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Thank you for joining us as we gather tonight to read the words of this Haggadah that has been designed to tell the story of Passover, guide us as we hear of the how the Jewish people were freed from being slaves in Egypt and engage us to think about our very own freedom.
For over 2000 years, the Jewish people have celebrated the Exodus from Egypt. Back nearly 4000 years ago, our people were slaves in the land of Egypt. Today we are free. Yet, there are many others who are not. We keep our prayers with these people in the wish that one day, they too will be free.
As history tells it, on a night such as this, our ancestors went forth out of Egypt, leaving behind slavery. Tonight we celebrate their freedom and ours. May this seder tonight inspire us and our children to light the torch of freedom for all the world.
Leader: The word seder means "order", and the Passover ritual follows a very specific order. Throughout the meal, we drink four glasses of wine — a symbol of the four promises made to Moses about the liberation of the Jewish people. In the book of Exodus it is written that God told Moses:
Leader: I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians. I will rid you out of their bondage. I will redeem you with a stretched out arm, and with great judgments. I will take you to me for a people, and ye shall know that I am the Lord, which bringeth you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians.
Leader: To begin the seder, we share this first cup of wine. We drink this cup in remembrance of the first promise: I will bring you out.
Raise your wine glass.
All: Baruch atah Adonai, Eloheinu melech ha-olam, borei p'ri hagafen.
(Blessed art thou, the LORD our God, who createth the fruit of the vine)
Drink your wine.
The Seder table is different from our regular supper table.
There are three pieces of Matzah in memory of the unleavened bread which the Jews ate when they were freed from Egypt.
Bitter Herbs for the bitterness of slavery.
The shank of a lamb as a reminder of the Paschal lamb.
A roasted egg symbolic of spring and new life.
Charoset, a food made of apples, nuts, cinnamon and wine, mixed together to look like the mortar which the Hebrew slaves used in their servitude.
Parsley, a symbol of spring is used as a token of gratitude to God for the products of the earth.
The salt water to dip the parsley in is a reminder of the tears our people shed during our slavery.
The Four Questions
The telling of the story of Passover is framed as a discussion with lots of questions and answers. It’s tradition that the youngest person in the family asks the questions. The rabbis who created the set format for the seder gave us the Four Questions to help break the ice in case no one had their own questions. Asking questions is a core tradition in Jewish life. If everyone at yourseder is around the same age, perhaps the person with the least seder experience can ask them – or everyone can sing them all together.
מַה נִּשְׁתַּנָּה הַלַּֽיְלָה הַזֶּה מִכָּל הַלֵּילות?
Mah nish-ta-nah ha-lai-lah ha-zeh mi-kol ha-lei-lot?
Why is this night different from all other nights?
:שֶׁבְּכָל הַלֵּילוֹת אָֽנוּ אוֹכלין חָמֵץ וּמַצָּה הַלַּֽיְלָה הַזֶּה כֻּלּוֹ מצה
She-b'chol ha-lei-lot a-nu och-lin cha-meitz u-ma-tzah? Ha-lai-lah ha-zeh, ku-lo ma-tzah?
Why on all other nights we eat both leavened bread and matzah, and
tonight we only eat matzah?
שֶׁבְּכָל הַלֵּילוֹת אָֽנוּ אוֹכְלִין שְׁאָר יְרָקוֹת הַלַּֽיְלָה הַזֶּה מָרוֹר:
She-b'chol ha-lei-lot a-nu och-lin sh'ar y'ra -kot. Ha-lai-lah ha-zeh ma-ror?
On all other nights we eat all kinds of vegetables, but tonight why do we only eat bitter herbs?
. שֶׁבְּכָל הַלֵּילוֹת אֵין אָֽנוּ מַטְבִּילִין אֲפִילוּ פַּֽעַם אחָת
הַלַּֽיְלָה הַזֶּה שְׁתֵּי פְעמים:
She-b'chol ha-lei-lot ein anu mat-bi-lin a-fi-lu pa-am, e-hat. Ha-lai-lah ha-zeh, sh'tei f'a-mim?
On all other nights we aren’t expected to dip our vegetables at all.
Why, tonight, do we do it twice?
שֶׁבְּכָל הַלֵּילוֹת אָֽנוּ אוֹכְלִין בֵּין יוֹשְׁבִין וּבֵין מְסֻבִּין.
:הַלַּֽיְלָה הַזֶּה כֻּלָּֽנוּ מְסֻבין:
She-b'chol ha-lei-lot a-nu och-lin bein yosh-vin o'vein m-subin. Ha-lai-lah na-zeh ku-la-nu m-su-bin?
On all other nights we eat either sitting normally or reclining. Why do we sit reclining tonight?
Answer 1: We were slaves in Egypt. Our ancestor in flight from Egypt did not have time to let the dough rise. With not a moment to spare they snatched up the dough they had prepared and fled. But the hot sun beat as they carried the dough along with them and baked it into the flat unleavened bread we call matzah.
Answer 2: The first time we dip our greens to taste the brine of enslavement. We also dip to remind ourselves of all life and growth, of earth and sea, which gives us sustenance and comes to life again in the springtime.
Answer 3: The second time we dip the maror into the charoset. The charoset reminds us of the mortar that our ancestors mixed as slaves in Egypt. But our charoset is made of fruit and nuts, to show us that our ancestors were able to withstand the bitterness of slavery because it was sweetened by the hope of freedom.
Answer 4: Slaves were not allowed to rest, not even while they ate. Since our ancestors were freed from slavery, we recline to remind ourselves that we, like our ancestors, can overcome bondage in our own time. We also recline to remind ourselves that rest and rejuvenation are vital to continuing our struggles. We should take pleasure in reclining, even as we share our difficult history.
Long ago, a mean king ruled the land of Egypt. He was called Pharaoh. The Jewish people who lived in Egypt were slaves. They had to work very hard building cities and palaces for Pharaoh. While they worked, they sang songs to make their work easier. Let us pretend we are working and singing with them.
Bang, bang, bang, hold your hammer low.
Bang, bang, bang, give a heavy blow.
For it's work, work, work, every day and every night.
For it's work, work, work, when it's dark and when it's light.
Dig, dig, dig, get your shovel deep.
Dig, dig, dig, there's not time to sleep.For it's work, work, work, every day and every night.
For it's work, work, work, when it's dark and when it's light.
Pharaoh was especially mean to Jewish children. One Jewish mother hid her baby in a basket on the river bank so Pharaoh wouldn't find him. When Pharaoh's daughter, the princess, came down to the river to swim, she found the baby and decided to take him home to the palace. SHe named the baby Moses. In hebrew his name means she "brought him out of the water."
As Moses grew up he saw the Jewish slaves working hard for Pharaoh. He didn't like a country where people were mean to the Jews, so he left Egypt and became a shephard in a far-away land.
One day when Moses was taking care of his sheep, he saw a burning bush and heard a voice coming from the bush. It was the voic,e of God. God told Moses to go back to Egypt to free the Jewish slaves and take them away fromcruel Pharaoh.
Moses returned to Egypt. He went to see Pharaoh and told him: LE T MY PEOPLE GO! But Pharaoh refused to listen o him. Let us sing about what happened when Moses went to see Pharaoh:
Oh Listen, Oh Listen, Oh Listen King Pharaoh.
Oh Listen, Oh Listen, please let my people go.
They want to go away. They work too hard all day.
King Pharaoh, King Pharaoh, what do you say?
No, No, No, I will not let them go.
No, No, No, I will not let them go.
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. We pour out a drop of wine 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:
דָּם Blood | dam |
צְפַרְדֵּֽעַ Frogs | tzfardeiya |
כִּנִּים Lice | kinim |
עָרוֹב Beasts | arov |
דֶּֽבֶר Cattle disease | dever |
שְׁחִין Boils | sh’chin |
בָּרָד Hail | barad |
אַרְבֶּה Locusts | arbeh |
חֹֽשֶׁךְ Darkness | choshech |
מַכַּת בְּכוֹרוֹת Death of the Firstborn | makat b’chorot |
The Egyptians needed ten plagues because after each one they were able to come up with excuses and explanations rather than change their behavior. Could we be making the same mistakes? What are the plagues in your life? What are the plagues in our world today? What behaviors do we need to change to fix them?
God was angry with Pharaoh and punished him ten times. One day Pharaoh woke up and there were frogs all over the place. Let us sing about the morning Pharaoh found the frogs:
One morning when Pharaoh woke in his bed,
There were frogs in his bed and frogs on his head,
There were frogs on his nose and frogs on his toes,
Frogs here, frogs there, Frogs were jumping everywhere.
But Pharaoh still wouldn't let the Jewish people go. God brought even more terrible punishments upon the Egyptians. Finally, Pharaoh told Moses to take the Jews out of Egypt. The people got ready very quickly. They didn't have time to bake bread for their journey. Instead they put raw dough on their backs. The sub baked it into hard crackers called matzah.
The Jewish people followed Moses. When they got to the sea Moses held up his walking stick, and the sea divided. The people walked across on dry land and came to a desert.
March out of Egypt, 1-2-3
March out of Egypt, follow me.
March out of Egypt, down to the sea,
March out of Egypt, now we are free.
Leader: We cannot eat the Seder meal until the story of Passover is told. This next section is called 'Maggid', which means 'Narrator', or 'Preacher'. In it we explore the reasons for the Passover holiday, culminating in a retelling of the story of the Exodus from Egypyt. We begin with a question:
Reader: Why is this night different from all other nights?
Reader: Why is it that on all other nights during the year we eat either bread or matzoh, but on this night we eat only matzoh?
Leader: Matzoh reminds us that when the Jews were fleeing slavery in Egypt, they had no time to wait for their bread to rise, and so took them out of their ovens while they were still flat.
Reader: Why is it that on all other nights we eat all kinds of herbs, but on this night we eat only bitter herbs?
Leader: We eat only Maror, a bitter herb, to remind us of the bitterness of slavery that our ancestors endured while in Egypt.
Reader: Why is it that on all other nights we do not dip our herbs even once, but on this night we dip them twice?
Leader: We dip twice - Karpas in salt water, and Maror in Charoset. The first dip, green vegetables in salt water, symbolizes the replacing of tears with gratefulness, and the second dip, Maror in Charoset, symbolizes sweetening the burden of bitterness and suffering to lessen its pain.
Reader: Why is it that on all other nights we eat either sitting or reclining, but on this night we eat in a reclining position?
Leader: We recline at the Seder table because in ancient times, a person who reclined at a meal symbolized a free person, free from slavery, and so we recline in our chairs at the Passover Seder table to remind ourselves of the glory of freedom.
There is an extra cup of wine on the table. This is the Cup of Elijah. There is a story that Elijah, a great teacher who lived many years ago, visits every Seder to wish everyone a year of peace and freedom. We open the door and invite Elijah to come in. Watch his cup to see if any of the wine disappears.
There is another cup on the table, this one filled with water. This Is dedicated to Miriam. We fill Miriam's cup in hope that all women may continue to draw from the stregth and wisdom of our hertage.
Let us sing a song welcoming Elijah
ELIYAHU HANAVI
Transliteration
Eliyahu haNavi
Eliyahu haTishbi,
Eliyahu haGil'adi –
Bim'hera v'yameinu yavoh eleinu,
im mashiach ach ben David. (x2)
ELIJAH THE PROPHET
English Translation
Elijah the prophet
Elijah the Tishbite, (stranger in a strange land / foreigner)
Elijah the Giladite - (hill of testimony / mound of witness)
In haste and in our days may he come to us
with Messiah son of David. (x2)
As we open the door for Elijah, we also remember there are Jewish people in many places who cannot have a Seder tonight. We think of them and wish we could invite them to be at our Seder.
We hope and pray that Jewish people all over the world will soon be free to Celebrate Pesach and all of the Jewish holidays.
Fill the third cup of wine
Together we take up the third cup of wine, now recalling the third divine promise to the people of Israel: “And I will redeem you with an outstretched arm.”
Baruch Atah Adonai, Eloheinu Melech ha-olam, borei p'ri ha-gafen.
We now drink the third cup of wine
After the meal we search for the afikoman. When the afikoman is found and returned to the leader, an olive-sized piece is distributed to each person, and all consume the afikoman with enthusiasm!
The fourth cup is officially the end of the Seder. After saying the blessing and drinking while reclining, we say "Next Year in Jerusalem!"
The song is about being grateful to God for all of the gifts he gave the Jewish people, such as taking them out of slavery, giving them the Torah and Shabbat, and had God only given one of the gifts, it would have still been enough. This is to show much greater appreciation for all of them as a whole.
Dayenu
Ilu ho-tsi, ho-tsi-a-nu,
Ho-tsi-a-nu mi-Mitz-ra-yim,
Ho-tsi-a-nu mi-Mitz-ra-yim,
Da-ye-nu!
.. CHORUS:
.. Dai, da-ye-nu,
.. Dai, da-ye-nu,
.. Dai, da-ye-nu,
.. Da-ye-nu, da-ye-nu, da-ye-nu!
..
.. Dai, da-ye-nu,
.. Dai, da-ye-nu,
.. Dai, da-ye-nu,
.. Da-ye-nu, da-ye-nu!
Ilu na-tan, na-tan la-nu,
Na-tan la-nu et-ha-Sha-bat,
Na-tan la-nu et-ha-Sha-bat,
Da-ye-nu!
.. (CHORUS)
Ilu na-tan, na-tan la-nu,
Na-tan la-nu et-ha-To-rah,
Na-tan la-nu et-ha-To-rah,
Da-ye-nu!
.. (CHORUS)
(A singable English version:)
Had He brought all, brought all of us, brought all of us
out from Egypt,
then it would have been enough. Oh, dayenu.
Chorus:
Da-da-yeinu_____, da-da-yeinu_____, da-da-yeinu_____,
dayeinu, dayeinu, dayeinu.
(repeat)
Had He given, given to us, given to us all the Sabbath,
then it would have been enough. Oh, dayenu.
Chorus
Had He given, given to us, given to us all the Torah,
then it would have been enough. Oh, dayenu.
Chorus
