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At this point in the Seder, “we give thanks,” offering songs and words of joy at our liberation. Even as we remember how much work there is to do, we celebrate the accomplishments of the past year.פִּ תְחוּ לִי שַׁעֲרֵי צֶדֶק, אָבאֹ בָם Open for me the gates of righteousness, and I will enter therein. (Psalms 118:19, included in the traditional Hallel liturgy)

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RESOURCES & FOOTNOTES: i Adapted from the Camp Kinderland 2003 Hagaddah. ii “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., April 16, 1963. iii From Velveteen Rabbi’s “Hagaddah for Pesach,” Rabbi Rachel Barenblat, 2001. iv Exodus 6:6-7 v Mari Gallagher Research and Consulting Group, 2006. vi Mari Gallagher Research and Consulting Group, 2011. vii Farm to Food Desert- Chicago Reader, Topher Gray, August 19, 2010. viii U.S. House Committee on Agriculture, 2012. ix The Velveteen Rabbi’s Haggadah for Passover x...

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As we light the candles and welcome the glow of Passover into our homes, we pray that all those suffering around the world find light in the darkness. We pray that our experience tonight helps us to ignite the spark of justice within each of us. We pray that we have the strength to carry forth this light into the world, creating a beautiful and bold flame that inspires others to work by our sides to pursue freedom and justice for...

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Source: The Freedom Haggadah (Jewish Council on Urban Affairs & Beth Shalom B’nai Zaken Congregation) Passover celebrates the redemption of the Jews from enslavement in Egypt. This traditional story of defiance against brutality and slavery has inspired countless men and women to achieve freedom in our own times. As the haggadah says, “B'khol dor v’dor chayav adam lirot et atzmo k’ilu hu yatza mi’Mitzrayim,” – “from generation to generation, each of us is obligated to see ourselves as though we personally...

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We take a piece of the bitter herb from the Seder plate and prepare to eat it. This is a reminder of the bitterness of slavery. As we eat the maror, let us remember the bitterness that many immigrants still encounter. We say together: בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יי אֱלֹהֵינוּ מֶלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם, אֲשֶׁר קִדְּשָנוּ בְּמִצְוֹתָיו וְצִוָּנוּ עַל אֲכִילַ ת מָרוֹר. Baruch atah Adonai Eloheinu Melech ha’Olam asher kid’shanu b’mitzvotavv’tzivanu al achilat maror. Blessed are you, Sovereign of the Universe, who has sanctified us...

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In the words of the Ramban (Rabbi Moshe Ben Nachman, 1194-1270), “Since God will not perform this sign or miracle in every generation to refute the evil sinner or rebel, we are commanded to make a continuous remembrance and sign to that which our eyes have seen, and to impart it to our children and children's children... to the last generation."xx From the order of the service, to the symbolic Seder plate, to the ritual retelling of the flight from Egypt,...

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The Seder story tells of four types of young people or four ways that young people respond to the story of our struggle for freedom and unity. One response reflects wisdom, expressing a real concern and interest. This interest inspires us to tell our stories, fully and openly. Another response is to be rejecting and disrespectful, to say, "What does this have to do with me?" This disrespect provokes us to confront the person with the destructiveness of his/her response, how...

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Reader:  In the Seder, it is traditional that the youngest child who is able to ask recites the four questions. While we include the youngest to engage them, they also engage us. The “whys” of the innocent compel us to answer truthfully, not only about past injustices but about the inhumanity and inequity in our own world as well. During Maggid every year, we retell and teach to our children the story of our freedom and the fulfillment of promises made...

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The charoset reminds us of the mortar and of the pain of slavery. However, as we eat it we taste it’s sweetness. This sweetness gives us hope that the future will bring redemption and justice to all people.We make sandwiches out of maror and charoset, to remind us of the mortar our ancestors used to construct huge monuments for Pharaoh in Egypt. As you we eat this sandwich, we consider the signs of hope for a more just future that can...

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בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יי אֱלֹהֵינוּ מֶלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם בּוֹרֵא פְּרִי הַגָפֶן Baruch atah Adonai, Eloheinu Melech Ha-olam boreh p’ri ha-gafen. Blessed is the Source, who fills all creation and brings forth the fruit of the vine. The United States current immigration system is broken.  We first started discussing this cup as an issue of immigant justice far before the current administration - even then we discussed individuals detained, and the state of their imprisonment. To Consider- Political theorists and post-modern scholars of the...