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Passover, like many of our holidays, combines the celebration of an event from our Jewish memory with a recognition of the cycles of nature. As we remember the liberation from Egypt, we also recognize the stirrings of spring and rebirth happening in the world around us. The symbols on our table bring together elements of both kinds of celebration. We now take a vegetable, representing our joy at the dawning of spring after our long, cold winter. Most families use a...

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Around our tables sit four daughters.Wise DaughterThe Wise daughter understands that not everything is as it appears.She is the one who speaks up, confident that her opinion counts. She is the one who can take the tradition and ritual that is placed before her, turn it over and over, and find personal meaning in it. She is the one who can find the secrets in the empty spaces between the letters of the Torah.She is the one who claims a place...

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Source 1: Babylonian Talmud Context: The Babylonian Talmud is a collection of Jewish stories, laws and debates grounded in the Bible and other Jewish texts. It was compiled in the fifth century in modern-day Iraq, but many portions of it are much older. Here, the Talmud quotes and comments on a passage from a second-century text called the Mishnah. The Mishnah asks, “How long must a person live in a city to be counted among the people of that city?”, and...

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A discussion can take place regarding with which of the four children each guest identifies most, followed by a consideration of which populations are currently "unable to ask," who might be considered "simple," and more. Examples for a new set of four children may include: One who sees the pain of others and works to relieve suffering. One who cares only about him/herself. One who cares only about other Jews but not other populations. One who doesn't know where to begin.

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Maimonides urged us to care for our bodies so that we would be free to concentrate our energies on God. In the modern world, one of the greatest threats to our physical health is mental stress. Stress causes insomnia, digestive problems, heart disease, autoimmune disorders, depression, memory impairment and countless other complications. As women, we are particularly vulnerable to the stress caused by multiple and exhausting commitments to our families, friends, jobs and communities. This year, let us learn how to...

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Pesach is a time of inclusion. On seder night, there are two moments where we metaphorically open our doors and invite others in. One is at the opening of the Magid portion of the seder, when we say, “All who are hungry come and eat.” There is a beautiful message here: we were once slaves; poor and hungry, and we remember our redemption by sharing what we have with others. The other, comes towards the end of the seder, when we...

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There is a word in Hebrew — Teshuvah — that means return. It is an acknowledgement that there is always a chance for forgiveness, redemption and change. Our traditions teach that Passover is open to all. Everyone is welcome at this table. There is always room. Because no one is ever turned away, there is always an opportunity for a rebirth of spirit. As a sign of hospitality to all, we open the door to our homes and symbolically invite anyone...

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6. I wasn't one of the six million who died in the Shoah, I wasn't even among the survivors. And I wasn't one of the six hundred thousand who went out of Egypt. I came to the Promised Land by sea.  No, I was not in that number, though I still have the fire and the smoke within me, pillars of fire and pillars of smoke that guide me by night and by day. I still have inside me the mad...

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We encourage you to incorporate this reading into the Four Questions section of your seder.  Mah nishtanah ha-lailah ha-zeh mi-kol ha-lailot? Why is this night different from all other nights? We know the traditional answers to this question: On this night, we eat matzah and bitter herbs, we dip and we recline. But this is not all, or even most, of what Passover is about.   On most other nights, we allow the news of tragedy in distant places to pass us...

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We’ve been bound by a hardened heart And our inability to see ourselves in each other. We have been puffed up by ego and pride. Enslaved by how things have always been. And now it is time to go. But fear threatens to paralyze. How can we possibly exist any other way? Our imagination falters The attachment to what we know is so great It doesn’t matter that it causes us so much pain. We dig in. We will not be...

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Let's eat! Dig in! Bon Appetit! !בתאבון

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!בתאבון Let's eat! Dig in! Bon Appetit!    

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Some parsley, lettuce or watercress is distributed to all present who dip it in salt water or in vinegar, and before partaking of it say in unison: BORUCH ATTO ADONOI ELOHENU MELECH HO‘OLOM BORE P’RI HO’ADOMO. Praised art Thou, O Lord our God, King of the universe, Creator of the fruit of the earth.