Passover is a holiday about freedom. The Passover seder is a special ceremonial dinner in which we gather together to retell the story of the Israelite's freedom from bondage in Egypt. The word Seder in Hebrew literally means order or procedure. This home made Haggadah will take us through the seder tonight. 

The Hebrew word for this Holiday, "Pesach" has two meanings. The first is "Passing over" and refers to the fact that the angel of death passed over the Israelite's homes. Pesach can also refer to the pascal lamb -- which was ritually sacrificed to protect the Israelites from the angel of death and then became part of early celebrations of Passover. We tell the story of Passover using a "Haggadah" a special book which serves as the narrative for the seder, and means, "Telling" in Hebrew.

Passover invites us to not only retell this story of freedom from slavery in the past, but to also consider the plight of those who are not free today and reminds us to be welcoming to those seeking freedom. Slavery can take many forms, including being treated outright as property, or being unjustly controlled through economics by those with more power. Many of us are descended from people who were once enslaved. Even with no personal experience of slavery, most beings seem to passionately want freedom. It matters that we take note of who and where others are not free, because injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. Let's remember those who are not currently free.

Passover is also a time of inclusion. On seder night, there are two moments where we metaphorically open our doors and invite others in. One is at the opening of the Magid portion of the seder, when we say, “All who are hungry come and eat.” There is a beautiful message here: we were once slaves; poor and hungry, and we remember our redemption by sharing what we have with others. The other, comes towards the end of the seder, when we have the custom of pouring a fifth cup of wine, which we claim is for Elijah the Prophet. This is a statement of faith, a statement that says that although we are a free people, our redemption is not yet complete, and we believe that it will come.


haggadah Section: Introduction