The seder officially begins with the 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 Pesach.

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

As these candles brighten our Passover table, may 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. We use a piece of bitter chocolate to represent the bitterness of slavery, not only for the enslaved Jewish people of the past but for those that find themselves in forced labor today. This is, of course, fair trade chocolate.

Charoses  – 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)

Beitzah – The egg symbolizes a different holiday offering that was brought to the temple. Since eggs are the first item offered to a mourner after a funeral, some say it also evokes a sense of mourning for the destruction of the temple.

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 removing all bread and bread products from our home 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.

All Jewish celebrations, from holidays to weddings, include wine as a symbol of our joy – not to mention a practical way to increase that joy. The seder starts with wine and then gives us three more opportunities to refill our cup and drink.

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

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

Baruch Atah Adonai, Eloheinu Melech ha-olam, she-hechiyanu v’key’manu v’higiyanu lazman hazeh.

We praise God, Ruler of Everything, who has kept us alive, raised us up, and brought us to this happy moment.

Drink the first glass of wine!

As we pass around the warm towelettes, let us recite:

Let our telling pour forth like water: strengthening spirits, refreshing souls.

Salt Water

We dip Karpas into salt water to represent the tears cried by the Jewish people while enslaved under Egyptian rule. While we remember the bitter tears of our ancestors, we also dip Karpas to help us remember the sweetness of life. The universe works in cycles and the spring will always come back around, providing us with new life. Salt is unique in that it is bitter on its own, yet enhances and brings out the taste of that which it is added to. For this reason, salt is the staple of suffering. There are two perspectives of suffering – Purposeless Suffering and Purposeful Suffering.

Purposeless Suffering is suffering without reason, value, or an end-goal, and is therefore completely bitter. It is based on a keyhole view of life: “What is right in front of my eyes is all there is and there is no grander scheme.” We squint in order to focus on something in the distance. The Kabbalists explain that for this reason, the reaction of a person in pain is to close his or her eyes, since physical eyes don't see the spiritual purpose. Just as a person squints, which is a partial closing of one's eyes in order to focus on something in the physical distance, one may close one's eyes completely in order to focus on something in the "spiritual distance.”

Purposeful Suffering is transformed by understanding misfortune in the greater context. At the Seder, we dip the Karpas into saltwater in order to embody the concept of Purposeful Suffering – that we view any suffering in life as a surgery for our ultimate betterment rather than meaningless torture. We grow the most when faced with a challenge.

Dip the parsley into the salt water.

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.

These days, matzah is a special food and we look forward to eating it on Passover. Imagine eating only matzah, or being one of the countless people around the world who don’t have enough to eat.

What does the symbol of matzah say to us about oppression in the world, both people literally enslaved and the many ways in which each of us is held down by forces beyond our control? How does this resonate with events happening now?

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 formal telling of the story of Passover is framed as a discussion with lots of questions and answers. Asking questions is a core tradition in Jewish life. Traditionally, the youngest at the table asks the Four Questions. These questions can be answered in terms of slavery and freedom, and so these roles may be split between two other people.

Question: Why is tonight different from all other nights?

On all other nights we need not dip even once, and on this night we do so twice!

Slavery: The salt water into which we dip the karpas represents the tears we cried while in Egypt. Similarly, the charoses into which the bitter herbs are dipped reminds us of the cement we used to create the bricks in Egypt.

Freedom: Dipping food is considered a luxury; a sign of freedom — as opposed to the poor (and enslaved) who eat "dry" and un-dipped foods.

Question: On all other nights we eat chametz or matzah, and on this night only matzah!

Slavery: Matzah was the bread of slaves and the poor. It was cheap to produce and easy to make.

Freedom: Matzah also commemorates the fact that the bread did not have enough time to rise when the Jews hastily left Egypt. It was this expeditious escape that allowed us to be free today.

Question: On all nights we eat any kind of vegetables, and on this night we eat maror!

Slavery: The maror (bitter herbs) reminds us of the bitterness of slavery in Egypt.

Question: On all nights we eat sitting upright or reclining, and on this night we all recline!

Freedom: To recline at mealtime was the sign of a free and financially stable person. We commemorate our freedom by reclining.

The wise child asks: How can I learn more about our people?  To that child you shall direct our wealth of literature so that they may seek out this knowledge for themself.

The simple child asks: What is this all about?  To that child you shall say simply , because we had faith we were redeemed from slavery.

The wicked child asks: What good is this to you?  To that child you shall say, do not exclude yourself by saying "to you" but say instead "to us", for only together can we succeed.

The innocent child does not know how to ask.  For this child you shall tell them that we were taken out of Egypt so that we could be free.

Say to all of the children, that you may know who you are, get wisdom, get understanding and it shall preserve you, love it and it shall keep you.

Wise Daughter

The wise daughter understands that not everything is as it appears. She is the one who speaks up, confident that her opinion counts. She is the one who can take the tradition and ritual that is placed before her, turn it over and over, and find personal meaning in it. She is the one who can find the secrets in the empty spaces between the letters of the Torah. She is the one who claims a place for herself even if the men do not make room for her. Some call her wise and accepting. We call her creative and assertive. We welcome creativity and assertiveness to sit with us at our tables and inspire us to act.

Wicked Daughter

The wicked daughter is the one who dares to challenge the simplistic answers she has been given. She is the one who asks too many questions. She is the one not content to remain in her prescribed place. She is the one who breaks the mold. She is the one who challenges the status quo. Some call her wicked and rebellious. We call her daring and courageous. We welcome rebellion to sit with us at our tables and make us uneasy.

Simple Daughter

The simple daughter is the one who accepts what she is given without asking for more. She is the one who trusts easily and believes what she is told. She is the one who prefers waiting and watching over seeking and acting. She is the one who believes that the redemption from Egypt was the final act of freedom. She is the one who follows in the footsteps of others. Some call her simple and naive. We call her the one whose eyes are yet to be opened. We welcome the contented one to sit with us at our tables and appreciate what will is still to come.

Daughter Who Does Not Know How to Ask

Last is the daughter who does not know how to ask. She is one who obeys and does not question. She is the one who has accepted men’s definitions of the world. She is the one who has not found her own voice. She is the one who is content to be invisible. Some call her subservient and oppressed. We call her our sister. We welcome the silent one to sit with us at our tables and experience a community that welcomes the voices of women.

It is at this point in the story that God brought down upon the wicked Pharoah and his subjects a series of ten plagues, each one more devastating than the last.

A full cup of wine symbolizes complete happiness. The triumph of Passover is diminished by the sacrifice of many human lives when ten plagues were visited upon the people of Egypt. In the story, the plagues that befell the Egyptians resulted from the decisions of tyrants, but the greatest suffering occurred among those who had no choice but to follow.

It is fitting that we mourn their loss of life, and express our sorrow over their suffering. For as Jews and as Humanists we cannot take joy in the suffering of others. Therefore, let us diminish the wine in our cups as we recall the ten plagues that befell the Egyptian people.

BLOOD

FROGS

LICE

FLIES

PESTILENCE

BOILS

HAIL

LOCUSTS

DARKNESS

SLAYING OF THE FIRST BORN

In every generation, everyone is obligated to see themselves as though they personally left Egypt. The seder reminds us that it was not only our ancestors whom God redeemed; God redeemed us too along with them. That’s why the Torah says “God brought us out from there in order to lead us to and give us the land promised to our ancestors.”

We praise God, Ruler of Everything, who redeemed us and our ancestors from Egypt, enabling us to reach this night and eat matzah and bitter herbs. May we continue to reach future holidays in peace and happiness.

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 second glass of wine!

We have now told the story of Passover…but wait! We’re not quite done. There are still some symbols on our seder plate we haven’t talked about yet. Rabban Gamliel would say that whoever didn’t explain the shank bone, matzah, and marror (or bitter herbs) hasn’t done Passover justice.

The shank bone represents the Pesach, the special lamb sacrifice made in the days of the Temple for the Passover holiday. It is called the pesach, from the Hebrew word meaning “to pass over,” because God passed over the houses of our ancestors in Egypt when visiting plagues upon our oppressors.

The matzah reminds us that when our ancestors were finally free to leave Egypt, there was no time to pack or prepare. Our ancestors grabbed whatever dough was made and set out on their journey, letting their dough bake into matzah as they fled.

The bitter herbs provide a visceral reminder of the bitterness of slavery, the life of hard labor our ancestors experienced in Egypt.

What is a Miriam’s Cup?

A Miriam’s Cup is a new ritual object that is placed on the seder table beside the Cup of Elijah. Miriam’s Cup is filled with water. It serves as a symbol of Miriam’s Well, which was the source of water for the Israelites in the desert. Putting a Miriam’s Cup on your table is a way of making your seder more inclusive.

It is also a way of drawing attention to the importance of Miriam and the other women of the Exodus story, women who have sometimes been overlooked but about whom our tradition says, "If it wasn’t for the righteousness of women of that generation we would not have been redeemed from Egypt" (Babylonian Talmud, Sotah 9b).

There are many legends about Miriam’s well. It is said to have been a magical source of water that followed the Israelites for 40 years because of the merit of Miriam. The waters of this well were said to be healing and sustaining. Thus Miriam’s Cup is a symbol of all that sustains us through our own journeys, while Elijah’s Cup is a symbol of a future Messianic time.

This is the Cup of Miriam, the cup of living waters. Let us remember the Exodus from Egypt. These are the living waters, God’s gift to Miriam, which gave new life to Israel as we struggled with ourselves in the wilderness. Blessed are You God, Who brings us from the narrows into the wilderness, sustains us with endless possibilities, and enables us to reach a new place."

Miriam's cup should be passed around the table allowing each participant to pour a little water form their glass into Miriam's cup.  This symbolizes the support of notable Jewish women throughout our history which are often not spoken about during our times of remembrance. 

If God had only taken us out of Egypt, that would have been enough!

Dayeinu reminds us that each of our lives is the cumulative result of many blessings, small and large.

The orange is a new addition to the seder plate. As time passes, tolerance and acceptance continue to grow in our community. The orange is a symbol of welcoming to those that may feel marginalized by some members of society. There's room for more symbols on the seder plate — and room for more participants around the seder table. We as the modern Jewish people love and accept empowered women, people with disabilities, intermarried couples, and members of the LGBT Community.

Please pass this orange around the table. Each person should take a segment to eat. Together, we shall say: Thank you, God, for making Your creations varied.

(Don't forget to spit out the seeds of intolerance.)

WHY DO WE PLACE A ROASTED EGG ON THE SEDER PLATE? WHY DO SOME BEGIN THE SEDER MEAL WITH AN EGG?

The roasted egg on the seder plate reminds us of the festival offering brought by our ancestors to the ancient Temple in Jerusalem. together with the pesach (bone), the egg fulfills the Mishanaic tradition of including two cooked dishes in the Pasover meal.

The egg also reminds us of the beginning of all life and reflects our hope for renewal each spring, a hope that brings us back, year after year, to the seder table.

The Open Door, A Passover Hagaddah

Quick! Check your hands. Are they clean? Good.

The familiar hamotzi blessing marks the formal start of the meal. Because we are using matzah instead of bread, we add a blessing celebrating this mitzvah.

Hamotizi lechem min ha- aretz . We give thanks to God for bread.

Our voices join in happy chorus as our prayer is humbly said.

Baruch Atah Adonai, Eloheinu Melech ha-olam, hamotzi lechem min ha-aretz.

Thank you God, Ruler of Everything, who made us holy through obligations, commanding us to eat matzah.

Distribute and eat the top and middle matzah for everyone to eat.

However, scholars have noted that long before the Jews celebrated Passover, farmers of the Middle East celebrated Chag Ha-matsot, the festival of unleavened bread, at this time of year. This was a festival where unleavened bread was made from the new grain harvest that took place 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.

The bitter herbs serve to remind us of how the Egyptians embittered the lives of the Israelites in servitude. When we eat the bitter herbs, we share in that bitterness of oppression. We must remember that slavery still exists all across the globe. When you go to the grocery store, where does your food come from? Who picked the sugar cane for your cookie, or the coffee bean for your morning coffee? We are reminded that people still face the bitterness of oppression, in many forms.

We remember that modern slavery is a current reality by using bitter chocolate as our Maror. This fair trade chocolate reminds us of the bitter plight of those forced into labor without ourselves contributing to the system of slavery.

Together, we recite: Blessed are You, Adonai our God, Ruler of Everything, who has sanctified us with Your commandments and ordained that we should eat bitter herbs.

Eat a piece of bitter chocolate.

In creating a holiday about the joy of freedom, we turn the story of our bitter history into a sweet celebration. We recognize this by dipping our bitter chocolate into the sweet charoset. We don’t totally eradicate the taste of the bitter with the taste of the sweet… but doesn’t the sweet mean more when it’s layered over the bitterness?

שֻׁלְחָן עוֹרֵךְ

Now is time to enjoy the festival meal and participate in lively discussion. It is permitted to drink wine between the second and third cups.

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

(This has worked amazingly well at every Seder I've ever done, since it was first taught to me by Prof. Ron Wolfson.)

Preparation Before the Seder: Decide ahead of time where the Afikomen will be hidden. Choose a location outside of the search zone. (E.g. "refrigerator".) Make sure the name of the location is not too short: you want a long name like "Refrigerator" or "File Cabinet" or "Linen Closet" so that the number of letters is almost the same as the expected number of participants.) Take a deck of identical index cards, and on each one write a single letter of the location. (E.g. On one write "R" and on one write "E" and on one write "F" and keep going.) Make sure for letters like "p" and "b" that you indicate what is the top and what is the bottom so there's no confusion as to what letter it is. Keep a blank index card in your pocket. Pick a search zone. (E.g. living room, den and bathroom.) Hide each index card somewhere in the search zone. Make sure to make some kid-friendly for finding.

At the Seder: Quietly disappear at some point and hide the Afikomen in the previously decided location. Make sure it's outside the search zone and that no one will accidentally find it.

Instructions to Participants: Show the hunt participants the blank index card from your pocket, and explain that you've hidden these cards, with a letter on each, in the search zone. Make sure to tell them exactly how many there are! (So in our example, R-E-F-R-I-G-E-R-A-T-O-R, it will be 12. For a location like "File Cabinet," it's 11.) If they find a card, they are to return to you and put the card on the floor and start trying to spell out the name of the location. It's one card maximum per person, so they may not return to the search zone to find more. (This way even the youngest children can get a chance to find one.)

During the Hunt: As hunters return with cards, they all together try to spell out the name using the cards. It's a team cooperative activity. (You may have to go help, with hints, the last ones unable to find a card find the final remaining cards.) Once they spell out the name correctly (you may have to give hints, like "it's two words: the first starts with F and the second starts with C..."), they can go fetch the afikomen. At that point, be prepared to give ALL of them a prize. I have successfully used glow necklaces, chocolate covered matzah, or individually wrapped, small fair-trade KP chocolates.

Divide up the Afikomen and everyone eats a bite!

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!

Leader:
Let us all refill our cups.

Leader picks up cup for all to see.

This is the cup of hope.

The seder tradition involves pouring a cup for the Hebrew prophet Elijah. For millennia, Jews opened the door for him, inviting him join their seders, hoping that he would bring with him a messiah to save the world.

Yet the tasks of saving the world - once ascribed to prophets, messiahs and gods - must be taken up by us mere mortals, by common people with shared goals. Working together for progressive change,we can bring about the improvement of the world, tiqqun ha-olam - for justice and for peace, we can and we must.

Leader:

Let us now symbolically open the door of our seder to invite in all people of good will and all those in needto work together with us for a better world.Let us raise our fourth cup as we dedicate ourselves to tiqqun olam, the improvement of the world.

Everyone:

"L' Tiqqun Olam!"

All drink the fourth cup.

Library 

The seder ends in an outburst of longing, and it is a longing for home. No matter where we are, the chances are that we feel displaced. No strangers to estrangement, we carry a homesickness from place to place.

Somewhere on earth will feel like home. We will know it down to its homeliest details, and that knowledge will seep through and calm our restlessness, for what was that restlessness but a dream of coming home?

Next year in Jerusalem! we sing, from our places scattered around the globe, including the city of Jerusalem itself. And we will sign it year after year, no matter how history disposes of us, just so long as we are still around. Proust wrote, "There is no paradise but paradise lost." The Jerusalem with which we end the seder is the place in the Proustian dreamscape, only designated not by the ache of loss but the ache of longing.

And if Jerusalem is metaphor, so, too, is Egypt. Egypt is the here and now, using the most persuasive of means - the fact of reality itself - to make us sink into its presence and forget the boundaries we had meant to cross. The Haggadah's tale is about a family who well into something more. Voluntary strangers, they become involuntary slaves and finally head out into the unknown, driven by their longing to go home. None of them would ever reach that home, not even Moses. Next year in Jerusalem, we say, and the words send us out into the night with our desires stoked, our contentment cooled.

We are slaved without our longings.

Mah Nishtana: What's New? What significant change has occurred in your life since this time last year? Name one meaningful piece of news. ​Elijah's Cup is passed around as each guest speaks. A blessing or toast concludes the round. Avadim Hayinu: Our Slavery. Identify the problem. What enslaves you today? What's holding you back from being freer, happy, and creative? ​Use a blank note of paper - on one side write HOW AM I FREE and on the other side write HOW AM I NOT FREE Dayenu: Enough. Identify possible solutions. What can you do to help end your enslavement and reduce that which holds you back from more freedom and creativity? What will help you fight the Pharaohs within? ​This round can be about personal or societal slavery and oppressions. L'shana Ha'baa: Future Vision - Next Year. We can't end the seder till we all commit to making the world a better place, with less oppression and more freedom. What is your vision of a freer world? What do you commit to in the coming year to help reduce slavery and oppression in the world? ​This can be discussed over dessert!

Shalom aleichem, malachei hashalom,

malachei Elyon,

mimelech malchei ham'lachim,

Hakadosh Baruch Hu.

Bo-achem I'shalom, malachei hashalom,

malachei Elyon,

mimelech malchei ham'lachim,

Hakadosh Baruch Hu.

Bar'chuni I'shalom, malachei hashalom,

malachei Elyon,

mimelech malchei ham'lachim,

Hakadosh Baruch Hu.

Tzeit'chem I'shalom, malachei hashalom,

malachei Elyon,

mimelech malchei ham'lachim,

Hakadosh Baruch Hu.

Translation:

Peace be unto you, ye ministering angels,

angels of the most High ,

ye that come from the Supreme King of Kings,

the Holy One, Blessed be He.

May your coming be in peace ye ministering angels,

angels of the most High ,

ye that come from the Supreme King of Kings,

the Holy One, Blessed be He.

Bless me be Peace, ye ministering angels,

angels of the most High ,

ye that come from the Supreme King of Kings,

the Holy One, Blessed be He.

May your departure be to Peace, ye ministering angels,

angels of the most High ,

ye that come from the Supreme King of Kings,

the Holy One, Blessed be He.