If Moses lived around 1,400 BC, more than 135 generations of Jews since then, have told and re-told the story of the Exodus from Egypt. To be sure, it wasn’t until some 1,600 years after he lived, that the method of retelling the story became enshrined – more or less – in the overall form of the Haggadah that has been the literary basis, since Mishnaic times, for the Passover Seder. With or without the structure of the Haggadah, however, it is a remarkable testament to the sheer power of that story, that Jews have encoded it in our personal and collective memories for more than 3,400 years.
As all parents and educators of Jewish lore know and have known since time immemorial, the key instrument of articulating, preserving and transmitting the memories of our Jewish stories – the stories that have shaped our soul and steered our history – is and always will be, the family.
At every Yom Tov holiday, but especially at Passover, the family gathers – young and old, two, three or more generations, shaved heads and hoary heads – to live through a moment of sanctified calendar significance, together.
Together, families talk, discuss, explain, argue(?), and enfold one another, at least metaphorically, in each other’s arms and in the arms of those we no longer see but will always remember. To feel this embrace is to feel the belonging and the sense of strength in the Eternal canopy we call peoplehood.
Ten years ago, Pesach 2015, GAJE began its efforts to try to help make Jewish education truly affordable for as many families as possible. In the ensuing years, the UJA Federation leadership, philanthropists and schools have undertaken major initiatives to reduce the cost of Jewish education. They are all to be praised.
Day school education, however, is still expensive, and for many families, onerously so or impossibly so. Thus, GAJE continues with its mission. As readers of this weekly update know, GAJE is in court to compel the provincial government to bring fairness to its educational funding policies.
As we wrote two years ago at this time, we take heart from the messages of hope that are written deeply – some overtly, some more nuanced – into the Haggadah. Each generation understood those messages according to the circumstances of their respective time. Never ever lose hope. This has been the sustaining affirmation of a people that has struggled throughout the years against greater numbers and against the odds.
That affirmation inspires GAJE as well. Even though it has been more than a decade, GAJE will not give up. Until all legal recourse has been exhausted.
Pesach starts on Saturday night. Make it count. Tell the story and enfold one another as Jewish families have done for more than 3,400 years sheltered under the canopy of belonging and peoplehood.
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If you wish to contribute to GAJE’s lawsuit, please click here. Charitable receipts for donations for income tax purposes will be issued by Mizrachi Canada. Your donations will be used for the sole purpose of helping to underwrite the costs of the lawsuit. For further information, please contact Israel Mida at: imida1818@gmail.com
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Shabbat shalom. Chag Pesach samayach. Am Yisrael Chai
Grassroots for Affordable Jewish Education (GAJE)
April 11, 2025
Grassroots for Affordable Jewish Education 