There is no shortage of bitterness today. All I need to write is a list of cities.

Toronto synagogues shot at last week. Temple Israel of Detroit attacked yesterday. Rotterdam synagogue arson attack. This is only in the last seven days. Last week, we concluded the megillah of Purim with the words that one day, the Jewish people will have light, joy, and honor. Yet this Shabbat, as we welcome in the month of Nisan and read a special portion called Ha-Chodesh (“the month”), we once again learn about the bitter herbs that we should eat with our matzah.

Ibn Ezra explains there are two reasons for this ritual. The first is natural–the Egyptian climate was humid and moist, and eating bitter foods was a cure for the climate. Yet, Ibn Ezra teaches, “I rather rely on the ancient sages, who let us know that it was the Egyptians who embittered our lives.”

As Naomin Shemer writes in her song “Al Kol Eleh,” we as Jews always experience the bitter and the sweet together.

We have experienced bitterness throughout our history, from the moment we were exiled from the land to whichever lands we lands we lived in. Bitterness should never be the expectation. Let us remember we do not eat the maror alone. We dip it in the charoset. We put it on the matzah. And we do not go through our bitterness alone today. May this Shabbat be one of comfort, as we never lose the hope for a better tomorrow.