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To those unfamiliar with the terrain, the desert can seem like a harsh and empty place. Indeed, the desert of the Passover story is devoid of sustenance and life. At this point in the Seder, it is tradition to reflect on liberation and rebirth as connected ideas. To symbolize rebirth, we take a vegetable, like parsley, and dip it into salt water, which represents the tears shed by our Jewish ancestors when they were enslaved. Mixing the sweet and the bitter...

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Four Questions: Why should we be conscious of the people who we consider strangers? Why are human beings treated as if they are disposable based on their living circumstances? Why is it important to reach out to individuals who don’t have the same rights as us? Despite what we hear about the working conditions, why do we still support the industries?

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Pack Nothing. Bring only your determination to serve and your willingness to be free. Don’t wait for the bread to rise. Take nourishment for the journey, but eat standing, be ready to move at a moment’s notice. Do not hesitate to leave your old ways behind - fear, silence, submission. Do not take time to explain to the neighbors.Tell only a few trusted friends and family members. Then begin quickly, before you have time to sink back into the old slavery....

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It is one of life's joys that each year Jews celebrate the holiday of Pesach - its message of freedom - its response to suffering - its hope for renewed life. United with family and dear friends, Jews celebrate the holiday of Pesach - with gratitude for blessings - for love - for freedom.

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Happy Passover! Tonight we gather together to celebrate Passover, our holiday of freedom. We will eat a great meal together, enjoy (at least!) four glasses of wine, and tell the story of our ancestors’ liberation from slavery in Egypt. We welcome our friends and family members from other backgrounds to reflect with us on the meaning of freedom in all our lives and histories. We will consider the blessings in our lives, pledge to work harder at freeing those who still...

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The Hebrew word “Kiddush” means sanctification. But it is not the wine we sanctify. Instead, the wine is a symbol of the sanctity, the preciousness, and the sweetness of this moment. Held together by sacred bonds of family, friendship, peoplehood, we share this table tonight with one another and with all the generations who have come before us. Let us rise, and sanctify this singular moment. HOW? We will drink four cups of wine at the Seder in celebration of our...

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Dayeinu It would have been too much if only Columbine had been the single scar on the flesh of our country. Dayeinu! It would have been too much if only the lecture halls at Virginia Tech had transformed into morgues. Dayeinu! It would have been too much if only the innocence of Newtown’s young children had been savaged. Dayeinu! It would have been too much if only Orlando’s nightclub had been drenched with the blood of innocent women and men. Dayeinu!...

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The beginning of the seder seems strange. We start with kiddush as we normally would when we begin any festive meal. Then we wash, but without a blessing, and break bread without eating it.What’s going on here?It seems that the beginning of the seder is kind of a false start. We act as if we are going to begin the meal but then we realize that we can’t – we can’t really eat this meal until we understand it, until we...

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Should we worry about what the price of our food means for the people around us? Does raising the cost of staples by making them into something rarefied and unique add variety to our lives or does it separate us from people who eat to sustain themselves? The Dinner Party Download: The Value of Four-Dollar Toast February 14, 2014 Brendan Francis Newnam:When did the San Francisco toast trend begin? John Birdsall:Really about a year ago, when a place called The Mill...

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We have answered the four traditional questions, but there are still more questions to be answered. There are other special foods on our Seder plate: a bone (z'roa) or a beet, a roasted egg (beitsah) an orange, and, many people's favorite, the sweet condiment (haroset). Why are they here? Z'ROA - SHANKBONE OR BEET Z'ROA can mean a shankbone - the bone of a forelimb - or a vegetable. This lamb's bone is the symbol of the ancient shepherd's festival of...

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THE FIRST CUP OF THE FRUIT OF THE VINE     Leader: Let us all fill our glasses with the fruit of the vine. [Resume taking turns reading. Each person is invited to read a grouped set of lines - or to pass.] Spring is the season of new growth and new life. Every living thing must either grow, or die; growth is a sign and a condition of life. Human beings are perhaps unique among the Earth's inhabitants. Our most significant growth...

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MATSAH - UNLEAVENED BREAD [Matsah held up for all to see.] MATSAH - Why do we eat matsah? Matsah is the symbol of our affliction and our freedom. Legend has it that when Moses and his followers fled Egypt, they moved so quickly that the bread they baked did not have time to rise. However, scholars have noted that long before the Jews celebrated Passover, Middle Eastern farmers celebrated a spring festival of unleavened bread. This was a festival where unleavened...