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A Special Pesach Story From My Family ‐ Deborah Brown (12th grade)

Every year at the Seder, we say the words “let all who are hungry, come eat.” (Kol dichfin, yetei v’yeichol). For
years, I have wondered what exactly this means. Does inviting strangers to our Seder actually benefit anyone?

Recently, I had an amazing experience that helped me understand this line. It all started years ago, when my
family hosted our grandparents’ friends at the Seder. We didn’t know them, but they were non-observant Jews,
and they wanted to come see what a Seder was about since they had never been to one. It was a regular Seder,
with all of my family’s traditions, and we tried to explain the reasons behind the things we were doing and say-
ing. The couple found it meaningful, and thanked us before they left.

Then, later, our family needed a contractor to do some work on our house. It turns out, this man was a contrac-
tor, and he was more than happy to help us out! He told my family that he was so grateful for the experience we
had given him and his wife at the Seder, and that our Pesach night had inspired them to start going to shul! He
and his crew were amazing and put a lot of work into our house, because he had found our Seder there so many
years ago to be so meaningful.

I realized because of this that we can really have an impact on someone’s life. Just by an act as simple as hosting
a person you don’t know at your Seder or showing them how you connect to Judaism can change their lives.
And Hashem will always find a way of rewarding you, even years later, for your hospitality.

Michael Sulman—3rd grade