Over the weekend, millions of us around the world are gathering with our families to celebrate Easter and Passover. To all my Christian and Jewish friends, I wish you a very gratifying and heartfelt holiday with your families and friends. I believe gaining insight into every practiced religion is exciting and can be beneficial. Learning about the faith of others broadens our hearts and minds. It gives us a deeper understanding of the traditions, values, and stories that shape families and communities across generations.

When we take the time to learn about one another’s beliefs, we open the door to greater compassion, respect, and connection. We begin to see that while our traditions may differ, the values of faith, family, remembrance, and hope are often beautifully shared.

My Faith

As most of you know, I grew up in, Kankakee by the Sea, a small town in Illinois in the middle of farmland. I gave Kankakee that name to romanticize it because when I left for college, I realized I took many positive lessons of importance with me. That little town may have seemed ordinary to others, but to me it was a place where life lessons were planted quietly and deeply. It was there, in that simple setting, that I began to understand who I was, what I believed, and why roots matter.

One lesson I learned while growing up in Kankakee by the Sea was to respect all religions. For you see, my friends were all Christian. I was their only Jewish friend. Yes, I grew up a minority, and it was not always easy. The feeling of never entirely belonging turned out to be a positive lesson, but I did not understand this until I was a bit older. My tolerance of all types of people and beliefs, paired with the ability to stand up with pride for my values, ultimately became a mighty strength. At the time, being different could feel lonely. But later in life, I came to see that standing apart taught me how to stand tall. It taught me how to honor others without losing myself. It taught me that identity, faith, and character are not things to hide. They are things to cherish.

My parents and extended family had a profound and positive influence on me. I learned early on that my religion was also a culture, a culture that began 4,000 years ago. I hold Judaism very close to my heart. It was never only about ritual. It was about belonging to an ancient story, one carried by generations before me and entrusted to generations after me. That understanding has always filled me with reverence and gratitude.

The Meaning of Passover

And that brings me to the meaning of Passover. Passover is a holiday about freedom and God. This festival commemorates the Israelites liberation from slavery and bondage from Egypt, 4.OOO years ago, and their travels that took 40 years crossing the desert into the Promised Land, Israel. It is a story of endurance, faith, and the belief that even in the darkest moments, redemption is possible.

For Jewish families, Passover is not simply a meal or a date on the calendar. It is remembrance, identity, faith, struggle, and hope woven together. It is the retelling of a sacred journey from oppression to freedom, from despair to possibility, from bondage to belief. Around the Passover table, each generation is asked not only to remember the story, but to carry it forward, finding meaning in its lessons of courage, gratitude, and faith.

The Importance of Remembering

From early childhood, I recall my grandfather telling me stories about his life, his travels, his values, his everything. He would often tie stories to a religious holiday or a spiritual lesson. After all, he was a Talmud Scholar. He did not separate daily life from faith. To him, every memory held meaning, and every holiday held a lesson that could guide a child into adulthood.

My grandfather would tell me stories about our family history and explain the importance of remembering because he wanted me to pass the stories down to my children. He understood something so important, something that many of us realize only later in life: when stories are not passed down, something precious can be lost. Memory is a form of inheritance.

One day, this kind man said to me, “Do you know keeping ‘memories’ began with Passover? The Lord said to Moses,’Remember that you were strangers in the land of Egypt. Remember that the Lord took you out of the bondage of slavery.” My grandfather explained that the Israelites recorded their history, first in their minds, and finally in books. And, history was born. How profound of God to stress ‘remembering.’ To remember is to honor. To remember is to teach. To remember is to make sure suffering, faith, courage, and triumph are not erased by time.

I remember my grandfather’s teachings and I taught my children, in the same manner, telling them stories they would not forget, so they would pass the lessons on to their children. This is how legacy lives on. Not only in photographs or heirlooms, but in spoken words, repeated customs, and stories that settle into the hearts of children.

The Importance of Family and Faith

My grandfather was a grand man. I am not bragging about him. He walked across Europe on foot to escape the pogroms at age 18, then boarded a ship that sailed to America, like many of our grandparents. When I think of his courage, I am humbled. Imagine being so young and yet so determined to survive, to begin again, and to build a life with faith as your compass.

He married my grandmother, Sarah — my namesake. They went on to have five sons who gifted him with fourteen grandchildren. My grandfather visited each of our homes every Sunday. He was not a distant patriarch. He was present. He was loving. He understood that family is not sustained by words alone, but by showing up again and again. This brave man traveled the world with wanderlust, bringing each of his grandchildren and daughters-in-law little token gifts from different countries. Those treasures were small in size but large in meaning. They told us that no matter where he went, he thought of us. I still have a little ring he brought me from Egypt.

Our family came first, and he was determined to leave us with his legacy. He did this not through grand speeches, but through devotion, consistency, and faith-filled example. He and my grandmother had Shabbat dinners every Friday teaching us the importance of tradition and giving us a real sense of our identities and religious values. Those evenings created rhythm in our lives. They anchored us. They reminded us that family tradition is not old-fashioned, it is soul food.

Carrying Passover Traditions Forward

Everything in my grandfather’s life centered around the family and the children. He believed children should be taught not only how to live, but how to remember, how to care, and how to carry forward what matters.

The family Passover dinner, 4,000 years later, interfaces with the first Passover. It is devoted to family togetherness; answering the children’s questions, because God said, “The family and the children are our future.” From generation to generation. This is one of the most beautiful aspects of Passover. It is a holiday built around the family table, where adults teach, children ask, and the story lives on through participation. It is a celebration, yes, but also a sacred act of continuity.

The Importance of Optimism and Faith

My grandfather was poor as a child, like many immigrants. His faith in God and study of the Torah gave him the belief that everything in life is possible. He did not measure life only by hardship. He measured it by possibility, perseverance, and faith. He was optimistic and had a complete faith in God.

He expressed this repeatedly to his grandchildren, and I do believe that a part of my optimism is the result of my grandfather’s teachings. It was marvelous to observe his confidence and his faith in God. There is something deeply reassuring about witnessing unwavering faith in another person. It leaves an imprint. It tells a child that storms may come, but faith can steady the soul.

Another Miracle of Passover

Pharaoh, the mighty ruler of Egypt, held the Israelites in cruel slavery and refused to free them, even as Moses begged for their release. Again and again, Pharaoh hardened his heart. The suffering of the Israelites was great, and yet their faith in God endured. Only after God sent plagues upon Egypt did Pharaoh finally yield, and the long journey from bondage to freedom began.

With God’s help, Pharaoh was defeated, and the mighty nation of Egypt overthrown. The Israelites, who were slaves, learned to become freemen. God gave Moses the Ten Commandments and The Oral Torah on Mount Sinai… and the Jews set foot in Israel. This is not merely history. It is a spiritual lesson in endurance, liberation, and trust in God’s greater plan. Passover reminds us that even after great suffering, there can be redemption.

The Importance of Giving a Helping Hand

Over the centuries, the Jewish people have been victims of terrible mistreatment. Those who suffer understand the suffering of others. We become committed to righting wrongs. The Passover Seder begins by inviting in the hungry and the homeless. We are our brother’s keeper. This is taught to our children around the Passover dinner table. This lesson is especially meaningful to me. To know pain and still choose compassion is a great moral victory. It is one of the enduring beauties of Jewish tradition.

My grandfather at Chanukah, the Festival of Lights, would rent the Grand Ball Room at the Kankakee Hotel and invite all his friends and some of the needy. It was a grand time! He understood that celebration is sweetest when it is shared, especially with those who may otherwise be forgotten. I observed faces filled with happiness and decided, as that young girl in Kankakee by the Sea, that my door would always be open to those who needed me. That was one of the greatest lessons of my childhood. Faith without generosity is incomplete. Love without action is not enough.

Trying to explain the profound religious significance behind Passover would take pages. From the time God freed the Israelites from slavery in Egypt to the time they arrived in Israel, the Jews traveled for 40 years across the desert. 40 years of history is impossible to explain in one story. There are layers upon layers of meaning in Passover, and every family table carries its own memories, interpretations, and cherished traditions.

The Lesson of Passover

I am leaving you with my interpretation of Passover in a tiny nutshell… All people should have the freedom to live their lives without restraint. We should put our family first. Offer a helping hand to those in need. Live with optimism and be grateful for our blessings, large and small. Record our history for the generation to come. And have faith. To me, Passover is a reminder that freedom is precious, memory is sacred, family is our foundation, and faith is what carries us when life is uncertain.

I have faith. I stare up at the stars and greet the sun and gaze at the mountains and love the Sea and smile at the flowers and love the color green, natures color green. There is a God. In this, I have ultimate faith. And that changes everything. It changes how I endure. It changes how I hope. It changes how I love. And perhaps that is the greatest lesson of all.