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By Rabbi & Dina Brewer Dayeinu is a highly counter-intuitive hymn. Among its fourteen stanzas it proclaims that: Had God taken our ancestors out of Egypt, but not rescued them at the Red Sea, it would have been sufficient. And had God rescued them at the Red Sea, but not nourished them in the dessert, it would have been sufficient. And had God brought them to Sinai, but not given them the Torah, it would have been sufficient. These statements make...

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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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WHY SHOULD I CARE ABOUT THIS AS A JEW? The Jewish people has been a refugee people since biblical times. In the United States, we know the devastating consequences of turning away refugees. Less than a century ago, refugees fleeing the Holocaust were marked as security threats to the U.S., denied entry, and sent back to Europe to be brutally murdered. Furthermore, the value of welcoming, protecting, and loving the stranger appears in the Torah 36 times according to the Talmud...

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Sam Solomon 3-12-15 The symbols of Passover The Symbols of Passover The bone that represents the sacrifice.  It is weird to me that we sacrifice a lamb.  How can we sacrifice such a sweet and innocent animal? A hard boiled egg? A hard boiled egg? how can something so small have so much meaning? We eat bitter herbs to remind us of our ancestors work as slaves.  But why do we eat food that many love? I love the bitter herbs,...

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EVERY JEWISH FAMILY produces a unique version of the Passover seder—the big ritual meal of traditional foods, served after and amid liturgy, storytelling, and song. We’re all surprised at each other’s customs: You eat lamb? You don’t sing “Chad Gad Ya”? And yet, virtually every seder does share a few common elements. Matzoh crumbs all over the floor. Wine stains on the tablecloth. A seder plate containing the traditional symbols of the holiday: a roasted shank bone and hardboiled egg, recalling...

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By: Rabbi Ari Weiss As we approach Berach and reflect and give thanks to God for the meal we recently consumed, let us pause for a moment and reflect on what a Jewish meal is. Having a meal according to the Jewish tradition is much richer and more complex then just consuming food. As William H. Gass [1]  has noted, as animals we desire only nourishment. However, in the process of eating, other things happen. The desire to have food is...

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1. What do you consider your “promised land,” or heaven on earth? 2. In Hebrew, the word for Egypt is “Mitzraim,” which literally means “narrow place.” What is one way that you wish for our society to be more open? 3. Moses is considered one of the greatest leaders in our history — he is described as being smart, courageous, selfless and kind. Which of today’s leaders inspires you in a similar way? 4. Miriam was a prophetess and the sister...

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"For me, the recent meaning of Passover in my life has been a reclaiming of the seder ceremony away from the patriarchal tradition. My children may remember the seders of their early childhood, conducted by their grandfather entirely in Hebrew, incomprehensible to most in attendance, unvarying from year to year, except for how long it took until the children were sent away from the table for giggling. Before that, there were the Vietnam-era seders when we got into fights with relatives...

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The olive branch is a universal symbol of peace, associated with the dove in the story of Noah's Ark and the Flood. Olive trees mature slowly, so only when there was an extended time of peace, with agriculture left undisturbed, could the olive tree produce its fruit. In 2008, Jewish Voice for Peace promoted putting an olive on the seder plate as part of its Trees of Reconciliation project, which sought to donate 3,000 olive saplings to Palestinian farmers to replant...

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 By Eliyahu KitovIt is a mitzvah that the Passover matzot be made specifically for the purpose of fulfilling the obligation to eat matzot on Passover, as the verse (Exodus, 12:17) states: You shall guard the matzot. The matzah must be guarded to ensure that it does not become chametz; matzah which was not guarded may not be used on Passover.How do we "guard" the matzah used on Passover? From the time that the wheat is taken to the mill to be...

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YACHATZ Is matzo poor man's bread or the food of free men? Can it be both? If we regard it as the Bread of Affliction why did we carry dough on our backs out of Egypt, to let it bake in the hot sun without leavening and rising? Can one Matzo be both a symbol of wretchedness and deliverance? Matzo is a paradox. Not only is it so, but in breaking the middle matzo we also break with symmetry. There is...

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I would like to ask that we begin to dream about and plan for a different world.  A fairer world.  A world of happier men and happier women who are truer to themselves.  And this is how to start: we must raise our daughters differently.  We must also raise our sons differently. Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

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On this night we retrace our steps from then to now, reclaiming years of desert wandering. On this night we ask questions, ancient and new, speaking of servitude and liberation, service and joy. On this night we welcome each soul, sharing stories of courage, strength, and faith. On this night we open doors long closed, lifting our voices in songs of praise. On this night we renew ancient hopes and dream of a future redeemed. On this night we gather around...

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(to the tune of “I Could Have Danced All Night”) I could have eaten more, I could have eaten more, but it’s afikomen time. The Seder rituals and all those victuals, the evening was sublime. I had my matzo with charoset and matzo dipped in chocolate too. I drank down all my wine and now I’m feeling fine. How good to share this meal with you!