this war. It is very difficult to get reliable information about what is happening there. It's even harder to know what Gazans think about the war and about the terrorists who started it. However, it is clear that the level of destruction and the number of civilian deaths are far higher than in the numerous previous conflicts between Israel and Hamas. Every civilian death is too many. We have to pray for their freedom, too,” said Goldwasser.

 The Rabbi tries to find perspective during this holiday time and real time world happenings.

“Passover asks us to consider ourselves as if we personally had been among the slaves who emerged from Egypt. This year, I think we also have to consider ourselves as if we personally were an Israeli mother seeing her son or daughter leave home to serve in Gaza, not knowing if she would ever see them again. We have to consider ourselves as if we personally were a Palestinian mother seeing her daughter or son leave home to find food in Gaza, not knowing if she would ever see them again,” he said.

 So, while Jewish families gather to celebrate the Seder meal, and discuss what tragedies and heinous events are transpiring around the world against Jews, even here in America, they find solace in traditions and prayers.

 Words from Rabbi Goldwasser ring forever true.

 “Times are hard for those who love freedom. Times are hard for those who love peace,” he said.