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“If the concept of God has any validity or any use, it can only be to make us larger, freer, and more loving." -James Baldwin

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On this night we retrace our steps from then to now, reclaiming years of desert wandering. On this night we ask questions, ancient and new, speaking of servitude and liberation, service and joy. On this night we welcome each soul, sharing stories of courage, strength, and faith. On this night we open doors long closed, lifting our voices in songs of praise. On this night we renew ancient hopes and dream of a future redeemed. On this night we gather around...

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Scene 1:  In the Desert  Moses is galloping (skipping on foot while clopping coconuts together to sound like hoofbeats) across the desert. He comes to a burning bush. Bush: Halt! Who goes there! Moses: A shrubbery! A talking shrubbery! One that looks nice, but is not too expensive. It is a good shrubbery. I like the laurels particularly. Bush: Moses! Moses, Leader of the Israelites!  (Moses looks stunned, drops to his knees in awe and bows his head to the ground...

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In Libya, before Passover, women would grind flour for matzah for 7 days while the men took chalk from the mountains to make whitewash. Then, they would paint their houses inside and out. Until the Seder, everyone slept outside.

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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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In Morocco, Mimouna, a traditional North African Jewish celebration is celebrated the day after Passover. This celebration marks returning to eating chametz. They celebrate with baked foods and foods that symbolize luck because Mimouna is the Arabic word for luck. Such foods include dough with hand prints of silver coins. At the conclusion of this celebration, they enter the ocean and throw pebbles behind their backs to ward off evil spirits.

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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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What happened to the tortoise? The tortoise, the tortoise A breadfruit fell on the tortoise The tortoise, the tortoise What happened to the breadfruit? The tortoise, the tortoise A stake pierced the breadfruit The tortoise, the tortoise What happened to the staff? The tortoise, the tortoise Termite ate up the staff The tortoise, the tortoise What happened to the termite? The tortoise, the tortoise A fowl ate the termite The tortoise, the tortoise What happened to the fowl? The tortoise, the...