Chag Pesach Sameach

Shalom Chaverim,

On Seder night, the youngest child asks “Ma Nishtana?” – Why is this night different from all other nights? Or literally, “What has changed?” Well, an awful lot has changed and continues to change before our astonished eyes.

For the young generation that has been growing up in a climate of destabilization over the past several years, this cumulative exposure to change threatens to shape their lives for years to come.

At this time, the mission of holding and guiding the young falls greatly on the shoulders of their educators – themselves dealing with change and trauma. How then can they provide the stability and anchoring that today’s children and youth so badly need? How can they offer them a sense of direction, representing the goodness of mankind?

A.D. Gordon was a pioneer, philosopher, and idealistic educator. Although he has ploughed the fields of this land over a hundred years ago, his influence is felt in our Village Way worldview.

In one of his writings, Gordon asked: "Why do darkness, blindness, and contradictions abound in a world filled with light, wisdom, poetry and creativity? Why is there so much sorrow, cruelty, hatred, pettiness, and sordidness in a world filled with compassion, kindness, love and holiness? Why does untruth prevail in a world, which is fundamentally an expression of truth, emet? Why does mankind suffer, and why do humans create suffering for one another and for other living beings?"

According to A.D. Gordon, the secret to overcoming these contradictions lies in fully experiencing life with presence and connectedness – an insight that the Village Way has translated into a practical training for educators. This is because educators that are able to manifest a mature and uplifting presence are the best possible guides for today’ young.

So, while the world continues to change dramatically to our amazement and disbelief, we can take comfort in the one thing that will never change, and that is the love and concern of the person or people who act as a stable anchor in our lives.

May we all be blessed with the gift of this caring stability.

Thank you for your ongoing partnership.

Hoping for good tidings – B'sorot Tovot,