Hello everyone, and welcome! It feels very special to welcome friends, old and new, to The Porch™ in celebration of one of my favorite Jewish holidays. 

Tonight, on Passover, we embrace comfort.  We are encouraged to lean in our seats, unbutton our pants, and enjoy a leisurely meal in community. Relaxing, however nice it may sound, is not always a simple task. There's the looming specter of thesis, the uncertainty of post-grad, and the pressure to make everything count as our time on these campuses dwindle. But as we gather to, I encourage everyone to indulge yourself in whatever way you are able. I hope at some point tonight you encounter at least opportunity to relax, to indulge, to get comfortable.

Having said that, I also realize that not everyone will be comfortable all the time. For some, the seder is a new experience and may carry some uncertainty with it. We'll share with relative strangers traditions that some of us have only known in the context of our family or hometown communities. We'll engage in conversations in which we may not agree, or even feel equipped to have. I hope that we can extend grace to one another throughout, and maybe we'll find comfort in unexpected places.

On that note, our haggadah contains references to "God" or "Lord" in many of the blessings. We all likely have varying comfort levels with this idea, so please feel free to approach that topic however you choose. In this seder, for example, we might think of prayer as something more like reflection and thoughtful conversation in community.

I also want to flag that at the end of the Passover seder, it's traditional to recite the phrase "La'shana Ha'ba'a, B'Yerushaliem," or "Next year in Jerusalem." Historically, this refers to the notion of Israel as a religious homeland that all Jews will eventually return to. However, progressive Jews have updated the concluding prayer to read "La'shana ha'ba'a b'olam tzadek," or "Next year in a just world." Salvation comes not from the physical movement of people of specific religious backgrounds within specific borders and boundaries, but from the promise of justice for all.

We'll do our best to keep both meaning and momentum to this seder—there's a lot to get through, but we have some tasty snacks and 4 cups of wine to help us on our way. Let's get started, and get comfy!

- Sofi


haggadah Section: Introduction