SAY/SING:
A breath: in the Presence of the Infinite, we pause with gratitude, honoring all the journeys that have brought us to the here and now.
Baruch atah Adonai Eloheinu ruach ha’olam shehecheyanu v’ki’manu, v’higianu laz’man hazeh
 

DO: Honor the losses of this past year: Invite guests to name who’s missing, or to take a minute in silence in honor of the empty chairs. Showcase the Seder plate(s). Compare notes! Anybody have a new addition?  Now’s the time to share.
Invite our invisible prophets to Seder: Pour a glass of wine for Elijah and a glass of water for Miriam.


Fill your own glasses with juice or wine.


SAY: Passover is an exercise in collective optimism, which is another word for faith. Faith is not necessarily the same thing as believing in a God with a muscular arm and outstretched fingers. Faith can be a commitment to the unprovable proposition that it’s worth the struggle to cross the next impossible barrier, to seek meaning in our lives, to try, try again and do justly and build another peace. We raise the cup, we rephrase our enslavement and liberation, we sing, turning disaster into dramaturgy.
– Anita Diamant


SAY: Tonight we ask four new questions. Each question is also a chance for a toast as we raise our glasses in blessing each other. The first one is about what we are grateful for. 


haggadah Section: Kadesh