"Let all who are hungry, come and eat;
all who are needy come and celebrate Passover."

HOST:

Welcome to our 2017 Passover Seder. Tonight we will recognize the stirrings of spring and rebirth happening in the world around us. Our Seder will combine the celebration of our culture and memories with the recognition of the cycles of nature. The symbols on our table bring together elements of both kinds of celebration.

For our immediate family, welcome. And for those who are attending for the first time, we thank you for joining us and are delighted to have you here at our seder. This is a time for traditions, stories, foods of the Passover, fun and learning as we celebrate life and freedom. Tonight, we will not be including Cecil B. DeMille’s 10 Commandments movie! It’s a relaxed night, and anyone is welcome to ask questions or speak at any time during the seder.

The Passover Sedar is one of the Oldest Traditions for the Jewish people and the most celebrated story of our deliverance. In fact, the Last Supper was a Passover Sedar that Jesus and his apostles celebrated on the sabbath before Palm Sunday.  It begins on the 15th day of the Jewish month of Nisan and, similar to Easter, starts the beginning of the spring season and marks the first of the biblical holidays of the year. The symbolic theme of spring is the rebirth, as well as love, hope, youth and growth, which are common to both Easter and Passover tradition. The Hebrew word “Sedar” means “arrangement” or “Order”. The Passover Sedar is a ceremonial meal the features the "Sedar Plate" filled with symbolic foods and the reading from the “Haggadah” which means “Telling.” Tonight we gather together to share the collective experience of our people by telling the story of how G-d liberated our ancestors and started our exodus from Egypt.

Though Passover Seder is one of the most recognized and widely practiced of Jewish rituals, had our ancestors visited one of these modern-day celebrations, they would be baffled. Our modern Seder wildly diverges from the Passover of old and evolved from two rituals from different segments of Hebrew society known as Pesach and Hag Hamatzot.

Pesach

GUEST:

Pesach was a pastoral ritual to ward off evil. It was carried out by the semi-nomadic segment of Israelite society that subsisted on livestock. Spring was a critical time of the year for them, a time of lambing and a sign that soon they would have to migrate to find a summer pasture for their flock.

In order to protect their flocks, and families, from the dangers ahead, they would slaughter their flock’s newest addition as an offering, either a lamb or a kid, followed by a family feast.

The Origin of Matzah

GUEST:

Hag Hamatzot, on the other hand, was celebrated by the settled segment of Israelite society, who lived in villages and who drew their subsistence from farming. For them too spring was crucial, meaning the start of the harvest, of the grains on which they depended.

Of the grains grown by the ancient Israelites in this period, the first grain to be ready for harvest was Barley. Although this made for inferior bread, it was highly prized since the grain storage had been depleted and hunger took grip of the land.

GUEST:

This new bread would have been unleavened, as the leavening used at the time was a portion of dough set aside from the last batch of bread. But this would have been unavailable due to the gap created by the empty stores. Add to this the fact that barley flour hardly rises, and that the baking techniques of the time would have made even the superior bread made of wheat flour flat and hard, and you’ve got matzah.

Still, when hungry even matzah is a cause for celebration and one could imagine that the communal threshing grounds were filled with joy, cheer, and jubilation.

HOST:

I personally believe the union of these spring-themed celebrations transcends the story of Passover beyond just religion. It evokes modern themes of morality and personal growth while embarrassing the routine customs and traditions of all cultures on the great earth.

Hadlakat Nerot - Lighting the Candles

Guest: The Jewish calendar is lunar, each month beginning with the new moon. We welcome each new day at sundown, not midnight, and we light candles at sunset as a way of welcoming in the new day. This year has a ”Leap Month” and regular months in the Jewish Calendar… called Adar I and Adar II. This is the reason Passover comes late this year and does not fall around the same time as Easter.

Host: Now in the presence of family and friends, before us the emblems of festive rejoicing, we gather for our sacred celebration. With the household of Israel, our elders and loved ones, linking and bonding the past with the future, we heed once again the divine call to service. Living our story that is told for all peoples, whose shining conclusion is yet to unfold, we gather to observe the Passover. You shall keep the feast of Unleavened bread, for on this very day I brought your hosts out of Egypt. You shall observe this day throughout the generations as a practice for all times. We assemble in fulfillment of the mitzvah. Remember the day on which you went forth from Egypt, from the house of bondage, and how G-d freed you with a mighty hand.

Guest: By lighting our candles, we carry on tradition while we hope to illuminate our eyes, our minds, and our hearts to the potential of the future.

Guest: Tonight, as we light our candles, we welcome this special holiday. Typically the woman or mother of the household lights the candles. So Jessica, do your thing while the host joins you in reciting the blessing

Host: בָּרוּך אַתָּה אַדָנָ-י אֱ-להֵינוּ מֶלֶך הָעוֹלָם אַשֶׁר קִדְשָנוּ בְּמִצְוֹתָיו וְצִוָנוּ לְהַדְלִיק נֵר שֶל שַבָּת קודֶש

Bo-ruch A-toh Ado-noi E-lo-hei-nu Me-lech Ho-olom A-sher Ki-de-sho-nu Be-mitz-vo-sov Ve-tzi-vo-nu Le-had-lik Ner Shel Yom Tov

Group: We give thanks for being here at this special time and for those with whom we celebrate this special holiday.

Kadesh

Host:

The seder opens with kiddush (the blessing over wine). (please pour the wine for everyone while we continue to read.

Guest:

A slave’s time is not his own. He is at the beck and call of his master. Even when the slave has a pressing personal engagement, his taskmaster’s needs will take priority. In contrast, freedom is the control of our time. We determine what we do when we wake up in the morning; we prioritize our day. This is true for an individual, but also for a nation. God commands Israel to create a Jewish calendar because, as an independent nation, Israel should not march anymore to an Egyptian rhythm, celebrating Egyptian months and holidays. Instead, Israel must forge a Jewish calendar, with unique days of rest, celebration and memory. Controlling and crafting our time is the critical first act of freedom.

Guest:

Kiddush says this out loud. We sanctify the day and define its meaning! We proclaim this day as significant, holy and meaningful. We fashion time, claim ownership of it, and fashion it as a potent .contact point with God, peoplehood, and tradition. This is a quintessential act of Jewish freedom.

Host:

Today, we often feel short of time; that time controls us. Kadesh reminds us that true freedom and self-respect is to master and control time for ourselves, to shape our life in accordance with our values.

Guest:
The traditional reason for drinking four cups is to remember the redemption of the Jews from Egyptian slavery to freedom. We recall the four promises made to describe the redemption:

Guest:
I shall  take  you out; I shall  rescue  you; I shall  redeem  you; I shall  bring  you.

Guest:
The four cups are also symbolic of the four seasons. Tonight’s first cup of wine is for the physical spring that we see, hear, smell and touch. Green is currently forcing its way through the cracks of the hard earth. Birds are beginning to venture out and sing. The scents of flowers have begun perfuming the air. Warmth has begun to creep into our skin and make us feel alive again.

Guest:
As we fill our first glass, we should all take a moment to reflect on how lucky we are to have special times for happiness and holidays. Tonight we gather together, with friends and family, to celebrate a holiday of liberation and freedom.

{{We raise our cups and recite}} 

בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יי אֱלֹהֵינוּ מֶלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם בּוֹרֵא פְּרִי הַגָפֶן

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

GROUP:

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

KARPAS and the Sedar Plate:

GUEST: The karpas, the green vegetable, is a symbol of all kinds of greenery while the salt water is the water and air of the earth. The dipping of the karpas is the first part of the seder that makes this night different from all other nights. Tonight, we celebrate difference with the karpas and saltwater which brings us hope, joy, and renewed life and helps us to remember
the ocean and green plants of the Earth, from which we get the water and air and food that enable us to live. We look forward to spring and the reawakening of flowers and greenery.

GUEST: We also know that with difference can come pain and tears. We have shed these tears ourselves and we have caused others to shed tears. Traditions of the past say we dip the karpas in salt water to remind ourselves of Joseph, whose brothers sold him into slavery and then dipped his fabulous, technicolor dream coat into blood to bring back to their father, Jacob. Tonight, we dip the karpas into salt water, and as we taste it, we taste both the fresh, celebratory hope of difference and the painful blood and tears that have come with it.

GROUP:

בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יְיָ, אֱלֹהֵינוּ מֶלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם, בּוֹרֵא פְּרִי הָאֲדָמָה

(Baruch Atah Adonai, Eloheinu Melech ha-olam, borei p’ree ha-adama.)

We praise God, Ruler of Everything, who creates the fruits of the earth.

Guest:
The hard-boiled egg on our Seder plate symbolizes Spring and of new life that is beginning to grow.

{{We eat a hard boiled egg}}

Katom כתום Orange

Guest

Today we also put an Orange on the symbol plate. The Orange has come to symbolize Modern Passover Rituals, designed to reflect the diversity of our community and peoples in the early 21st century. At the height of the Jewish feminist movement of the 1980s, Susannah Heschel, a professor of Jewish Studies at Dartmouth College, was giving a lecture. Supposedly, a Rabbi in the audience stood up and said to her, in anger,  that a woman belongs on the bimah (stage) as much as an orange belongs on the Seder plate. Even though it is possible folklore, that year many families began adding an orange to their Seder plate as a way of acknowledging the role of women in Jewish life. It also recognizes all who sometimes feel marginalized in the Jewish community.

(eat a segment of orange)

Tomato

HOST: 

This year I thought we would try a new tradition. I've added a tomato to the sedar plate to help remind us that even now, slavery and exploitation still exists, particularly in the farming and manufacturing industries around the world as well as here in the U.S. These foods on the Sedar Plate are meant to elicit questions that lead to the story of exodus. I hope the tomato can help lead us to question the legacy of slavery today and help bring about a just and slavery-free workplace throughout the world for everyone.

(every eats a tomato)

HOST: We now hold up this broken matzah, which so clearly can never be repaired. We eat the smaller part while the larger half remains out of sight and out of reach for now. We begin by eating this bread of affliction and, then, only after we have relived the journey through slavery and the exodus from Egypt, do we eat the Afikoman, the bread of our liberation. We see that liberation can come from imperfection and fragmentation. Every day, refugees across the globe experience the consequences of having their lives ruptured, and, yet, they find ways to pick up the pieces and forge a new, if imperfect, path forward.

Maggid – Beginning

מגיד

Raise the tray with the matzot and say:

הָא לַחְמָא עַנְיָא דִי אֲכָלוּ אַבְהָתָנָא בְּאַרְעָא דְמִצְרָיִם. כָּל דִכְפִין יֵיתֵי וְיֵיכֹל, כָּל דִצְרִיךְ יֵיתֵי וְיִפְסַח. הָשַׁתָּא הָכָא, לְשָׁנָה הַבָּאָה בְּאַרְעָא דְיִשְׂרָאֵל. הָשַׁתָּא עַבְדֵי, לְשָׁנָה הַבָּאָה בְּנֵי חוֹרִין.

Ha lachma anya dee achalu avhatana b'ara d'meetzrayeem. Kol deechfeen yeitei v'yeichol, kol deetzreech yeitei v'yeefsach. Hashata hacha, l'shanah haba-ah b'ara d'yisra-el. Hashata avdei, l'shanah haba-ah b'nei choreen.

This is the bread of affliction, which our ancestors ate in the land of Egypt. Let all who are hungry come and eat. Let all who are in need, come and share the Pesach meal. This year, we are here. Next year, in the land of Israel. This year, we are slaves. Next year, we will be free.

Refill the wine cups, but don’t drink yet.

A Time of Remembering

Guest:
The most beloved Jewish prophet of all, who’s tales frequently comes down to earth to help Jews in distress, is the prophet Elijah. Tonight we pour our second glass of wine, as a tribute to the Elijah.

Guest:
We also fill a glass for Elijah, with the hopes that he will join our Seder. While we do that, we ask a child at the table to open a door or window, as a way to invite Elijah in.

Guest:
Together, we bless our second cup of the Seder.

{{We raise our cups and recite}}   

Host:
בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יְיָ, אֱלֹהֵינוּ מֶלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם, בּוֹרֵא פְּרִי הַגָּפֶן
Baruch Atah Adonai, Eloheinu Melech ha-olam, borei p’ree hagafen

Group:
We give thanks for the creation of the fruit of the vine.

{{Drink the second cup of wine!}}
 

THE FOUR QUESTIONS

HOST:

Traditionally, The Four Sons/Daughters include a wise one, a wicked (or rebellious) one, a simple one and one who does not even know enough to ask. Each of the first three ask questions about the Seder, essentially "Explain all this to me - what are my responsibilities?" "What has all this nonsense you are babbling about got to do with me?" and "What IS all this anyway?" while the fourth is silent - requiring the adults to be proactive in providing an explanation of the Seder proceedings.

GUEST:

Some say that The Four Children is a metaphor for four different attitudes toward tradition, toward belonging and toward being active or passive in the face of injustice. Some say it is about stages of life, from childhood, through adolescence, and into adulthood (and, potentially, back again toward old age).

GUEST:

In the spirit of telling the story of Exodus and different attitudes that one might take to one's communal and global responsibilities, think about your relationship to your tradition, the people from whom or the place from which you come and the events taking place there.

- Do you understand what is going on?

- Do you feel any obligation to do anything about it?

- What would you do if you could?

- What should you tell your children about it?

Now, the youngest Child at the table will now read the four questions (in bold)

מַהנִּשְּׁתַּנָה

מַה נִּשְּׁתַּנָה הַלַּיְלָה הַזֶּה מִכָּל הַלֵּילוֹת?

Mah nish-ta-na ha-lai-lah ha-zeh mikol ha-lei-lot?

Why is this night of Passover different from all other nights of the year?

שֶׁבְּכָל הַלֵּילוֹת אָנוּ אוֹכְלִין חָמֵץ וּמַצָּה, הַלַּיְלָה הַזֶּה - כּוּלוֹ מַצָּה.

She-b'chol ha-lei-lot anu och'lin cha-meitz u-matzah. Ha-laylah hazeh kulo matzah.

On all other nights, we eat either leavened or unleavened bread, why on this night do we eat only matzah?

שֶׁבְּכָל הַלֵּילוֹת אָנוּ אוֹכְלִין שְׁאָר יְרָקוֹת, - הַלַּיְלָה הַזֶּה מָרוֹר.

Sheb'chol ha-lei-lot anu och'lin sh'ar y'rakot. Ha-lai-lah h-azeh maror.

On all other nights, we eat vegetables of all kinds, why on this night must we eat bitter herbs?

שֶׁבְּכָל הַלֵּילוֹת אֵין אֶנוּ מַטְבִּילִין אֲפִילוּ פַּעַם אֶחָת, - הַלַּיְלָה הַזֶּה שְׁתֵּי פְעָמִים.

Sheb'chol ha-lei-lot ein anu mat-beelin afee-lu pa-am echat.Ha-lai-lah hazeh sh'tei p'ameem.

On all other nights, we do not dip vegetables even once, why on this night do we dip greens into salt water and bitter herbs into sweet haroset?

שֶׁבְּכָל הַלֵּילוֹת אָנוּ אוֹכְלִין בֵּין יוֹשְׁבִין וּבֵין מְסֻבִּין, - הַלַּיְלָה הַזֶּה כֻּלָנו מְסֻ

Sheb’khol ha-lei-lot anu och-leem bein yo-shveen u-vein m’su-been, ha-lailah hazeh kulanu m’subeen.

On all other nights, everyone sits up straight at the table, why on this night do we recline and eat at leisure?

Exodus Story Telling Our Story

Maggid מַגִּיד Telling of the story of Passover

Host:

The story of Passover is a long tale I will summarize very quickly, because I know we are all getting anxious to eat.

Long ago, Pharaoh ruled the land of Egypt. He enslaved the Jewish people and made them work very hard building his cities.
Pharaoh was especially cruel to Jewish children. One mother hid her baby, Moses, in a basket in the river. Pharoah's daughter found him and took him home to live in the palace.
Moses grew up. He saw the slaves working so hard. He had a fight about it and ran away to be a shepherd.
While he was looking after the sheep, he saw a bush on fire that did not burn up and heard God's voice telling him to go back to Egypt, to tell Pharoah to let the Jewish people go.
When Moses went to Pharoah, he said: "Let my people go". Pharaoh said "No".

So G-d sent the first plague upon the Egyptians by turning the water into blood. Moses then went back to Pharoah. He said, "Let my people go". Pharaoh said "No". So G-d continues his plagues upon the Egyptian people. 10 Total plagues!

Finally, the Pharoah agreed to allow the Jewish people to be free. The people got ready to leave very quickly, so quickly that their bread didn't have time to rise; thus, the reason we eat the unleavened bread, or Matzah.
They walked through the desert to the sea. Pharoah's soldiers chased after them. When they got to the sea, Moses held up his staff and with the help of G-d, the sea divided.
The Jewish people walked through the sea to freedom and a new future.

Guest:
Our third cup of wine tonight takes us back to Abraham. His belief inspired him to leave his family and find a new land. That land would one day bear his grandson Jacob’s adopted name, Israel.

Guest:
Abraham was promised that his people would become a great nation, but this promise came with a frightening vision of the troubles along the way: “Your descendants will dwell for a time in a land that is not their own, and they will be enslaved and afflicted for four hundred years; however, I will punish the nation that enslaved them, and afterwards they shall leave with great wealth."

{{We raise our third cup}}

Guest:
For not only one enemy has risen against us to annihilate us, but in every generation there are those who rise against us. Together, we are safe from those who seek to harm us.

{{The third cup of wine is put down without taking a sip.}}

Guest:
In the years our ancestors lived in Egypt, our numbers grew, and soon the family of Jacob became the People of Israel. Pharaoh and the leaders of Egypt grew alarmed by this great nation growing within their borders, so they enslaved the Jews, who were forced to perform hard labor such as building pyramids.

Guest:
The Egyptians feared that even as slaves, the Israelites might grow strong and rebel. So Pharaoh decreed that Israelite baby boys should be drowned, to prevent the Israelites from overthrowing those who had enslaved them.

Ten Plagues Acknowledge that our freedom was hard-earned

Guest:
The Passover Story is a story of hope, of how our ancestors came out of a narrow place of suffering and into the Promised Land. Stripped of its religious elements, the tale is, at its core, a human tale, filled with universal struggles and aspirations. But, most importantly, the tale’s essence is the fulfillment of hope.

Guest:
We tell the story each year, with the benefit of hindsight, with the knowledge that our ancestors did make it through their persecution and out of Egypt. Knowing our ancestors fulfilled their hopes, gives us the courage to do the same.

Guest:
Like our ancestors, each of us have overcome battles in our lives to get to where we are. Today we rejoice and acknowledge the personal freedom we have each hard-earned by ourselves.

Host:

From the Buddist/Jewish Haggadah, we learn All spiritual growth is internal, based upon prayer, meditation, self-observation, as well as the effort that changes our behavior, thoughts, and feelings. So in some sense, ritual does not serve any inherent purpose. Yet every culture, religion, and nation have rituals. They are effective to serve as reminders to think about reality and life’s inner meaning. They also serve as an invitation to pause in thanksgiving. A Passover Seder is a powerful reminder to pay attention to the things that matter most within ourselves and the world in which we live.

Guest:
Ten plagues fell upon the Egyptians, each one worse that the last. Traditionally we dip a finger or a spoon into our wine glass and then drip a drop for each plague as we recite them.

Guest:
We regret that our freedom came at the cost of the Egyptians’ suffering, for we are all equal as human beings. As we recall the ten plagues, we also think about the suffering of others, both humans and animals, who were afflicted with the plagues.

Guest:
The action of spilling drops from our own wine represents our compassion. Each drop becomes a meaningful symbolic action. Not just the thought of compassion. Not just the words. But the practice of compassion.

Host:

I will read the Traditional plague from the Story of Exodus and the group will respond with the Modern Day Plague facing many refugees and slaves today. With a finger, remove a drop of wine from your cup and wipe it on your plate, as each plague is mentioned...

Traditional                                                       Modern

1. Blood                                           1. Pollution
2. Frogs                                            2. Bullying
3, Lice                                               3. Poverty
4. Wild Beasts                                 4. Terrorism
5. Blight                                           5. Lack of access to education 
6. Boils                                             6. Disease
7. Hail                                               7. Extreme weather shift
8. Locusts                                         8. Violence
9. Darkness                                      9. Xenaphobia and Racism
10. The slaying of the First Born  10. Loss of Family

DAYYENU

God has bestowed many favors upon us.

Had He brought us out of Egypt, and not executed judgments against the Egyptians, It would have been enough – Dayyenu

Had He executed judgments against the Egyptians, and not their gods, It would have been enough – Dayyenu

Had He executed judgments against their gods and not put to death their firstborn, It would have been enough – Dayyenu

Had He put to death their firstborn, and not given us their riches, It would have been enough – Dayyenu

Had He given us their riches, and not split the Sea for us, It would have been enough – Dayyenu

Had He split the Sea for us, and not led us through it on dry land, It would have been enough – Dayyenu

Had He led us through it on dry land, and not sunk our foes in it, It would have been enough – Dayyenu

Had He sunk our foes in it, and not satisfied our needs in the desert for forty years, It would have been enough – Dayyenu

Had He satisfied our needs in the desert for forty years, and not fed us the manna, It would have been enough – Dayyenu

Had He fed us the manna, and not given us the Sabbath, It would have been enough – Dayyenu

Had He given us the Sabbath, and not brought us to Mount Sinai, It would have been enough – Dayyenu

Had He brought us to Mount Sinai, and not given us the Torah, It would have been enough – Dayyenu

Had He given us the Torah, and not brought us into Israel, It would have been enough – Dayyenu

Had He brought us into Israel, and not built the Temple for us, It would have been enough – Dayyenu

The Rest of the Sedar Plate - and other weird foods!

Gefilte Fish Blessings over the Matzah

Guest:
When the Rabbis deemed it commendable to eat fish on the Sabbath, Jews became accustomed to eating fish at festive meals like the Passover Seder. The freshwater rivers in Europe offered fish such as carp and pike.

Guest:
It was customary to make a mixture of chopped fish, stuff it back into the skin of the fish, and boil it. The word gefilte means stuffed in Yiddish.

Maror מָרוֹר Eating the Bitter Herb

Guest:
In creating a holiday about the joy of freedom, we turn the story of our bitter history into a sweet celebration. We recognize bitter slavery turning into sweet freedom by dipping bitter herbs into the sweet charoset.

Guest:
While nobody wants to eat the bitter herb, the sweet means more when it’s layered over the bitterness.

Z’roah זרוע Shank Bone

Guest:
The shank bone represents the Pesach, the special lamb sacrifice. It is called the Pesach, from the Hebrew word meaning “to pass over”. Jews marked their doors with blood from the Pesach so God knew to pass over the houses when casting plagues upon our oppressors.

Guest:
It became ritual to eat the lamb offered as the Pesach or Passover sacrifice. We would put the meat in a sandwich made of matzah, along with some of the bitter herbs. Tonight we are purposely avoiding lamb during our Seder so that it is not mistaken as a sacrifice – but we honor the tradition by eating a sandwich of the remaining matzah and bitter herbs.

Koreich כּוֹרֵךְ Making the Sandwich

Guest:
Some people will also include charoset in the sandwich to remind us that God’s kindness helped relieve the bitterness of slavery. It's also commonly viewed as a reminder of the brick and mortar of the buildings that were constructed by the Jewish slaves. Adding the mixture to some bitter herbs reminds us that in life there is a balance of both sweetness and the bitterness, the good and the bad (and the ugly.)

{{We eat bitter herbs, charoset and matzah}}

The Meal.

We will now eat the delicious food that Jessica has prepared for all of us.

Typically we would read some more from the Haggadah after we eat....but not in this family. 

However, we do have to read one last thing:

Chad Gadya

One little goat, one little goat
My father bought for two zuzim, Chad Gadya, Chad Gadya.

There came a cat and ate the goat my father bought for two
zuzim. Chad gadya, chad gadya.

Then came a dog and bit the cat that ate the goat my father
bought for two zuzim. Chad gadya, chad gadya.

Then came a stick and beat the dog that bit the cat that ate
the goat my father bought for two zuzim. Chad gadya, chad
gadya.

Then came a fire and burnt the stick that beat the dog that bit
the cat that ate the goat my father bought for two zuzim. Chad
gadya, chad gadya.

Then came water and quenched the fire that burnt the stick
that beat the dog that bit the cat that ate the goat my father
bought for two zuzim. Chad gadya, chad gadya.

Then came an ox and drank the water that quenched the fire
that burnt the stick that beat the dog that bit the cat that ate
the goat my father bought for two zuzim. Chad gadya, chad
gadya.

Then came a slaughterer and killed the ox that drank the
water that quenched the fire that burnt the stick that beat the
dog that bit the cat that ate the goat my father bought for two
zuzim. Chad gadya, chad gadya.

Then came the angel of death who killed the shohet who
killed the ox that drank the water that quenched the fire that
burnt the stick that beat the dog that bit the cat that ate the
goat my father bought for two zuzim. Chad gadya, chad gadya.

Then came the Holy One and killed the angel of death who
killed the shohet who killed the ox that drank the water that
quenched the fire that burnt the stick that beat the dog that bit
the cat that ate the goat my father bought for two zuzim. Chad
gadya, chad gadya.

Someone’s father purchases a goat, and this goat starts a cavalcade of anguish and gluttony, with animals, objects, people, and supernatural beings all dragged into the all-consuming whirlpool of the song. The entire universe changes, and it is all because of one goat, and it has been this way since the beginning of time, in every story that has ever been told. In the story of Passover, for example, if Moses had not been rescued from his basket in the reeds, the Jewish people might still be slaves in Egypt, so the infant Moses can be said to be a goat. If your parents had never met, then there might be an uglier, crueler person sitting at the Passover table, instead of your own charming self, so your parents are goats. Every person in the world, and every action each person takes, is a goat, accumulating cats and dogs and staffs and fires and all of the joy and terror that makes up the stuff of the universe. You are a goat, and when you wake up in the morning, that is a goat, and eating breakfast is a goat, and all the goats over the world are goating and goating and goating, all the time wondering if the goat they are and the goats they are goating are the right goat or the wrong goat, which is why the world often seems as stubborn as a goat, as ravenous as a goat, as loud as a goat, as grumpy as a goat, as quick and jumpy and frisky and soft and woolly and horny and taily as a goat—until the world itself seems to be a goat, made up of countless other goats, and watched over by some enormous, all-seeing goat who created all this goating in its image.

Nirtzah נִרְצָה The Conclusion

Host:

The story of the Exodus from Egypt, and the rituals associated, are described and written many different ways. Certainly, each resource should be read, thought about, and considered. Seders can be short or long, but the main thing is following the obligation of telling the story carrying on the tradition.

Guest:
Our Seder is over. As we had the pleasure to gather for a Seder this year, we hope to once again have the opportunity in the years to come. We hope for health and healing to Israel and all the people of the world. As we say…

Host:
לְשָׁנָה הַבָּאָה בִּירוּשָׁלָֽיִם
L’shana haba-ah biy’rushalayim

Group:
NEXT YEAR IN JERUSALEM!