In the narrows of this carceral world, our choices seem few and our hopes seem slim, and too often we fail to see any way out. Hagar, Abraham’s Egyptian slave whose mistreatment foreshadowed B’ney Yisrael’s oppression in Mitzrayim, knew this despair all too well when she was cast out into the desert with her son. Dying of thirst, she averted her eyes towards her child, saying, “Let me not watch the child die,” (Genesis 21:16) and wept bitterly. Then an angel appeared, and “opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water.” (Genesis 21:19) The answer to her prayers was there all along, all she had to do was recognize it. As tempting as it can be to look away from the suffering of those enslaved in prisons and murdered by police, if we keep our eyes open, we might see a way out of the narrow place into the wide expanse of possibility. 

✧ What does it mean to be free? 

(Raise the cup and say:)


.בְּרוּכָה אַתְּ שְׁכִינָה, גָאֲלָה יִשְׂרָאֵל

(Fem:) Brucha at Shechinah, ga’ala Yisra’el.

בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יי, גָאַל יִשְׂרָאֵל


(Masc:) Baruch atah Adonai, ga’al Yisra’el.


Blessed are You, who redeems the Jewish people.

בְּרוּכָה אַתְּ שְׁכִינָה, רוּחַ הָעוֹלָם, בּוֹרֵאת פְּרִי הַגָפֶן

(Fem:) Brucha at Shechinah, ru’ach ha-olam, boreyt p’ree ha-gafen.

בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יי, אֱלֹהֵינוּ מֶלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם, בּוֹרֵא פְּרִי הַגָפֶן


(Masc:) Baruch atah Adonai, Eloheinu melech ha-olam, borey p’ree ha-gafen.

Blessed are You, who creates the fruits of the vine.

Lean to the left and drink the wine or grape juice. 
 


haggadah Section: -- Cup #2 & Dayenu
Source: Min Ha-Meitzar: An Abolitionist Haggadah from the Narrow Place by Noraa Kaplan