Passover

Passover marks a revealing moment in the correspondence between Michel-Henri Sommo and Boaz Brandstetter: on the first intermediate day of the festival, dated 16 April 1976, Michel-Henri writes after Boaz has declined the family’s invitation to Seder Night. The letter turns a religious-calendar date into a measure of estrangement, respect for an agreement, and the possibility of connection without compulsion.

Date and Correspondence

The letter is headed from Jerusalem and dated the first intermediate day of Passover, 16 April 1976. Michel-Henri addresses Boaz directly, making the festival a precise point in the chronology of their relationship rather than a general description of the season. The date locates a private family exchange within a Jewish holiday whose observance includes the Seder Night invitation Boaz did not accept.

The Missed Seder

Michel-Henri says he is saddened that Boaz did not come for Seder Night, but immediately acknowledges the agreement between them: Boaz may do as he wishes provided he acts uprightly and earns his way through work. He does not treat the absence as grounds to withdraw welcome. Instead, he says Boaz may come whenever he chooses, preserving an open invitation while holding to the terms they have established.

The letter also conveys news that partly answers the disappointment of the missed gathering. Abram has told Michel-Henri that Boaz was doing excellently, and Mrs. Janine Fuchs has passed on positive greetings from him. These reports offer a form of contact in place of Boaz’s physical presence at the family table: his absence is noted, but the correspondence still carries signs of his progress and regard.

Work, Money, and Obligation

Michel-Henri places Boaz’s situation alongside his own youth. At roughly Boaz’s age, he arrived in Paris with his parents from Algeria and worked as an apprentice to his uncle, an X-ray technician, to earn money; unlike Boaz, he worked in the evenings while attending the lycée during the day. He recalls asking that uncle for a loan to buy a needed Larousse dictionary and being refused. The recollection makes his advice personal, connecting work and schooling to a formative experience of wanting help and not receiving it.

After turning to Boaz’s request, Michel-Henri encloses postal orders worth IL 3,000. He says the family will try to provide further sums if Boaz identifies a constructive purpose, and he is not opposed to repayment with interest—but only many years later, when Boaz is rich in commandments, good deeds, and material means. For the present, he advises Boaz to continue saving. The holiday letter thus combines assistance with conditions of purpose and self-discipline, without making the missed Seder a price Boaz must pay for support.

Passover as a Family Measure

In this exchange, Passover gathers together ritual invitation and ordinary obligations. Seder Night exposes the distance between Boaz and the household, while the dated letter keeps communication open through welcome, reports from others, a concrete remittance, and counsel grounded in Michel-Henri’s own past. The festival does not resolve the separation; it gives the relationship a moment in which disappointment and continued care can coexist.