EDITOR’S NOTE: The story is told of a Jew who is traveling on a ship with some merchants. They show off their merchandise and ask the Jew, “What do you have?” He taps his head and says, “Everything I own is in here.” They laugh and call him a fool.

Then a storm hits. The ship sinks and everyone is forced to swim to shore with nothing but the clothes on their backs. They reach a city, but the merchants have nothing to sell. They are forced to beg in the streets.

A few days later they see the Jew, well dressed and well fed. He drops some money in their begging cups. They say to him, “We had so much merchandise, but now we have nothing. You had nothing, but now you have so much. How can that be?”

He taps his head and says, “I told you that everything I own is in here. I have studied all my life and I have knowledge. I am working as a teacher.”

The merchants nod their heads and all agree that knowledge is the best merchandise.

Jews know what it is like to have lost everything and to have nothing, not even a home or a homeland. We have survived by holding on to our knowledge. Each time we have moved, we have brought with us our best merchandise: knowledge of our Torah, our history, our beliefs, our skills and our stories. These stories cannot be lost, stolen, or destroyed, not as long as we keep remembering them and retelling them to each new generation.

As we celebrate the second day of Pesach as a community this April 15, we will once again share our stories and beliefs as a people, and pass them on to our children. Please join us. Next year in Jerusallem! — END OF EDITOR’S NOTE

A long-standing congregation tradition, the Aitz Chaim Community Pesach Seder will be held on the second evening of Passover, on Tuesday, April 15, at the O’Haire Motor Inn meeting room at 7th Street and 1st Avenue South. We will gather at 5:15pm, the Seder service will start at 5:30pm.

The cost of this year’s meal, which will include

1. matzo ball soup
2. brisket with pearl onions and apricots
3. honey lemon chicken
4. salad
5. roasted potatoes
6. vegetable
7. dessert

will be $27 for Adult Congregation Members and $36 for non-Members.

If there ARE any participants under 12yo let me know, and we will inquire about a child’s rate. This fee covers all of our costs for a traditional Passover Seder, including matzo, the traditional symbolic foods, kosher wine and grape juice.

Please send your reservation and payment for the meal to the congregation at 1015 1st Ave N., or via email to Laura Weiss, president@aitzchaim.com. You can also pay for your reservation through the “PayPal” link on this page. All reservations are expected to be paid before the Seder begins. We need to have a final count to the caterer by April 7. The final date when we can accept cancellations is April 10, and we will be unable to accommodate refunds if you are unable to attend and do not inform us by that date.

Submitted by Aitz Chaim Congregation President Laura Weiss