Karpas - tears of exertion | Passover haggadah by Gavriel Goldfeder

{ "clip_details": { "clip": { "is_admin": 0, "is_owner": 0, "handle": "karpas-tears-exertion", "title": "Karpas - tears of exertion", "author": "Gavriel Goldfeder", "author_handle": "heyrabbi", "author_initials": "GG", "covertext": "By Rabbi Gavriel Goldfeder alternadox.netBy not trusting ourselves and the various voices within us, we keep hidden the...", "user_image": "", "user_image_original": "", "body": "By Rabbi Gavriel Goldfeder alternadox.netBy not trusting ourselves and the various voices within us, we keep hidden the better part of who we are. Many of us were taught early on that it is not safe to be who we really are - that it is not safe to say what is on our minds or in our hearts. But tonight we are free to release, to encounter, to integrate, to evolve and to express.As Michael Kagan writes, the salt water in which we dip our karpas is the tears and frustration of not being allowed to let go. Tonight those tears will serve as a ticket to freedom. As King David said, 'My tears were nourishment for me...' To move forward, we must inevitably encounter the walls we have built inside; the tears are the struggle to get beyond those walls─not tears of failure but tears of exertion.Tonight, we dip our desires─the karpas ─into our tears. We indulge in something frivolous, purposeless, pointless, and we fight through the internal barriers that try to prevent us from enjoying it.Consider sharing something about your inner walls - what do you feel prohibited from doing/feeling/talking about/enjoying? 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Find artwork, family", "og:image": "" } } }, "contributed_by": { "author": "Gavriel Goldfeder", "handle": "heyrabbi", "author_initials": "GG", "total_books": 3, "total_clips": 25, "total_followers": 0, "is_following": 0 }, "user_book": null, "clips_by_author": [ { "clip": { "is_admin": 0, "is_owner": 0, "handle": "sanctify", "title": "Sanctify!", "author": "Gavriel Goldfeder", "author_handle": "heyrabbi", "author_initials": "GG", "covertext": "As opposed to the usual kiddush - 'sanctification' - of Shabbat and other holy days, Pesach's 'Kadeish!' means 'Sancti...", "user_image": "", "user_image_original": "", "body": "As opposed to the usual kiddush - 'sanctification' - of Shabbat and other holy days, Pesach's 'Kadeish!' means 'Sanctify!' Instead of 'recognize the sanctity of this day, it is 'make this night holy!' Make it special for you. Allow yourself to believe that tonight will change you forever. With our belief in the unique transformational power of this night, we can be sure that our efforts will bear fruit. We can confidently thank Hashem for this unbelievable opportunity, for the good fortune of being a part of this people, for the dynamic celebrations we have been given, for the holy road map of the Seder that can guide us toward true freedom.With full confidence in the powerful nature of this special day, we can commit to participating in the story, to 'being there'. Instead of the usual 'kiddush', we have 'kadeish!' - sanctify! We have to do the work of making tonight special, different. We can make tonight a breakthrough night if we believe in it. Commit to seeking freedom, tonight, with every ounce of your being.", "cliptype": "text", "clipsource": "original", "featured": 0, "featuredIn": null, "is_public": 1, "is_published": 1, "media": { "image": null, "audio": null, "video": null }, "thumbnail": null, "clip_section": [ { "haggadah_section": "Kadesh", "slug": "kadesh" } ], "likes": 0, "downloads": 267, "tags": [], "themes": [], "language": "0", "is_bookmarked": "0", "is_liked": 0, "meta_tags": { "title": "Sanctify! | Passover haggadah by Gavriel Goldfeder", "description": "Our simple platform allows you to create a custom Passover Haggadah, with access to unique content contributed by our community. Find artwork, family", "keywords": "", "og:type": "article", "og:url": "https://www.haggadot.com/clip/sanctify", "og:title": "Sanctify! | Passover haggadah by Gavriel Goldfeder", "og:description": "Our simple platform allows you to create a custom Passover Haggadah, with access to unique content contributed by our community. Find artwork, family", "og:image": "" } } }, { "clip": { "is_admin": 0, "is_owner": 0, "handle": "washing-what", "title": "Washing - for what?", "author": "Gavriel Goldfeder", "author_handle": "heyrabbi", "author_initials": "GG", "covertext": "By Rabbi Gavriel Goldfeder alternadox.netLater on we will do ' rachtzah '─the washing over the matzah . Now we a...", "user_image": "", "user_image_original": "", "body": "By Rabbi Gavriel Goldfeder alternadox.netLater on we will do ' rachtzah '─the washing over the matzah . Now we are doing ' urchatz ', which amounts to washing before eating a vegetable. This is not something we do every day.To explain, Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook, first chief Rabbi of the State of Israel, writes of dividing life into two categories: the goal, and everything else. We set goals for ourselves and set out to reach them. Everything we do that helps us reach that goal is worthwhile. But how do we relate to all the other things we do? This is an important question that addresses how we feel about the aspects of our lives that our not essential. And this is one of the central points of the Seder.What is the goal of the Seder? The peak spiritual moment of the Seder is when we fully absorb the spiritual impact of the matzah when we eat it. So why don't we cut to the chase? Let's get that matzah inside of us as quickly as possible! But the truth is, the Seder wants to help us experience every moment of our lives as an encounter with the Divine. It demands that we let go of our usual distinctions - important and unimportant, sacred and profane, good and bad, needs and wants.Tonight, we are going to learn how to experience the Divine within all moments. Not only prayers and mitzvot, but also eating and conversation. Not only goals, but journeys. Finally free to let go of the reins for a moment, we can celebrate every moment equally. Not only will we recognize the holiness of the process, we will even sanctify ourselves toward this pursuit: urchatz. R’ Kook deepens the concept for us: vegetables, in the Talmud, are thought to enhance hunger - 'appetizers'. If eating is an unfortunate concession we make to our animal nature, then vegetables are antithetical to the goal of living life more spiritually. But if eating is another opportunity for encounter with the Divine - if pleasure is an encounter with the Divine ─ then the vegetable we are about to eat is a holy sacrament, drawing us in to a moment of Encounter. So of course we should wash our hands to prepare ourselves.Washing toward the matzah -goal and the vegetable-distractions represent two kinds of freedom: the first is freedom to live an intentional life. We celebrate our right and capacity to point ourselves in a specific direction and actually follow through. But there is another kind of freedom: freedom to let go, to know that wherever we go we will find Hashem and meaning and direction and connection. It is told that the Ba'al Shem Tov, the founder of Chassidut, when embarking on a journey, would have his coachman, Alexi, let go of the reins and sit backward, facing away from the horses. With the freedom to let go of the reins, we allow our desires to guide us as much we allow the Torah to guide us.Rebbe Natan of Brelsov writes that ' urchatz ' is from the root-word in Aramaic that means 'trust'. At this moment in the Seder, pay closer attention to your capacity to trust and let go. The goal is to trust enough to sanctify aspects of yourself and the life you live that you never allowed yourself to see as holy. Can you trust the holiness of the night, the 'night of protection', to guard you from any negative impact of what's inside of you? Do you trust the people around this table, each of them looking at you tonight with holy Pesach-eyes, to be with you in your search for true freedom?We have nothing to fear except holding back. We will never reach true freedom if we do not free our desires and appetites to be in service of the Divine.As you wash, consider that you are preparing yourself for an encounter with something holy – your own desires! Use the washing as an opportunity to shift your perspective on those desires.", "cliptype": "text", "clipsource": "original", "featured": 1, "featuredIn": null, "is_public": 1, "is_published": 1, "media": { "image": null, "audio": null, "video": null }, "thumbnail": null, "clip_section": [ { "haggadah_section": "Urchatz", "slug": "urchatz" } ], "likes": 0, "downloads": 339, "tags": [ { "tag": "Mindfulness", "slug": "mindfulness" }, { "tag": "Wisdom", "slug": "wisdom" }, { "tag": "Urchatz", "slug": "urchatz" } ], "themes": [], "language": "0", "is_bookmarked": "0", "is_liked": 0, "meta_tags": { "title": "Washing - for what? | Passover haggadah by Gavriel Goldfeder", "description": "Our simple platform allows you to create a custom Passover Haggadah, with access to unique content contributed by our community. Find artwork, family", "keywords": "", "og:type": "article", "og:url": "https://www.haggadot.com/clip/washing-what", "og:title": "Washing - for what? | Passover haggadah by Gavriel Goldfeder", "og:description": "Our simple platform allows you to create a custom Passover Haggadah, with access to unique content contributed by our community. Find artwork, family", "og:image": "" } } }, { "clip": { "is_admin": 0, "is_owner": 0, "handle": "what-we-want-and-what-we-need", "title": "What we want and what we need", "author": "Gavriel Goldfeder", "author_handle": "heyrabbi", "author_initials": "GG", "covertext": "By Rabbi Gavriel Goldfeder www.alternadox.netWe all know that we cannot rely on the holiness of our desires all the time...", "user_image": "", "user_image_original": "", "body": "By Rabbi Gavriel Goldfeder www.alternadox.netWe all know that we cannot rely on the holiness of our desires all the time. Tonight is special, different. Tonight it is safe to let go. But in a week or a month, who knows? By breaking the middle matzah , we acknowledge that we are still split. We still cannot ultimately trust that our desires and our necessities, our concerns and our impulses, our inner child and our responsible adult, have become one. There is brokenness here. The two pieces of matzah represent two kinds of eating: because we have to and because we want to. One half we will eat soon, in hunger. The other half we will hide─the half that represents desire, enjoyment, fulfillment, luxury. It is supposed to be eaten on a full stomach, out of desire to eat rather than necessity.We will hide it because our relationship to it is still uncharted - many of us haven't yet made peace with our desires as portals to the holy. But we are also giving ourselves a goal. The hidden matzah represents our future, the ultimate future, where we are free to do as we wish, knowing that this is Hashem's wish as well. Our ultimate goal is to bring these two halves together.This is a moment of brokenness, but it is also a moment of faith. In allowing ourselves to break, to recognize the split, to admit unfamiliarity, to admit that we are not yet there, we are also expressing faith that the rift can be fixed. After all, only people who do not believe in healing try to 'keep it together'. Jews, however, believe in the 'healer of broken hearts'. We believe in the G-d who values nothing higher than a broken vessel. We believe that even when the broken matzah is two, it is one.", "cliptype": "text", "clipsource": "original", "featured": 1, "featuredIn": null, "is_public": 1, "is_published": 1, "media": { "image": null, "audio": null, "video": null }, "thumbnail": null, "clip_section": [ { "haggadah_section": "Yachatz", "slug": "yachatz" } ], "likes": 0, "downloads": 330, "tags": [], "themes": [], "language": "0", "is_bookmarked": "0", "is_liked": 0, "meta_tags": { "title": "What we want and what we need | Passover haggadah by Gavriel Goldfeder", "description": "Our simple platform allows you to create a custom Passover Haggadah, with access to unique content contributed by our community. Find artwork, family", "keywords": "", "og:type": "article", "og:url": "https://www.haggadot.com/clip/what-we-want-and-what-we-need", "og:title": "What we want and what we need | Passover haggadah by Gavriel Goldfeder", "og:description": "Our simple platform allows you to create a custom Passover Haggadah, with access to unique content contributed by our community. Find artwork, family", "og:image": "" } } }, { "clip": { "is_admin": 0, "is_owner": 0, "handle": "invested-remaining-fractured", "title": "Invested in remaining fractured", "author": "Gavriel Goldfeder", "author_handle": "heyrabbi", "author_initials": "GG", "covertext": "By Rabbi Gavriel Goldfeder at www.alternadox.netFrom where do we learn how to truly be free? By learning how to truly be...", "user_image": "", "user_image_original": "", "body": "By Rabbi Gavriel Goldfeder at www.alternadox.netFrom where do we learn how to truly be free? By learning how to truly be slaves. Really! Our servitude in Egypt, says R’ Kook, ultimately taught us how to be servants of Hashem. Same skill-set, different focus. How is this so?When we invest deep emotion in something, even if it is not a worthwhile pursuit, we are still doing something quite positive: we are learning how to tie our emotions up in something, to be involved, committed, and embodied. When something worthwhile comes along, we already know how to put ourselves into it.The pure quantity of energy and feeling we invest in our split, in our exile from ourselves and each other, from Hashem the Source, will ultimately serve us deeply, for it is showing us what devotion is. Devotion to the split is still devotion! Granted, we are devoted to something destructive, but we are devoted after all. And when our devotion is ultimately directed properly, it bears fruit.The magic of the Seder is that the bread of affliction becomes the bread of freedom. So amidst the rush of freedom, we acknowledge at this moment that we are still slaves. And in so doing, we express our faith and trust that we will soon be free, and that we will 'succeed' at freedom because of our current state of slavery.Look one level past the bite of your personal slavery and see the goodness there: see how faithful you are to your addictions, your self-image, your fears. See how passionately you hold on to them. And imagine yourself taking all of that faith and passion and applying it to your ultimate purpose. And then you'll see what a gift Hashem has been giving you all along, building up your power to act and commit and be faithful.As you break the middle matzah, consider your own inner division. How are you divided? Why are you divided?", "cliptype": "text", "clipsource": "original", "featured": 0, "featuredIn": null, "is_public": 1, "is_published": 1, "media": { "image": null, "audio": null, "video": null }, "thumbnail": null, "clip_section": [ { "haggadah_section": "Yachatz", "slug": "yachatz" } ], "likes": 0, "downloads": 197, "tags": [], "themes": [], "language": "0", "is_bookmarked": "0", "is_liked": 0, "meta_tags": { "title": "Invested in remaining fractured | Passover haggadah by Gavriel Goldfeder", "description": "Our simple platform allows you to create a custom Passover Haggadah, with access to unique content contributed by our community. Find artwork, family", "keywords": "", "og:type": "article", "og:url": "https://www.haggadot.com/clip/invested-remaining-fractured", "og:title": "Invested in remaining fractured | Passover haggadah by Gavriel Goldfeder", "og:description": "Our simple platform allows you to create a custom Passover Haggadah, with access to unique content contributed by our community. Find artwork, family", "og:image": "" } } }, { "clip": { "is_admin": 0, "is_owner": 0, "handle": "what-will-happen-when-yachatz-over", "title": "What will happen when yachatz is over?", "author": "Gavriel Goldfeder", "author_handle": "heyrabbi", "author_initials": "GG", "covertext": "And what will it look like when we are re-unified? What will become of us when our parts come together? An overflowing,...", "user_image": "", "user_image_original": "", "body": "And what will it look like when we are re-unified? What will become of us when our parts come together? An overflowing, penetrating generosity. For this is who we are, at the core. This is why, says R’ Kook, the first thing we say when we unfold our freedom on this night is 'Let all who are hungry come and eat; let all who need come and have Pesach.' When the barriers within us are removed, we want to give, to share what we have.The pressure that has been keeping us from exploding with truth and integrity is ultimately keeping us selfish. It keeps us wrapped up in our own lives, too concerned with our own fractured state to be truly in relationship. When the spring is released, we will express our true nature─generous, concerned, thoughtful.The goodness you have within you is not for your own good, though you may certainly enjoy it. It is for all of us. It does not belong to you, but it is in your stewardship. Think about times in your life when it was easy to give, and times when it was not so easy. Remember that giving is not all or nothing. Is there something you want to give? Tell the person next to you that you are ready to give. Find out what he or she needs. Five minutes of listening? Help with shopping? A friend to check up on him or her? A massage? A compliment? Tell him or her what you can offer. ", "cliptype": "text", "clipsource": "original", "featured": 0, "featuredIn": null, "is_public": 1, "is_published": 1, "media": { "image": null, "audio": null, "video": null }, "thumbnail": null, "clip_section": [ { "haggadah_section": "Yachatz", "slug": "yachatz" } ], "likes": 0, "downloads": 181, "tags": [], "themes": [], "language": "0", "is_bookmarked": "0", "is_liked": 0, "meta_tags": { "title": "What will happen when yachatz is over? | Passover haggadah by Gavriel Goldfeder", "description": "Our simple platform allows you to create a custom Passover Haggadah, with access to unique content contributed by our community. Find artwork, family", "keywords": "", "og:type": "article", "og:url": "https://www.haggadot.com/clip/what-will-happen-when-yachatz-over", "og:title": "What will happen when yachatz is over? | Passover haggadah by Gavriel Goldfeder", "og:description": "Our simple platform allows you to create a custom Passover Haggadah, with access to unique content contributed by our community. Find artwork, family", "og:image": "" } } }, { "clip": { "is_admin": 0, "is_owner": 0, "handle": "400-questions", "title": "The 400 Questions", "author": "Gavriel Goldfeder", "author_handle": "heyrabbi", "author_initials": "GG", "covertext": "Each of the four questions refers to an essential component of the Pesach Seder. But actually, as the Talmud presents i...", "user_image": "", "user_image_original": "", "body": "Each of the four questions refers to an essential component of the Pesach Seder. But actually, as the Talmud presents it, much of what is different tonight is for the sake of being different. Each of the bizarre movements that we make─covering the matzah and then uncovering it, two kiddushes, two washings, all this talk, leaning, removing the Seder plate, etc.─ is meant to catch our attention: Hey! Something is happening tonight! Something is different!And for good reason: tonight offers a special opportunity to grow dynamically, to take a giant leap toward bringing our disparate selves together and our destiny to fruition. If our curiosity is piqued, we will be more attentive to those opportunities. The Seder is trying to get our attention to let us know that tonight is different. Tonight, so much is possible.Take a moment to consider what would happen if the normal rules did not apply. Visualize the new reality, and speak it out if you like. Consider asking G-d to help you shift on the points where you are stuck. ", "cliptype": "text", "clipsource": "original", "featured": 0, "featuredIn": null, "is_public": 1, "is_published": 1, "media": { "image": null, "audio": null, "video": null }, "thumbnail": null, "clip_section": [ { "haggadah_section": "-- Four Questions", "slug": "four-questions" } ], "likes": 0, "downloads": 238, "tags": [], "themes": [], "language": "0", "is_bookmarked": "0", "is_liked": 0, "meta_tags": { "title": "The 400 Questions | Passover haggadah by Gavriel Goldfeder", "description": "Our simple platform allows you to create a custom Passover Haggadah, with access to unique content contributed by our community. Find artwork, family", "keywords": "", "og:type": "article", "og:url": "https://www.haggadot.com/clip/400-questions", "og:title": "The 400 Questions | Passover haggadah by Gavriel Goldfeder", "og:description": "Our simple platform allows you to create a custom Passover Haggadah, with access to unique content contributed by our community. Find artwork, family", "og:image": "" } } }, { "clip": { "is_admin": 0, "is_owner": 0, "handle": "whichever-son-you-are-torah-out-get-you", "title": "Whichever son you are, the Torah is out to get you", "author": "Gavriel Goldfeder", "author_handle": "heyrabbi", "author_initials": "GG", "covertext": "This is the first time the Torah is mentioned in the Hagaddah. What role does the Torah play in moving us forward? The...", "user_image": "", "user_image_original": "", "body": "This is the first time the Torah is mentioned in the Hagaddah. What role does the Torah play in moving us forward? The word used here, k'neged, really means something like 'against'. It contains echoes of Eve's relationship to Adam: ezer k'negdo, a helper 'against' him. The Hebrew then translates literally as 'The Torah speaks against four sons.' Our relationship to Torah is complex, with many facets. One essential and often overlooked component is how the Torah is meant to agitate us. Wherever we are holding─wise or wicked, simple or silent─the Torah nudges us forward. And our capacity to hear this overtone of the Torah corresponds directly to our willingness to grow. Do we wish to be confirmed in what we already are/do/think, or are we hoping to be pushed toward maximizing our experience of, and impact on, this fleeting world? This is a good moment to notice our initial reaction to the following statement: The Torah can be a positive force in moving my life toward ultimate freedom. And it might not always feel good. The Hagaddah helps us figure out how our particular personalities might need to clash with Torah. So, which child are you?Are you, perhaps, the wise child, well-versed in the intricate laws of Pesach? Perhaps you could benefit, then, from knowing that we may not eat anything after the afikoman so that its flavor will stay with us─that, in the end, it is the flavor of the afikoman , and not the laws, that stays with us. This may deepen your sense of where understanding ends and experience begins.Are you the wicked child, insisting that this is meaningless, removing yourself from the collective 'we'? Then you are a dynamic and complex bearer of important questions coupled with a bad attitude, and you will have to see what you are missing. We will have to show─not just tell─ you what it is like to be truly free, so that you can see your own accusations of hypocrisy as ill-founded. Our response to you is not wagging a finger. It is showing you what you are missing (with a hidden back-door invitation to rejoin us). The simple child asks, simply, 'What is this?' She might benefit from knowing that life is complex, and that these rituals we use are bottomless in depth. 'With a strong hand Hashem took us out of Egypt'─the Chatam Sofer writes that the strong hand was needed to counteract our resistance to leaving. Why wouldn't we want to leave? Perhaps the simple child will benefit from a touch of deepening. And the one who doesn't know how to ask─we will not leave you in silence. We will draw you into conversation, by whatever means necessary. We will entertain you, prod you, and shock you until you do ask. We want you to be a part of our special night.We want everyone to be a part of the conversation, to contribute what they can in a constructive way. If you are wise with experience, we want to access your knowledge, but not your arrogance. If you are skeptical, we need your questions and insights, but constructively. If you are simple, we value your simplicity, but we wish to add depth and nuance to that simplicity. And if you do not know how to ask, we want to teach you how to ask so that your particular contribution can emerge.So, which one are you this year? Same one as last year? Are you ready to be challenged? How does the Torah challenge you most? How do you react to the challenge?", "cliptype": "text", "clipsource": "original", "featured": 0, "featuredIn": null, "is_public": 1, "is_published": 1, "media": { "image": null, "audio": null, "video": null }, "thumbnail": null, "clip_section": [ { "haggadah_section": "-- Four Children", "slug": "four-children" } ], "likes": 0, "downloads": 208, "tags": [], "themes": [], "language": "0", "is_bookmarked": "0", "is_liked": 0, "meta_tags": { "title": "Whichever son you are, the Torah is out to get you | Passover haggadah by Gavriel Goldfeder", "description": "Our simple platform allows you to create a custom Passover Haggadah, with access to unique content contributed by our community. Find artwork, family", "keywords": "", "og:type": "article", "og:url": "https://www.haggadot.com/clip/whichever-son-you-are-torah-out-get-you", "og:title": "Whichever son you are, the Torah is out to get you | Passover haggadah by Gavriel Goldfeder", "og:description": "Our simple platform allows you to create a custom Passover Haggadah, with access to unique content contributed by our community. Find artwork, family", "og:image": "" } } }, { "clip": { "is_admin": 0, "is_owner": 0, "handle": "heart-hagaddah", "title": "The Heart of the Hagaddah", "author": "Gavriel Goldfeder", "author_handle": "heyrabbi", "author_initials": "GG", "covertext": "This is not your normal dinner-time conversation, either in terms of subject matter or expectations. But this is a con...", "user_image": "", "user_image_original": "", "body": "This is not your normal dinner-time conversation, either in terms of subject matter or expectations. But this is a conversation we must have, at least once in a while. That being said, we should choose the right circumstance in which to have it. And in the car on the way to soccer practice is not the right time or place.But with matzah and maror in front of us, everyone is in the mood. We have to grab this opportunity to speak deeply about our goals and limitations, our anxieties and talents and expectations. Tonight is a great chance to move forward, stimulated visually by matzah and maror and in so many other ways, and there is simply no limit to what we can accomplish and in what realm we may work. Let us be sure we are using this precious time, with matzah and maror before us, to take substantial steps on our journey.Particularly matzah and maror . This is not a night of illusions, of reckless fantasy. No, we have both in front of us. The matzah , bread of dreams and faith, proof of Hashem's love of us and willingness to express that love, and the maror , testament to the difficulty and bitterness involved in bringing our dreams to fruition. Tonight we have no illusions. We acknowledge how hard it will be. And with that in mind, we dig deeper into our conversation.Before you read the next paragraph, look around again. Look at the matzah and maror . Open up your sense of smell. Listen to the sound of people reading, pages turning, children playing. Breathe in the feeling of Seder night. יָכוֹל מֵרֹאשׁ חֹדֶשׁ, תַּלְמוּד לוֹמַר בַּיּוֹם הַהוּא. אִי בַּיּוֹם הַהוּא יָכוֹל מִבְּעוֹד יוֹם, תַּלְמוּד לוֹמַר בַּעֲבוּר זֶה. בַּעֲבוּר זֶה לֹא אָמַרְתִּי אֶלָּא בְּשָׁעָה שֶׁיֵשׁ מַצָּה וּמָרוֹר מֻנָּחִים לְפָנֶיךָ:: One might think that [the discussion of the exodus] must be from the first of the month. The Torah therefore says, `On that day.' `On that day,' however, could mean while it is yet daytime; the Torah therefore says, `It is because of this.' The expression `because of this' can only be said when matzah and maror are placed before you.From shame to pride Be encouraged! From wherever you are now you can reach your loftiest goals. After all, the Pesach story begins with shame: 'Our ancestors were idol worshipers.' Before Avraham, we cannot say that our lineage was anything special per se. But in a short period of time they became prime candidates for manifesting the Divine in the world.Don't be afraid to admit where you are holding stuck right now. It is a necessary first step on the long journey to freedom. מִתְּחִלָּה עוֹבְדֵי עֲבוֹדָה זָרָה הָיוּ אֲבוֹתֵינוּ, וְעַכְשָׁיו קֵרְבָנוּ הַמָּקוֹם לַעֲבוֹדָתוֹ. שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר, וַיֹּאמֶר יְהוֹשֻׁעַ אֶל כָּל הָעָם כֹּה אָמַר יְהֹוָה אֱלֹהֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל, בְּעֵבֶר הַנָּהָר יָשְׁבוּ אֲבוֹתֵיכֶם מֵעוֹלָם תֶּרַח אֲבִי אַבְרָהָם וַאֲבִי נָחוֹר וַיַּעַבְדוּ אֱלֹהִים אֲחֵרִים: In the beginning our fathers served idols; but now the Omnipresent One has brought us close to His service, as it is said: \"Joshua said to all the people: Thus said Hashem, the G-d of Israel, `Your fathers used to live on the other side of the river - Terach, the father of Abraham and the father of Nachor, and they served other gods. ***Raw deal, huh? Eisav gets a nice piece of land, and we get to go down to Egypt! It would have been nice, in some way, to get the white picket fence and the station wagon, but Hashem was giving us an opportunity to deepen. The journey to Egypt proved to be absolutely essential in the process of reaching real freedom. And the key ingredient of our sojourn in Egypt was the invitation to develop emunah. Emunah would ultimately serve to help us navigate the most difficult periods in our individual and collective lives, and it is a skill we learned in Egypt. It kept us alive and real when the overwhelming gravity was toward despair. So our time to Egypt would ultimately serve us more than a picket fence. It would prepare us for the eventuality of our picket fence being picked up by a tornado and carried far away, allowing us to keep a smile on our face as we go to the lumber yard to get some more wood to rebuild. Are you jealous of someone else's life? Jealousy is an oppressive slavery. How can you shift perspective? וָאֶקַּח אֶת אֲבִיכֶם אֶת אַבְרָהָם מֵעֵבֶר הַנָּהָר וָאוֹלֵךְ אוֹתוֹ בְּכָל אֶרֶץ כְּנָעַן וָאַרְבֶּה אֶת זַרְעוֹ וָאֶתֵּן לוֹ אֶת יִצְחָק, וָאֶתֵּן לְיִצְחָק אֶת יַעֲקֹב וְאֶת עֵשָׂו, וָאֶתֵּן לְעֵשָׂו אֶת הַר שֵׂעִיר לָרֶשֶׁת אוֹתוֹ, וְיַעֲקֹב וּבָנָיו יָרְדוּ מִצְרָיִם: \"And I took your father Abraham from beyond the river, and I led him throughout the whole land of Canaan. I increased his seed and gave him Isaac, and to Isaac I gave Jacob and Esau. To Esau I gave Mount Seir to possess it, and Jacob and his sons went down to Egypt.\"*** בָּרוּךְ שׁוֹמֵר הַבְטָחָתוֹ לְיִשְׂרָאֵל, בָּרוּךְ הוּא, שֶׁהַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא חִשַּׁב אֶת הַקֵּץ לַעֲשֹוֹת. כְּמָה שֶׁאָמַר לְאַבְרָהָם אָבִינוּ בִּבְרִית בֵּין הַבְּתָרִים. שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר, וַיֹּאמֶר לְאַבְרָם יָדֹעַ תֵּדַע כִּי גֵר יִהְיֶה זַרְעֲךָ בְּאֶרֶץ לֹא לָהֶם וַעֲבָדוּם וְעִנּוּ אֹתָם אַרְבַּע מֵאוֹת שָׁנָה. וְגַם אֶת הַגּוֹי אֲשֶׁר יַעֲבֹדוּ דָּן אָנֹכִי וְאַחֲרֵי כֵן יֵצְאוּ בִּרְכוּשׁ גָּדוֹל: ( the wine cup is now raised and the Matzot are covered) וְהִיא שֶׁעָמְדָה לַאֲבוֹתֵינוּ וְלָנוּ. שֶׁלֹּא אֶחָד בִּלְבָד עָמַד עָלֵינוּ לְכַלּוֹתֵנוּ אֶלָּא שֶׁבְּכָל דּוֹר וָדוֹר עוֹמְדִים עָלֵינוּ לְכַלּוֹתֵנוּ, וְהַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא מַצִּילֵנוּ מִיָּדָם: Blessed is He who keeps His promise to Israel, blessed be He! For the Holy One, blessed be He, calculated the end [of the bondage], in order to do as He had said to our father Abraham at the \"Covenant between the Portions,\" as it is said: \"And He said to Abraham, `You shall know that your seed will be strangers in a land that is not theirs, and they will enslave them and make them suffer, for four hundred years. But I shall also judge the nation whom they shall serve, and after that they will come out with great wealth.'\" ( the wine cup is now raised and the Matzot are covered) This is what has stood by our fathers and us! For not just one alone has risen against us to destroy us, but in every generation they rise against us to destroy us; and the Holy One, blessed be He, saves us from their hand! Put down the wine cup and uncover the matzah . This next section is a stream of images from the Exodus text with some insights from our sages. Each one of them offers an opportunity to contemplate, to share, and to pray. There are no rules for how this section is supposed to look, so be creative! Death of the spirit Pharaoh tried to kill the male children, but Ya'akov's uncle Lavan tried to kill all of us, as it says 'An Aramean tried to do away with my forefather (Ya'akov).' And yet we find no record that Lavan tried to kill Ya'akov. What's the story?Lavan never tried to harm Ya'akov's body─but he did try to kill his spirit. We are told that Lavan tricked Ya'akov 100 times. We also see plainly that Lavan's attacks on Ya'akov's morale and confidence were severe. He worked tirelessly to make Ya'akov doubt himself and his self-worth.Had he succeeded, Ya'akov might have given up. He might have just bought a house in the 'burbs. Praise to G-d that Ya'akov's spirit was stronger than Lavan's assault. In parallel to our own descent into Egypt, Ya'akov turned Lavan's attacks into a source of strength, finding spirit and identity in the midst of the battle. And in so doing, Ya'akov guaranteed that we, his great-great-grandchildren, would be able to find and take care of ourselves amidst the noise and confusion of life in the 21st century melting pot. צֵא וּלְמַד מַה בִּקֵּשׁ לָבָן הָאֲרַמִּי לַעֲשֹוֹת לְיַעֲקֹב אָבִינוּ. שֶׁפַּרְעֹה לֹא גָזַר אֶלָּא עַל הַזְּכָרִים וְלָבָן בִּקֵּשׁ לַעֲקוֹר אֶת הַכֹּל. שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר:אֲרַמִּי אֹבֵד אָבִי וַיֵּרֶד מִצְרַיְמָה וַיָּגָר שָׁם בִּמְתֵי מְעָט, וַיְהִי שָׁם לְגוֹי גָּדוֹל עָצוּם וָרָב: Go and learn what Lavan the Aramean wanted to do to our father Ya'akov. Pharaoh had issued a decree against the male children only, but Lavan wanted to uproot everyone - as it is said: \"The Aramean wished to destroy my father; and he went down to Egypt and sojourned there, few in number; and he became there a nation - great and mighty and numerous.\" Will and won't It is hard to say that Hashem 'wants' us to go through the pain of personal exile, but we can certainly say it usually happens because it must, by force of our personalities. For example, the rabbis trace the Egyptian exile to Avraham questioning Hashem's promise of the land of Israel: 'How shall I know that I will really inherit it?' Hashem responds, 'You shall surely know, for your children will be slaves in a land that is not theirs.' Avraham in a sense 'caused' the exile through his apparently legitimate question.Should Avraham not have said that? Should he have restrained himself? Impossible. That comment was a perfect reflection of who Avraham was at that time. He had no choice but to say it. And Hashem had no choice (so to speak) but to provide the Egyptian exile as a way to work through that flaw─that lack of complete faith─in the character of Avraham and his descendants.Our falls are a direct result of our flaws. But they are also a gift─a way to work through the results of our flaws in a direct and lasting way. Our falls are moments when the results of our flaws are merely drawn out. But they are already there. The Egyptian exile was already there in Avraham, just by dint of his lack of total faith. His lack of faith was already an exile. And Hashem gave him the gift of seeing it, feeling it and experiencing it in such a real way that he was compelled─through his descendants─to work through it until it was completely gone. Can you connect the hardships in your life to your flaws? Can you see them as an opportunity to work through those flaws? וַיֵּרֶד מִצְרַיְמָה אָנוּס עַל פִּי הַדִּבּוּר: \"And he went down to Egypt\" forced by Divine decree. Temporary insanity Just as it is impossible for the soul to be permanently mired in Egypt, our journeys away from authenticity and maximization of potential are only temporary. Though we may feel lost, out of touch, and too far gone─and we may look at others as being equally unredeemable, there is simply no such category. The Jewish soul cannot be extinguished. So understand that it does not matter where you have fallen to. Regardless of how estranged you may feel from Hashem or Torah or soul or identity, there is always a way back, because the connection to the Source is a part of the very fabric of your existence.Tonight is the best night to get back on track because tonight is Pesach──'skipping'. It is written that on Pesach we can 'skip' right back into the groove, easily overcoming intellectual, emotional and spiritual obstacles that would ordinarily stop the process before it began. Tonight we are free of the constraints of cause and effect and sequence. Tonight we are free to choose where and what and how we want to be, and to start being it. וַיָגָר שָׁם, מְלַמֵּד שֶׁלֹּא יָרַד יַעֲקֹב אָבִינוּ לְהִשְׁתַּקֵּעַ בְּמִצְרַיִם אֶלָּא לָגוּר שָׁם. שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר, וַיֹּאמְרוּ אֶל פַּרְעֹה לָגוּר בָּאָרֶץ בָּאנוּ כִּי אֵין מִרְעֶה לַצֹּאן אֲשֶׁר לַעֲבָדֶיךָ כִּי כָבֵד הָרָעָב בְּאֶרֶץ כְּנָעַן, וְעַתָּה יֵשְׁבוּ נָא עֲבָדֶיךָ בְּאֶרֶץ גֹּשֶׁן: \"And he sojourned there\" - this teaches that our father Jacob did not go down to Egypt to settle, but only to live there temporarily. Thus it is said, \"They said to Pharaoh, We have come to sojourn in the land, for there is no pasture for your servants' flocks because the hunger is severe in the land of Canaan; and now, please, let your servants dwell in the land of Goshen.\" A small seed and a big tree We went to Egypt as 70 souls, and left numbering 600,000 men between 20 and 60, not to mention women and children. And these are only the one out of five Israelites that left. And that is a generous opinion – some say only one out of 500 left. Those 70 souls were a seed, containing the precise spiritual-genetic information of what would become the Jewish people.And we each have a seed of those 70 inside of us, as Rebbe Nachman writes. That seed cannot be broken, but it must be watered in order to grow to its full strength. Let us not ever doubt that such a seed lies within us. As R' Shlomo of Radomsk writes, a seed properly planted and maintained will grow. Inevitably.The soul in us – a manifestation of the 70 - may be small in power compared to the other powers and voices that crowd our minds and hearts. When the courtroom of decision is in session, the soul's voice is quiet and easily ignored. But the small seed of Israel planted in Egypt grew to be so vast that it burst open the womb that held it. So it is for us─one day, if we nourish this seed, it will grow to the point where it will take us over. בִּמְתֵי מְעָט, כְּמָה שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר, בְּשִׁבְעִים נֶפֶשׁ יָרְדוּ אֲבוֹתֶיךָ מִצְרָיְמָה וְעַתָּה שָׂמְךָ יְהֹוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ כְּכוֹכְבֵי הַשָּׁמַיִם לָרוֹב: \"Few in number\" as it is said: \"Your fathers went down to Egypt with seventy persons, and now, Hashem, your G-d, has made you as numerous as the stars of heaven.\" A diamond, unmistakably But that seed of soul, quiet as it is, is unmistakable in its power and worth. When this voice speaks in us it resonates with ageless wisdom, balance, and foresight. Its voice expresses who we are more accurately than any other within us. To find it is to find ourselves. וַיְהִי שָׁם לְגוֹי, מְלַמֵּד שֶׁהָיוּ יִשְׂרָאֵל מְצֻיָּנִים שָׁם \"And he became there a nation\" this teaches that Israel was distinctive there.The beanstalk See how your soul thrives with even a bit of attention! One session of arm curls or shoulder presses will not make you strong. But sit and learn Torah for half an hour and your soul will breathe deeply, shedding years of neglect in an instant. A person hears an inspirational class or has a deep conversation, and suddenly she wants to turn her whole life over. This beanstalk grows quickly, all the way up to heaven. גָּדוֹל עָצוּם, כְּמָה שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר, וּבְנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל פָּרוּ וַיִּשְׁרְצוּ וַיִּרְבּוּ וַיַּעַצְמוּ בִּמְאֹד מְאֹד וַתִּמָּלֵא הָאָרֶץ אֹתֵם \"Great, mighty,\" as it is said: \"And the children of Israel were fruitful and increased abundantly, and multiplied and became very, very mighty, and the land became filled with them.\" My, how you've grown! See how your soul wants to grow! See how it fights to reach the surface of your life, to take over your conscious faculties, your body and mind and heart. 'You shall live, in your blood!' Her efforts are not in vain. She will not be suppressed.R’ Kook writes of two ways to help something grow. One way is by making space so that it may grow. The other is by pushing back, giving strong resistance so that its strength will build, like a spring. Then, when the pressure is released (or broken) it will grow with unstoppable force.This next verse speaks of this unstoppable growth like grass of the field, growing, multiplying, and then reaching for the crown that is rightfully hers. R’ Kook describes 'the passion of this nation for its wondrous and powerful goal, with a holy fire that burns in the heart of every Jew, even when it does not know its nature and its particular character.' And even though she is naked, says R’ Kook, of actions that reflect this ultimate goal, still this is only an external lacking. The clothes she needs to reflect that inner beauty will be had soon enough. But know clearly that her yearning to grow, and the certainty that she will succeed, are undeniable.Can you feel that fire that Rav Kook is talking about? What would you have to do to cultivate it? וָרָב, כְּמָה שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר, רְבָבָה כְּצֶמַח הַשָּׂדֶה נְתַתִּיךְ וַתִּרְבִּי וַתִּגְדְּלִי וַתָּבֹאִי בַּעֲדִי עֲדָיִים שָׁדַיִם נָכֹנוּ וּשְׂעָרֵךְ צִמֵּחַ וְאַתְּ עֵרֹם וְעֶרְיָה:וָאֶעֱבוֹר עָלַיִךְ וָאֶרְאֵךְ מִתְבּוֹסֶסֶת בְּדָמָיִךְ וָאֹמַר לָךְ בְּדָמַיִךְ חֲיִי וָאֹמַר לָךְ בְּדָמַיִךְ חֲיִי \"And numerous,\" as it is said: \"I caused you to thrive like the plants of the field, and you increased and grew and became very beautiful, your bosom fashioned and your hair grown long, but you were naked and bare. I passed over you and saw you wallowing in your bloods, and I said to you `By your blood you shall live,' and I said to you `By your blood you shall live!' Unfair judgment How did the Egyptians deal with us in an 'evil way', as the Torah says? By assuming they knew what we would do: 'If there should be a war, they will join our enemies.' As R’ Kook said, 'They considered us to be bad people.' It is ironic, considering how we are commanded throughout the Torah to be kind to the Egyptians because they 'hosted us' for so long.The greatest violence we can do to our soul is to 'consider ourselves bad.' This is also the greatest violence we can do to each other─to somehow assume that another person is 'rotten to the core'. Impossible! That person's soul is perfectly good and yearning to be free just like mine is.וַיָּרֵעוּ אֹתָנוּ הַמִּצְרִים, כְּמָה שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר, הָבָה נִתְחַכְּמָה לוֹ פֶּן יִרְבֶּה וְהָיָה כִּי תִקְרֶאנָה מִלְחָמָה וְנוֹסַף גַּם הוּא עַל שֹוֹנְאֵינוּ וְנִלְחַם בָּנוּ וְעָלָה מִן הָאָרֶץ: \"The Egyptians treated us badly,\" as it is said: Come, let us act cunningly with [the people] lest they multiply and, if there should be a war against us, they will join our enemies, fight against us and leave the land.\" Affliction by distraction The soul wants to do its work. It wants opportunities to connect─through mitzvah and Torah, and also through music and love and relationship. It wants opportunities to express its uniqueness and power. It is a horrible affliction, then, to make the soul use its power for vain projects like building the cities of Pitom and Raamses. How much time do you spend on the projects and pursuits that mean the most to you? What prevents you from allocating time according to your real priorities?וַיְעַנּוּנוּ כְּמָה שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר וַיָּשִׂימוּ עָלָיו שָׂרֵי מִסִּים לְמַעַן עַנּוֹתוֹ בְּסִבְלוֹתָם וַיִּבֶן עָרֵי מִסְכְּנוֹת לְפַרְעֹה אֶת פִּתֹם וְאֶת רַעַמְסֵס \"And they made us suffer,\" as it is said: \"They set taskmasters over [the people of Israel] to make them suffer with their burdens, and they built storage cities for Pharaoh, Pitom and Ramses.\" Hard work - inner clarificaiton We are told that the Egyptians worked us ' be-fa'rech ' - interpreted by the rabbis as 'soft (rach) mouth (peh)'. In short, we were seduced into working, slowly and deliberately. At first, the Egyptians were kind, offering us an opportunity to make some extra cash. Eventually, we were completely enslaved. How difficult it is to navigate sweet words with a bitter core! It is far easier when the enemy is clear. But when we have to decide, to choose between our urge to offer a hand and our need to protect ourselves, we often do not know how to respond.Ambiguity tests us to the core. We are told that the yetzer harah (our bad inclination) works in the same way: it seduces us with something appealing, only slightly off track from where we thought we should be, and lays breadcrumbs down a path from which it is difficult to return. But it is hard to make decisions in ambiguous situations, particularly if you are trusting and naive. If, for example, you are someone who keeps Shabbat according to halacha, and you are presented with a family celebration that is on Shabbat but too far to walk, it is a very difficult decision to make. After all, it is family, and Cousin Joey's Bar Mitzvah only happens once, and it is just this one time, and what will the family say, etc.Too hard to figure out. This is peh rach, the soft mouth, seducing us away from our clear purpose until we are suddenly miles away. וַיִּתְּנוּ עָלֵינוּ עֲבוֹדָה קָשָׁה, כְּמָה שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר, וַיַּעֲבִדוּ מִצְרַיִם אֶת בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל בְּפָרֶךְ \"And they put hard work upon us,\" as it is said: \"The Egyptians made the children of Israel work with rigor. The only way out There is only one way out of such situations─to cry out to the Creator with all your might! When you are confused, do not assume that you should be able to figure it out yourself. Some questions are simply too difficult. Call out to the Maker! Say 'I am confused! I have no idea what to do! I do not even know who I am anymore!' This is the beginning of the connection that leads to redemption. Leader: Possible Discussion: Do we see prayer as playing a real role in moving forward? What is prayer? Is it mean to change our mind, or G-d's mind? How and how often do we pray? וַנִּצְעַק אֶל יְהֹוָה אֱלֹהֵי אֲבוֹתֵינוּ, כְּמָה שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר, וַיְהִי בַיָּמִים הָרַבִּים הָהֵם וַיָּמָת מֶלֶךְ מִצְרַיִם וַיֵאָנְחוּ בְנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל מִן הָעֲבֹדָה וַיִּזְעָקוּ, וַתַּעַל שַׁוְעָתָם אֶל הָאֱלֹהִים מִן הָעֲבֹדָה: \"And we cried out to Hashem, the G-d of our fathers,\" as it is said: \"During that long period, the king of Egypt died; and the children of Israel groaned because of the servitude, and they cried out. And their cry for help from their servitude rose up to G-d.\"An ancient practice When we pray, we tap into an ancient ancestral practice, one instituted by our ancestors ages ago. When we pray, then, Hashem hears not just our own prayers but the entire legacy of prayer. The merit of Avraham, Yitzhak and Ya'akov come to our aid.On this night, several thousand years ago, Ya'akov stood in a tent, wearing his brother's robes, with goat skin on his arms and neck, and he offered his father food to eat. Yitzhak his father was confused: 'The voice is the voice of Ya'akov, but the hands are the hands of Eisav.'The rabbis hear in this comment many levels of depth. At the center is the association of Ya'akov and his future children with voice. 'Ya'akov's is the voice'. That night─this night─we were given the mandate of prayer as sustenance. Or, as Rebbe Nachman reads the line from Psalm 42, 'Prayer to G-d is my life.'Call out, tonight, and let the merit of our ancestors all the way back to Avraham carry our prayer to the highest heights. Call out about your ambiguities, your lack of clarity. Can't do it? Then cry out about that. וַיִּשְׁמַע יְהֹוָה אֶת קֹלֵנוּ, כְּמָה שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר, וַיִּשְׁמַע אֱלֹהִים אֶת נַאֲקָתָם וַיִזְכֹּר אֱלֹהִים אֶת בְּרִיתוֹ אֶת אַבְרָהָם אֶת יִצְחָק וְאֶת יַעֲקֹב:: \"And Hashem heard our voice\" as it said: \"And G-d heard their groaning, and G-d remembered His covenant with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.\" Hashem's diagnosis As Hashem hears our faint prayers, He hears to the depths of our problems and struggles. He sees the core of what prevents us from manifesting our full power in the world. And at the center of our struggle is that many of us are alone. Even some of us who are married are alone.A partner gives us context, a sense of place. A partner helps turn our raw material into something useful and positive. A partner makes us feel the value of what we have to offer. A partner can serve as a midwife of sorts to help us be born again, and yet again, greater and greater. Hashem sees that we are alone, that we need support. This is something only Hashem can see clearly. It is something we might not even share with ourselves. Now is the time to pray for anyone you know who is still looking for his or her soul-mate -and also to pray for the husbands and wives who live in the same home but do not yet share a place in each other's hearts.Leader: Possible sensitive discussion topic, with the right crowd: Does your committed relationship make you feel more free? Has it redefined freedom for you? Why do some people end up feeling stuck in relationship? וַיַּרְא אֶת עָנְיֵנוּ, זוֹ פְּרִישׁוּת דֶּרֶךְ אֶרֶץ. כְּמָה שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר וַיַּרְא אֱלֹהִים אֶת בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל וַיֵּדַע אֱלֹהִים \"And he saw our suffering,\" this refers to the separation of husband and wife, as it is said: \"G-d saw the children of Israel and G-d took note.\"The children Hashem sees our struggles─not just how they affect us, but how they affect our children. Mitzrayim, the Hebrew name for Egypt, in its root means tzar, narrow or constricted. Unless something dramatic happens, we will most likely pass our unhealthy and unnecessary constrictions, our Mitzrayim, onto our children. For the sake of our children, Hashem, free us from our bondage. Free us so that our children can be free to unlock their own potentials without having to work through our blocks. This is the time to cry out about your children, about all the children you know, about the next generation, about Jewish education, about assimilation and intermarriage, about being good parents, about raising our kids to be mensches. And if you know someone who has not succeeded in having kids, or who is struggling to raise them, or whose children are sick G-d forbid, this is the time to pray for them.Leader: Discussion Topic: Are our children more free than we are? Is that freedom true freedom? Are we Pharaohs to our children? What would it mean to truly free our children? וְאֶת עֲמָלֵנוּ, אֵלּוּ הַבָּנִים. כְּמָה שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר כָּל הַבֵּן הַיִּלוֹד הַיְאֹרָה תַּשְׁלִיכוּהוּ וְכָל הַבַּת תְּחַיּוּן:\"Our labor,\" this refers to the \"children,\" as it is said: \"Every boy that is born, you shall throw into the river and every girl you shall keep alive.\"StressMany of us cannot achieve the equilibrium we need in order to make good decisions. We are constantly fighting against time, forced to work ourselves beyond our abilities, forced to take on tasks we cannot handle, and forced to maintain relationships without necessary resources. This is the time to cry out about the stresses of the world that prevent you from fully manifesting your potential. This is the time to cry out about the job that makes you feel like a slave, or the pressure that makes you act or speak before you are ready.וְאֶת לַחֲצֵנוּ, זוֹ הַדְּחַק. כְּמָה שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר, וְגַם רָאִיתִי אֶת הַלַּחַץ אֲשֶׁר מִצְרַיִם לוֹחֲצִים אוֹתָם\"And our oppression,\" this refers to the pressure, as it is said: \"I have seen the oppression with which the Egyptians oppress them.\"Soul SurgeryWe are all in need of soul-enhancement surgery. This is the most delicate surgery there is, and it requires the best doctor. For this reason, Hashem Himself, so to speak, has to do it. We need Hashem to take us out of the Egyptian labyrinth.Like any delicate surgery, the exact balance must be struck–removing what must be removed, leaving what must be left, re-routing what must be rerouted, with just the right amount of anesthesia. It is a delicate process to disarm our defenses in exactly the right way, to reconstruct our ego enough to bring change─but not so much that we lose our personality in the process. Only Hashem knows just how much inspiration, frustration, hope, realism, community, individuality, faith, doubt, joy, questions, answers, intellect, emotion, fatigue, and energy to give us in order to get us started on the process of redemption. וַיּוֹצִאֵנוּ יְהֹוָה מִמִּצְרַיִם בְּיָד חֲזָקָה וּבִזְרֹעַ נְטוּיָה וּבְמֹרָא גָּדוֹל וּבְאֹתוֹת וּבְמֹפְתִים:וַיּוֹצִאֵנוּ יְהֹוָה מִמִּצְרַיִם, לֹא עַל יְדֵי מַלְאָךְ וְלֹא עַל יְדֵי שָׂרָף וְלֹא עַל יְדֵי שָׁלִיחַ. אֶלָּא הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא בִּכְבוֹדוֹ וּבְעַצְמוֹ. שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר, וְעָבַרְתִּי בְאֶרֶץ מִצְרַיִם בַּלַּיְלָה הַזֶּה וְהִכֵּיתִי כָל בְּכוֹר בְּאֶרֶץ מִצְרַיִם מֵאָדָם וְעַד בְּהֵמָה וּבְכָל אֱלֹהֵי מִצְרַיִם אֶעֱשֶׂה שְׁפָטִים אֲנִי יְהֹוָה:וְעָבַרְתִּי בְאֶרֶץ מִצְרַיִם בַּלַּיְלָה הַזֶּה, אֲנִי וְלֹא מַלְאָךְ. וְהִכֵּיתִי כָל בְּכוֹר בְּאֶרֶץ מִצְרַיִם אֲנִי וְלֹא שָׂרָף. וּבְכָל אֱלֹהֵי מִצְרַיִם אֱעֶשֶׂה שְׁפָטִים אֲנִי וְלֹא הַשָּׁלִיחַ. אֲנִי יְהֹוָה, אֲנִי הוּא וְלֹא אַחֵר: בְּיָד חֲזָקָה, זוֹ הַדֶּבֶר. כְּמָה שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר, הִנֵּה יַד יְהֹוָה הוֹיָה בְּמִקְנְךָ אֲשֶׁר בַּשָּׂדֶה בַּסּוּסִים בַּחֲמוֹרִים בַּגְּמַלִּים בַּבָּקָר וּבַצֹּאן דֶּבֶר כָּבֵד מְאֹד:וּבִזְרֹעַ נְטוּיָה, זוֹ הַחֶרֶב. כְּמָה שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר, וְחַרְבּוֹ שְׁלוּפָה בְּיָדוֹ נְטוּיָה עַל יְרוּשָׁלָיִם: \"Hashem took as out of Egypt with a strong hand and an outstretched arm, and with a great manifestation, and with signs and wonders.\"\"Hashem took us out of Egypt,\" not through an angel, not through a seraph and not through a messenger. The Holy One, blessed be He, did it in His glory by Himself!Thus it is said: \"In that night I will pass through the land of Egypt, and I will smite every first-born in the land of Egypt, from man to beast, and I will carry out judgments against all the gods of Egypt, I Hashem.\" \"I will pass through the land of Egypt,\" I and not an angel; \"And I will smite every first-born in the land of Egypt,\" I and not a seraph;\"And I will carry out judgments against all the gods of Egypt,\" I and not a messenger;\"I- Hashem,\" it is I, and none other! \"With a strong hand,\" this refers to the dever (pestilence) as it is said: \"Behold, the hand of Hashem will be upon your livestock in the field, upon the horses, the donkeys, the camels, the herds and the flocks, a very severe pestilence.\"\"And with an outstretched arm,\" this refers to the sword, as it is said: \"His sword was drawn, in his hand, stretched out over Jerusalem.\"Two ways to bring changeThe Malbim writes that the plague of the first born happened through the Divine Presence revealing itself in its glory. The light was so intense that those who could not absorb it were shattered by it. The same is true in trying to move our lives forward -sometimes this happens through analysis, hard work, breaking open, and criticism. And another way is through a revelation of light, joy, love, connection, hope, possibility, and future. We are hoping that, tonight, Hashem will show us just who we are and what we are capable of, and that that revelation will break through our walls─with love. וּבְמוֹרָא גָּדוֹל, זוֹ גִּלּוּי שְׁכִינָה. כְּמָה שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר, אוֹ הֲנִסָּה אֱלֹהִים לָבֹא לָקַחַת לוֹ גּוֹי מִקֶּרֶב גּוֹי בְּמַסּוֹת בְּאֹתֹת וּבְמוֹפְתִים וּבְמִלְחָמָה וּבְיָד חֲזָקָה וּבִזְרוֹעַ נְטוּיָה וּבְמוֹרָאִים גְּדוֹלִים כְּכֹל אֲשֶׁר עָשָׂה לָכֶם יְהֹוָה אֱלֹהֵיכֶם בְּמִצְרַיִם לְעֵינֶיךָ:וּבְאֹתוֹת, זֶה הַמַּטֶּה. כְּמָה שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר, וְאֶת הַמַּטֶּה הַזֶּה תִּקַּח בְּיָדֶךָ אֲשֶׁר תַּעֲשֶׂה בּוֹ אֶת הָאֹתֹת: וּבְמוֹפְתִים זֶה הַדָּם. כְּמָה שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר. וְנָתַתִּי מוֹפְתִים בַּשָּׁמַיִם וּבָאָרֶץ: \"And with a great manifestation,\" this refers to the revelation of the Shechinah (Divine Presence), as it is said: \"Has any G-d ever tried to take for himself a nation from the midst of another nation, with trials, signs and wonders, with war and with a strong hand and an outstretched arm, and with great manifestations, like all that Hashem your G-d, did for you in Egypt before your eyes!\"\"And with signs,\" this refers to the staff, as it is said: \"Take into your hand this staff with which you shall perform the signs.\"\"And wonders,\" this refers to the blood, as it is said: \"And I shall show wonders in heaven and on earth.", "cliptype": "text", "clipsource": "original", "featured": 0, "featuredIn": null, "is_public": 1, "is_published": 1, "media": { "image": null, "audio": null, "video": null }, "thumbnail": null, "clip_section": [ { "haggadah_section": "-- Exodus Story", "slug": "exodus-story" } ], "likes": 0, "downloads": 251, "tags": [], "themes": [], "language": "0", "is_bookmarked": "0", "is_liked": 0, "meta_tags": { "title": "The Heart of the Hagaddah | Passover haggadah by Gavriel Goldfeder", "description": "Our simple platform allows you to create a custom Passover Haggadah, with access to unique content contributed by our community. Find artwork, family", "keywords": "", "og:type": "article", "og:url": "https://www.haggadot.com/clip/heart-hagaddah", "og:title": "The Heart of the Hagaddah | Passover haggadah by Gavriel Goldfeder", "og:description": "Our simple platform allows you to create a custom Passover Haggadah, with access to unique content contributed by our community. Find artwork, family", "og:image": "" } } }, { "clip": { "is_admin": 0, "is_owner": 0, "handle": "10-dynamic-plagues", "title": "10 Dynamic Plagues", "author": "Gavriel Goldfeder", "author_handle": "heyrabbi", "author_initials": "GG", "covertext": "By Rabbi Gavriel Goldfeder alternadox.netRabbi Yossi Hagalili, Rabbi Eliezer and Rebbe Akiva now engage in a seemingl...", "user_image": "", "user_image_original": "", "body": "By Rabbi Gavriel Goldfeder alternadox.netRabbi Yossi Hagalili, Rabbi Eliezer and Rebbe Akiva now engage in a seemingly superfluous argument over just how many plagues happened to the Egyptians, either in Egypt or by the Sea. This is the most skipped-over section of the entire Hagaddah.But it is not at all superfluous. They are actually discussing the subtleties of experience. Each rabbi shows a more refined sensitivity that the last to the different layers of suffering within each plague. Rebbe Akiva was able to tune into the deepest layer of pain inflicted by the plagues, with each plague having five facets.So what? Each plague was simultaneously a blow against the Egyptians and a healing for Israel. Therefore, each layer of devastation for the Egyptians was another layer of illumination for the Jews. And sensitivity to the layers of devastation is directly related to sensitivity to layers of illumination. The more aware we are of the subtleties of that pain, the more we can be aware of redemptive joy when we experience it. This is Rav Kook's understanding of the benefit of having been slaves in Egypt. We learned so much─about feeling, about building, about serving. And when those capacities are plugged in to proper, healthy goals, they are redemptive and satisfying. So, too, sensitivity is sensitivity regardless of what is applied to, and it is a skill that we need to refine. Can you feel different aspects of freedom tonight? Can you name them? ", "cliptype": "text", "clipsource": "original", "featured": 0, "featuredIn": null, "is_public": 1, "is_published": 1, "media": { "image": null, "audio": null, "video": null }, "thumbnail": null, "clip_section": [ { "haggadah_section": "-- Ten Plagues", "slug": "ten-plagues" } ], "likes": 0, "downloads": 241, "tags": [], "themes": [], "language": "0", "is_bookmarked": "0", "is_liked": 0, "meta_tags": { "title": "10 Dynamic Plagues | Passover haggadah by Gavriel Goldfeder", "description": "Our simple platform allows you to create a custom Passover Haggadah, with access to unique content contributed by our community. Find artwork, family", "keywords": "", "og:type": "article", "og:url": "https://www.haggadot.com/clip/10-dynamic-plagues", "og:title": "10 Dynamic Plagues | Passover haggadah by Gavriel Goldfeder", "og:description": "Our simple platform allows you to create a custom Passover Haggadah, with access to unique content contributed by our community. Find artwork, family", "og:image": "" } } }, { "clip": { "is_admin": 0, "is_owner": 0, "handle": "sensitivity-gratitude-dayenu", "title": "Sensitivity to Gratitude - Dayenu", "author": "Gavriel Goldfeder", "author_handle": "heyrabbi", "author_initials": "GG", "covertext": "We also hope to bring Rabbi Akiva's sensitivity to bear on our sense of gratitude. Let us find and express gratitude for...", "user_image": "", "user_image_original": "", "body": "We also hope to bring Rabbi Akiva's sensitivity to bear on our sense of gratitude. Let us find and express gratitude for the many gifts, obvious and subtle, that we have been given.We may well have lost touch with how amazing our lives are. Putting aside for a moment the details of our personal lives, let us fully appreciate the gifts we have been given as a people. We were slaves in Egypt, and Hashem took us out. Hashem! Himself! Hashem took us out─a miracle! And not only that, Hashem made it crystal clear to us just how He is the real, true G-d. That is an amazing thing! We actually know the Name of the One Power that is the highest Will in the universe! And He is invested in our success and well-being!Not only that, Hashem showed His willingness to subvert the laws of nature on our behalf, showing us permanently that, since He controls nature and He likes us, He is willing to go beyond nature for us when He wishes.And not only that, Hashem revealed to us the greatest secret in the world: Shabbat! Hashem taught us how to align with His time, and taught us how to access holy rest, the key to working in the world while maintaining proper perspective.And Hashem brought us to Har Sinai and taught us how to be one people with one heart, and showed us how to be genuinely concerned for each other's spiritual and physical well-being. Hashem planted this secret of the unity of the Jewish people deep within our hearts so that we will always carry around with us a sense of family.And Hashem gave us THE BOOK, the blueprint of reality, that contains ALL THE KEYS to accessing the goodness of every situation, from getting dressed to eating to praying. This Book helps us to know ourselves and know Hashem, keeps us young and forward-looking.And then Hashem took us to the greatest place in the world, the Land of Israel. The place where even the air makes one wise, where one can feel the eyes of Hashem always, where the fruits can give one prophecy.And then Hashem gave us the gift of the Temple, a place where we could always find and access Him. And even though we don't have the Temple today, it is in our memory as a possibility and as a goal. This is great!Even the average Jew starts life with these gifts: freedom, guidance, access, love, goals. That is quite a birthright!Spend time feeling gratitude for these precious gifts, even and especially in places where they challenge you. Find gratitude for the subtleties of these gifts - a particular aspect of Shabbat that you like, a particular place in Israel that you connect to. Which are you feeling this year more than the others?", "cliptype": "text", "clipsource": "Original", "featured": 0, "featuredIn": null, "is_public": 1, "is_published": 1, "media": { "image": null, "audio": null, "video": null }, "thumbnail": null, "clip_section": [ { "haggadah_section": "-- Cup #2 & Dayenu", "slug": "cup-2-amp-dayenu" } ], "likes": 0, "downloads": 174, "tags": [], "themes": [], "language": "0", "is_bookmarked": "0", "is_liked": 0, "meta_tags": { "title": "Sensitivity to Gratitude - Dayenu | Passover haggadah by Gavriel Goldfeder", "description": "Our simple platform allows you to create a custom Passover Haggadah, with access to unique content contributed by our community. Find artwork, family", "keywords": "", "og:type": "article", "og:url": "https://www.haggadot.com/clip/sensitivity-gratitude-dayenu", "og:title": "Sensitivity to Gratitude - Dayenu | Passover haggadah by Gavriel Goldfeder", "og:description": "Our simple platform allows you to create a custom Passover Haggadah, with access to unique content contributed by our community. Find artwork, family", "og:image": "" } } }, { "clip": { "is_admin": 0, "is_owner": 0, "handle": "pesach-matzah-maror", "title": "Pesach Matzah Maror", "author": "Gavriel Goldfeder", "author_handle": "heyrabbi", "author_initials": "GG", "covertext": "Rabban Gamliel insists that we must say these three things in order to fulfill our obligation on Pesach: Pesach, Matz...", "user_image": "", "user_image_original": "", "body": "Rabban Gamliel insists that we must say these three things in order to fulfill our obligation on Pesach: Pesach, Matzah, Maror. It is surprising that we must say the words. Isn't it enough just to eat them? We must talk them out because these three mitzvot convey three fundamental principles in our belief in Hashem. Each of them describes a way in which Hashem is subtle and exact in how He relates to us and provides for us. 'Pesach - For what? To acknowledge that Hashem pasach (skipped over) the houses of our ancestors in Egypt.' This represents Hashem's willingness/capacity to act in a precise way toward us. By not giving license to the forces of destruction to act freely during the plague of the first-born sons, Hashem was expressing willingness to give each and every person exactly what he or she needs. And this is essential to appreciating the events in our lives. As Rebbe Nachman says, Hashem sends each of us hints, according to the time, place, and person, about how to come close to Him. If Hashem isn't exact, there are no hints. But if He is, then everything around is is calibrated to convey very specific messages to us. The second statement of faith, matzah , corresponds to Hashem's precision in time. 'The dough was not allowed to leaven before the King of Kings, the Holy One Blessed is He, appeared to them and redeemed them.' Now, matzah takes 18 minutes to become chometz. That means we started making dough like it would be a normal day, with no sense that today was The Day, and within 18 minutes it became clear that this would be the day of redemption. The situations and challenges that Hashem gives us are not open-ended: It may be that such-and-such an illness, or situation, or suffering is meant to last exactly 7 months, 12 days, 3 hours and 5 minutes before that job offer/chance meeting/ doctor's appointment happens. Hashem is precise in time. The third foundation of faith - maror - reminds us of how the Egyptians embittered our lives in slavery. The goal is to believe that suffering and bitterness are among the tools Hashem uses in order to bring about our full tikkun, our full fixing. We might forget this in the midst of our suffering, but as R' Tzvi Meir Zilberberg says, “Every moment of struggle, of confinement and test, whether it concerns our character, our desires, or any matter concerning G-d-service, everything is exactly measured, that it will be precisely oriented toward the benefit, lights and needs of this particular soul, and all the souls dependent upon it─not more and not less.”Eating these three special foods ingrains these levels of belief into our bodies. But saying and discussing them establishes them in the world of conversation, of interaction, and of intellect. By declaring our faith to the world, we let each other know that we want our relationships to be infused with this faith. ", "cliptype": "text", "clipsource": "original", "featured": 1, "featuredIn": { "title": "Greatest Hits Haggadah", "slug": "greatest-hits-haggadah", "author": "Haggadot" }, "is_public": 1, "is_published": 1, "media": { "image": null, "audio": null, "video": null }, "thumbnail": null, "clip_section": [ { "haggadah_section": "-- Cup #2 & Dayenu", "slug": "cup-2-amp-dayenu" } ], "likes": 0, "downloads": 405, "tags": [], "themes": [], "language": "0", "is_bookmarked": "0", "is_liked": 0, "meta_tags": { "title": "Pesach Matzah Maror | Passover haggadah by Gavriel Goldfeder", "description": "Our simple platform allows you to create a custom Passover Haggadah, with access to unique content contributed by our community. Find artwork, family", "keywords": "", "og:type": "article", "og:url": "https://www.haggadot.com/clip/pesach-matzah-maror", "og:title": "Pesach Matzah Maror | Passover haggadah by Gavriel Goldfeder", "og:description": "Our simple platform allows you to create a custom Passover Haggadah, with access to unique content contributed by our community. Find artwork, family", "og:image": "" } } }, { "clip": { "is_admin": 0, "is_owner": 0, "handle": "preparing-impact", "title": "Preparing for Impact", "author": "Gavriel Goldfeder", "author_handle": "heyrabbi", "author_initials": "GG", "covertext": "By Rabbi Gavriel Goldfeder alternadox.netEating matzah is a fundamental experience, a moment of instruction for...", "user_image": "", "user_image_original": "", "body": "By Rabbi Gavriel Goldfeder alternadox.netEating matzah is a fundamental experience, a moment of instruction for the body and its needs. The matzah teaches the body to strive toward holiness. It is like a seed, generating bodily yearning for holiness, faith, clarity, humility, purpose, control, experience, life, love, joy and union. The matzah reaches deeper than any class, any word, any conversation or intellectual realization could possibly reach. It is a seed of heaven, of enlightenment, planted where it needs to be planted - at the very heart of the place where resistance to these ideals happens: in the body, in the kishkes.This is one of the key moments of the year - like blowing the shofar or Kol Nidrei. And it requires preparation. This washing, then, is how we orient ourselves toward this crucial moment where body meets soul. And it carries the key to one side of a crucial balance: on one hand, we are meant to eat matzah out of hunger. We are supposed to be literally hungry when we eat it. But on the other hand, we do not want this eating to be overly physical - and this is why we wash. Hungry, in the most literal sense, but not overly physical.The washing is meant to help us feel this hunger - a perfectly normal, human, healthy, holy feeling - without letting it cause us to forget the ultimate purpose or distract us from Hashem. Our hunger is meant to guide us toward the experience of eating matzah , but it should not determine the nature of the experience. The eating itself─all eating, according to Rebbe Nachman─is a moment of deep and honest encounter with the Divine: we need, Hashem provides. Hunger lets us know it is time to have that encounter again.", "cliptype": "text", "clipsource": "original", "featured": 0, "featuredIn": null, "is_public": 1, "is_published": 1, "media": { "image": null, "audio": null, "video": null }, "thumbnail": null, "clip_section": [ { "haggadah_section": "Rachtzah", "slug": "rachtzah" } ], "likes": 0, "downloads": 235, "tags": [], "themes": [], "language": "0", "is_bookmarked": "0", "is_liked": 0, "meta_tags": { "title": "Preparing for Impact | Passover haggadah by Gavriel Goldfeder", "description": "Our simple platform allows you to create a custom Passover Haggadah, with access to unique content contributed by our community. Find artwork, family", "keywords": "", "og:type": "article", "og:url": "https://www.haggadot.com/clip/preparing-impact", "og:title": "Preparing for Impact | Passover haggadah by Gavriel Goldfeder", "og:description": "Our simple platform allows you to create a custom Passover Haggadah, with access to unique content contributed by our community. Find artwork, family", "og:image": "" } } }, { "clip": { "is_admin": 0, "is_owner": 0, "handle": "matzah-meant-be-flat-and-boring", "title": "Matzah is meant to be flat and boring", "author": "Gavriel Goldfeder", "author_handle": "heyrabbi", "author_initials": "GG", "covertext": "We are meant to fully experience the flatness and blandness of the matzah , not to mention its visual similar...", "user_image": "", "user_image_original": "", "body": "We are meant to fully experience the flatness and blandness of the matzah , not to mention its visual similarity to cardboard. This is a food that has no real identity of its own. It is completely ready to receive. Matzah is compared to manna. The Jews ate matzah when they left Egypt, but it had the taste of manna. And manna tasted like whatever you wanted it to taste like (but could it be made to taste like a donut on Pesach, or at least rice?) The matzah , too, is empty. It is ready to be impressed upon: in the physical world, by a nice schmeer of guacamole; and in the spiritual world by the profound spiritual imprint that Hashem wants to impress upon each of us. Eating matzah aligns us toward receptivity to whatever Hashem wants us to have.Unlike most foods, matzah is essentially free of a third dimension. It is flat. It has not yet 'grown' 'up'. But this is because Hashem wants us not to grow in the usual way. He has a different third dimension in mind for us, one that does not follow the rules of linear growth. We eat the bread of no-identity so that we can achieve the level of no-identity. And then He gives us a sense of Holy Identity.Inasmuch as we are attached to identity, we cannot completely receive Holy Identity. As we eat the matzah , then, let us strive to become like the matzah as much as we can, so that we can be impressed upon by Hashem who engraves upon us. ' Motzi ', then, is the process of leaving behind identification with our original context, and ' matzah ' is the process of staying 'empty' in order to receive. Eating matzah is beginning of something entirely new. It clears out the old you and creates the possibility of the new you emerging – freer, more connected, more alive. ", "cliptype": "text", "clipsource": "original", "featured": 0, "featuredIn": null, "is_public": 1, "is_published": 1, "media": { "image": null, "audio": null, "video": null }, "thumbnail": null, "clip_section": [ { "haggadah_section": "Motzi-Matzah", "slug": "motzi-matzah" } ], "likes": 0, "downloads": 249, "tags": [], "themes": [], "language": "0", "is_bookmarked": "0", "is_liked": 0, "meta_tags": { "title": "Matzah is meant to be flat and boring | Passover haggadah by Gavriel Goldfeder", "description": "Our simple platform allows you to create a custom Passover Haggadah, with access to unique content contributed by our community. Find artwork, family", "keywords": "", "og:type": "article", "og:url": "https://www.haggadot.com/clip/matzah-meant-be-flat-and-boring", "og:title": "Matzah is meant to be flat and boring | Passover haggadah by Gavriel Goldfeder", "og:description": "Our simple platform allows you to create a custom Passover Haggadah, with access to unique content contributed by our community. Find artwork, family", "og:image": "" } } }, { "clip": { "is_admin": 0, "is_owner": 0, "handle": "means-and-ends-one", "title": "Means and Ends as One", "author": "Gavriel Goldfeder", "author_handle": "heyrabbi", "author_initials": "GG", "covertext": "The ultimate goal is one seamless experience of Hashem. We usually see good days and bad days, matzah days and m...", "user_image": "", "user_image_original": "", "body": "The ultimate goal is one seamless experience of Hashem. We usually see good days and bad days, matzah days and maror days. But eventually we will not experience bitter as bitter. All our days will be infused with the sweetness of purpose and pleasure, in one bite.At that time -and we are making steps toward this ultimate goal tonight - we will not prefer one over the other. We will engage all experiences with equal passion, fervor, joy, faith patience, and hope. We will appreciate the moments of work as much as the moments of pleasure─and ultimately work will be pleasure. This is the meaning of the Hillel sandwich - matzah and maror together as one. We can taste that reality now.", "cliptype": "text", "clipsource": "original", "featured": 0, "featuredIn": null, "is_public": 1, "is_published": 1, "media": { "image": null, "audio": null, "video": null }, "thumbnail": null, "clip_section": [ { "haggadah_section": "Koreich", "slug": "koreich" } ], "likes": 0, "downloads": 253, "tags": [], "themes": [], "language": "0", "is_bookmarked": "0", "is_liked": 0, "meta_tags": { "title": "Means and Ends as One | Passover haggadah by Gavriel Goldfeder", "description": "Our simple platform allows you to create a custom Passover Haggadah, with access to unique content contributed by our community. Find artwork, family", "keywords": "", "og:type": "article", "og:url": "https://www.haggadot.com/clip/means-and-ends-one", "og:title": "Means and Ends as One | Passover haggadah by Gavriel Goldfeder", "og:description": "Our simple platform allows you to create a custom Passover Haggadah, with access to unique content contributed by our community. Find artwork, family", "og:image": "" } } }, { "clip": { "is_admin": 0, "is_owner": 0, "handle": "meal-are-we-done-seder", "title": "The meal - are we done with the Seder", "author": "Gavriel Goldfeder", "author_handle": "heyrabbi", "author_initials": "GG", "covertext": "There is a principle that applies throughout the Torah: 'We only go up in holiness'. That is to say each subsequent leve...", "user_image": "", "user_image_original": "", "body": "There is a principle that applies throughout the Torah: 'We only go up in holiness'. That is to say each subsequent level in a series is considered more holy, more ripe with potential for connection, than the last. The Rebbe of Lubavitch, for example, taught that the weekly Torah readings go up in holiness─Noah is more holy than Bereishit, but Lech L'cha is more holy than Noach.The same is true of the Pesach Seder. The festive meal is not an afterthought, a bone thrown to us for having worked so hard through the first part of the Seder. The meal is the actualization-point of everything we have learned this evening.In a sense, the meal is a sampling of how 'real life' will look tomorrow and next week. While it is somewhat simple to maintain focus and intention when eating matzah and maror, it is far more difficult when we are elbowing through the buffet, chowing down on brisket, and hoping there will be some charoset left over for lunch tomorrow.And without the structured conversation of the Seder, what will we talk about? Should we continue to ask questions? Is everyone, or anyone, still open? How do people who are truly free speak when they eat? These are difficult questions. Let's confront them now.Who wants to keep the conversation going? Who wants to relax for a while? Let's switch seats so people with similar aspirations can sit near each other.", "cliptype": "text", "clipsource": "original", "featured": 0, "featuredIn": null, "is_public": 1, "is_published": 1, "media": { "image": null, "audio": null, "video": null }, "thumbnail": null, "clip_section": [ { "haggadah_section": "Shulchan Oreich", "slug": "shulchan-oreich" } ], "likes": 0, "downloads": 250, "tags": [], "themes": [], "language": "0", "is_bookmarked": "0", "is_liked": 0, "meta_tags": { "title": "The meal - are we done with the Seder | Passover haggadah by Gavriel Goldfeder", "description": "Our simple platform allows you to create a custom Passover Haggadah, with access to unique content contributed by our community. Find artwork, family", "keywords": "", "og:type": "article", "og:url": "https://www.haggadot.com/clip/meal-are-we-done-seder", "og:title": "The meal - are we done with the Seder | Passover haggadah by Gavriel Goldfeder", "og:description": "Our simple platform allows you to create a custom Passover Haggadah, with access to unique content contributed by our community. Find artwork, family", "og:image": "" } } }, { "clip": { "is_admin": 0, "is_owner": 0, "handle": "afikomen-bread-subjectivity", "title": "Afikomen - bread of subjectivity", "author": "Gavriel Goldfeder", "author_handle": "heyrabbi", "author_initials": "GG", "covertext": "Much of our Seder has been dedicated to the nourishment of the more subtle levels of experience –subtle expression, perc...", "user_image": "", "user_image_original": "", "body": "Much of our Seder has been dedicated to the nourishment of the more subtle levels of experience –subtle expression, perception, experience, relationship, and gratitude. But the first matzah we ate tonight was not meant to be subtle─it is the staff of life, borne of necessity, eaten to satisfy hunger rather than for the sake of enjoyment. Now, as we stand at the ready to eat the afikoman , we are seeking to nourish our more nuanced sides.\n\nNeeds are most often not as subtle as wants. I need to eat; but I want a crepe. I need a life partner; but I want him or her to be tall, fit, interested in water-sports, non-smoking, etc. Our needs are essentially shared with all of humankind─our wants make us who we are as individuals. We often do not feel privileged to indulge in wants─getting our basic needs met seems enough of a challenge in many aspects of life. We are therefore forced, quite often, to keep our desires buried deep inside, where they will not be quashed by ‘reality’.\n\nBut tonight we eat a food that nourishes only those aspects of ourselves. This is the afikoman ─no longer staff of life, equally calibrated for all, but bread of desire, of enjoyment, of subtlety and uniqueness. This bread is tzafun ─hidden because it addresses the completely unique soul deep within us. It helps that part of us grow in strength as a pathway to connection and holiness.\n\nThis bread is the perfect food for each of us as individuals. It contains the exact spiritual vitamins each of us needs in order to thrive. The piece you have is perfectly designed for you. \n", "cliptype": "text", "clipsource": "original", "featured": 0, "featuredIn": { "title": "Greatest Hits Haggadah", "slug": "greatest-hits-haggadah", "author": "Haggadot" }, "is_public": 1, "is_published": 1, "media": { "image": null, "audio": null, "video": null }, "thumbnail": null, "clip_section": [ { "haggadah_section": "Tzafun", "slug": "tzafun" } ], "likes": 0, "downloads": 289, "tags": [], "themes": [], "language": "0", "is_bookmarked": "0", "is_liked": 0, "meta_tags": { "title": "Afikomen - bread of subjectivity | Passover haggadah by Gavriel Goldfeder", "description": "Our simple platform allows you to create a custom Passover Haggadah, with access to unique content contributed by our community. Find artwork, family", "keywords": "", "og:type": "article", "og:url": "https://www.haggadot.com/clip/afikomen-bread-subjectivity", "og:title": "Afikomen - bread of subjectivity | Passover haggadah by Gavriel Goldfeder", "og:description": "Our simple platform allows you to create a custom Passover Haggadah, with access to unique content contributed by our community. Find artwork, family", "og:image": "" } } }, { "clip": { "is_admin": 0, "is_owner": 0, "handle": "all-seeds-we-have-planted-tonight", "title": "All the seeds we have planted tonight", "author": "Gavriel Goldfeder", "author_handle": "heyrabbi", "author_initials": "GG", "covertext": "The word ' bareich ', usually translated as 'Bless!' is actually rooted in the word ' bereicha ', which means 'pool'....", "user_image": "", "user_image_original": "", "body": "The word ' bareich ', usually translated as 'Bless!' is actually rooted in the word ' bereicha ', which means 'pool'. Technically speaking, a ' bereicha ' is a pool that receives the water of a ' ma'ayan ', a spring or well. Water emerges from the earth through a ma'ayan and pools together in a bereicha .A beracha, then, while usually translated as a blessing, is actually a place where certain spiritual energies and resources pool together. When we say a blessing over an apple, for example, we are calling for the Source of All Energy to gather some of that energy into this apple. When we bless after a meal, we ask that the Source of All Energy pour some of that energy into the meal that has been eaten and to pour some of that energy into the new, post-meal us.Rav Kook writes that, with Birkat Hamazon (prayer of gratitude after meals), we are not merely invoking blessing over the food─we are invoking blessing over the entire Seder. We have done so much tonight. We have created vessels in which to receive and hold that Energy - through our conversation, our realizations, our learning and our silence, our refinement of understanding, our new knowledge of ourselves and of others, through having eaten karpas and matzah and marror, through having spoken and sung and praised. .While each of these may have been satisfying in and of itself, they also serve as vessels to hold resources for the future. The Birkat Hamazon , then, actually blesses so many aspects of our lives that continue to impact us, including leaving Egypt and the house of bondage, the covenant we have agreed to, the Torah we have been taught, and so much more.", "cliptype": "text", "clipsource": "original", "featured": 0, "featuredIn": null, "is_public": 1, "is_published": 1, "media": { "image": null, "audio": null, "video": null }, "thumbnail": null, "clip_section": [ { "haggadah_section": null, "slug": null } ], "likes": 0, "downloads": 213, "tags": [], "themes": [], "language": "0", "is_bookmarked": "0", "is_liked": 0, "meta_tags": { "title": "All the seeds we have planted tonight | Passover haggadah by Gavriel Goldfeder", "description": "Our simple platform allows you to create a custom Passover Haggadah, with access to unique content contributed by our community. Find artwork, family", "keywords": "", "og:type": "article", "og:url": "https://www.haggadot.com/clip/all-seeds-we-have-planted-tonight", "og:title": "All the seeds we have planted tonight | Passover haggadah by Gavriel Goldfeder", "og:description": "Our simple platform allows you to create a custom Passover Haggadah, with access to unique content contributed by our community. Find artwork, family", "og:image": "" } } }, { "clip": { "is_admin": 0, "is_owner": 0, "handle": "torah-spoke-about-four-0", "title": "The Torah spoke about four", "author": "Gavriel Goldfeder", "author_handle": "heyrabbi", "author_initials": "GG", "covertext": "The Haggadah speaks of four questions, four cups of wine, four sons and four languages of redemption – “I will bring you...", "user_image": "", "user_image_original": "", "body": "The Haggadah speaks of four questions, four cups of wine, four sons and four languages of redemption – “I will bring you out…, I will save you…, I will redeem you” and “I will take you…” (Shemos 6:6-7) – all alluding to our four exiles: Babylonia, Persia, Greece, and Rome. For these exiles all emanate from the exile of Egypt, just as their redemptions are rooted in the redemption from Egypt.", "cliptype": "text", "clipsource": "Sefas Emes Haggadah ", "featured": 0, "featuredIn": null, "is_public": 1, "is_published": 1, "media": { "image": null, "audio": null, "video": null }, "thumbnail": null, "clip_section": [ { "haggadah_section": "-- Four Children", "slug": "four-children" } ], "likes": 0, "downloads": 230, "tags": [], "themes": [], "language": "0", "is_bookmarked": "0", "is_liked": 0, "meta_tags": { "title": "The Torah spoke about four | Passover haggadah by Gavriel Goldfeder", "description": "Our simple platform allows you to create a custom Passover Haggadah, with access to unique content contributed by our community. Find artwork, family", "keywords": "", "og:type": "article", "og:url": "https://www.haggadot.com/clip/torah-spoke-about-four-0", "og:title": "The Torah spoke about four | Passover haggadah by Gavriel Goldfeder", "og:description": "Our simple platform allows you to create a custom Passover Haggadah, with access to unique content contributed by our community. Find artwork, family", "og:image": "" } } }, { "clip": { "is_admin": 0, "is_owner": 0, "handle": "torah-spoke-about-four-1", "title": "The Torah spoke about four", "author": "Gavriel Goldfeder", "author_handle": "heyrabbi", "author_initials": "GG", "covertext": "The Haggadah speaks of four questions, four cups of wine, four sons and four languages of redemption – “I will bring you...", "user_image": "", "user_image_original": "", "body": "The Haggadah speaks of four questions, four cups of wine, four sons and four languages of redemption – “I will bring you out…, I will save you…, I will redeem you” and “I will take you…” (Shemos 6:6-7) – all alluding to our four exiles: Babylonia, Persia, Greece, and Rome. For these exiles all emanate from the exile of Egypt, just as their redemptions are rooted in the redemption from Egypt.", "cliptype": "text", "clipsource": "Sefas Emes Haggadah ", "featured": 0, "featuredIn": null, "is_public": 1, "is_published": 1, "media": { "image": null, "audio": null, "video": null }, "thumbnail": null, "clip_section": [ { "haggadah_section": "-- Four Children", "slug": "four-children" } ], "likes": 0, "downloads": 237, "tags": [], "themes": [], "language": "0", "is_bookmarked": "0", "is_liked": 0, "meta_tags": { "title": "The Torah spoke about four | Passover haggadah by Gavriel Goldfeder", "description": "Our simple platform allows you to create a custom Passover Haggadah, with access to unique content contributed by our community. Find artwork, family", "keywords": "", "og:type": "article", "og:url": "https://www.haggadot.com/clip/torah-spoke-about-four-1", "og:title": "The Torah spoke about four | Passover haggadah by Gavriel Goldfeder", "og:description": "Our simple platform allows you to create a custom Passover Haggadah, with access to unique content contributed by our community. Find artwork, family", "og:image": "" } } }, { "clip": { "is_admin": 0, "is_owner": 0, "handle": "one-wise-one-wicked-one-simple-and-one-who-does-not-know-how-ask", "title": "One wise, one wicked, one simple, and one who does not know how to ask", "author": "Gavriel Goldfeder", "author_handle": "heyrabbi", "author_initials": "GG", "covertext": "Why this order?The wise son precedes the wicked son in order to influence him. Similarly, a son who cannot ask will bene...", "user_image": "", "user_image_original": "", "body": "Why this order?The wise son precedes the wicked son in order to influence him. 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Karpas - tears of exertion

Haggadah Section: Karpas

By Rabbi Gavriel Goldfeder alternadox.net

By not trusting ourselves and the various voices within us, we keep hidden the better part of who we are. Many of us were taught early on that it is not safe to be who we really are - that it is not safe to say what is on our minds or in our hearts. But tonight we are free to release, to encounter, to integrate, to evolve and to express.

As Michael Kagan writes, the salt water in which we dip our karpas is the tears and frustration of not being allowed to let go. Tonight those tears will serve as a ticket to freedom. As King David said, 'My tears were nourishment for me...' To move forward, we must inevitably encounter the walls we have built inside; the tears are the struggle to get beyond those walls─not tears of failure but tears of exertion.

Tonight, we dip our desires─the karpas ─into our tears. We indulge in something frivolous, purposeless, pointless, and we fight through the internal barriers that try to prevent us from enjoying it.

Consider sharing something about your inner walls - what do you feel prohibited from doing/feeling/talking about/enjoying?

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Karpas - tears of exertion

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