We are the Same

For many years my friend Susan and I have been holding a secular, progressive Seder. We even wrote our own Haggadah, which tells the story of the Exodus from Egypt.

On the Seder plate - where all the elements of the Seder are placed, we've added a few things. An orange for the sweetness of those who are LGBT and to spit out the bitter pits of homophobia. We also put olives on the plate to represent the importance of the olive harvest to the Palestinian community and for the peace they represent.

Recently we have put a glass of water on the table to honor Miriam, who was a feminist, even as a child. When the Jews were slaves in Egypt, Pharoah declared that every Jewish boy who was born would be killed. When Miriam's father, Amram, heard this he immediately divorced his wife and the other men followed. When Miriam heard this she went to her father and said, "you are oppressing us more than Pharoah!" Amran listened and went back to his wife and all the other men returned as well. Miriam was a prophetess and during the forty years of wandering through the desert, wherever she went, a well of water would appear. When Miriam died, the water stopped flowing.

So, what does this have to do with being in Palestine? it turns out, everything.

We recently visited the Women's Charitable Society in Hebron and met with the director, Asma Doufish, who showed us around her center. We visited the beautiful playground, the society built and saw a group of happy, playing children. We followed the children and their teachers back to their classrooms, ages 3-6.

It was hard for us to leave the children, but Ms. Doufish wanted to tell us about the society's other programs, especially those for women. The society has a domestic violence program which involves the whole community and families in solving the situation. They also train women to become economically independent. Very much like the work I did for 22 years in New York.

She also told us about the Quran Study Group for women, that was meeting at the time we were there. We were able to go into the classroom and watch what they were doing. There were about 20-25 women, varying in ages from young women in their late teens and early twenties to women who were in their sixties and seventies. Each women was wearing a hijab and had a beautiful copy of the Quran on the table in front of them.

We were standing along the sides of the room, as it was quite small. Someone suggested that we could hear a reading from the Quran. The teacher opened up the book and began to read. She read for quite awhile and when she finished, someone asked what passage was she reading. She simply said, "Miriam."

I was not expecting this and was so stunned that I started to cry. The women I was standing near saw my tears and asked me why I was crying. I said, "because we are the same."

It wasn't that I didn't know that before. To me all humanity is the same. It was the beauty of the moment. The reminder that we all came from the same place, that made me cry.

This is the second time I've visited Palestine. The experience is always profound. I will never forget the women of the Quran Study Group.