---

We were slaves in Egypt, now we are free. Let’s have a Seder! What’s on the Seder plate? Egg, herbs, bone, greens, charoset Let’s drink some wine. Why is this night different? Why is this child different? Ten plagues on the Egyptians. Enough already – Dayeinu! Drink wine again. Matzah, Maror, Hillel sandwich, let’s eat! Where’s the Afikoman? Thanks for the food! Drink some more Wine. Open the door for Elijah! Drink some wine – last one. Thanking and singing. Next...

---

According to the Book of Exodus, there was a famine in the land of Canaan (later known as Israel). Because of this famine, the Hebrew patriarch Jacob traveled with his extended family of 70 to Egypt to both live inbetter conditions and be with his son Joseph. Joseph’s wisdom had impressed the Pharaoh of Egypt to the point that he was appointed Viceroy of Egypt, which was second in power only to the Pharaoh. The next 430 years in Egypt saw...

---

The Wise Child (Enters and sits near the leader. He is eager and earnest.) "Tateh,   teach me everything about Pesach...all the laws, the customs, the rituals...everything! I want to learn it all!" The Wicked Child (Enters and Stands, glaring at the leader. He is angry and full of contempt.) "Dachau, Mumbai, terrorism, murder. What good have all your pious prayers done you?! To hell with your ritual, and to hell with you!" (He sits.) The Simple Child (Enters, walks over and...

---

Child labor in cocoa fields has been documented in the following countries: Cameroon, Ghana, Cote d’Ivoire, (leading supplier, accounting for around 40% of production) Guinea and Nigeria.Hundreds of thousands of children work in cocoa fields, and many of them are exposed to hazardous conditions, where they:- Spray pesticides and apply fertilizers without protective gear- Use sharp tools, like machetesSustain injuries from transporting heavy loads beyond permissible weight- Do strenuous work like felling trees, and clearing and burning vegetationThese children are treated...

---

On Passover, Jews are commanded to tell the story of the Exodus and to see ourselves as having lived through that story, so that we may better learn how to live our lives today. The stories we tell our children shape what they believe to be possible—which is why at Passover, we must tell the stories of the women who played a crucial role in the Exodus narrative.  The Book of Exodus, much like the Book of Genesis, opens in pervasive...

---

Over the years, the Passover story has evolved from a story just about Moses and Aaron to include their female counterparts. We set aside a cup of water for Miriam, celebrate Shifrah and Puah for their act of bravery and comment on Pharaoh’s daughter’s defiant move. As we commemorate the leadership of matriarchs in the Exodus story, the questions about our contemporary relationship to women’s rights and liberation come to the fore. These questions contemplate how our future can be more...

---

Many refugees find themselves in multiple countries before they find a permanent place to begin rebuilding their lives. If they do not speak the language in those countries, refugees face even greater challenges finding employment, and everyday tasks like filling out forms or trying to purchase food can feel nearly impossible. Children confront language barriers in school. The language of instruction may be the language of the child’s host country – the country to which s/he flees – or it may...

---

1. Hannah Senesh was a Hungarian Jew, one of 37 Jews who lived in the British Mandate for Palestine (now Israel), who were trained by the British army to parachute into Yugoslavia during the Second World War in order to help save the Jews of Hungary, who were about to be deported to the German death camp at Auschwitz. 2. Senesh was arrested at the Hungarian border, imprisoned and tortured, but she refused to reveal details of her mission and was...

---

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...

---

 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...

---

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,...