{ "clip_details": { "clip": { "is_admin": 0, "is_owner": 0, "handle": "eggs", "title": "Eggs", "author": "Gerald Weiss", "author_handle": "geraldbweiss", "author_initials": "GW", "covertext": "Eggs are prominent and pervasive on Pesah. In fact, so prevalent are they during the holiday week that one might suspect...", "user_image": "", "user_image_original": "", "body": "<p style=\"text-align:left;\"><span style=\"text-align:center;\">Eggs are prominent and pervasive on Pesa</span><span>h</span><span style=\"text-align:center;\">. In fact, so prevalent are they during the holiday week that one might suspect that the ancient Greek name for Pesa</span><span>h</span><span style=\"text-align:center;\"> actually may have been Cholesterol!</span></p><p style=\"text-align:left;\"><span style=\"text-align:center;\">Let's start with the Seder Plate, where a roasted egg (Beitzah ביצה), said to represent the holiday sacrifice, or </span><span>H</span><span style=\"text-align:center;\">aggigah (חגיגה) finds a prominent place on a plate otherwise filled with symbols of subjugation and suffering: the roasted shankbone (זרוע), reminder not only of the paschal lamb whose blood was smeared on the doorposts of Israelite homes in Egypt on the eve of the 10th and final plague - the killing of Egypt's firstborns - and which was roasted whole and wholly consumed on that fateful night preceding the Exodus, but also of the z'roa netuyah (זרוע נטויה) the outstretched arm of the Almighty reaching out to rescue the people as promised; the bitter herbs Maror (מרור) and </span><span>H</span><span style=\"text-align:center;\">azeret (חזרת), evoking memories of bitter bondage; the parsley (כרפס) representing the hyssop used to paint the lamb's blood on the doorposts, and salt water (מי מלח), reminding us of the salty tears shed by slaves; the </span><span>H</span><span style=\"text-align:center;\">aroset (חרוסת), a tasty pasty mixture reminiscent of mortar, meant to mitigate the bitterness of the herbs dipped into it, and lastly, the Matzah itself (לחם עוני) - the poor bread, the bread of affliction which our slave ancestors ate in Egypt and which was miraculously transformed by our tradition into the hastily baked bread of freedom, in consonance with the theme \"from slavery into freedom.\"</span></p><p style=\"text-align:left;\"><span style=\"text-align:center;\">So the roasted egg means what? Perhaps the loss of vitality and hope? A people steeped in sorrow, consumed by cruelty, sacrificed to the ambitions of tyrants and burned out - whose very bones have dried out, as in the vision of Ezekiel in Chapter 37?</span></p><p style=\"text-align:left;\"><span style=\"text-align:center;\">But then, the egg reappears right before the the Seder meal, as a delicious and symbolic \"appetizer,\" served peeled of its hard shell and, in most households, swimming in salt water representing the sea, source of life, and saline, a life-sustaining solution of similar pH to human bodily fluids.</span></p><p style=\"text-align:left;\"><span style=\"text-align:center;\">It seems that the egg, a pagan symbol of fertility and the cycle of life and rebirth - of resurrection of life and nature in the spring after the harsh frigid northern winter - has now become a symbol of beginnings, not endings, not of hopelessness but of hope. </span><span style=\"text-align:center;\">Far from being roasted and with burnt and broken shell, it stands instead as a symbol of resilience to suffering. Most foods, when cooked, become softer and fall apart. The egg, however, gets tougher - hard boiled - the longer you cook it, an appropriate symbol of a people persecuted and \"steeled by adversity\" stubbornly resurrected as a nation determined to live anew.</span></p><p style=\"text-align:left;\"><span style=\"text-align:center;\">Maybe Pesa</span><span>h</span><span style=\"text-align:center;\"> SHOULD be called Cholesterol after all, in honor of the \"incredible, edible egg,\" and the proudly adorned and lavishly decorated egg become one of OUR celebrated holiday symbols, too.</span></p>", "cliptype": "text", "clipsource": "Original", "featured": 0, "featuredIn": null, "is_public": 1, "is_published": 1, "media": { "image": null, "audio": null, "video": null }, "thumbnail": null, "clip_section": [ { "haggadah_section": "Introduction", "slug": "introduction" } ], "likes": 0, "downloads": 233, "tags": [], "themes": [], "language": "0", "is_bookmarked": "0", "is_liked": 0, "meta_tags": { "title": "Eggs | Passover haggadah by Gerald Weiss", "description": "Our simple platform allows you to create a custom Passover Haggadah, with access to unique content contributed by our community. Find artwork, family", "keywords": "", "og:type": "article", "og:url": "https://www.haggadot.com/clip/eggs", "og:title": "Eggs | Passover haggadah by Gerald Weiss", "og:description": "Our simple platform allows you to create a custom Passover Haggadah, with access to unique content contributed by our community. Find artwork, family", "og:image": "" } } }, "contributed_by": { "author": "Gerald Weiss", "handle": "geraldbweiss", "author_initials": "GW", "total_books": 0, "total_clips": 11, "total_followers": 0, "is_following": 0 }, "user_book": null, "clips_by_author": [ { "clip": { "is_admin": 0, "is_owner": 0, "handle": "four-children-nope-theyre-all-us", "title": "Four Children? Nope! They're ALL US!", "author": "Gerald Weiss", "author_handle": "geraldbweiss", "author_initials": "GW", "covertext": "There is  something else hidden tonight in addition to the Afikoman.We generally think of the Four Children as distinct...", "user_image": "", "user_image_original": "", "body": "<p>There is  something else hidden tonight in addition to the Afikoman.</p><p>We generally think of the Four Children as distinct individuals, or personalities, or types.</p><p>Each asks (or doesn't ask) a different type of question and in a different <strong>tone</strong>. (This is the Haggadah's way of explaining why the Torah seems to say we should tell our children about the Exodus from Egypt in different words, and in differing levels of detail. The Book of Proverbs tells us to \"teach a child in the way s/he can understand (appropriate to each age, intellectual and interest level), and as s/he grows older that knowledge will remain.\"</p><p>But just flip the list upside down, and a different picture emerges.</p><p>Suddenly, we see ourselves at all the stages of our human development from childhood to adulthood and beyond, reflected in this passage.</p><p><strong>The one who doesn't know what or how to ask </strong><strong>is </strong>too young - perhaps a pre-schooler, or simply incapable of asking<strong>.</strong></p><p><strong>The simple one. </strong>Simple questions<strong> </strong>from a young child just learning about life - just learning how to read and reason - require simple, declarative if not definitive, answers, without equivocation and as factual but unfrightening as we can make them<strong>.</strong></p><p><strong>The rebellious one - (often erroneously referred to as wicked) - </strong>that's us as teenagers, challenging authority, seeking our own answers, trying to make sense of things we now summarily reject out of hand that once we had accepted as revealed truth<strong>.</strong></p><p><strong>The wise one. </strong>Then, IF we survive our teenage rebelliousness, we FINALLY emerge into adult maturity, and hopefully, attain wisdom or something akin to it, that enables us to function in, if not make sense of, the world we inhabit. </p><p>If we are lucky, this last stage lasts a lifetime.</p><p>(For many, however, the ladder UP eventually becomes the staircase DOWN again, as we pass through the wisdom of adulthood, back to a a cantankerous stubbornness or rebelliousness, to simplicity, and finally, sadly, to the silence of no longer knowing how, or caring what, to ask.)</p>", "cliptype": "text", "clipsource": "Original", "featured": 0, "featuredIn": null, "is_public": 1, "is_published": 1, "media": { "image": null, "audio": null, "video": null }, "thumbnail": null, "clip_section": [ { "haggadah_section": "-- Four Children", "slug": "four-children" } ], "likes": 0, "downloads": 264, "tags": [], "themes": [], "language": "0", "is_bookmarked": "0", "is_liked": 0, "meta_tags": { "title": "Four Children? Nope! They're ALL US! | Passover haggadah by Gerald Weiss", "description": "Our simple platform allows you to create a custom Passover Haggadah, with access to unique content contributed by our community. Find artwork, family", "keywords": "", "og:type": "article", "og:url": "https://www.haggadot.com/clip/four-children-nope-theyre-all-us", "og:title": "Four Children? Nope! They're ALL US! | Passover haggadah by Gerald Weiss", "og:description": "Our simple platform allows you to create a custom Passover Haggadah, with access to unique content contributed by our community. Find artwork, family", "og:image": "" } } }, { "clip": { "is_admin": 0, "is_owner": 0, "handle": "gefilte-fish-mythical-midrash-revised", "title": "Gefilte Fish-A Mythical Midrash (Revised)", "author": "Gerald Weiss", "author_handle": "geraldbweiss", "author_initials": "GW", "covertext": "According to Ashkenazic Jewish custom, we eat a lot of Gefilte fish on Passover. The question arose as to why Gefilte fi...", "user_image": "", "user_image_original": "", "body": "<p>According to Ashkenazic Jewish custom, we eat a lot of Gefilte fish on Passover. The question arose as to why Gefilte fish is so closely associated with Passover, and why it seems to appear on so many Seder tables. </p><p>Here is one answer: </p><p>God prepared every aspect of the Israelite Exodus from Egypt in exquisite and loving detail. It was expected to be completed without a glitch. But God failed to foresee that Pharaoh would pursue the Israelites so soon after their departure intending to re-enslave them or kill them. God knew that the Egyptian embalming and mourning period lasts for 110 days, more than enough time for the Israelites to get back to Eretz Yisrael, (Genesis 40:3) but God didn't count on Pharaoh's hardheartedness, preferring chasing down the Israelites to properly mourning his own firstborn son. </p><p>So here's what happened.  </p><p>The Israelites found themselves trapped between the Sea of Reeds (sometimes mistakenly called the Red Sea) and the pursuing Egyptian chariots.  They cried to Moses, Moses cried to God and God said: \"Why are you crying to me? I mean, is it My fault Pharaoh is such a  <em>yutz</em> ? Tell the Israelites to get going!\" </p><p>\"Get going??? To where?\", asked Moses, incredulously. \"They're trapped with their backs to the Sea and the Pharaoh's chariots are bearing down on them. Just where do You suggest they go?\" </p><p>Hmmm, mused God, this is a situation I didn't anticipate. Wait, let me think...  </p><p>A <em>ha</em> !  </p><p>[<span>A <em>ha</em> </span>: You see, God never creates the wound before the healing. In a quirky moment during the evolutionary process, God created an odd kind of sea creature. It was awkward looking and lumpy, with no fins, no scales, <span>(although a Takkanat Tannaim - unknown until the discovery by Solomon Shechter, of blessed memory, of a medieval manuscript in the Cairo Geniza - declared it \"kosher\" anyway). Its actual kashrut was not confirmed until the middle of the 20th Century C.E., when Rabbi Isaac Klein of Buffalo, also of blessed memory, consulted a fish scientist who confirmed that at one stage of its life, before it, er... \"matured,\" it did, in fact, have BOTH fins AND scales, although not necessarily at the same time, prompting Rabbi Klein to affirm that it was, in fact, kosher WITHOUT the need for the original Takkanat Tannaim, and therefore, certainly permissible to eat, even on Passover, as long as it was not mixed, cooked or served with any Chametz. But I digress, so where were we? Oh, yes...</span>no eyes, no tail...and very, very pale.  <em>Yuch!</em>  So God stuck this evolutionary error in an out of the way place where it could live out its life-cycle in peace, undisturbed, undisturbing and unobserved. God put the wild Gefilte fish species in only one body of water on Earth -- somewhat off the beaten path -- in the Sea of Reeds (sometimes mistakenly called the Red Sea) -- where the species lived and multiplied in obscurity for ages. Suddenly, God, who has a really long memory, remembered the wild Gefilte fish and the unique capability they developed, namely, the ability to suck in and hold 40 times (400 times, according to Rabbi Akiva) their weight in water.]</p><p>Now, God nodded knowingly and summoned the wild Gefilte to fulfill ( <em>ahem</em> ) their intended destiny by playing a crucial role in saving the people of Israel from the pursuing Egyptians.</p><p>And God spoke to the wild Gefilte, numbering in the tens of thousands, saying, \"OK, fellas, at the count of three, SUCK IN!\" (Some versions read: \" <em>Oseh, fella, ...</em> \" and so on) \"One, two, THREE!\" All at once, tens of thousands of wild Gefilte fish made a whooshing, sucking sound, as they simultaneously sucked in so much water that the middle of the Sea of Reeds (sometimes mistakenly called the Red Sea) dried up and a path opened up for the Israelites, enabling them to cross to the other side. But when the Egyptian chariots tried to follow them across the dry sea bed, the wild Gefilte fish, unable to HOLD 40 times their weight in water (400 times, according to Rabbi Akiva) any longer, let go, and the ensuing tsunami swept the Egyptian chariots away.  </p><p>Israel was saved, and with tambourines and song, they praised God for God's foresight in creating the now heroic and celebrated, ugly but ultimately useful, wild Gefilte fish.  </p><p>So, from that day to this, in gratitude for the part they played in rescuing Israel at the Sea (remember, the Sea of Reeds, NOT the Red Sea) and saving them from the pursuing Egyptians, the wild Gefilte fish were domesticated, bred (OMG! No  <em>bread</em>  on Passover!) (OK then,  <em>matzah-mealed</em> ) and granted a place of honor on the Seder table and menu (at least in Ashkenazic practice; Sephardim don't believe in  <em>bubba meisehs</em> ).  </p><p>Now, how's THAT for a fish story?</p>", "cliptype": "text", "clipsource": "Original", "featured": 0, "featuredIn": null, "is_public": 1, "is_published": 1, "media": { "image": null, "audio": null, "video": null }, "thumbnail": null, "clip_section": [ { "haggadah_section": "Shulchan Oreich", "slug": "shulchan-oreich" } ], "likes": 0, "downloads": 277, "tags": [], "themes": [], "language": "0", "is_bookmarked": "0", "is_liked": 0, "meta_tags": { "title": "Gefilte Fish-A Mythical Midrash (Revised) | Passover haggadah by Gerald Weiss", "description": "Our simple platform allows you to create a custom Passover Haggadah, with access to unique content contributed by our community. Find artwork, family", "keywords": "", "og:type": "article", "og:url": "https://www.haggadot.com/clip/gefilte-fish-mythical-midrash-revised", "og:title": "Gefilte Fish-A Mythical Midrash (Revised) | Passover haggadah by Gerald Weiss", "og:description": "Our simple platform allows you to create a custom Passover Haggadah, with access to unique content contributed by our community. Find artwork, family", "og:image": "" } } }, { "clip": { "is_admin": 0, "is_owner": 0, "handle": "dayenu-english-song", "title": "Dayenu (English - song)", "author": "Gerald Weiss", "author_handle": "geraldbweiss", "author_initials": "GW", "covertext": "If God had only set us free, Redeemed us all from slavery, That would have been enough for me! Dayenu... If God had give...", "user_image": "", "user_image_original": "", "body": "If God had only set us free,\n\n<p>Redeemed us all from slavery,</p>\n\n<p>That would have been enough for me!</p>\n\n<p>Dayenu...</p>\n\n<p>If God had given us Shabbat,</p>\n\n<p>That really would have meant a lot,</p>\n\n<p>But did God stop there?</p>\n\n<p>No, God did not!</p>\n\n<p>Dayenu...</p>\n\n<p>God's Torah we were also given,</p>\n\n<p>And the Promised Land to live in,</p>\n\n<p>For all these things our thanks are given.</p>\n\n<p>Dayenu...</p>\n\n\n", "cliptype": "text", "clipsource": "Original", "featured": 0, "featuredIn": { "title": "Our Favorites For Families", "slug": "our-favorites-families", "author": "Haggadot" }, "is_public": 1, "is_published": 1, "media": { "image": null, "audio": null, "video": null }, "thumbnail": null, "clip_section": [ { "haggadah_section": "-- Cup #2 & Dayenu", "slug": "cup-2-amp-dayenu" } ], "likes": 0, "downloads": 299, "tags": [], "themes": [], "language": "0", "is_bookmarked": "0", "is_liked": 0, "meta_tags": { "title": "Dayenu (English - song) | Passover haggadah by Gerald Weiss", "description": "Our simple platform allows you to create a custom Passover Haggadah, with access to unique content contributed by our community. Find artwork, family", "keywords": "", "og:type": "article", "og:url": "https://www.haggadot.com/clip/dayenu-english-song", "og:title": "Dayenu (English - song) | Passover haggadah by Gerald Weiss", "og:description": "Our simple platform allows you to create a custom Passover Haggadah, with access to unique content contributed by our community. Find artwork, family", "og:image": "" } } }, { "clip": { "is_admin": 0, "is_owner": 0, "handle": "avadim-hayinu-we-were-slaves-english-song", "title": "Avadim Hayinu (We were slaves -English song)", "author": "Gerald Weiss", "author_handle": "geraldbweiss", "author_initials": "GW", "covertext": "We were slaves in Egypt,So long ago.An evil king oppressed us,That cruel Pharaoh!God sent MosesTo redeem us,To take us o...", "user_image": "", "user_image_original": "", "body": "<p>We were slaves in Egypt,</p><p>So long ago.</p><p>An evil king oppressed us,</p><p>That cruel Pharaoh!</p><p>God sent Moses</p><p>To redeem us,</p><p>To take us out of slavery.</p><p>That's how God kept the promise</p><p>To set us free.</p>", "cliptype": "text", "clipsource": "Original", "featured": 0, "featuredIn": null, "is_public": 1, "is_published": 1, "media": { "image": null, "audio": null, "video": null }, "thumbnail": null, "clip_section": [ { "haggadah_section": "-- Exodus Story", "slug": "exodus-story" } ], "likes": 0, "downloads": 282, "tags": [], "themes": [], "language": "0", "is_bookmarked": "0", "is_liked": 0, "meta_tags": { "title": "Avadim Hayinu (We were slaves -English song) | Passover haggadah by Gerald Weiss", "description": "Our simple platform allows you to create a custom Passover Haggadah, with access to unique content contributed by our community. Find artwork, family", "keywords": "", "og:type": "article", "og:url": "https://www.haggadot.com/clip/avadim-hayinu-we-were-slaves-english-song", "og:title": "Avadim Hayinu (We were slaves -English song) | Passover haggadah by Gerald Weiss", "og:description": "Our simple platform allows you to create a custom Passover Haggadah, with access to unique content contributed by our community. Find artwork, family", "og:image": "" } } }, { "clip": { "is_admin": 0, "is_owner": 0, "handle": "parsley-sages-saltwater-and-time", "title": "Parsley, Sages, Saltwater and Time", "author": "Gerald Weiss", "author_handle": "geraldbweiss", "author_initials": "GW", "covertext": "We dip a green vegetable, often parsley, into saltwater and recite the blessing for green foods that grow in the ground....", "user_image": "", "user_image_original": "", "body": "<p>We dip a green vegetable, often parsley, into saltwater and recite the blessing for green foods that grow in the ground.</p><p>Why? The traditional reason, according to the Sages of the ages, is to taste the salty tears of slavery. </p><p>But is there more?</p><p>Of course! Isn't there always?</p><p>1. Passover is the Festival of spring and the rebirth of nature after the dormancy of winter. New green growth returns to the fields, replacing the brown of winter. The parsely we dip tonight is a tasteful reminder of our dependence on the ability of the earth to regenerate the food that enables all life - human and animal - to exist. The saltwater symbolizes the origin of all life in the sea, and the interdependence of ocean and land in the cycle of fertility.</p><p>2. The parsely also historically represents the hyssop which was dipped into the salty (saline) blood of a lamb to mark the door posts of the Israelites homes in Egypt on that fateful night of the 10th plague and the ensuing exodus.</p><p>The custom of dipping one food into another or into some sauce or condiment is usually characteristic of an appetizer or prelude to something more substantial to follow.</p><p>Symbolism is wonderful, but it doesn't fill a hungry stomach. It is truly just a prelude - to action - to remind us as we feast for freedom how many still fast for lack of food and perish for want of sufficient nourishment.</p><p>As we observe this time-honored Seder tradition, let it sensitize us to our obligation as partners with God to continue to strive to make this a more just and perfect world.</p><p>Tonight, especially, when we remember from where we came and where we are today, let us renew our commitment to helping all who hunger find <span>stable,</span> sustainable sources of sustenance in this world, just as God renews nature every spring.</p>", "cliptype": "text", "clipsource": "Original", "featured": 1, "featuredIn": null, "is_public": 1, "is_published": 1, "media": { "image": null, "audio": null, "video": null }, "thumbnail": null, "clip_section": [ { "haggadah_section": "Karpas", "slug": "karpas" } ], "likes": 0, "downloads": 256, "tags": [], "themes": [], "language": "0", "is_bookmarked": "0", "is_liked": 0, "meta_tags": { "title": "Parsley, Sages, Saltwater and Time | Passover haggadah by Gerald Weiss", "description": "Our simple platform allows you to create a custom Passover Haggadah, with access to unique content contributed by our community. Find artwork, family", "keywords": "", "og:type": "article", "og:url": "https://www.haggadot.com/clip/parsley-sages-saltwater-and-time", "og:title": "Parsley, Sages, Saltwater and Time | Passover haggadah by Gerald Weiss", "og:description": "Our simple platform allows you to create a custom Passover Haggadah, with access to unique content contributed by our community. Find artwork, family", "og:image": "" } } }, { "clip": { "is_admin": 0, "is_owner": 0, "handle": "two-cups-elijahs-and-mirams", "title": "Two Cups - Elijah's and Miram's", "author": "Gerald Weiss", "author_handle": "geraldbweiss", "author_initials": "GW", "covertext": "Everybody knows that we place a cup of wine for the prophet Eliah at the center of the Seder table. At a dramatic moment...", "user_image": "", "user_image_original": "", "body": "<p>Everybody knows that we place a cup of wine for the prophet Eliah at the center of the Seder table. At a dramatic moment in the Seder, the door is opened to welcome this usually unseen guest into our homes in the hope that the final, messianic, redemption of all people is at hand. Our ancient traditions tell us that final redemption will come at the season of Israel's redemption from Egyptian bondage - on some Passover to come.</p><p>We sing Eliah's song, and watch expectantly and hopefully for the wine in the cup to diminish, a sure sign that Elijah has visited and the dawn of a new redemption is near.</p><p>Less known, and of more recent origin, is the custom of placing a second cup, this one filled with water, on the Seder table for a second unseen but deserving guest - the prophetess, Miriam, sister of Moses and Aaron.</p><p>Why Miriam?</p><p>Well, who was it who watched wistfully as her baby brother was whisked away in a basket floating on the waters of the Nile? Who was it who, disregarding her own safety, dared to approach the Pharaoh's daughter, Princess of Egypt, and offer to find a Hebrew woman to nurse the child for her? Who was it who led the redeemed Israelite women and men in song and dance to celebrate their salvation at the Sea? Who was it, according to tradition, for whose sake a well of fresh water followed the wandering Israelites through the wilderness so they might survive the perilous journey? </p><p>It was Miriam, the Prophetess, symbol of all the courageous and worthy women who kept the home fires burning, even when the men became discouraged and despaired of redemption.</p><p>Who then is more deserving to be \"toasted\" with water, (a theme running through her life as a stream) and saluted for service \"above and beyond\" than she?</p><p>If the Cup of Elijah is one symbolizing hope for future redemption, Miriam's Cup symbolizes redemption realized through the tireless efforts of Israel's women. Let us honor her for her heroism, and through her, all the brave, capable, devoted, faithful and loyal women of Israel who have been, and continue to be, the ongoing source of Israel's strength.</p><p> <em>Biglal nashim tzidkaniyot nig'alu avoteynu miMitzrayim.</em> For the sake of our righteous women were our ancestors redeemed from Egypt.</p><p> <em>L'<span>H</span>ayim!</em> </p>", "cliptype": "text", "clipsource": "Original", "featured": 0, "featuredIn": null, "is_public": 1, "is_published": 1, "media": { "image": null, "audio": null, "video": null }, "thumbnail": null, "clip_section": [ { "haggadah_section": "Hallel", "slug": "hallel" } ], "likes": 0, "downloads": 318, "tags": [], "themes": [], "language": "0", "is_bookmarked": "0", "is_liked": 0, "meta_tags": { "title": "Two Cups - Elijah's and Miram's | Passover haggadah by Gerald Weiss", "description": "Our simple platform allows you to create a custom Passover Haggadah, with access to unique content contributed by our community. Find artwork, family", "keywords": "", "og:type": "article", "og:url": "https://www.haggadot.com/clip/two-cups-elijahs-and-mirams", "og:title": "Two Cups - Elijah's and Miram's | Passover haggadah by Gerald Weiss", "og:description": "Our simple platform allows you to create a custom Passover Haggadah, with access to unique content contributed by our community. Find artwork, family", "og:image": "" } } }, { "clip": { "is_admin": 0, "is_owner": 0, "handle": "cup-redemption", "title": "The Cup of Redemption", "author": "Gerald Weiss", "author_handle": "geraldbweiss", "author_initials": "GW", "covertext": "There, in the very center of the Seder table, stands a special, ornate kiddush-cup brimming with wine, awaiting the one...", "user_image": "", "user_image_original": "", "body": "<p>There, in the very center of the Seder table, stands a special, ornate kiddush-cup brimming with wine, awaiting the one still expected but as yet un-arrived guest -- the prophet Elijah. </p><p>Will Elijah come this year, to drink of our wine, to bring tidings of the long anticipated,final redemption of all humankind on this anniversary of Israel's redemption from Egypt? I hope so, but I think not. </p><p>The world at large is not yet ready for redemption, although it is sorely in need of it. There is still too much hatred, too much disease, too much evil. There is still too much poverty, oppression, misery. We have not yet conquered our tendency to conquer others, nor have we yet mastered the art of conquering ourselves. </p><p>But aren't these the very reasons we are in need of redemption? Yes, but this kind of redemption must first come from within; it cannot be brought about from without. We are the ones who must redeem ourselves from all these ills, find solutions for all these conflicts and raise mere “hope” to the level of action before we can expect to see the first glimmerings of a final redemption.</p><p>The real meaning of redemption is for us to work toward building a better world, and, as we progress, we will pave the way toward greater progress, until Elijah will be able to reach our doors without stumbling into the pitfalls and potholes we have left in his path. </p><p>\"When will redemption come?,\" R. Yehoshua b. Levi asked Elijah.</p><p>Elijah replied, \"Go and ask the Messiah who sits and waits at the Old City gates.\"</p><p>\"Today!, \" replied the Messiah.</p><p>And so, elated, R. Yehoshua patiently waited the day away, and still the Messiah had not arrived, nor had redemption come to the world.</p><p>When he next encountered Elijah, R. Yehoshua accosted him and as much as accused the Messiah of lying.</p><p>\"'Today!,' he told me, yet today has become yesterday, and still no redeemer has brought redemption.\"</p><p>The perennial prophet simply sipped his cup and said, \"I fear you may have misunderstood him. He was quoting scripture to you from the book of Psalms. Here is what it says: \"'Today', [I will come] if only all of you would hearken to My [God's] voice.\" </p><p>Let us set out the ornate cup in the center of our Seder tables and fill it with sweet wine. Let us open the door to redemption; not only the physical door to our homes, but the metaphorical spiritual doors which, while still locked, prevent us from working to bring about the \" <em>athalta d’geulah,\" the</em> beginnings of that great, final redemption. Let us be the ones who engage in paving the road that Elijah and we must walk to complete his - and our - journey.</p>", "cliptype": "text", "clipsource": "Original", "featured": 0, "featuredIn": null, "is_public": 1, "is_published": 1, "media": { "image": null, "audio": null, "video": null }, "thumbnail": null, "clip_section": [ { "haggadah_section": "Hallel", "slug": "hallel" } ], "likes": 0, "downloads": 246, "tags": [], "themes": [], "language": "0", "is_bookmarked": "0", "is_liked": 0, "meta_tags": { "title": "The Cup of Redemption | Passover haggadah by Gerald Weiss", "description": "Our simple platform allows you to create a custom Passover Haggadah, with access to unique content contributed by our community. Find artwork, family", "keywords": "", "og:type": "article", "og:url": "https://www.haggadot.com/clip/cup-redemption", "og:title": "The Cup of Redemption | Passover haggadah by Gerald Weiss", "og:description": "Our simple platform allows you to create a custom Passover Haggadah, with access to unique content contributed by our community. Find artwork, family", "og:image": "" } } }, { "clip": { "is_admin": 0, "is_owner": 0, "handle": "mah-nishtanah-video-song-hebrew-transliteration", "title": "Mah Nishtanah - video of song in Hebrew via transliteration", "author": "Gerald Weiss", "author_handle": "geraldbweiss", "author_initials": "GW", "covertext": "Learn to sing Mah Nishtanah in Hebrew using this video with images and English transliteration of the Hebrew. Enjoy!", "user_image": "", "user_image_original": "", "body": "<p>Learn to sing Mah Nishtanah in Hebrew using this video with images and English transliteration of the Hebrew. Enjoy!</p>", "cliptype": "video", "clipsource": "Original", "featured": 0, "featuredIn": null, "is_public": 1, "is_published": 1, "media": { "image": null, "audio": null, "video": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xsWh4YaD3HE" }, "thumbnail": "https://assets.haggadot.com/clips/391654/conversions/hqdefault-cover.jpg", "clip_section": [ { "haggadah_section": "-- Four Questions", "slug": "four-questions" } ], "likes": 0, "downloads": 301, "tags": [], "themes": [], "language": "0", "is_bookmarked": "0", "is_liked": 0, "meta_tags": { "title": "Mah Nishtanah - video of song in Hebrew via transliteration | Passover haggadah by Gerald Weiss", "description": "Our simple platform allows you to create a custom Passover Haggadah, with access to unique content contributed by our community. Find artwork, family", "keywords": "", "og:type": "article", "og:url": "https://www.haggadot.com/clip/mah-nishtanah-video-song-hebrew-transliteration", "og:title": "Mah Nishtanah - video of song in Hebrew via transliteration | Passover haggadah by Gerald Weiss", "og:description": "Our simple platform allows you to create a custom Passover Haggadah, with access to unique content contributed by our community. Find artwork, family", "og:image": "" } } }, { "clip": { "is_admin": 0, "is_owner": 0, "handle": "why-night-different-video-mah-nishtanah-sung-english", "title": "Why Is This Night Different? Video of Mah Nishtanah sung in English", "author": "Gerald Weiss", "author_handle": "geraldbweiss", "author_initials": "GW", "covertext": "Here is Mah Nishtanah sung in English translation. Enjoy!", "user_image": "", "user_image_original": "", "body": "<p>Here is Mah Nishtanah sung in English translation. Enjoy!</p>", "cliptype": "video", "clipsource": "Original", "featured": 0, "featuredIn": null, "is_public": 1, "is_published": 1, "media": { "image": null, "audio": null, "video": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R2djS_TF1uQ" }, "thumbnail": "https://assets.haggadot.com/clips/391655/conversions/hqdefault-cover.jpg", "clip_section": [ { "haggadah_section": "-- Four Questions", "slug": "four-questions" } ], "likes": 0, "downloads": 216, "tags": [], "themes": [], "language": "0", "is_bookmarked": "0", "is_liked": 0, "meta_tags": { "title": "Why Is This Night Different? Video of Mah Nishtanah sung in English | Passover haggadah by Gerald Weiss", "description": "Our simple platform allows you to create a custom Passover Haggadah, with access to unique content contributed by our community. Find artwork, family", "keywords": "", "og:type": "article", "og:url": "https://www.haggadot.com/clip/why-night-different-video-mah-nishtanah-sung-english", "og:title": "Why Is This Night Different? Video of Mah Nishtanah sung in English | Passover haggadah by Gerald Weiss", "og:description": "Our simple platform allows you to create a custom Passover Haggadah, with access to unique content contributed by our community. Find artwork, family", "og:image": "" } } }, { "clip": { "is_admin": 0, "is_owner": 0, "handle": "how-long-should-ideal-seder-last", "title": "How Long Should The Ideal Seder Last?", "author": "Gerald Weiss", "author_handle": "geraldbweiss", "author_initials": "GW", "covertext": "How long should the ideal Seder last. Everyone is hungry; the kids are squirmy, guests are growing impatient. You're on...", "user_image": "", "user_image_original": "", "body": "<p style=\"text-align:left;\"><span>How long should the ideal Seder last. Everyone is hungry; the kids are squirmy, guests are growing impatient. You're on step 5 of 15 and dinner isn't even in sight.</span></p><p style=\"text-align:left;\"><strong>It might interest you to know that originally, the meal PRECEDED the recitation of the Passover story (Maggid - step 5 of 15) and now it's at step number 11!Why? Because the rabbis were wise enough to know that few would hang around for the rest of the Seder once their appetites were satisfied. Of, course, they were correct. So, they shuffled the order of the Seder to make sure that the spiritual mitzvah of telling the sacred story was completed in its entirety before the main course, so to speak, the actual meal, was eaten.How long should the ideal Seder last? Well, that depends on the ages of the children and the tolerance of the guests, but here's a good rule of thumb:The Seder should be short enough and interesting enough to capture everyone's attention, but not so long as to hold them hostage!And therein lies the art.Happy Passover.</strong></p>", "cliptype": "text", "clipsource": "Original", "featured": 0, "featuredIn": null, "is_public": 1, "is_published": 1, "media": { "image": null, "audio": null, "video": null }, "thumbnail": null, "clip_section": [ { "haggadah_section": "Introduction", "slug": "introduction" } ], "likes": 0, "downloads": 254, "tags": [], "themes": [], "language": "0", "is_bookmarked": "0", "is_liked": 0, "meta_tags": { "title": "How Long Should The Ideal Seder Last? | Passover haggadah by Gerald Weiss", "description": "Our simple platform allows you to create a custom Passover Haggadah, with access to unique content contributed by our community. 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Find artwork, family", "og:image": "" } }