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In Every Generation [Our Enemies] Stand Against Us to Destroy Us –

Brian Shepetofsky (12th Grade)

The passage of “Vehi Sh’amda” is one of the most stirring paragraphs of the Haggadah. However, it contains a
very peculiar statement. The passage states, ““ ” ויתולכל וילע םידמוע רודו רוד לכבש אלאin every generation, [our
enemies] stand above us to destroy us.” This seems like a hasty conclusion. After all, there have been periods
where the Jews as a nation have not been oppressed. There have been monarchs, such as Cyrus, who started the
eventual construction of the Second Temple. Pre-World War II Europe was a hotbed of Jewish influence and
growth. If this is so, then how can the author of the Haggadah make such a blanket statement?

The Chida offers an insight into the Haggadah author’s words. He says that the author isn’t just referring to peri-
ods of oppression – they are also referring to times of peace. During more peaceful times, when being Jewish
isn’t a fight for survival, it is easy for a person to get “lost in the crowd” and forget about their Jewish identity.
This is seen in Jewish history as far back as the original Pesach story; the enslavement of the Hebrews only oc-
curs after they are comfortably integrated into Egyptian society. Thus, the Chida says, the Vehi She’amda pas-
sage doubles as a warning for Jews living in peaceful times. Just because we aren’t being outright persecuted
doesn’t mean we can let our guard down, as there is still the threat of assimilation.

Pesach and the Holocaust ‐ Elan Bogomolny (7th Grade)

During the Holocaust, the Jewish people did not have a chance to even think about Pesach due to their unimagi-
nable hardships. I had a grandmother who survived the concentration camps after she was taken from her home
in Russia by the Nazi's. Every time I research a topic on the Holocaust, it takes on special meaning and I get
quite emotional. I personally enjoy reading the Hagaddah every Pesach, because it I can, on some level, under-
stand what the Jews must have gone through in Egypt, being that I have relatives who survived the concentra-
tion camps. I hope to learn more about the history of the Jews and their struggles, during the coming years.

We lower the wine cup and continue with the recitation of the traditional Midrashic discussion of the Passover
Exodus story as recorded in the Torah, beginning first with the threat to Israel from Lavan and then the threat
from Pharaoh

Lior Shandelman—3rd grade