Dipping greens

Leader: Centuries ago, only those who were free enjoyed the luxury of dipping their food to begin a meal. In celebration of our people’s freedom, tonight, we, too, start our meal by dipping green vegetables. However, we also remember that our freedom came after tremendous struggle. And, so, we dip our vegetables into salt water to recall the ominous waters that threatened to drown our ancestors as they fled persecution in Egypt, as well as the tears they shed on that harrowing journey to freedom.

We recognize that, today, there are more than 281 million migrants still making these treacherous journeys away from persecution and violence in their homelands. As we dip the karpas into salt water tonight, we bring to mind those who have risked and sometimes lost their lives in pursuit of safety and liberty.

Group: We dip for the 4.2 million Ukrainian refugees and Russian friends and family who have fled to Poland, Romania, Moldolva, Denmark, and elsewhere and who may never return to their homes. We dip for the citizens of Mariupol who are facing unspeakable hardships. 

We dip for the Rohingya father who walked for six days to avoid military capture in his native Myanmar before he came to the Naf River and swam to Bangladesh.

We dip for the Syrian mother rescued from the dark waters of the Mediterranean Sea in the early hours of morning, still holding the lifeless body of her infant child after their small boat capsized.

We dip for the Somali refugees deliberately drowned when smugglers who promised them freedom forced them into the Arabian Sea.

We dip for the thousands of people forced to flee their homes from Tigray, Ethiopia in fear of ethnic cleansing. 

We dip for the shortages of food, gas and medicine  in the deepending economic crisis in Sri Lanka. 

We dip for the Angolan pastoralists who are suffering from hunger from drought  and who are forced to migrate southwards to the north of Namibia. 

We dip for all young girls who are forced into marriage.

We dip for the Indigenous people in Northern Argentina whose land is threatened d by Lithium extraction, the people of Peru whose land is disposessed for mining gold,  Aboriginals who are losing indigenous foods (bush tucker) and Torres Straits islanders whose homes are being lost from sea level rise. 

Leader: We dip for these brave souls and for the thousands of other refugees and asylum seekers who have risked their lives in unsafe and unforgiving waters across the globe this past year.

It is a green vegetable that we dip tonight – a reminder of spring, hope, and the possibility of redemption even in the face of unimaginable difficulty. As we mourn those who have lost their lives in search of freedom, we remain hopeful that those who still wander will find refuge.

בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יְיָ, אֱלֹהֵינוּ מֶלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם, בּוֹרֵא פְּרִי הָאֲדָמָה

Baruch Atah Adonai, Eloheinu Melech ha-olam, borei p’ree ha-adama.

We praise The Source of Life, Ruler of Everything, who creates the fruit of the earth.


haggadah Section: Karpas