• In every generation, we must see ourselves as if we personally were liberated from Egypt. We gather tonight to tell the ancient story of a people's liberation from Egyptian slavery. This is the story of our origins as a people. It is from these events that we gain our ethics, our vision of history, our dreams for the future. We gather tonight, as two hundred generations of Jewish families have before us, to retell the timeless tale.
• Yet our tradition requires that on Seder night, we do more than just tell the story. We must live the story. Tonight, we will re-experience the liberation from Egypt. We will remember how our family suffered as slaves; we will feel the exhilaration of redemption. We must re-taste the bitterness of slavery and must rejoice over our newfound freedom. We annually return to Egypt in order to be freed. We remember slavery in order to deepen our commitment to end all suffering; we recreate our liberation in order to reinforce our commitment to universal freedom.

Many of us are familiar with the traditional items on a seder plate as symbols for the themes of Passover. But what if the seder rituals had been written in modern times? Would we still choose the same items to represent such personal ideas? Would YOUR Passover story rely upon different symbols? This seder plate does not have the traditional symbols you would expect. Instead, it leaves a space for the participants (YOU) to fill in the blanks with new objects of meaning.

Think about an object that represents Passover in your life. The object can be serious or silly, literal or poetic, but it should be something that helps you relate to the holiday. Consider the themes that are symbolized in the traditional seder plate such as:

Oppression
Sacrifice
Bitterness
Challenges
Freedom
Renewal

How can your object add to our current understanding of the seder? Arrange your table’s seder plate to tell a story of Passover as you see it today. Add as much or as little as you’d like - its all up to you.

To download the PDF, go to:

http://haggadot.posterous.com/alternative-seder-plate

The Candle lighting celebration begins by honoring light

We light the candles and say…

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

Baruch Atah Adonai, Eloheynu Melech Ha’Olam Asher Kidishanu B’Mitzvotav V’Tzivanu L’Hadlik Ner Shel Yom Tov.
 Blessed are You, Lord, our God, Ruler of the universe, Who sanctifies us with commandments, and commands us to light the candles on this holiday.

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

Baruch Atah Adonai, Eloheynu Melech Ha’Olam Sheche’hiyanu V’Keymanu V’Higiyanu Lazman Ha’Zeh.

Blessed are You, Lord, our God, Ruler of the universe, Who has kept us alive, sustained us, and brought us to this season.

Traditionally Passover celebrates…

The Jewish people’s freedom from Egyptian bondage that took place approximately 3,500 years ago, as told in the first 15 chapters of the Book of Exodus. Before the Jewish people were known as Jewish or Jews – names that were derived from the Kingdom of Judah where they lived from 922 BCE until 587 BCE – they were known as either Israelites or Hebrews. “Hebrews,” “Israelites,” or the “Children of Israel” were names that collectively described the descendants of the Hebrew patriarch Jacob (also known as Israel). The Hebrews and Israelites eventually established and lived in both the Kingdom of Judah and the Kingdom of Israel.

The events of Passover written about in the Book of Exodus occurred at a time before the Jewish people were known as Jewish or Jews, and so we refer to the Jewish people as either Hebrews or Israelites in the Passover story that follows. Interestingly, the Hebrew word for Egypt is Mitzrayim, and means either “constriction” or “narrow straits.” This is in reference to the Israelites being in a state of constriction while toiling as slaves in the land of Goshen, an area of ancient Egypt. As slaves, the Israelites were building cities such as Pithom and Ra’amses which were used as supply centers for the Pharaohs of Egypt.

The First Cup

We sanctify the name of God and proclaim the holiness of this festival of Passover. With a blessing over wine, we lift our wine, our symbol of joy; let us welcome the festival of Passover.

In unison, we say…

Our God and God of our ancestors, we thank You for enabling us to gather in friendship, to observe the Festival of Freedom. Just as for many centuries the Passover Seder has brought together families and friends to retell the events that led to our freedom, so may we be at one with Jews everywhere who perform this ancient ritual linking us with our historic past. As we relive each event in our people’s ancient struggle, and celebrate their emergence from slavery to freedom, we pray that all of us may keep alive in our hearts the love of liberty. May we dedicate our lives to the abolition of all forms of tyranny and injustice.

Reclining on our left side demonstrates our freedom from slavery. We hold our first cup of wine and we recite:

בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יי אֱלֹהֵינוּ מֶלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם בּוֹרֵא פְּרִי הַגָפֶן.

Baruch Atah Adonai, Eloheynu Melech Ha’Olam Borey P’ree Hagafen.

Blessed are You, Lord our God, Ruler of the universe, Who creates the fruit of the vine.

Why do we wash our hands all the time?

This washing, even though it is an official task of the Seder, is done without a blessing. It is strictly for cleanliness purposes. And why not? We're about to handle food. It seems so easy for us. We turn on the tap, and there it is. But water is scarce. May we be aware of our water as we continue the Seder.

Even before the Exodus from Egypt our ancestors probably celebrated the mystery of life and the creation of the world each spring. Now again, we remind ourselves of the greens of the earth and the salt of the sea from which all life emerged, and on which all life depends.

But we do not simply celebrate spring’s renewal nor love’s warmth. Pesach celebrates our becoming free. Through the wondrous rebirth of life we can feel the precarious beginnings of the struggle for freedom. The sea’s salt not only reminds us of life’s start, but also of the brine of tears shed by our people and by all people striving to be free.

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.

FRabban Gamliel would teach that all those who had not spoken of three things on Passover had not fulfilled their obligation to tell the story, and these three things are:

Pesah [Paschal Lamb], Matzah and Maror [Bitter Herb].

Point to the shank bone

The Pesah which our ancestors ate when the Second Temple stood: what is the reason for it? They ate the Pesah because the holy one, Blessed be He “passed over” the houses of our ancestors in Egypt, as it is written in the Torah: “And You shall say, ‘It is the Passover offering for Adonai, who passed over the houses of the Israelites saving us in Mitzrayim but struck the houses of the Egyptians.”

Point to the matza

Matzah - what does it symbolize in the Seder? There was insufficient time for the dough of our ancestors to rise when the holy one, Blessed be He was revealed to us and redeemed us, as it is written in the Torah: “And they baked the dough which they brought forth out o Egypt into matzah – cakes of unleavened bread – which had not risen, for having been driven out of Egypt they could not tarry, and they had mad no provisions for themselves.”

Point to the maror

Why do we eat Maror? For the reason that the Egyptians embitter the lives of our ancestors in Mitzrayim, as the Torah states: “And they embittered

their lives with servtude, with mortar and bricks without straw, with every form of slavery in the field and with great torment.”

When Israel was in Egypt land, "Let my people go!"

Oppressed so hard they could not stand. "Let my people go!"

Go down, Moses, way down in Egypt Land. Tell ol' Pharaoh: "Let my people go!"

The Lord told Moses what to do, "Let my people go!"

To lead the children of Israel through, "Let my people go!"

 For those of you not in the know, “Glee” is the TV show of the moment. At once an escapist fantasy and the most realistic depiction of high school angst this side of Claire Danes, “Glee” is also – thanks largely to co-creator Brad Falchuk, son of the current Hadassah national president – among the most “out” Jewish shows to grace the small screen. Like the show’s gay, disabled, multiethnic and differently sized kids, what’s interesting about its Jewish characters is how their difference marks them as “other,” but, precisely as it does so, includes them in a very 2011 world in which difference is the one thing we all have in common.

As it happens, the four Jewish characters in McKinley High School’s glee club map quite neatly onto the four children of the Passover Seder, and the way each of them performs his or her Jewishness shines a different light on American Jewish identity, and on the themes of the Passover holiday.

Rachel Berry (Lea Michele) is the “Wise Child” – to a fault. She endlessly touts her Jewishness in one way or another, from Barbra Streisand songs to protests at Christmastime. She is also an irritating control freak, just like the unctuous Wise Child, who asks annoying, detailed questions about the statutes, laws and ordinances that God has commanded. The Haggadah obviously wants us to praise this kid, but most years I just want to slap him. Just like Rachel, he’s a know-it-all and a drama queen. “Look at me!” the Wise Child brags, just as Rachel does. Look how smart and good I am! Like Rachel in her goody-two-shoes sweaters, the Wise Child is intolerable. Rachel is a quintessential Jewish stereotype – smart, Semitic-looking, Magen-David-wearing – and yet she performs her Jewishness in the same way she performs her many solos on the show: in your face, turned up to 11. The Wise Child is the same way.

Noah “Puck” Puckerman (Mark Salling) is the “Wicked Child.” His is the most original of the Jewishnesses on “Glee,” contradicting every stereotype that Rachel serves to uphold. Puck is a bad kid: in and out of juvy, dumping geeks in trash cans and impregnating another guy’s girlfriend. He’s a big, strong kid who doesn’t act or “look Jewish” in stereotypical ways. Yet for all Puck’s badness – and maybe because of it – there’s something irresistible about him. He has his sensitive side, which he shows in his singing and in his love affair with the plus-sized Lauren Zizes (Ashley Fink), yet every time his sensitivity is revealed, it is undermined by his latest outrageous comment or action. Puck is the bad boy with whom many of us can’t help falling in love even though we know he’s bad for us.

Puck, like Rachel, is also very upfront about his Jewishness. Often this is played for laughs, since his character is so un-stereotypically Jewish that his high level of pride and Jewish knowledge seems out of place. One moment he’s insulting disabled people (in front of a disabled person), the next he’s singing Neil Diamond. As Puck says at one point, “I put the Jew in ju-vy.” Oh, and trivia fans, according to an interview in Hadassah, the Puckerman family’s Simchat Torah custom – eating Chinese food and watching “Schindler’s List” – is actually based on that of the Falchuk family.

Puck’s “wickedness” also highlights an egregious flaw in the Passover liturgy, where the wicked son is defined solely by his supposed self-exclusion from the Jewish people. The question he asks is, “Mah ha’avodah hazot lachem?”: “What is this service to you?” For this, he is to be reproached. But is the Wicked Son’s inquiry really so awful? Maybe he’s just trying to learn what meaning the Seder ritual has for someone else so that he can understand it better. To me, the wicked son is really the Listening Son. And even more outrageously, is there no other way that wickedness is manifested? Surely Puck is an example (as if we needed another) of a self-identifying Jew who is nonetheless a rasha, a wicked person. By defining wickedness solely in terms of Jewish identification, the Haggadah comes off as ethnocentric.

Artie Abrams (Kevin McHale) is the “Simple Child.” He’s not unintelligent, but in terms of Jewishness, his is the simplest and the least interesting. Obviously, Artie is Jewish: Not just his name, but his brown-haired-white-guy-with-dorky-glasses nerd look marks him as stereotypically Jewish in every way Puck is not. Yet unlike Puck and Rachel, Artie hasn’t performed his Jewishness in any way whatsoever. There’s nothing to Artie’s Jewishness; it’s just there. Like the simple son, he shows up at the Seder but does little more.

For years, characters like Artie would be the only visibly Jewish ones on certain TV shows. Anyone remember Arvid (played by Dan Frischman), the nerd from the 1980s sitcom “Head of the Class”? We’re used to this character; we’ve seen him so many times. Probably Jerry Lewis invented him: the nutty, nebbishy professor who never has to say he’s Jewish, because we all know it already. There’s even another character like him on “Glee”: Jacob Ben Israel (Josh Sussman), the creepy, geeky loser who stalks Rachel. (Jacob’s not in the glee club, so he isn’t a “son” here. He’s also one of the slimiest characters on the show.)

Artie’s clichéd Jewishness might be insulting were it not juxtaposed with Rachel’s and Puck’s. As it stands, it’s another instance of how American Jewishness is performed today: vapidly, with an emptiness that leads to assimilation. Many in the institutional Jewish world think that the rebellious Puck is the problem with American Judaism today – but surely it’s the apathetic Artie who will sooner drift away from Jewish life.

Finally, Tina Cohen-Chang (Jenna Ushkowitz) is the “Child Who Does Not Know There’s a Question To Ask.” Like Artie, Tina is no dummy – but her Jewishness is completely invisible save for that double-barrel, presumably interfaith name. Because she is Asian, and because her Chinese heritage is central to her identity (she is now dating Mike Chang, the “other Asian,” and they commiserate about their ethnicity often), her Jewishness has effectively vanished. As with Artie, it’s not mentioned. The priestly name is there, but that’s as far as it goes.

This, too, is an important way that Jewishness is performed today: as absence. Most likely, Tina is Jewish according to Halacha, if we assume that Cohen is her mother’s name. (By the way, the Internet tells me that Ushkowitz herself is Catholic.) But she celebrated Christmas – as did Artie, now dating the blond “über-shiksa” Brittany Pierce – and has never responded to the Jewish comments made by Rachel and Puck. If Artie is on his way out of Jewish identity, Tina seems already gone.

At the same time, neither Artie nor Tina seems to be missing anything. There’s no hole in their lives where Jewishness used to be. In the grammar of the show, they have other distinguishing marks of “otherness”: Artie is in a wheelchair, and Tina, in addition to being Chinese, is a bit of a goth. This is true for Rachel and Puck, as well: She has two dads and is a nerd; he has a Mohawk and is a part-time juvenile delinquent. Jewishness figures into these four lives as just another optional feature of identity. It can be major, minor or entirely absent. It can be religious, cultural or even physical.

The moment's near when we shall eat

a snack, a meal, a Seder treat

Our customs held in high esteem

that when we eat our hands be clean

For all that we can do or say

a blessing must precede the way

(Participants should wash their hands and recite the following blessing:) 

Ba-ruch A-tah A-do-nai, E-lo-hei-nu Me-lech Ha-o-lam,

a-sheer keed-sha-nu be-meetz-vo-tav, vee-tzee-va-nu

al n'tee-lat ya-da-yeem.

O Holy One of Blessing, Your Presence fills creation;

You made us special with your mitzvot, and You have

instructed us to wash our hands.

Baruch Atah Adonai Eloheinu Melech ha’olam, hamotzei lechem min ha’aretz.

בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יי אֱלֹהֵינוּ מֶלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם, אֲשֶׁר קִדְּשָנוּ בְּמִצְוֹתָיו וְצִוָּנוּ עַל אֲכִילַת מַצָּה.

מָרוֹרDipping the bitter herb in sweet charoset | maror | 

ברוּךְ אַתָּה יְיַָ אֱלֹהֵֽינוּ מֶֽלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם, אֲשֶׁר קִדְּשָֽׁנוּ בְּמִצְוֹתָיו וְצִוָּֽנוּ עַל אֲכִילַת מרוֹר:

Baruch Atah Adonai, Eloheinu Melech ha-olam, asher kid’shanu b’mitzvotav v’tzivanu
al achilat maror.

We praise God, Ruler of Everything, who made us holy through obligations, commanding us to eat bitter herbs.

Make a sandwich of marror between two pieces of the bottom Motazah. Dip the sandwich into the haroseth and shake it off.

On Passover, Hillel, the head of the Rabbinic academy in Jerusalem two thousand years ago, combined the pesach, matzoh and maror and ate them together, so he might observe the commandment exactly: “They shall eat the Pesach lamb offering with matzoh and maror together.” The destruction of the Temple by the Romans brought an end to animal sacrifices, so our sand- wich today is made only with matzoh and maror. We will now eat the bitter herbs sandwiched between two pieces of matzoh.

Break two pieces of the bottom matzoh, and use it to make a sandwich with maror

Now eat and drink to your heart's delight. It is permitted to drink wine between the second and third cups.

Find the Afikomen, symbolizing part of you that was split off and must be reintegrated into your full being to be a whole and free person.

בָּרֵךְSaying grace after the meal and inviting Elijah the Prophet | bareich |

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!

According to tradition, Elijah (Eliyahu) is the prophet who will return as a harbinger of the coming of the Messiah. He is therefore invited as a guest to every Seder.

The fourth cup of wine is poured, as well as Elijah’s Cup.The front door is opened for Elijah while the following paragraph is recited:

Pour Your wrath upon the heathen nations who do not recognize You and upon the sinful kingdoms that do not invoke Your Name. For they have devoured Jacob and destroyed His dwelling place. Pour Your anger upon them and let Your fiery wrath overtake them. Pursue them in indignation and annihilate them from beneath the heavens of the L-rd

Sh’foach cha’maht’chah el ha’goyim ah’sher lo y’dah’ooh’chah, v’ahl mahm’la’choat ah’sher b’shim’chah lo kah’rah’ooh. Kee ah’chahl et Yaakov v’et nah’vay’hoo hay’sha’moo. Sh’foch ah’lay’hem zah’meh’chah vah’chah’roan ahph’chah ya’see’gaym. Tir’doaf b’ahf v’tah’sh’mee’daym mee’tah’chaht sh’may Ah’doh’nai.

***POINTS TO PONDER***
A Night of Guarding:
The night of the Seder is known as Lel Shee’murim, the night of watching, because G-d protected the Israelites during the plague of the firstborn. By opening the door, we demonstrate that we believe that it is truly a Lel Shee’murim, and that we are not concerned that evil might be lurking on the other side of the door.

Why Elijah
Eliyahu HaNavi, Elijah the Prophet, lived in the 9th century B.C.E. in the Northern Kingdom of Israel. A fierce and fiery prophet, Eliyahu fought against the idolatry brought into the country by Queen Jezebel, who married Ahab, King of Israel. Tradition notes that just before the coming of the Messiah, Eliyahu will settle every doubtful case of Jewish law. Eliyahu’s cup of wine,
which is placed on the Pesach Seder table, is linked to a Talmudic dispute as to whether four or five cups of wine are to be used at the Seder celebration. Hence the extra cup, known as Eliyahu’s Cup, conveys the idea that the question could not be solved by the authorities of the Talmud and therefore must wait for Eliyahu’s decision.

Your Thoughts:

Eliyahu is also invited to join every brit milah (circumcision) celebration. Can you think of what ties these two occasions together?

Nor for our sake, O Lord, not for our sake, but for your name’s sake give glory, because of your kindness and your truth. Why should the nations say: “Where is their God?” Our God is in the heavens; He does whatever He pleases! Their idols are silver and gold, the work

of human hands. They have a mouth, but they cannot speak; they have eyes, but they cannot see; they have ears, but they cannot hear; they have a nose, but they cannot smell; they have hands, but they cannot feel; they have feet, but they cannot walk; nor can they utter a sound with their throat. Those who make them shall become like them, whoever trusts in them. O Israel, trust in the Lord! He is their help and shield. You who revere the Lord, trust in the Lord! He is their help and shield. )Psalm 115:1-11(

The Lord who has remembered us will bless; He will bless the house of Israel; He will bless the house of Aaron; He will bless those who revere the Lord, the small with the great. May the Lord increase you, you and your children. You are blessed by the Lord, who made the heaven and earth. The heaven is the Lord’s heaven, but he has given the earth to mankind. The dead cannot praise the Lord, nor can any who go down into silence. We will bless the Lord from this time forth and forever. Halleluyah! )Psalm 115:12-18(

I love that the Lord hears my supplications. Because he has inclined his ear to me, I will call upon him as long as I live. The cords of death encircled me; the pains of the grave have overtaken me; I found trouble and sorrow. Then I called upon the name of the Lord: “O Lord, save my life!” Gracious is the Lord, and righteous and our God is merciful. The Lord protects the simple;

I was brought low and he saved me. Return to your rest, O my soul, for the Lord has been kind to you. You delivered me from death, my eyes from tears and my feet from stumbling. I shall walk before the Lord in the lands of the living. I kept faith even when I cry out: “I am greatly afflicted.’ I kept faith even when I said in haste: “All men are deceitful.” )Psalm 116:1-11(

How can I repay the Lord for all his kind acts toward me? I will raise the cup of salvations, and call upon the name of the Lord. My vows to the Lord I will pay in the presence of all his people. Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his pious followers. O Lord, I am truly your servant; I am your servant, the son of your hand-maid; You has loosened my bonds. To you I sacrifice a thanksgiving offering, and call upon the name of the Lord. My vows to the Lord I will pay in the presence of all his people, In the courts of the Lord’s house, in the midst of Jerusalem. Halleluyah! )Psalm 116:12-19(

Give thanks to the Lord, all you nations; praise him, all you peoples! For his kindness overwhelms us, and the truth of the Lord is forever, Halleluyah! )Psalm 117(

Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; His kindness endures forever.

Let Israel say: his kindness endures forever.

Let the house of Aaron say: his kindness endures forever.

Let those who revere the Lord say: his kindness endures forever. )Psalm 118:1-4(

From the straits I called upon the Lord; the Lord answered me by placing me in a great expanse. The Lord is with me; I have no fear of what man can do to me. The Lord is with me among my helpers; I shall see the defeat of my foes. It is better to seek refuge in the Lord than to trust in man. It is better to seek refuge in the Lord than to trust in princes. All nations have encompassed me; but in the name of the Lord, I routed them. They swarmed around me; but in the name of the Lord, I cut them down. They swarmed like bees about me, but they were extinguished like a fire of thorns; but in the name of the Lord, I cut them down. You pushed me that I might fall, but the Lord helped me. The Lord is my strength and song; He has become my salvation. The voice of rejoicing and salvation is heard in the tents of the righteous: “The right hand of the Lord does valiantly. The Lord’s right hand is raised in triumph; the Lord’s right hand does valiantly!” I shall not die, but live to relate the deeds of the Lord. The Lord has surely punished me, but he has not left me to die. Open for me the gates of righteousness, that I may enter and praise the Lord. This is the gate of the Lord; the righteous may enter through it.

I thank you for you have answered me, becoming my salvation. The stone which the builders rejected has become the major cornerstone. This the Lord’s doing; It is marvelous in our eyes. This is the day which the Lord has made; We will be glad and rejoice on it.

O Lord, please save us! O Lord, please save us! O Lord, let us prosper! O Lord, let us prosper!

Blessed be he who comes in the name of the Lord; We bless you from the house of the Lord. The Lord is God who has shown us light; Bind the sacrifice with cords, up to the altar-horns. You are my God, and I thank you; You are my God, and I exalt you. Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; His kindness endures forever.

All your works praise Thee, Lord our God; your pious followers who perform your will, and all your people the house of Israel, praise, thank, bless, glorify, extol, exalt, revere, sanctify, and coronate your name, our King. To Thee it is fitting to give thanks, and unto your name it is proper to sing praises, for Thou art God eternal.

Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, His kindness endures forever.

Give thanks to the God above gods, His kindness endures forever.

Give thanks to the Lord of lords, His kindness endures forever.

To him who alone does great wonders, His kindness endures forever.

To him who made the heavens with understanding, His kindness endures forever.

To him who stretched the earth over the waters, His kindness endures forever.

To him who made the great lights, His kindness endures forever.

The sun to reign by day, His kindness endures forever.

The moon and the stars to reign by night, His kindness endures forever.

To him who smote Egypt in their firstborn, His kindness endures forever.

And took Israel out from among them, His kindness endures forever.

With strong hand and outstretched arm, His kindness endures forever.

To him who parted the Red Sea, His kindness endures forever.

And caused Israel to pass through it, His kindness endures forever.

And threw Pharaoh and his host in the Red Sea, His kindness endures forever.

To him who led His people through the wilderness, His kindness endures forever.

To him who smote great kings, His kindness endures forever.

And slew mighty kings, His kindness endures forever.

Sihon, king of the Amorites, His kindness endures forever.

And Og, king of Bashan, His kindness endures forever.

And gave their land as an inheritance, His kindness endures forever.

An inheritance to Israel his servant, His kindness endures forever.

Who remembered us in our low state, His kindness endures forever.

And released us from our foes, His kindness endures forever.

Who gives food to all creatures, His kindness endures forever.

Give thanks to God of all heaven, His kindness endures forever. )Psalm 136(

The soul of every living being shall bless your name, Lord our God the spirit of all flesh shall ever glorify and exalt your remembrance, our King. Throughout eternity Thou art God. Besides Thee we have no king who redeems and saves, ransoms and rescues, sustains and shows mercy in all times of trouble and distress. We have no King but Thee-God of the first and of the last, God of all creatues, Master of all generations, One acclaimed with a multitude of praises, He who guides His world with kindness and His creatures with mercy. The Lord neither slumbers nor sleeps; He rouses those who sleep and wakens those who slumber; He enables the speechless to speak and loosens the bonds of the captives; He supports those who are fallen and raises those who are bowed down. To Thee alone we give thanks.

Were our mouth filled with song as the ocean, and our tongue with joy as the endless waves; were our lips full of praise as the wide heavens, and our eyes shining like the sun or the moon; were our hands spread out in prayer as the eagles of the sky and our feet running as swiftly as the deer--we should still be unable to thank Thee and bless your name, Lord our God and God of our fathers, for one of the thousands and even myriads of favors which Thou hast bestowed on our fathers and on us. Thou hast liberated us from Egypt, Lord

our God, and redeemed us from the house of slavery. Thou has fed us in famine and sustained us with plenty. Thou hast saved us from the sword, helped us to escape the plague, and spared us from severe and enduring diseases. Until now your mercy has helped us, and your kindness has not forsaken us; mayest Thou, Lord our God, never abandon us. Therefore, the limbs which Thou has given us, the spirit and soul which Thou has breathed into our nostrils, and the tongue which Thou hast placed in our mouth, shall all thank and bless, praise and glorify, exalt and revere, sanctify and acclaim your name, our King. To Thee, every mouth shall offer thanks; every tongue shall vow allegiance; every knee shall bend, and all who stand erect shall bow. All hearts shall revere Thee, and men’s inner beings shall sing to your name, as it is written: “all my bones shall say: O Lord, who is like Thee? Thou savest the poor man from one that is stronger, the poor and needy from one who would rob him.” Who may be likened to Thee? Who is equal to Thee? Who can be compared to Thee? O Great, mighty and revered God, supreme God is the Master of heaven and earth. Let us praise, acclaim and glorify Thee and bless your holy name, as it is said: “A Psalm of David: Bless the Lord, O my soul, and let my whole inner being bless His holy name.”

O God in your mighty acts of power, great in the honor of your name, powerful forever and revered for your awe-inspiring acts, O King seated upon a high and lofty throne!

By the mouth of the upright you shall be praised; By the words of the righteous you shall be blessed; By the tongue of the pious you shall be exalted; And in the midst of the holy you shall be sanctified.

In the assemblies of the multitudes of your people, the house of Israel, with song shall your name, our King, be glorified in every generation. For it is the duty of all creatures to thank, praise, laud, extol, exalt, adore, and bless Thee; even beyond the songs and praises of David the son of Jesse, your anointed servant.

Praise be your name forever, our King, who rules and is great and holy in heaven and on earth; for to Thee, Lord our God, it is fitting to render song and praise, hallel and psalms, power and dominion, victory, glory and might, praise and beauty, holiness and sovereignty, blessings and thanks, from now and forever.

The cups are filled for the fourth time.

The leader lifts the cup of wine and reads:
The festive service is completed. With songs of praise, we have lifted up the cups symbolizing the divine promises of salvation, and have called upon the name of God. As we offer the benediction over the fourth cup, let us again lift our souls to God in faith and in hope. May He who broke Pharaoh's yoke for ever shatter all fetters of oppression, and hasten the day when swords shall, at last, be broken and wars ended. Soon may He cause the glad tidings of redemption to be heard in all lands, so that mankind—freed from violence and from wrong, and united in an eternal covenant of brotherhood—may celebrate the universal Passover in the name of our God of freedom.

All read in unison:
May God bless the whole house of Israel with freedom, and keep us safe from danger everywhere. Amen.
May God cause the light of His countenance to shine upon all men, and dispel the darkness of ignorance and of prejudice.
May He be gracious unto us.
Amen.
May God lift up His countenance upon our country and render it a true home of liberty and a bulwark of justice. And may He grant peace unto all mankind.
Amen.
‏בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יְיָ אֱלֹהֵֽינוּ מֶֽלֶךְ הָֽעוֹלָֽם בּוֹרֵא פְּרִי הַגָּֽפָּן׃‎
BORUCH ATTO ADONOI ELOHENU MELECH HO‘OLOM BORE P’RI HAGGOFEN.
Praised art Thou, O Lord our God, King of the universe, who createst the fruit of the vine.
Drink the fourth cup of wine.

חֲסַל סִדור פֶסַח כְהִלְכָתוֹ, כְכָל מִשְפָטוֹ וְחֻקָתוֹ. כַאֲשֶר זָכִינו לְסַדֵר אוֹתוֹ. כֵן נִזְכֶה לַעֲשוֹתוֹ. זָךְ שוֹכֵן מְעוֹנָה, קוֹמֵם קְהַל עֲדַת מִי מָנָה. בְקָרוֹב נַהֵל נִטְעֵי כַנָה. פְדויִם לְצִיוֹן בְרִנָה.
לְשָנָה הַבָאָה בִירושַָלָיִם.

נִרְצָהEnding the seder and thinking about the future | nirtzah |

Our seder is over, according to Jewish tradition and law. 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 pray that God brings health and healing to Israel and all the people of the world, especially those impacted by natural tragedy and war. As we say…

לְשָׁנָה הַבָּאָה בִּירוּשָׁלָֽיִם:

L’shana haba-ah biy’rushalayim

NEXT YEAR IN JERUSALEM!

Our Seder now ends. Together we say, “Next year in Jerusalem. Next year may all men and women everywhere be free!”

Ilu hotzi hotzianu hotzianu mimitzrayim, hotzianu mimitzrayim, DAYENU.

Ilu natan natan lanu, natan lanu et hashabat, natan lanu et hashabat, DAYENU.

Ilu natan natan lanu, natan lanu et hatorah, natan lanu et hatorah, DAYENU.