In the morning … every morning … we stand and recite: “Blessed are You, Adonay, our God, Sovereign of the world, who releases captives.”
Every morning, in the “verses of song” mood-setting passages from Psalms we recite Psalm 146 which includes the verse: “Who secures justice for those who are wronged, nourishes the hungry. God sets prisoners free.”
How will we all feel on Seder night, which is just around the corner, when we read the following passage in the Haggadah following Hallel
“The Lord neither slumbers nor sleeps. God rouses the sleepers and awakens those who doze; enables the mute to speak, frees the captives, supports the fallen, and sees those bent under burdens to stand erect. We thank You alone.”
How will the families of the hostages utter those words if their loved ones are not sitting next to them around the seder table?
There are times when our imaginations fail us. At a moment like this, all that is left to us is to shout to the heavens: “You, God, release captives!”
For six months, the fallen, the burdened and the captured have been waiting for salvation … from the Holy One? From our human regime?
From where will their salvation come?
