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Back to basics, get rid of what is bloated and inflated“Letting go means just what it says. It’s an invitation to cease clinging to anything- whether it be an idea, a thing, an event, a particular time, or view, or desire. It is a conscious decision to release with full acceptance into the stream of present moments as they are unfolding. To let go means to give up coercing, resisting or struggling, in exchange for something more powerful and wholesome which...

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Repair the World and Be’chol Lashon invite you to explore how the Jewish community, a multiracial and multiethnic people, can examine our past and present journeys from Exodus to freedom. Ask guests to read the questions aloud and share their own Passover traditions! Question: Why do Jews from Gibraltar sprinkle a little bit of brick dust into their charoset? Answer: To remind them of the bricks that the Israelite slaves were forced to make. Question: What do Hungarian Jews place on...

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Manifesto: The Mad Farmer Liberation Front By Wendell Berry Love the quick profit, the annual raise, vacation with pay. Want more of everything ready-made. Be afraid to know your neighbors and to die. And you will have a window in your head. Not even your future will be a mystery any more. Your mind will be punched in a card and shut away in a little drawer. When they want you to buy something they will call you. When they want...

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The whole point of the seder is to ask questions. This is your time to ask about things that confuse you, things you don’t understand, or even things you don’t agree with. There really is no is no such thing as a stupid question, especially tonight.  - Joy Levitt (age 16) Questions are not only welcome during the course of the evening but are vital to tonight’s journey. Our obligation at this seder involves traveling from slavery to freedom, prodding ourselves...

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Leader: With the fourth cup of wine we remember God’s promise to take the Israelites as God’s own people. Just as God took on the Israelite people, we pledge to look out for the different members of our community. As citizens of the United States we share certain rights of citizenship, such as a social safety net, equal access to employment, student aid, and jury service. However, these rights are denied to those who have felony convictions. As a united community...

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The Wicked Child I read the haggadah backwards this year The sea opens, the ancient Israelites slide back to Egypt like Michael Jackson doing the moonwalk Freedom to slavery That’s the real story One minute you’re dancing hallelujah, shaking your hips to the j-j-jangle of the prophetesses’ tambourines, the next you’re knee deep in brown muck in the basement of some minor pyramid The angel of death comes back to life two zuzim are refunded. When armies emerge from the sea...

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In Morocco, Mimouna, a traditional North African Jewish celebration is celebrated the day after Passover. This celebration marks returning to eating chametz. They celebrate with baked foods and foods that symbolize luck because Mimouna is the Arabic word for luck. Such foods include dough with hand prints of silver coins. At the conclusion of this celebration, they enter the ocean and throw pebbles behind their backs to ward off evil spirits.

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When we bless the green parsley and dip it in the salty water, we remember the spring, and we remember the long, sad years of our slavery.When we left Egypt,we bloomed and sprouted,and songs dripped from our tongueslike shimmering threads of nectar.All green with life we grew,who had been buried,under toil and sorrow,dense as bricks.All green in the desert we grew,casting seeds at a promise.All green we grew. 

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Caged Bird BY MAYA ANGELOU A free bird leaps  on the back of the wind    and floats downstream    till the current ends  and dips his wing  in the orange sun rays  and dares to claim the sky.  But a bird that stalks  down his narrow cage  can seldom see through  his bars of rage  his wings are clipped and    his feet are tied  so he opens his throat to sing.  The caged bird sings    with a fearful trill    of things unknown   ...

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"Passover" By Yehuda Amichai My father was a god and did not know it. He gave me The Ten Commandments neither in thunder nor in furry; neither in fire nor in cloud But rather in gentleness and love. And he added caresses and kind words and he added “I beg You,” and “please.” And he sang “keep” and “remember” the Shabbat In a single melody and he pleaded and cried quietly between one utterance and the next , “Do not take...

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While the storm clouds gather far across the sea, Let us swear allegiance to a land that's free. Let us all be grateful for a land so fair, As we raise our voices in a solemn prayer: God bless America, land that I love, Stand beside her and guide her Through the night with a light from above. From the mountains, to the prairies, To the oceans white with foam, God bless America, my home sweet home. God bless America, my...

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It Would Have Been Enough For Us If God only brought us out of the Narrow Places but did not make judgement on our oppressors. . . If God only made judgement on our oppressors but did not make judgement on their gods . . . If God only made judgement on their gods but did not strike down their first-born . . . If God only struck down their first-born but did not give us their wealth. . . If...

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Who knows one/two/three/. . . /thirteen? I know thirteen Thirteen are the attributes of God Twelve are the tribes Eleven are the stars Ten are the Words from Sinai Nine are the months of childbirth Eight are the days for circumcision Seven are the days of the week Six are the orders of the Mishnah Five are the books of the Torah Four are the matriarchs Three are the patriarchs Two are the tablets of the covenant One is our God...