In a small village in Oxfordshire, Jordanna Riches saw something most people would’ve walked past – an old, disused red phone box. When the local mobile library closed, something quiet but important disappeared. Not just books, but access to stories, to imagination, to connection. So she raised £4,000, restored the phone box, and transformed it into a free community library. For the past eight years, she has lovingly maintained it – rotating the books, keeping standards high, making sure that anyone who opens that little red door finds something worthwhile inside. It continues to be enjoyed by people of all ages and from all walks of life.
In a fast-paced world of scrolling and swiping, it’s a reminder of something timeless: Books still matter and stories are important. They shape who we are. They carry us through difficult moments. They remind us of who we can become.
That’s exactly what Pesach is about because our celebration of this season of freedom centres around a book – the Haggadah. However, the Haggadah is more than just a book, it’s our story – of hope, redemption, and survival against the odds. Uniquely, it asks something of us that no other book does: Not just to tell the story but to relive it, “In every generation, we’re meant to see ourselves as if we personally left Egypt.” That means we’re not just reading history, we’re living it.
The Jewish story isn’t always an easy one to live. The past couple of years and even recent weekshave been extremely challenging. At times, our story can feel less like redemption and more like uncertainty and struggle. But that, too, is part of the story.
If we’d been in Egypt three thousand years ago, it wouldn’t have felt like a story heading towardsfreedom. It would’ve seemed like endless hardship, a reality with no clear way out and then, suddenly everything changed. In the blink of an eye, slavery gave way to freedom.
That’s why the Haggadah matters so much. Because every year, it reminds us that our story today is still unfolding. We may be in a difficult chapter. But it’s only a chapter. Not the whole story. Not the final page. As we know the journey of the Jewish people has always been one of moving from despair, not just to survival, but to destiny.
So when we sit at the Seder this year, with the Haggadah in our hands, we’re holding more than a book, we’re immersing in a living story, a story that has carried our people through the darkest times and continues to carry us today. And just as it turned once, from darkness to light, from despair to redemption so too, we hold onto the belief that better days are ahead.
Perhaps this year, as we say Dayeinu, we can add one more quiet hope: Dayeinu to the difficult chapters because our story isn’t over yet.
Eva and I wish you, your family and the whole community chag kasher v’sameach – a very happy, healthy and kosher Pesach