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Passover is a holiday celebrating and commemorating the Israelites’ liberation from slavery and their exodus from Egypt, as told in the beginning of the Book of Exodus in the Hebrew Bible (and subsequently reinterpreted in several debatably good movies). Following the command that the story should always be taught to the next generation, Jews across time and space have celebrated this joyful holiday. As you might imagine, many aspects of the Passover celebration have withstood the millennia of observance, and many...

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Running the Seder Once everyone is seated at the table, it may be helpful to provide a bit of information about Passover and its traditions, as well as set some expectations before launching into the seder. Explain how long you predict the seder will run, when you anticipate dinner to be and if there will be food served before dinner.  It may also be helpful to discuss how you intend to handle participation in the seder. If you plan to go...

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Tonight, we gather together to celebrate Passover. Passover is a holiday commemorating the Israelites’ liberation from slavery and their exodus from Egypt, as told in the beginning of the Book of Exodus in the Hebrew Bible. Following the command that the story should always be taught to the next generation, Jews across time and space have celebrated this joyful holiday. As you might imagine, there are many aspects of the Passover celebration that have withstood the millennia of observance, and many...

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Our Passover meal is called a seder, which means “order” in Hebrew, because we go through 14 specific steps as we retell the story of the Israelites’ liberation from slavery.  Some people like to begin their seder by reciting or singing the names of the 14 steps:   קדש‎    kadesh   Blessing the wine וּרְחַץ   urchatz   Ritual hand-washing in preparation of the meal כַּרְפַּס  karpas   Dipping a green vegetable into salt water  יַחַץ    yachatz     Breaking the middle matzah  מַגִּיד     magid     Telling the story...

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All Jewish celebrations, from holidays to weddings, include wine as a symbol of our joy—not to mention a practical way to increase that joy. The seder starts with wine and then gives us three more opportunities to refill our cups and drink.  בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יְיָ, אֱלֹהֵינוּ מֶלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם בּוֹרֵא פְּרִי הַגָּפֶן:      Baruch Atah Adonai, Eloheinu Melech ha-olam, borei p’ree hagafen. We praise you, Adonai, our God, Ruler of the universe, who creates the fruit of the vine. We praise you, Adonai,...

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As in many world cultures and religions, water is a symbol of purification in Judaism. We will wash our hands twice during our seder—now, with no blessing, to get us ready for the rituals to come, and then again later, with a blessing, to prepare us for the meal, which Judaism thinks of as a ritual in itself. (The Jewish obsession with food is older than you thought!)  To wash your hands, you don’t need soap, but you do need a...

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Passover, like many Jewish holidays, combines the celebration of an event from Jewish history and memory, as well as the continued cycle of our natural world. As we remember the Israelites’ liberation, we also welcome the beginning of spring, the budding of new plants and rebirth happening in the world around us. We now take a vegetable, representing our joy at the dawning of spring after our long, cold winter. Many use a green vegetable such as parsley or celery, but...

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There are three pieces of matzah stacked on the table. We now break the middle matzah into two pieces. Our host will wrap up the larger of the pieces and, at some point between now and the end of dinner, hide it. This piece is called the afikoman, literally “dessert” in Greek. After dinner, all of us will have to hunt for the afikoman, and whoever finds it will win a prize! We eat matzah, unleavened bread, to remind us that...

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Pour your second glass of wine. The Haggadah doesn’t tell the story of Passover in a linear fashion. We don’t hear of Moses being found by the daughter of Pharaoh; actually, we don’t hear much of Moses at all. Instead, we get an impressionistic collection of songs, images and stories of both the Exodus and from Passover celebrations through the centuries. Some say that minimizing the role of Moses keeps us focused on the miracles God performed for us. Others insist...

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The formal telling of the story of Passover is framed as a series of questions and answers. The tradition that the youngest person at the seder asks the questions reflects the importance of sharing the story, symbolism and purpose with the next generation. Asking questions is a core tradition in Jewish life; the rabbis who formatted the seder sought to teach this important story through these questions. מַה נִּשְׁתַּנָּה הַלַּֽיְלָה הַזֶּה מִכָּל הַלֵּילוֹת? Ma nishtana halaila hazeh mikol haleilot? Why is...

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עֲבָדִים הָיִינו. עַתָּה בְּנֵי חוֹרִין:     Avadim hayinu. Ata b’nei chorin. We were slaves. Now we are free. We were slaves to Pharaoh, and God took us from there with a strong hand and outstretched arm. Had God not brought our ancestors out of captivity, then even today we and our children and our grandchildren would still be slaves. Even if we were all wise and the most knowledgeable scholars, we would still be obligated to tell the story of the Exodus.

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Jewish tradition tells of four children with unique ways of understanding Passover: the wise child, the wicked child, the simple child and the silent child. Yet we know that no child is all wise, all wicked, all simple or incapable of asking anything. At different points in our lives, we have been each of these children. What does the wise child say?  The wise child asks diligently, “What are the testimonies and laws which God commanded you?” What does it mean...

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Our story starts in ancient times with Abraham, who followed God’s command and became the very first believer. The idea of one God, invisible and all-powerful, inspired him to leave his family and begin a new people in Canaan, the land that would one day bear his grandson Jacob’s adopted name, Israel.  God made a promise to Abraham that his family would become a great nation, but this promise came with a vision of the troubles along the way: “Your descendants...

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As we rejoice at the Israelites’ deliverance from slavery, we acknowledge this freedom was hard-earned. We regret that freedom came at the cost of others’ suffering, for we are all made in the image of God. Therefore, we take away just a little bit of our joy of wine by placing a drop of it on our plates as we recite each of the Ten Plagues.  Dip a finger or a spoon into your wine glass to get a drop for...

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The Passover Haggadah recounts ten plagues that afflicted Egyptian society. In our tradition, Passover is the season in which we imagine our own lives within the story and the story within our lives. Accordingly, we turn our thoughts to the many plagues affecting our society today. Our journey from slavery to redemption is ongoing, demanding the work of our hearts and hands. Here are ten “modern plagues”: Homelessness In any given year, about 3.5 million people are likely to experience homelessness,...

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The plagues and subsequent redemption are but one example of the might and protection of God. As we tell this story of triumph, we sing the words of Dayeinu (“It would have been enough”), for just a single act of love from God would have sufficed, and yet God continues to show us compassion.  אִלּוּ הוֹצִיאָֽנוּ מִמִּצְרַֽיִם, דַּיֵּנוּ:     Ilu hotzianu mi-mitzrayim,  Dayeinu If God had only taken us out of Egypt,  that would have been enough! אִלּוּ נָתַן לָֽנוּ אֶת־הַתּוֹרָה  דַּיֵּנוּ:...

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We have now told the story of Passover…but wait! We’re not quite done. There are still several symbols on our seder plate we haven’t explained. Rabban Gamaliel would say that whoever didn’t explain the shank bone, matzah and maror (bitter herbs) hasn’t done Passover justice. The shank bone represents the “ pesach, ” the special lamb sacrifice made in the days of the Temple for the Passover holiday. During the final plague, the Israelites were instructed to smear lamb’s blood on...

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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 yatza 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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Tonight, we gather together to celebrate Passover. Passover is a holiday commemorating the Israelites’ liberation from slavery and their exodus from Egypt, as told in the beginning of the Book of Exodus in the Hebrew Bible. Following the command that the story should always be taught to the next generation, Jews across time and space have celebrated this joyful holiday. As you might imagine, there are many aspects of the Passover celebration that have withstood the millennia of observance, and many...

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All Jewish celebrations, from holidays to weddings, include wine as a symbol of our joy – not to mention a practical way to increase that joy. The seder starts with wine and then gives us three more opportunities to refill our cup and drink. בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יְיָ, אֱלֹהֵינוּ מֶלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם, בּוֹרֵא פְּרִי הַגָּפֶן Baruch Atah Adonai, Eloheinu Melech ha-olam, borei p’ree hagafen. We praise God, Ruler of Everything, who creates the fruit of the vine. We praise God, Ruler of Everything,...

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Water is refreshing, cleansing, and clear, so it’s easy to understand why so many cultures and religions use water for symbolic purification. We will wash our hands twice during our seder: now, with no blessing, to get us ready for the rituals to come; and then again later, we’ll wash again with a blessing, preparing us for the meal, which Judaism thinks of as a ritual in itself. (The Jewish obsession with food is older than you thought!) To wash your...