---

Dara's story of her rite of spring. Does anyone else have any stories about a time they created or felt joyous spring passage in times of darkness?

---

Dipping the bitter herb in sweet charoset | maror  |מָרוֹר      In creating a holiday about the joy of freedom, we turn the story of our bitter history into a sweet celebration. We recognize this by dipping our bitter herbs into the sweet charoset. We don’t totally eradicate the taste of the bitter with the taste of the sweet… but doesn’t the sweet mean more when it’s layered over the bitterness? בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יְיָ, אֱלֹהֵֽינוּ מֶֽלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם, אֲשֶׁר קִדְּשָֽׁנוּ בְּמִצְוֹתָיו וְצִוָּֽנוּ עַל...

---

The blessing over the meal and matzah | motzi matzah | מוֹצִיא מַצָּה The familiar hamotzi blessing marks the formal start of the meal. Because we are using matzah instead of bread, we add a blessing celebrating this mitzvah. בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יְיָ, אֱלֹהֵֽינוּ מֶֽלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם, הַמּוֹצִיא לֶֽחֶם מִן הָאָֽרֶץ Baruch Atah Adonai, Eloheinu Melech ha-olam, hamotzi lechem min ha-aretz. We praise God, Ruler of Everything, who brings bread from the land. בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יְיָ, אֱלֹהֵֽינוּ מֶֽלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם, אֲשֶׁר קִדְּשָֽׁנוּ בְּמִצְוֹתַָיו וְצִוָּֽנוּ...

---

The idea for the Freedom Seder was hatched 51 years ago, and took place in Washington DC, eight days after the assasination of Dr. Martin Luther King. People in the city were rebeling, and a Jewish man and civil rights activist named Arthur Waskow was deeply affected by the military presence in the city brought on by the violence. A year later, he wrote is own Haggadah, and over 800 Washingtonians, black, white, jewish and christian, came together in a church...

---

By Audre Lorde For those of us who live at the shoreline standing upon the constant edges of decision crucial and alone for those of us who cannot indulge the passing dreams of choice who love in doorways coming and going in the hours between dawns looking inward and outward at once before and after seeking a now that can breed futures like bread in our children’s mouths so their dreams will not reflect the death of ours;   For those of...

---

Octavia Butler quote: "All that you touch you change. All that you change, changes you. The only lasting truth is change. God is change."

---

When community comes together, it often results in beautiful connection. However, sometimes group dynamics can unintentionally step on other people's sense of freedom and joy. To ensure that everyone feels empowered and connected tonight, we ask everyone to commit to equity of voice. This means if you are used to speaking a lot in group settings, please practice restraint in how often you respond so that other voices may be heard. Vice versa, if you are used to not speaking much...

---

Passover, like many of our holidays, combines the celebration of an event from our 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, representing our joy at the dawning of spring after our long, cold winter. Most families use a...

---

Welcome to our seder! We are doing this to create hope and connection so everyone here can feel more uplifted to change the world... 

---

What are you favorite songs about freedom? Freedom soundtrack:

---

Please feel free to use this time to recline on a cushion, or lean up against the leaning pole, honoring the spirit of royalty... which all of us seek to embody here tonight in our celebration of freedom. 

---

According to the Kabbalah, the book that represents Jewish Mysticism, every Jew is composite of two distinct souls. The first soul is the   Nefesh HaBehamit   which animates the body. This soul is complete with an infrastructure of powers ranging from pleasure and will to intellect and emotions. The second soul is the   Nefesh Elokit. This soul is described by Job as “a part of G‑d,” and exists both before its descent into the body and after the ascent from the body. ...

---

Dip your green vegetable in your saltwater to celebrate spring while listening to Rites of Spring. 

---

“If the concept of God has any validity or any use, it can only be to make us larger, freer, and more loving." -James Baldwin

---

What does freedom feel like in our bodies? Now we wash our hands, and remember that Passover is a holiday of sensation as much as it is the telling of the story of how we were once slaves and now we are free. The bitterness of the herbs, the crack of the matzah, the bloom of spring, sensations are important when we celebrate this holiday. What does freedom mean to you in today's world? 3min facilitated discussion, one person per table...

---

There are three pieces of matzah stacked on the table. We now break the middle matzah into two pieces. The host should 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 afikomen, literally “dessert” in Greek. After dinner, the guests will have to hunt for the afikomen in order to wrap up the meal… and win a prize. We eat matzah in memory of the...

---

According to the Kabbalah, the book that represents Jewish Mysticism, every Jew is composite of two distinct souls. The first soul is the   Nefesh HaBehamit   which animates the body. This soul is complete with an infrastructure of powers ranging from pleasure and will to intellect and emotions. The second soul is the   Nefesh Elokit. This soul is described by Job as “a part of G‑d,” and exists both before its descent into the body and after the ascent from the body. ...

---

Does freedom have a price?

---

In this stage of the seder, we are called to make a hillel sandwich, combining the bitter herbs and sweet charoset on a piece of matzah. It reminds us that the sweetness of freedom and the bitterness of slavery go hand in hand, and we must remember that not all of us our free.  It's important to understand that the freedom and safety of the jewish community does not come from opressing others and creating an apartheid state in the middle...