By Debbie Schlussel

Tonight at sundown, the Jewish holiday of Passover begins. And even though the Coronavirus madness has struck, I see the positive. It could be a lot worse.

Passover is the festival of freedom, in which Jews celebrate our freedom from slavery. And I see this year’s celebration in that vein. As I said, it could be a lot worse: we could be slaves in Egypt. Or we could be inmates at a Nazi death or concentration camp, as my late maternal grandparents were, not only denied the opportunity to mark Passover, but worried if they would live to see tomorrow. I am lucky–we Jews are lucky–that we are not in such dire straits.

Yes, I am aware that many people are sick, others have died, and their loved ones have lost dear family members, and they are in my thoughts and prayers on this holiday. Also in my thoughts and prayers: the many, many people–Jewish and gentile alike–who are out of work, have not yet received unemployment or stimulus checks, and are worrying about having enough to eat and being able to pay rent to keep a roof over their heads, and their water and power going. I feel for you. Some of you are doing your best to keep Passover in the midst of all this.

In the Haggadah, the book that sets forth the order, procedure, and readings for tonight’s and tomorrow night’s Passover dinners, it states that “In Every Generation,” Jews encounter strife and those anti-Semites who would destroy us (at this time, it’s pestilence like Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib . . . and also neo-Nazi Holocaust denier (and Jewish-American loyalty questioner and Israel boycott/BDS supporter) Michelle Malkin, about whom I warned people for years). But, as with the Egyptians, we survived and outlived them all. And the same goes for all of us with this virus. I promise you, just as in the many other generations in which we struggled to survive against an enemy, this too shall pass. We will survive. You will get through this, as sure as you can get through tonight’s and tomorrow night’s Seders.

Be well, stay healthy, and remember that at the Seder tonight, even though you may be alone–as I will eerily be for the first time in my life–we are all in this together Not “in this together” in the fight against the virus as the mindless, empty jingoism used by mansion-ensconced celebs and skin-deep media figures, keep preaching to us. But in this Seder–this ceremony–marking the Jews’ freedom from slavery and vanquishing of all past enemies with G-d’s help. We are in that together.

So, a Happy and Kosher Passover to you all. Be well.

The ten plagues passed over us and attacked only our enemies, the oppressive slavers, the Egyptians. And this eleventh plague shall pass over us, too. It would be a great birthday gift, as tomorrow (Thursday, the first day of Passover) is my 51st birthday.

With G-d’s help, we will get through this and we will celebrate again with others present and outside the confines of quarantines and stay at home orders, Next Year in Jerusalem.