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From COEJL’s “Preparing for Passover: Readings for the Seder Table” Stewart Vile Tahl, COEJL One of Passover’s lessons is learned to distinguish between more and enough. Dayenu means “it would have been enough for us.” Often, enjoying more wealth and comfort stimulates our desire for more – more attention, more comforts, more money, more, and more, and more. Passover and the Haggadah teach us to be mindful of what our real needs are, of what constitutes “enough.” What constitutes enough for...

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We dip our finger in our wine and place one drop on our napkin for each plague, to diminish our joy with the memory of the sorrow of our enemies. This year, as we remember the plagues cast upon the Egyptians, we also remember 10 modern plagues, that have befallen the entire human race. We take one drop out of our cup of wine for each plague, because our joy is diminished as humankind suffers.  From the Religious Action Center’s “10...

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We often talk at the seder about the Four Children: the Wise, Wicked, Simple, and the One Who Does Not Know How to Ask. We see a little of ourselves in each child as we discuss their place in the seder and how we explain to them the story of Passover. Do we tell them that we were there together at Sinai, including them in our legacy, or do we exclude them and criticize their apathy? This year, as we consider...

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At this point in the seder, we traditionally call on our youngest member to pose the Four Questions. These questions remind us to reflect on the very process of questioning and remembering why it is we do things as we have done them for so long. We take stock of the status quo, of our daily habits and rituals. As our youngest leads us in this process of reflection, we must look back into ourselves to question our own habits. In...

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After washing our hands for the second time, and calling to mind the importance of water, we say:  ָבּרוּךְ ַא ָתה יי, ֱאלֹ ֵהינוּ ֶמ ֶלךְ ָהעוֹ ָלם, ֲא ֶשר ִק ְד ָשנוּ ְבּ ִמ ְצווֹ ָתיו, ְו ִצ ָוּנוּ ַעל ְנִטיַלת ָיָדִים.  Baruch atah, Adonai Eloheinu, Melech haolam, asher kid’shanu b’mitzvotav v’tzivanu al nitilat yadayim. Blessed are You, Eternal our God, Sovereign of the universe, who has sanctified us with Your commandments and Commaned Us to Wash Our Hands For...

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Continuity with the Future: Seders and Climate Change Joelle Novey, Interfaith Power & Light (DC.MD.NoVA) From the Shalom Center's "Purim to Pesach" Project  “In every generation one must look upon herself as if she personally came out of Egypt.” On Pesach, we are told to feel as if we personally went free from Egypt, Mitzrayim, and the rituals of the seder help us cultivate that “memory” in many ways. We eat not only the unleavened bread that the Israelites ate in...

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

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For the majority of the seder, the focus is to remember, retell, discuss, and experience history. As we pour this fifth and final glass of wine, our focus changes from the past to the future. This final cup is only for Elijah. We don’t share in this ceremonious final cup of wine with the prophet Elijah, because our history is not yet complete. We still have a chance to write our future. The final cup represents a change in the focus...

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The great sage Hillel provided us with the tradition of constructing the Hillel sandwich, combining the bitterness of the maror with the sweetness of the charoset between the fortitude of the two pieces of matzah--the symbol of freedom. Through this ritual, we think about mortar and brick. We think of the Israelites traveling through the desert with no homes, no place to land and build up their strong communities, and only the matzah as a reminder of their freedom. It is...

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Together, we recite:  ָבּרוּךְ ַא ָתה יי, ֱאלֹ ֵהינוּ ֶמ ֶלךְ ָהעוֹ ָלם, ַהמּוֹ ִציא ֶלֶחם ִמן ָהָאֶרץ.  Baruch atah, Adonai Eloheinu, Melech haolam, hamotzi lechem min haaretz Blessed are You, Eternal our God, Sovereign of the universe, who brings forth bread from the earth.  As we bless the matzah we thank God for bringing forth bread from the earth and commanding us to eat matzah. Although we verbally thank God for giving us the tools to sustain ourselves, we must...

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Coalition on the Environment and Jewish Life – COEJL.org Interfaith Power and Light – gwIPL.org Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism - rac.org/environment  RECOMMENDED HAGGADOT  Sharing the Journey: The Haggadah for the Contemporary Family  Edited by Alan Yoffie Illustrations by Mark Podwal (Also available through iTunes)  The New Union Haggadah, Revised Edition  Rabbi Howard A. Berman, Consulting Editor Rabbi Benjamin Zeidman, Developmental Editor (Also available through iTunes or Kindle)  A Passover Haggadah, Second Revised Edition  Edited by Rabbi Herbert Bronstein Illustrated...

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After the meal we recite this blessing to thank God for the food we have eaten.  ָ בּ ר וּ ךְ ַ א ָ ת ה ְ י ָ י ַ ה ָ ז ן ֶ א ת ַ ה ֹכ ל .  Baruch atah Adonai, hazan et hakol.  We praise You, O God, Source of food for all who live.  { GREENING TIP }  The average person uses 350-500 plastic bags per year. Reduced your waste by switching to reusable...

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Four Cups of Wine  Each Passover, we join together to drink four cups of wine to represent the promises of freedom that God made to the Israelites in Egypt. This Passover we will make four new promises: to protect, adapt, conserve and mitigate. As we welcome Elijah for a fifth cup of wine, we will also welcome a commitment to climate action, in order to promote justice and health for our earth and all of its inhabitants.  As we begin our...

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“An Invitation to a Plant-Based Meal”  Adam Gorod, Jewish Veg. D.C.  Our food choices during the Exodus were so much simpler. We could subsist on manna alone. Free of animal products, manna was a bread from heaven with a taste like coriander seed. Today the options—even during Passover—are more varied. Any number of Kosher-for-Passover items sit in the curated displays of many supermarkets at the arrival of spring. These options, however, make one fact unavoidable: we are now, at all seasons,...

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Rabbi Fred Scherlinder-Dobb, Adat Shalom Bethesda, MD  “Chasal siddur Pesach, the ritual is completed.” Yet of course, the work of liberation – for ourselves, for those who are marginalized, for our own descendants, for Earth – is anything but over. We end the seder not only with songs, but on an unresolved note, aware that we’re never done even as we wrap up our ritual with conviction. Though today Israel is a manageable (if high-cost and high-carbon) plane ride away, generations...

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As the water washes over our hands, we call to mind the promise we made when drinking our first cup of wine. Let us now focus on our individual water usage, and how we can make our water consumption more sustainable. Let us call to mind the importance of water to all life and be more aware of the amount of water we use daily.  For more information on the environmental justice, please visit rac.org/enviro .  For all Religious Action Center...

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Jewish tradition teaches us that “even those things that you regard as completely superfluous to Creation – such as fleas, gnats and flies – even they were included in Creation; and God’s purpose is carried through everything” (Midrash Genesis Rabbah 10:7). Today, we continue to be entrusted with protecting all of the creatures that share our earth and the natural resources of our earth.  Together, we recite:  ָבּרוּךְ ַא ָתה יי, ֱאל ֵהינוּ ֶמ ֶלךְ ָהעו ָלם, בּו ֵרא ְפ ִרי...

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The breaking of the middle matzah is a reminder of the fractures and breaks in our environment and world. It is a time to think about the current state of the environment and the communities that are disproportionately impacted by the environmental issues. How are we impacted by the changing climate, and how have we contributed to the rise of sea level?  We take the larger half of the broken matzah to hide, and it becomes the afikomen. It is no...

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In every generation, each of us should feel as though we ourselves had gone forth from Egypt. In every generation, each of us should feel as though we ourselves had been freed from bondage. In every generation, each of us should feel as though we ourselves fought for humane conditions in the workplace. God may have freed us from bondage in Egypt with an outstretched arm, but redemption from injustice in the workplace, be it a non-living wage, oppression of undocumented...

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If the Earth Could Speak, It Would Speak with Passion By Rabbi Warren Stone, Temple Emanuel, Kensington, MD As you dip the beauty of greens into the water of tears, please hear my cry. Can’t you see that I am slowly dying? My forests are being clear cut, diminished. My diverse and wondrous creatures -- birds of the sky and beasts of the fields -- small and large are threatened with extinction in your lifetimes. My splendid, colorful floral and fauna...

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This reading allows for much personal identification and further interpretation in the text. A discussion can take place regarding with which of the four children each guest identifies most, followed by a consideration of which populations are currently “unable to ask,” who might be considered “simple,” and more. Examples for a new set of four children may include: 1. One who sees the pain of others and works to relieve suffering. 2. One who cares only about him/herself. 3. One who...