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A Medieval addition to the Haggadah, this hymn originally contained fifteen verses mirroring the fifteen steps in the Seder.   How many are the gifts God bestowed upon us! Had God: Brought us out of Egypt and not divided the sea for us Divided the sea and not permitted us to cross on dry land, Permitted us to cross on dry land and not sustained us for forty years in the desert, Sustained us for forty years in the desert and not...

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READER: Spring is here. The world is alive and new; the bonds of winter cold are broken. Nature is reborn and the earth feels free and young again. The trees are budding; behind the buds lie flowers. The surprise of the world is about to burst open. In Mitzrayim, our ancestors awoke from their sleep in chains to the life of freedom; in the long wandering out of bondage, our people were reborn into a new life. BORUCH ATTO ADONOI ELOHENU...

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Refill everyone’s wine glass. We now say grace after the meal, thanking God for the food we’ve eaten. On Passover, this becomes something like an extended toast to God, culminating with drinking our third glass of wine for the evening: We praise God, Ruler of Everything, whose goodness sustains the world. You are the origin of love and compassion, the source of bread for all. Thanks to You, we need never lack for food; You provide food enough for everyone. We...

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Tzafun צָפוּן After the meal, take the Afikoman and divide it among all the guests at the Seder table. It is forbidden to drink or eat anything (except the remaining two ritual cups of wine) after eating  the Afikoman.

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Maror מָרוֹר Now take a kezayit (the volume of one olive) of the maror. Dip it into the Charoset, but not so much that the bitter taste is neutralized. Recite the following blessing and then eat the maror (without reclining): בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יי אֱלֹהֵינוּ מֶלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם, אֲשֶׁר קִדְּשָנוּ בְּמִצְוֹתָיו וְצִוָּנוּ עַל אֲכִילַת מָרוֹר. Baruch atah Adonai Eloheinu melech ha-olam, asher kid'shanu b'mitzvotav v'tzivanu al achilat maror. Praised are you, Adonai, Lord our God, Ruler of the universe, who has taught us...

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Singing songs that praise God | hallel | הַלֵּל This is the time set aside for singing. Some of us might sing traditional prayers from the Book of Psalms. Others take this moment for favorites like Chad Gadya & Who Knows One, which you can find in the appendix. To celebrate the theme of freedom, we might sing songs from the civil rights movement. Or perhaps your crazy Uncle Frank has some parody lyrics about Passover to the tunes from a...

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Two times so far we've talked about this matzah here to figure out And now's our chance to take a bite to remind us of the slaves rushed flight But first some blessings say we should Thank God for our gifts so good Ba-ruch A-tah A-do-nai, E-lo-hei-nu Me-lech Ha-o-lam, Ha-mo-tzee le-chem meen ha-a-retz. O Holy One of Blessing, Your Presence fills creation; Thank you for the nourishing goodness of bread. Ba-ruch A-tah A-do-nai, E-lo-hei-nu Me-lech Ha-o-lam, a-sher keed-sha-nu be-meetz-vo-tav, vee-tzee-va-nu al...

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During the time when Pharaoh issued his decree to kill Israelite males, Moses, who later was to lead the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt to freedom, was an infant. His concerned mother, Jochebed placed him in a basket of reeds in the Nile River while Moses’ sister Miriam watched from a distance to see who would come to find him. The basket was found by the Pharaoh’s daughter, who decided to raise the infant as her own son and named...

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Shulchan Orech  שֻׁלְחָן עוֹרֵךְ Now is time to enjoy the festival meal and participate in lively discussion. It is permitted to drink wine between the second and third cups.

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                 Maggid – Four Questions מַהנִּשְּׁתַּנָה ?מַה נִּשְּׁתַּנָה הַלַּיְלָה הַזֶּה מִכָּל הַלֵּילוֹת Mah nish-ta-na ha-lai-lah ha-zeh mikol ha-lei-lot? Why is this night of Passover different from all other nights of the year? שֶׁבְּכָל הַלֵּילוֹת אָנוּ אוֹכְלִין חָמֵץ וּמַצָּה, הַלַּיְלָה הַזֶּה - כּוּלוֹ מַצָּה She-b'chol ha-lei-lot anu och'lin cha-meitz u-matzah. Ha-laylah hazeh kulo matzah. On all other nights, we eat either leavened or unleavened bread, why on this night do we eat only matzah? שֶׁבְּכָל הַלֵּילוֹת אָנוּ אוֹכְלִין שְׁאָר יְרָקוֹת, - הַלַּיְלָה הַזֶּה...

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Kiddush - Wine READER:The joy of Passover is the joy of love; the hope of Passover is the hope of love. Our ancestors suffered the coldness of hate and dreamed of the warmth of human kindness and universal love. And then, after the long winter of their bondage, freedom burst forth upon them like spring. In the rich sweetness of this wine, we celebrate in kinship the love and faith that give life. Love, freedom, and faith in life - these...

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בְּכָל־דּוֹר וָדוֹר חַיָּב אָדָם לִרְאוֹת אֶת־עַצְמוֹ, כְּאִלּוּ הוּא יָצָא מִמִּצְרָֽיִם B’chol dor vador chayav adam lirot et-atzmo, k’ilu hu yatzav mimitzrayim. In every generation, everyone is obligated to see themselves as though they personally left Egypt. The seder reminds us that it was not only our ancestors whom God redeemed; God redeemed us too along with them. That’s why the Torah says “God brought us out from there in order to lead us to and give us the land promised to...

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Chad Gadya חַד גַּדְיָא, חַד גַּדְיָא דְזַבִּין אַבָּא בִּתְרֵי זוּזֵי חַד גַּדְיָא, חַד גַּדְיָא Chad gadya, chad gadya Dizabin abah bitrei zuzei Chad gadya, chad gadya. One little goat, one little goat: Which my father brought for two zuzim. One little goat, one little goat: The cat came and ate the goat, Which my father bought for two zuzim. One little goat, one little goat: The dog came and bit the cat That ate the goat, Which my father bought for...

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 During Passover we remember our ancient story of our people's journey from bondage to liberation.  Moving from metaphor to reality, we bring awareness to the ways slavery is still present and plagues all of us.  Our interconnectedness as people binds all of us and keeps us from being truly free when slavery still exists. “During the Seder, some Jews have the custom of going around the table and imagining themselves as Hebrew slaves in Egypt during the Exodus. They describe their...

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As Rachel welcomed strangers at the well with water, so do we welcome each other to this Seder by washing the hands of thos at our table.  We are not washing ourselves of dirt, but of attachment, guilt, and resentment. Each person in turn pours a little water over the hands of the person to the left, into the bowl.  As the water is poured, think of something that you wish to let go of and imagine the water carrying it...

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Motzi-Matzah מוֹצִיא Take the three matzot - the broken piece between the two whole ones – and hold them in your hand and recite the following blessing: בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יי אֱלֹהֵינוּ מֶלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם הַמּוֹצִיא לֶחֶם מִן הָאָרֶץ Baruch atah Adonai, Eloheinu melech ha-olam, hamotzi lechem min ha-aretz. Praised are you, Adonai, Lord our God, Ruler of the universe, who provides sustenance from the earth. Before eating the matzah, put the bottom matzah back in its place and continue, reciting the following...

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Maggid – Beginning מגיד Raise the tray with the matzot and say: הָא לַחְמָא עַנְיָא דִי אֲכָלוּ אַבְהָתָנָא בְּאַרְעָא דְמִצְרָיִם. כָּל דִכְפִין יֵיתֵי וְיֵיכֹל, כָּל דִצְרִיךְ יֵיתֵי וְיִפְסַח. הָשַׁתָּא הָכָא, לְשָׁנָה הַבָּאָה בְּאַרְעָא דְיִשְׂרָאֵל. הָשַׁתָּא עַבְדֵי, לְשָׁנָה הַבָּאָה בְּנֵי חוֹרִין. Ha lachma anya dee achalu avhatana b'ara d'meetzrayeem. Kol deechfeen yeitei v'yeichol, kol deetzreech yeitei v'yeefsach. Hashata hacha, l'shanah haba-ah b'ara d'yisra-el. Hashata avdei, l'shanah haba-ah b'nei choreen. This is the bread of affliction, which our ancestors ate in the land...

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The Cup of Elijah We now refill our wine glasses one last time and open the front door to invite the prophet Elijah to join our seder. In the Bible, Elijah was a fierce defender of God to a disbelieving people. At the end of his life, rather than dying, he was whisked away to heaven. Tradition holds that he will return in advance of messianic days to herald a new era of peace, so we set a place for Elijah...

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 During Passover we remember our ancient story of our people's journey from bondage to liberation.  Moving from metaphor to reality, we bring awareness to the ways slavery is still present and plagues all of us.  Our interconnectedness as people binds all of us and keeps us from being truly free when slavery still exists. “During the Seder, some Jews have the custom of going around the table and imagining themselves as Hebrew slaves in Egypt during the Exodus. They describe their...

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Many centuries ago, at this time of year, our ancestors left the slavery of Egypt to search for national independence and personal dignity. We are here to honor those who have struggled for freedom, to renew our personal commitment to work for justice and peace, and to take heart in our own personal journeys out of oppression. ❍ For it is said: Every person, in every generation, must regard herself or himself as having been personally freed from bondage in Mitzraim,...

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Revolutionary Karpas Jews for Racial & Economic Justice The karpas gives us the tension between the aliveness of Spring and the bitter tears we wept in the land of Egypt. We are refreshed by the greenness of the karpas, yet our tastebuds wince at the salt water to dip them in, as we recall our own experience of being strangers. Our tongues push our thoughts towards those who are made strangers in our present time, in this country. We dip the...