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ALL: Tonight we might have put an oyster on our Seder plate. While I didn’t particularly want to put something traif atop that most kosher of dishes, this Passover falls on the first anniversary of the Deepwater Horizon blowout in the Gulf of Mexico. And since BP, the leaseholder of the failed well, seems intent with its new television ads on making us forget about the spill, I felt that something drastic was in order to help us remember. Combining the...

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Pesach is a time of inclusion. On seder night, there are two moments where we metaphorically open our doors and invite others in. One is at the opening of the Magid portion of the seder, when we say, “All who are hungry come and eat.” There is a beautiful message here: we were once slaves; poor and hungry, and we remember our redemption by sharing what we have with others. The other, comes towards the end of the seder, when we...

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At Passover, we are confronted with the stories of our ancestors’ pursuit of liberation from oppression. Facing this mirror of history, how do we answer their challenge? How do we answer our children when they ask us how to pursue justice in our time? What does the Activist Child ask? “The Torah tells me, ‘Justice, justice shall you pursue,’ but how can I pursue justice?” Empower him always to seek pathways to advocate for the vulnerable. As Proverbs teaches, “Speak up...

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The Fifth Question: What can we do to help alleviate poverty? There are numerous charities which aim to get donations to end poverty. It is important to make food and money to these various charities to help others. We must remember that we were once "strangers in the land of Egypt" (Exodus 23:9). This quote appears numerous times in the Torah and explains to us to have sympathy for others because we were once abused and manipulated so we should consider...

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This is the time set aside for singing. Some of us might sing traditional prayers from the Book of Psalms. Others take this moment for favorites like Chad Gadya & Who Knows One. All of these options are below. To celebrate the theme of freedom, we might sing songs from the civil rights movement. Or perhaps your crazy Uncle Frank has some parody lyrics about Passover to the tunes from a musical. Or maybe the Maccabeats put out a new song...

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Once upon a time, during a famine our ancestor Jacob and his family fled to Egypt where food was plentiful. His son Joseph had risen to high position in Pharaoh’s court, and our people were well-respected and well-regarded, secure in the power structure of the time. Generations passed and our people remained in Egypt. In time, a new Pharaoh ascended to the throne. He found our difference threatening, and ordered our people enslaved. In fear of rebellion, Pharaoh decreed that all...

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As we rejoice at our deliverance from slavery, we acknowledge that our freedom was hard-earned. We regret that our freedom came at the cost of the Egyptians’ suffering, for we are all human beings made in the image of God. We pour out a drop of wine for each of the plagues as we recite them. Dip a finger or a spoon into your wine glass for a drop for each plague. These are the ten plagues which God brought down...

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The Generous Child The generous child knows all about food justice and donates much of their monthly allowance to charity. This child encourages their parents to volunteer, brings the most cans in during school food drives, and never eats too much. The Spoiled Child The spoiled child knows and understands food justice, but chooses not to care. This child is selfish, easily upset by not getting what they want, and is likely a picky eater. This child's catch phrases are “So...

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In Talmud Pesachim, Rava teaches, "A person who swallows matzah without chewing fills the mitzvah, the commandment, to eat matzah. However, a person who swallows maror without chewing doesn't fulfill the mitzvah to eat maror." Matzah is Biblical fast food. Matzah is flat because the Hebrews were in such a hurry to get out of Egypt, they didn't wait for their bread to rise. They rushed out, eating crackers, because they had to eat something. Matzah is optimistic, portable, light and...

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Last year Paris and Belgium. This year London, Stockholm and St. Petersburg. We watched the terror attacks in horror, and once again the calls go out for security and privacy tools that governments can abuse, under the banner of our safety. If we value our freedom, we must value our privacy and that of others as well, and we must protect the free development of science and math as they are the lenses into the practice of freedom and the freedom...

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“Hagaddah” means “the telling.” Our friend Steve collects Haggadot, because each one tells the story a little differently. The story is the same each year, but our context, our perspective, our emphasis is different, and that is the whole point of retelling the story. This year, how are we feeling more free? More oppressed? More a stranger in a strange land? Each year we tell the story differently because we see ourselves differently.  This year's Haggadah was shaped by a chance...

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"Tzafun" means "hidden."  When we hunt for the afikomen we discover something that is hidden, sometimes in plain sight. The classical interpretation is that by leaving the tzafun until late in the seder, the children will be incented to pay attention.  Once found, we loosely wrap the matzah to remind us that we packed in haste. As adults, however, tzafun tells us to listen more carefully to Uncle Ziemel and remember the search - what was hidden and now discovered?  What...