An act of defiance

Zack Daniel, Grade 11, Herzlia High School

An act of defiance

Pesach has always been about freedom, the story of a nation breaking the chains of slavery and walking toward a promised land. But this year, freedom feels complicated. Since 7 October, when Israel experienced one of the darkest days in its history, we’ve been reminded that freedom isn’t something we can ever take for granted.

The trauma of that day still echoes. The faces of hostages, the fear, the loss – it all sits heavily. And in the aftermath, with antisemitism rising across the globe including in South Africa, it sometimes feels like we’re walking through a new kind of Mitzrayim, a narrow place, where being Jewish feels less safe than it used to.

But that’s why Pesach is so powerful this year. It reminds us who we are. We’re the children of people who crossed seas, who rebuilt from ashes, who kept lighting candles even when the world tried to blow them out. We’re a people of resilience.

This Pesach, I think of the seder table as an act of defiance. Every story we tell, every word we sing, every matzah we eat, is a declaration that we’re still here. That Am Yisrael Chai isn’t just a chant, it’s a truth we live every day.

So what does Pesach 5785 mean to me? It means holding onto hope with both hands. It means remembering the pain while choosing pride. It means sitting with fear but rising with faith. And above all, it means never ending the journey toward freedom for ourselves, for our people, and for the world.