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The following Seder is for a weeknight. (On Shabbat we add the words in parentheses) רָיְהִי עֶרֶב וַיְהִי בֹקֶר יוֹם הַשִּׁשִּׁי. וַיְכֻלּוּ הַשָׁמַיִם וְהָאָרֶץ וְכָל צְבָאַָם. וַיְכַל אֱלֹקִים בַּיוֹם הַשְּׁבִיעִי מְלַאכְתּוֹ אֲשֶׁר עָשָׂה וַיִּשְׁבֹּת בַּיוֹם הַשְּׁבִיעִי מִכָּל מְלַאכְתּוֹ אֲשֶׁר עָשָׂה. וַיְבָרֶךְ אֱלֹהִים אֶת יוֹם הַשְּׁבִיעִי וַיְקַדֵּשׁ אוֹתוֹ כִּי בוֹ שָׁבַת מִכָּל מְלַאכְתּוֹ אֲשֶׁר בֶָּרָא אֱלֹהִים לַעֲשׂוֹת (Vay'hi erev vay'hi voker yom hashi-shi. Vay'chulu hashamayim v'ha-aretz v’choltzva’am. Vay’chal Elohim bayom hashvi’i, m'lachto asher asah, vayishbot bayom hashvi-i, mikol-mlachto asher asah. Vay'vareich Elohim,...

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

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It once happened that Rabbis Eliezer, Joshua, Elazar ben Azaryah, Akiva and Tarfon were reclining at the seder table in Bnei Brak. They spent the whole night discussing the Exodus until their students came and said to them: “Rabbis, it is time for us to recite the morning Shema.” Rabbi Elazar ben Azaryah said: I am like a seventy-year old man and I have not succeeded in understanding why the Exodus from Egypt should be mentioned at night, until Ben Zoma...

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Why we give tzedakah to people because you give money to people in need of money or to Israel to buy trees.

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In January of 1982 when my farther Harley was in his mid-twenties, he thought he had the career of his life as a merchant marine officer. This career required years of hard work to attain. In an instant, a fax from the main office at Gulf Oil to the captain said to escort the third mate off the ship; he is no longer working. As the captain gave Harley his final pay, he said "This is going to be good for...

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Barech בָּרֵךְ Pour the third cup of wine and recite Birkat Hamazon (Blessing after the Meal). שִׁיר הַמַּעֲלוֹת: בְּשׁוּב יהוה אֶת־שִׁיבַת צִיּוֹן הָיִ֫ינוּ כְּחֹלְמִים. אָז יִמָּלֵא שְׂחוֹק פִּינוּ וּלְשׁוֹנֵנוּ רִנָּה, אָז יֹאמְרוּ בַגּוֹיִם, הִגְדִּיל יְיָ לַעֲשׂוֹת עִם אֵלֶּה. הִגְדִּיל יְיָ לַעֲשׂוֹת עִמָּנוּ, הָיִינוּ שְׂמֵחִים. שׁוּבָה יְיָ אֶת שְׁבִיתֵנוּ, כַּאֲפִיקִים בַּנֶּגֶב. הַזֹּרְעִים בְּדִמְעָה בְּרִנָּה יִקְצֹרוּ. הָלוֹךְ יֵלֵךְ וּבָכֹה נֹשֵׂא מֶשֶׁךְ הַזָּרַע, בֹּא יָבֹא בְרִנָּה נֹשֵׂא אֲלֻמֹּתָיו. תְּהִלַּת יְיָ יְדַבֶּר פִּי, וִיבָרֵךְ כָּל בָּשָׂר שֵׁם קָדְשׁוֹ לְעוֹלָם וָעֶד. וַאֲנַחְנוּ נְבָרֵךְ יָהּ מֵעַתָּה וְעַד...

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What is a Bitter Herb? When most of us think of bitter herbs, that maror, we think of khreyn (Yiddish for horseradish). But when you think about it, horseradish is not really bitter. It is pungent or spicy. According to the Talmud, the correct vegetable to use is lettuce, probably a variety of Romaine lettuce. Indeed, this is what many Sephardi Jews use for maror. Of course, Romaine lettuce is not really bitter either. According to Dr. Joshua Kulp, “our pleasant...

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אַדִּיר הוּא אַדִּיר הוּא, יִבְנֶה בֵּיתוֹ בְּקָרוֹב. בִּמְהֵרָה, בִּמְהֵרָה, בְּיָמֵינוּ בְּקָרוֹב. אֵל בְּנֵה, אֵל בְּנֵה,  בְּנֵה בֵּיתְךָ בְּקָרוֹב. בָּחוּר הוּא, גָּדוֹל הוּא, דָּגוּל הוּא, יִבְנֶה בֵּיתוֹ בְּקָרוֹב. בִּמְהֵרָה,בִּמְהֵרָה, בְּיָמֵינוּ בְּקָרוֹב. אֵל בְּנֵה, אֵל בְּנֵה, בְּנֵה בֵּיתְךָ בְּקָרוֹב. הָדוּר הוּא, וָתִיק הוּא, זַכַּאי הוּא, חָסִיד הוּא, יִבְנֶה בֵּיתוֹ בְּקָרוֹב. בִּמְהֵרָה,בִּמְהֵרָה, בְּיָמֵינוּ בְּקָרוֹב. אֵל בְּנֵה, אֵל בְּנֵה, בְּנֵה בֵּיתְךָ בְּקָרוֹב. טָהוֹר הוּא, יָחִיד הוּא, כַּבִּיר הוּא, לָמוּד הוּא, מֶלֶךְ הוּא, יִבְנֶה בֵּיתוֹ בְּקָרוֹב. בִּמְהֵרָה,בִּמְהֵרָה, בְּיָמֵינוּ בְּקָרוֹב. אֵל בְּנֵה, אֵל בְּנֵה, בְּנֵה בֵּיתְךָ בְּקָרוֹב....

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In the late 1920's, my great-great-grandfather Leo came to the US. Before that, he wanted to divorce his wife and remarry his niece. However, this was not allowed. In order to achieve this goal, he moved to the United States. Leo left his children behind. This was a huge risk, because Adolf Hitler had just come to power. Eventually though, Leo bruoght over his children, and left his first wife to die. She did, in fact, perish in the Shoah.Life in...

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There are several reasons why we drink four cups of wine on Passover. One is to symbolize Pharoh's four decrees and another is to symbolize God's four promises. In my opinion, God's four promises would be best to tell why we drink four cups of wine. God's four promises are "I shall take you out. I shall rescue you. I shall redeem you. I shall take you to Me." The reason why I would prefer this is because the whole point...

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רחצה Rachtzah Wash hands while reciting the traditional blessing for washing the hands: בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יי אֱלֹהֵינוּ מֶלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם, אֲשֶׁר קִדְשָׁנוּ בְּמִצְוֹתָיו וְצִוָּנוּ עַל נְטִילַת יָדַיִם. Baruch atah Adonai Eloheinu melech ha-olam, asher kid'shanu b'mitzvotav, v'tzivanu al n'tilat yadayim. Praised are you, Adonai, Lord our God, Ruler of the universe, who has taught us the way of holiness through commandments, commanding us to wash our hands.

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Maggid – Closing  דַּיֵינוּ כַּמָה מַעֲלוֹת טוֹבוֹת לַמָּקוֹם עָלֵינוּ! אִלוּ הוֹצִיאָנוּ מִמִצְרַים, וְלֹא עָשָׂה בָּהֶם שְׁפָטִים, דַּיֵינוּ אִלוּ עָשָׂה בָּהֶם שְׁפָטִים, וְלֹא עָשָׂה בֵאלֹהֵיהֶם, דַּיֵינו אִלוּ עָשָׂה בֵאלֹהֵיהֶם, וְלֹא הָרַג אֶת בְּכוֹרֵיהֶם, דַּיֵינוּ אִלוּ הָרַג אֶת בְּכוֹרֵיהֶם, וְלֹא נָתַן לָנוּ אֶת מָמוֹנָם, דַּיֵינוּ אִלוּ נָתַן לָנוּ אֶת מָמוֹנָם, וְלֹא קָרַע לָנוּ אֶת הַיָּם, דַּיֵינוּ אִלוּ קָרַע לָנוּ אֶת הַיָּם, וְלֹא הֶעֱבֵירָנוּ בְּתוֹכוֹ בֶּחָרָבָה, דַּיֵינוּ אִלוּ הֶעֱבֵירָנוּ בְּתוֹכוֹ בֶּחָרָבָה, וְלֹא שְׁקַע צָרֵנוּ בְּתוֹכוֹ, דַּיֵינוּ אִלוּ שִׁקַע צָרֵנוּ בְּתוֹכוֹ, וְלֹא סִפֵּק צָרְכֵּנוּ בּמִדְבָּר...

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I believe that Pharoh's decrees explain the four cups of wine better than God's promises. Pharoh's decrees are a variation on on theme: kill the first born. This is like when the same amount of the same wine is poured. This is why I believe Pharoh's decrees are most important for explaining the four cups of wine.

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When I was asked to teach an entire year on Pesach I immediately got very excited. Pesach is my favorite holiday for many reasons. To me, Pesach is telling a story, seeing family, missing family, history, songs, exhaustion, and joy. After scouring through many resources, my big question was how am I going to weave this all together? That was when the idea for a haggadah was born. This year, your children embarked on an in depth learning adventure of why...

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In the late 1920's, my great-great-grandfather Leo came to the US. Before that, he wanted to divorce his wife and remarry his niece. However, this was not allowed. In order to achieve this goal, he moved to the United States. Leo left his children behind. This was a huge risk, because Adolf Hitler had just come to power. Eventually though, Leo bruoght over his children, and left his first wife to die. She did, in fact, perish in the Shoah.Life in...

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Let Us Go(sung loosely to the tune of Let it Go)The sand burns hot in the desert tonightThe foot prints of my people can be seenA kingdom of subjugation under Pharaoh who is meanOur people built his temples and pyramids to the skyOh dear lord hear our people’s cry...Let us go, let us goCan’t hold us back any moreLet us go, let us go.Find someone else to do your choresElohim, adoni hear us pray,Lets pack our thingsThe desert never bothered us...

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I believe that Pharoh's decrees explain the four cups of wine better than God's promises. Pharoh's decrees are a variation on on theme: kill the first born. This is like when the same amount of the same wine is poured. This is why I believe Pharoh's decrees are most important for explaining the four cups of wine.