Why On This Night? by Rahel Musleah

Welcome to our Passover Seder! "Seder" means order. The creators of the Seder created an experience in which the order of presentation enriches the telling of the Passover story. Our Seder communicates the insistent message of freedom, the birthright of every human being. In our world where millions are subjected to daily violations of their most basic human rights, this holiday urges us to make freedom a reality for all people everywhere.      

Our Seder will incorporate blessings, stories, and interpretations from different perspectives and our Haggadah title, "(Mostly) Humanistic Seder" reflects this approach. A Humanistic, secular Passover relates a non-theistic story. Humanistic Jews celebrate the actions people take to improve their own lives. A cultural Passover recognizes gender equality and the value of inclusiveness so that both girls and boys, men and women, feel connected to their history.

Traditional blessings, story elements, and interpretations are included alongside Humanistic ones because 1) they may represent the beliefs of some here tonight, 2) they are familiar and can connect us to customs from our past, and 3) even if we don't understand and/or believe them, some traditional elements, especially the blessings, are beautiful.

Finally, while "freedom" is the central them of the Seder, we explore this idea and related topics through the act of asking questions. The poet Judith Hershfield has said that asking questions and exploring explanations helps us move forward, and "...moving forward is our inevitable, profoundly lucky, human fate." Let us all exercise our freedom tonight by asking questions.

בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יי אֱלֹהֵינוּ מֶלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם, אֲשֶׁר קִדְּשָנוּ בְּמִצְוֹתָיו וְצִוָּנוּ לְהַדלִיק נֵר שֶׁל יוֹם טוֹב.

Baruch Atah Adonai, Eloheynu Melech Ha’Olam Asher Kidishanu B’Mitzvotav V’Tzivanu L’Hadlik Ner Shel Yom Tov.

Blessed are you, Lord our God, Rule of the universe, who sanctifies us with commandments and commands us to light the festival lights

We begin by bringing light into our hearts and our lives with a blessing over candles...

Baruch ha-or ba-olam.

Baruch ha-or ba-adam.

Baruch ha-or ba-yom tov.

Blessed is the light in the world. Blessed is the light in humanity. Blessed is the light of this holiday.

Kadesh

קַדֵשׁ

בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יי אֱלֹהֵינוּ מֶלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם בּוֹרֵא פְּרִי הַגָפֶן.

Baruch atah Adonai, Eloheinu melech ha’olam, borei p'ri hagafen.

Praised are you, Adonai, Lord our God, Ruler of the universe, who has created the fruit of the vine.

Say this Shehechiyanu blessing the first Seder night only:

בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יי אֱלֹהֵינוּ מֶלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם, שֶׁהֶחֱיָנוּ וְקִיְּמָנוּ וְהִגִּיעָנוּ לַזְּמַן הַזֶה

Baruch atah Adonai, Eloheinu melech ha-olam, she’hecheyanu v'ki'manu v'higi-anu laz'man hazeh.

Praised are you, Adonai, Lord our God, Ruler of the universe, who has sustained us, maintained us and enabled us to reach this moment in life.

Tradition tells us that the four cups of wine represent the four promises of freedom God gave to Moses in Exodus 6:6-7. The four promises were that God would bring the Jews out of Egypt, deliver them from slavery, redeem them with an outstretched arm, and make them a nation.

We can also think of the four cups as representing four types of freedom. The first cup represents physical freedom, the most basic freedom of all. Our ancestors could not accept the covenant of Torah while they were in Egypt because, as slaves, they lacked the freedom to determine the course of their own lives.

The second cup of wine can symbolize intellectual freedom – freedom of the mind.

The third cup of wine symbolizes spiritual freedom.

The fourth cup of wine reminds us that redemption is not yet complete. Not everyone in our world is yet free.

Humanistic blessing

B’ruch-eem ha-hy-eem ba’olam. – Precious is the life within the world.

B’ruch-eem ha-hy-eem ba-ah-dahm. – Precious is the life within us.

B’ruch-eem ha-yotz-reem p’ree ha-gafen. – Praised are those who bring forth the fruit of the vine.

L’chaim! -- To life!

According to ancient custom, we wash our hands, but no blessing is recited. Washing our hands is a way of showing that we hope to purify our hearts, and not just our hands. It is also a way of feeling clean and ready to take part in our Seder.

Passover coincides with the arrival of spring.  Ancient Israelites perceived a natural connection between the rebirth of the land and the rebirth of their people.  Our Seder acknowledges this link with Karpas, a green vegetable.  It is the FIRST symbolic food that we taste at our Seder.

We dip the Karpas in salt water, representing the tears that the Israelities shed as slaves in Egypt.  In this way we combine a symbol of spring with the Exodus story.

We now eat our Karpas, a green vegetable such as parsley, together with salt water.  

B'ruchah adamah b'firyah

uv'tuvah.  B'rucha adamah 

b'chol od tifarah.

The earth is blessed in its fruitfulness and goodness.  The earth is blessed in all of its glory.

בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יי אֱלֹהֵינוּ מֶלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם, בּוֹרֵא פְּרִי הָאֲדָמָה

Baruch Atah Adonai, Eloheinu melech ha’olam, borei p’ri ha’adamah.

Blessed are You, Lord, our God, Ruler of the universe, who creates the fruit of the earth.

Breaking the matzah is one of many ritual acts that turn the food of the seder into a symbol of meaning. We count off the matzot from the top to the bottom: 1, 2, 3. The top matzah is for the usual blessing over bread (motzi), but tonight we will say it over matazh. The bottom matzah is for the Hillel sandwich (korech) made with matzah, maror, and charoset. The middle matzah will be broken and half will be hidden as the afikomen for the children to find after the Seder is completed.

Another way to think about this middle matzah is in terms of slavery One half represents our affliction when we were slaves. The other half represents our liberation. We hide one half to symbolize the many people who are still in bondage, though perhaps unseen by the rest of the world.

In the words of Elie Weisel as spoken in his Nobel Prize speech on December, 11, 1986:

"What ...victims need above all is to know that they are not alone; that when their voices are stifled, we shall lend them ours, that while their freedom depends on ours, the quality of our freedom depends on theirs." (Roots and Branches, Horowitz, Olshen, & Wright)

Reflection: In your opinion, what does it mean to "lend our voices" to others?

Passover did not begin as a celebration of freedom. It began, at least in part, as a harvest festival called the Feast of the Matzahs, the unleavened bread.

Over time, the holiday became associated with the story of redemption from slavery. This uncomplicated bread of wheat and water took on fresh meaning as a worthwhile icon of the Israelites' emancipation from Egypt. A story ciruculated about how, in their rush to go forth from bondage, they had little time to spare. So, they quickly prepared this plain bread to sustain them on their journey.

The rabbis who created the Seder added yet another layer of meaning to the matzah. They recognized in its simplicity a bread of poverty. we will now remind ourselves of the symbolism of the ceremonial 3 matzahs.

Imagine yourself living 2,000 years ago. The Jews occupy a world dominated by Greco-Roman culture. One of the most interesting customs of their time is called the symposium.

Over wine and food, free people would gather to engage in storytelling, debates or intellectual discourse in the context of a dinner party. For hours at a time, they would recline on couches, sometimes singing, sometimes engaging in games or other entertainment.

Many believe that these symposia inspired our Seder. From the wine to the songs to the stories to the custom of reclining, we find parallels with these extravagant Greco-Roman affairs.

Like their symposia, ours features all kinds of stories and songs. One of the most famous of these is the story of...

The Fifth Question(s):

• Why on this night are millions of people still going hungry? Because on this night, like every other night, millions of people living in poverty have no other choice. (Mazon)

• Why is this night no different from other nights? Because on this night millions of human beings worldwide are enslaved, just as they are on all other nights. (Netivot Shalom, Berkeley, CA)

• An oldie but a goodie from Mort Ehrlich:  Is Passover the most important Jewish holiday?

• Another Mort Ehrlich question:  What is the meaning of “redemption”?

• What are your favorite Passover foods?  Memories?  Messages?

• Why on this night are millions of people going hungry?

• Should local charities feed hungry people of does government have a role?

• What is the Jewish perspective on helping the hungry?  Freeing the slaves?

• What can we do to help end slavery in our lifetime?

The ancient rabbis loved to play word games with the text of the Torah. Through a careful examination of its phrasing, they uncovered four different instances where they imagined parents exploring the Exodus story to their children. The differences among these four verses seemed to suggest four different types of children gathered for the Seder: one Wise, one Wicked, one Simple and one Who Is Too Young To Even Ask...

What does the Wise Child ask? "What are all of these rules and laws and customs that we follow tonight?"

The tradition teaches us to answer in great detail, including all of the laws of the holiday. Modern people know that there must be more to our answers than that. When we encounter children who are hungry for knowledge, it is not sufficient to spoon-feed them all that we know. We must also encourage them to think critically and independently. That is what places them on the path to real wisdom.

What does the Wicked Child ask? "What does all of this mean to you?"

The tradition denounced this question because its phrasing suggested that this child did not want to be part of the Seder [what does this mean to you ?] We need not see it that way. Children who challenge us are not wicked. Skepticism is healthy and should be encouraged. For that reason we reject the traditional characterization of this child as wicked.

What does the Simple Child ask? "What is this?"

We all begin the process of learning as the Simple Child. We are open-minded and endlessly curious about the world. Everything is new and we want to understand as much as we can. We embrace the yearning for knowledge in our children, explaining what we can and equipping them with the means to find answers for themselves.

And what shall we say to the Child Who Is Too Young To Even Ask?

For these, our youngest and most dependent, the tradition suggest that we begin a the very beginning. In fact, that's a good suggestion for us all, and it brings us to the heart of why we are gathered tonight...the legend of how the Israelites went free from bondage.

"Some say there is also a fifth child who no longer sits at the table.

This child has fallen away by attrition and disaffection. This child has been turned away by rejection and disapproval. She is feeling sad and lonely. He is feeling angry and bitter.

Say to this child: There is always a seat at this table. Please come back to us, we cherish you forever."