---

Pour the second glass of wine for everyone. The Haggadah doesn’t tell the story of Passover in a linear fashion. We don’t hear of Moses being found by the daughter of Pharaoh – actually, we don’t hear much of Moses at all. Instead, we get an impressionistic collection of songs, images, and stories of both the Exodus from Egypt and from Passover celebrations through the centuries. Some say that minimizing the role of Moses keeps us focused on the miracles God...

---

One of most beloved songs in the Passover seder is "Dayenu". A few of us will read the stanzas one at a time, and the everyone else will respond, "Dayenu" – meaning, “it would have been enough”.How many times do we forget to pause and notice that where we are is exactly where we ought to be? Dayenu is a reminder to never forget all the miracles in our lives. When we stand and wait impatiently for the next one to...

---

GARLIC ON THE SEDER PLATE  Dori Midnight I began placing garlic on our seder plate a few years ago, as it has been central to my work of reconnecting to and re-enlivening Jewish folk healing traditions and a lifelong love. After the birth of Nishmat Shoom (the queer, radical, non-zionist minyan project I am part of, whose name, inspired by this work, means Breath or Soul of Garlic), many of the Garlic Eaters in our community began adopting this practice and...

---

CUP OF REDEMPTION At a traditional seder we fill a cup of wine for the prophet Elijah who is a symbol of redemption. At this seder we are raising a cup of water as a symbol of the redemption that women have brought through the generations. All: Water is the symbol of life. Reader: The biblical prophet Miriam saved her brother from the waters of the Nile, she led the song of victory aber the waters of the red sea parted...

---

THE MATZAH OF HOPE and PEACE Neal Borovitz Avadim Hayinu:  Not only were we slaves to the Pharaoh of Egypt, we have also been enslaved and persecuted by other Pharaohs.  Among these Pharaohs of every age were the Kings of Babylonia, the Emperors of Greece and Rome, the Churchmen and Nobles of Medieval Spain, Hitler and his Nazi followers, the Pharaohs of Moscow, and the dictators, potentates and terrorists of the contemporary Arab world.  The Babylonian exile was followed by a...

---

More than the Jewish people have kept Passover, Passover has kept the Jewish people. More than any other Jewish ritual, the Seder continues to be observed. There is something profound about what we do when we participate in a Seder, which both expresses and shapes who we are. This applies both to Jews and to non-Jewish family members and friends who celebrate Passover. Most Jews who say 'I am Jewish, but not religious' mean that they identify with the values and...

---

We mark the specialness of the day with blessings over candles and over the first of four cups of wine. (On Friday nights, we add the words in parentheses הַדְלָקַת נֵרוֹת לְיוֹם טוֹב Had-la-kat nay-rot l'yom tov  ,בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה עוֹלָמֵנוּ, יָחִיד וּמְיוּחָד אֲשֶׁר לִמֵּד אֶת אֲבוֹתֵינוּ וְאִמֹתֵינוּ וְאוֹתָנוּ  .לְהַדְלִיק נֵר שֶׁל (שַׁבַּת וְ)יוֹם טוֹב                                        Ba-rooch ata o-la-may-noo, ya-cheed oo-m'you-chad, a-sher lee-made et a-vo-tay-noo v'ee-mo-tay-noo v'o-ta-noo le-had-leek nayr shel (shab-bat v') yom tov.  Blessed are you, our unique world, for teaching our...

---

Choose from among the spring vegetables on the Seder table and dip one in salt water. The spring vegetable reminds us to pay attention to this season, the time in the northern hemisphere when we again see flowers blooming and hear birds chirping.  The salt water in which we dip the vegetable recalls the salty tears our ancestors shed when they were enslaved as well the tears of those today who are oppressed or enslaved.  The blessing we recite heightens our...