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As we rejoice at our deliverance from slavery, we acknowledge that our freedom was hard-earned. We regret that our freedom came at the cost of the Egyptians’ suffering, for we are all human beings. We pour out a drop of wine for each of the plagues as we recite them.Dip a finger or a spoon into your wine glass for a drop for each plague.These are the ten plagues which God brought down on the Egyptians:דָּם Blood | dam |צְפַרְדֵּֽעַ Frogs...

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בְּכָל־דּוֹר וָדוֹר חַיָּב אָדָם לִרְאוֹת אֶת־עַצְמוֹ, כְּאִלּוּ הוּא יָצָא מִמִּצְרָֽיִם B’chol dor vador chayav adam lirot et-atzmo, k’ilu hu yatzav mimitzrayim. In every generation, everyone is obligated to see themselves as though they personally left Egypt. The seder reminds us that it was not only our ancestors whom God redeemed; God redeemed us too along with them. That’s why the Torah says “God brought us out from there in order to lead us to and give us the land promised to...

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Pesach, matzoh, and maror have symbolic meaning for us. They are so important and so meaningful that no Seder is really complete unless they are fully explained. WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS PESACH? This roasted shank bone is the symbol of the Pesach lamb. Each year at Passover, the Israelites would gather at the Temple to commemorate the Exodus from slavery. Each family would bring a lamb as an offering, to remember the time when our ancestors were spared the...

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אַדִיר בִּמְלוּכָה, בָּחוּר כַּהֲלָכָה, גְּדוּדָיו יֹאמְרוּ לוֹ  לְךָ וּלְךָ, לְךָ כִּי לְךָ, לְךָ אַף לְךָ, לְךָ יי הַמַּמְלָכָה, כִּי לוֹ נָאֵֶה, כִּי לוֹ יָאֶה.  דָּגוּל בִּמְלוּכָה, הָדוּר כַּהֲלָכָה, וָתִיקָיו יֹאמְרוּ לוֹ:  לְךָ וּלְךָ, לְךָ כִּי לְךָ, לְךָ אַף לְךָ, לְךָ יי הַמַּמְלָכָה, כִּי לוֹ נָאֵֶה, כִּי לוֹ יָאֶה.  זַכַּאי בִּמְלוּכָה, חָסִין כַּהֲלָכָה טַפְסְרָיו יֹאמְרוּ לוֹ:  לְךָ וּלְךָ, לְךָ כִּי לְךָ, לְךָ אַף לְךָ, לְךָ יי הַמַּמְלָכָה, כִּי לוֹ נָאֵֶה, כִּי לוֹ יָאֶה.  יָחִיד בִּמְלוּכָה, כַּבִּיר כַּהֲלָכָה לִמוּדָיו יֹאמְרוּ לוֹ:  לְךָ וּלְךָ,...

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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 יִבְנֶה בֵּיתוֹ בְּקָרוֹב.  בִּמְהֵרָה,בִּמְהֵרָה, בְּיָמֵינוּ בְּקָרוֹב.  אֵל בְּנֵה, אֵל בְּנֵה, בְּנֵה בֵּיתְךָ בְּקָרוֹב.  חָסִיד הוּא, טָהוֹר הוּא, יָחִיד הוּא יִבְנֶה בֵּיתוֹ בְּקָרוֹב.  בִּמְהֵרָה,בִּמְהֵרָה, בְּיָמֵינוּ בְּקָרוֹב.  אֵל בְּנֵה, אֵל בְּנֵה, בְּנֵה בֵּיתְךָ בְּקָרוֹב.  כַּבִּיר הוּא, לָמוּד הוּא, מֶלֶךְ הוּא יִבְנֶה בֵּיתוֹ בְּקָרוֹב....

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חַד גַּדְיָא,חַד גַּדְיָא  דְּזַבִּין אַבָּא בִּתְרֵי זוּזֵי, חַד גַּדְיָא,חַד גַּדְיָא.  וְאָתָא שׁוּנְרָא וְאַָכְלָה לְגַדְיָא, דְּזַבִּין אַבָּא בִּתְרֵי זוּזֵי, חַד גַּדְיָא,חַד גַּדְיָא.  וְאָתָא כַלְבָּא וְנָשַׁךְ לְשׁוּנְרָא, דְּאַָכְלָה לְגַדְיָא, דְּזַבִּין אַבָּא בִּתְרֵי זוּזֵי, חַד גַּדְיָא,חַד גַּדְיָא.  וְאָתָא חוּטְרָא והִכָּה לְכַלְבָּא, דְּנָשַׁךְ לְשׁוּנְרָא, דְּאַָכְלָה לְגַדְיָא, דְּזַבִּין אַבָּא בִּתְרֵי זוּזֵי, חַד גַּדְיָא,חַד גַּדְיָא.  וְאָתָא נוּרָא וְשָׂרַף לְחוּטְרָא, דְּהִכָּה לְכַלְבָּא, דְּנָשַׁךְ לְשׁוּנְרָא, דְּאַָכְלָה לְגַדְיָא, דְּזַבִּין אַבָּא בִּתְרֵי זוּזֵי, חַד גַּדְיָא, חַד גַּדְיָא.  וְאָתָא מַיָא וְכָבָה לְנוּרָא, דְּשָׂרַף לְחוּטְרָא, דְּהִכָּה לְכַלְבָּא, דְּנָשַׁךְ לְשׁוּנְרָא, דְּאַָכְלָה לְגַדְיָא, דְּזַבִּין אַבָּא...

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ECHAD MI YODEA WHO KNOWS ONE Echad mi yode'a? Echad ani yode'a. Echad Elokeinu shebashamaim uva'aretz. Shnaim mi yode'a? Shnaim ani yode'a shnei luchot habrit, echad elokeinu shebashamaim uva'aretz. Shlosha mi yode'a, Shlosha ani yode'a. Shlosha avot, shnei luchot habrit, echad elokeinu shebashamaim uva'aretz. Arba mi yode'a? arba ani yode'a arba imahot Shlosha avot, shnei luchot habrit echad elokeinu shebashamaim uva'aretz. Chamisha, mi yode'a Chamisha, ani yode'a Chamisha chumshei torah arba imahot Shlosha avot, shnei luchot habrit, echad elokeinu shebashamaim uva'aretz....

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The matza is covered and the cups of wine are raised for this paragraph: וְהִיא שֶעָמְדָה לַאֲבוֹתֵינו וְלָנו, שֶלֹא אֶחָד בִלְבָד עָמַד עָלֵינו לְכַלוֹתֵנו, אֶלָא שֶבְכָל דוֹר וָדוֹר עוֹמְדִים עָלֵינו לְכַלוֹתֵנו, וְהַקָדוֹש בָרוךְ הוא מַצִילֵנו מִיָדָם. The cups are set down and the matza is covered.  

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“Vehi Sheamda - and this is what kept our fathers and what keeps us surviving.” What is the “this” that we sing about on the seder night? Many rabbis come with their different opinions saying that the things that keep us surviving is the torah which we received on Har Sinai, others say it is the mitzvot, our great rabbis or even Shabbat. A nice idea I once heard says that the “this” that we sing about is in fact anti-Semitism....

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Passover combines the celebration of an event from Jewish memory with a recognition of the cycles of nature. As we remember the liberation from Egypt, we also recognize the stirrings of spring and rebirth happening in the world around us. The symbols on our table bring together elements of both kinds of celebration. We now take a vegetable, in this case parsely, to represent our joy at the dawning of spring after our long, cold winter. Whatever symbol of spring and...

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It’s time to drink the second cup of wine .....ברוך אתה ה' א‑לוהינו מלך העולם, בורא פרי הגפן. Barukh atah Adonai Eloheinu Melekh ha'olam, bo're p'ri ha'gafen. "Blessed are You, LORD, our God, King of the universe, Who creates the fruit of the vine." Amen.

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As all good term papers do, we start with the main idea: ּעֲבָדִים הָיִינוּ הָיִינו. עַתָּה בְּנֵי חוֹרִין   Avadim hayinu hayinu. Ata b’nei chorin. We were slaves to Pharaoh in Egypt. Now we are free. We were slaves to Pharaoh in Egypt, and God took us from there with a strong hand and outstretched arm. Had God not brought our ancestors out of Egypt, then even today we and our children and our grandchildren would still be slaves. Even if we...

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As we now transition from the formal telling of the Passover story to the celebratory meal, we once again wash our hands to prepare ourselves. A good meal together with friends and family is itself a sacred act, so we prepare for it just as we prepared for our holiday ritual, recalling the way ancient priests once prepared for service in the Temple.Anyone who wishes to is welcome to wash their hands.בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יְיָ אֱלֹהֵֽינוּ מֶֽלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם, אֲשֶׁר קִדְּשָֽׁנוּ בְּמִצְוֹתָיו, וְצִוָּנוּ  ...

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 The Torah says we are to speak these words before God and say, “My father was a wandering Aramean. He went down into Egypt and sojourned there. With few in number, he became there a great and populous nation. The Egyptians dealt harshly with us and afflicted us and imposed hard labor upon us. And we cried out to the Lord, the God of our fathers and God heard our cry and saw our affliction and our oppression. He brought us...

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מַה נִּשְׁתַּנָּה הַלַּֽיְלָה הַזֶּה מִכָּל הַלֵּילותMa nishtana halaila hazeh mikol haleilot?Why is this night different from all other nights?:שֶׁבְּכָל הַלֵּילוֹת אָֽנוּ אוֹכלין חָמֵץ וּמַצָּה  הַלַּֽיְלָה הַזֶּה כֻּלּוֹ מצה  Shebichol haleilot anu ochlin chameitz u-matzah. Halaila hazeh kulo matzah.On all other nights we eat both leavened bread and matzah. Tonight we only eat matzah.שֶׁבְּכָל הַלֵּילוֹת אָֽנוּ אוֹכְלִין שְׁאָר יְרָקוֹת הַלַּֽיְלָה הַזֶּה מָרוֹר:Shebichol haleilot anu ochlin shi’ar yirakot haleila hazeh maror.On all other nights we eat all kinds of vegetables, but tonight we...

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הא לחמא עניא- Ha Lachma AnyaMagid starts with Ha Lachma Anya. We invite anyone to come join us at our seder. Ha Lachma Anya is not said in Hebrew, like the rest of the Hagada. It is in Aramaic. Why is it in Aramaic?                 1. One answer is that at the time, most people spoke Aramaic. We want to invite anyone who wants to come, and if the people do not understand, our invitation is pointless.                                                                                                    2. Another answer is that...

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Barech בָּרֵךְ Pour the third cup of wine and recite Birkat Hamazon (Blessing after the Meal). כְּחֹלְמִים. אָז יִמָּלֵא שְׂחוֹק פִּינוּ וּלְשׁוֹנֵנוּ רִנָּה, אָז יֹאמְרוּ בַגּוֹיִם, הִגְדִּיל יְיָ לַעֲשׂוֹת עִם אֵלֶּה. הִגְדִּיליְיָ 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 עוֹלָם הַלְלוּיָהּ. הוֹדוּ לַייָ כִּי טוֹב כִּי לְעוֹלָם...

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The olive branch is a universal symbol of peace, associated with the dove in the story of Noah's Ark and the Flood. Olive trees mature slowly, so only when there was an extended time of peace, with agriculture left undisturbed, could the olive tree produce its fruit. In 2008, Jewish Voice for Peace promoted putting an olive on the seder plate as part of its Trees of Reconciliation project, which sought to donate 3,000 olive saplings to Palestinian farmers to replant...

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Along with the cup for the Prophet Elijah, we have on our table a cup for the Prophetess Miriam, who helped lead the Israelites out of Egypt, and provided them with life-sustaining water during their wandering in the desert. Even after her death, the Israelites were sustained by the fresh waters of Miriam's Well. Zot Kos Miryam, kos mayim hayim. Zeikher l'yitziat Mitztrayim. This is the Cup of Miriam, the cup of living waters. Let us remember the Exodus from Egypt....