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The Hebrew word “Kiddush” means sanctification. But it is not the wine we sanctify. Instead, the wine is a symbol of the sanctity, the preciousness, and the sweetness of this moment. Held together by sacred bonds of family, friendship, peoplehood, we share this table tonight with one another and with all the generations who have come before us. Let us rise, and sanctify this singular moment. HOW? We will drink four cups of wine at the Seder in celebration of our...

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In lighting the candles at dusk we symbolize the end of an ordinary day and the beginning of an extra-ordinary ritual, a moment which reminds us of the first day of creation. ברוך אתה יי אלהינו מלך העולם אשר קדשנו במצותין וציונו להדליק נר של שבת ויום טוב Brucha Yah Shechinah, eloheinu Malkat ha-olam, asher kid’shatnu b’mitzvotayha vitzivatnu l’hadlik ner shel (Shabbat v’) Yom Tov. (Ashkenazi pronunciation, fem.) Baruch atah Adonai, eloheinu Melekh ha-olam, asher kid-shatnu b’mitzvotav v’tsivanu l’hadlik ner shel...

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The Four Questions in Ladino: Kuanto fue demudada la noche la esta mas ke todas las noches? Ke en todas las noches non nos entinyentes afilu vez una, i la noche la esta dos vezes? Ke en todas las noches nos comientes levdo o sesenya i la noche la esta todo el sesenya? Ke en todas las noches nos comientes resto de vedruras i la noche la esta lechugua? Ke en todas las noches nos comientes i bevientes tanto asentados i...

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I speak to you as an American Jew. As Americans we share the profound concern of millions of people about the shame and disgrace of inequality and injustice which make a mockery of the great American idea. As Jews we bring to this great demonstration, in which thousands of us proudly participate, a two-fold experience -- one of the spirit and one of our history. In the realm of the spirit, our fathers taught us thousands of years ago that when...

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Miriam’s Cup Reader 1: The story has always been told of a miraculous well of living water which has accompanied the Jewish people since the world was spoken into being. The well comes and goes, as it is needed, and as we remember, forget, and remember again how to call it to us. In the time of the exodus from Mitzrayim, the well came to Miriam, in honor of her courage and action, and stayed with the Jews as they wandered...

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בְָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יְיָ, אֱלֹהֵֽינוּ מֶֽלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם, הַמּוֹצִיא לֶֽחֶם מִן הָאָֽרֶץ: Barouch ata Adonai, eloheinu Melech ha-olam ha-mosee le-hem min haares. (Iraqi pronunciation,masc.) Baruch atah Adonai, eloheinu Melech ha-olam ha-motzi lechem min ha-aretz. (Ashkenazi pronunciation, masc.) Brucha Yah Shechinah, eloheinu Malkat ha-olam ha-motzi lechem min ha-aretz. (Ashkenazi pronunciation, fem.) Blessed are You, Compassionte One, who has given us the blessing of eating this matzah. בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יְיָ, אֱלֹהֵֽינוּ מֶֽלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם, אֲשֶׁר קִדְּשָֽׁנוּ בְּמִצְוֹתַָיו וְצִוָּֽנוּ עַל אֲכִילַת מַצָּה: Barouch ata Adonai eloheinu melech...

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A Cup to Ourselves, to all of us who are at this seder tonight, to the present moment. We must love ourselves, for we are holy, and we have been created out of all that is. Let us take this moment to honor our bodies, our lives, and our communities. Let us honor all the things that have made us who we are- the pain and the pleasure. Let us savor our bodies in all their uniqueness: our skins and our...

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Next Year In... It is traditional to end a seder with L’shanah ha-ba’ah b’Yerushalayim—Next Year in Jerusalem! The call speaks to a feeling of exile which characterized the Jewish Diaspora for centuries. How might we understand this today? A close look at the word Yerushalayim suggests an answer. The name can be read as deriving from Ir Shalem (“City of Wholeness”) or Ir Shalom (“City of Peace”). No matter where we are or what our politics, we all slip into exile...

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Chad Gadya חַד גַּדְיָא, חַד גַּדְיָא דְזַבִּין אַבָּא בִּתְרֵי זוּזֵי, חַד גַּדְיָא, חַד גַּדְיָא. Chad gadya, chad gadya Dizabin abah bitrei zuzei Chad gadya, chad gadya. One little goat, one little goat: Which my father brought for two zuzim. One little goat, one little goat: The cat came and ate the goat, Which my father bought for two zuzim. One little goat, one little goat: The dog came and bit the cat That ate the goat, Which my father bought for...

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In some Ashkenazi traditions, the Afikomen is hidden during the meal, for the ‘children’ to find later. This ceremony reminds us that what is broken can be repaired and that what is lost can be regained, as long as we remember it and search for it

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Tonight, we must also acknowledge the struggles of our neighbors in humanity. Just as we were once a refugee population after we were freed from Egypt, so too are members of these nations outcasted in our own time and in our country. We understand the struggle of living under a tyrant and the oppression of an innocent people both as a result of Jewish enslavement in Egypt and in more modern waves of immigration and expulsions. Please join us in removing...

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Dayenu means “it would have sufficed” or “we would have been satisfied.” Perhaps “grateful” would be a better translation. Dayenu is the song of our gratitude. A Jewish philosopher was once asked, “what is the opposite of hopelessness?” And he said, “Dayenu,” the ability to be thankful for what we have received, for what we are. The first prayer that a Jew is expected to recite upon waking expresses hir gratitude for being alive. This holds for all generations, and surely...

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מִן הַמֵּצַר קָרָאתִי יָּהּ, עָנָּנִי בַמֶרְחַב יָהּ. עָנָּנִי Min hameitzar karati yah Amani vamerchav yah Anani (3x) From a narrow place, I cried out to Hashem. Hashem answered me with wide expanse. "It is good to give thanks, Not because G-d needs our praise, But because we do. To awaken to wonder, to holiness, to G-d. It is good to give thanks for through thanksgiving comes awakening." -Rami Shapiro

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Welcome, one and all, to the Smith College Jewish Community Passover Seder 2018! Chag pesach sameach and shabbat shalom (happy passover and a restful shabbat)! We hope this seder provides opportunities for comfort, growth, and inspiration. We welcome you into this vibrant community and hope that each of you find spiritual and/or personal meaning in our shared rituals. Tonight, let's experience the joy of tradition and tradition of joy in celebrating our liberation from enslavement in Mitzrayim, which literally means the...

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When drinking the four cups and eating the matzah, we lean on our left side to accentuate the fact that we are free people. In ancient times only free people had the luxury of reclining while eating. We ask that this year you consider what it means to recline when so many are not yet free from oppression. This is not a simple question, and so there is no simple answer. In solidarity, you may choose not to recline. Or perhaps...

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The Exodus: A Story In Eight Short Chapters 1. Once upon a time our people went into exile in the land of Egypt. During a famine our ancestor Jacob and his family fled to Egypt where food was plentiful. His son Joseph had risen to high position in Pharaoh’s court, and our people were well respected and well-regarded, secure in the power structure of the time. 2. Generations passed and our people remained in Egypt. In time, a new Pharaoh ascended...

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In the Jewish tradition, Moses is the highest example of a leader. Many have been compared to him. A Hasidic tale urges us not to compare ourselves to Moses. In the tale, Rabbi Zusya tells his students that when he leaves this life and arrives in the World to Come, he will not be asked, “Why were you not Moses?” but rather, “Why were you not Zusya?”

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Tonight, we must also acknowledge the struggles of our neighbors in humanity. Just as we were once a refugee population after we were freed from Egypt, so too are members of these nations outcasted in our own time and in our country. We understand the struggle of living under a tyrant and the oppression of an innocent people both as a result of Jewish enslavement in Egypt and in more modern waves of immigration and expulsions. Please join us in removing...

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