The Unbelievable Story We Tell Every Passover
As we gather around the Seder table each Passover, we retell a story so extraordinary, it almost defies belief.
A young child once came home from Hebrew school, and when asked by a parent what was learned that day, replied: “The story of Passover.” Encouraged to elaborate, the child described Moses standing before Pharaoh, pleading for freedom, unleashing ten plagues—from frogs to darkness to the loss of the firstborn—until Pharaoh, broken and grieving, finally allowed the Israelites to return home to their ancestral soil.
The child went on: “The people fled in haste, with no time for their bread to rise, leaving us matzah. So, they milked the goats and invented the famous blue cheese, picked the grapes and produced wine. As they crossed a vast desert, they heard the Egyptians pursuing them. And then came salvation: they uncovered an F-16 and used it to destroy the Egyptians!”
Sensing disbelief from the parent, the child paused and admitted, “They didn’t teach me all of that—yet if I told you the whole story the way it really was, you wouldn’t believe it anyway.”
This tension between disbelief and faith is at the heart of Passover. Our story is miraculous, improbable, yet foundational. And in every generation, it is retold—not because it is easy to accept, but because it defines who we are: a people of hope and dreams who believe in freedom and life for all.
Today, another young person might walk through the door, fresh from a Jewish National Fund–USA JNFuture experience—part of our fastest-growing donor demographic, ages 22–40—and say to a parent: “I have a story to tell.”
“It is the story of my contribution, my philanthropic investment in the South of Israel. I designated my commitment to a small desert town called Mitzpe Ramon, which has grown to 6,000 residents over the past ten years. Jewish National Fund-USA built an Innovation Hub, parks, housing sites, fire stations and trucks, and invested in startups which are changing the world. Thanks to my contribution and our work, I can tell you the story of Creation Space, which is developing technologies teaching us how to live on Mars, born in the heart of Israel’s desert.”
This is the story of choosing to invest one’s hard‑earned resources into the future of our land and people of Israel.
I’m filled with pride every time I see the exuberant reactions of our partners (donors) when they see our work in Israel and how we turn miracles into reality. They witness firsthand how every project, program, and initiative creates circles of impact, and how everything we do leads to job creation, economic development, and population growth on Israel’s frontiers.
It is hard to believe, yet every day, tens of thousands of our partners are writing the next chapter of our great story: developing the North and South of Israel and strengthening our people through Zionist engagement. Before you know it, we’ll be saying “next year on Mars”!
These stories, ancient and modern, share a common thread: they sound unbelievable—until you realize they are true, made possible by people stepping up and becoming involved. Passover reminds us that our Jewish people are shaped by faith, courage, contribution, and an enduring belief in miracles. Jewish National Fund-USA continues this story today and every day: turning vision into reality, desert into destiny, and hope into home.
This Passover, we invite you to sit, retell the greatest story ever written, and help write our next chapters—stories of Zionism, of connection to our land, and of our people who never stop believing in the power of tomorrow as we get ready to go to Mars.
Happy Passover to you and your family.
