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Leader:  We begin with the Passover plate.  The four foods on this plate symbolize the  four years of Beloit.Leader:  The first item is the bitter herbs. All:  The bitter herbs came from the hot sauce tray.Leader:  The second item is the chocolate KarpasAll:  The karpas is some lettuce that we got from the salad bar. It symbolizes prosperity. Leader:  The third item is the fruit. All:  The fruit represents the mortar that held the buildings together in Egypt. It also is...

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Jewish celebrations usually include wine as a symbol of joy. Wine sanctifies an occasion and makes it holy. During the Passover Seder we drink four cups of wine, why four? In the Book of Exodus, God convinced the Jews to leave Egypt using four statements: I shall take you out I shall rescue you I shall redeem you I shall bring you We toast each of these statements with a cup of wine. Pour and raise your first cup of wine/grape...

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We pledge to rise up in Revolutionary Love. We declare our love for all who are in harm’s way, including refugees, immigrants, Muslims, Sikhs, Jews, LGBTQIA people, Black people, Latinx, the indigenous, the disabled, and the poor. We stand with millions of people around the globe rising up to end violence against women and girls (cis, transgender and gender non-conforming) who are often the most vulnerable within marginalized communities. We vow to see one another as brothers and sisters and fight...

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Our sages took some pains to ensure a Jewish calendar in which Pesach would always fall in the spring. (They were operating in a northern hemisphere context; I don’t think the challenges of antipodean Judaism ever occurred to them.) In the northern hemisphere, Pesach is inextricably connected with spring. As the earth shakes off the constrictions of winter, her frozen places thawing, so we remember our shaking-off the yoke of slavery to Pharaoh. As plant life and trees are “reborn” into...

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In 2008, we moved from Boise to Corvallis Oregon. Why did we leave? The job? Were we through with Boise? Did we need to begin a new chapter in our lives? We were uncertain about many things. The economy, tearing ourselves from the place we had raised a family. Our move was very difficult physically and emotionally. There were many things we clung to here in Boise. People, places and things that were familiar to us and gave us comfort. Yet...

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Quien, quien, quien, como Jehová? Que con su poder el mar abrió. Oirán las naciones lo que El hizo, Oirán dondé quiera sus prodigios, Su pueblo le cantara, con panderos danzarán, Y dirán quién, quién, como Jehová. _________________________ ּעֲבָדִים הָיִינוּ הָיִינו. עַתָּה בְּנֵי חוֹרִין Avadim hayinu hayinu. Ata b’nei chorin. We were slaves to Pharaoh in Egypt. Now we are free.

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The first words in the creation of the universe out of the unformed, void and dark earth were God’s “Let there be light." Therein lies the hope and faith of Judaism and the obligation of our people: to make the light of justice, compassion, and knowledge penetrate the darkness of our time till the prophecy be fulfilled, ‘that wickedness vanish like smoke and the earth shall be filled with knowledge of God as the waters cover the sea’ (Isaiah 11:9).  Baruch...

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Be patient. Expand your sense of the possible. Expect no more of anyone than you can deliver yourself. Concern yourself with what is right rather than who is right. Never forget that, no matter how certain, you might be wrong. Learn the needs of those around you and respect them. Avoid the pursuit of happiness. Seek to define your mission and pursue that. Understand humility. Foster dignity. Endure. 10 of the 25 "Principles of Adult Behavior" , by John Perry Barlow.

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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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Dedicated To The Struggle For Peace And Freedom The second cup of wine is dedicated not only to the struggles of the Jewish people, but to all people seeking a secure life free of fear and persecution. We hope and work particularly for the Israelis and the Palestinians that they may all learn to live together in freedom and peace. Let us strive to fulfill the words of the prophet Micah: "They shall beat their swords into plowshares and their spears...

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[Maror held up for all to see.] MAROR--Why do we eat maror? Tradition says that this bitter herb is to remind us of the time of our slavery. We force ourselves to taste pain so that we may more readily value pleasure. Scholars inform us that bitter herbs were eaten at spring festivals in ancient times. The sharpness of the taste awakened the senses and made the people feel at one with nature's revival. Thus, maror is the stimulus of life,...

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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...