{ "clip_details": { "clip": { "is_admin": 0, "is_owner": 0, "handle": "the-orange-on-the-seder-plate", "title": "The Orange on the Seder Plate", "author": "Christine Bartholomew", "author_handle": "christine-bartholomew", "author_initials": "CB", "covertext": "In recent years some people have added a new ritual to their Seder by including an orange on the Seder plate. Why do we...", "user_image": "", "user_image_original": "", "body": "<p><span><span><span>In recent years some people have added a new ritual to their Seder by including an orange on the Seder plate. Why do we place an orange on the Seder plate? This is the holiday of freedom and liberation, and yet, there are those who feel marginalized, segmented, and as unusual as an orange on the Seder plate.</span></span></span></p>\n\n\n\n<p><span><span><span>Baruch Atah, Adonai, Eloheinu Melech ha-olam, borei p’ri ha-eitz.</span></span></span></p>\n\n<p><span><span><span>Blessed is the Eternal our God, Ruler of the universe, who creates the fruit of the tree.</span></span></span></p>\n\n\n\n<p><span><span><span>Tonight may we recognize that we are all created in the Divine image and have the right to be free of judgment and discrimination. All of us yearn to belong, to be honored, and to be invited to the table. Let us recognize those whose freedom and dignity is often marginalized by us and by society and welcome them into the circle of the loving community we are creating.</span></span></span></p>\n\n\n\n<p><span><span><span>The poor... the homeless...the handicapped... the simple...the abused...the one who lives alone...the elderly...the widow and the widower...the gay and lesbian...the infirmed…</span></span></span></p>\n\n\n\n<p><span><span><span>Some say that the custom of the orange on the Seder plate originated in the 1980’s, when a professor and prominent Jewish scholar, spoke of equality for Jewish women in a synagogue. She was challenged by a male congregant who claimed that a woman has no more place in leading prayer than an orange on a Seder plate. So now we place an orange on our Seder plate as a symbol of women seeking greater acknowledgment and acceptance and position in Jewish </span></span></span></p>", "cliptype": "text", "clipsource": null, "featured": 0, "featuredIn": null, "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": 59, "tags": [], "themes": [], "language": "0", "is_bookmarked": "0", "is_liked": 0, "meta_tags": { "title": "The Orange on the Seder Plate | Passover haggadah by Christine Bartholomew", "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/the-orange-on-the-seder-plate", "og:title": "The Orange on the Seder Plate | Passover haggadah by Christine Bartholomew", "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": "Christine Bartholomew", "handle": "christine-bartholomew", "author_initials": "CB", "total_books": 1, "total_clips": 2, "total_followers": 0, "is_following": 0 }, "user_book": null, "clips_by_author": [ { "clip": { "is_admin": 0, "is_owner": 0, "handle": "midrashim-and-prayer-for-passover", "title": "Midrashim and Prayer for Passover", "author": "Christine Bartholomew", "author_handle": "christine-bartholomew", "author_initials": "CB", "covertext": "Midrashim and Prayer for Passover By Susie Kisber Modern day midrashim have influenced some Jews to put an orange and a...", "user_image": "", "user_image_original": "", "body": "Midrashim and Prayer for Passover\nBy Susie Kisber\nModern day midrashim have influenced some Jews to put an orange and a\n(shellacked) challah on our seder plates. Suzanna Heschel heard the story that a\nrabbi responded that women in Judaism are like an orange on the seder plate (i.e.\nirrelevant and not needed) when she was speaking at Oberlin in the 1980’s. She\nstarted adding an orange to her seder plate each year after that as a symbol of the\nimportance of women’s place in Judaism. She repeated the story often enough that\nmany people wrongly think that the comment was said to her. She told me that,\nalthough it is not a true story, it is a worthy midrash and a good reason to have an\norange on one’s seder plate. \n\nAnother story quotes an Orthodox rabbi who was asked \"Rabbi, do you think\nlesbians have a place in Judaism?\" He answered: \"A lesbian belongs in Judaism as\nmuch as challah (which would be considered unthinkable because it is chametz )\nbelongs on the seder plate.\" And, so tonight, our seder plate contains a miniature\n(shellacked) challah. This is a symbol of the Queer \"in your face\" pride that we\nmust express to the rabbis and other homophobes that don’t believe that we\nbelong on the bima or elsewhere. I created this midrash in response to hearing\nRabbi Yoel Kahn’s drash at Congregtion Sha’ar Zahav in the mid 1990s. He\nexplained that the rabbis understood the cleaning out of chametz from our homes\nis symbolic of clearing away our puffed up egos as we get in touch with the\nmitzrayim, narrow places, we need to leave behind in our spiritual exodus.\nChametz is not intrinsically bad. Passover is an opportunity to introspect about the\ncoping mechanisms that we use in our everyday secular lives. We put a shellacked\nchallah, that has no crumbs, rather than a real one out of respect for the need to\nclear away our puffed up egos at the same time as making decisions about what to\nstand up and speak out against in protest. \n\nTonight as we share this round, succulent, and juicy orange, let its sweet taste\nprovide us with nourishment from the Jewish communities and Jews who have\nalready accomplished a lot towards addressing sexism, misogyny, homophobia,\nheterosexism, and other forms of oppression. Let the bitterness of the orange zest\nhelp us find the zeal needed to continue working towards ending all forms of\nignorance and hatred that plague the world. Passover teaches us that no one is free\nuntil all who are oppressed are free. Let us pray together that soon all people will\nbe able to shed their thick skins that protect them, expose their vulnerabilities, and\ndelight in each other with appreciation instead of fear. \n\n \n\nבְּרוּכָה אַתְּ יָהּ אֱלֹהֵינוּ רוּחַ הָעוֹלָם אֲשֶׁר קִדַּשְׁתָּנוּ בְּמִצּוֹתֶיהָ וְצִוַּתְנוּ לִרְדֹּף צֶדֶק וּלְכַבֵּד כָּל נֶפֶשׁ וְשֻׁתָּפוּת \n\nB'rukhah At Yah, Eloheinu, Ruach ha-olam, asher kidshatnu bemitzvoteha\nvetzivatnu lirdof tzedek, u'lchabed kol nefesh v’ shutafut. \n\nYou are Blessed, O God, Spirit of the World, who makes us holy with your\nmitzvot and commands us to pursue justice and honor all people and connections.", "cliptype": "text", "clipsource": "https://www.ritualwell.org/ritual/midrashim-and-prayer-passover", "featured": 0, "featuredIn": null, "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": 38, "tags": [], "themes": [], "language": "0", "is_bookmarked": "0", "is_liked": 0, "meta_tags": { "title": "Midrashim and Prayer for Passover | Passover haggadah by Christine Bartholomew", "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/midrashim-and-prayer-for-passover", "og:title": "Midrashim and Prayer for Passover | Passover haggadah by Christine Bartholomew", "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_remake_history": 0, "meta_tags": { "title": "The Orange on the Seder Plate | Passover haggadah by Christine Bartholomew", "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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