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The Wise Child (Enters and sits near the leader. He is eager and earnest.) "Tateh,   teach me everything about Pesach...all the laws, the customs, the rituals...everything! I want to learn it all!" The Wicked Child (Enters and Stands, glaring at the leader. He is angry and full of contempt.) "Dachau, Mumbai, terrorism, murder. What good have all your pious prayers done you?! To hell with your ritual, and to hell with you!" (He sits.) The Simple Child (Enters, walks over and...

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The Passover seder serves many purposes. First and foremost it is a ritualized celebration of the Israelites’ dramatic journey from slavery to freedom. But even early on, the seder was never just about our history. As the format of the seder was finalized in Mishnaic and Talmudic times, rituals were included to make each participant feel as if they personally were experiencing the journey from slavery to freedom. This theme of the seder goes beyond the Jewish people’s flight from Egypt...

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The Supportive/Open Minded Child How do we make our GLBT Seder more inclusive? We seek to ensure that everyone is included and that all of their needs are being met. For example, there is a movement to encourage the use of gender-neutral pronouns like ze for he/she and hir for him/her at inclusive Seders. We have incorporated many new traditions into our own Seder for example, the orange on our Seder plate, or the creation of a whole second Seder plate....

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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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The bitter herbs serve to remind us of how the Egyptians embittered the lives of the Israelites in servitude. When we eat the bitter herbs, we share in that bitterness of oppression. We must remember that slavery still exists all across the globe. When you go to the grocery store, where does your food come from? Who picked the sugar cane for your cookie, or the coffee bean for your morning coffee? We are reminded that people still face the bitterness...

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The traditional haggadah speaks of Ten Plagues by which God accomplished our liberation from Egypt. Tonight, we enumerate plagues of psychiatric conditions, which hinder our sense of wholeness, health, and freedom. For each one, our cup of joy is diminished by one drop: ANXIETY EATING DISORDERS IMPULSIVITY MEDICATIONS STIGMA DEPRESSION FEAR OF DISAPPROVAL LOSS MOOD SWINGS YEARS OF THERAPY And some say: LOW SELF-ESTEEM OBSESSIVE-COMPULSION PARANOIA GRANDIOSITY DISASSOCIATION ISOLATION MELANCHOLY HOPEFULNESS PSYCHOSIS SUICIDAL IDEATION

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Charoset is our symbol of mortar, recalling the brutal work conditions experienced by the Israelite slaves in Egypt. This year, we introduce a Charoset recipe that includes pine nuts. Makes approximately 5-6 cups Charoset: 4 medium sized granny smith apples, cored, peeled, and 1/4 inch diced 1 cup dates (about 15-20) 3/4 cup pine nuts 2 tbsp brown sugar 1/2 cup sweet red wine 1 tsp cinnamon 1 tsp finely grated orange zest 1. Heat brown sugar in large saucepan over...

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In Talmud Pesachim, Rava teaches, "A person who swallows matzah without chewing fills the mitzvah, the commandment, to eat matzah. However, a person who swallows maror without chewing doesn't fulfill the mitzvah to eat maror." Matzah is Biblical fast food. Matzah is flat because the Hebrews were in such a hurry to get out of Egypt, they didn't wait for their bread to rise. They rushed out, eating crackers, because they had to eat something. Matzah is optimistic, portable, light and...

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When God sent the plague of the firstborn...all the firstborn Egyptians went to speak to their fathers and said "Everything which Moses has said has come true, don't you want us to live? Let us get the Hebrew slaves out of our homes now. Otherwise we are dead." The fathers answered "even if all of Egypt dies they are not leaving." All the firstborn gathered in front of Pharaoh and screamed "Please remove the Hebrews, because of them evil will befall...

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So this is Maggid,The part of the seder where we tell the storyOf leaving Egypt.Actually,We spend more time talking about talking about the storyThen telling the actual story.Very meta is our haggadah,With many numbers,Lots of fours:Four questionsFour cups of wineFour children, Four ways of asking,Why is this night different from all other nights? The first child, Book smart.The wise childKnows all the rules.He's direct,No messin' around,This is what you do on Pesach:Tell the storyDip the herbsReclineDrink four cupsDon't eat leavened breadAsk...

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[Resume taking turns reading. Each person is invited to read a grouped set of lines - or to pass.] Passover is the celebration of life. The story of the Jewish people is truly a triumph of life. Against the odds of history, the Jewish people have done more than survive - we have adapted creatively to each new time, each new place, from the birth of our people to the present day. Even though death has pursued us relentlessly, time and...

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Our Bible uses different words and phrases to express the divine promises of freedom for our people. These may represent different stages of redemption. We can also read these promises as toasts to the generations of our people who committed themselves to the struggle for liberation in their own day. Like wine, we can appreciate freedom as a gift to use wisely with respect. Over the course of the Seder we will drink four cups of wine to recall each time...

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Charoset is a smooth mixture of various chopped fruits including apples, and nuts, as well as wine and spices. It represents the mixture of clay and straw from which we made the mortar during our bondage. It also calls to mind the women of Israel who bore their children in secret beneath the apple trees of Egypt,  and, like the apple tree that first produces fruit and then sprouts leaves to protect the fruit, our heroic mothers first bore children without...

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We start by getting to know one another: As we embark on our adventure together here tonight, it is possible that some of us do not know each other. Take turns around the table as each person shares his or her name and how it is that she or he has come to this Seder. Because the Seder recounts or Exodus from slavery in Egypt, you might also share: - a value learned from the experience of slavery - an object...