When the Jews were enslaved in Egypt, they suffered unimaginably, oppressed by systematic enslavement and brutality. And yet, when Moses arrived bearing the means to their salvation, the rst real hope that was accessible to them for as long as anyone could remember, their rst instincts were incredulousness and rejection. Even after the slaves were liberated, many of them ached for the predictability and relative stability of slavery (knowing where their food was coming from, understanding their role in the world, etc.), and felt scared of their new freedom because it lacked stability and routine. 

A similar phenomenon can be observed in our society today. Sometimes those of use who attempt to stop oppression are met with resistance by others who are scared to change the status quo because (together we read) :

1) it either serves them in some way, or
2) they are afraid of the unknown potential of liberation and what it means for them.

People are not open to changing the systems that they perpetuate, including manifestations of sexism in our society, even when they themselves are being oppressed by these systems. What is this phenomenon, this self- sabotaging human tendency? 

Leader: We put the smaller piece of mat- zah, the part symbolizing our irrational fear, between the other two whole matzot, where it is overshadowed and made insignificant. 

Together: As participants in this Seder, we stand against complacency.

With a better world in mind, we break the matzah, just as we break away from the sexist attitudes, trivialized rape jokes, homophobia and transphobia, victim-blaming, sexist media, toxic masculinity, marginalization, and all oppression that people of all genders know so painfully well. We acknowledge the fear that’s stopping us from taking that step away from the comfort of familiarity toward a better, if unpredictable future; and we break away from that as well. 

The leader should take the afikomen and hide it somewhere in the room. 


haggadah Section: Yachatz
Source: Revenge of Dinah: A Feminist Seder on Rape Culture in the Jewish Community