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Free people ask questions. We begin our Seder with questions. Although the custom is that the youngest at the table asks, tradition instructs that all must ask: Ma Neeshtana ha-laila ha-zeh meekol ha-laylot? Sheh-bichol ha-laylot anoo ochleem chametz oo-matzah. Halailah hazeh chametz oomatz. Sheh-bi'chol ha-laylot anoo ochleem sheh-ar yerakot. Ha-lailah hazeh maror. Sheh-bi'chol ha-laylot ayn anoo mat-bee- leen afeeloo pa-am echad. Ha-laila hazeh sh'tay pi-ameem. Sheh- bi'chol ha-laylot anoo ochleem bayn yoshveen oo-bayn misoobeen. Ha-laila hazeh koolanoo misooveen. Why is this...

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The formal telling of the story of Passover is framed as a discussion with lots of questions and answers. The tradition that the youngest person asks the questions reflects the centrality of involving everyone in the seder. The rabbis who created the set format for the seder gave us the Four Questions to help break the ice in case no one had their own questions. Asking questions is a core tradition in Jewish life. If everyone at your seder is around...

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The great sage Hillel provided us with the tradition of constructing the Hillel sandwich, combining the bitterness of the maror with the sweetness of the charoset between the fortitude of the two pieces of matzah--the symbol of freedom. Through this ritual, we think about mortar and brick. We think of the Israelites traveling through the desert with no homes, no place to land and build up their strong communities, and only the matzah as a reminder of their freedom. It is...

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There are three pieces of matzah stacked on the table. We now break the middle matzah into two pieces. The host should wrap up the larger of the pieces and, at some point between now and the end of dinner, hide it. This piece is called the afikomen, literally “dessert” in Greek. After dinner, the guests will have to hunt for the afikomen in order to wrap up the meal… and win a prize. We eat matzah in memory of the...

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Water is life.  For those who travel on foot through the borderlands, water is an essential component of the journey. No More Deaths hikes water into active migration corridors because we believe that everyone deserves access to water. It is a privilege to be able to use water for a ritual like urchatz, and as we purify our hands, we think of those who thirst in the desert.  We wash our hands now, with no blessing, to help us prepare for...

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Bendigamos Bendigamos al Altísimo, Al Señor que nos creó, Démosle agradecimiento Por los bienes que nos dió. Let us bless the One Most High, The God who created us, Let us give thanks For the good things which God has given us. Bendigamos al Altísimo, Por el pan primeramente, Y por todos los manjares, Que cumimos juntamente. Pues cumimos y bebimos alegremente, Su merced nunca nos faltó, Let us bless the Most High, First for the bread and then for all...

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After performing most of the central mitzvot of the evening (telling the story of the Exodus eating matza and maror, etc.) and just before we are about to enjoy the festive holiday meal, the haggadah structures a moment in which we symbolically repeat the practice of Hillel the Elder who would “wrap” his portion of the paschal offering with matza and maror and eat it as a type of sandwich, in literal fulfillment of the verse “it shall be eaten on...

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By Rabbi Gavriel Goldfeder  alternadox.netLater on we will do ' rachtzah '─the washing over the matzah . Now we are doing ' urchatz ', which amounts to washing before eating a vegetable.  This is not something we do every day.To explain, Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook, first chief Rabbi of the State of Israel, writes of dividing life into two categories: the goal, and everything else.  We set goals for ourselves and set out to reach them.  Everything we do that helps...

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"Let All Who Are Hungry"   We are wired to give.  One of the worst feelings in the world is not being needed by others.  I once asked a group of high school kids: "When was the last time you felt really good about yourselves?" Each responded by sharing an act of kindness and selfless giving.  But a slave has nothing to offer. Drained of energy and time, the slave's emotional and physical resources are depleted. With no ability to give, the...

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Echad mi yode'a Echad ani yode'a Echad Elokeinu shebashamaim uva'aretz. Shnaim mi yode'a Shnaim ani yode'a shnei luchot habrit echad elokeinu shebashamaim uva'aretz. Shlosha mi yode'a, Shlosha ani yode'a. Shlosha avot, shnei luchot habrit echad elokeinu shebashamaim uva'aretz. Arba mi yode'a arba ani yode'a arba imahot Shlosha avot, shnei luchot habrit echad elokeinu shebashamaim uva'aretz. Chamisha, mi yode'a Chamisha, ani yode'a Chamisha chumshei torah arba imahot Shlosha avot, shnei luchot habrit echad elokeinu shebashamaim uva'aretz. Shisha, mi yode'a? Shisha, ani yode'a...

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Who Knows One? 1.            One is Hashem, one is Hashem, one is Hashem! In the Heaven and the Earth        אחד אלוהינו שבשמיים ובארץ         2.            Two are the tablets that Moshe brought             שני לוחות הברית               3.            Three are the Fathers    שלושה אבות        4.            Four are the Mothers    ארבע אימהות      5.            Five are the books of the Torah חמישה חומשי תורה          6.            Six are the books of the Mishnah             שישה סידרי משנה             7.            Seven are the days of the week ooh-ah                שיבעה ימי...