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Climate Emergency
Contributed by Josh Newman

  • TOP HAGGADAHS FOR 2023

ֲעָבִדים ָהיִינוּ ְלַפְרעֹה ְבִּמְצָריֽם

We were slaves to Pharaoh in Egypt

and the Lord, our God, took us out from there with a strong hand and with an outstretched arm. If the Holy One, blessed be He, had not taken our fathers out of Egypt, then we, our children and our children's children would have remained enslaved to Pharaoh in Egypt. Even if all of us were wise, all of us understanding, all of us knowing the Torah, we would still be obligated to discuss the exodus from Egypt and everyone who discusses the exodus from Egypt at length is praiseworthy.

We are in the midst of an emergency, slaves to a government that refuses to TELL THE TRUTH. And there is no God to take us out from here, neither with a strong hand or an outstretched arm. And if we don’t do something before it’s too late, than we, our children, and our children’s children, will not walk the face of the earth. Even if we are vegans, activists, and completely clued up on the climate crisis, we are obligated to TELL THE TRUTH of what’s happening - and everyone who TELLS THE TRUTH at their seders and beyond, is praiseworthy.

לדור ודור - From generation to generation

From one generation to the next, it is our duty to tell the Passover story. On this night, the children ask the adults ‘‘why is it so? Why do we do things the way we do?’ And then we tell them how we were rescued from Egypt, brought out of slavery, and freed. But what if those that doing the telling are getting it wrong? What if each year, from each Pesach to the next, we can see climate change turn to environmental collapse? This year, school children have seen the absolute refusal of those in power to take any action to tackle the climate emergency, and have taken direct action to push for change. The young people have been passionate, radical, and organised with co-ordinated action around the globe. So this seder let’s not just tell the young people about the exodus story, let’s listen to them too. Listen, and then take action.

“ I don’t want you to be hopeful. I want you to panic. I want you to feel the fear I feel everyday. And then I want you to act.” (Greta Thunberg, 16, environmental activist)

And to the adults around the table, you shall say

ָדּםוֵָאשׁוְִתיְמרוֹת ָעָשׁן

blood, fire, and pillars of smoke

Before the great and terrible day of the LORD comes, I will set portents in the sky and on earth: Blood and fire and pillars of smoke; The sun shall turn into darkness And the moon into blood. (Joel 3:3-4)
haggadah Section: -- Exodus Story

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