Narr: The Jewish community in Europe was massive and rich in tradition, culture andlearning. When the Nazis came and obliterated the Jewish existence as we new it, wenever thought we could stand upright again. !ut loo at us now, sixty years later,"eshivas in #merica are stronger than ever, Jewish communities and shuls loo betterthan they ever did. We$re being treated lie e%uals, Jews are rising to the highest levelsin the pro&essional and political worlds. We have been completely accepted into the#merican society. !ut maybe things may not be as good as they seem. ' recently heardthis story about a (esach seder:

Everyone: )sings* l$shana +aba$ah

other: )crying* stop it, stop it, don$t you realize what you are saying- What you$re praying &or-

ather: +oney, what, ' don$t get it, what$s bothering you-

other: ' don$t want that next year 

ather: Want what- What are you taling about-

other: ' don$t want to be in Jerusalem next year. ' lie it here in New "or /ity. 0ooat what we have, the &reedom, the osher restaurants and the beauti&ul pars. Who needs'srael, it is so much harder there1 we have everything we need right here

ather: 2on$t worry, it$s only the song we sing at the end o& +aggada. "ou$re right 3what could Jerusalem o&&er us that we don$t we have- /ome on honey, sing with us1

it’s just a song.

 Narr: The problem is, it$s not 4ust a song. We say next year in Jerusalem because untilwe are in the 567895 6;<7=6 we are missing something> ?omething that lies at the heart o&what in means to be a true Jew. #nd, in a moment, as we read the words o& Eicha, wedon$t 4ust recite a sad ancient poem, but instead we mourn and grieve &or that special@something,A that we$re missing.What is it- This something that we don$t have. 2o we even now- +ave we come so&ar, so &ast that we have &orgotten what we have been missing all these years- '$mspeaing about edushah, '$m speaing about a real relationship with Bod. 't$s been twothousand years since Bod turned his &ace &rom the Jewish people, the destruction o& the!eis +amidash was Bod$s way o& telling us, ' don$t want to be with you now. #ndwithout +im, loo what we have endured &or two thousand years, destruction o& ourhomeland and exile, massacres, crusades, in%uisition, pogroms, holocaust and inta&ada.

#nd yet, through all this, we have not only endured as a nation, but we continueto thrive to this very day, as a people. ?o &or us, tonight, what churban do we have tomourn about- or us, we not only mourn the destruction o& the !eis +amidash, but wealso mourn the destruction o& the human heart. We mourn over ourselves, over our ownedusha.

 

+ow can it be our ather doesn$t want to see us1 how can it be that we don$tcare- +ow can we have &allen so &ar-

That$s what "irmayahu cried about so many thousand o& years ago, 5C6D, howcould it be- That$s what we cry about tonight, how can it be. 5C6D.

))@?ure we have our beauti&ul homes and our com&ortable lives but what$s itworth i& our &ather won$t visit with us-A**