Welcome! We come together, a collection of those who are Jewish and Jew ish,  proximal to or in loving relationship with Jews, those who are Jews by choice or becoming-Jews. We come here across vast distances and representing many identities and experiences. It’s perfect that we participate in a seder together, for the seder itself has brought Jews together across time and all the world. We, like all those many others, respect this tradition while we make it our own. 

Roasted Shank Bone (Zeroah)
“Passover is the amalgamation of two ancient festivals—one called Pesach, the other Chag Hamatzot. Pesach was originally a shepherd festival, observed in the early spring when the sheep gave birth to their young. It was customary for each family to sacrifice a lamb to assure a healthy flock. The presence of the shank bone on our seder table recalls the primitive beginnings of the festival we now call Passover and impresses us with the antiquity of our holiday celebration.”
— Rabbi Daniel Friedman, Haggadah for Passover

Beet (Selek)
[Some substitute a roasted beet for the shank bone at vegan/vegetarian Seders.]
“The redness of the beet symbolizes the blood of the Passover sacrifice. Our tradition tells us that Moses was chosen because he showed compassion to a lamb. We will show compassion by substituting the beet for the lamb. Our compassion extends to our care and devotion to all people and creatures.”
— Barry Swan, Madrikh (Ceremonial Leader), The Seder, Beth Haskalah, Rochester, NY

Roasted Egg (Baytzah)
“Baytzah, the egg, is a universal symbol of birth, whole- ness, and potentiality, as folk customs to this day amply attest. Curiously though, the egg on the seder plate always appears roasted. This is taken by some scholars to sym- bolize the other Temple sacrifices at Passover. Much more interesting, however, is the lesser known symbolic of the egg with mourning, which helps to account for the ritual, in some communities, of eating eggs directly following a burial ceremony.... This fascinating connection is almost certainly the origin of serving hard-boiled egg in salt water prior to the rest of the festive meal.”
— Oraynu Congregation, Roots and Branches, Toronto, Ontario

Seeds (Z’raeem)
[Some substitute seeds for the egg at vegan/vegetarian Seders.]
“Baytsa is the seed of life. Each of us begins as a seed and grows into womanhood or manhood. The seed is our potential. It is the power of our evolutionary past and the gift of our human inheritance. But the seed is fragile.... Growing life needs warmth and love, and security. It needs guidance, hope, and vision. Birth is only the beginning. Human life needs the gentle care of others. Life needs the encouragement of family and friends, and community.”
— Barry Swan, Madrikh (Ceremonial Leader), The Seder, Beth Haskalah, Rochester, NY

Bitter Herbs (Maror)
“Maror is the bitterness of the bitter herb. Tradition says that this root is the reminder of the suffering of slavery. We force ourselves to taste pain so that we more readily value pleasure. Scholars inform us that our ancestors ate bitter herbs at the time of the spring festival. The sharpness of the taste reawakened their senses and made them feel as one with the revival of nature. Maror is the stimulus of life remind- ing us that struggle is better than boredom, that striving in the equal of serenity.”
— Rabbi Sherwin Wine, The Humanist Haggadah

Matzah
“Matzah is the bread of our freedom. Legend has it that when our ancestor fled Egypt they moved so quickly that the bread they baked did not have time to rise. Scholars tell us that in ancient Israel flat bread was baked from the unfermented grain of the spring harvest to celebrate the newness of the reborn earth. Matzah is the bread of dignity, preferring liberty to luxury, avoiding pretense. It is the bread of life, rejecting the cold slavery of winter, affirming the warm vitality of spring.”
— Rabbi Sherwin Wine, The Humanist Haggadah

Haroset
“Haroset is a mixture of apples, nuts, cinnamon and wine. Tradition tells us it is a reminder of the bricks and mortar our ancestors made as slaves in Egypt. The sweetness summons us never to forget the sweet taste of freedom. As we call to mind the sweetness in the shadow of bitterness, and pleasure in the shadow of pain, may we become more aware of the experience of opposites during our lifetime. Let us appreciate that life is full only when we experience the full range of human emotion, including its opposite polarities.”
— Rabbi Miriam Jerris, Passover Haggadah, Unpublished

Karpas
“Passover heralds the arrival of spring. Ancient Israelites perceived a natural connection between the rebirth of the land and the rebirth of their people. Our seder acknowledg- es this link with the karpas, a green vegetable... We dip the karpas in salt water, representing the tears that the Israel- ites shed as slaves in Egypt. In this way we combine a token of spring with the Exodus narrative.”
— Rabbi Jeffrey L. Falick, A Humanistic Seder

Orange (Tapooz)
“The orange is on the seder plate to remind us that the Seder is always growing and new symbols can be included in our celebration with evolving messages of their own. And to remind us that all people have a legitimate place in Jewish life, no less than an orange on a seder plate, regardless of gender or sexual identity.”
— Rabbi Peter Schweitzer, The Liberated Haggadah

The wine of Passover is the wine of joy, the wine of love, the wine of celebration, the wine of freedom:

Freedom from bondage and freedom from oppression,

Freedom from hunger and freedom from want,

Freedom from hatred and freedom from fear,

Freedom to think and freedom to speak,

Freedom to teach and freedom to learn,

Freedom to love and freedom to share,

Freedom to hope and freedom to rejoice,

Soon, now, in our days, and forever.

Precious is the life within the world.

Precious in the life within us.

Praised are those who bring forth the fruit of the vine

L’chaim!

Choose from among the spring vegetables on the Seder table and dip one in salt water.

The spring vegetable reminds us to pay attention to this season, the time in the northern hemisphere when we again see flowers blooming and hear birds chirping.  The salt water in which we dip the vegetable recalls the salty tears our ancestors shed when they were enslaved as well the tears of those today who are oppressed or enslaved.  The blessing we recite heightens our awareness and gratitude for this moment, when we are free to celebrate together.

בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה עוֹלָמֵנוּ, יָחִיד וּמְיוּחָד

.בּוֹרֵא פְּרִי הָאַדָמָה

Ba-rookh a-ta o-la-may-noo, ya-cheed u-m'yoo-chad, bo-ray p'ree ha-a-da-ma.

Blessed are you, unique world of ours, for producing the fruit of the earth. 

Some households serve a salad of seasonal vegetables at this point, to take the edge off people's hunger and thus to allow greater ease for telling and discussing the Passover story.

Leader: We have drunk the wine and tasted the special foods of the Passover celebration. They symbolize our attachment to the traditions of our culture, to freedom, and to life. To remind us of these values as we go back out into the world, at the end of our festival meal, we shall return to have a final taste of matzah - our symbol of suffering and liberation, of renewal in nature and humanity.

I am breaking this matzah into two pieces. One half I will return to the table.

[Leader breaks a matzah, sets down half, and holds up half as the afikoman.]

The other half I will wrap in a napkin and save until the end of the meal. This piece is called the 'Afikoman'

Without it the seder cannot end, so I must make sure that it does not get lost. Of course, I am very forgetful, so I may need help finding it if I do misplace it. In fact, I manage to lose it every year - it ends up seemingly "hidden" (tsaphun). So just figure that I'll be asking all you younger folks to help me find it pretty soon.

Mah nishtanah ha-lailah ha-zeh mi-kol ha-leilot? mi-kol ha-leilot? 
Why is this night different from all other nights?

She-b-khol ha-leilot `anu `okhlin hamets u-matsah, hamets u-matsah, ha-lailah ha-zeh ha-lailah ha-zeh kulo matsah? 
On all other nights we eat either bread or matsah. Why, on this night, do we eat only matsah?

She-b-khol ha-leilot `anu `okhlin sh'`ar y'raqot, sh'`ar y'raqot, ha-lailah ha-zeh, ha-lailah ha-zeh maror, maror? 
On all other nights we eat herbs of any kind. Why, on this night, do we eat only bitter herbs?

She-b-khol ha-leilot `ein `anu matbilin `aphilu pa'am `ehat, `aphilu pa'am `ehat, ha-lailah ha-zeh ha-lailah ha-zeh sh'tei ph'amim? 
On all other nights, we do not dip our herbs even once. Why, on this night, do we dip them twice?

She-b-khol ha-leilot `anu `okhlin bein yoshvin u-vein m'subin, bein yoshvin u-vein m'subin, ha-lailah ha-zeh, ha-lailah ha-zeh kulanu m'subin? 
On all other nights, we eat either sitting or leaning. Why, on this night, do we eat while leaning?

Leader:
As we continue our seder, we will answer these four questions about what makes this night different from all other nights. 

What is freedom to you?

What makes you feel free?

What questions do you have about Passover?

Who is your freedom hero?

It saddens us that any struggle for freedom involves suffering. Generally, we drink wine to rejoice. Therefore, for each plague we take out a drop of wine from our cup. This way we do not rejoice over the suffering of others. The plagues that, we are told, afflicted the Egyptians were:

 (Take a drop of wine out of your cup for each plague)

 ALL:

1- blood 

2- frogs 

3- vermin 

4-beasts 

5- boils  

6- cattle disease 

7- locusts 

8- hail 

9- darkness

10- slaying of first born

Our world today is still greatly troubled. For these plagues, let us repeat the same ceremony.

(Take a drop of wine out of your cup for each plague)

ALL:

1- war 

2- illiteracy 

3- hunger 

4- crime

5- bigotry 

6- injustice 

7- inequality  

8- tyranny 

9- poverty 

10- ignorance 

Many people perished during the plagues and the suffering was great. Pharaoh remained obstinate. However, with the tenth plague, the death of the first born, a great cry went up throughout Egypt. On that night, the Hebrews marked their door posts with the blood of the paschal lamb so the Angel of Death would 'pass over' their homes. Thus, the name Passover for this holiday. Pharaoh finally ordered Moses to take the Jewish people out of Egypt.

After the slaves hurriedly left, the Pharaoh had a change of heart and the Egyptian army pursued them. Legend has it that when Moses and his people came to the Red Sea, the waters parted to allow them to cross. The Egyptians followed and were engulfed when the waters returned. Thus, the Exodus from Egypt was complete.

Whether the waters actually parted overlooks the inner meaning of this event; when the Hebrews reached the edge of the desert and found the courage to continue, the Sea of Obstacles parted and they walked toward freedom.

(raise second cup of wine)

The fate of every Jew is bound up with the fate of the Jewish people and the destiny of the Jewish people cannot be separated from the destiny of all humanity. Let us drink this cup of wine to symbolize our pledge to break the bonds of slavery for all who are not free.

L'CHAIM!
(Drink the second cup of wine)

At this point in our festivity, let us reflect upon the significance of Passover. Passover celebrates freedom. Can we be free while others are not?   If there are people anywhere who are oppressed, then we cannot celebrate Passover with a clear conscience.

"Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. 
Injustice to any people is a threat to justice to ALL people.
I will not remain silent in the face of injustice."
— Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

At the seder we say/sing that:

If we had been brought out of Egypt, Dayenu

If we had received Torah, Dayenu

If we had received Manna, Dayenu

Etc.

Dayenu means “it would have been enough.” The idea is to be grateful for what one has; to count our blessings. Think of dayenu as a template for gratitude. 

But think, too, about how actually it is to enough to be satisfied when there is still suffering and oppression. Some say “lo dayenu,” meaning, “it is not enough.” 

When we are free and others are not, lo dayenu

We work to find the balance between being grateful for what is right with our lives and with the world, and also striving for more that fulfills us and more that increases justice in the world. 

From Marti Keller:

DAH YAY NU “ It would have been enough.”

Everyone Join in Song ( we will just sing the Chorus)

EE-LOO HO-TSI AH-NOO

HO-TSI AH-NOO MEE-MITS-RAY-YEEM

HO-TSI AH-NOO MEE MITS-RA-YEEM

DAH YAY-NOO.

DAH-DAH YAY-NOO, DAH DAH YAY-NOO

DAH DAH YAY-NOO, DAH=YAY NOO DAH YAY NOO

Dayenu- the recognition of and giving of blessings of life, no matter what trials. No matter what we have been given to work with.

It is after the telling of the parting of the Sea of Reeds and the Egyptian army has been turned back, after Miriam, Moses' sister, dances as she crosses over the shallow river bed that the Dayenu is sung. We are told that the Dayenu is a blessing is for all that led to the deliverance of the Jewish people. The traditional Dayenu has 15 verses, shaped and modified over the centuries:15 different thanks and praises.

Dayenu. Dayenu. Dayenu.

One rabbi has said that it is a Zen Koan in the midst of a bible story. Even before we are freed, we are given enough, we are given what we need. In the story of the Exodus, even before we are given the tablets of laws, we are given enough, we are given what we need. Even before we cross into the Promised Land, even if we never reach it, we are given what we need.

The story of the Exodus, the Passover myth, the Dayenu blessings, remind us of the difference between freedom—being released from captivity or slavery from being physically bound or imprisoned—and true liberation from all the emotional and social oppressions that keep us captive. The kind of liberation that finally frees us from just surviving, the most superficial safety, and allows for the kind of salvation and redemption that in freeing us, frees the whole world…

As one Passover Hagadaah urges us- we can sing Dah Yay Nu to celebrate each step we take toward liberation as if it were enough and then start on the next step. We can say today, though, these gifts are not enough unless we apply these lessons to our daily lives. The freedom struggle continues and there are many wrongs we must right before we are fully satisfied. *

Full liberation for all.

Passover Haggadah Congregation Kol Chaim 1999

.. CHORUS: 
.. Dai, da-ye-nu, 
.. Dai, da-ye-nu, 
.. Dai, da-ye-nu, 
.. Da-ye-nu, da-ye-nu, da-ye-nu! 
.. 

Had we been delivered from 2020?

DAYENU

Had Trump lost the election?

DAYENU

Had a vaccine been created?

DAYENU

Had our community supported each other through the Ice Storm?

DAYENU

Had we the opportunity for this Seder amongst friends?

DAYENU

.. CHORUS: 
.. Dai, da-ye-nu, 
.. Dai, da-ye-nu, 
.. Dai, da-ye-nu, 
.. Da-ye-nu, da-ye-nu, da-ye-nu! 

[Matsah held up for all to see.]

MATSAH - Why do we eat matsah?
Matsah is the symbol of our affliction and our freedom. Legend has it that when Moses and his followers fled Egypt, they moved so quickly that the bread they baked did not have time to rise.

However, scholars have noted that long before the Jews celebrated Passover, Middle Eastern farmers celebrated a spring festival of unleavened bread. This was a festival where unleavened bread was made from the fresh barley grain newly harvested at this time of the year.

The old fermented dough was thrown out so that last year's grain would not be mixed with this year's. Therefore, the new season began with the eating of unleavened bread - matsah. Later on, the Jewish people incorporated this agricultural festival into the celebration of freedom and renewal we now call Passover.

Leader:
Let us now say a blessing for the matsah.

A BLESSING FOR THE UNLEAVENED BREAD
NOTSI` MATSAH- LET US BRING FORTH MATSAH

Leader:

Notsi`matsah-lehem min ha-`arets
- k'dei she-nistapeq v'-nit-kalkelkula-nu.

Everyone:

Let us bring forth matsah - food from the land -
so we all may be satisfied and sustained.

Leader:
Let us all now eat a piece of matsah.

[Maror held up for all to see.]

MAROR--Why do we eat maror?
Tradition says that this bitter herb is to remind us of the time of our slavery. We force ourselves to taste pain so that we may more readily value pleasure.

Scholars inform us that bitter herbs were eaten at spring festivals in ancient times. The sharpness of the taste awakened the senses and made the people feel at one with nature's revival. Thus, maror is the stimulus of life, reminding us that struggle is better than the complacent acceptance of injustice.

Leader:
As a blessing for the maror, let us all sing this song about striving to be fully human.
Then we will all take a taste of horseradish on a piece of matsah.  

LIH'YOT `ISH - TO BE FULLY HUMAN  (Mishnah, Pirqei `Avot 2.6)

Ba-maqomshe-`ein`anashim, hishtaddel lih'yot `ish.
Where people are less than human, strive to be fully human. 

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.  

You will not find an orange included in any ancient Haggadah. It is a brand new tradition and it demonstrates just how quickly new traditions can spread. 

Its origins lie in a fable that some university students invented for a feminist Haggadah in the 1980s. It tells the story of a girl who asks a rabbi about the placein Judaism for a lesbian. The angri rabbi retorts, "There's as much room for a lesbian in Judaism as there is for a crust of bread on the Seder plate."

When a prominent professor of Jewish studies came across the students' Haggadah, it gave her an idea for a new ritual. Placing bread on her Seder plate was out of the question. This, she believed, who suggest that people who were different violated Judaism. But maybe another symbol might do the trick. She selected the orange, noting that "it suggests the fruitfulness for all Jews when lesbians and gay men are contributing and active members of Jewish life."

Today thousands of Jews around the world place an orange on their Seder plate. It serves as a proud statement of inclusivity. 

Let us drink the third cup of wine to the heroism of the Jewish fighters who fought in the ghettos, the forests, on the war fronts together with the righteous gentiles and all of decent humanity to stop the curse of fascism from engulfing the earth. Let us be true to their memory by being ever vigilant to the cause of peace and freedom in our land and throughout the world.

L'CHAIM!

In the sacred memory of the twelve million people who died in the holocaust we light this candle. And we light it also for the future…our future in a world of peace, justice and freedom.

(Light Candle)

On the Seder night, we open the door for Elijah the Prophet, and we place a cup of wine on the table especially for him.

Our hopes have long been centered around Elijah since legends suggest that he will herald the time of complete human freedom. But he will come only when people have prepared the way for him. This simply means that we, the all, are Elijah. We must liberate ourselves from prejudice and injustice. We must truly listen to each other for better iunderstanding. We need to remember our goal of creating a world where all people will be free, just as we were liberated from slavery in ancient Egypt.

Song: Eliyahu Ha'Navi

E-lee-ah-hu hah-nah-vee     
E-lee-ah-hu hah-tish-bee    
E-lee-ah-hu A-lee-ah-hu    
E-lee-ah-hu ha-gil-a-dee    

Bim-hay-rah B'yah-may-nu
Yah-voh a-lay-nu
Eem mah-she-ach ben-David
Eem-mah-she-ach ben-David

E-lee-ah-hu hah-nah-vee
E-lee-ah-hu hah-tish-bee
E-lee-ah-hu A-lee-ah-hu
E-lee-ah-hu ha-gil-a-dee

Translation: Elijah the Prophet, Elijah the Tishbite, Elijah the Gileadite, Come to us quickly and in our day.

FOURTH CUP OF WINE

(The Cup of Responsibility, The Liberated Haggadah, Rabbi Peter Schweitzer)

Tonight we are free, while so many remain enslaved.

Let us not stand idly by.

Let us work to bring them freedom too.

Tonight we are free, while so many remain embittered.

Let us not stand idly by.

Let us work to bring them gladness too.

For freedom does not come by chance.

It is born of earnest struggle.

It is the gift of life, which we must now bring to others.

Precious is the life within the world.

Precious in the life within us.

Praised are those who bring forth the fruit of the vine

L’chaim!

We pledge to rise up in Revolutionary Love.

We declare our love for all who are in harm’s way, including refugees, immigrants, Muslims, Sikhs, Jews, LGBTQIA people, Black people, Latinx, the indigenous, the disabled, and the poor. We stand with millions of people around the globe rising up to end violence against women and girls (cis, transgender and gender non-conforming) who are often the most vulnerable within marginalized communities. We vow to see one another as brothers and sisters and fight for a world where every person can flourish.

We declare love even for our opponents. We vow to oppose all executive orders and policies that threaten the rights and dignity of any person. We call upon our elected officials to join us, and we are prepared to engage in moral resistance throughout this administration. We will fight not with violence or vitriol, but by challenging the cultures and institutions that promote hate. In so doing, we will challenge our opponents through the ethic of love.

We declare love for ourselves. We will practice the dignity and care in our homes that we want for all of us. We will protect our capacity for joy. We will nurture our bodies and spirits; we will rise and dance. We will honor our mothers and ancestors whose bodies, breath, and blood call us to a life of courage. In their name, we choose to see this darkness not as the darkness of the tomb - but of the womb. We will breathe and push through the pain of this era to birth a new future.