Welcome! 2020 | Passover haggadah by Jeanne Lovy

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Welcome to our seder!

We traditionally say: Let all who are hungry come and eat - but since today we're on Zoom, and not eating together, let's talk first.

The story of Passover is one that has and can be interpreted to fit into many ideological frameworks, but the essential requirement is to come together to pass the key elements of the story from generation to generation.

Here is where we'd like to focus:

Collective Liberation & Freedom Everywhere

Jews were slaves in Egypt back in the day. Passover is generally thought to be a festival of freedom. Nowadays, the presumption is that Jews are a free people, and that Passover is an opportunity to bask in our freedom. Lo dayenu - it's not enough. While it's important to acknowledge the past, it's also important to remember that the same sorts of suffering exist today, and we have a civic duty as Jews and as people of privilege(s) to fight for liberation everywhere we can.

At Passover, as we celebrate freedom, it is impoossible not to be reminded of refugees in search of a home, people in poverty and disadvantage everywhere, children who do not have enough to eat, families who live in war zones, seniors who may be lonely and isolated, human beings who rights are curtailed, African Americans who are experiencing disporportionate complications of COVID-19 and many, many other groups who are not yet free.

Spring Anxiety

Another aspect of some interpretations of Passover is that of the spring harvest. It's fitting; spring is a time of newness. This is also the time for many Christians to observe Easter and its messages of rebirth and joy. Freedom feels like spring. But we know that spring does not always feel like spring should. This year especially, it's hard to understand "spring" in the traditional ways. We want to respect and honor that disconnect tonight.

Well Being

"Just to be is a blessing; Just to live is holy."

A traditional seder tells the story of the Jewish people during a challenging time of being expelled from Egypt as slaves. In 2020, we are living in a different time of challenge. Rabbi Heschel reminds us that just to "be" is a blessing, but lately, we might find it harder to feel blessed. We may be feeling anxious and stressed. We are isolated. We may feel fear. We are tired. We may be sick, or we are worried for loved ones who are sick.

We are resilient and meet our challenges with strength and humor. This time will pass. But, as the weeks go on we find ourselves increasingly seeking sources of inspiration and support, ways to connect with each other and with ourselves; new ways to find peace and inner calm; sources of energy for our minds, bodies and spirits.

Our seder is about that, too.

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This booklet (haggadah) has been modified and does not contain many traditional Jewish elements. But, If we get to a part you're uncomfortable with you have a few options:

Ask questions - ask yourself why you're uncomfortable, ask others for clarification in case of a misunderstanding;
Resist - something really not sitting right with you? Say so and we can talk about it;
Skip it - if you don't want to starting a heavy conversation, by all means feel empowered to zone out, take a break, and deal with it later. Just say "pass" if the reading comes to you and you don't want to for any reason.

[One more thing - we'll skip some pages. They're there for reflection and additional readings. We won't read every page together. If we're skipping something you want to pause on, just speak up.]

I am glad we are here together!

[Partially derived from Ollie D.]

haggadah Section: Introduction