Podcast Summary:
Call Me Back – with Dan Senor
Episode: The WHY of this year’s Passover – with Rachel Goldberg-Polin
Date: March 26, 2026

Episode Overview

This episode explores the profound challenges and spiritual dilemmas facing Israelis and the global Jewish community leading into Passover (Pesach) 2026, in the wake of seismic events—most notably the October 7, 2023 attacks and their aftermath. Host Dan Senor engages with Rachel Goldberg-Polin, a frequent guest and renowned voice of moral clarity and personal loss, to frame the seder and its rituals against a backdrop of collective trauma, resilience, and enduring values. The discussion draws on ancient texts and recent pain, balancing loss with hope and highlighting profound Jewish ethical responses to suffering, enemies, and the meaning of freedom.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Why a New Passover Conversation This Year?

• Recurring Ritual, Evolving Meaning: Despite studying the same holiday annually, Rachel stresses that Jewish tradition is never repetitive in spirit. Both the “text” and the “reader” change each year due to life’s circumstances.
  • “You can’t step into the same river twice... the river’s constantly moving... And you are actually a different person than you were when you were at that river last week, two months ago, eight months ago, a year ago…” – Rachel (06:13)
• Context after October 7th means that even familiar rituals are encountered from a radically different, more wounded place.

2. Remembering Loss and Honoring the Broken (03:51)

• Since October 7, 2023, collective Jewish bereavement has deepened, encompassing both those lost and the countless broken survivors—physically, emotionally, spiritually.
  • Rachel’s Intent: “In the merit of them healing and recovering, I’d like to focus our energy on them as well.” (04:32)

3. Why the Seder? Historical and Ritual Roots (08:20–14:57)

• A brief tour from Genesis through slavery in Egypt, the Exodus, and the formation of the Jewish nation.
• Central Seder commandment: To “tell your children” the story—an obligation unique in its annual, time-specific nature.
• The Haggadah: The heart of the seder, crafted by Mishnaic rabbis as a vehicle for “the telling” (lehagid), built on dialogue and dynamic participation (16:06–16:25).

4. Rituals, Rationale, and Edible Symbols

• Questions as Core: The Seder is designed to foster questions, even specifying “canned” questions (manishtana) for those reluctant or unable to ask (16:25–17:38).
• Matzah & Chametz: A ban on leavened bread symbolizes both humility (minimizing the ego) and historical deprivation—insights drawn from Rav Kook and tradition (18:42–21:11).
• Obsessive pre-holiday cleaning is both practical and psychological, paralleling physical preparation with internal, spiritual work (21:11–24:11).

5. Universal Care and Spiritual Openness at the Seder (21:39–24:11)

• The Magid section starts with a call to invite in “all who are hungry... all who are needy,” recognizing material and emotional/spiritual hunger.

6. Integrating Darkness with Light – Themes of Suffering Even in “Redemption”

• Pain Weaves Through the Seder (27:06–33:06):
  • Salt water (tears), maror (bitterness), and charoset (the sweetness mixed with pain) are intentionally consumed—embodying trauma and sorrow even as we celebrate.
  • “We’re not just saying, ‘let’s talk about the sadness,’ but we’re actually integrating it into our bodies… digesting and letting this bitterness run through our bodies.” – Rachel (27:35)
• Relevance Post-October 7th: Many at the Seder table remain broken, traumatized, or deeply aware of antisemitic threats—the pain is not just historical but immediate.
  • “Sadness is woven into the fabric of the Seder for a reason... Sadness is woven into the human enterprise.” – Rachel (27:13)

7. Jewish Ethics: Mourning Enemy Suffering (33:06–36:02)

• Key ritual: Removing drops of wine for each plague, refusing to fully rejoice at the suffering of even our enemies.
  • “We don’t want to celebrate the suffering, even of people who caused us tremendous suffering.” – Rachel (33:25)
• Citing Rabbi Yisrael Salanter, Rachel recounts how we teach children compassion even in vengeance, parallel to caring about the “feelings” of bread at Shabbat (an object!) to ingrain empathy (34:51–36:02).

8. Responding to Victory and Vengeance (36:02–38:52)

• In light of hard-won victories over enemies, Rachel stresses a difference between relief and glee:
  • “There is a difference between relief and glee... we don’t teach our children [schadenfreude]. It doesn’t mean there isn’t a place for badness to be extinguished. But... as people... we have to stay within [holy] parameters.” – Rachel (37:05)

9. Dayenu: The Challenge of Enough (38:52–43:26)

• The iconic Seder song “Dayenu” (It would have been enough) faces up against the Jewish tendency to focus on what is lacking:
  • “How do we stop where we are and acknowledge what we have is actually a blessing?” – Rachel (40:14)
  • Rachel deeply personalizes this post-loss, reflecting on gratitude for the years she had with her son.
  • “If the whole entire Seder is a gratitude training seminar, Dayenu is sort of the theme song...” (41:10)
• Baal Shem Tov’s teaching: The purpose of one’s life might be distilled to a single act of kindness; some may fulfill their purpose early.

10. The Seder's Closing: Hope in the Chaos (Khadgadja) (43:26–47:04)

• Khadgadja, a “fun” song about a chain of misfortune, doubles as a metaphor for history and a challenge to keep hope through unfolding trials.
  • “If you have the long view, when bad things are happening, hope is on the way.” – Rachel (44:34)
  • Rachel shares a parable about seeing life as a pointillist painting—chaos up close, coherence with perspective.

11. Rachel's Passover Wish (47:15–48:09)

• “Let’s remember that Moses said, ‘let my people go,’ but let’s figure out how do we let ourselves go in order to do good, in order to do better, in order to be godly… What’s our why? … And I think all of us who are here, the reason that we’re here is that we’re not done. So I wish for everyone to continue on our paths and to have a Passover infused with meaning, Seder with more questions than answers.” – Rachel (47:17)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Ritual and Change:
  “We don't step into the same river twice. So I would say that this Passover is not the same as last Passover… where we were a year ago is so incredibly, cosmically different than where we are today.” – Rachel (06:13)

• On Pain Amidst Celebration:
  “We try to mitigate the bitterness with some sweetness, but it's not supposed to overpower the maror. There is something about… letting this bitterness run through our bodies and integrate part of it into us that is critical to the Seder.” – Rachel (27:42)

• On Jewish Ethics Toward Enemies:
  “We are teaching our children this is who we are. Even when it's painful and horrible, we are going to be human.” – Rachel (34:41)

• On Justice vs. Joy at Enemy’s Fall:
  “There is a difference between relief and glee. There is a difference between feeling a sense of hope that someone can't hurt us… versus schadenfreude and dancing around because of the death of somebody… I think being gleeful... there is a very fine line to where that leads us.” – Rachel (37:05)

• On “Dayenu” and Gratitude:
  “If the whole entire Seder is a gratitude training seminar, Dayenu is sort of the theme song of how are we able to look at our lives and not see what’s missing, but see what we have?” – Rachel (41:10)

• On Loss and Life’s Purpose:
  “A child who dies when they're six years old, they have already accomplished in those six years what sometimes someone takes 70 or 80 years to accomplish… he fulfilled his why, he fulfilled his purpose and his meaning, and he was able to go.” – Rachel (42:35)

Timestamps for Important Segments

• Opening Theme & Remembering Loss: 03:51
• Why Repeat the Same Holiday Discussion?: 06:01
• Historical & Ritual Context of Passover: 08:07–16:10
• What Happens at the Seder: 13:26
• The Meaning of Matzah & Chametz: 18:42
• Pre-Seder Cleansing, Psychological & Halachic: 21:11
• Universal Invitation: “All Who Are Hungry…” 23:00
• Weaving Pain Into Passover Rituals: 27:06
• Wine Ritual for the Plagues – Empathy for Enemies: 33:06
• Seder’s Ethical Messaging Against Schadenfreude: 36:02
• Dayenu – Reflection on Gratitude: 38:52
• Khadgadja – Seder’s Closing Note of Hope: 43:26
• Rachel’s Parting Passover Blessing: 47:15

Tone and Takeaways

The episode is both deeply Jewish and universally human—rooted in ritual, shot through with grief, and animated by a challenge to confront suffering with ethics and hope. Rachel’s wisdom and vulnerability provide a roadmap for a meaningful, questioning, and moral Passover, uniquely suited to a year of national pain and small but vital redemptions.

Rachel’s concluding wish:
“To have a Passover infused with meaning, Seder with more questions than answers.” (47:55)