Koach Eitan
Eitan Ashman and his Haggadah
Eitan Ashman and Contemporary Jewish Voices, The Koach Eitan Haggadah: Empowering Seder Conversations (Urim Publications)
The Pesach Haggadah allows us, each year, to rediscover the challenges that faced us as a fledgling nation and to consider how the messages of our founding redemption resonate as we have overcome countless struggles “in each and every generation.” Often these daunting threats have faced the entire Jewish people, at other times localized populations, and on occasion distinct individuals whose heroism serves as a model for us all.
At this time of nationwide—and worldwide—Jewish struggle, I think of some remarkable figures in my own small neighborhood in Efrat. Here on the Zayit Hill, within a two block radius of my home and synagogue, we remember two local soldiers of the I.D.F. who grew up amongst us and who have fallen in defense of the country: Roey Weiser and Elkana Newlander. But before the events of October 7th plunged us into this arduous reality, the neighborhood has withstood other blows. Ari Fuld, a figure in our community who was larger than life even before his tragic and heroic death fighting off a terrorist in 2018, continues to inspire all who knew him. This Pesach brings with it the first anniversary of the despicable murder of Lucy Dee, a beloved educator in our schools, and her two beautiful daughters Maia and Rina. For residents of Efrat it all brings an inversion of Pesach’s message: Dayenu!
Perhaps it is with all this in mind that I took an extra dose of comfort from an initiative that arose from one of our neighbors who has inspired us all here with his strength. In 2017 Eitan Ashman suffered a massive stroke which left him with various physical impediments and Aphasia, depriving him of much of his language expression, but not of his mind or passion for Torah. (My son, an EMT, was one of the first responders on the scene.) A young, energetic husband and father, Eitan was and remains the center of so very many positive things in our community—including a wonderful family and dedicated circle of friends. But there is no way around the fact that his language disabilities create a barrier. Fortunately, headed by the indefatigable passion and creativity of Eitan’s wife Leora, the Ashmans have educated our entire town, and large circles beyond, about Aphasia and stroke awareness through their Koach Eitan organization.
The newest initiative to help further understanding of these conditions is a Haggadah which gathers sensitive insights from Eitan himself, together with voices of many other friends, neighbors, rabbis, and educators (very many of whom live right here in Efrat). Perhaps because it arrives at a particular moment in which we are all feeling battered and in need of some extra “koach,” particularly here at home, I found these often elegantly simple insights to the Haggadah to be so touching and so powerful.
For example, Eitan writes: “When Moshe was commanded by God to take the Jewish people out of Egypt, he said ‘I am not a man of many words.’ However, tonight we read how Moshe led the Jewish people from slavery to freedom, which shows us that even with limited words, we can achieve great things.” This is indeed a very powerful idea when one considers the profound, personal meaning it must have for he who wrote it. Later, commenting on the Yachatz section, Leora writes: “Every situation, no matter how painful, can always offer a chance for growth, purpose, and belonging. Yachatz shows that broken pieces that were once whole are still ‘Matzah,’ and what is more, they take on a new, vital purpose.” This locating of strength within trauma and human vulnerability has much resonance these days.
Beyond the divrei Torah on the portions of the Seder (and who doesn’t need something new to say each year?), this Haggadah is instructive because it makes us aware of the need for inclusion of those around the table who might be dealing with an array of cognitive or physical challenges. Once one becomes sensitive to these “tips” they seem so commonsensical—but that’s the trick, isn’t it? When those who have struggled show us how to be more sensitive and helpful, it’s not all that hard—why didn’t we see it ourselves? Most of us of a certain age remember when the world was very much “inaccessible” to wheelchairs. Today it seems so obvious that pubic and communal spaces have to enable access to all. That change did not come about by accident. The Ashmans are helping to expand our notions of inclusion with their own take on Rabbi Akiva’s “one foot” of Judaism: Put yourself in other’s shoes at the Seder (and all year long).
The Haggadah also gathers short comments from well-known figures such as R. Aharon Bina, R. Shlomo Katz, Miriam Peretz, R. Yosef Zvi Rimon, R. Shlomo Riskin, Rabbanit Esti Rosenberg, and many others. The inclusion of posthumous Haggadah insights from Maia Dee and Ari Fuld make this an even greater comfort to those of us nearby to the “koach eitan” (great strength) of our neighbors the Ashmans.
Rabbi Jeffrey Saks is the editor of TRADITION.