Host: A simple piece of Matzah serves to remind us of the immense suffering of ancient slavery. Traditionally, we next eat Maror, the bitter herb, to remind us that the Egyptians embittered the lives of our people. Tonight, we will eat bitter chocolate to remind us of modern suffering.

How can chocolate represent hardship and modern suffering, for it usually satisfies our craving for sweetness, and eaten in times of love and celebration? Simply put, we expect chocolate to be sweet, and when it is not, we make a face or may even spit it out.

Similarly, our culture has expectations of all of us and when we stray from these expectations, we can be rejected, punished or expelled. When women are aggressive, when men are gentle, when students step out of the classroom to demonstrate, when people love who they want to love, when those who have experienced violence speak out, society pushes back. Tonight, we embrace those who have felt society’s push back, those who have felt the pressure to take shapes that aren’t natural to them. Tonight, we embrace chocolate in its plain form, celebrating not its bitterness, but its strength.

Baruch Attah Ah-doh-nay Elo-hei-nu Me-lech Ha-olam Asher Kid-sha-nu B’mits-vo-tov Vitsi-va-nu Al A-chee-lat Maw-ror

Blessed are You God, Spirit of the universe, Who sanctified us with His commandments, and commanded us concerning the eating of the bitter herbs.


haggadah Section: Maror
Source: Revenge of Dinah: A Feminist Seder on Rape Culture in the Jewish Community, JUF Chicago / DePaul - Research Training Internship