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Leader: Let us all refill our cups. Leader picks up cup for all to see. This is the cup of hope. The seder tradition involves pouring a cup for the Hebrew prophet Elijah. For millennia, Jews opened the door for him, inviting him join their seders, hoping that he would bring with him a messiah to save the world. Yet the tasks of saving the world - once ascribed to prophets, messiahs and gods - must be taken up by us...

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מִפִּי אֵל, מִפִּי אֵל, יִבוֹרַךְ יִשְׂרָאֵל. מִפִּי אֵל, מִפִּי אֵל, יִבוֹרַךְ יִשְׂרָאֵל. Mipi El, Mipi El, Y'vorach Yisrael. Mipi El, Mipi El, Y'vorach Yisrael. אֵין אַדִּיר כַּה', וְאֵין בָּרוּךְ כְּבֶן עַמְרָם.  אֵין גְדוֹלָה כַּתּוֹרָה, וְאֵין דּוֹרְשָׁהּ כְּיִשְׂרָאֵל.  Ein Adir ka'Adonai, V'ein Baruch k'ven Amram.  Ein G'dolah ka'Torah, V'ein Dorsha k'Yisrael. מִפִּי אֵל, מִפִּי אֵל, יִבוֹרַךְ יִשְׂרָאֵל.  מִפִּי אֵל, מִפִּי אֵל, יִבוֹרַךְ יִשְׂרָאֵל. Mipi El, Mipi El, Y'vorach Yisrael. Mipi El, Mipi El, Y'vorach Yisrael. אֵין הָדוּר כַּה', וְאֵין וָתִיק כְּבֶן עַמְרָם. ...

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“To approach the Other in conversation is to welcome his expression, in which at each instant he overflows the idea a thought would carry away from it. It is therefore to receive from the Other beyond the capacity of the I, which means exactly: to have the idea of infinity. But this also means: to be taught. The relation with the Other, or Conversation, is a non-allergic relation, an ethical relation; but inasmuch as it is welcomed this conversation is a...

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Super-kosher Manischewitz, Exodus and Moses (to the tune of "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious") Super-kosher Manischewitz, Exodus and Moses The story of the Passover our Seder meal discloses Reminds us that the life of slaves was not a bed of roses Super-kosher Manischewitz, Exodus and Moses Um diddle diddle diddle um diddle ai Um diddle diddle diddle um diddle ai The Jews were bound in Egypt and were feeling rather low So Moses went to Pharaoh and said “Let my people go.” Pharoah said “Be...

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The karpas, the green vegetable, is the first part of the seder that makes this night different from all other nights. So far, the first glass of wine and the hand washing, though significant, do not serve to mark any sort of difference; they are regular parts of meals. The karpas, however, is not. As a night marked by difference, that difference starts now. Tonight, we celebrate difference with the karpas. Here, difference brings us hope, joy, and renewed life. We...

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Leader: With the second cup of wine we remember God’s promise to save the Israelites from the forced labor of the Egyptian taskmasters. With this cup we turn our thoughts to those in our community who have been forced back into the underground economy. We think about the returning citizens among us who so desire a fresh start and a family- sustaining job, but who are forced by society’s discrimination to return to the illegal drug trade so that they can...

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The question of why we eat maror would at first glance appear to be an obvious one. When I probe a little deeper, however, two questions emerge for me. First, why would I want to evoke pain and suffering on a night when I want to feel celebratory? My second question goes to the ritual itself. How is eating lettuce or horseradish supposed to help me experience or relate to the bitterness of slavery? No matter how much fiery hot horseradish...

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Following the framework of the Four Questions of the Passover haggadah, we ask four alternative questions for discussion. These questions are meant to spark conversations that can happen throughout the seder. First Question Read this narrative aloud and then discuss the question below. “When I found out I got into the University, I immediately called my ‘real’ mom in Afghanistan, whom I haven’t seen since I was 14. My family, which belongs to the Hazaras, lived under the constant threat of...

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Baruch atah Adonai, eloheinu Melekh ha-olam, asher kid’shanu b’mitzvotav v’tsivanu lirdof tzedek Brucha Yah Shechinah, eloheinu Malkat ha-olam, asher kid’shatnu b’mitzvotayha vitzivatnu lirdof tzedek Blessed is the Source, who shows us paths to holiness, and commands us to pursue justice. 

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If there is a hard, high wall and an egg that breaks against it, no matter how right the wall or how wrong the egg, I will stand on the side of the egg. Why? Because each of us is an egg, a unique soul enclosed in a fragile egg. Each of us is confronting a high wall. The high wall is the system which forces us to do the things we would not ordinarily see fit to do as individuals...

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by Joshua Ratner, Rabbis Without Borders One of my favorite parts of the Passover seder is the singing that takes place after we finish eating. There are so many great, fun songs, from “Ehad Mi Yodeah” to "Chad Gadya."Perhaps my favorite song is “Dayenu.” The words are fairly easy to sing in Hebrew, and the chorus is so catchy that even those who don’t know Hebrew can easily join in. But beyond its functionality, the content of Dayenu (literally “it would...

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“American society is living now at the moment when an abused wife walks out of the household. It is the moment of greatest possibility for freedom, and the moment of greatest danger that the abusive husband will try to kill her. Freedom depends on her having a community to protect and nurture her. “Right now, many abused communities are walking out of their abusive households. Almost certainly, there will be attempts by those in power to choke these energies to death....

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English What makes this night different from all [other] nights? 1) On all nights we need not dip even once, on this night we do so twice? 2) On all nights we eat chametz or matzah, and on this night only matzah? 3) On all nights we eat any kind of vegetables, and on this night maror? 4) On all nights we eat sitting upright or reclining, and on this night we all recline? Hebrew Mah nishtanah halyla hazeh mikol halaylot...

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Salt Water Salt is unique in that it is bitter on its own, yet sweetens and brings out the taste of that which it is added to. For this reason, salt is the staple of suffering. There are two perspectives of suffering – Purposeless Suffering and Purposeful Suffering. Purposeless Suffering is suffering without reason, value, or an end-goal, and is therefore completely bitter. It is based on a keyhole view of life: “What is right in front of my eyes is...