Daniella Hellerstein
Jerusalem Post, Apr. 9, 2022
“Only a free nation works to set others free. Only the Jewish people with a State of Israel can be free as a state of mind, but also be free to bring others to freedom.”
“This is the bread of affliction, the poor bread,which our ancestors ate in the land of Egypt.Let all who are hungry come and eat.Let all who are in want, share the hope of Passover.Ha Lachma Anya…”– Passover Haggadah
Why do we begin our Seder specifically by inviting the underprivileged to join us? It is this question and the answer to it that occupied my mind as I joined a delegation of volunteers who assisted at the Moldova-Ukraine border crossing, as thousands of refugees made their way to safety.
One reason given for this passage from the Pesach Seder is that the surest sign of a free person is his ability to consider others and share with them. When you are fighting for your very survival your only thought is to feed and free yourself. The final testament of freedom is a person’s ability to care about others.
I believe that not only is this true on an individual level but most certainly on a national level as well. Israel and the Jewish nation as a people are in the process of geula (Redemption). Living in Israel, I am surrounded by evidence that this is true. But leaving Israel to rescue Jews and non-Jews with an Israeli delegation was as significant a sign of redemption as anything taking place in Israel. Only a free nation works to set others free. Only the Jewish people with a State of Israel can be free as a state of mind, but also be free to bring others to freedom. That is because we have the power to determine what will happen to our people wherever they may be. We can not only rescue them (and others) from war, today we can bring them safely home. That is freedom.
So when offered the opportunity, I had to join the mission. As a part the of United Hatzalah delegation, the Israeli organization at the forefront of the humanitarian effort in Moldova, the message of the Haggadah became more poignant than ever. The impact of what we were doing could already be felt in the airport before we even boarded the Moldovan airline chartered flight. Operation Orange Wings was aptly named because the United Hatzalah volunteers all wore screaming orange puffer jackets meant we stood out like a sore thumb – quite literally – amongst the other Travelers. “Are you the group that’s going to help the refugees?” asked a middle-aged couple on their way home to LA standing behind me on the security line. My 19-year-old son who was joining me answered yes. “Wow, that’s amazing. Thank you for going!”
The writer lives in Modi’in with her family. Together with her son, she recently joined a team of United Hatzalah volunteers, who traveled to Moldova to provide medical care and humanitarian aid to Ukrainian refugees. She serves as a member of the Israel Advisory Board for the organization.
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