All over the world tonight, people are celebrating at a Seder, which commemorates the festival of Passover and the Jews' freedom from slavery in Egypt.  The word 'seder' means order and is derived from the fact that the rituals are performed in a precise order.  The book we're reading from is called the Haggadah, which is Hebrew for 'narration' and provides us with the guidelines for the order of the Seder.  

Welcome to our seder, where we recognize that Jews are not the only ones who have suffered oppression.  This is why we invite friends and family--Jewish or not--to share this night.  It's an opportunity to celebrate all religious freedom, belief systems, and to pray for the freedom of those who remain oppressed, wherever and whomever they may be.  It's also an opportunity to take the time and think about how we can personally become more 'free'--to live a more creative or fulfilling or interesting life.  

May we take this evening to reflect on our lives this year and soften our hearts to those around us. Another year has passed since we gathered at the Seder table and we are once again reminded that life is fleeting. We are reminded to use each precious moment wisely so that no day will pass without bringing us closer to some worthy achievement as we all take a moment to be aware of how truly blessed and fortunate we are.

Our faith gives us many holidays to celebrate throughout the year and they are all times for self reflection, gently guiding us to a better path in life. We are each given a chance to reflect on our past year; to think about where we have been and how we will live our lives in the year to come. Perhaps this is a good time to reaffirm our commitment to lead good and meaningful lives, making peace wherever we go.

The seder officially begins with a physical act: lighting the candles.  In Jewish tradition, lighting candles and saying a blessing over them marks a time of transition, from the day that is ending to the one that is beginning, from ordinary time to sacred time.  Lighting the candles is an important part of our Passover celebration because their flickering light reminds us of the importance of keeping the fragile flame of freedom alive in the world.

Baruch Atah Adonai Eloheinu melech ha'olam asher kid'shanu b'mitzvotav, v'tzivanu l'hadlik ner shel Yom Tov.

Blessed are You, Adonai our God, Ruler of the Universe, who has sanctified us with laws and commanded us to light the festival lights.

As we light the festival candles, we acknowledge that as they brighten our Passover table, good thoughts, good words, and good deeds brighten our days.

The Seder Plate

We place a Seder Plate at our table as a reminder to discuss certain aspects of the Passover story. Each item has its own significance.

Maror  – The bitter herb. This symbolizes the harshness of lives of the Jews in Egypt. A newer interpretation calls for people to look at their own bitter enslavements, whether addiction or habit. 

Charoset  – A delicious mix of sweet wine, apples, cinnamon and nuts that resembles the mortar used as bricks of the many buildings the Jewish slaves built in Egypt

Karpas  – A green vegetable, usually parsley, is a reminder of the green sprouting up all around us during spring and is used to dip into the saltwater

Zeroah  – A roasted lamb or shank bone symbolizing the sacrifice made at the great temple on Passover (The Paschal Lamb). It's also symbolic of the 10th plague, which was the killing of first-born male Egytian children. Legend has it that the Jews smeared the blood of a lamb onto their doorposts to prevent the Angel of Death from entering the home and killing a Jewish male child. Vegetarians typically use a roasted beet instead. This isn’t a new idea; the great Biblical and Talmudic commentator Rashi suggested it back in the eleventh century. 

Beitzah  – The egg is a symbol of rebirth and spring.  It's also a symbol of  one of the sacrificial offerings performed in the days of the Second Temple. Because they are shaped with no end and no beginning, they represent the full circle of life.  We dip the egg into salt water as a reminder tears, sadness, hope, new beginnings, and final endings are always inter-related. Another popular interpretation is that the egg is like the Jewish people: the hotter you make it for them, the tougher they get.

Orange  - The orange on the seder plate has come to symbolize full inclusion in modern day Judaism: not only for women, but also for people with disabilities, intermarried couples, and the LGBT Community.

Matzah

Matzah is the unleavened bread we eat to remember that when the jews fled Egypt, they didn’t even have time to let the dough rise on their bread. We commemorate this by minimizing our consumption and storage of leavened products during Passover.

Elijah’s Cup

The fifth ceremonial cup of wine poured during the Seder. It is left untouched in honor of Elijah, who, according to tradition, will arrive one day as an unknown guest to herald the advent of the Messiah. During the Seder dinner, biblical verses are read while the door is briefly opened to welcome Elijah. In this way the Seder dinner not only commemorates the historical redemption from Egyptian bondage of the Jewish people but also calls to mind their future redemption when Elijah and the Messiah shall appear.

Miriam’s Cup

Another relatively new Passover tradition is that of Miriam’s cup. The cup is filled with water and placed next to Elijah’s cup. Miriam was the sister of Moses and a prophetess in her own right. After the exodus when the Israelites are wandering through the desert, just as Hashem gave them Manna to eat, legend says that a well of water followed Miriam and it was called ‘Miriam’s Well’. The tradition of Miriam’s cup is meant to honor Miriam’s role in the story of the Jewish people and the spirit of all women, who nurture their families just as Miriam helped sustain the Israelites.

It's a Passover tradition to drink 4 cups of wine during the Seder.  Why four cups?

Some people believe that each cup corresponds to each of God's four promises to Moses--I will bring you out of Egypt; I will redeem you; I will deliver you from bondage; I will take you to be my people.  

Others believe that the 4 cups correspond to the four corners of the earth, because freedom should exist everywhere.  Or perhaps the four cups correspond to the four seasons--because freedom must be scrupulously guarded year round.  Others have said that the four cups represent the four ancient empires that tyrannized the Jews and have since disappeared.

Please let's all say the blessing for the wine:

בָּרוּךְאַתָּהיְיָ, אֱלֹהֵינוּמֶלֶךְהָעוֹלָם, בּוֹרֵאפְּרִיהַגָּפֶן

Baruch Atah Adonai, Eloheinu Melech ha-olam, borei p’ree hagafen.

We praise God, Ruler of Everything, who creates the fruit of the vine.

Those who expect to reap the blessings of freedom must undergo the fatigue of supporting it--Thomas Paine

At this point, I will symbolically wash my hands for all of us, without saying the blessing. I will repeat this with the blessing, as we get closer to the meal.

As I take a moment to wash my hands, imagine that you are washing away all anxiety and stress in your life, and allow yourself to be filled with the hope that the world can be a better place for us all.

Passover, like many of our holidays, combines the celebration of an event from our Jewish memory with a recognition of the cycles of nature. As we remember the liberation from Egypt, we also recognize the stirrings of spring and rebirth happening in the world around us. The symbols on our table bring together elements of both kinds of celebration.

We now take a vegetable, representing our joy at the dawning of spring after our long, cold winter. Most families use a green vegetable, such as parsley or celery, but some families from Eastern Europe have a tradition of using a boiled potato since greens were hard to come by at Passover time. Whatever symbol of spring and sustenance we’re using, we now dip it into salt water, a symbol of the tears our ancestors shed as slaves. Before we eat it, we recite a short blessing:

בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יְיָ, אֱלֹהֵינוּ מֶלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם, בּוֹרֵא פְּרִי הָאֲדָמָה

Baruch Atah Adonai, Eloheinu Melech ha-olam, borei p’ree ha-adama.

We praise God, Ruler of Everything, who creates the fruits of the earth.

We look forward to spring and the reawakening of flowers and greenery that have been buried under the snow.  We all have aspects of ourselves that sometimes get buried under the stresses of our busy lives. What elements of your lives do you hope to revive this spring?

There are three pieces of matzah stacked on the table. We now break the middle matzah into two pieces. The host should wrap up the larger of the pieces and, at some point between now and the end of dinner, hide it. This piece is called the afikomen, literally “dessert” in Greek. After dinner, the guests will have to hunt for the afikomen in order to wrap up the meal… and win a prize.

We eat matzah in memory of the quick flight of our ancestors from Egypt. As slaves, they had faced many false starts before finally being let go. So when the word of their freedom came, they took whatever dough they had and ran with it before it had the chance to rise, leaving it looking something like matzah.

Uncover and hold up the three pieces of matzah and say:

This is the bread of poverty which our ancestors ate in the land of Egypt. All who are hungry, come and eat; all who are needy, come and celebrate Passover with us. This year we are here; next year we will be in Israel. This year we are slaves; next year we will be free.

Pour the second glass of wine for everyone.

The Haggadah doesn’t tell the story of Passover in a linear fashion. We don’t hear of Moses being found by the daughter of Pharaoh – actually, we don’t hear much of Moses at all. Instead, we get an impressionistic collection of songs, images, and stories of both the Exodus from Egypt and from Passover celebrations through the centuries. Some say that minimizing the role of Moses keeps us focused on the miracles God performed for us. Others insist that we keep the focus on the role that every member of the community has in bringing about positive change.

THE FOUR QUESTIONS

The Mishna details questions one is obligated to ask on the night of the seder. It is customary for the youngest child present to recite the four questions. Some customs hold that the other participants recite them quietly to themselves as well. At some seders, the newest person to the seder asks the questions in English, partnering with a guest who knows the Hebrew.  The need to ask is so imperative that even if a person is alone at Passover, they are obligated to ask themselves and to answer their own questions.

Ma nishtana ha lyla ha zeh mikkol hallaylot?
Why is this night different from all other nights?

1. Shebb'khol hallelot anu okh'lin ḥamets umatsa, vehallayla hazze kullo matsa.
   Why is it that on all other nights during the year we eat either leavened bread or matza, but on this night we eat only matza?
2. Shebb'khol hallelot anu okh'lin sh'ar y'rakot, vehallayla hazze maror.
   Why is it that on all other nights we eat all kinds of vegetables, but on this night we eat bitter herbs?
3. Shebb'khol hallelot en anu matbillin afillu pa'am eḥat, vehallayla hazze sh'tei fe'amim.
   Why is it that on all other nights we do not dip [our food] even once, but on this night we dip them twice?
4. Shebb'khol hallelot anu okh'lin ben yosh'vin uven m'subbin, vehallayla hazze kullanu m'subbin.
   Why is it that on all other nights we dine either sitting upright or reclining, but on this night we all recline?

The questions are answered with the following:

1. We eat only matzah because our ancestors could not wait for their breads to rise when they were fleeing slavery in Egypt, and so they were flat when they came out of the oven.
2. We eat only Maror, a bitter herb, to remind us of the bitterness of slavery that our ancestors endured while in Egypt.
3. The first dip, green vegetables in salt water, symbolizes the replacing of our tears with gratitude, and the second dip, Maror in Charoses, symbolizes the sweetening of our burden of bitterness and suffering.
4. We recline at the Seder table because in ancient times, a person who reclined at a meal was a free person, while slaves and servants stood.

We begin the retelling of the Passover story with the recital of “Ha Lachma Anya” in which we invite whoever is hungry to come and eat. In this ritual, the matzah plays a starring role. As the blessing is recited, it is customary to lift up the matzah, drawing attention to the physical representation of slavery and freedom. In several Sefardic countries, the guests and the matzoh all move to the front door while the blessing is being said as a symbolic invitation to those outside who may need a place to celebrate.  

The Pesach Seder is a celebration of our redemption and we are all guests of honor.  To prevent the guests from feeling beholden to the  “host” which would inhibit their involvement and participation in the evening, we encourage all our guests to invite others.  So please ejoin me by reading aloud:

"This is the bread of affliction that our ancestors ate in the land of Egypt. All those who are hungry, let them enter and eat. All who are in need, let them come celebrate the Passover. Now we are here. Next year in the land of Israel. This year we are enslaved. Next year we will be free."

Our story starts in ancient times, with Abraham, the first person to have the idea that maybe all those little statues his contemporaries worshiped as gods were just statues. The idea of one God, invisible and all-powerful, inspired him to leave his family and begin a new people in Canaan, the land that would one day bear his grandson Jacob’s adopted name, Israel.

God had made a promise to Abraham that his family would become a great nation, but this promise came with a frightening vision of the troubles along the way: “Your descendants will dwell for a time in a land that is not their own, and they will be enslaved and afflicted for four hundred years; however, I will punish the nation that enslaved them, and afterwards they shall leave with great wealth."

Raise the glass of wine and say:

וְהִיא שֶׁעָמְדָה לַאֲבוֹתֵֽינוּ וְלָֽנוּ

V’hi she-amda l’avoteinu v’lanu.

This promise has sustained our ancestors and us.

For not only one enemy has risen against us to annihilate us, but in every generation there are those who rise against us. But God saves us from those who seek to harm us.

The glass of wine is put down.

In the years our ancestors lived in Egypt, our numbers grew, and soon the family of Jacob became the People of Israel. Pharaoh and the leaders of Egypt grew alarmed by this great nation growing within their borders, so they enslaved us. We were forced to perform hard labor, perhaps even building pyramids. The Egyptians feared that even as slaves, the Israelites might grow strong and rebel. So Pharaoh decreed that Israelite baby boys should be drowned, to prevent the Israelites from overthrowing those who had enslaved them.

But God heard the cries of the Israelites. And God brought us out of Egypt with a strong hand and outstretched arm, with great awe, miraculous signs and wonders. God brought us out not by angel or messenger, but through God’s own intervention. 

In the Book of Exodus the Plagues of Egypt are ten calamities inflicted on Egypt by the God of Israel, in order to force Pharaoh to allow the Israelites to depart from slavery.  The Egyptians were smitten with ten plagues because after each one they were able to come up with excuses and explanations rather than change their behavior. 

As we rejoice at our deliverance from slavery, we acknowledge that our freedom was hard-earned. We regret that our freedom came at the cost of the Egyptians’ suffering, for we are all human beings made in the image of God. Therefore, we pour out a drop of wine--a symbol  of joy--for each of the plagues as we recite them.  Dip a finger or a spoon into your wine glass for a drop for each plague.

These are the ten plagues which God brought down on the Egyptians:

BLOOD | dam | דָּם

BIBLE SAYS:  To unleash the first plague upon the Egyptians, Moses struck the river Nile with his staff, turning its waters to blood. At the same time, his brother Aaron performed an identical transformation in the canals, tributaries, ponds and pools throughout Egypt.  After the water turned to blood, "the fish in the Nile died, and the Nile stank, so that the Egyptians could not drink water," according to the Bible, Exodus chapter 7, verse 21

SCIENCE SAYS:  The sudden appearance of red-hued waters in the Nile could have been caused by a red algae bloom, which appears when certain conditions enable a type of microscopic algae to reproduce in such great numbers that the waters they live in appear to be stained a bloody red.

FROGS | tzfardeiya |  צְפַרְדֵּֽעַ

BIBLE SAYS:  

For the second plague, Moses allegedly conjured vast quantities of frogs that swarmed into people's homes — even finding their way into the Egyptians' beds, ovens and cookware.

SCIENCE SAYS:  As it happens, the phenomenon of "raining frogs" has been reported multiple times throughout history and in a range of locations around the world. A report published July 12, 1873 in Scientific American described "a shower of frogs which darkened the air and covered the ground for a long distance," following a recent rainstorm. The account was one of dozens of similar anecdotes collected in "The Book of the Damned" (1919), though its somewhat skeptical author suggested that the frogs may have simply dropped from trees.

And in May 2010 in Greece, thousands of frogs emerged from a lake in the northern part of the country, likely in search of food, and disrupted traffic for days, CBS News reported.

LICE | kinim | כִּנִּים

BIBLE SAYS:  The third plague, lice, could mean either lice, fleas or gnats based on the Hebrew word (Keenim).

SCIENCE SAYS:  If a toxic algal bloom led to the first plague, and a pile of dead frogs followed, it's not surprising that a swarm of insects of some sort would have followed. nterestingly, both body lice and fleas can theoretically transmit the bacteria that causes bubonic plague, If so, then an infestation with lice could have set the stage for the later plagues, such as boils.

BEASTS | arov | עָרוֹב

BIBLE SAYS:  The Hebrew word for the fourth plague, arov, is ambiguous. It roughly translates to a "mixture," and over the years, rabbis had interpreted that word to mean either wild animals, hornets or mosquitoes, or even wolf-like beasts that prowl in the night.  Most commonly, people interpret the text to mean wild animals such as venomous snakes or scorpions, or even lions or bears.

SCIENCE SAYS:  The fourth plague probable represented a swarm of flies.  Bites from these flies could have resulted in the boils that occur later in the plagues.

CATTLE DISEASE | dever | דֶּֽבֶר

BIBLE SAYS:  The fifth plague called down on Egypt was a mysterious and highly contagious disease that swiftly killed off the Egyptians' livestock. 

SCIENCE SAYS:  This biblical scourge is reminiscent of a real plague known as rinderpest, an infectious and lethal viral disease that decimated populations of cattle and other ruminants across Africa and Europe from the 18th through the late 19th centuries. Rinderpest was last diagnosed in Kenya in 2001 and declared completely eradicated in 2010.

BOILS | sh’chin | שְׁחִין

BIBLE SAYS:  Shortly after the Egyptians' livestock died off, they were distracted by the sixth plague — an extremely uncomfortable plague of boils that covered their bodies. 

SCIENCE SAYS:  An outbreak of the highly infectious disease smallpox, which caused distinctive raised blisters, could result in a large number of people simultaneously coming down with rashes and welts. Smallpox is thought to have affected communities in Egypt at least 3,000 years ago, based on evidence of smallpox scars found on several mummies dating back to that period 

HAIL | barad | בָּרָד

BIBLE SAYS:  The seventh plague brought a heavy hail accompanied by thunder and streaming fire. The chaotic weather struck down people, livestock and trees, although the area of Goshen, where the Israelites lived, was spared,

SCIENCE SAYS:  A nearby volcanic eruption about 3,500 years ago on Santorini, an island north of Crete in the Aegean Sea, may explain this plague, as well as others. It's possible that the volcanic ash mixed with thunderstorms above Egypt, leading to a dramatic hailstorm, 

LOCUSTS | arbeh | אַרְבֶּה

BIBLE SAYS:  When the Pharaoh once again refuses to let the Jewish people go, hungry locusts descend as the eighth plague. Moses warns the Pharaoh: "They shall cover the surface of the land, so that no one will be able to see the land."

SCIENCE SAYS:  The volcanic eruption on Santorini may have created favorable conditions for the locusts.  According to one scientist, "The ash fallout caused weather anomalies, which translates into higher precipitations, higher humidity, and that's exactly what fosters the presence of the locusts."

DARKNESS | choshech | חֹֽשֶׁךְ

BIBLE SAYS:  According to the Old Testament, a darkness so thick that "people could not see one another" descended on Egypt for three days.

SCIENCE SAYS:  The plague of darkness may have been a solar eclipse or a cloud of volcanic ash, both events that have been documented in that approximate geography during that approximate time

DEATH OF THE FIRST BORN | makat b’chorot | מַכַּת בְּכוֹרוֹת

BIBLE SAYS:  In the 10th, and last plague, Moses tells the Pharaoh that all the firstborns in the land of Egypt would perish.

SCIENCE SAYS:  Perhaps, the algal bloom that turned the rivers blood red released mycotoxins, poisonous substances that can cause disease and death in humans, according to a 2003 review in the journal Clinical Microbiology Reviews. Grain contaminated with these mycotoxins could have been deadly, and could explain the death of the firstborn children, as the young Egyptian men were often those who picked the grain.  

It's traditional at this point in the story to give thanks for each blessed event that happened during ancient Jewish history as if it alone would have been enough.  The song DAYENU, which means 'it would have been enough' reflects this graphically--

If God had just brought us out of Egypt, DAYENU

If God had parted the Red Sea without drowning the Egyptians, DAYENU

If God had given us the Sabbath only, DAYENU

If God have built us the temple only, DAYENU

The concept of DAYENU remains relevant today.  Because we have so much, it's difficult to sometimes to recognize the difference between "enough" (DAYENU) and more.  It's human instinct to want more--money, freedom, time off, electronic gadgets.  The Hagaddah teaches us that each thing we acquire should be celebrated as DAYENU--if more comes along, that's a gift.  

Now we drink the second cup of wine.

As we now transition from the formal telling of the Passover story to the celebratory meal, I'll again wash my hands and recite:   

בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יְיָ אֱלֹהֵֽינוּ מֶֽלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם, אֲשֶׁר קִדְּשָֽׁנוּ בְּמִצְוֹתָיו, וְצִוָּנוּ  עַל נְטִילַת יָדָֽיִם

Baruch Atah Adonai, Eloheinu Melech ha-olam, asher kid’shanu b’mitzvotav v’tzivanu al n’tilat yadayim.

We praise God, Ruler of Everything, who made us holy through obligations, commanding us to wash our hands.

Why do we eat matzah?   Because during the Exodus, our ancestors had no time to wait for dough to rise.  So they improvised flat cakes without yeast, which could be bakedand consumed in haste.  The matzah reminds us that when the chance for liberation comes, we must seize it even if we do not feel ready—indeed, if we wait until we feel fully ready, we may never act at all.

We will now recite two blessings over the matzoh--the regular bread blessing that precedes all celebrations, and then one specifically mentioning the mitzvah of eating matzoh at Passover.  

 ברוך אתה יי אלהינו העולם, המוציא לחם מן הארץ

ברוך אתה יי אלהינו העולם אשר קדשנו במצותיו וצונו על אכילת מצה

Baruch atah, Adonai eloheinu,melech ha’olam, hamotzi lechem min ha’aretz. Baruch atah, Adonai eloheinu, melech ha’olam, asher kidshanu b’mitzvotav, v’tzivanu al achilat matzah.

Blessed are you, Adonai, Breath of Life, who brings forth bread from the earth.

Blessed are you, Adonai, Breath of Life, who sanctifies us with the commandment to eat matzah.

Please join me in eating a piece of matzoh!

Maror (bitter herbs, such as horseradish) signify the  bitterness and slavery of the Israelites in Egypt.

Tonight we dip this symbol of bitterness in the sweetness of charoset. Charoset, the sweet mixture of fruits and nuts, symbolizes the mortar of the bricks of the Israelites. It is also the mortar of commitment and interdependence that enabled the Jewish community to survive through those centuries of oppression. It is the building blocks of hope and tradition, which are sweet. We take our maror of fear, and by dipping it into the sweetness we create a new model that honors the fear and suffering yet holds out hope for the future.

By blending our maror and charoset, we acknowledge the blending of faiths and traditions that sit around this table here tonight. We know it is not always sweet and it is not always bitter, but that life is a mixture of both. Just as our taste buds are designed for sweet, salty, sour and bitter, so we taste the range of textures of our relationships. By our dipping tonight we bring together the bitter and the sweet for something new to emerge.

Many people take the dipping a bit further, by creating a Hillel sandwich--bitter herb and charoset on a piece of matzoh.  

Eating the meal! | shulchan oreich | שֻׁלְחָן עוֹרֵךְ

Enjoy! But don’t forget when you’re done we’ve got a little more seder to go, including the final two cups of wine!

Finding and eating the Afikomen | tzafoon | צָפוּן

The playfulness of finding the afikomen reminds us that we balance our solemn memories of slavery with a joyous celebration of freedom. As we eat the afikomen, our last taste of matzah for the evening, we are grateful for moments of silliness and happiness in our lives.

Refill everyone’s wine glass.

We now say grace after the meal, thanking God for the food we’ve eaten. On Passover, this becomes something like an extended toast to God, culminating with drinking our third glass of wine for the evening:

We praise God, Ruler of Everything, whose goodness sustains the world. You are the origin of love and compassion, the source of bread for all. Thanks to You, we need never lack for food; You provide food enough for everyone. We praise God, source of food for everyone.

As it says in the Torah: When you have eaten and are satisfied, give praise to your God who has given you this good earth. We praise God for the earth and for its sustenance.

Renew our spiritual center in our time. We praise God, who centers us.

May the source of peace grant peace to us, to the Jewish people, and to the entire world. Amen.

The Third Glass of Wine

The blessing over the meal is immediately followed by another blessing over the wine:

בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יְיָ, אֱלֹהֵינוּ מֶלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם, בּוֹרֵא פְּרִי הַגָּפֶן

Baruch Atah Adonai, Eloheinu Melech ha-olam, borei p’ree hagafen.

We praise God, Ruler of Everything, who creates the fruit of the vine.

Drink the third glass of wine!

Singing songs that praise God | hallel | הַלֵּל

This is the time set aside for singing. Some of us might sing traditional prayers from the Book of Psalms. Others take this moment for favorites like Chad Gadya & Who Knows One, which you can find in the appendix. To celebrate the theme of freedom, we might sing songs from the civil rights movement. Or perhaps your crazy Uncle Frank has some parody lyrics about Passover to the tunes from a musical. We’re at least three glasses of wine into the night, so just roll with it.

Fourth Glass of Wine

As we come to the end of the seder, we drink one more glass of wine. With this final cup, we give thanks for the experience of celebrating Passover together, for the traditions that help inform our daily lives and guide our actions and aspirations.

בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יְיָ, אֱלֹהֵינוּ מֶלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם, בּוֹרֵא פְּרִי הַגָּפֶן

Baruch Atah Adonai, Eloheinu Melech ha-olam, borei p’ree hagafen.

We praise God, Ruler of Everything, who creates the fruit of the vine.

Drink the fourth and final glass of wine! 

The Cup of Elijah

We now refill our wine glasses one last time and open the front door to invite the prophet Elijah to join our seder.

In the Bible, Elijah was a fierce defender of God to a disbelieving people. At the end of his life, rather than dying, he was whisked away to heaven. Tradition holds that he will return in advance of messianic days to herald a new era of peace, so we set a place for Elijah at many joyous, hopeful Jewish occasions, such as a baby’s bris and the Passover seder.

אֵלִיָּֽהוּ הַנָּבִיא, אֵלִיָּֽהוּ הַתִּשְׁבִּיאֵלִיָּֽהוּ, אֵלִיָּֽהוּ,אֵלִיָּֽהוּ הַגִּלְעָדִי

בִּמְהֵרָה בְיָמֵֽנוּ יָבוֹא אֵלֵֽינוּ

עִם מָשִֽׁיחַ בֶּן דָּוִד

עִם מָשִֽׁיחַ בֶּן דָּוִד

Eliyahu hanavi
Eliyahu hatishbi
Eliyahu, Eliyahu, Eliyahu hagiladi
Bimheirah b’yameinu, yavo eileinu
Im mashiach ben-David,
Im mashiach ben-David

Elijah the prophet, the returning, the man of Gilad:
return to us speedily,
in our days with the messiah,
son of David.

Nirtzah  marks the conclusion of the seder. Our bellies are full, we have had several glasses of wine, we have told stories and sung songs, and now it is time for the evening to come to a close. At the end of the seder, we honor the tradition of declaring, “Next year in Jerusalem!”

For some people, the recitation of this phrase expresses the anticipation of rebuilding the Temple in Jerusalem and the return of the Messiah. For others, it is an affirmation of hope and of connectedness with  Klal Yisrael, the whole of the Jewish community. Still others yearn for peace in Israel and for all those living in the Diaspora.

Though it comes at the end of the seder, this moment also marks a beginning. We are beginning the next season with a renewed awareness of the freedoms we enjoy and the obstacles we must still confront. We are looking forward to the time that we gather together again. Having retold stories of the Jewish people, recalled historic movements of liberation, and reflected on the struggles people still face for freedom and equality, we are ready to embark on a year that we hope will bring positive change in the world and freedom to people everywhere.

In  The Leader's Guide to the Family Participation Haggadah: A Different Night, Rabbi David Hartman writes: “Passover is the night for reckless dreams; for visions about what a human being can be, what society can be, what people can be, what history may become.”

What can  we  do to fulfill our reckless dreams? What will be our legacy for future generations?

Our seder is over, according to Jewish tradition and law. As we had the pleasure to gather for a seder this year, we hope to once again have the opportunity in the years to come. We pray that God brings health and healing to Israel and all the people of the world, especially those impacted by natural tragedy and war. As we say…

לְשָׁנָה הַבָּאָה בִּירוּשָׁלָֽיִם

L’shana haba-ah biy’rushalayim

NEXT YEAR IN JERUSALEM!

Nirtzah   marks the conclusion of the seder.  It has been said that “Passover is the night for reckless dreams; for visions about what a human being can be, what society can be, what people can be, what history may become.”  

Though we are at the end of the Seder, this moment also marks a beginning. We are beginning the next season with a renewed awareness of the freedoms we enjoy and the obstacles we must still confront. We are looking forward to the time that we gather together again. Having retold stories of the Jewish people, recalled historic movements of liberation, and reflected on the struggles people still face for freedom and equality, we are ready to embark on a year that we hope will bring positive change in the world and freedom to people everywhere.

Our seder is over, according to Jewish tradition and law. As we had the pleasure to gather for a seder this year, we hope to once again have the opportunity in the years to come. We pray that God brings health and healing to Israel and all the people of the world, especially those impacted by natural tragedy and war. As we say…

לְשָׁנָה הַבָּאָה בִּירוּשָׁלָֽיִם

L’shana haba-ah biy’rushalayim

NEXT YEAR IN JERUSALEM!