It was another beautiful morning at Horseshoe Lake!
I approached the lake for the Rosh Chodesh Nisan ceremony with the words from last night’s Shabbos kiddush in my mind: Remember the exodus from Egypt! This exodus is celebrated at Passover in Nisan as an exodus to freedom. But it is not the only exodus or expulsion endured by the Jewish people in history, and certainly not necessarily to freedom. I thought of the Babylonian exile after the destruction of the first temple, the expulsion by the the Romans into what became the diaspora, the expulsion from Spain in 1492, the exodus of millions from Eastern Europe to the United States about 1900 and the more recent exodus from the Soviet Union to both Israel and the United States. Some were to freedom and some were forced. These were all Jews. But mass expulsions are certainly not behind us in history as they are taking place today for non-Jews in Myanmar and Syria.
Rosh Chodesh Cleveland 