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By Avigayil Halpern Blood: Young girls tuck tampons quickly into backpacks, secret them in purses, hide them in Ugg boots. It’s not blue dye that the river is running with, and periods are more trouble than the pamphlet in that goody bag from middle-school health class would leave one to believe. “It’s beautiful to be female,” we’re told, but nobody accounts for cramps and cramps and cramps and bloodied sheets and cramps. We are under no obligation to love our bodies,...

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One at a time, pour water over each others’ hands. As water is poured over your hands, share with us what you would like to let go of right now, what you would like to have “washed away”. And after each person speaks, give them support by all saying “Kayn Yihee Ratzon”, or “So Be It.” 

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True freedom requires sacrifice and pain. Most human beings only think they want freedom. The truth is they yearn for the bondage of social order, rigid laws, materialism. The only freedom man really wants is to be comfortable. - Emma Goldman

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Filling Miriam's Cup follows the second cup of wine, before washing the hands. Raise the empty goblet and say: Miriam's cup is filled with water, rather than wine. I invite women of all generations at our Seder table to fill Miriam's cup with water from their own glasses. Pass Miriam's cup around the table(s).  Explain the significance of filling Miriam's cup with water: A Midrash teaches us that a miraculous well accompanied the Hebrews throughout their journey in the desert, given...

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Almighty God,I have known fear and I have known comfortAnd here, in this momentMy eyes are wide open My heart is wide openWith each step, my heart poundsAnd I can feel my lips stretching into a smileThe sounds of the sea are all aroundAnd the sounds of childrenLaughingPlayingRunningYou are hereAnd everywhereBetween me and this miracleIn my heartIn the winged ones above usAnd in the spray of the sea that cools my faceThis journey has been so longI have been so tiredAnd...

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Traditionally, we ask why this night is different from all other nights. This variation on the Four Questions challenges us to think about why some things have changed so little:1) Why is “JAP” still such a popular put-down?2) When women make up the majority of Jewish professionals, why are most Jewish communal organizations still led by men?3) When will people stop thinking it’s only important for girls – and not boys – to learn about Jewish women’s history?4) Why on this...

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when I am assaulted or harassed, I am asked what I am wearing or if I have been drinking. when I am belittled to only be as important as the size of my breasts. when I am degraded for having multiple partners but a boy is celebrated for “getting around.” that I can’t wear form tting clothing without it becoming indicative of my character. teaching our daughters to avoid being raped, instead of teaching our sons not to rape. watching my...

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by Stosh Cotler I had danced for D before- a leather butch who came into my club with her old school, high femme wife and their entourage. That particular night, the Saturday before Passover, I sat with their crew after my table dance for D, and was shocked when D’s lover started talking about Seder arrangements. Immediately, I outed myself as a Jew, which caused a huge burst of excitement at the table- imagine the odds, not only of randomly running...

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The four cups of wine are traditionally linked to the four promises God made to the children of Israel: As it is written: "I will bring you out from under the burdens of Egypt. I will deliver you from bondage. I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and great judgements. I will take you to be my people and I will be your God" (Exodus 6: 6-7). Tonight we dedicate the four cups of wine to important or inspirational women...

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The traditional Haggadah lists ten plagues that afflicted the Egyptians. We live in a very different world, but Passover is a good time to remember that, even after our liberation from slavery in Egypt, there are still many challenges for us to meet. Here are ten “modern plagues”:Inequity - Access to affordable housing, quality healthcare, nutritious food, good schools, and higher education is far from equal. The disparity between rich and poor is growing, and opportunities for upward mobility are limited....

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Traditionally each of the cups of wine are linked to one of the statements of redemption spoken by God in the Torah “I will bring you out”. “I will deliver you”. “I will redeem you”. "I will gather you to me.” (Exodus 6:6-7). This cup of wine therefore corresponds to the first statement “I will bring you out of slavery” For women the first step to freedom was equality in the law.  The struggle for this freedom began in the desert,...

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http://girlsintrouble.bandcamp.com/track/snow-scorpions-and-spidersA song about Miriam, but later in her life, from the book of Numbers Chapter 12, when she's exiled from the group for a while. 

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THE PLAGUES:Someone reads:“The ten plagues of the Exodus story were all ecological disasters.The Plagues were not lightning-bolts flung by a Super-Pharaoh in the sky, but eco-disasters brought about by the arrogance and stubbornness of a top-down, unaccountable ruler, Pharaoh.“In the ancient past, the Plagues interrupted the flow of food to human beings and other life-forms. In the present as well, there are Plagues that disrupt the flow of food from species to species, Earth to human earthlings.  And so today we...

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(With care, singable to the traditional tune. Do Mic-check style.)Each Passover Seder Teaches:Celebrate each step toward Freedom,Dayenu!  Wonderful!At the Capitol in Madison, Wisconsin100,000 Resisted Union-bustin’:Dayenu!  Wonderful!In New York City Dozens TentedCalling out to “Occupy Wall Street”:Dayenu!  Wonderful!Then Hundreds Walked on Brooklyn Bridge:Police attacked and the World took notice.Dayenu!  Wonderful!Across the Continent the People Saw,They Occupied space in a myriad cities:Dayenu!  Wonderful!In London and Australia, in Africa and Israel,The many many Thousands Gathered:Dayenu!  Wonderful!Police Attacked and the People Bent; The people bent...