The Strollers of Ukraine

The following was written by my wife, Rabbi Rose Lyn Jacob. It appears as her column in the Culpeper (Virginia) Star-Exponent on Friday, 25 March

We are four weeks into the Russian invasion of Ukraine initiated by Vladimir Putin. An estimated five to seven thousand Russian soldiers have died. Millions are displaced within Ukraine, without food, water, shelter or medical care. Cities have been bombed back to the stone age. An exodus of over four million Ukrainians has fled to neighboring countries, most escaping with only the shirts on their backs. And, as part of this parallel universe we are inhabiting, we are also only a few weeks shy of observing the Jewish Holiday of Passover which commemorates another exodus, that of the Israelites’ Exodus from Egypt. The Israelite’s also left in a hurry to escape the wrath of another enraged despot, Pharaoh.

The story of God’s redemption of the Israelites from bondage is told each year at a communal meal called the Seder, (the same communal meal known to Christians as “The Last Supper”). The narrative is told in great detail, through readings and song, of how we were slaves to Pharaoh and now we are free men and women. We tell of how God rescued us “with a strong hand and a mighty arm, with signs and with wonders,” including the ten terrible plagues set upon Egypt in an attempt to persuade Pharaoh to “Let My People Go!” It is a lively telling, with children actively involved. Jews are instructed to pass the story from generation to generation through our children, and our children’s children. The telling is brought vividly to life, and for just an evening, we, ourselves are transported to our collective past, as we conduct the Seder as if we, ourselves, were being brought out of Egypt.

God sent ten plagues to afflict the Egyptians. Among which were; Frogs, Locust, Cattle Disease, Boils. After each, Moses asked Pharaoh to “let my people go.” Pharaoh had every opportunity to stop the misery but didn’t relent until the tenth plague, Death of the First Born Egyptians, including the death of his own son.

The exodus from Ukraine we are now experiencing is on an unfathomable scale. We watch the news and see crumbled cities, the dead lying buried in the rubble, the lines of people walking, clutching their few belongings and their pets. Cars creep toward the border, and women and children wait desperately at the train station for a chance to leave.

Desperate to get out amid the bombardments and non-stop destruction, Ukrainian mothers are grabbing their strollers, their children, their pets, and a few plastic bags of food, and either driving or walking toward the border, abandoning their last few possessions along the way. If they are fortunate enough they will get a ticket for a departing train. To make room for just a few more mothers, a few more children, these women abandon their strollers on the platform. As the train departs the station, one can see a sea of strollers left behind.

But unknown to them, their plight is being watched in Poland and Germany by women who have their own children. Instinctively, these mothers have begun appearing at train station platforms on the receiving end. They have been bringing Hundreds and hundreds of baby strollers to be left on platforms for those arriving empty-handed in an unknown place. A basic maternal connection is made, and day after day, more strollers arrive. Video I’ve seen show these young Ukrainian mothers in tears, weeping at this compassionate gesture from one mother to another. A show of simple kind-heartedness and humanity to lift the spirit and acknowledge the pluck and bravery that was needed to evacuate at a moment’s notice.

The departure from Egypt took a great deal of courage and faith as well as self-confident leaders with vision, but it also took those who simply put one foot in front of the other, as God parted the waters. As we recall the Exodus story this Passover and Easter season, let us keep in our hearts this newest migration, the largest and fastest exodus in history. Bless them with courage, faith and leadership.

May God watch over these women and children and keep them safe. May God watch over their loved ones left behind, and give courage to those under siege. May we see a quick resolution to the fighting and, in the meantime, do all we can to act as God’s partners in providing for the needs of this afflicted nation.