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Maror (bitter herbs, such as horseradish)--the symbol of bitterness and slavery of the Israelites in Egypt. Today, in a Jewish community that is free, this bitterness takes on another layer of meaning. We acknowledge that there are many among us who are embittered by their feelings of resentment, discomfort, and fear. We know that there is just cause for some of these feelings of fear, for Jews were "other" for so many centuries and mistreated just because they were different. This...

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In washing our hands, we also think of those who don't get to share in the basic human right of abundant, clean water of people deprived of water by the weather in Somalia, in India, in Texas and those deprived of water by human action in places like Flint, Michigan as well as those whose homes have been ravaged by wind and water in Colombia, in California, and here in New Jersey. We wash our hands and accept our responsibilities to...

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Hinei Mah tov u-ma nayim                               הִנֵּה מַה טוֹב וּמַה נָּעִים Shevet achim gam yachad                                      שֶׁבֶת אָחִים גַּם יַחַד Behold how good and how pleasant it is for people to dwell together.

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

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This song was written to be part of Fiddler on the Roof, but was cut from the show before it made its Broadway debut for being too slow, and comic at a moment in the show when the people of Anatevka are experiencing tragedy. It imagines a world in which the Messiah is coming, but lost, and worried about us. Words and music by Sheldon Harnick When Messiah comes he will say to us, “I apologize that I took so long.”...

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Praising as a spiritual practice How is this Hallel on seder night different from all other Hallels? What are we aiming to accomplish in this Hallel of seder night? Unlike every other holiday Hallel, the Hallel of the seder (and in synagogue) is sung at night. Unlike other Hallels, it is sung without an introductory blessing, and it is recited sitting down. Unlike every other Hallel, this Hallel is divided into two parts by eating!  Why is Hallel sung at night?...

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by  JEANNE LOHMANN All day I try to say nothing but thank you,  breathe the syllables in and out with every step I take through the rooms of my house and outside into a profusion of shaggy-headed dandelions in the garden where the tulips’ black stamens shake in their crimson cups. I am saying thank you, yes, to this burgeoning spring and to the cold wind of its changes. Gratitude comes easy after a hot shower, when my loosened muscles work, ...

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Door standers Manspreaders We are delayed in the station because of train traffic ahead of us Pole leaners Loud talkers Mouth noises No bikes at this location  

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Repair the World and Be’chol Lashon invite you to explore how the Jewish community, a multiracial and multiethnic people, can examine our past and present journeys from Exodus to freedom. Ask guests to read the questions aloud and share their own Passover traditions! Question: Why do Jews from Gibraltar sprinkle a little bit of brick dust into their charoset? Answer: To remind them of the bricks that the Israelite slaves were forced to make. Question: What do Hungarian Jews place on...

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“Gratitude is the moral memory of mankind. If every grateful action were suddenly eliminated, society would crumble.” – Georg Simmel Gratitude and happiness are intertwined and for good reason. It is no coincidence that positive psychology practitioners and happiness experts state that in order to increase your contentment in life you need to boost your level of gratitude. One of the leading researchers in gratitude is Dr. Robert Emmons. He has brought gratitude into the forefront by demonstrating how simple acts...

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Our God and God of our ancestors, help those who are fleeing persecution today, as our ancestors did thousands of years ago.  Show loving kindness and compassion to those hemmed in by misery and captivity, to those who take to the open seas or traverse treacherous landscapes seeking freedom and liberty.  Rescue and recover them -- deliver them from gorge to meadow, from darkness to light.  Inspire us to act on behalf of those we do not know, on behalf of...

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As we remember this struggle, we honor the midwives who were the first Jews to resist the Pharaoh.  our legends tell us that Pharaoh, behaving in a way common to oppressors, tried to get Jews to collaborate in murdering their own people.  He summoned the two chief midwives, Shifra and Pu'ah, and commanded them to kill newborn Jewish males at birth.  He threatened the midwives with death by fire if they failed to follow his commands. But the midwives did not...

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The story of Passover begins with Joseph, son of our patriarch, Jacob.   Joseph was held in high esteem by the Pharoah after having advised that Egypt should store grain, preventing a widespread famine. After Joseph and his brothers died, the Pharaoh forgot all that Joseph had done for Egypt, and fearing the increasing numbers of the Israelites, he enslaved the Israelites to prevent them from becoming too powerful. Pharaoh put heavy taxes on them and recruited the men into forced labor...

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Our Passover meal is called a seder, which means “order” in Hebrew, because we go through 14 specific steps as we retell the story of our ancestors’ liberation from slavery in Egypt.  Haggadah means "telling" in Hebrew; fitting, as it helps us tell the story of Passover.קַדֵּשׁKiddush (the blessing over wine) | kadeish |וּרְחַץRitual hand-washing in preparation for the seder | urchatz |כַּרְפַּסDipping a green vegetable in salt water| karpas |יַחַץBreaking the middle matzah | yachatz |מַגִּידTelling the story of Passover...