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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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Nirtzah  marks the conclusion of the seder. Our bellies are full, we have had several glasses of wine, we have told stories and sung songs, and now it is time for the evening to come to a close. At the end of the seder, we honor the tradition of declaring, “Next year in Jerusalem!” For some people, the recitation of this phrase expresses the anticipation of rebuilding the Temple in Jerusalem and the return of the Messiah. For others, it is...

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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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Ritual ComponentLeader:No prayer is recited before we break the middle matzah on our Seder plate. This is a silent, reflective act. Reader:For we recognize that, like the broken matzah, we are incomplete, with prayers yet to be fulfilled, promises still to be redeemed. We hide part of this broken matzah and hope it will be found by the end our Seder meal.For we recognize that parts of ourselves are yet unknown. We are still discovering what makes us whole.We hide the...

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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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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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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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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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                 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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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...

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The first words in the creation of the universe out of the unformed, void and dark earth were God’s “Let there be light." Therein lies the hope and faith of Judaism and the obligation of our people: to make the light of justice, compassion, and knowledge penetrate the darkness of our time. One person lights the candles and says: ברוך אתה יי אלהינו מלך העולם אשר קדשנו במצותיו וצונו להדליק נר של יום טובBaruch atah Adonai Elohaynu melech ha-olam, asher kideshanu...

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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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Ritual ComponentLeader:No prayer is recited before we break the middle matzah on our Seder plate. This is a silent, reflective act. Reader:For we recognize that, like the broken matzah, we are incomplete, with prayers yet to be fulfilled, promises still to be redeemed. We hide part of this broken matzah and hope it will be found by the end our Seder meal.For we recognize that parts of ourselves are yet unknown. We are still discovering what makes us whole.We hide the...

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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,...