To observe Pesach is to remember history:

We remember the oppression we faced in Mitzrayim. During the seder, we will hear time and again that we must remember the story of the Exodus as if we ourselves were there.

Remembering is not enough, though: seders have been held on occupied land, with food grown by slaves, led by people who devalue others on the basis of race, disability, or gender. To fully embrace Pesach, we must also learn from our experiences each year, choosing new paths that repair the world.

To observe Pesach is to be subversive:

For thousands of years, Jews have gathered at the seder table as an act of resistance: in Judea during the Bar Kokhba revolt, in Spain during the Inquisition, in Warsaw during the Holocaust.

Pesach is a festival of liberation, which also acknowledges that none of us is free until all of us can be free.

To observe Pesach is to be inclusive:

Everyone is welcome. Everyone is needed. The seder we celebrate tonight would not be the same if any one of us were absent or could not participate meaningfully in the seder.

Tonight, we tell the story of the Exodus in many different ways, because we all learn in different ways. We taste foods, tell stories, answer questions, and sing songs. Our goal is for each of us to see ourselves as the people who left Mitzrayim, if only for a moment — and to make sure everyone else at the seder table has the opportunity to do the same.

To observe Pesach is to celebrate:

We take our time with the seder, celebrating by enjoying leisure all evening long. Even as this evening gives us an opportunity to examine the oppression of our own time, we also take time to acknowledge the progress that we’ve made. We are leaving Mitzrayim if we can continue to do this work.

“Seder” means “order” — and every seder follows a set order:

•Welcome

•Olive

•Dinner

•Candles

•Story

•Afikomen

•First Cup

•Second Cup

•The Third Cup

•Miriam’s Cup

•Hand Washing

•Elijah’s Cup

•Hand Washing

•Matzah

•Grace

•Spring Vegetable

•Bitter Herbs

•Fourth Cup

•Matzah

•Orange

•Next Year

הִנֵה מַה טוֹב וּמַה נָּעִים שֶׁבֶת אָחִים גַּם יַחַד

Hineh mah tov u’ma-na’im shevet achim gam yachad.

How good it is for family to be together.


haggadah Section: Introduction
Source: HaggadahOfOurOwn.com