The Az Nashir Haggadah:
On the Path to Redemption
(Matan Edition)

Former hostages Matan Zangauker and Ilana Gritzwesky getting engaged defines what true victory looks like. They both were taken on Oct 7th from Nir Oz. She said about her abduction, “They grabbed me by the hair, hit me in the stomach, causing me to lose my breath. They dragged me across the floor, lifted me, and threw me against the wall. They pointed guns at me, hit me, and tried to film me with my phone. " “I remember the g*n pressed against my head, I remember them laughin

Romi taught something to the whole world when she said, "Until you are in this situation, you cannot understand what happens to the body." "Fear paralyzes, and I was paralyzed. Nothing went through my mind in those seconds except that I am afraid and that I am disgusted." In describing what it was like after one of her s*xual assa*lts, Romi explained somatically what happened to her body. She told us about the ringing in her ears, the sensation of the world spinning. She desc

I have a message for the ant*semites who deny the s*xual abuse of the Israeli h*stages when they were in G*za. I have been holding my tongue for a long time, watching the v*le comments you write roll in on my posts, but after posting about dear Romi, I have had enough. Here is a message from the daughters of Israel for you: One day, in this world or the next, the truth will be revealed to you. And you will find yourself on your knees before the people you have lied about, and

Romi- while reading your story, my heart couldn't stop skipping beats. I forgot to breathe all the way through. We see you standing in that filthy bathroom, feeling the weight of all that was being done to you, looking through the crack of the window to the blue open sky, the chirping birds and recognizing "the dissonance of the beauty of life and the filth in the bathroom." Former h*stage Romi Goren went on to say in the interview about her time in G*za, "I'll never forget i

There is something uniquely cruel about taking Anne Frank, a little Jewish girl who was m*rdered in the Shoah, and hijacking her image and story, for the purpose of expressing antiZ*onism. In recent days, an artwork exhibited in Germany has ignited outrage within Jewish communities and beyond. Created by an Italian artist, Constantino Ciervo, and displayed in a museum in Potsdam, the painting depicts Anne Frank wearing a keffiyeh, presented as part of an exhibition framed as

The problem isn’t that Israel has power. It’s that we don’t use it the way the world expects us to. Most people are accustomed to nation-states that, once they acquire power, seek expansion: land, wealth, control. History is full of empires built on taxes, gr*ed, ensl*vement, c*nquest, forced religion, s*bjugation, and hegemony. But the State of Israel doesn’t fit that model. We are not fighting to become an empire. We already have power. We have the minds, the innovation, th

My grandmother passed on Zot Channukah- the 8th night- 10 years ago. The first few years the grief was steep. Raw. I missed her so much, the ache clawing away with every new moment or milestone that she missed. All the time I picked up the phone to call her. We used to talk every day. She was fine until she wasn’t. And on my grandfather’s yartzeit on the 6th night of Channukah- she began to slip away. Finally leaving us on the last night. The last few years, as much as I’ve m

I think in 2025, Jews all around the world are experiencing a loss of identity. For many of us, the places where we come from, or the places where we live in the diaspora, no longer feel safe. We don't recognize what they have become. It may no longer feel like home. The places and cultures that raised us feel so foreign. Their values no longer make sense, our neighborhoods no longer feel welcome. Can we talk about how devastating that is? Even for us olim, who have chosen to

This scene from the funeral of Rabbi Eli Schlanger HY"D is shattering. This man had dedicated his life to making the world a better place for Jewish people. Helping them commit to their Judaism. Beautifying their lives with our traditions. Tefillin. Menorah. Shabbat. He was k*lled while doing exactly what he believed in most: bringing light into the world. A Chabad shaliach at Bondi Beach, a husband, and the father of five (the youngest 2 months old), he was on the beach on C

If I was going to a public Chanukah event in 2025 in the diaspora, and there wasn't security presence there, at this point, I wouldn't go. This is a picture that the NYPD posted in response the the m*ssacre of Jews in Sydney yesterday. They said "While there is currently no specific or credible thr*at to Hanukkah celebrations here, the NYPD will be out in full force at events and synagogues so that our communities can gather safely." I have no idea how long this protection wi