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Welcome! We come together, a collection of those who are Jewish and Jew ish,  proximal to or in loving relationship with Jews, those who are Jews by choice or becoming-Jews. We come here across vast distances and representing many identities and experiences. It’s perfect that we participate in a seder together, for the seder itself has brought Jews together across time and all the world. We, like all those many others, respect this tradition while we make it our own. 

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The holiday of Passover is one of the most celebrated holidays in the Jewish calendar. Some believe that’s because the holiday is primarily home-based and does not require membership or involvement in a synagogue or temple, although it can. The history of Passover, like most Jewish holidays, is multi-layered. It began with the celebration of spring, the rebirth of nature, and the birth of baby animals. The Exodus from Egypt was a later layer, which became the central and compelling story...

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Roasted Shank Bone (Zeroah) “Passover is the amalgamation of two ancient festivals—one called Pesach, the other Chag Hamatzot. Pesach was originally a shepherd festival, observed in the early spring when the sheep gave birth to their young. It was customary for each family to sacrifice a lamb to assure a healthy flock. The presence of the shank bone on our seder table recalls the primitive beginnings of the festival we now call Passover and impresses us with the antiquity of our...

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This blessing can be recited as we light the candles to begin the Passover Seder and to celebrate the arrival of spring: Blessed is the light in the world. Blessed is the light within humanity. Blessed is the light of Passover. Barukh ha-or ba-olam Barukh ha-or ba-adam Barukh ha-ror ba-Pesakh (If this blessing is different or new to you: Judaism is a constantly evolving conversation, practice, and identity. This text has been used by tens of thousands of Jews over the...

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In joy and celebration, we come together at this seder. Brukhim ha-adama ha-shemesh v’ha-geshem shehborim pre hagafen. Blessed are the earth, the sun, and the rains that bring forth the fruit of the wine. 

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The wine of Passover is the wine of joy, the wine of love, the wine of celebration, the wine of freedom: Freedom from bondage and freedom from oppression, Freedom from hunger and freedom from want, Freedom from hatred and freedom from fear, Freedom to think and freedom to speak, Freedom to teach and freedom to learn, Freedom to love and freedom to share, Freedom to hope and freedom to rejoice, Soon, now, in our days, and forever. Precious is the life...

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The beauty of Urchatz was revealed to me during a women's seder.  Each participant washed the hands of another with care and kavanah (intentionality)—and without words. The sisterhood created in the sacred silence elevates communal consciousness. How will we utilize this state of purity? V'ahavtah l're'echa kamochah - to love the other as ourself. How will this ancient wisdom propel us forward to empower the silent? How will we elevate the hands of all those still in Mitzrayim? --Jessica K. Shimberg,...

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Choose from among the spring vegetables on the Seder table and dip one in salt water. The spring vegetable reminds us to pay attention to this season, the time in the northern hemisphere when we again see flowers blooming and hear birds chirping.  The salt water in which we dip the vegetable recalls the salty tears our ancestors shed when they were enslaved as well the tears of those today who are oppressed or enslaved.  The blessing we recite heightens our...

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Leader: We have drunk the wine and tasted the special foods of the Passover celebration. They symbolize our attachment to the traditions of our culture, to freedom, and to life. To remind us of these values as we go back out into the world, at the end of our festival meal, we shall return to have a final taste of matzah - our symbol of suffering and liberation, of renewal in nature and humanity. I am breaking this matzah into two...

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The story we recall tonight is the product of Israelite imagination. It does not describe actual events.  There are aspects that are somewhat disturbing. Some parts of the narrative even suggest that Pharaoh is not completely responsible for his own behavior. Just when it seems that he might relent, the Israelites’ God actually “hardens his heart!”  In any case, both Pharaoh and the God of the Israelites are responsible for much torment. To our modern sensibilities, neither of them comes out...

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Mah nishtanah ha-lailah ha-zeh mi-kol ha-leilot? mi-kol ha-leilot?  Why is this night different from all other nights? She-b-khol ha-leilot `anu `okhlin hamets u-matsah, hamets u-matsah, ha-lailah ha-zeh ha-lailah ha-zeh kulo matsah?  On all other nights we eat either bread or matsah. Why, on this night, do we eat only matsah? She-b-khol ha-leilot `anu `okhlin sh'`ar y'raqot, sh'`ar y'raqot, ha-lailah ha-zeh, ha-lailah ha-zeh maror, maror?  On all other nights we eat herbs of any kind. Why, on this night, do we eat...

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MAGGID - STORY These questions are important. But before I answer them, let me tell you the story of Jewish hope. Our ancestors lived in the land of Israel. But their children have wandered the earth to look for freedom and dignity. Our roots are in Israel. But our branches travel the surface of the globe. Some of our ancestors traveled to Egypt. It was a time of famine and they were hungry. The king of Egypt welcomed them and gave...

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FOUR QUESTIONS Traditionally, the youngest person present asks: Why is this night different from all other nights? 1. On all other nights we eat either bread or matsah. Why, on this night, do we eat only matsah? 2. On all other nights we eat herbs of any kind. Why, on this night, do we eat only bitter herbs? 3. On all other nights, we do not dip our herbs even once. Why, on this night, do we dip them twice? 4....

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ANOTHER SET OF ANSWERS Traditionally the Torah speaks of the four types of sons to describe the four types of Jews. Tonight we will speak of four different people using this ritual to share their spirituality: (1) the Traditionalist, who is active, knowledgeable and involved in his or her Judaism, (2) the Humanist or Secular Jew, who has a sense of the Jewish community that drives his or her social activism, (3) the Buddhist, whose heritage is at least partly Jewish,...

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The Passover Seder has a series of 'fours' in its text. There are four cups of wine, four questions, and a discussion about four types of children. People throughout the ages have pondered - who are the four children? Are they among us? Are they within us? This reading about the four children is different from many others. Our version deals with the continuing struggle in the Middle East between Israel and her Arab neighbors. The Angry Child asks, "Why should...

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Roasted Shank Bone (Zeroah) “Passover is the amalgamation of two ancient festivals—one called Pesach, the other Chag Hamatzot. Pesach was originally a shepherd festival, observed in the early spring when the sheep gave birth to their young. It was customary for each family to sacrifice a lamb to assure a healthy flock. The presence of the shank bone on our seder table recalls the primitive beginnings of the festival we now call Passover and impresses us with the antiquity of our...

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The holiday of Passover is one of the most celebrated holidays in the Jewish calendar. Some believe that’s because the holiday is primarily home-based and does not require membership or involvement in a synagogue or temple, although it can. The history of Passover, like most Jewish holidays, is multi-layered. It began with the celebration of spring, the rebirth of nature, and the birth of baby animals. The Exodus from Egypt was a later layer, which became the central and compelling story...

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When earlier we recalled the story of the Exodus, we acknowledged it as a work of fiction. Yet only one hundred years ago, most scholars still believed that the tale was true in many of its details.  Then they started digging … literally … with shovels and pails. It eventually became clear that the story we had told ourselves for millennia did not take place. There had been no mass flight from Egypt, no conquest of the land of Israel, otherwise...