{ "clip_details": { "clip": { "is_admin": 0, "is_owner": 0, "handle": "free-be", "title": "Free to Be...", "author": "Esther Kustanowitz", "author_handle": "estherk", "author_initials": "EK", "covertext": "(Author's Note: This was originally published in the NY Jewish Week in 2008.) Free to Be... Growing up, I often listene...", "user_image": "https://assets.haggadot.com/users/421216/conversions/1709521752-thumb.jpg", "user_image_original": "https://assets.haggadot.com/users/421216/1709521752.jpeg", "body": "<p> <em>(Author's Note: This was originally published in the NY Jewish Week in 2008.)</em> </p>\n\n<p><strong>Free to Be...</strong></p>\n\n<p>Growing up, I often listened to a work of feminism undercover as children’s album and book — “Free to Be You and Me.” From “Free to Be,” I learned that I could be anything, that parents were people and that “every boy in this land learns to be his own man, and in this land every girl grows to be her own woman.” I learned that partners should not be your superiors, but equals, running neck-and-neck with you until you both cross the finish line together. I learned that those who expect to be treated like royalty because of their looks and who demand “ladies first” will probably be eaten by a pack of hungry tigers. (Metaphorical tigers, I’m sure.)</p>\n\n<p>Today, with the girl in me having grown to be her own woman, living single and independent, even my profession has liberation in its name: I am a freelance writer. Friends are envious. I am my own boss, I choose my projects and my hours, and I’m flexible — able to work at a coffee shop or a library. When summer arrives early, I can take an hour to enjoy the sunshine or sit in the park, while my peers are chained to their desks. </p>\n\n<p>But with no central employer, I’m also free to worry, buy my own health insurance, and to wonder if my doctors will suddenly decide — as they recently did —that they’re no longer accepting my coverage. I wonder if I can stretch this month’s earnings to cover next month’s expenses. I’ve got to stay on top of my invoices, or my clients will feel free to not pay me. And if I can’t make freelancing work, I’m free to either get a full-time job or, although I haven’t asked them, to move back in with my parents.</p>\n\n<p>So freelancing isn’t really free. With no such thing as a free lunch, there are always obligations, strings attached, although they might not be visible at the time. Pessimists say that’s what dating’s all about — determining if the inevitable strings attached to supposedly free meals are strings you can live with. I don’t love that definition, but it makes me realize that for all of my professional independence, financially, I’m not all that free.</p>\n\n<p>I have often wished that I were part of a creative commune, where we would all work to provide each other with sustenance and shelter, with enough to enable us to focus on our creative work without worrying about financial security. We could judge each other by the content of our characters rather than have our perceptions tinted through money-colored glasses. On this creative kibbutz, a basic stability would free our minds. We wouldn’t need excess, only comfort, to create. And by being more in touch with our inner muses, we’d be truer versions of ourselves, more open to relationships, and, to paraphrase the Bard, we would not admit impediments to the marriage of true minds.</p>\n\n<p>For artists and other miscellaneous creatives, the search for comfort is constant. They hope that a deep enough excavation will uncover love, happiness or some other great truth. But once a dream is achieved or a truth is attained, everything shifts, compelling the creation of a new dream, a higher goal, a deeper truth. Writing itself — as profession, leisure activity, spiritual exercise, intellectual inquiry or demonic exorcism — is not a right; it’s a luxury, living in the domain of the independent and the land of the free. </p>\n\n<p>Every spring, Jews revisit freedom as a concept. And we don’t think solely of our literally enslaved ancestors: we think of the restrictions that we have placed on ourselves, metaphorical enslavements of the heart, will and mind. We understand that our inability to move forward in relationships or our fear of change isn’t slavery of the make-bricks-from-mud-and-straw variety. Actual slavery still exists throughout the world — from poverty in New York to Indian children born into brothels, from Russian prostitutes in Israel to poverty, violence and atrocities in Darfur. And here I am, pondering my metaphorical freedom and my own professional “enslavement” to Manhattan rents and sub-par insurance plans and complaining that a month of JDate is too expensive. </p>\n\n<p>My freedoms aren’t rights. They’re luxuries. And all of the smaller enslavements of daily existence for a single youngish American Jewish freelancer — even JDate — are insignificant when you consider the major benefit to living in a free society: I have the luxury to keep on dreaming.</p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n", "cliptype": "text", "clipsource": "By the Author, published in The NY Jewish Week", "featured": 0, "featuredIn": null, "is_public": 1, "is_published": 1, "media": { "image": null, "audio": null, "video": null }, "thumbnail": null, "clip_section": [ { "haggadah_section": null, "slug": null } ], "likes": 0, "downloads": 538, "tags": [], "themes": [], "language": "0", "is_bookmarked": "0", "is_liked": 0, "meta_tags": { "title": "Free to Be... | Passover haggadah by Esther Kustanowitz", "description": "Our simple platform allows you to create a custom Passover Haggadah, with access to unique content contributed by our community. Find artwork, family", "keywords": "", "og:type": "article", "og:url": "https://www.haggadot.com/clip/free-be", "og:title": "Free to Be... | Passover haggadah by Esther Kustanowitz", "og:description": "Our simple platform allows you to create a custom Passover Haggadah, with access to unique content contributed by our community. Find artwork, family", "og:image": "" } } }, "contributed_by": { "author": "Esther Kustanowitz", "handle": "estherk", "author_initials": "EK", "total_books": 4, "total_clips": 42, "total_followers": 1, "is_following": 0 }, "user_book": null, "clips_by_author": [ { "clip": { "is_admin": 0, "is_owner": 0, "handle": "nephew-gil-and-case-missing-challah-0", "title": "Nephew Gil and The Case of the Missing Challah", "author": "Esther Kustanowitz", "author_handle": "estherk", "author_initials": "EK", "covertext": "When my nephew Gil was 3, the first night of Passover fell on a Saturday night. This meant that the house had to be free...", "user_image": "https://assets.haggadot.com/users/421216/conversions/1709521752-thumb.jpg", "user_image_original": "https://assets.haggadot.com/users/421216/1709521752.jpeg", "body": "<p>When my nephew Gil was 3, the first night of Passover fell on a Saturday night. This meant that the house had to be free of all leavened bread before we lit Shabbat candles on Friday night, even though it was - technically - not yet Passover. If you think this is complicated for adults, you should try explaining it to a 3-year-old.</p>\n<p></p>\n<p>\"Is this Shabbat?\" he asked. Yes, we told him. Friday night would be Shabbat, and then Pesach would start Saturday night - then we'd have the seders and he would sing the Mah Nishtanah, the Four Questions, as he'd been preparing to do. Friday night = Shabbat. Saturday and Sunday night = Pesach. We thought it was clear.</p>\n<p>Come Friday night, there were candles, over which we said blessings. Then the family gathered around the table, and there was kiddush, the prayer said over the wine. We washed our hands before saying Hamotzi, and pulled back the \"challah cover\" to reveal...two flat boards of egg matzah, the not-really-bread, not-really-matzah product that's considered OK by some people for this specific calendar situation.</p>\n<p>My nephew looked puzzled, and before we could even utter \"Hamotzi,\" he asked \"Why is that not challah?\"</p>\n<p>Why indeed, is that not challah? </p>\n<p>That's exactly what all of us - missing the chewy, delicious bread that's worth going off Atkins or South Beach for - wanted to know. It was a reinterpretation of that first of the Four Questions - \"On other nights we eat challah or matzah, and today, even though it's Shabbat and not yet Pesach, why are we not eating challah?\" </p>\n<p>But on a deeper level, \"why is that not challah?\" is a reflection of the lens we're all supposed to be applying throughout the seder (or seders, if you're doing two) - noting the differences, the things that aren't quite the way they usually are, remarking about them, and pondering their significance. </p>\n<p>Sometimes it's something as stark as finding something you didn't expect under what is traditionally a challah cover, and sometimes the difference is subtle - we still say \"Hamotzi\" over matzah, but add another blessing special for matzah. So it's all the same, even as it's markedly different. </p>\n<p>It's the same lesson you might learn looking around the seder table at members of your own family: the genetic connection is there, and we remember just by looking at our relatives that we are all individuals, but still share a context, a heritage and a legacy.</p>\n\n\n", "cliptype": "image", "clipsource": "Original, by Esther D. Kustanowitz", "featured": 0, "featuredIn": null, "is_public": 1, "is_published": 1, "media": { "image": "https://assets.haggadot.com/clips/163879/Photo-on-2011-03-21-at-16.50_0.jpg", "audio": null, "video": null }, "thumbnail": "https://assets.haggadot.com/clips/163879/conversions/Photo-on-2011-03-21-at-16.50_0-cover.jpg", "clip_section": [ { "haggadah_section": "-- Four Questions", "slug": "four-questions" } ], "likes": 0, "downloads": 537, "tags": [], "themes": [], "language": "0", "is_bookmarked": "0", "is_liked": 0, "meta_tags": { "title": "Nephew Gil and The Case of the Missing Challah | Passover haggadah by Esther Kustanowitz", "description": "Our simple platform allows you to create a custom Passover Haggadah, with access to unique content contributed by our community. Find artwork, family", "keywords": "", "og:type": "article", "og:url": "https://www.haggadot.com/clip/nephew-gil-and-case-missing-challah-0", "og:title": "Nephew Gil and The Case of the Missing Challah | Passover haggadah by Esther Kustanowitz", "og:description": "Our simple platform allows you to create a custom Passover Haggadah, with access to unique content contributed by our community. Find artwork, family", "og:image": "https://assets.haggadot.com/clips/163879/conversions/Photo-on-2011-03-21-at-16.50_0-cover.jpg" } } }, { "clip": { "is_admin": 0, "is_owner": 0, "handle": "nephew-gil-and-case-missing-challah-2", "title": "Nephew Gil and The Case of the Missing Challah", "author": "Esther Kustanowitz", "author_handle": "estherk", "author_initials": "EK", "covertext": "When my nephew Gil was 3, the first night of Passover fell on a Saturday night. This meant that the house had to be free...", "user_image": "https://assets.haggadot.com/users/421216/conversions/1709521752-thumb.jpg", "user_image_original": "https://assets.haggadot.com/users/421216/1709521752.jpeg", "body": "<p>When my nephew Gil was 3, the first night of Passover fell on a Saturday night. This meant that the house had to be free of all leavened bread before we lit Shabbat candles on Friday night, even though it was - technically - not yet Passover. If you think this is complicated for adults, you should try explaining it to a 3-year-old.</p><p>\"Is this Shabbat?\" he asked. Yes, we told him. Friday night would be Shabbat, and then Pesach would start Saturday night - then we'd have the seders and he would sing the Mah Nishtanah, the Four Questions, as he'd been preparing to do. Friday night = Shabbat. Saturday and Sunday night = Pesach. We thought it was clear.</p><p>Come Friday night, there were candles, over which we said blessings. Then the family gathered around the table, and there was kiddush, the prayer said over the wine. We washed our hands before saying Hamotzi, and pulled back the \"challah cover\" to reveal...two flat boards of egg matzah, the not-really-bread, not-really-matzah product that's considered OK by some people for this specific calendar situation.</p><p>My nephew looked puzzled, and before we could even utter \"Hamotzi,\" he asked \"Why is that not challah?\"</p><p>Why indeed, is that not challah?</p><p>That's exactly what all of us - missing the chewy, delicious bread that's worth going off Atkins or South Beach for - wanted to know. It was a reinterpretation of that first of the Four Questions - \"On other nights we eat challah or matzah, and today, even though it's Shabbat and not yet Pesach, why are we not eating challah?\"</p><p>But on a deeper level, \"why is that not challah?\" is a reflection of the lens we're all supposed to be applying throughout the seder (or seders, if you're doing two) - noting the differences, the things that aren't quite the way they usually are, remarking about them, and pondering their significance. </p><p>Sometimes it's something as stark as finding something you didn't expect under what is traditionally a challah cover, and sometimes the difference is subtle - we still say \"Hamotzi\" over matzah, but add another blessing special for matzah. So it's all the same, even as it's markedly different.</p><p>It's the same lesson you might learn looking around the seder table at members of your own family: the genetic connection is there, and we remember just by looking at our relatives that we are all individuals, but still share a context, a heritage and a legacy.</p><p></p>", "cliptype": "image", "clipsource": "Original, by Esther D. Kustanowitz", "featured": 0, "featuredIn": null, "is_public": 1, "is_published": 1, "media": { "image": "https://assets.haggadot.com/clips/428112/Photo-on-2011-03-21-at-16.50_2.jpg", "audio": null, "video": null }, "thumbnail": "https://assets.haggadot.com/clips/428112/conversions/Photo-on-2011-03-21-at-16.50_2-cover.jpg", "clip_section": [ { "haggadah_section": "-- Four Questions", "slug": "four-questions" } ], "likes": 0, "downloads": 2, "tags": [], "themes": [], "language": "0", "is_bookmarked": "0", "is_liked": 0, "meta_tags": { "title": "Nephew Gil and The Case of the Missing Challah | Passover haggadah by Esther Kustanowitz", "description": "Our simple platform allows you to create a custom Passover Haggadah, with access to unique content contributed by our community. Find artwork, family", "keywords": "", "og:type": "article", "og:url": "https://www.haggadot.com/clip/nephew-gil-and-case-missing-challah-2", "og:title": "Nephew Gil and The Case of the Missing Challah | Passover haggadah by Esther Kustanowitz", "og:description": "Our simple platform allows you to create a custom Passover Haggadah, with access to unique content contributed by our community. Find artwork, family", "og:image": "https://assets.haggadot.com/clips/428112/conversions/Photo-on-2011-03-21-at-16.50_2-cover.jpg" } } }, { "clip": { "is_admin": 0, "is_owner": 0, "handle": "spring-cleaning", "title": "Spring Cleaning", "author": "Esther Kustanowitz", "author_handle": "estherk", "author_initials": "EK", "covertext": "(Author's Note: This was originally published in the NY Jewish Week in April 2008.) Spring Cleaning  I’ve been cleaning...", "user_image": "https://assets.haggadot.com/users/421216/conversions/1709521752-thumb.jpg", "user_image_original": "https://assets.haggadot.com/users/421216/1709521752.jpeg", "body": "<p> <em>(Author's Note: This was originally published in the NY Jewish Week in April 2008.)</em> </p>\n\n<p><strong>Spring Cleaning </strong></p>\n\n<p>I’ve been cleaning my apartment in increments: a shelf here, a desk drawer there, purge a file folder or four. Part of it was tax-practical, to find my 2007 receipts so I could claim deductions for my freelance lifestyle—part of it was Passover, lurking as it does beyond the hamantashen. But in plumbing the depths of cabinets and drawers, there were unexpected finds. Earrings I bought on a cruise. Writing guidelines for Newsweek’s My Turn column. The “Back to the Future” soundtrack CD.</p>\n\n<p>Because I’m not what people would call a cleaning machine, the surprises break my stride, and I stop to think about the person I was in the moment when that item mattered. Somewhere within me, I know the solution is tough love—toss the folder and its contents without examining each paper. But to me, each paper is a chance to revisit a moment and a memory, which can help me better understand the person I’ve become today. But it’s slow.</p>\n\n<p>Passover doesn’t seem to suffer from the same organization deficiency that I do. The order of events is laid out in a singsong sequence, nicely and neatly tied into a little package called the Haggadah. Easy, right? But way before the family sits down at the Seder to ask questions and tell stories about enslavement and redemption, the ritualistic preparation begins. Boxes come up from basements or down from attics, fill rooms until there’s no room in the room (which would seem to mandate that we call the space something else—certainly not “room”). As boxes are unpacked, the house is in complete upheaval; appliances and dishes from the old kitchen are removed and replaced by more pristine, even more kosher versions of themselves. It recalls an old Steven Wright joke, delivered deadpan: “When I woke up, everything in my apartment had been stolen...and replaced with exact replicas.” Welcome to Crazytown, population: you.</p>\n\n<p>One of the annually anticipated Seder moments is an expression of gratitude to God that basically says, “All this for us? We’re not worthy…” Dayyenu, the musical bane of the Seder’s existence, is peculiar in its setup: it traces the steps of redemption, from Egypt toward residence in Israel. After every line, the poem notes that each step, on its own, “would have been enough.” Most people challenge this. Would it have been enough that we had been redeemed from slavery and then nothing else? Of course not. </p>\n\n<p>But one of the things that I learn from Dayyenu is that when you’re going through something, you often don’t stop to assess the context of each step within a larger, invisible whole; you can’t, or you’ll never make any progress. But in retrospect, in the retelling, you are able to see how each step led you forward. Relationships are like that— the entire talk therapy industry is built on that archeological process. In order to know who you are, you have to dig up the more ancient version of yourself and have it tested in a (carbon) dating lab.</p>\n\n<p>Progress isn’t easy, and sometimes it’s hard to see where you’re headed. But as many of us continue the spiritual or social wandering that leaves us feeling isolated, we are still part of a people who are – at least in the moment of the Seder—united in purpose, remembering our collective history and assessing our responsibilities to today’s world. Passover reminds us that liberty is fleeting, your destiny may not be in your own hands, and you are part of something bigger—a responsibility, a people, a nation. </p>\n\n<p>Jews have other designated times for breast-beating, but there’s no question that a good, thorough cleaning once a year is a salient metaphor for introspection or self-evaluation. But Passover adds a layer of trying to see yourself in a personal relationship with the Jewish nation. Seeing yourself as if you were personally redeemed from Egypt is method acting for the exhausted: the Haggadah tells you what your motivation is, in case your ability to remember your lines or form coherent thought patterns have been obliterated by oven cleaner fumes.</p>\n\n<p>This annual physical for your living environment has symbolic benefits: it gives you the chance to reconsider your choices, revisit simpler—or more complicated—times, evaluate your future and chart your progress toward finally getting there. And maybe, for now, that will be enough.</p>\n\n\n", "cliptype": "text", "clipsource": "Original by Author, published in NY Jewish Week", "featured": 0, "featuredIn": null, "is_public": 1, "is_published": 1, "media": { "image": null, "audio": null, "video": null }, "thumbnail": null, "clip_section": [ { "haggadah_section": "Maggid - Beginning", "slug": "maggid-beginning" } ], "likes": 0, "downloads": 468, "tags": [], "themes": [], "language": "0", "is_bookmarked": "0", "is_liked": 0, "meta_tags": { "title": "Spring Cleaning | Passover haggadah by Esther Kustanowitz", "description": "Our simple platform allows you to create a custom Passover Haggadah, with access to unique content contributed by our community. Find artwork, family", "keywords": "", "og:type": "article", "og:url": "https://www.haggadot.com/clip/spring-cleaning", "og:title": "Spring Cleaning | Passover haggadah by Esther Kustanowitz", "og:description": "Our simple platform allows you to create a custom Passover Haggadah, with access to unique content contributed by our community. Find artwork, family", "og:image": "" } } }, { "clip": { "is_admin": 0, "is_owner": 0, "handle": "dating-seder-way", "title": "Dating the Seder Way", "author": "Esther Kustanowitz", "author_handle": "estherk", "author_initials": "EK", "covertext": "(Author's note: This piece is a 2013 version of \"Dating the Seder Way,\" which appeared in the NY Jewish Week, April 22,...", "user_image": "https://assets.haggadot.com/users/421216/conversions/1709521752-thumb.jpg", "user_image_original": "https://assets.haggadot.com/users/421216/1709521752.jpeg", "body": "<p> <em>(Author's note: This piece is a 2013 version of \"Dating the Seder Way,\" which appeared in the NY <a href=\"http://www.thejewishweek.com/\">Jewish Week</a>, April 22, 2005. May we all continue to make strides toward personal and relationship redemption.) </em> </p>\n\n<p><strong>Dating the<strong> </strong>Seder Way</strong></p>\n\n<p>Why is this date different from all other dates? On a first date with someone new, that’s what we’re thinking. As we try to make emotional bricks without straw, a good date is the harbinger of a heartfelt hope that we will live to see relationship redemption. And just like any ritual, the courtship process has its own order.</p>\n\n<p><strong>Kadesh</strong>: You set aside a time and place to meet. The first beverage arrives; the alcohol warms you, liberating you from the oppression of routine. Both parties begin to relax.</p>\n\n<p><strong>Urchatz</strong>: Before eating a morsel, someone excuses himself (or herself) to the washroom. This provides both parties with a moment of solitude and a chance to assess the initial chemistry. If necessary (“I just got a call and something suddenly came up”), it’s also an opportunity for an early (if not particularly graceful) exit.</p>\n\n<p><strong>Karpas</strong>: During hors d’oeuvres, you realize this is someone you wouldn’t mind spending a few more minutes with. You’re not that hungry, but you “could eat something” – some flat crackers, maybe.</p>\n\n<p><strong>Yachatz</strong>: You begin to share anecdotes about your lives. If you’re lucky, this ends up a 50-50 give-and-take, and no one can discern which half of the conversation is bigger.</p>\n\n<p><strong>Magid</strong>: Now you’re into the main narrative: the substance of your date. As you tell your stories, you find resonance in the experiences of someone who, moments before, was a stranger at a strange table. You have discovered which of the Four Children you are out with.</p>\n\n<p>The Wise Child attentively asks, “What do you do? Do you like it? How’d you get into that?” The Wicked Child asks, “What redeeming quality is there in that kind of career?” Because he cannot see redemption in your choices, you may smack him about the teeth, for he will not be redeemed. The Simple Child asks, “Why are we here?” and you answer him simply, and perhaps a little sadly that the conversation will remain so superficial. And the fourth child, who doesn’t even know enough to ask, relies completely on you to provide conversation, which you do politely before you open the door for your inevitable exit.</p>\n\n<p>But tonight you’re lucky: you’re out with a Wise Child, whose questions inspire you and engender conversation that flows like the Nile. You bond over past professional servitude and shed the emotional shackles of relationships past. You begin to feel as if you personally experienced your partner’s suffering and feel acutely grateful that you have both been redeemed. You’re so absorbed in your study of each other that you barely notice when the waiter approaches and says, “Rabotai, it’s time to order dinner.” You drink more wine, toasting to tomorrow.</p>\n\n<p><strong>Rahtzah</strong>: This time the retreat to the washroom is more functional. In this moment alone, you wonder if your date is checking voice mail, looking for a pillar of smoke or fire to lead him away from you and toward freedom, even if it involves exile in a relationship wilderness.</p>\n\n<p><strong>Motzi Matzah</strong>: You return to the table, relieved to find that your date hasn’t made a personal exodus from the restaurant and instead has taken the liberty of ordering dinner.</p>\n\n<p><strong>Maror</strong>: There is sadness in your companion’s eyes. As more is revealed about past relationships, you taste the bitterness as if the experience had been your own.</p>\n\n<p><strong>Korech</strong>: You temper the bitter tales of loves lost with layers of humor and substance that reduce the bite, you conversation retains its pungency, but as you regain a sense of stability, your eyes water less. </p>\n\n<p><strong>Shulchan Orech</strong>: Dinner is served; you point out the pesto in your date’s teeth, while your companion kindly points your napkin in the direction of the tomato sauce you missed around your mouth. The wine flows like conversation, and the conversation flows like wine.</p>\n\n<p><strong>Tzafun</strong>: Dessert finds you searching for nuance and meaning in the developing relationship. If only you could find that elusive piece of unleavened feeling, you feel certain that you would win some sort of prize. Sharing the last tastes of the meal together, you smile at each other, your hunger more than sated.</p>\n\n<p><strong>Barech and Hallel</strong>: You utter silent benedictions: you are grateful for the food, the wine, the conversation and the company, and you mentally praise the person who orchestrated the setup. Neither of you needs additional intoxication, but since the bottle’s almost empty, you share the last of the wine.</p>\n\n<p><strong>Nirtzah</strong>: The order of the evening has concluded much as it began, leaving you to process your thoughts about, and memories of, the preceding hours. Simultaneously relieved and regretful, you try to treasure the moment without considering its potential spiritual impact. You’re aware that following the same script with the same people sometimes yields a different result – still, you wouldn’t mind doing it all again.</p>\n\n<p>With the evening ended, you part ways. But as you kiss the night (and maybe even your date) goodbye, you make a wish for yourself that the emotionally connected experience you had tonight will be one you will merit to repeat, if not this year in New York or Los Angeles, then maybe next year in Jerusalem. </p>\n", "cliptype": "text", "clipsource": "Original by Author, published in NY Jewish Week", "featured": 0, "featuredIn": null, "is_public": 1, "is_published": 1, "media": { "image": null, "audio": null, "video": null }, "thumbnail": null, "clip_section": [ { "haggadah_section": "Shulchan Oreich", "slug": "shulchan-oreich" } ], "likes": 0, "downloads": 343, "tags": [], "themes": [], "language": "0", "is_bookmarked": "0", "is_liked": 0, "meta_tags": { "title": "Dating the Seder Way | Passover haggadah by Esther Kustanowitz", "description": "Our simple platform allows you to create a custom Passover Haggadah, with access to unique content contributed by our community. Find artwork, family", "keywords": "", "og:type": "article", "og:url": "https://www.haggadot.com/clip/dating-seder-way", "og:title": "Dating the Seder Way | Passover haggadah by Esther Kustanowitz", "og:description": "Our simple platform allows you to create a custom Passover Haggadah, with access to unique content contributed by our community. Find artwork, family", "og:image": "" } } }, { "clip": { "is_admin": 0, "is_owner": 0, "handle": "dayenu-behind-music-fictional-origins-story", "title": "Dayenu: Behind the Music (A Fictional Origins Story)", "author": "Esther Kustanowitz", "author_handle": "estherk", "author_initials": "EK", "covertext": "This is the fictional story of a song that everyone seems to know, whether or not they want to. To describe this song to...", "user_image": "https://assets.haggadot.com/users/421216/conversions/1709521752-thumb.jpg", "user_image_original": "https://assets.haggadot.com/users/421216/1709521752.jpeg", "body": "<p>This is the fictional story of a song that everyone seems to know, whether or not they want to. To describe this song to you in a sentence would have been enough. But this song isn't known for its subtlety or its brevity. It's known for its repetition, its words that don't quite fit into the tune, it's barely-there-musical-tune reminiscent of the Pac-Man theme, and, of course, its repetition. So here's the previously untold story behind the music.</p>\n\n<p>One Passover, before all of you were alive, a group of rabbis gathered in Bnei Brak. Rabbis were always gathering in Bnei Brak. In fact, you couldn't stop rabbis from gathering in Bnei Brak - it was like their version of Vegas, except whatever happened in Bnei Brak - instead of staying in Bnei Brak - ended up well-documented in the Haggadah.</p>\n\n<p>But this is not the story of things that ended up well-documented in the Haggadah. And it's also not the story of how contemporary Bnei Brak became the home not just to one of Israel's most ultra-Orthodox communities but also the Coca-Cola factory. (That's got to be its own story, because, seriously?) It's the story of a plucky rabbi with a song in his heart who - like so many rabbis and non-rabbis before and after him - ignored his wife's plea to stay and help with Passover and instead went road tripping on a path of personal destiny.</p>\n\n<p>Rabbi Dai Kvar was not the most popular rabbi in the village, but he had a way with those around him, always pointing out the obvious in a way that, though sometimes irksome, sometimes actually put things in perspective. It was this slavish adherence to the chain of events that led up to other events that would turn out to be his most annoying - and most enduring - quality.</p>\n\n<p>One morning, Rabbi Dai Kvar awakened with a start. \"If God had taken us out of Egypt, that would have been enough!\"</p>\n\n<p>\"What ARE you talking about, Dai Kvar?\" his wife asked, annoyed for what was decidedly not the first time during their marriage.</p>\n\n<p>\"I've got an idea, no, it's THE idea. This is the one, Bina, I'm telling you! I've got to take this to the Bnei Brak boys immediately!\" And with that, Dai Kvar jumped out of bed, threw a few of his portable Talmud volumes into a bag with some toothpaste, dental floss and two rocks, one to use for deodorant and the other one to use to light a fire.</p>\n\n<p>\"Be careful not to mix those two up,\" Bina shouted at her husband as he ran out the door. \"He always leaves right before Passover,\" she said, shaking her head.</p>\n\n<p>Later, Dai Kvar found himself in the synagogue in Bnei Brak, its major feature was an ark to end all arks - attached to a one-hundred-percent-electricity-free system of pulleys, the ark most resembled a giant slot machine. If you were to pull the lever on the left, it would spit out a Torah rolled up to that week's Torah portion.</p>\n\n<p>The head of the Talmudic Council, Rabbi Dave, spoke first. \"I now officially call all the Daves of the Talmudic council to order.\"</p>\n\n<p>\"I thought that was my job,\" said Second Rabbi Dave.</p>\n\n<p>\"Nope, that's me,\" Rabbi Dave the Third chimed in.</p>\n\n<p>\"Dave 3 is right, it's his job,\" said Just Another Rabbi Dave, which was also his JDate handle. \"Here. Take this gavel. I got it from my JD program at Pumpeditha University.\"</p>\n\n<p>\"You went to PumpU?\" Rabbi Dave could barely believe his ears. \"I went to U of Sura! They're both in the Big Two of State Schools....\" ​</p>\n\n<p>\"Small world,\" said all of the Daves in unison.</p>\n\n<p>\"First order of business,\" said Rabbi Dave (the one who was the head of the Talmudic Council, that is). \"Rabbi Dai Kvar brings us a proposal for a new song.\"</p>\n\n<p>Once he was in front of his boys from Brak, Dai Kvar was more excited than he'd ever been. \"Gentlemen, I have a new song that traces our steps from the desert and toward a land that forged our peoplehood. My new song idea is so money that it doesn't even know how money it is.\"</p>\n\n<p>\"That's great, Dai Kvar, but how money is it, exactly? Is it more than two zuzim? Because I've got that number in my brain for some reason,\" said Reb Dave Gadya.</p>\n\n<p>\"Do you have a tune?\" asked Just Another Rabbi Dave. \"Who knows one?\"</p>\n\n<p>\"It's got to be epic,\" said Rabbi Dave 3. \"It should be grandiose, melodic and hauntingly beautiful as it helps us recall our years of oppression and subsequent redemption!\"</p>\n\n<p>\"No,\" said Second Rabbi Dave. \"It should be a still small voice, like God's in the wilderness.\"</p>\n\n<p>\"It should be intricate and unwieldy, but irresistible, maybe featuring lots of animals,\" said Reb Dave Gadya.</p>\n\n<p>\"Always the animals with you, Reb Gadya,\" Dai Kvar noted.</p>\n\n<p>Reb Gadya shrugged and smiled. \"I never had pets,\" he said. \"But I always wanted one. Even just a worm to play with.\"</p>\n\n<p>\"A worm! That's it!\" Dai Kvar exclaimed. The Daves stared at him, puzzled. \"My friends,\" Dai Kvar explained, \"we all know the story of the shamir, the giant worm that had the power to cut through stone, iron and diamond and which King Solomon is said to have used in the building of the First Temple in Jerusalem? Is there such a thing as a shamir that can live inside the skull, cutting through the noise and annoying someone but not actually harming them in any way?\"</p>\n\n<p>\"Wait just a minute...are you talking about an ear worm?\" one of the Daves asked. Dai Kvar thought about it. That was exactly what he was talking about, and he nodded vigorously.</p>\n\n<p>\"With the agreement of the Council, I'd like to create an ear shamir. I have just the chord progression,\" said one of the Rabbi Daves, but by this point, even Dai Kvar wasn't sure which one.</p>\n\n<p>\"Thank you for stepping forward, Rabbi Dave. So how many verses will be enough for this ear worm?\" Rabbi Dave (the head of the Council one) asked.</p>\n\n<p>\"Well, musically, only one verse is necessary,\" said Rabbi Dai Kvar. \"But one verse is super-boring and only children will get a kick out of learning and performing a long song, so let's compromise and say...14 different lines. And that we'll sing 'da-dai-yenu' after every line to make sure the song lasts as long as possible.\"</p>\n\n<p>And the Daves took a vote, and it was a unanimous decision, except for Reb Gadya, who suffered from a hanging Chad and subsequently had to move to Florida to vote in the 2000 US Presidential Election.</p>\n\n<p>And so it came to pass.</p>\n\n<p>And that's why when you sing Dayenu, it's not just a song acknowledging the significant milestones that the Jewish people reached on their journey out of Egypt and to the Holy Land, but a summary of how that song makes you feel.</p>\n\n<p>That is why it always feels like one verse would have been enough.</p>", "cliptype": "image", "clipsource": "original, by Esther D. Kustanowitz", "featured": 1, "featuredIn": { "title": "2019 Favorites", "slug": "2019-favorites", "author": "Haggadot" }, "is_public": 1, "is_published": 1, "media": { "image": "https://assets.haggadot.com/clips/181267/dayenu-behind-the-music.jpg", "audio": null, "video": null }, "thumbnail": "https://assets.haggadot.com/clips/181267/conversions/dayenu-behind-the-music-cover.jpg", "clip_section": [ { "haggadah_section": "-- Cup #2 & Dayenu", "slug": "cup-2-amp-dayenu" } ], "likes": 0, "downloads": 409, "tags": [], "themes": [], "language": "0", "is_bookmarked": "0", "is_liked": 0, "meta_tags": { "title": "Dayenu: Behind the Music (A Fictional Origins Story) | Passover haggadah by Esther Kustanowitz", "description": "Our simple platform allows you to create a custom Passover Haggadah, with access to unique content contributed by our community. Find artwork, family", "keywords": "", "og:type": "article", "og:url": "https://www.haggadot.com/clip/dayenu-behind-music-fictional-origins-story", "og:title": "Dayenu: Behind the Music (A Fictional Origins Story) | Passover haggadah by Esther Kustanowitz", "og:description": "Our simple platform allows you to create a custom Passover Haggadah, with access to unique content contributed by our community. Find artwork, family", "og:image": "https://assets.haggadot.com/clips/181267/conversions/dayenu-behind-the-music-cover.jpg" } } }, { "clip": { "is_admin": 0, "is_owner": 0, "handle": "estherk-explains-passover", "title": "EstherK Explains: Passover!", "author": "Esther Kustanowitz", "author_handle": "estherk", "author_initials": "EK", "covertext": "Matzah, seder, haggadot, freedom...get your crash course in Passover here!  Video by Esther Kustanowitz in collaboration...", "user_image": "https://assets.haggadot.com/users/421216/conversions/1709521752-thumb.jpg", "user_image_original": "https://assets.haggadot.com/users/421216/1709521752.jpeg", "body": "<p>Matzah, seder, haggadot, freedom...get your crash course in Passover here! </p>\n\n<p>Video by Esther Kustanowitz in collaboration with Haggadot.com/Custom&amp;Craft, and with support from the Jewish Community Foundation of Los Angeles.</p>", "cliptype": "video", "clipsource": "@EstherK", "featured": 1, "featuredIn": null, "is_public": 1, "is_published": 1, "media": { "image": null, "audio": null, "video": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6VP92yr-8LA" }, "thumbnail": "https://assets.haggadot.com/clips/391956/conversions/hqdefault-cover.jpg", "clip_section": [ { "haggadah_section": "Introduction", "slug": "introduction" } ], "likes": 0, "downloads": 471, "tags": [], "themes": [], "language": "0", "is_bookmarked": "0", "is_liked": 0, "meta_tags": { "title": "EstherK Explains: Passover! | Passover haggadah by Esther Kustanowitz", "description": "Our simple platform allows you to create a custom Passover Haggadah, with access to unique content contributed by our community. Find artwork, family", "keywords": "", "og:type": "article", "og:url": "https://www.haggadot.com/clip/estherk-explains-passover", "og:title": "EstherK Explains: Passover! | Passover haggadah by Esther Kustanowitz", "og:description": "Our simple platform allows you to create a custom Passover Haggadah, with access to unique content contributed by our community. Find artwork, family", "og:image": "" } } }, { "clip": { "is_admin": 0, "is_owner": 0, "handle": "plot-wonder-woman-meets-chad-gadya", "title": "The Plot of Wonder Woman Meets Chad Gadya", "author": "Esther Kustanowitz", "author_handle": "estherk", "author_initials": "EK", "covertext": "Origin Story: Someone I know kept saying \"Gal Gadot,\" the name of the Israeli actress who plays \"Wonder W oman\" in the...", "user_image": "https://assets.haggadot.com/users/421216/conversions/1709521752-thumb.jpg", "user_image_original": "https://assets.haggadot.com/users/421216/1709521752.jpeg", "body": "<p> <em><strong>Origin Story: </strong>Someone I know kept saying \"Gal Gadot,\" the name of the Israeli actress who plays \"Wonder W</em> <em>oman\" in the DC Movie Universe. The more she said it, the more my brain kept singing her name to \"Chad Gadya,\" the Aramaic song about the one little goat. And so, this parody version was born, celebrating the narrative spirit of the traditional Passover song with all the plot spoilers of the 2017 film, Wonder Woman, starring Gal Gadot.</em> </p>\n\n<p> <em>While this version of the Chad Gadya has no goats - and really, very little relation to the song Chad Gadya - it can provide a pop culture chuckle at the end of a long seder. Or maybe in the middle, depending on how big your four cups of wine are. Enjoy! </em> </p>\n\n<p> <em>- Esther D. Kustanowitz</em> </p>\n\n<p> <em><strong>Gal Gadot (to the tune of Chad Gadya)</strong></em> </p>\n\n<p>Gal Gadoooot, Gal Gadot!</p>\n\n<p>1. Wonder Woman was really exciting, Gal Gadoooot, Gal Gadot!</p>\n\n<p>2. Justice League left a lot to be desired, Wonder Woman was really exciting, Gal Gadoooot, Gal Gadot!</p>\n\n<p>3. Patty Jenkins is a great director, Justice League left a lot to be desired, Wonder Woman was really exciting, Gal Gadoooot, Gal Gadot!</p>\n\n<p>4. She discovers babies, love and ice cream, Patty Jenkins is a great director, Justice League left a lot to be desired, Wonder Woman was really exciting, Gal Gadoooot, Gal Gadot!</p>\n\n<p>5. Diana leaves her mom to go to London, she discovers babies, love and ice cream, Patty Jenkins is a great director, Justice League left a lot to be desired, Wonder Woman was really exciting, Gal Gadoooot, Gal Gadot!</p>\n\n<p>6. Steve Trevor brought war to Themyscira, Diana leaves her mom to go to London, she discovers babies, love and ice cream, Patty Jenkins is a great director, Justice League left a lot to be desired, Wonder Woman was really exciting, Gal Gadoooot, Gal Gadot!</p>\n\n<p>7. David Thewlis is obviously the villain, Steve Trevor brought war to Themyscira, Diana leaves her mom to go to London, she discovers babies, love and ice cream, Patty Jenkins is a great director, Justice League left a lot to be desired, Wonder Woman was really exciting, Gal Gadoooot, Gal Gadot!</p>\n\n<p>8. Antiope's her aunt who didn't make it, David Thewlis is obviously the villain, Steve Trevor brought war to Themyscira, Diana leaves her mom to go to London, she discovers babies, love and ice cream, Patty Jenkins is a great director, Justice League left a lot to be desired, Wonder Woman was really exciting, Gal Gadoooot, Gal Gadot!</p>\n\n<p>9. Diana's made of clay just like a dreidel, Antiope's her aunt who didn't make it, David Thewlis is obviously the villain, Steve Trevor brought war to Themyscira, Diana leaves her mom to go to London, she discovers babies, love and ice cream, Patty Jenkins is a great director, Justice League left a lot to be desired, Wonder Woman was really exciting, Gal Gadoooot, Gal Gadot!</p>\n\n<p>10. Amazons are warriors on an island, Diana's made of clay just like a dreidel, Antiope's her aunt who didn't make it, David Thewlis is obviously the villain, Steve Trevor brought war to Themyscira, Diana leaves her mom to go to London, she discovers babies, love and ice cream, Patty Jenkins is a great director, Justice League left a lot to be desired, Wonder Woman was really exciting, Gal Gadoooot, Gal Gadot!</p>\n\n<p>11. Themyscira is a place of power, Amazons are warriors on an island, Diana's made of clay just like a dreidel, Antiope's her aunt who didn't make it, David Thewlis is obviously the villain, Steve Trevor brought war to Themyscira, Diana leaves her mom to go to London, she discovers babies, love and ice cream, Patty Jenkins is a great director, Justice League left a lot to be desired, Wonder Woman was really exciting, Gal Gadoooot, Gal Gadot!!!</p>", "cliptype": "image", "clipsource": "Original: Esther D. Kustanowitz", "featured": 1, "featuredIn": { "title": "Comedy Seder", "slug": "comedy-seder", "author": "Haggadot" }, "is_public": 1, "is_published": 1, "media": { "image": "https://assets.haggadot.com/clips/120582/wonderwoman2.jpg", "audio": null, "video": null }, "thumbnail": "https://assets.haggadot.com/clips/120582/conversions/wonderwoman2-cover.jpg", "clip_section": [ { "haggadah_section": "Songs", "slug": "songs" } ], "likes": 0, "downloads": 367, "tags": [ { "tag": "Entertainment", "slug": "entertainment" }, { "tag": "Pop Culture", "slug": "pop-culture" }, { "tag": "Songs", "slug": "songs" } ], "themes": [ { "theme": "Entertainment", "slug": "entertainment" }, { "theme": "Songs", "slug": "songs" } ], "language": "0", "is_bookmarked": "0", "is_liked": 0, "meta_tags": { "title": "The Plot of Wonder Woman Meets Chad Gadya | Passover haggadah by Esther Kustanowitz", "description": "Our simple platform allows you to create a custom Passover Haggadah, with access to unique content contributed by our community. Find artwork, family", "keywords": "", "og:type": "article", "og:url": "https://www.haggadot.com/clip/plot-wonder-woman-meets-chad-gadya", "og:title": "The Plot of Wonder Woman Meets Chad Gadya | Passover haggadah by Esther Kustanowitz", "og:description": "Our simple platform allows you to create a custom Passover Haggadah, with access to unique content contributed by our community. Find artwork, family", "og:image": "https://assets.haggadot.com/clips/120582/conversions/wonderwoman2-cover.jpg" } } }, { "clip": { "is_admin": 0, "is_owner": 0, "handle": "water-and-chaos-theory-jurassic-park-and-exodus-story", "title": "Water and Chaos Theory in Jurassic Park and the Exodus Story", "author": "Esther Kustanowitz", "author_handle": "estherk", "author_initials": "EK", "covertext": "As I was preparing for the sedarim (that's plural of \"seder!\") this year, I read a source about hand washing from Chabad...", "user_image": "https://assets.haggadot.com/users/421216/conversions/1709521752-thumb.jpg", "user_image_original": "https://assets.haggadot.com/users/421216/1709521752.jpeg", "body": "As I was preparing for the sedarim (that's plural of \"seder!\") this year, I read a source about hand washing from Chabad.com here on Haggadot.com - it said that water represents the healing power of wisdom. Thinking about that, and the two hand-washings that are part of the Seder order, one cinematic image popped into my mind: the scene from Jurassic Park in which Jeff Goldblum explains - or maybe today we'd call it \"mansplains\" - chaos theory to Laura Dern by applying drops of water to her hand and trying to predict which way the water will run. He explains that chaos theory reveals the unpredictability of complex systems, also referring to it as the butterfly effect. (If you need a refresher, <a href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n-mpifTiPV4\">the clip is here</a>.)\n\n<p>And I started thinking about unpredictability as it relates to Passover. In times of Egyptian slavery, life was predictable: each day as a slave is the same because you have no choices to make. No one would have predicted that Prince Moses would have killed an Egyptian taskmaster for oppressing a slave, forcing Moses to flee. No one would have predicted that Moses would return to Egypt to demand freedom from his people because a burning bush told him to. Every one of the ten plagues subverted predictions and expectations. And water, too behaves unpredictably: the Nile turns to blood, and the Red Sea - chaotically and unpredictably - parts.</p>\n\n<p>In our Seder, we have one hand washing without a blessing, and one with a blessing. As we know from movies and from life, sometimes droplets run in one direction, and sometimes in the other. And when we encounter something unpredictable, it helps to know that it's part of a larger context, whether you call it a narrative, a belief system, a theory or a Seder.</p>\n", "cliptype": "image", "clipsource": "Esther D. Kustanowitz", "featured": 1, "featuredIn": null, "is_public": 1, "is_published": 1, "media": { "image": "https://assets.haggadot.com/clips/166063/Screen-Shot-2018-03-28-at-2.45.34-PM.png", "audio": null, "video": null }, "thumbnail": "https://assets.haggadot.com/clips/166063/conversions/Screen-Shot-2018-03-28-at-2.45.34-PM-cover.jpg", "clip_section": [ { "haggadah_section": "Urchatz", "slug": "urchatz" } ], "likes": 0, "downloads": 438, "tags": [], "themes": [], "language": "0", "is_bookmarked": "0", "is_liked": 0, "meta_tags": { "title": "Water and Chaos Theory in Jurassic Park and the Exodus Story | Passover haggadah by Esther Kustanowitz", "description": "Our simple platform allows you to create a custom Passover Haggadah, with access to unique content contributed by our community. Find artwork, family", "keywords": "", "og:type": "article", "og:url": "https://www.haggadot.com/clip/water-and-chaos-theory-jurassic-park-and-exodus-story", "og:title": "Water and Chaos Theory in Jurassic Park and the Exodus Story | Passover haggadah by Esther Kustanowitz", "og:description": "Our simple platform allows you to create a custom Passover Haggadah, with access to unique content contributed by our community. Find artwork, family", "og:image": "https://assets.haggadot.com/clips/166063/conversions/Screen-Shot-2018-03-28-at-2.45.34-PM-cover.jpg" } } }, { "clip": { "is_admin": 0, "is_owner": 0, "handle": "the-four-janets", "title": "The Four Janets", "author": "Esther Kustanowitz", "author_handle": "estherk", "author_initials": "EK", "covertext": "The Four Children seems to suggest that there are four types of people and four ways to approach Jewish study. But that...", "user_image": "https://assets.haggadot.com/users/421216/conversions/1709521752-thumb.jpg", "user_image_original": "https://assets.haggadot.com/users/421216/1709521752.jpeg", "body": "<p>The Four Children seems to suggest that there are four types of people and four ways to approach Jewish study. But that template also serves for robust discussions and interpretations: How do we define any of these categories? Is there wisdom in silence or in intellectual challenge? Is simplicity and lack of intellectual curiosity a form of wickedness?</p>\n\n<p>As I was about to tackle the four main characters on NBC's life-after-death sitcom “The Good Place” in a Four Children context, I came across a graphic that had taken the first step. It designates moral philosophy professor Chidi as wise, self-proclaimed “Arizona trashbag” Eleanor as wicked, socialite Tahani as simple, and dim Darwin Award winner Jason Mendoza as the one who doesn’t know how to ask.</p>\n\n<p>In really thinking about these characters, I realized that Eleanor is wise enough to figure out season one’s spoiler twist and lead the group onto a better path. And Chidi’s inability to make decisions could mark him as a wild card: Is a life without decisions simple? Does his inability to form constructive questions keep him in purgatory? Tahani doesn’t know how to ask a question that’s not about herself or relate to people who aren’t obscenely wealthy. And Jason — who constantly asks questions — is the one who sees life simply and happily. The boundaries are blurred.</p>\n\n<p>For me, “The Good Place” image that best represents this idea is from season three’s “Janet(s)” episode, in which actress D’Arcy Carden, who normally plays an omniscient, not-a-girl/not-a-robot, Siri-Alexa-esque character, plays all four of the main characters. (Why is complicated, but the result is brilliant--see image above.) Applied to the Four Children context, the four Janets represent a complex and nuanced inner life: four essences, four approaches to life. This image shows that the outside may seem the same, but internal character can’t always be discerned by looking at a person or hearing someone say a single sentence like “What does this mean to you?” Janets — and people —are much more complicated than that.</p>\n\n<p>(excerpted from \"<a href=\"https://www.jweekly.com/2019/04/11/pop-culture-can-enrich-the-seder-but-mrs-maisel-is-a-gimmick/\">Pop culture can enrich the seder but the Maisel haggadah is a gimmick</a>,\" by Esther D. Kustanowitz, in J.: The Jewish News of Northern California, April 2019)</p>", "cliptype": "image", "clipsource": "https://www.jweekly.com/2019/04/11/pop-culture-can-enrich-the-seder-but-mrs-maisel-is-a-gimmick/", "featured": 0, "featuredIn": { "title": "2019 Favorites", "slug": "2019-favorites", "author": "Haggadot" }, "is_public": 1, "is_published": 1, "media": { "image": "https://assets.haggadot.com/clips/192317/four-janets-fb.jpg", "audio": null, "video": null }, "thumbnail": "https://assets.haggadot.com/clips/192317/conversions/four-janets-fb-cover.jpg", "clip_section": [ { "haggadah_section": "-- Four Children", "slug": "four-children" } ], "likes": 0, "downloads": 263, "tags": [], "themes": [], "language": "0", "is_bookmarked": "0", "is_liked": 0, "meta_tags": { "title": "The Four Janets | Passover haggadah by Esther Kustanowitz", "description": "Our simple platform allows you to create a custom Passover Haggadah, with access to unique content contributed by our community. Find artwork, family", "keywords": "", "og:type": "article", "og:url": "https://www.haggadot.com/clip/the-four-janets", "og:title": "The Four Janets | Passover haggadah by Esther Kustanowitz", "og:description": "Our simple platform allows you to create a custom Passover Haggadah, with access to unique content contributed by our community. Find artwork, family", "og:image": "https://assets.haggadot.com/clips/192317/conversions/four-janets-fb-cover.jpg" } } }, { "clip": { "is_admin": 0, "is_owner": 0, "handle": "the-place", "title": "Hamakom: \"The Place\"", "author": "Esther Kustanowitz", "author_handle": "estherk", "author_initials": "EK", "covertext": "What's in a place? A physical geography? An emotional space? A temporal location? At this time, we are physically isolat...", "user_image": "https://assets.haggadot.com/users/421216/conversions/1709521752-thumb.jpg", "user_image_original": "https://assets.haggadot.com/users/421216/1709521752.jpeg", "body": "<p>What's in a place? A physical geography? An emotional space? A temporal location?</p>\n\n<p>At this time, we are physically isolated from one another. Some of us are confined to a single room or an otherwise small, boundaried location. Our social interactions are cut off or severely restricted. Our regular physical spaces of gathering - a friend’s living room, a synagogue, a JCC, or even a special place in nature - are no longer options. They are closed to us, not as punishment, but as prevention.</p>\n\n<p>But this place. Where you sit. Where I sit. Your place and my place. Our place is <strong>the</strong> <strong>place</strong>. HAMAKOM.</p>\n\n<p>\"Mah norah HAMAKOM hazeh,\" said Jacob, as he awakened with an awed understanding of the holiness surrounding him in that place. It is an exclamation of wonder, pride, and a hint of fear. There was power in that place.</p>\n\n<p>In many texts, HAMAKOM is also a synonym for God, or if you prefer, divinity. Or faith. Or other things that exist in a space outside of physical location. While a single place cannot contain the entirety of holiness, perhaps holiness itself can be envisioned as a place.</p>\n\n<p>The traditional Haggadah contains a song: “Barukh HAMAKOM she’natan Torah,” Blessed is HAMAKOM, that gave us Torah. Another word for God is HaShem, the Name, a word that spoken invokes presence and familiarity. But here--here in this space between the lines of the Haggadah, here on this night--we speak not of the Name, but of the Place. We must remember not just who we were, but where we were when we received the Torah.</p>\n\n<p>In consoling a mourner while visiting them during the shiva period of mourning, we often use the phrase “HAMAKOM yinachem,” a wish for divine comfort that is also about the central emotional location of mourning, a spiritual space that is simultaneously outside and within community space. People come to a house of mourning, a physical space, to console, and then leave, while the mourner stays.</p>\n\n<p>In thinking about Divinity as HAMAKOM, we get a sense of portability, a nimble pivoting from the physical to the spiritual. We are pivoting in so many areas of our life right now, establishing new routines, trying to infuse our familiar physical space with fresh inspiration, creativity, and meaning.</p>\n\n<p>Wherever we go, there we are. We need to give ourselves and our community credit for the distance we have managed to cover, but acknowledge the ways in which our journeying is limited.</p>\n\n<p>So let’s talk about the place that we do have. This imperfect, perfect, non-physical location. We may be physically distant, but are connected by blood, friendship, technology and destiny. We are here together now.</p>\n\n<p>As we open our eyes and accept the holiness around us, we may do so with a mix of excitement and trepidation, awe and fear. Mah norah HAMAKOM hazeh - how awe-filled and awe-inspiring THIS place can be.</p>", "cliptype": "image", "clipsource": "Original - by Esther Kustanowitz", "featured": 0, "featuredIn": null, "is_public": 1, "is_published": 1, "media": { "image": "https://assets.haggadot.com/clips/251190/38512B49-4B5C-4675-8C5D-C70A09CD468F.jpeg", "audio": null, "video": null }, "thumbnail": "https://assets.haggadot.com/clips/251190/conversions/38512B49-4B5C-4675-8C5D-C70A09CD468F-cover.jpg", "clip_section": [ { "haggadah_section": "Maggid - Beginning", "slug": "maggid-beginning" } ], "likes": 0, "downloads": 261, "tags": [], "themes": [], "language": "0", "is_bookmarked": "0", "is_liked": 0, "meta_tags": { "title": "Hamakom: \"The Place\" | Passover haggadah by Esther Kustanowitz", "description": "Our simple platform allows you to create a custom Passover Haggadah, with access to unique content contributed by our community. Find artwork, family", "keywords": "", "og:type": "article", "og:url": "https://www.haggadot.com/clip/the-place", "og:title": "Hamakom: \"The Place\" | Passover haggadah by Esther Kustanowitz", "og:description": "Our simple platform allows you to create a custom Passover Haggadah, with access to unique content contributed by our community. Find artwork, family", "og:image": "https://assets.haggadot.com/clips/251190/conversions/38512B49-4B5C-4675-8C5D-C70A09CD468F-cover.jpg" } } }, { "clip": { "is_admin": 0, "is_owner": 0, "handle": "10-ways-passover-is-like-lost", "title": "10 Ways Passover is Like the TV Show LOST", "author": "Esther Kustanowitz", "author_handle": "estherk", "author_initials": "EK", "covertext": "As Jews worldwide sit down for the Passover seder, an organized meal with a set order of rituals and readings, which are...", "user_image": "https://assets.haggadot.com/users/421216/conversions/1709521752-thumb.jpg", "user_image_original": "https://assets.haggadot.com/users/421216/1709521752.jpeg", "body": "<p>As Jews worldwide sit down for the Passover seder, an organized meal with a set order of rituals and readings, which are compiled in the Haggadah, we'll talk about Passover, what we’re up to in our respective lives, and all the family stuff. This year, we're all trapped at home anyway, staying safe by staying inside, likely participating in a seder via zoom. But being trapped on our own little island is a great time to rewatch some of our favorite TV shows, especially those about being trapped on an island, most appropriatelt the J.J. Abrams, Damon Lindelof and Jeffrey Lieber show \"Lost,\" which aired 2004-2010 on ABC. Here's how Passover is similar to \"Lost.\" (Based on a previous article for Beliefnet.com - updated to reflect our current moment in 2020. \"Lost\" is available for streaming on Hulu.)</p>\n\n<p>1. Passover is a widely-celebrated ancient Jewish holiday with a deep mythology. “Lost” is a widely-watched TV show, with hordes of devoted fans always seeking to delve deeper into the increasingly intricate and eclectic mythology.<br />\n2. The narrative of the Haggadah (telling the Passover story) is a series of flashback episodes illuminating the backgrounds of Biblical characters. Jews observing Passover are commanded to “see ourselves as if we had been the ones to come out of Egypt.” Best way to see yourself in your own history? Time travel, a staple in the \"Lost\" universe. (Just watch out for the nosebleeds.)<br />\n3. Every year, Jewish families have to go down into the hatch– only instead of a hatch, it’s a basement, and instead of finding a Scotsman named Desmond, they find their boxes of Passover dishes.<br />\n4. \"Lost\" has the Dharma Initiative, a shadowy cabal that provides the island with an exclusive brand of food products. Passover has the Matzah Initiative, a shadowy cabal that provides kosher for Passover households with an exclusive kind of food products.<br />\n5. Both stories feature reluctant leaders (Moses/Jack, John, Sawyer) and complicated family relationships: Moses is adopted by an Egyptian princess, but cared for by his birth mother and biological sister; Jack eventually cares for his half-sister Claire’s son, Aaron (who happens to share a name with the brother of the Biblical Moses).</p>\n\n<p>6. On \"Lost,\" the \"Others\" live on a part of the island that our heroes don’t visit. On Passover, the \"Others\" are the ones we can't visit (except on Zoom).<br />\n7. The Oceanic 815 survivors all have important family obligations that are being interrupted by their time on the island. People who observe Passover all have important obligations that are being interrupted by their time with their families.<br />\n8. On both the island and during Passover, even though your food intake is restricted to what’s available from the Initiative, no one seems to lose any weight.<br />\n9. Everyone’s obsessed with numbers: on “Lost,” the numbers that bring Hurley to the island; in Passover’s Haggadah, whether \"ten plagues\" means an actual literal ten or hundreds more. Trust me, it needs its own wiki.<br />\n10. Anyone who’s seen Cecil B. Demille’s “Ten Commandments” will recognize in the tenth plague the misty angel of death, who is unquestionably the great-green-grandpapa of the island’s deadly Smoke Monster.</p>\n\n<p>Any perspectives on this pop/Passover intersection to share? Happy Passover (and inevitable “Lost”-rewatching) to us all.</p>", "cliptype": "image", "clipsource": "Original, based on: https://www.beliefnet.com/columnists/idolchatter/2009/04/10-ways-passover-is-like-lost.html", "featured": 0, "featuredIn": null, "is_public": 1, "is_published": 1, "media": { "image": "https://assets.haggadot.com/clips/256579/lost-cast.jpg", "audio": null, "video": null }, "thumbnail": "https://assets.haggadot.com/clips/256579/conversions/lost-cast-cover.jpg", "clip_section": [ { "haggadah_section": "Maggid - Beginning", "slug": "maggid-beginning" } ], "likes": 0, "downloads": 255, "tags": [], "themes": [], "language": "0", "is_bookmarked": "0", "is_liked": 0, "meta_tags": { "title": "10 Ways Passover is Like the TV Show LOST | Passover haggadah by Esther Kustanowitz", "description": "Our simple platform allows you to create a custom Passover Haggadah, with access to unique content contributed by our community. Find artwork, family", "keywords": "", "og:type": "article", "og:url": "https://www.haggadot.com/clip/10-ways-passover-is-like-lost", "og:title": "10 Ways Passover is Like the TV Show LOST | Passover haggadah by Esther Kustanowitz", "og:description": "Our simple platform allows you to create a custom Passover Haggadah, with access to unique content contributed by our community. Find artwork, family", "og:image": "https://assets.haggadot.com/clips/256579/conversions/lost-cast-cover.jpg" } } }, { "clip": { "is_admin": 0, "is_owner": 0, "handle": "this-year-is-different-than-all-other-years", "title": "This Year Is Different Than All Other Years", "author": "Esther Kustanowitz", "author_handle": "estherk", "author_initials": "EK", "covertext": "Why is this seder night different from all others? This year, no one will have to ask. Our Passover plans have been tota...", "user_image": "https://assets.haggadot.com/users/421216/conversions/1709521752-thumb.jpg", "user_image_original": "https://assets.haggadot.com/users/421216/1709521752.jpeg", "body": "<p>Why is this seder night different from all others? This year, no one will have to ask.</p>\n\n<p>Our Passover plans have been totally upended. We're all in different places. Travel itineraries were disrupted, then totally canceled.  </p>\n\n<p>We’re worried about our own health and how we can avoid making anyone else sick. We worry about family members near and far. We worry about the education of our children. </p>\n\n<p>Our professional lives have been rocked and our income may be compromised. We are seeing shortages of household items we took for granted in our 21st-century lives; and we still have our regular concerns about the state of the nation and the world.</p>\n\n<p>On top of that, making a Passover seder while social distancing? Is it even possible? </p>\n\n<p>There’s no template for this. Or is there?</p>\n\n<p>In every generation, we have confronted challenge, as Jews or as members of the larger human species. We suffer loss, we grieve; we feel pain, we need time to recuperate; and then, if we can, we move forward.</p>\n\n<p>The Passover Haggadah is our people's nimble template: it charts the plagues of the past, both literal/medical and metaphorical/spiritual; our history is forged and illuminated by our culture, our culture is shaped and deepend by our history.</p>\n\n<p>This year, we add new selections to the template, new pages to the Haggadah, new perspectives through our contemporary lens. We look to history and culture for coping mechanisms. For me, pop culture is a port in a storm, a lens through which to examine history and deepen my understanding of others.</p>\n\n<p>In this Haggadah in progress, I'm starting with a liberal Haggadah base, and adding pop culture infused pieces as well as other observations on the Jewish themes of the holiday. I hope that these selections bring a smile, spark discussion, or provide additional meaning at your seder tables.</p>\n\n<p>May this Passover be the last we spend in such upheaval, and may we soon be able to say, \"next year in a world, once fragmented, again made whole.\"</p>", "cliptype": "text", "clipsource": null, "featured": 0, "featuredIn": null, "is_public": 1, "is_published": 1, "media": { "image": null, "audio": null, "video": null }, "thumbnail": null, "clip_section": [ { "haggadah_section": "Introduction", "slug": "introduction" } ], "likes": 0, "downloads": 231, "tags": [], "themes": [], "language": "0", "is_bookmarked": "0", "is_liked": 0, "meta_tags": { "title": "This Year Is Different Than All Other Years | Passover haggadah by Esther Kustanowitz", "description": "Our simple platform allows you to create a custom Passover Haggadah, with access to unique content contributed by our community. Find artwork, family", "keywords": "", "og:type": "article", "og:url": "https://www.haggadot.com/clip/this-year-is-different-than-all-other-years", "og:title": "This Year Is Different Than All Other Years | Passover haggadah by Esther Kustanowitz", "og:description": "Our simple platform allows you to create a custom Passover Haggadah, with access to unique content contributed by our community. Find artwork, family", "og:image": "" } } }, { "clip": { "is_admin": 0, "is_owner": 0, "handle": "thor-wants-another-cup", "title": "Thor Wants Another Cup", "author": "Esther Kustanowitz", "author_handle": "estherk", "author_initials": "EK", "covertext": "Like Thor, it's time for us to drink another cup! He's got coffee — takes a lot of caffeine to deal with Asgardians, esp...", "user_image": "https://assets.haggadot.com/users/421216/conversions/1709521752-thumb.jpg", "user_image_original": "https://assets.haggadot.com/users/421216/1709521752.jpeg", "body": "<p>Like Thor, it's time for us to drink another cup! He's got coffee — takes a lot of caffeine to deal with Asgardians, especially his brother, Loki —but we'll take fruit of the vine in our glasses, as is our custom.</p>\n\n<p>[Image Source: <a href=\"https://media.giphy.com/media/Kuk1DnNCOsBlm/giphy.gif\">GIPHY</a>]</p>", "cliptype": "image", "clipsource": "Esther Kustanowitz", "featured": 0, "featuredIn": { "title": "Heroes Haggadah", "slug": "heroes-haggadah", "author": "Esther Kustanowitz" }, "is_public": 1, "is_published": 1, "media": { "image": "https://assets.haggadot.com/clips/347946/Thor-Coffee.gif", "audio": null, "video": null }, "thumbnail": "https://assets.haggadot.com/clips/347946/conversions/Thor-Coffee-cover.jpg", "clip_section": [ { "haggadah_section": "Bareich", "slug": "bareich" } ], "likes": 0, "downloads": 189, "tags": [], "themes": [], "language": "0", "is_bookmarked": "0", "is_liked": 0, "meta_tags": { "title": "Thor Wants Another Cup | Passover haggadah by Esther Kustanowitz", "description": "Our simple platform allows you to create a custom Passover Haggadah, with access to unique content contributed by our community. Find artwork, family", "keywords": "", "og:type": "article", "og:url": "https://www.haggadot.com/clip/thor-wants-another-cup", "og:title": "Thor Wants Another Cup | Passover haggadah by Esther Kustanowitz", "og:description": "Our simple platform allows you to create a custom Passover Haggadah, with access to unique content contributed by our community. Find artwork, family", "og:image": "https://assets.haggadot.com/clips/347946/conversions/Thor-Coffee-cover.jpg" } } }, { "clip": { "is_admin": 0, "is_owner": 0, "handle": "michael-scott-s-heroes", "title": "Is Michael Scott a Hero?", "author": "Esther Kustanowitz", "author_handle": "estherk", "author_initials": "EK", "covertext": "\"Am I a hero?\" Michael Scott is the regional manager of Dunder-Mifflin paper company. He's bumbling, awkward, self-cente...", "user_image": "https://assets.haggadot.com/users/421216/conversions/1709521752-thumb.jpg", "user_image_original": "https://assets.haggadot.com/users/421216/1709521752.jpeg", "body": "<p>\"Am I a hero?\"</p>\n\n<p>Michael Scott is the regional manager of Dunder-Mifflin paper company. He's bumbling, awkward, self-centered and overly concerned with how other people view him. Even though some of his intentions are good, his implementation is usually disproportionally bad. He wants to fund the future, but makes promises to \"Scott's Tots\" that he can't keep. He hits a co-worker with his car, outs another, makes inappropriate comments in the office on the regular. He is not the kind of person who will put others first. He does not seem like \"hero material.\"</p>\n\n<p>But here's the thing about Michael Scott. As many times as he puts his foot in his mouth or in a George Foreman grill, he keeps trying. He comes from a background that didn't properly teach him about love and interacting with others. And over the course of his years at Dunder-Mifflin, he changes. The work family that he always wanted to love him eventually does (even if he still makes them uncomfortable). His intentions overtake (or at least catch up to and balance out) his awkwardness. He is able to put other people and their needs first; he makes room for others to succeed him and excel in their work. He opens himself up to love and to vulnerability.</p>\n\n<p>So is Michael Scott a hero? I really can't say. But yes.</p>\n\n<p>And what does this have to do with the seder, the Haggadah or Passover? Great question.</p>\n\n<p>While the temptation is to say that a hero is someone who is in a DC or Marvel movie, or whose entire profession situates them in an environment where they engage in daily acts of heroism, those are only the most visible examples of heroism. Even Michael Scott, as flawed as he is, has his moments. And for many of us, who are not working in field hospitals or defeating Thanos, this kind of heroism is one we can aspire to and attain. If Michael Scott can find heroic moments within himself, so can we. </p>\n\n<p>[Image source: <a href=\"http://https//giphy.com/gifs/theoffice-nbc-the-office-tv-0hWUv5eFjuPOMzt4Gj\">GIPHY</a>]</p>", "cliptype": "video", "clipsource": "Esther Kustanowitz", "featured": 0, "featuredIn": { "title": "Heroes Haggadah", "slug": "heroes-haggadah", "author": "Esther Kustanowitz" }, "is_public": 1, "is_published": 1, "media": { "image": null, "audio": null, "video": "https://media.giphy.com/media/cS7AhVMWcA8PHBs9Vx/giphy.gif" }, "thumbnail": "https://assets.haggadot.com/clips/394081/conversions/giphy-cover.jpg", "clip_section": [ { "haggadah_section": "Introduction", "slug": "introduction" } ], "likes": 0, "downloads": 253, "tags": [], "themes": [], "language": "0", "is_bookmarked": "0", "is_liked": 0, "meta_tags": { "title": "Is Michael Scott a Hero? | Passover haggadah by Esther Kustanowitz", "description": "Our simple platform allows you to create a custom Passover Haggadah, with access to unique content contributed by our community. Find artwork, family", "keywords": "", "og:type": "article", "og:url": "https://www.haggadot.com/clip/michael-scott-s-heroes", "og:title": "Is Michael Scott a Hero? | Passover haggadah by Esther Kustanowitz", "og:description": "Our simple platform allows you to create a custom Passover Haggadah, with access to unique content contributed by our community. Find artwork, family", "og:image": "" } } }, { "clip": { "is_admin": 0, "is_owner": 0, "handle": "tyrion-lannister-raises-a-glass", "title": "Tyrion Lannister Raises A Glass", "author": "Esther Kustanowitz", "author_handle": "estherk", "author_initials": "EK", "covertext": "Whether winter is coming or just immediately past, raise a glass that — as is always the case for Tyrion Lannister — mer...", "user_image": "https://assets.haggadot.com/users/421216/conversions/1709521752-thumb.jpg", "user_image_original": "https://assets.haggadot.com/users/421216/1709521752.jpeg", "body": "<p>Whether winter is coming or just immediately past, raise a glass that — as is always the case for Tyrion Lannister — merely the first of many. You will drink until you cannot remember who rules from the Iron Throne, until you're rooting for romantic tension between a brother and sister, until you're convinced that, sure, you could control those dragons because you're really good with animals.</p>\n\n<p>When the night is dark and full of terrors, what is a hero? One who does what must be done? Or who stays out of an unjust fight? You can't solve the world's conundra today, but in this first cup, be your own hero, and get in touch with all of the things that make you, you: you're well-read, you're living a life of relative privilege, and people underestimate you at their peril. By cup #4, you will be like Jon Snow, and know nothing. But here, now, you know it all, like Tyrion, even if no one listens to you. Replenish your flagon; but stay far from dragons.</p>\n\n<p>[Image source: <a href=\"http://https//giphy.com/gifs/SkyTV-got-wine-tyrion-2wYYlHuEw1UcsJYgAA\">GIPHY</a>]</p>", "cliptype": "image", "clipsource": "Esther Kustanowitz", "featured": 1, "featuredIn": { "title": "Heroes Haggadah", "slug": "heroes-haggadah", "author": "Esther Kustanowitz" }, "is_public": 1, "is_published": 1, "media": { "image": "https://assets.haggadot.com/clips/348006/tyrion-lannister.gif", "audio": null, "video": null }, "thumbnail": "https://assets.haggadot.com/clips/348006/conversions/tyrion-lannister-cover.jpg", "clip_section": [ { "haggadah_section": "Urchatz", "slug": "urchatz" } ], "likes": 0, "downloads": 251, "tags": [ { "tag": "Entertainment", "slug": "entertainment" }, { "tag": "Kadesh", "slug": "kadesh" }, { "tag": "Pop Culture", "slug": "pop-culture" } ], "themes": [ { "theme": "Entertainment", "slug": "entertainment" } ], "language": "0", "is_bookmarked": "0", "is_liked": 0, "meta_tags": { "title": "Tyrion Lannister Raises A Glass | Passover haggadah by Esther Kustanowitz", "description": "Our simple platform allows you to create a custom Passover Haggadah, with access to unique content contributed by our community. Find artwork, family", "keywords": "", "og:type": "article", "og:url": "https://www.haggadot.com/clip/tyrion-lannister-raises-a-glass", "og:title": "Tyrion Lannister Raises A Glass | Passover haggadah by Esther Kustanowitz", "og:description": "Our simple platform allows you to create a custom Passover Haggadah, with access to unique content contributed by our community. Find artwork, family", "og:image": "https://assets.haggadot.com/clips/348006/conversions/tyrion-lannister-cover.jpg" } } }, { "clip": { "is_admin": 0, "is_owner": 0, "handle": "ted-lasso-kadesh", "title": "Ted Lasso Kadesh", "author": "Esther Kustanowitz", "author_handle": "estherk", "author_initials": "EK", "covertext": "Beer isn't kosher for Passover, but don't tell Ted Lasso ", "user_image": "https://assets.haggadot.com/users/421216/conversions/1709521752-thumb.jpg", "user_image_original": "https://assets.haggadot.com/users/421216/1709521752.jpeg", "body": "<p>Beer isn't kosher for Passover, but don't tell Ted Lasso </p>", "cliptype": "image", "clipsource": "Esther Kustanowitz and https://giphy.com/gifs/AppleTV-apple-tv-app-Ck17Or8XqBTdmuNbzN", "featured": 0, "featuredIn": null, "is_public": 1, "is_published": 1, "media": { "image": "https://assets.haggadot.com/clips/348007/ted-lasso.gif", "audio": null, "video": null }, "thumbnail": "https://assets.haggadot.com/clips/348007/conversions/ted-lasso-cover.jpg", "clip_section": [ { "haggadah_section": "Kadesh", "slug": "kadesh" } ], "likes": 0, "downloads": 151, "tags": [], "themes": [], "language": "0", "is_bookmarked": "0", "is_liked": 0, "meta_tags": { "title": "Ted Lasso Kadesh | Passover haggadah by Esther Kustanowitz", "description": "Our simple platform allows you to create a custom Passover Haggadah, with access to unique content contributed by our community. Find artwork, family", "keywords": "", "og:type": "article", "og:url": "https://www.haggadot.com/clip/ted-lasso-kadesh", "og:title": "Ted Lasso Kadesh | Passover haggadah by Esther Kustanowitz", "og:description": "Our simple platform allows you to create a custom Passover Haggadah, with access to unique content contributed by our community. Find artwork, family", "og:image": "https://assets.haggadot.com/clips/348007/conversions/ted-lasso-cover.jpg" } } }, { "clip": { "is_admin": 0, "is_owner": 0, "handle": "hobbits-motzi-matzah", "title": "Pip Wants Second Breakfast, We'll Give Him Motzi Matzah", "author": "Esther Kustanowitz", "author_handle": "estherk", "author_initials": "EK", "covertext": "Don't worry, my fellow Hobbits...we're getting closer to the actual meal...we'll get you a little sandwich soon, so stay...", "user_image": "https://assets.haggadot.com/users/421216/conversions/1709521752-thumb.jpg", "user_image_original": "https://assets.haggadot.com/users/421216/1709521752.jpeg", "body": "<p>Don't worry, my fellow Hobbits...we're getting closer to the actual meal...we'll get you a little sandwich soon, so stay tuned! (And if we're up late enough, you'll get first breakfast right after we finish dinner.)</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[Image Source: <a href=\"https://media.giphy.com/media/I2TqO0oJBaNoc/giphy.gif\">GIPHY</a>]</p>", "cliptype": "image", "clipsource": "Esther Kustanowitz", "featured": 0, "featuredIn": { "title": "Heroes Haggadah", "slug": "heroes-haggadah", "author": "Esther Kustanowitz" }, "is_public": 1, "is_published": 1, "media": { "image": "https://assets.haggadot.com/clips/348008/second-breakfast.gif", "audio": null, "video": null }, "thumbnail": "https://assets.haggadot.com/clips/348008/conversions/second-breakfast-cover.jpg", "clip_section": [ { "haggadah_section": "Motzi-Matzah", "slug": "motzi-matzah" } ], "likes": 0, "downloads": 218, "tags": [], "themes": [], "language": "0", "is_bookmarked": "0", "is_liked": 0, "meta_tags": { "title": "Pip Wants Second Breakfast, We'll Give Him Motzi Matzah | Passover haggadah by Esther Kustanowitz", "description": "Our simple platform allows you to create a custom Passover Haggadah, with access to unique content contributed by our community. Find artwork, family", "keywords": "", "og:type": "article", "og:url": "https://www.haggadot.com/clip/hobbits-motzi-matzah", "og:title": "Pip Wants Second Breakfast, We'll Give Him Motzi Matzah | Passover haggadah by Esther Kustanowitz", "og:description": "Our simple platform allows you to create a custom Passover Haggadah, with access to unique content contributed by our community. Find artwork, family", "og:image": "https://assets.haggadot.com/clips/348008/conversions/second-breakfast-cover.jpg" } } }, { "clip": { "is_admin": 0, "is_owner": 0, "handle": "where-is-tony-stark-s-sandwich", "title": "Will someone please get Tony Stark a sandwich?", "author": "Esther Kustanowitz", "author_handle": "estherk", "author_initials": "EK", "covertext": "Don't worry Tony, we have your sandwich. It's not exactly a cheeseburger, like we know you like; it's closer to that shw...", "user_image": "https://assets.haggadot.com/users/421216/conversions/1709521752-thumb.jpg", "user_image_original": "https://assets.haggadot.com/users/421216/1709521752.jpeg", "body": "<p>Don't worry Tony, we have your sandwich. It's not exactly a cheeseburger, like we know you like; it's closer to that shwarma you tried after the Battle of New York: back in the day, the sages would have put together a righteous sandwich for you, made of lamb and maror, a bitter herb that's like horseradish — you know, the stuff that goes in a Bloody Mary — that we'd all eat together like Rabbi Hillel liked to do with his bunch of Talmudic Avengers. These days not everyone eats lamb, but if they do, there's a nutritional benefit, that it's high in absorbed iron, man. </p>\n\n<p>[Image Source: <a href=\"https://media.giphy.com/media/Km44L0dd839bG/giphy.gif\">GIPHY</a>]</p>", "cliptype": "image", "clipsource": "Esther Kustanowitz", "featured": 0, "featuredIn": { "title": "Heroes Haggadah", "slug": "heroes-haggadah", "author": "Esther Kustanowitz" }, "is_public": 1, "is_published": 1, "media": { "image": "https://assets.haggadot.com/clips/348009/tony-stark-sandwich.gif", "audio": null, "video": null }, "thumbnail": "https://assets.haggadot.com/clips/348009/conversions/tony-stark-sandwich-cover.jpg", "clip_section": [ { "haggadah_section": "Koreich", "slug": "koreich" } ], "likes": 0, "downloads": 194, "tags": [], "themes": [], "language": "0", "is_bookmarked": "0", "is_liked": 0, "meta_tags": { "title": "Will someone please get Tony Stark a sandwich? | Passover haggadah by Esther Kustanowitz", "description": "Our simple platform allows you to create a custom Passover Haggadah, with access to unique content contributed by our community. Find artwork, family", "keywords": "", "og:type": "article", "og:url": "https://www.haggadot.com/clip/where-is-tony-stark-s-sandwich", "og:title": "Will someone please get Tony Stark a sandwich? | Passover haggadah by Esther Kustanowitz", "og:description": "Our simple platform allows you to create a custom Passover Haggadah, with access to unique content contributed by our community. Find artwork, family", "og:image": "https://assets.haggadot.com/clips/348009/conversions/tony-stark-sandwich-cover.jpg" } } }, { "clip": { "is_admin": 0, "is_owner": 0, "handle": "yoda-nirtzah", "title": "Nirtzah, Have We Reached", "author": "Esther Kustanowitz", "author_handle": "estherk", "author_initials": "EK", "covertext": "You've made it to the end of the Seder. No more training do you require; already know you that which you require. Yoda a...", "user_image": "https://assets.haggadot.com/users/421216/conversions/1709521752-thumb.jpg", "user_image_original": "https://assets.haggadot.com/users/421216/1709521752.jpeg", "body": "<p>You've made it to the end of the Seder. No more training do you require; already know you that which you require. Yoda always said it best (even if often convolutedly). The Seder may have seemed, at points, to last 900 years, but when 900 years you reach, look as good you may not. Hopefully you've felt the flow of the force that follows the story of the Exodus, an event that has great historical and cultural significance, but also serves as a potent metaphor in modern times, encouraging us to move out of the narrow places and to seek freedom.</p>\n\n<p>From here on, it's all Ewoks dancing and singing (\"Yub Nub!\"), so bang those drums and hug your loved ones, and remember the journey we took to get here.   </p>\n\n<p>[Image Source: <a href=\"https://media.giphy.com/media/26tn8zNgVmit475RK/giphy.gif\">GIPHY</a>]</p>", "cliptype": "image", "clipsource": "Esther Kustanowitz", "featured": 0, "featuredIn": { "title": "Heroes Haggadah", "slug": "heroes-haggadah", "author": "Esther Kustanowitz" }, "is_public": 1, "is_published": 1, "media": { "image": "https://assets.haggadot.com/clips/348010/yoda-nirtz.gif", "audio": null, "video": null }, "thumbnail": "https://assets.haggadot.com/clips/348010/conversions/yoda-nirtz-cover.jpg", "clip_section": [ { "haggadah_section": "Nirtzah", "slug": "nirtzah" } ], "likes": 0, "downloads": 193, "tags": [], "themes": [], "language": "0", "is_bookmarked": "0", "is_liked": 0, "meta_tags": { "title": "Nirtzah, Have We Reached | Passover haggadah by Esther Kustanowitz", "description": "Our simple platform allows you to create a custom Passover Haggadah, with access to unique content contributed by our community. Find artwork, family", "keywords": "", "og:type": "article", "og:url": "https://www.haggadot.com/clip/yoda-nirtzah", "og:title": "Nirtzah, Have We Reached | Passover haggadah by Esther Kustanowitz", "og:description": "Our simple platform allows you to create a custom Passover Haggadah, with access to unique content contributed by our community. Find artwork, family", "og:image": "https://assets.haggadot.com/clips/348010/conversions/yoda-nirtz-cover.jpg" } } }, { "clip": { "is_admin": 0, "is_owner": 0, "handle": "gandalf-nirtzah", "title": "The Journey Continues", "author": "Esther Kustanowitz", "author_handle": "estherk", "author_initials": "EK", "covertext": "We are at the end and, yet, the journey has only just begun. Every new beginning is some other beginning's end. It's the...", "user_image": "https://assets.haggadot.com/users/421216/conversions/1709521752-thumb.jpg", "user_image_original": "https://assets.haggadot.com/users/421216/1709521752.jpeg", "body": "<p>We are at the end and, yet, the journey has only just begun. Every new beginning is some other beginning's end. It's the circle of life and it moves us all, through despair and hope, through faith and love. And what binds us and the galaxy together is story, is prophecy fulfilled alongside our efforts to forge our own path and achieve what each of us is uniquely destined to do, to go where no one has gone before. </p>\n\n<p>Some people are born great, others have greatness thrust upon them. But one thing is clear: we could be heroes. At least, just for one day.</p>\n\n<p>A happy and heroic Passover to all!</p>\n\n<p>[Image Source: <a href=\"https://media.giphy.com/media/10es4gkhzGC6zu/giphy.gif\">GIPHY</a>]</p>", "cliptype": "image", "clipsource": "Esther Kustanowitz", "featured": 0, "featuredIn": { "title": "Heroes Haggadah", "slug": "heroes-haggadah", "author": "Esther Kustanowitz" }, "is_public": 1, "is_published": 1, "media": { "image": "https://assets.haggadot.com/clips/348011/gandalf-nirtzah.gif", "audio": null, "video": null }, "thumbnail": "https://assets.haggadot.com/clips/348011/conversions/gandalf-nirtzah-cover.jpg", "clip_section": [ { "haggadah_section": "Nirtzah", "slug": "nirtzah" } ], "likes": 0, "downloads": 203, "tags": [], "themes": [], "language": "0", "is_bookmarked": "0", "is_liked": 0, "meta_tags": { "title": "The Journey Continues | Passover haggadah by Esther Kustanowitz", "description": "Our simple platform allows you to create a custom Passover Haggadah, with access to unique content contributed by our community. Find artwork, family", "keywords": "", "og:type": "article", "og:url": "https://www.haggadot.com/clip/gandalf-nirtzah", "og:title": "The Journey Continues | Passover haggadah by Esther Kustanowitz", "og:description": "Our simple platform allows you to create a custom Passover Haggadah, with access to unique content contributed by our community. Find artwork, family", "og:image": "https://assets.haggadot.com/clips/348011/conversions/gandalf-nirtzah-cover.jpg" } } }, { "clip": { "is_admin": 0, "is_owner": 0, "handle": "a-toast-from-the-hobbits", "title": "A Toast From The Hobbits", "author": "Esther Kustanowitz", "author_handle": "estherk", "author_initials": "EK", "covertext": "The Hobbits toast to their quest and a delicious seder ", "user_image": "https://assets.haggadot.com/users/421216/conversions/1709521752-thumb.jpg", "user_image_original": "https://assets.haggadot.com/users/421216/1709521752.jpeg", "body": "<p>The Hobbits toast to their quest and a delicious seder </p>", "cliptype": "image", "clipsource": "Esther Kustanowitz and https://giphy.com/gifs/week-YZjHGZdwdBMfS", "featured": 0, "featuredIn": null, "is_public": 1, "is_published": 1, "media": { "image": "https://assets.haggadot.com/clips/348012/hobbits-toast.gif", "audio": null, "video": null }, "thumbnail": "https://assets.haggadot.com/clips/348012/conversions/hobbits-toast-cover.jpg", "clip_section": [ { "haggadah_section": "Bareich", "slug": "bareich" } ], "likes": 0, "downloads": 193, "tags": [], "themes": [], "language": "0", "is_bookmarked": "0", "is_liked": 0, "meta_tags": { "title": "A Toast From The Hobbits | Passover haggadah by Esther Kustanowitz", "description": "Our simple platform allows you to create a custom Passover Haggadah, with access to unique content contributed by our community. Find artwork, family", "keywords": "", "og:type": "article", "og:url": "https://www.haggadot.com/clip/a-toast-from-the-hobbits", "og:title": "A Toast From The Hobbits | Passover haggadah by Esther Kustanowitz", "og:description": "Our simple platform allows you to create a custom Passover Haggadah, with access to unique content contributed by our community. Find artwork, family", "og:image": "https://assets.haggadot.com/clips/348012/conversions/hobbits-toast-cover.jpg" } } }, { "clip": { "is_admin": 0, "is_owner": 0, "handle": "what-do-you-use-for-karpas", "title": "What Do You Use For Karpas?", "author": "Esther Kustanowitz", "author_handle": "estherk", "author_initials": "EK", "covertext": "Karpas, the green leafy vegetable that's meant to evoke spring, seems to mean different things in different homes: radis...", "user_image": "https://assets.haggadot.com/users/421216/conversions/1709521752-thumb.jpg", "user_image_original": "https://assets.haggadot.com/users/421216/1709521752.jpeg", "body": "<p>Karpas, the green leafy vegetable that's meant to evoke spring, seems to mean different things in different homes: radishes (perhaps cut to resemble flowers), parsley sprigs (oh, how incredibly satisfying), carrots or celery (these appetizers are really filling)...and in some homes, this becomes a whole appetizer course, with additional salads and vegetables.</p>\n\n<p>But in some homes, they use potatoes. That's right, PO-TAY-TOES. Starchy deliciousness that goes great with salt water and will tide you over through tonight's storytelling. There are even some rebels who share the sweetness of a yam or sweet potato during Karpas, and that salty sweet combination reminds us of why we're here, celebrating both the bitterness of slavery and the sweetness of freedom.</p>\n\n<p>We'll say it: serving potatoes for Karpas is near-heroic. </p>\n\n<p>[Image source: <a href=\"https://media.giphy.com/media/3xRgUawnZyrny/giphy.gif\">GIPHY</a>]</p>", "cliptype": "image", "clipsource": "Esther Kustanowitz", "featured": 0, "featuredIn": { "title": "Favorites 2022", "slug": "favorites-2022-1", "author": "Haggadot" }, "is_public": 1, "is_published": 1, "media": { "image": "https://assets.haggadot.com/clips/348707/potatoes-giphy.gif", "audio": null, "video": null }, "thumbnail": "https://assets.haggadot.com/clips/348707/conversions/potatoes-giphy-cover.jpg", "clip_section": [ { "haggadah_section": "Karpas", "slug": "karpas" } ], "likes": 0, "downloads": 236, "tags": [ { "tag": "Entertainment", "slug": "entertainment" }, { "tag": "Pop Culture", "slug": "pop-culture" } ], "themes": [ { "theme": "Entertainment", "slug": "entertainment" } ], "language": "0", "is_bookmarked": "0", "is_liked": 0, "meta_tags": { "title": "What Do You Use For Karpas? | Passover haggadah by Esther Kustanowitz", "description": "Our simple platform allows you to create a custom Passover Haggadah, with access to unique content contributed by our community. Find artwork, family", "keywords": "", "og:type": "article", "og:url": "https://www.haggadot.com/clip/what-do-you-use-for-karpas", "og:title": "What Do You Use For Karpas? | Passover haggadah by Esther Kustanowitz", "og:description": "Our simple platform allows you to create a custom Passover Haggadah, with access to unique content contributed by our community. Find artwork, family", "og:image": "https://assets.haggadot.com/clips/348707/conversions/potatoes-giphy-cover.jpg" } } }, { "clip": { "is_admin": 0, "is_owner": 0, "handle": "how-does-a-hero-wash-his-hands", "title": "How Does A Hero Wash His Hands?", "author": "Esther Kustanowitz", "author_handle": "estherk", "author_initials": "EK", "covertext": "After two years of COVID, very few of us need instruction as to how to properly wash our hands. But we thought it was wo...", "user_image": "https://assets.haggadot.com/users/421216/conversions/1709521752-thumb.jpg", "user_image_original": "https://assets.haggadot.com/users/421216/1709521752.jpeg", "body": "<p>After two years of COVID, very few of us need instruction as to how to properly wash our hands. But we thought it was worth bringing in Dr. Houseman/Det. Briscoe/Lumiere the candelabrum to show us how it's done.</p>\n\n<p>Jerry Orbach died of prostate cancer in 2004, but we're making a case for his heroism not just on-screen but off, with these fun facts:</p>\n\n<p>1. He was the first person to ever sing \"Try to Remember\" (from \"The Fantastiks\") on stage.</p>\n\n<p>2. Kurt Vonnegut once called him \"adorable.\"</p>\n\n<p>3. As anyone who took the New York City subway in the mid-to-late 2000s can tell you, he donated his corneas after his death, helping two individuals to see again. Ads papered those subway cars for years after he died, reminding New Yorkers of his generosity.</p>\n\n<p>So be our guest: wash your hands (no need for a blessing here, we'll get to that later), and think about the good you can do in the world. Jerry Orbach would want you to.</p>\n\n<p>[Image source: <a href=\"https://media.giphy.com/media/xUA7bfa2vnt2Yj8WQg/giphy.gif\">GIPHY</a>]</p>", "cliptype": "image", "clipsource": "Esther Kustanowitz", "featured": 0, "featuredIn": { "title": "Heroes Haggadah", "slug": "heroes-haggadah", "author": "Esther Kustanowitz" }, "is_public": 1, "is_published": 1, "media": { "image": "https://assets.haggadot.com/clips/348711/orbach-giphy.gif", "audio": null, "video": null }, "thumbnail": "https://assets.haggadot.com/clips/348711/conversions/orbach-giphy-cover.jpg", "clip_section": [ { "haggadah_section": "Urchatz", "slug": "urchatz" } ], "likes": 0, "downloads": 208, "tags": [], "themes": [], "language": "0", "is_bookmarked": "0", "is_liked": 0, "meta_tags": { "title": "How Does A Hero Wash His Hands? | Passover haggadah by Esther Kustanowitz", "description": "Our simple platform allows you to create a custom Passover Haggadah, with access to unique content contributed by our community. Find artwork, family", "keywords": "", "og:type": "article", "og:url": "https://www.haggadot.com/clip/how-does-a-hero-wash-his-hands", "og:title": "How Does A Hero Wash His Hands? | Passover haggadah by Esther Kustanowitz", "og:description": "Our simple platform allows you to create a custom Passover Haggadah, with access to unique content contributed by our community. Find artwork, family", "og:image": "https://assets.haggadot.com/clips/348711/conversions/orbach-giphy-cover.jpg" } } }, { "clip": { "is_admin": 0, "is_owner": 0, "handle": "you-don-t-need-to-be-a-super-soldier", "title": "You Don't Need To Be A Super-Soldier...", "author": "Esther Kustanowitz", "author_handle": "estherk", "author_initials": "EK", "covertext": "Sure, Steve Rogers can rip a log in half with his bare hands. But look how sweaty he gets! We know he can do this all da...", "user_image": "https://assets.haggadot.com/users/421216/conversions/1709521752-thumb.jpg", "user_image_original": "https://assets.haggadot.com/users/421216/1709521752.jpeg", "body": "<p>Sure, Steve Rogers can rip a log in half with his bare hands. But look how sweaty he gets! We know he can do this all day. And it looks like he has been.</p>\n\n<p>You, however, can break a board of matzah in half without a single bead of perspiration. You don't have to be Captain America. You can be the heroic captain of your own seder.</p>\n\n<p>But since we're talking about America's First Avenger, let's really talk about him. Steve Rogers is the prime Avenger, recruited into the super-soldier program not because he was physically strong but because although he lacked physical strength, his heart was loyal and patriotic and self-sacrificing, to a fault. Steve Rogers always does what he believes to be the right thing to do; while he's a soldier who respects the chain of command, if government agencies instruct him to act against a friend, that's where conflict emerges and he may go rogue...but only for love of humanity.</p>\n\n<p>\"The price of freedom is high,\" he says. \"It always has been. But it's a price I am willing to pay.\" Throughout his career as an Avenger and as a leader, it's that love of humanity that takes precedence over individual love or concerns; but in the Endgame, Cap finally gets his happy ending. And he ends up sitting on a bench looking like Joe Biden. We're just saying.  </p>\n\n<p>[Image source: <a href=\"https://media.giphy.com/media/WrBSHRLE9gEgM/giphy.gif\">GIPHY</a>]</p>", "cliptype": "image", "clipsource": "Esther Kustanowitz", "featured": 0, "featuredIn": { "title": "Heroes Haggadah", "slug": "heroes-haggadah", "author": "Esther Kustanowitz" }, "is_public": 1, "is_published": 1, "media": { "image": "https://assets.haggadot.com/clips/348718/cap-log-giphy.gif", "audio": null, "video": null }, "thumbnail": "https://assets.haggadot.com/clips/348718/conversions/cap-log-giphy-cover.jpg", "clip_section": [ { "haggadah_section": "Yachatz", "slug": "yachatz" } ], "likes": 0, "downloads": 189, "tags": [ { "tag": "Entertainment", "slug": "entertainment" } ], "themes": [ { "theme": "Entertainment", "slug": "entertainment" } ], "language": "0", "is_bookmarked": "0", "is_liked": 0, "meta_tags": { "title": "You Don't Need To Be A Super-Soldier... | Passover haggadah by Esther Kustanowitz", "description": "Our simple platform allows you to create a custom Passover Haggadah, with access to unique content contributed by our community. Find artwork, family", "keywords": "", "og:type": "article", "og:url": "https://www.haggadot.com/clip/you-don-t-need-to-be-a-super-soldier", "og:title": "You Don't Need To Be A Super-Soldier... | Passover haggadah by Esther Kustanowitz", "og:description": "Our simple platform allows you to create a custom Passover Haggadah, with access to unique content contributed by our community. Find artwork, family", "og:image": "https://assets.haggadot.com/clips/348718/conversions/cap-log-giphy-cover.jpg" } } }, { "clip": { "is_admin": 0, "is_owner": 0, "handle": "that-feeling-when-you-get-to-maggid", "title": "That Feeling When You Get To Maggid", "author": "Esther Kustanowitz", "author_handle": "estherk", "author_initials": "EK", "covertext": "We know how Indiana Jones feels. We've probably done this seder thing before, we've heard this story before...what could...", "user_image": "https://assets.haggadot.com/users/421216/conversions/1709521752-thumb.jpg", "user_image_original": "https://assets.haggadot.com/users/421216/1709521752.jpeg", "body": "<p>We know how Indiana Jones feels. We've probably done this seder thing before, we've heard this story before...what could possibly be left to learn?</p>\n\n<p>As Indy discovers, there's always another text to explore and interpret; even the things that we understand to be part of legend can have their roots in things that really happened, and all it takes is the openness to new adventures, asking the right questions, and wearing a good hat to shield your face from the sun, especially if you're going to the Middle East to do your research.</p>\n\n<p>If we're to view Henry Jones Jr. (they named the dog Indiana) as a hero, we have to look at the whole picture. </p>\n\n<p>He's a professor, so he's smart. He has the love and respect (but definitely the love) of his students. He's got friends in high places (shoutout to Marcus). And he's barely afraid of anything (except snakes, which...fair).</p>\n\n<p>But he's always on the job. He doesn't take time for himself, seems oblivious to the effect he has on women, and is estranged from his similarly workaholic past-obsessed father. He doesn't always make the right choice (Marion &amp; Indy forever), </p>\n\n<p>But Indy (we call him Indy, 'cause we're tight) is heroic. He uses his smarts to get things done and he can outrun a boulder. He knows \"it's not the years, it's the mileage.\" The fact that he makes errors in judgment — trusting Alfred Molina when he says, \"throw me the idol; I'll throw you the whip\" and falling for Elsa Schneider, especially since he hates Nazis — makes him human. And while he may believe that hokey religion is no match for a blaster at your side*, he has enough respect for otherworldly forces to know that when a French archeologist working for the Nazis opens the Ark of the Covenant, you close your eyes.  </p>\n\n<p>Here comes the story. Even if you've heard it before, give it a listen. If you want to, you can even close your eyes.</p>\n\n<p>*OK, fine, so that's Han Solo. But Han Solo is who Indiana Jones would be if hadn't gotten a PhD in archeology.</p>\n\n<p>[Image source: <a href=\"https://media.giphy.com/media/pkFXkMrxUEPsBp2vNJ/giphy.gif\">GIPHY</a>]</p>", "cliptype": "image", "clipsource": "Esther Kustanowitz", "featured": 0, "featuredIn": { "title": "Heroes Haggadah", "slug": "heroes-haggadah", "author": "Esther Kustanowitz" }, "is_public": 1, "is_published": 1, "media": { "image": "https://assets.haggadot.com/clips/348755/indy-story-giphy.gif", "audio": null, "video": null }, "thumbnail": "https://assets.haggadot.com/clips/348755/conversions/indy-story-giphy-cover.jpg", "clip_section": [ { "haggadah_section": "Maggid - Beginning", "slug": "maggid-beginning" } ], "likes": 0, "downloads": 211, "tags": [], "themes": [], "language": "0", "is_bookmarked": "0", "is_liked": 0, "meta_tags": { "title": "That Feeling When You Get To Maggid | Passover haggadah by Esther Kustanowitz", "description": "Our simple platform allows you to create a custom Passover Haggadah, with access to unique content contributed by our community. Find artwork, family", "keywords": "", "og:type": "article", "og:url": "https://www.haggadot.com/clip/that-feeling-when-you-get-to-maggid", "og:title": "That Feeling When You Get To Maggid | Passover haggadah by Esther Kustanowitz", "og:description": "Our simple platform allows you to create a custom Passover Haggadah, with access to unique content contributed by our community. Find artwork, family", "og:image": "https://assets.haggadot.com/clips/348755/conversions/indy-story-giphy-cover.jpg" } } }, { "clip": { "is_admin": 0, "is_owner": 0, "handle": "we-could-be-heroes", "title": "We Could Be Heroes: A Heroes Haggadah Introduction", "author": "Esther Kustanowitz", "author_handle": "estherk", "author_initials": "EK", "covertext": "What is a superhero anyway? Someone who has the power of invisibility? The ability to fly? To read minds? To interpret s...", "user_image": "https://assets.haggadot.com/users/421216/conversions/1709521752-thumb.jpg", "user_image_original": "https://assets.haggadot.com/users/421216/1709521752.jpeg", "body": "<p>What is a superhero anyway? Someone who has the power of invisibility? The ability to fly? To read minds? To interpret something incomprehensible? Or is it someone who leads by example, or does things a little differently, a little unexpectedly, a little bit more selflessly than the rest of us do? </p>\n\n<p>This year many of us returned to the theater to witness fictionalized heroism, as our superpowered surrogates found strength, experienced loss and chose self-sacrifice for the greater good. Off-screen, we watched a flood of attention and people-power flow toward the borders of Ukraine, trying to rescue people from dire circumstances. We were reminded that, not all heroes wear capes. Or spandex. Or uniforms. They wander through deserts, gallop on horses, drive rescue vans, organize convoys of supplies. They see to their own health and to the well-being of those around them. They create art and music that speaks justice into the world and connects us with our emotions. Many walk the same streets as we do, making similar choices, with impacts both public and private. </p>\n\n<p>Heroes know they have power and use it for good. With great power comes great responsibility. With hands outstretched to rescue the plagued, the indigent and tempest-tossed; providing shelter for the vulnerable, silent and unsung heroes jumped into the breach to free those who were bound or in narrow straits. Some of us will accept the mantle of leadership, relinquishing our own goals and desires to be agents of liberation. Heroes and superheroes teach us about selflessness and democracy, that even if our speech isn’t perfect, someone has to lead, even if they sometimes resent the burden.</p>\n\n<p>What makes a superhero? Who are our favorite wielders of smarts and swords, enlightened sapience and lightsabers?</p>\n\n<p>Why are we riveted to their stories? What do we expect from them?</p>\n\n<p>Why might we embrace the idea of a pan-religious philosophy that includes righteous violence and connections to the common flow of universal energy? How do we frame the drive to go where no others have gone before?</p>\n\n<p>How do these new stories intersect with our classic texts and common history? Are they even new at all? </p>\n\n<p>This is the work of the seder, this year and every year. It can be serious, traditional, contemporary and even fun.</p>\n\n<p>So as you assemble your league of justice-seekers around your table and distribute your Haggadot to guide you through the Seder, may you live long and Pesach, and may the four questions be with you.</p>\n\n<p>[Image source: <a href=\"https://media.giphy.com/media/cno7k1ej7g2POEAu8q/giphy.gif\">GIPHY</a>]</p>", "cliptype": "image", "clipsource": "Esther Kustanowitz", "featured": 0, "featuredIn": { "title": "Heroes Haggadah", "slug": "heroes-haggadah", "author": "Esther Kustanowitz" }, "is_public": 1, "is_published": 1, "media": { "image": "https://assets.haggadot.com/clips/348771/women-avengers-giphy.gif", "audio": null, "video": null }, "thumbnail": "https://assets.haggadot.com/clips/348771/conversions/women-avengers-giphy-cover.jpg", "clip_section": [ { "haggadah_section": "Introduction", "slug": "introduction" } ], "likes": 0, "downloads": 223, "tags": [], "themes": [], "language": "0", "is_bookmarked": "0", "is_liked": 0, "meta_tags": { "title": "We Could Be Heroes: A Heroes Haggadah Introduction | Passover haggadah by Esther Kustanowitz", "description": "Our simple platform allows you to create a custom Passover Haggadah, with access to unique content contributed by our community. Find artwork, family", "keywords": "", "og:type": "article", "og:url": "https://www.haggadot.com/clip/we-could-be-heroes", "og:title": "We Could Be Heroes: A Heroes Haggadah Introduction | Passover haggadah by Esther Kustanowitz", "og:description": "Our simple platform allows you to create a custom Passover Haggadah, with access to unique content contributed by our community. Find artwork, family", "og:image": "https://assets.haggadot.com/clips/348771/conversions/women-avengers-giphy-cover.jpg" } } }, { "clip": { "is_admin": 0, "is_owner": 0, "handle": "four-is-fantastic", "title": "Four Is Fantastic", "author": "Esther Kustanowitz", "author_handle": "estherk", "author_initials": "EK", "covertext": "Dr. Reed Richards, a.k.a. Mr. Fantastic. Johnny Storm, a.k.a. Human Torch. Sue Storm, a.ka. Invisible Girl. Jewish chara...", "user_image": "https://assets.haggadot.com/users/421216/conversions/1709521752-thumb.jpg", "user_image_original": "https://assets.haggadot.com/users/421216/1709521752.jpeg", "body": "<p>Dr. Reed Richards, a.k.a. Mr. Fantastic. Johnny Storm, a.k.a. Human Torch. Sue Storm, a.ka. Invisible Girl. Jewish character Ben Grimm, a.k.a. The Thing. That's four heroes in the Fantastic Four. Even with two major movies about this foursome, they still get overshadowed by the Avengers...(Chris Evans even defected from his original Johnny Storm portrayal to take up Captain America's shield).</p>\n\n<p>But let's think about these folks in the framework of four approaches to life and action; read a little about them below and ask yourself...which of the Fantastic Four am I?</p>\n\n<p> <em>\"Wise\": Are you flexible or rigid when it comes to engaging with the world around you?</em> </p>\n\n<p> <em>\"Wicked\": Are you setting the world on fire with your actions, possibly burning it down to create the world you wish to see?</em> </p>\n\n<p> <em>\"Simple\": Are you operating under the radar, almost invisibly, undoubtedly being underpaid and under appreciated, but serving as a calming, simplifying presence?</em> </p>\n\n<p> <em>\"Not Asking Questions\": Or are you not very verbal, but sturdy and reliable, moving through the world as a mass of power and force?</em> </p>\n\n<p>And if you're not feeling these four children, there are many others to choose from — a few of them below.</p>\n\n<p>[Image source: <a href=\"https://media.giphy.com/media/eHp8WR0EOmM1i/giphy.gif\">GIPHY</a>]</p>", "cliptype": "image", "clipsource": "Esther Kustanowitz", "featured": 0, "featuredIn": { "title": "Heroes Haggadah", "slug": "heroes-haggadah", "author": "Esther Kustanowitz" }, "is_public": 1, "is_published": 1, "media": { "image": "https://assets.haggadot.com/clips/348772/fantastic-4-giphy.gif", "audio": null, "video": null }, "thumbnail": "https://assets.haggadot.com/clips/348772/conversions/fantastic-4-giphy-cover.jpg", "clip_section": [ { "haggadah_section": "-- Four Children", "slug": "four-children" } ], "likes": 0, "downloads": 216, "tags": [], "themes": [], "language": "0", "is_bookmarked": "0", "is_liked": 0, "meta_tags": { "title": "Four Is Fantastic | Passover haggadah by Esther Kustanowitz", "description": "Our simple platform allows you to create a custom Passover Haggadah, with access to unique content contributed by our community. Find artwork, family", "keywords": "", "og:type": "article", "og:url": "https://www.haggadot.com/clip/four-is-fantastic", "og:title": "Four Is Fantastic | Passover haggadah by Esther Kustanowitz", "og:description": "Our simple platform allows you to create a custom Passover Haggadah, with access to unique content contributed by our community. Find artwork, family", "og:image": "https://assets.haggadot.com/clips/348772/conversions/fantastic-4-giphy-cover.jpg" } } }, { "clip": { "is_admin": 0, "is_owner": 0, "handle": "leaving-egypt-10", "title": "Leaving Egypt", "author": "Esther Kustanowitz", "author_handle": "estherk", "author_initials": "EK", "covertext": "Rey lived on Jakku. Anakin, Obi-Wan, Luke, and others — so many others — lived on Tatooine. (They may actually be the sa...", "user_image": "https://assets.haggadot.com/users/421216/conversions/1709521752-thumb.jpg", "user_image_original": "https://assets.haggadot.com/users/421216/1709521752.jpeg", "body": "<p>Rey lived on Jakku. Anakin, Obi-Wan, Luke, and others — so many others — lived on Tatooine. (They may actually be the same planet.) But both have deserts and wandering heroes, who are searching for something they can't see but believe is beyond the horizon.</p>\n\n<p>They leave lives and armies behind, and as the move toward a different destiny, they may seem small, insignificant or solitary. But heroes muster the strength, and yes, a little chutzpah, to dream beyond what they can see, to inspire others to accompany them out of enslavement — to harsh overlords or to their circumstances — and move toward justice and freedom. </p>\n\n<p>[Image Source: <a href=\"https://media.giphy.com/media/3oeSAFBvE1Tn89ysfK/giphy.gif\">GIPHY</a>]</p>", "cliptype": "image", "clipsource": "Esther Kustanowitz", "featured": 0, "featuredIn": { "title": "Heroes Haggadah", "slug": "heroes-haggadah", "author": "Esther Kustanowitz" }, "is_public": 1, "is_published": 1, "media": { "image": "https://assets.haggadot.com/clips/348787/rey-desert-giphy.gif", "audio": null, "video": null }, "thumbnail": "https://assets.haggadot.com/clips/348787/conversions/rey-desert-giphy-cover.jpg", "clip_section": [ { "haggadah_section": "-- Exodus Story", "slug": "exodus-story" } ], "likes": 0, "downloads": 201, "tags": [], "themes": [], "language": "0", "is_bookmarked": "0", "is_liked": 0, "meta_tags": { "title": "Leaving Egypt | Passover haggadah by Esther Kustanowitz", "description": "Our simple platform allows you to create a custom Passover Haggadah, with access to unique content contributed by our community. Find artwork, family", "keywords": "", "og:type": "article", "og:url": "https://www.haggadot.com/clip/leaving-egypt-10", "og:title": "Leaving Egypt | Passover haggadah by Esther Kustanowitz", "og:description": "Our simple platform allows you to create a custom Passover Haggadah, with access to unique content contributed by our community. Find artwork, family", "og:image": "https://assets.haggadot.com/clips/348787/conversions/rey-desert-giphy-cover.jpg" } } }, { "clip": { "is_admin": 0, "is_owner": 0, "handle": "plaguing-egypt", "title": "Plaguing Egypt", "author": "Esther Kustanowitz", "author_handle": "estherk", "author_initials": "EK", "covertext": "We don't have a heroic interpretation of each of the Ten Plagues for you, because a plague — even upon enemies — is terr...", "user_image": "https://assets.haggadot.com/users/421216/conversions/1709521752-thumb.jpg", "user_image_original": "https://assets.haggadot.com/users/421216/1709521752.jpeg", "body": "<p>We don't have a heroic interpretation of each of the Ten Plagues for you, because a plague — even upon enemies — is terrible. (We're all too aware these days.) But one of the things that the Rugrats Passover episode makes us think about is how groundbreaking having a Passover episode of an animated show was; the Rugrats team has continued to include Jewish representation over the years and paved the way for other TV properties to begin incorporating characters and situations pertaining to Jewish beliefs and other specific belief systems. And that increased awareness of our own systems of meaning is good, and even can be read as parallel to what the Jews/Hebrews did in Egypt: they adhered to their Jewish identity, even amid oppression. </p>\n\n<p><a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Rugrats_Passover\">Read more about the Rugrats Passover episode here</a>.</p>\n\n<p>[Image source: <a href=\"https://media.giphy.com/media/3ohjVbxZ71DZzBfzlC/giphy.gif\">GIPHY</a>]</p>", "cliptype": "image", "clipsource": "Esther Kustanowitz", "featured": 0, "featuredIn": { "title": "Heroes Haggadah", "slug": "heroes-haggadah", "author": "Esther Kustanowitz" }, "is_public": 1, "is_published": 1, "media": { "image": "https://assets.haggadot.com/clips/350008/rugrats-giphy.gif", "audio": null, "video": null }, "thumbnail": "https://assets.haggadot.com/clips/350008/conversions/rugrats-giphy-cover.jpg", "clip_section": [ { "haggadah_section": "-- Ten Plagues", "slug": "ten-plagues" } ], "likes": 0, "downloads": 221, "tags": [], "themes": [], "language": "0", "is_bookmarked": "0", "is_liked": 0, "meta_tags": { "title": "Plaguing Egypt | Passover haggadah by Esther Kustanowitz", "description": "Our simple platform allows you to create a custom Passover Haggadah, with access to unique content contributed by our community. Find artwork, family", "keywords": "", "og:type": "article", "og:url": "https://www.haggadot.com/clip/plaguing-egypt", "og:title": "Plaguing Egypt | Passover haggadah by Esther Kustanowitz", "og:description": "Our simple platform allows you to create a custom Passover Haggadah, with access to unique content contributed by our community. Find artwork, family", "og:image": "https://assets.haggadot.com/clips/350008/conversions/rugrats-giphy-cover.jpg" } } }, { "clip": { "is_admin": 0, "is_owner": 0, "handle": "how-do-heroes-wash-their-hands", "title": "Heroes Make Sure We Wash Our Hands", "author": "Esther Kustanowitz", "author_handle": "estherk", "author_initials": "EK", "covertext": "Avengers, wash-semble! Rachtzah means we're super close to dinner time, so it's time for a real handwashing: whether you...", "user_image": "https://assets.haggadot.com/users/421216/conversions/1709521752-thumb.jpg", "user_image_original": "https://assets.haggadot.com/users/421216/1709521752.jpeg", "body": "<p>Avengers, wash-semble!</p>\n\n<p>Rachtzah means we're super close to dinner time, so it's time for a real handwashing: whether you've fought the Chitauri in the Battle of New York, or just been making sure the Seder dinner is ready on time, you're all heroes and deserve to take this moment to wash your hands from the residue of your efforts, say a prayer of gratitude, and come back to the table clean. </p>\n\n<p>[Image source: <a href=\"https://media.giphy.com/media/rj12FejFUysTK/giphy.gif\">GIPHY</a>]</p>", "cliptype": "image", "clipsource": "Esther Kustanowitz", "featured": 0, "featuredIn": { "title": "Heroes Haggadah", "slug": "heroes-haggadah", "author": "Esther Kustanowitz" }, "is_public": 1, "is_published": 1, "media": { "image": "https://assets.haggadot.com/clips/350047/avengers-giphy.gif", "audio": null, "video": null }, "thumbnail": "https://assets.haggadot.com/clips/350047/conversions/avengers-giphy-cover.jpg", "clip_section": [ { "haggadah_section": "Rachtzah", "slug": "rachtzah" } ], "likes": 0, "downloads": 175, "tags": [], "themes": [], "language": "0", "is_bookmarked": "0", "is_liked": 0, "meta_tags": { "title": "Heroes Make Sure We Wash Our Hands | Passover haggadah by Esther Kustanowitz", "description": "Our simple platform allows you to create a custom Passover Haggadah, with access to unique content contributed by our community. Find artwork, family", "keywords": "", "og:type": "article", "og:url": "https://www.haggadot.com/clip/how-do-heroes-wash-their-hands", "og:title": "Heroes Make Sure We Wash Our Hands | Passover haggadah by Esther Kustanowitz", "og:description": "Our simple platform allows you to create a custom Passover Haggadah, with access to unique content contributed by our community. Find artwork, family", "og:image": "https://assets.haggadot.com/clips/350047/conversions/avengers-giphy-cover.jpg" } } }, { "clip": { "is_admin": 0, "is_owner": 0, "handle": "aquaman-walking-into-a-second-handwashing-like", "title": "Aquaman Walking Into A Second Handwashing Like...", "author": "Esther Kustanowitz", "author_handle": "estherk", "author_initials": "EK", "covertext": "This handwashing is the one that counts. Add a blessing of gratitude — \"al netilat yadayim.\" Pictured: Aquaman Jason Mom...", "user_image": "https://assets.haggadot.com/users/421216/conversions/1709521752-thumb.jpg", "user_image_original": "https://assets.haggadot.com/users/421216/1709521752.jpeg", "body": "<p>This handwashing is the one that counts. Add a blessing of gratitude — \"al netilat yadayim.\"</p>\n\n<p>Pictured: Aquaman Jason Momoa becoming one with the ocean in what we like to call a \"Reverse Red Sea Parting.\"</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[Image Source: <a href=\"https://media.giphy.com/media/Y2yDVpzv9kpVxAmF9B/giphy.gif\">GIPHY</a>]</p>", "cliptype": "image", "clipsource": "Esther Kustanowitz", "featured": 0, "featuredIn": { "title": "Heroes Haggadah", "slug": "heroes-haggadah", "author": "Esther Kustanowitz" }, "is_public": 1, "is_published": 1, "media": { "image": "https://assets.haggadot.com/clips/348808/aquaman-giphy.gif", "audio": null, "video": null }, "thumbnail": "https://assets.haggadot.com/clips/348808/conversions/aquaman-giphy-cover.jpg", "clip_section": [ { "haggadah_section": "Rachtzah", "slug": "rachtzah" } ], "likes": 0, "downloads": 211, "tags": [], "themes": [], "language": "0", "is_bookmarked": "0", "is_liked": 0, "meta_tags": { "title": "Aquaman Walking Into A Second Handwashing Like... | Passover haggadah by Esther Kustanowitz", "description": "Our simple platform allows you to create a custom Passover Haggadah, with access to unique content contributed by our community. Find artwork, family", "keywords": "", "og:type": "article", "og:url": "https://www.haggadot.com/clip/aquaman-walking-into-a-second-handwashing-like", "og:title": "Aquaman Walking Into A Second Handwashing Like... | Passover haggadah by Esther Kustanowitz", "og:description": "Our simple platform allows you to create a custom Passover Haggadah, with access to unique content contributed by our community. Find artwork, family", "og:image": "https://assets.haggadot.com/clips/348808/conversions/aquaman-giphy-cover.jpg" } } }, { "clip": { "is_admin": 0, "is_owner": 0, "handle": "here-s-to-you-harry-or-whatever-your-name-is", "title": "Here's To You, Harry (or whatever your name is, person who is reading this Haggadah)", "author": "Esther Kustanowitz", "author_handle": "estherk", "author_initials": "EK", "covertext": "We move through stanzas of praise and gratitude — like magical spells and incantations — to the heroes, encouraging infl...", "user_image": "https://assets.haggadot.com/users/421216/conversions/1709521752-thumb.jpg", "user_image_original": "https://assets.haggadot.com/users/421216/1709521752.jpeg", "body": "<p>We move through stanzas of praise and gratitude — like magical spells and incantations — to the heroes, encouraging influences, and sources of strength in our lives:</p>\n\n<p>Our teachers, who believed in us and taught us tough but essential lessons;</p>\n\n<p>Our parents, who sheltered us and provided us with our connections to the past;</p>\n\n<p>Our faith, in a Divine entity or an essential human kindess, or something else;</p>\n\n<p>The friends and mentors we've found along the way, who share our blood or our sense of responsibility;</p>\n\n<p>And we raise this last glass to them.</p>\n\n<p> <em><strong>Grape juicium leviOH-sa!</strong></em> </p>\n\n<p>[Image Source: <a href=\"https://media.giphy.com/media/9H279yb0blggo/giphy.gif\">GIPHY</a>]</p>", "cliptype": "image", "clipsource": "Esther Kustanowitz", "featured": 0, "featuredIn": { "title": "Heroes Haggadah", "slug": "heroes-haggadah", "author": "Esther Kustanowitz" }, "is_public": 1, "is_published": 1, "media": { "image": "https://assets.haggadot.com/clips/348836/dumbledore-giphy.gif", "audio": null, "video": null }, "thumbnail": "https://assets.haggadot.com/clips/348836/conversions/dumbledore-giphy-cover.jpg", "clip_section": [ { "haggadah_section": "Hallel", "slug": "hallel" } ], "likes": 0, "downloads": 187, "tags": [], "themes": [], "language": "0", "is_bookmarked": "0", "is_liked": 0, "meta_tags": { "title": "Here's To You, Harry (or whatever your name is, person who is reading this Haggadah) | Passover haggadah by Esther Kustanowitz", "description": "Our simple platform allows you to create a custom Passover Haggadah, with access to unique content contributed by our community. Find artwork, family", "keywords": "", "og:type": "article", "og:url": "https://www.haggadot.com/clip/here-s-to-you-harry-or-whatever-your-name-is", "og:title": "Here's To You, Harry (or whatever your name is, person who is reading this Haggadah) | Passover haggadah by Esther Kustanowitz", "og:description": "Our simple platform allows you to create a custom Passover Haggadah, with access to unique content contributed by our community. Find artwork, family", "og:image": "https://assets.haggadot.com/clips/348836/conversions/dumbledore-giphy-cover.jpg" } } }, { "clip": { "is_admin": 0, "is_owner": 0, "handle": "black-widow-has-the-last-word", "title": "Black Widow Has The Last Word", "author": "Esther Kustanowitz", "author_handle": "estherk", "author_initials": "EK", "covertext": "In compiling this Haggadah, one thing became clear; when it came to our pop culture heroes, there were lots of memes wit...", "user_image": "https://assets.haggadot.com/users/421216/conversions/1709521752-thumb.jpg", "user_image_original": "https://assets.haggadot.com/users/421216/1709521752.jpeg", "body": "<p>In compiling this Haggadah, one thing became clear; when it came to our pop culture heroes, there were lots of memes with fun catchphrases like \"I could do this all day,\" and \"live long and prosper\" and \"I'm Batman.\" But not so much when it comes to the women who share hero status with their male counterparts. Wonder Woman GIFs feature spinning, or amored ass-kicking, or diving into a lagoon. Most Natasha Romanoff GIFs are without any dialogue, just showing her dropping into a crouched position (a.k.a. \"the Pose\") or doing a backflip. Both are cool, but illustrate a challenge in terms of giving these women their words.</p>\n\n<p>But we wanted to give these powerful women some balance in this Haggadah compilation, at the same time, giving some balance to the role that Jewish women have played in \"making Passover happen.\" Of course, this is a gender binary statement; not all Passovers are made by women, not all men absent themselves from the preparation. But in many homes, prep and cleanup may fall disproportionally, when it comes to gender. Or as Nat might have said, \"I'm always picking up after you boys.\" We've always thought that Natasha Romanoff might have Jewish ancestry; she's certainly embodying the self-sacrifice and martyrdom that many of us may associate with our Jewish mothers.</p>\n\n<p>So whatever the balance of work is in your house over Passovers past, take a look around and notice who's picking up after whom. And, regardless of what you see, lend a helping hand or two. Remember how powerful a team is when it assembles to fight for justice and equality.</p>\n\n<p>Next year in Jerusalem, a city whose name embodies fullness, completeness, wholeness.</p>", "cliptype": "image", "clipsource": "Esther Kustanowitz", "featured": 0, "featuredIn": { "title": "Heroes Haggadah", "slug": "heroes-haggadah", "author": "Esther Kustanowitz" }, "is_public": 1, "is_published": 1, "media": { "image": "https://assets.haggadot.com/clips/348852/nat-giphy.gif", "audio": null, "video": null }, "thumbnail": "https://assets.haggadot.com/clips/348852/conversions/nat-giphy-cover.jpg", "clip_section": [ { "haggadah_section": "Conclusion", "slug": "conclusion" } ], "likes": 0, "downloads": 195, "tags": [], "themes": [], "language": "0", "is_bookmarked": "0", "is_liked": 0, "meta_tags": { "title": "Black Widow Has The Last Word | Passover haggadah by Esther Kustanowitz", "description": "Our simple platform allows you to create a custom Passover Haggadah, with access to unique content contributed by our community. Find artwork, family", "keywords": "", "og:type": "article", "og:url": "https://www.haggadot.com/clip/black-widow-has-the-last-word", "og:title": "Black Widow Has The Last Word | Passover haggadah by Esther Kustanowitz", "og:description": "Our simple platform allows you to create a custom Passover Haggadah, with access to unique content contributed by our community. Find artwork, family", "og:image": "https://assets.haggadot.com/clips/348852/conversions/nat-giphy-cover.jpg" } } }, { "clip": { "is_admin": 0, "is_owner": 0, "handle": "bitter-or-stimulating-a-logical-perspective", "title": "Bitter, Or Stimulating?: A Highly Logical Perspective on Maror", "author": "Esther Kustanowitz", "author_handle": "estherk", "author_initials": "EK", "covertext": "It's time for Maror, the Bitter Herb. This is not the Wakandan herb of leadership (because we couldn't find a GIF of it)...", "user_image": "https://assets.haggadot.com/users/421216/conversions/1709521752-thumb.jpg", "user_image_original": "https://assets.haggadot.com/users/421216/1709521752.jpeg", "body": "<p>It's time for Maror, the Bitter Herb. This is not the Wakandan herb of leadership (because we couldn't find a GIF of it); instead it is a root that bites anyone who bites into it, filling their mouth with an unpleasant heat that, if the root is milder in flavor, fades over several minutes. It's meant to evoke the bitterness of slavery...oppression in an amuse bouche.</p>\n\n<p>It's logical, if somewhat metaphorical, to draw a direct link between a bitter taste and a bitter experience. After all, the word is the same. But sometimes, sub in a different word, and it has the original meaning and then some: what if it were the \"Stimulating Herb\" instead of the \"Bitter Herb\"? True, there are other stimulating herbs, many of them even legal. But the substitution could lead us to a different logical conculsion: that the consumption of something bitter or unpleasant may actually lead to action, stimulated by that unusual taste, something that rouses us, that evokes physical disgust or a new level of awareness of the brokenness in our world.</p>\n\n<p>Feeling this in our mouths, ingested into our bodies, might just inspire us to make a better world so we can all live long and prosper in freedom. Or at least, that's what we think Spock would say. </p>\n\n<p>[Image Source: <a href=\"https://media.giphy.com/media/836gLmVVZgJEI/giphy.gif\">GIPHY</a>]</p>", "cliptype": "image", "clipsource": "Esther Kustanowitz", "featured": 0, "featuredIn": { "title": "Heroes Haggadah", "slug": "heroes-haggadah", "author": "Esther Kustanowitz" }, "is_public": 1, "is_published": 1, "media": { "image": "https://assets.haggadot.com/clips/348853/spock-giphy.gif", "audio": null, "video": null }, "thumbnail": "https://assets.haggadot.com/clips/348853/conversions/spock-giphy-cover.jpg", "clip_section": [ { "haggadah_section": "Maror", "slug": "maror" } ], "likes": 0, "downloads": 227, "tags": [], "themes": [], "language": "0", "is_bookmarked": "0", "is_liked": 0, "meta_tags": { "title": "Bitter, Or Stimulating?: A Highly Logical Perspective on Maror | Passover haggadah by Esther Kustanowitz", "description": "Our simple platform allows you to create a custom Passover Haggadah, with access to unique content contributed by our community. Find artwork, family", "keywords": "", "og:type": "article", "og:url": "https://www.haggadot.com/clip/bitter-or-stimulating-a-logical-perspective", "og:title": "Bitter, Or Stimulating?: A Highly Logical Perspective on Maror | Passover haggadah by Esther Kustanowitz", "og:description": "Our simple platform allows you to create a custom Passover Haggadah, with access to unique content contributed by our community. Find artwork, family", "og:image": "https://assets.haggadot.com/clips/348853/conversions/spock-giphy-cover.jpg" } } }, { "clip": { "is_admin": 0, "is_owner": 0, "handle": "dayenu-as-what-if", "title": "Dayenu As \"What If?\"", "author": "Esther Kustanowitz", "author_handle": "estherk", "author_initials": "EK", "covertext": "Dayenu — it would have been enough, or more than we deserved — asks us to consider alternate possibilities. What if ther...", "user_image": "https://assets.haggadot.com/users/421216/conversions/1709521752-thumb.jpg", "user_image_original": "https://assets.haggadot.com/users/421216/1709521752.jpeg", "body": "<p>Dayenu — it would have been enough, or more than we deserved — asks us to consider alternate possibilities. What if there hadn't been an Exodus? What if there had been an Exodus, but no parting of the Red Sea? What if the sea had been parted, but no code of law had been given to the Israelites? And so on, and so on...it suggests some interesting and panic inducing possible outcomes for the stories we know so well we almost treat them as cliched.</p>\n\n<p>Marvel has done this too, with comic books asking \"What If,\" and a series that launched in 2021: what if Steve Rogers didn't get the super-soldier serum, and instead Peggy Carter did? What if everyone became zombies? What if Thanos was a good guy? What if T'Challah became Star-Lord and Killmonger became Black Panther? Shifting perspectives enables empathy and stimulates creativity, gives us a look at how characters may rise to their new circumstances: some may become heroes while others let power corrupt them.</p>\n\n<p>Dayenu is not just a poem (or an earworm of a song that might even dispel \"We Don't Talk About Bruno\"), it's an approach to invigorating storytelling. What if we asked \"what if?\" about the stories we know backwards and forwards, the ones that are so familiar that we either hold them too sacred or, thanks to repetition, consider them rote and meaningless. What if Miriam had become the hero of the Exodus story, famous not just for timbrels and songs after crossing a sea, but for speaking in front of Pharaoh, demanding that her people be let go? What if Tzipporah, Moses' wife who is targeted with racist and xenophobic epithets, went with the team of spies to survey the land of Canaan? What if Moses had lived to see the people enter the land of Canaan after 40 years of wandering and complaining in the desert?</p>\n\n<p>And in looking at this Haggadah, this year, what if we took every story and imagined it from a different perspective? It's not as subversive as it sounds — we can always return to the traditional stories — but asking \"what if\" can open us to possibility, new relevance and fresh connections.</p>\n\n<p>[Image source: <a href=\"https://giphy.com/gifs/marvelstudios-marvel-studios-captain-carter-ZQH2hS5R04KN1Dltca\">GIPHY</a>]</p>", "cliptype": "image", "clipsource": "Esther Kustanowitz", "featured": 0, "featuredIn": { "title": "Heroes Haggadah", "slug": "heroes-haggadah", "author": "Esther Kustanowitz" }, "is_public": 1, "is_published": 1, "media": { "image": "https://assets.haggadot.com/clips/348861/captain-carter-giphy.gif", "audio": null, "video": null }, "thumbnail": "https://assets.haggadot.com/clips/348861/conversions/captain-carter-giphy-cover.jpg", "clip_section": [ { "haggadah_section": "-- Cup #2 & Dayenu", "slug": "cup-2-amp-dayenu" } ], "likes": 0, "downloads": 211, "tags": [], "themes": [], "language": "0", "is_bookmarked": "0", "is_liked": 0, "meta_tags": { "title": "Dayenu As \"What If?\" | Passover haggadah by Esther Kustanowitz", "description": "Our simple platform allows you to create a custom Passover Haggadah, with access to unique content contributed by our community. Find artwork, family", "keywords": "", "og:type": "article", "og:url": "https://www.haggadot.com/clip/dayenu-as-what-if", "og:title": "Dayenu As \"What If?\" | Passover haggadah by Esther Kustanowitz", "og:description": "Our simple platform allows you to create a custom Passover Haggadah, with access to unique content contributed by our community. Find artwork, family", "og:image": "https://assets.haggadot.com/clips/348861/conversions/captain-carter-giphy-cover.jpg" } } }, { "clip": { "is_admin": 0, "is_owner": 0, "handle": "revealing-what-was-hidden-finding-what-was-lost", "title": "Revealing What Was Hidden, Finding What Was Lost", "author": "Esther Kustanowitz", "author_handle": "estherk", "author_initials": "EK", "covertext": "This is one of the final seder instances in which we conceal and reveal special holiday objects or foods. But hiding and...", "user_image": "https://assets.haggadot.com/users/421216/conversions/1709521752-thumb.jpg", "user_image_original": "https://assets.haggadot.com/users/421216/1709521752.jpeg", "body": "<p>This is one of the final seder instances in which we conceal and reveal special holiday objects or foods. But hiding and finding the Afikoman isn't just peek-a-boo child's play; it's high drama that comments on appearance and reality.</p>\n\n<p>So many superheroes wear masks to conceal their true identities, but the civilian and super sides may push against each other and create confusion about which side is the true self and which is the secret identity. Often, what's concealed isn't just a face, it's vulnerability, weakness, or emotion. Elsa of Arendelle has been told her whole life \"conceal, don't feel,\" because her emotions are so powerful that they will put her or someone else in physical danger.</p>\n\n<p>While not the case for most of us — when we get angry, we don't accidentally freeze our siblings — so many of us obscure our true selves from public view. Whether it's claiming a Facebook that's happier and more #blessed than we may feel or telling white lies to spare someone's feelings at the extent of our own integrity, we've all been there, in those moments that we hide ourselves away, suppress emotion, afraid to let it go, and to let ourselves go into the unknown.</p>\n\n<p>As we find the lost afikoman, we reveal the hidden. Here we are, confronting the fact that we are nearing the end of the seder ritual. And although we're tired and maybe we're even ready for this whole thing to be over, this last bit of pageantry lets the unleavened bread take its curtain call, and remind us that whatever we conceal from ourselves, our loved ones or the world at large, it does not go away. It waits while hidden, for the reveal, for the reckoning. However we lead in our daily lives — with our intellects, with our bodies, with our emotions — it's only part of us, to be reconciled with the rest, toward wholeness. </p>\n\n<p>[Image Source: <a href=\"https://media.giphy.com/media/Jsdc7bQe7g3WU/giphy.gif\">GIPHY</a>]</p>", "cliptype": "image", "clipsource": "Esther Kustanowitz", "featured": 0, "featuredIn": { "title": "Heroes Haggadah", "slug": "heroes-haggadah", "author": "Esther Kustanowitz" }, "is_public": 1, "is_published": 1, "media": { "image": "https://assets.haggadot.com/clips/348879/elsa-giphy.gif", "audio": null, "video": null }, "thumbnail": "https://assets.haggadot.com/clips/348879/conversions/elsa-giphy-cover.jpg", "clip_section": [ { "haggadah_section": "Tzafun", "slug": "tzafun" } ], "likes": 0, "downloads": 190, "tags": [], "themes": [], "language": "0", "is_bookmarked": "0", "is_liked": 0, "meta_tags": { "title": "Revealing What Was Hidden, Finding What Was Lost | Passover haggadah by Esther Kustanowitz", "description": "Our simple platform allows you to create a custom Passover Haggadah, with access to unique content contributed by our community. Find artwork, family", "keywords": "", "og:type": "article", "og:url": "https://www.haggadot.com/clip/revealing-what-was-hidden-finding-what-was-lost", "og:title": "Revealing What Was Hidden, Finding What Was Lost | Passover haggadah by Esther Kustanowitz", "og:description": "Our simple platform allows you to create a custom Passover Haggadah, with access to unique content contributed by our community. Find artwork, family", "og:image": "https://assets.haggadot.com/clips/348879/conversions/elsa-giphy-cover.jpg" } } }, { "clip": { "is_admin": 0, "is_owner": 0, "handle": "the-four-children-interacting", "title": "The Four Children Interacting", "author": "Esther Kustanowitz", "author_handle": "estherk", "author_initials": "EK", "covertext": "There are many imaginings of who the Four Children are as individuals, from their characteristics (\"the wicked child is...", "user_image": "https://assets.haggadot.com/users/421216/conversions/1709521752-thumb.jpg", "user_image_original": "https://assets.haggadot.com/users/421216/1709521752.jpeg", "body": "<p>There are many imaginings of who the Four Children are as individuals, from their characteristics (\"the wicked child is just misunderstood\"/ \"the wise child is a 'know-it-all'\" etc) to which pop or political figures they represent (we'll let you decide...)</p>\n\n<p>But one of the things we haven't seen — and which only occurred to us in our search for GIFs and preparation of this Haggadah — is the responsibility of the children to each other. While some sibling relationships are fraught with tension or conflict, there are opportunities within a chosen or formalized family for family members who disagree to interact and learn from each other.</p>\n\n<p>Per the previous example, positioning Leia as the wise child and Rey as the one who doesn't ask, the fact that Rey finds in Leia a mentor, someone who can inspire her and give her the history she needs to understand the world and her place in it, is moving and inspiring to us who experience the original movie text, and this Haggadah reframing. Which of the children are we, in our family gatherings and friend groups? Who can we teach? Who can we learn frrom? Who can we embrace in the pursuit of knowledge, meaning and love?</p>\n\n<p>[Image Source: <a href=\"https://media.giphy.com/media/UulMLADxRNWeIwpLm7/giphy.gif\">GIPHY</a>]</p>", "cliptype": "image", "clipsource": null, "featured": 0, "featuredIn": { "title": "Heroes Haggadah", "slug": "heroes-haggadah", "author": "Esther Kustanowitz" }, "is_public": 1, "is_published": 1, "media": { "image": "https://assets.haggadot.com/clips/350073/rey-leia-giphy.gif", "audio": null, "video": null }, "thumbnail": "https://assets.haggadot.com/clips/350073/conversions/rey-leia-giphy-cover.jpg", "clip_section": [ { "haggadah_section": "-- Four Children", "slug": "four-children" } ], "likes": 0, "downloads": 199, "tags": [], "themes": [], "language": "0", "is_bookmarked": "0", "is_liked": 0, "meta_tags": { "title": "The Four Children Interacting | Passover haggadah by Esther Kustanowitz", "description": "Our simple platform allows you to create a custom Passover Haggadah, with access to unique content contributed by our community. Find artwork, family", "keywords": "", "og:type": "article", "og:url": "https://www.haggadot.com/clip/the-four-children-interacting", "og:title": "The Four Children Interacting | Passover haggadah by Esther Kustanowitz", "og:description": "Our simple platform allows you to create a custom Passover Haggadah, with access to unique content contributed by our community. Find artwork, family", "og:image": "https://assets.haggadot.com/clips/350073/conversions/rey-leia-giphy-cover.jpg" } } }, { "clip": { "is_admin": 0, "is_owner": 0, "handle": "the-four-representation-questions", "title": "The Four Representation Questions", "author": "Esther Kustanowitz", "author_handle": "estherk", "author_initials": "EK", "covertext": "The Four Questions famously encourage the younger/newer Seder-goers to think about what's different from all other night...", "user_image": "https://assets.haggadot.com/users/421216/conversions/1709521752-thumb.jpg", "user_image_original": "https://assets.haggadot.com/users/421216/1709521752.jpeg", "body": "<p>The Four Questions famously encourage the younger/newer Seder-goers to think about what's different from all other nights: is it that remarkably flat bread? Is it about intentionally consuming bitterness? Is it some kind of ritual dipping extravaganza?  Or is it that we're lounging about on pillows during dinner? Yes, it's all of those. But the first question, \"Mah nishtana mikol ha laylot\" — the famous \"why is this night different from all other nights?\" can also be read as an exclamation: \"Whoa...this night is sure different from other nights!\"</p>\n\n<p>Why do we point out difference, anyway? Maybe it's to train ourselves to identify things that are familiar and things that vary from our own experience; we may feel more comfortable in the former, but may gain more by experiencing the latter.</p>\n\n<p>Different experiences produce different stories. This is the reason that increased, diverse representation on-screen is so important. We contain multiverses: our experiences in different enviroments, speaking with people of varying backgrounds, builds empathy and helps us all understand one another better. Plus, when we can see ourselves on-screen, we feel less alone, and more part of a community.</p>\n\n<p>The Haggadah creates spaces for this kind of difference, as one of the religious texts that has been repeatedly altered and added to as the decades have gone by, in every generation, as every new generation tries to see themselves in the larger Exodus narrative. So perhaps we should think about asking ourselves different questions, inspired by Miles Morales, Echo, Black Panther, Batwoman, Dreamer, Phastos, Valkyrie and others.</p>\n\n<p> <em>Who is represented around the table and who is absent?</em> </p>\n\n<p> <em>What have we learned from our friends this year that has enriched the way we see the world?</em> </p>\n\n<p> <em>What have we learned that saddened us and inspired us to create social change and acceptance?</em> </p>\n\n<p> <em>How have our powers of perception and empathy been strengthened since we were last around the Seder table?</em> </p>\n\n<p> <em>How lucky we are to have different perspectives with us tonight!</em> </p>\n\n\n\n<p>[Image Source: <a href=\"https://media.giphy.com/media/3HG7iF94VgtXBjwhAT/giphy.gif\">GIPHY</a>]</p>", "cliptype": "image", "clipsource": "Esther Kustanowitz", "featured": 0, "featuredIn": { "title": "Heroes Haggadah", "slug": "heroes-haggadah", "author": "Esther Kustanowitz" }, "is_public": 1, "is_published": 1, "media": { "image": "https://assets.haggadot.com/clips/350270/miles-morales-giphy.gif", "audio": null, "video": null }, "thumbnail": "https://assets.haggadot.com/clips/350270/conversions/miles-morales-giphy-cover.jpg", "clip_section": [ { "haggadah_section": "-- Four Questions", "slug": "four-questions" } ], "likes": 0, "downloads": 205, "tags": [], "themes": [], "language": "0", "is_bookmarked": "0", "is_liked": 0, "meta_tags": { "title": "The Four Representation Questions | Passover haggadah by Esther Kustanowitz", "description": "Our simple platform allows you to create a custom Passover Haggadah, with access to unique content contributed by our community. Find artwork, family", "keywords": "", "og:type": "article", "og:url": "https://www.haggadot.com/clip/the-four-representation-questions", "og:title": "The Four Representation Questions | Passover haggadah by Esther Kustanowitz", "og:description": "Our simple platform allows you to create a custom Passover Haggadah, with access to unique content contributed by our community. Find artwork, family", "og:image": "https://assets.haggadot.com/clips/350270/conversions/miles-morales-giphy-cover.jpg" } } }, { "clip": { "is_admin": 0, "is_owner": 0, "handle": "can-you-feel-the-dayen-ergy-it-would-have-been-ken-ough", "title": "Can you feel the Dayen-ergy? It would have been Ken-ough", "author": "Esther Kustanowitz", "author_handle": "estherk", "author_initials": "EK", "covertext": "“Dayenu, Barbie!”  “Dayenu, Ken!”  Oh, Dayenu — our annual opportunity to revisit a list of some of the miracl...", "user_image": "https://assets.haggadot.com/users/421216/conversions/1709521752-thumb.jpg", "user_image_original": "https://assets.haggadot.com/users/421216/1709521752.jpeg", "body": "<h3><strong> <em>“Dayenu, Barbie!” </em> </strong></h3><h3><strong> <em>“Dayenu, Ken!” </em> </strong></h3><p><br /></p><p>Oh, Dayenu — our annual opportunity to revisit a list of some of the miracles that followed the Exodus: from slavery in Egypt, traveling across the Red Sea and into the desert, where the Jewish people were gifted with the Torah, wandered for 40 years and eventually came to the land of Israel. And after every incident recounted, we repeat, “dayenu,” meaning “it was more than we deserved,” or “it would have been enough.” </p><p>But what if you’re a little more introspective about Passover as a whole this year? Or need to lighten things up with a little pop culture alongside your contemplation?  </p><p>In Greta Gerwig’s highly entertaining film, Barbie (Margot Robbie) and Ken (Ryan Gosling) showed us the difference between the land of Barbies and our real world: what it’s like when doll-perfection in the land of no choices meets reality and provides different paths that, if taken, can shape our lives differently. Plus, they do journey through a desert and across an ocean to a promised land of sorts — Los Angeles — so that's prime Exodus material right there.</p><p>I couldn’t bring Gosling’s particular Kenergy to each of your seder tables — instead, here are some Passover-inspired lyrics for you to layer on top of the ear worm that is \"I'm Just Ken.\".</p><p>As you meditate on freedom, choice, song, longing, hope and challenge this year, know that you bring your own special Dayen-ergy to Passover. And whether your job is breaking the matzah or just \"beach,\" whether you’re “Ken,” or “Lo,” or “Ulai” (that’s yes, no or maybe in Hebrew), whether you think the entire text is sacred or that there are some parts of the movie — er, the Haggadah — that should have been edited out in post, consider this your invitation to think about what challenges us and what brings us together under one roof, from my Mojo Dojo Casa House to wherever yours is, all over the world. </p><p>May your travels through the desert bring you closer to fine.</p><p><br /></p><h3><strong>“Dayen-ergy” (It Would Have Been Ken-ough)</strong></h3><p> <em>Lyrics by Esther D. Kustanowitz, in the style of “I’m Just Ken” (from the “Barbie” soundtrack)</em> </p><p>Karaoke audio: <a href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B7OpLSunE_w\">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B7OpLSunE_w</a></p><p>Gosling video version: <a href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RIHExGaxfPE\">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RIHExGaxfPE</a></p><p><br /></p><p>At seder time, we're singing Dayenu</p><p>I don’t know what to do</p><p>My heart’s conflicted every time, oh why…</p><p>Matzah crumbs are lying on the floor</p><p>Elijah’s at the door</p><p>So fill another cup of wine</p><p>The Haggadah will be fine</p><p>Who knows ten? Why must we sing this song again?</p><p>Is it our destiny to overthink the details of our history?</p><p>We depend</p><p>On a Passover meal with friends</p><p>And family that will help us see ourselves as if we too / are truly free</p><p>[DANCE BREAK]</p><p>I wanna know what it’s like to feel, liberation?</p><p>And am I, the wicked child, feeling consternation?</p><p>And is that, the wrath of God, or constipatioooon?</p><p>[softly, ascending] It’s the matzah…</p><p>[KENS DANCE FIGHT]</p><p>Can you feel Dayen-ergy?</p><p>Feels so real, Dayen-ergy</p><p>That’s enough Dayen-ergy</p><p>It’s Big Seder Energy</p><p>[BACK TO JUST KEN]</p><p>Say Amen, how many plagues, it’s also ten</p><p>It’s so expensive getting matzah at the corner store or grocery.</p><p>Haggadot </p><p>End with a song about a goat</p><p>Who was consumed by someone’s caaat who was then bitten by some-bo-dy’s dog</p><p>Dayenu (means that’s enough)</p><p>And God did a lot of stuff</p><p>Some stories may be rough, but let’s stay friends</p><p>Our amends (tikkun olam)</p><p>Let’s meet in Jerusalumm</p><p>Which means ‘city of peace’ so say amen.</p><p>And let’s saaaayyy Ahhhh Men!!!</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><strong> <em>Author's prayer: </em> <em>May all who are hungry find sustenance. </em> <em>Amen to homecomings, to health, to freedom, especially for the hostages, and to building toward peace, safety and wholeness in the region. Here's to next year in a \"city of peace,\" wherever you are.</em> </strong></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>", "cliptype": "video", "clipsource": null, "featured": 0, "featuredIn": { "title": "2024 Favorites", "slug": "untitled-haggadah-41-32", "author": "Haggadot" }, "is_public": 1, "is_published": 1, "media": { "image": null, "audio": null, "video": "https://giphy.com/gifs/lDiE0QJS0kDagKyp8w" }, "thumbnail": "https://assets.haggadot.com/clips/428086/conversions/giphy-cover.jpg", "clip_section": [ { "haggadah_section": "Maggid - Beginning", "slug": "maggid-beginning" }, { "haggadah_section": "-- Cup #2 & Dayenu", "slug": "cup-2-amp-dayenu" } ], "likes": 0, "downloads": 0, "tags": [], "themes": [], "language": "0", "is_bookmarked": "0", "is_liked": 0, "meta_tags": { "title": "Can you feel the Dayen-ergy? 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Check out the song parody: https://www.haggadot.com/clip/can-you-feel-the-dayen-ergy-it-would-have-been-ken-ough</p>", "cliptype": "image", "clipsource": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RIHExGaxfPE", "featured": 0, "featuredIn": null, "is_public": 1, "is_published": 1, "media": { "image": "https://assets.haggadot.com/clips/428110/1712880187.png", "audio": null, "video": null }, "thumbnail": "https://assets.haggadot.com/clips/428110/conversions/1712880187-cover.jpg", "clip_section": [ { "haggadah_section": "-- Cup #2 & Dayenu", "slug": "cup-2-amp-dayenu" } ], "likes": 0, "downloads": 0, "tags": [ { "tag": "Comedy", "slug": "comedy" }, { "tag": "Entertainment", "slug": "entertainment" }, { "tag": "Songs", "slug": "songs" }, { "tag": "Pop Culture", "slug": "pop-culture" } ], "themes": [ { "theme": "Comedy", "slug": "comedy" }, { "theme": "Entertainment", "slug": "entertainment" }, { "theme": "Songs", "slug": "songs" } ], "language": "0", "is_bookmarked": "0", "is_liked": 0, "meta_tags": { "title": "Who Knows Ken? (Oops, we meant \"10\") | Passover haggadah by Esther Kustanowitz", "description": "Our simple platform allows you to create a custom Passover Haggadah, with access to unique content contributed by our community. Find artwork, family", "keywords": "", "og:type": "article", "og:url": "https://www.haggadot.com/clip/who-knows-ken-oops-we-meant-10", "og:title": "Who Knows Ken? (Oops, we meant \"10\") | Passover haggadah by Esther Kustanowitz", "og:description": "Our simple platform allows you to create a custom Passover Haggadah, with access to unique content contributed by our community. Find artwork, family", "og:image": "https://assets.haggadot.com/clips/428110/conversions/1712880187-cover.jpg" } } }, { "clip": { "is_admin": 0, "is_owner": 0, "handle": "it-is-literally-impossible-to-be-a-modern-jewish-woman-46-14-437047", "title": "“It is literally impossible to be a modern Jewish woman”", "author": "Esther Kustanowitz", "author_handle": "estherk", "author_initials": "EK", "covertext": "Like many women of my age (or other ages), I’ve been thinking about the famous “it is literally impossible to be a woman...", "user_image": "https://assets.haggadot.com/users/421216/conversions/1709521752-thumb.jpg", "user_image_original": "https://assets.haggadot.com/users/421216/1709521752.jpeg", "body": "<p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>Like many women of my age (or other ages), I’ve been thinking about the famous “it is literally impossible to be a woman” monologue since I saw America Ferrera recite it in ‘Barbie’ last July. And the more you look at the monologue, the more you see how pivotal America Ferrera’s delivery of it was to its popularity - without her, it could have read like a laundry list of all the various tightropes that women walk in the world. </p><p><br /></p><p>And as Pesach arrives in a year of war for Israel, and general topsy-turviness in the world at large, I find myself looking at the monologue for not just what it means for women in the world, but for what an equivalent monologue might look like for Jewish women. It would have to ring true to the experiences of many, while acknowledging the individuality of experience that Jewish women have worldwide. They may be the dominant force at home or equal co-partners or flying solo, with or without children. They may be enmeshed with their workplaces (especially in education and Jewish nonprofit) and in the leadership at many of today’s peace- and justice-seeking organizations. And in homes where Passover prep requires significant time, physical labor and costly supplies, these efforts are often also added to the plates of Jewish women. </p><p><br /></p><p>You could read this as a response to Eshet Chayil, the “Woman of Valor” poem whose sentiment is appreciated (the children shall praise her, indeed) even as its traditional text contouring the expectations of Jewish women seems to many of us outdated. Or as a companion piece, as you rewatch ‘Barbie ‘ through a Jewish lens. Or to think about all the women in your life and what they’ve done for your physical, emotional or spiritual growth. Or as a space for expression of frustration regarding expectations in general, and a place for listening and holding space while others share their discomfort. Or however you need it this year. </p><p><br /></p><p>May you find yourselves free to make your own choices, to prioritize what you find meaningful, and to do what you can to enable that same freedom for others.</p><p><br /></p><p> <em>[Unbolded text is from the original monologue written by Greta Gerwig and Noah Baumbach, available to view here: </em> <a href=\"http://youtube.com/watch?v=CBqlDWHkdHk\">http://youtube.com/watch?v=CBqlDWHkdHk</a> ; <em>older text is my edit of phrases from the original. But I’m sure you figured that out. :) -EDK]</em> </p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>It is literally impossible to be a<strong> modern Jewish</strong> woman. You are so beautiful, and so smart, and it kills me that you don't think you're good enough <strong>to be a Jewish leader</strong>. Like, we have to always be extraordinary, <strong>but somehow other people are getting the credit.</strong></p><p>You have to urge people to eat <strong>heavy Jewish foods, but not eat too much, yourself. </strong>You can never say<strong> you want seconds</strong>. <strong>You can make the kugel, the latkes, the hamentashen, the challah, but you can’t eat the kugel, the latkes, the hamentashen, the challah.</strong> You have to say you want to be healthy, but <strong>you have to feel and express guilt for every matzo ball consumed or gym day skipped because you had to do everything else you have to do in a given day and then get the yellow-capped kosher-for-Passover Coke at the supermarket before they sold out.</strong> </p><p><strong>Jewish life is expensive</strong>, <strong>so you have to have money for food and education and synagogue memberships</strong>, but you can't ask for money <strong>from donors or employers </strong>because that's crass, and you <strong>probably earn just enough money to be ineligible for need-based scholarships</strong>. You have to be a boss, but <strong>you can't get CEO jobs because they are already occupied by men who have been in them for 30 years</strong>. You have to lead, but you <strong>can't be perceived as pushy or assertive, especially around men, because you’ll remind them of their mothers</strong>. You're supposed to love being a mother, but don't talk about your kids all the damn time, <strong>and if you don’t have kids, you’re supposed to understand it as failure that marks you as an outsider, someone who will feel like she is living outside the camp and that her value to the collective is less</strong>. You have to be a career woman who <strong>doesn’t need a man to lift her up, </strong>but also always be looking out for other people,<strong> either to elevate them or to watch them as they rise beyond you in stature or salary, or maintain the home front even though it’s 2024</strong>.</p><p>You have to answer for men's bad behavior <strong>in general and especially when it happens to you, around you or on your watch, </strong>which is insane, but if you point that out, you're denied, gaslit, told you’re overreacting or that you’re too sensitive. You're supposed to <strong>be attractive</strong>, but not so<strong> attractive that you tempt men too much with your singing voice, your hair, your elbows, your knees, your ankles, your face or your actual existence, and don’t embarrass them by showing you know more about Judaism (or anything else) as you plan events for</strong> the sisterhood.</p><p>Always <strong>feel responsible</strong> and always <strong>change the world</strong>. But never forget that the system is <strong>based on the original patriarchy</strong>. So <strong>you have </strong>to acknowledge that as you <strong>constantly bump up against restrictions </strong>but also always be grateful.</p><p>You have to never get old, never <strong>envy, talk about or compete with your neighbors</strong>, never be selfish, never <strong>show weakness</strong>, never be seen planning ahead<strong> </strong>and never <strong>be unprepared, never put yourself first, never find chametz in your house on Passover, never let them see the effort you expend and say things like “it was no trouble,” or “it was my pleasure” instead of telling the truth:</strong> It's too hard! It's too contradictory and nobody <strong>(in an Orthodox shul) gives you an aliyah</strong> or <strong>honors you at the shul dinner or names you to a list of a certain number of Jewish people under or over the age of a certain number or for being who you are every day, but they’re always there to tell you </strong>that not only are you doing everything wrong, but also everything is your fault.</p><p>I'm just so tired of watching myself and every single other <strong>Jewish</strong> woman tie herself into<strong> five-rope challah braids or multi-wick havdalah candles</strong> so that people will like us…</p><p><br /></p><p><strong>Four Questions (for discussion):</strong></p><ol><li>What part of being a Jewish woman is the most challenging? (Or if you don’t identify as a woman, what do the Jewish women in your life say about the challenges of being a Jewish woman?)</li><li>When you saw the ‘Barbie’ movie, did you see your experiences reflected anywhere? If so, where and why? Share a story with people around the table.</li><li>In reading the revised, Jewish version of the monologue above, did you see your experiences reflected anywhere? If so, where? Share a story with people around the table.</li><li>How can we help change unreasonable expectations around what it means to be a modern Jewish woman?</li></ol><p><br /></p><p>As we work to heal ourselves, may that healing bring us closer to peace.</p>", "cliptype": "image", "clipsource": "http://youtube.com/watch?v=CBqlDWHkdHk", "featured": 0, "featuredIn": null, "is_public": 1, "is_published": 1, "media": { "image": "https://assets.haggadot.com/clips/434711/1713531316.jpeg", "audio": null, "video": null }, "thumbnail": "https://assets.haggadot.com/clips/434711/conversions/1713531316-cover.jpg", "clip_section": [ { "haggadah_section": "Introduction", "slug": "introduction" } ], "likes": 0, "downloads": 0, "tags": [ { "tag": "Entertainment", "slug": "entertainment" }, { "tag": "Introduction", "slug": "introduction" }, { "tag": "Pop Culture", "slug": "pop-culture" }, { "tag": "Women", "slug": "women" } ], "themes": [ { "theme": "Entertainment", "slug": "entertainment" } ], "language": "0", "is_bookmarked": "0", "is_liked": 0, "meta_tags": { "title": "“It is literally impossible to be a modern Jewish woman” | Passover haggadah by Esther Kustanowitz", "description": "Our simple platform allows you to create a custom Passover Haggadah, with access to unique content contributed by our community. 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