Developed by survivors and volunteers with our Shalom Bayit program many years ago, as we enter this Passover holiday, we share with you this Passover prayer. We invite you to use this in your Seders, to share with others, or to just reflect on these words.

We are so aware year, after year, of the parallels between Jews leaving the bondage of Egyptian slavery and individuals working towards freedom from the oppression of abuse within their own homes and relationships. This year, in particular, we are incredibly grateful for the opportunity to partner with each of you and for the opportunity to be one cog in the wheel to support others in their quests towards freedom.

The Shalom Bayit Program of JF&CS offers the following prayer for your Passover Seder

Each year at this time, it is our responsibility as Jews to look upon ourselves as if we had actually gone forth from Egypt.

The struggle for freedom is ongoing, and in every age there are new freedoms to be won. On this night our hearts turn to those among us who suffer the pain of homes in which shalom has been shattered. We have been reluctant to confront this violence and to join in the effort to liberate those in pain

There are Jewish children who are sexually, physically, and or verbally abused. There are Jewish adults who cower in fear of their partners. There are Jewish elderly who are ignored or imprisoned in their own homes. All are victims of a violence tearing at the very essence of their beings. This night when we celebrate the miracle of liberation it is incumbent upon us to grasp the meaning of this enslavement to hear their cries and to aid their struggle for liberation.

Some of us around this table are survivors, others know survivors –and victims—of domestic violence. We must come to know the silence and sadness the loneliness and embarrassment, the bitterness and the craving for liberation experienced by Jews terrorized in their own homes.

As we celebrate the memory of that first Exodus which unfolded in the heart of Egypt, let us actively and with clear intention chart a new path so that those bound in the chains of domestic violence may be freed of their shackles and come to know in their lives the taste of liberation, the meaning of redemption and the experience of shalom.

Amen

If you are dealing with abuse and need help, call 770.677.9322 or follow the link below.