Passover is the holiday of remembering. Of telling a holy story. Of telling it again. Of sitting around the table and saying to our children: This is who we are, this is where we come from, and this is what we survived.
But this year, as we prepare for Passover, the Exodus story doesn’t feel like ancient biblical history. Because this year, once again, we are celebrating Passover in a time of crisis—under the threats of rockets from Iran and antisemitism from around the world.
Our world feels unstable. Our future can feel uncertain. And yet, Passover arrives with its timeless message: even on the darkest nights, God is preparing redemption.
Passover is the story of a people who walked out of slavery and into freedom with nothing but faith. They did not know where they were going. They did not know how long the journey would take. They only knew that God was calling them forward. And they answered.
That choice is the heart of Passover. And it is the heart of Israel today.
The attacks from Iran have shaken the region. Families are anxious. Soldiers are exhausted. Parents put their children to bed wondering what tomorrow will bring. But if there is one thing I have learned living in Israel, it is this: fear does not get the final word.
We have faced crises before—long before the current onslaught, long before the modern state of Israel was declared.
The Jewish people have always lived with enemies at our backs. Pharaoh. Haman. Rome. Persia. The Inquisition. The Nazis. Hamas. Iran. We have stood at the edge of the sea, enemies behind us, unsure if the waters would part ahead.
And we are still here. Not because we are stronger. Not because we are larger. Not because we are more powerful. We are here because we refuse to give up. We refuse to surrender our hope. We refuse to let fear define us.
The Exodus was not a passive miracle. The Israelites had to take the first step into the unknown. They had to trust that God would meet them on the journey ahead. They had to trust that slavery was not their destiny, even when freedom felt impossible. Passover has always been a call to trust—and a call to courage.
This is the same courage Israel is being asked to show today.
We cannot control the threats around us. We cannot predict what Iran or its terrorist proxies will do. But we can choose how we respond.
We can choose to keep building. We can choose to keep helping. We can choose to keep believing that the story is not over, and that God is still guiding us toward freedom. That He is still with us.
In moments like these, I return to one word that has shaped so much of my life: hineni— “here I am.” It is the word of Abraham, of Moses, and of Isaiah. It is the word of someone who steps forward even when the path is unclear.
Passover invites each of us to offer our own small hineni. To show up. To bring light. To do what we can, where we are.
This year, as we sit at our Seder tables, we will read the words: “In every generation, they rise up against us—but the Holy One, blessed be He, saves us from their hands.”
These words are not meant to frighten us. They are meant to strengthen us.
They remind us that the Jewish story has never been simple. But it has always been guided. Always protected. Always moving toward redemption.
Even now at this moment, when the world feels heavy.
Passover does not promise an easy journey; it promises a meaningful one.
Passover promises that God walks with us through every plague, every desert, and every uncertainty. It promises that darkness is never the end of the story. It promises that freedom is coming—even when we cannot yet see the path forward.
This year, may we celebrate Passover with courage. May we hold tight to resilience. May we choose faith over fear. And may we trust, with all our hearts, that the God who brought us out of Egypt is still with us today.
Yael Eckstein is President and Global CEO of The International Fellowship of Christians and Jews, one of the world’s largest religious charitable organizations, and is a respected Jewish leader, speaker, bestselling author, and an award-winning podcast host and humanitarian. A 2025 ‘Pillars of Jerusalem’ award recipient for her exceptional contributions to Israel’s public diplomacy, and The Jerusalem Post’s 2023 Humanitarian of the Year, Yael is a Chicago-area native based in Israel with her husband and their four children.
