(We dip parsley, celery, or lettuce in saltwater and recite the prayer)

Together:

בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יי אֱלֹהֵינוּ מֶלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם, בּוֹרֵא פְּרִי הָאֲדָמָה

Blessed are You, Lord Our God, King of the Universe, who creates the fruit of the earth.

Participant: Yet, each sprig that breaks through the soil to turn green beneath the sun, there are so many that remain hidden in the darkness, and hostile lands, and a place of homelessness and hunger. Rejoice that there are so many places where the world is green; we mourn all the places where it is not.

Participant: And so we wash the greens in the saltwater of all the tears that flow in those places, and the salt water of the sea you split. As a reminder that one day, tears should only flow in joy.

Participant: As You brought Israel forth from the dark and narrow places of Mitzrayim, every spring You bring forth green shoots of life from the dark earth. To hold a loft a sprig of new life is hell a loft a people blessed with a new life- Israelites sprouted from Mitzrayim, refuseniks from the Soviet Union, Beta Yisrael from Ethiopia.


haggadah Section: Karpas