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Introduction
Contributed by Natalie Yosipovitch + John San Soucie

  • TOP HAGGADAHS FOR 2023

Leader reads:

The invention of the seder was an act of resilience in the face of catastrophe. Two thousand years ago, the Second Temple was destroyed by the Romans. Passover used to be celebrated at the Second Temple; no Temple, no Passover. But the surviving rabbis devised a new ritual, the seder, which did not require a temple. And so the observance of Passover continued from generation to generation.

This haggadah is written for a virtual video-chat Passover seder. Speech and song are core to a seder. However, it is impossible in a video chat for more than one person to speak at a time; the sound will get garbled and no one will understand anyone else.

If someone else is speaking or singing, please mute yourself. Please try muting yourself now.

Wait for people to mute; show them how to as needed.

Whenever someone is talking, singing, or praying, everyone else should be muted; but feel free to recite or sing along with them while muted. Let's try it now. Will someone read the next section?

Leader continues:

Every time there’s a new section, prayer, or song, the current speaker will ask for a new speaker. If you want to read or sing the next section, un-mute yourself and begin. The previous person should mute themselves. Before we begin this seder, would someone read the next section?

A new person reads:  

The Rambam relates that "it is a positive command of the Torah to recount on the eve of the fifteenth of Nisan the miracles and wonders that were wrought for our ancestors in Egypt." It is instructive to note that the grammatical root of the noun Haggadah (literally “the telling”) and the infinitive להגיד (l’hagid, literally “to tell”) is actually ד.ג.נ. (dalet-gimel-nun). This root is more commonly used as a preposition, meaning “opposite.” We may therefore translate the term Haggadah not as “the telling” but rather as “the discussion that occurs between people who are in lively conversation with each other.” To refer to the evening's telling as the הגדה (Haggadah) is to suggest that our retelling of the Exodus story is not intended to be a detached, historical account communicated frontally to an audience of passive listeners but rather a dynamic, vigorous exchange of ideas that engages all of the participants in active dialogue.

Sources: Seth Alter, "The Plague Haggadah" + Arielle Braude (Passover JLF supplements)

haggadah Section: Introduction

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