Celia Gurevitch Jewish Community Library

Yossi Harel the commander of the ship Exodus 1947, died on Saturday at the age of 90. Many of you have seen the movie Exodus, where his character was played by Paul Newman. For those of you who haven’t read it I recommend the book the movie was based on. It was written by Leon Uris and the library has a copy of it of course. Reading (or re-reading) it would be a great way to commemorate Israel’s upcoming 60th birthday.
I am writing this entry on the day after Passover. I find it appropriate to quote the very last lines of the book. It is a reply to the classic question of the Seder:

“Why is this night different from all other nights of the year?
This night is different because we celebrate the most important moment in the history of our people. On this night we celebrate their going forth in triumph from slavery into freedom.”