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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Baruch Atah Adonai, eloheinu Melekh ha-olam, asher kid’shanu b’mitzvotav v’tsivanu lirdof tzedek
Brucha Yah Shechinah, eloheinu Malkat ha-olam, asher kid’shatnu b’mitzvotayha vitzivatnu lirdof tzedek
Blessed is the Source, who shows us paths to holiness, and commands us to pursue justice.
Calligraphy by: Ruben Shimonov
What's on the Seder table*?
3 pieces of Matzah wrapped in a cloth
Candles for Kadesh
Wine/Grape Juice
Saltwater
(In non-COVID-19 years)
The Six/Seven Parts of the Seder Plate
- ביצה Beitzah : The Roasted Egg is symbolic of the festival sacrifice made in biblical times. It is also a symbol of spring - the season in which Passover is always celebrated. For vegan/vegetarian seder plates, the egg can be substituted with a flower (a potent symbol of renewal), a decorative egg-shaped object, a wooden egg, or any such object symbolic of spring, renewal, and/or a temple offering.
- זרוֹע Zeroa: The Shankbone is symbolic of the Paschal lamb offered as the Passover sacrifice in biblical times. Some communities use a chicken neck as a substitute. Beets are a common vegan/vegetarian option- first suggested by the Rashi in the 11th century!
- חרוסת Charoset: Apple, nuts, and spices ground together and mixed with wine are symbolic of the mortar used by Hebrew slaves to build Egyptian structures. There are several variations in the recipe for charoset. The Mishna describes a mixture of fruits, nuts, and vinegar.
- כרפס Karpas: Parsley is dipped into saltwater during the seder. The saltwater serves as a reminder of the tears shed during Egyptian slavery. The dipping of a vegetable as an appetizer is said to reflect the influence of Greek culture.
- מרור Maror: Bitter Herbs (usually horseradish) symbolize the bitterness of Egyptian slavery. The maror is often dipped in charoset to reduce its sharpness. Maror is used in the seder because of the commandment (in Numbers 9:11) to eat the paschal lamb "with unleavened bread and bitter herbs"
- חזרת Chazeret: Greens are often used in addition to the maroras. The authorities are divided on the requirement of chazeret, so not all communities use it. Since the commandment (in Numbers 9:11) to eat the paschal lamb "with unleavened bread and bitter herbs" uses the plural ("bitter herbs") most seder plates have a place for chazeret (Some do not include Charetz, making the tapooz the 6th segment)
- תפוז Tapooz: Orange Dr. Susannah Heschel began this tradition as a symbol of inclusion of gays and lesbians and others who are marginalized within the Jewish community. She offered the orange as a symbol of the fruitfulness for all Jews when LGBTQ Jews are contributing and active members of Jewish life. In addition, each orange segment has a few seeds that had to be spit out — a gesture of spitting out, repudiating the homophobia, racism, sexism, and other forms of oppression.
Blessed is the Match by Hannah Szenes
Blessed is the match consumed in kindling flame.
Blessed is the flame that burns in the secret fastness of the heart.
Blessed is the heart with the strength to stop its beating for honor’s sake.
Blessed is the match consumed in kindling flame.
essed.
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.
We wash our hands, without saying the blessing. Each person washes the hand of the person next to her (pouring it over a bowl). Imagine that you are washing away all cynicism and despair, and allow yourself to be filled with the hope that the world could be really transformed in accord with our highest vision.
Take the middle matzah and break it into two, one piece larger than the other. The larger piece is set aside to serve as afikoman. The smaller piece is put back, between the two matzot.
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
Why is it only
on Passover night
we never know how
to do anything right?
We don't eat our meals
in the regular ways,
the ways that we do
on all other days.
'Cause on all other nights
we may eat
all kinds of wonderful
good bready treats,
like big purple pizza
that tastes like a pickle,
crumbly crackers
and pink pumpernickel,
sassafras sandwich
and tiger on rye,
fifty felafels in pita,
fresh-fried,
with peanut-butter
and tangerine sauce
spread onto each side
up-and-down, then across,
and toasted whole-wheat bread
with liver and ducks,
and crumpets and dumplings,
and bagels and lox,
and doughnuts with one hole
and doughnuts with four,
and cake with six layers
and windows and doors.
Yes--
on all other nights
we eat all kinds of bread,
but tonight of all nights
we munch matzo instead.
And on all other nights
we devour
vegetables, green things,
and bushes and flowers,
lettuce that's leafy
and candy-striped spinach,
fresh silly celery
(Have more when you're finished!)
cabbage that's flown
from the jungles of Glome
by a polka-dot bird
who can't find his way home,
daisies and roses
and inside-out grass
and artichoke hearts
that are simply first class!
Sixty asparagus tips
served in glasses
with anchovy sauce
and some sticky molasses--
But on Passover night
you would never consider
eating an herb
that wasn't all bitter.
And on all other nights
you would probably flip
if anyone asked you
how often you dip.
On some days I only dip
one Bup-Bup egg
in a teaspoon of vinegar
mixed with nutmeg,
but sometimes we take
more than ten thousand tails
of the Yakkity-birds
that are hunted in Wales,
and dip them in vats
full of Mumbegum juice.
Then we feed them to Harold,
our six-legged moose.
Or we don't dip at all!
We don't ask your advice.
So why on this night
do we have to dip twice?
And on all other nights
we can sit as we please,
on our heads, on our elbows,
our backs or our knees,
or hang by our toes
from the tail of a Glump,
or on top of a camel
with one or two humps,
with our foot on the table,
our nose on the floor,
with one ear in the window
and one out the door,
doing somersaults
over the greasy k'nishes
or dancing a jig
without breaking the dishes.
Yes--
on all other nights
you sit nicely when dining--
So why on this night
must it all be reclining?
Exodus in 7 Hot Takes
By Cara Levine
- Once upon a time, the Jewish people went into exile in the land of Egypt. During a famine, our ancestors Jacob and his family fled to Egypt where food was plentiful. His son Joseph had risen to a high position in Pharaoh’s court, and they were well-respected and well-regarded, secure in the power structure of the time.
- Generations passed and, in time, a new Pharaoh ascended to the throne. He found the Jewish people’s differences threatening and ordered them enslaved. In fear of rebellion, Pharaoh ordered that all Hebrew AMAB (assigned male at birth) babies must be murdered at birth. Two Egyptian midwives (known to be lovers) named Shifrah and Puah defied his orders, claiming that “the Hebrew women are so hardy, they give birth before we arrived!” Through their courage, Moses survived. Fearing for his safety, his mother & sister Miriam placed him in a basket, and he floated down the Nile. Thanks to Miriam’s intervention he was found, and adopted, by Pharaoh’s daughter, who named him Moshe because min ha-mayim m’shitihu, from the water she drew him forth. She hired his mother Yocheved as his wet-nurse, who shared his Jewish identity with him. He survived to adulthood and was raised as the privileged Prince of Egypt.
- When Moses was young he brought a piece of burning coal into his mouth and gained disability. Moses grew up aware of the slaves who worked in this father’s brickyards. When he saw an overseer abuse a slave, he killed him. Fearing retribution, he set out across the Sinai desert alone. The Voice of God spoke to him from a burning bush, which flamed but was not consumed. The Voice called him to lead the Hebrew people to freedom. Moses argued with God, pleading inadequacy, but God disagreed.
- Moses returned to Egypt and went to Pharaoh to argue that slavery is an injustice. He gave Pharaoh the mandate of mandates: LET MY PEOPLE GO and he said it with a LISP. Pharaoh refused, and Moses warned him that God would strike down the enslavers. Ten terrible plagues were unleashed upon the Egyptians & only when his nation lay in ruins did Pharaoh agree to the liberation of the Jewish people.
- Fearful that Pharaoh would change his mind, the people fled, not waiting for their bread dough to rise (matzo!) The Jewish people did not leave Egypt alone; people from all levels of privilege and ethnicity went with them. Liberation is not for Jews alone, but for all the nations of the earth. Even Pharaoh’s daughter came with us, and traded her old title (bat-Pharaoh, daughter of Pharaoh) for the name Batya, “daughter of God.”
- Pharaoh changed his mind and had his army follow the free people to the Sea of Reeds. The waters parted and they passed, and the great queer femme prophetess Miriam led them in “the song of the sea” which she improvised on the spot. The seas closed after the free people crossed and Pharaoh’s army drowned.
- To this day we relive our liberation, that we may not become complacent, that we may always rejoice when we are free, and fight when all/anyone/any peoples, are oppressed.
Loosely Adapted from Story of Exodus, Abbreviated. by Ezra Weissman
The plagues and our subsequent redemption from Egypt are but one example of the care God has shown for us in our history. Had God but done any one of these kindnesses, it would have been enough – dayeinu.
אִלּוּ הוֹצִיאָֽנוּ מִמִּצְרַֽיִם, דַּיֵּנוּ
Ilu hotzi- hotzianu, Hotzianu mi-mitzrayim Hotzianu mi-mitzrayim, Dayeinu
If God had only taken us out of Egypt, that would have been enough!
אִלּוּ נָתַן לָֽנוּ אֶת־הַתּוֹרָה, דַּיֵּנוּ
Ilu natan natan lanu, natan lanu et ha-Torah, Natan lanu et ha-Torah , Dayeinu
If God had only given us the Torah, that would have been enough.
The blessing over the meal and matzah | motzi matzah | מוֹצִיא מַצָּה
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.
בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יְיָ, אֱלֹהֵֽינוּ מֶֽלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם, הַמּוֹצִיא לֶֽחֶם מִן הָאָֽרֶץ
Baruch Atah Adonai, Eloheinu Melech ha-olam, hamotzi lechem min ha-aretz.
We praise God, Ruler of Everything, who brings bread from the land.
בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יְיָ, אֱלֹהֵֽינוּ מֶֽלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם, אֲשֶׁר קִדְּשָֽׁנוּ בְּמִצְוֹתַָיו וְצִוָּֽנוּ עַל אֲכִילַת מַצָּה
Baruch Atah Adonai, Eloheinu Melech ha-olam, asher kid’shanu b’mitzvotav v’tzivanu al achilat matzah.
We praise 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.
In solidarity with those who are still enslaved - who fight everyday for survival, who live in fear of deportation, who know the injustice of systemic racism, who are in jail, who are silenced and erased - for all those who are not free, we eat the bitter herb.
בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יי אֱלֹהֵינוּ מֶלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם, אֲשֶׁר קִדְּשָנוּ בְּמִצְוֹתָיו וְצִוָּנוּ עַל אֲכִילַת מָרוֹר.
Baruch atah Adonai Eloheinu melech ha-olam, asher kid'shanu b'mitzvotav v'tzivanu al achilat maror.
“Blessed are you, Source of All Life, who has made us holy with mitzvot and commanded us to eat maror.”
Group: We now prepare to build the Hillel sandwich, combining the bitter maror with the sweet charoset.
With the bitterness of the maror still stinging our tongues and the knowledge that fear of “the other” continues to displace people still stinging our hearts, we take comfort in knowing that there can be an antidote to that hatred. It is up to each of us to temper the hatred that still plagues our world by joining together and saying “Dayeinu” – it is, now, enough.
Combine maror and charoset between two pieces of matzah and recite the following as a group:
Zeicher l’mikdash k’Hillel. Kein asah Hillel biz’man shebeit hamikdash hayah kayam. Hayah koreich matzah umaror v’ochel b’yachad, l’kayeim mah shene-emar: Al matzot um’rorim yochluhu.
In memory of the Temple, according to Hillel. This is what Hillel would do when the Temple still existed: he would combine matzah and maror and eat them together, in order to fulfill the teaching, “with matzot and maror they shall eat [the Passover sacrifice]” (Numbers 9:11).
After you make the Hillel sandwich, discuss together:
Over the next year, what will you do to temper the bitterness of xenophobia, as well as anti-refugee and anti-Muslim hate?
From "A ‘Where’s Waldo’ Alternative to Your Afikomen Hunt This Passover" by Cara Goldfarb
“I will redeem you with an outstretched arm,” Exodus 6:7
-
בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יְיָ, אֱלֹהֵינוּ מֶלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם, בּוֹרֵא פְּרִי הַגָּפֶן
Baruch Atah Adonai, Eloheynu Melech Ha’Olam Borey P’ree Hagafen.
Blessed are You, the Allmighty Source, Who creates the fruit of the vine.
Elijah’s Cup
In the ninth century B.C.E., a farmer arose to challenge the domination of the ruling elite. In his tireless and passionate advocacy on behalf of the common people, and his ceaseless exposure of the corruption and waste of the court, Elijah sparked a movement and created a legend which would inspire people for generations to come. Before he died, Elijah declared that he would return once each generation in the guise of any poor or oppressed person. He would come to people’s doors to see how he would be treated. By the treatment offered to this poor person (Elijah himself), he would know whether the population had reached a level of humanity worthy of transcendence.
Miriam’s Cup
Reader: The story has always been told of a miraculous well of living water which has accompanied the Jewish people since the world was spoken into being. The well comes and goes, as it is needed, and as we remember, forget, and remember again how to call it to us. In the time of the exodus from Mitzrayim (Egypt), the well came to Miriam, in honor of her courage and action, and stayed with the Jews as they wandered the desert. Upon Miriam’s death, the well again disappeared.
All: With this ritual of Miriam’s cup, we honor all Jewish women, transgender, intersex people whose histories have been erased. We commit ourselves to transforming all of our cultures into loving welcoming spaces for people of all genders and sexes. Smash the binary gender system! A million genders for a million people!
Reader: Tonight we remember Miriam and ask: Who on own journey has been a way-station for us? Who has encouraged our thirst for knowledge? To whom do we look as role-models for our daughters and for ourselves? Who sings with joy at our accomplishments? Each person names an act of courage or resistance that they have done in the past year, and our pout for them into our (symbolic) cup.
Eilyahu and Miriam
אֵלִיָּהוּ הַנָּבִיא אֵלִיָּהוּ הַתִּשְׁבִּי
Eliyahu ha-navi, Eliyahu ha-Tishbi,
אֵלִיָּהוּ הַגִּלְעָדִי
Eliyahu (3x) ha-Giladi.
במְהֵרָה בְיָמֵנוּ יָבוא אֵלֵינוּ
Bimheirah v'yameinu, yavo ei-leinu
עִם מָשִׁיחַ בֶּן דָּוִד, עִם מָשִׁיחַ בֶּן דָּוִד
im Mashiach ben David (2x)
Elijah, the prophet; Elijiah, the Tishbite; Elijah, of Gilead! Come quickly in our days with the
Messiah from the line of David.
מִִרַים הַנְבִעאה עז בְִזמְָרה בְָיָדה
Miriam ha-n'vi'ah oz v'zimrah b'yadah.
מִרִיַם תִרְקדֹ אִתָנוּ לְתַקֵן אֶת הֵעוֹלַם.
Miriam tirkod itanu l'taken et ha-olam.
בִמְהֵרַה בְיָמֵנוּ הִיא תְבִיאֵנוּ
Bimheirah v'yameinu hi t'vi'einu
אֶל מֵי הַיְשוּעָה, אֶל מֵי הַיְשוּעָה!
El mei ha-y'shuah; el mei ha-y'shuah!
Miriam the prophet, strength and song in her hand; Miriam, dance with us in order to increase
the song of the world! Miriam, dance with us in order to repair the world. Soon she will bring
us to the waters of redemption!
We close the door and are seated.
by Miriam Grossman
May it be your will Our God and God of our ancestors that you lead us in peace and direct our steps
(our marching, Rebellious, organized, queer dance-partying, prayerful steps)
In peace and guide us in peace and support us in just peace (and in the tearing down of walls, and in the rising up of peoples)
And cause us to reach our destination in life and joy and peace
(all of us together, no one left behind)
Save us from every enemy and ambush, from robbers and wild beasts
(And from tear gas and flash-bags, and sound cannons and night sticks and rubber bullets, from furious hands that reach towards unarmed bodes)
May You confer blessing upon the work of our hands
(and our movements and our histories: uplifted, remembered, redeemed). Grant us grace, kindness, and mercy in Your eyes and in the eyes of all who witness us
(Let human bodies be seen as human bodies.)
And bestow upon us abundant kindness
(remind us there is no scarcity of vision, power, strength)
And hearken to the voice of our prayer, for You hear the prayers of all.
Blessed are You G-d, who hearkens to prayer
(and peace seeking and rabble rousing)
Blessed are we who journey in action and prayer
Download the Jews For Racial and Economic Justice 2017 Supplement Here: http://jfrej.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/haggadah2017_WEB4.pdf
Chad Gadya
Chad Gadya, Chad Gadya
An only kid, a single kid
My father bought for two zuzim
Chad Gadya, Chad Gadya
Then came the cat
that ate the kid
An only kid, a single kid
My father bought for two zuzim
Chad Gadya, Chad Gadya
Then came the dog
that bit the cat
that ate the kid
An only kid, a single kid
My father bought for two zuzim
Chad Gadya, Chad Gadya
Then came the stick
that beat the dog
that bit the cat
that are the kid
An only kid, a single kid
My father bought for two zuzim
Chad Gadya, Chad Gadya
Then came the fire
that burned the stick
that beat the dog
that bit the cat
that ate the kid
An only kid, a single kid
My father bought for two zuzim
Chad Gadya, Chad Gadya
Then came the water
that quenched the fire
that burned the stick
that beat the dog
that bit the cat
that ate the kid
An only kid, a single kid
My father bought for two zuzim
Chad Gadya, Chad Gadya
Then came the ox
that drank the water
that quenched the fire
that burned the stick
that beat the dog
that bit the cat
that ate the kid
An only kid, a single kid
My father bought for two zuzim
Chad Gadya, Chad Gadya
Then came the butcher
who killed the ox
that drank the water
that quenched the fire
that burned the stick
that beat the dog
that bit the cat
that ate the kid
An only kid, a single kid
My father bought for two zuzim
Chad Gadya, Chad Gadya
Then came the Angel of the Death
who slew the butcher
who killed the ox
that drank the water
that quenched the fire
that burned the stick
that beat the dog
that bit the cat
that ate the kid
An only kid, a single kid
My father bought for two zuzim
Chad Gadya, Chad Gadya
Then came the Holy One who is blessed
who destroyed the Angel of Death
who slew the butcher
who killed the ox
that drank the water
that quenched the fire
that burned the stick
that beat the dog
that bit the cat
that ate the kid
An only kid, a single kid
My father bought for two zuzim
Chad Gadya, Chad Gadya
