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Remember the days of old:consider the years of many generations (Deut. 32:7) Every year, hundreds of giant sea turtles swim hundreds of miles from their homes near Brazil to a tiny island in the Atlantic Ocean in order to find their mates.  For years, scientists tried to understand how the turtles could find their way every time, from so far away. It was a tiny island, and even airplanes sometimes had trouble finding it.  What do you think it was??  Once...

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When we talk about God we are talking about the spiritual energy of the universe which makes it possible to transcend the tendency of human beings to pass on to others the hurt and pain that has been done to us, the force that permeates every ounce of Being and unites all in one transcendent and imminent reality. God is the Force in the universe that makes possible the transformation from “that which is” to “that which can and ought to...

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By Maya Kasowky What follows are short descriptions of Seder customs from around the world. For this lesson each custom can be printed out on a separate card or strip. Circling the seder plate over the heads of each participant, while saying “In Haste we left Egypt”.  The response is “We were slaves to Pharaoh in Egypt” Where it fits in the seder: The very beginning Where it is from: Morocco and Tunisia Putting the shank bone, charoset, maror, karpas, egg,...

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The Four QuestionsWhy is it onlyon Passover nightwe never know howto do anything right?We don't eat our mealsin the regular ways,the ways that we doon all other days.'Cause on all other nightswe may eatall kinds of wonderfulgood bready treats,like big purple pizzathat tastes like a pickle,crumbly crackersand pink pumpernickel,sassafras sandwichand tiger on rye,fifty felafels in pita,fresh-fried,with peanut-butterand tangerine saucespread onto each sideup-and-down, then across,and toasted whole-wheat breadwith liver and ducks,and crumpets and dumplings,and bagels and lox,and doughnuts with one holeand doughnuts...

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Back to basics, get rid of what is bloated and inflated“Letting go means just what it says. It’s an invitation to cease clinging to anything- whether it be an idea, a thing, an event, a particular time, or view, or desire. It is a conscious decision to release with full acceptance into the stream of present moments as they are unfolding. To let go means to give up coercing, resisting or struggling, in exchange for something more powerful and wholesome which...

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When we break the Matzah in half, we are symbolizing the split of the red sea. When we break the Matzah, we symbolize the hope that we can eat. When the red sea split, it symbolized the permission; yes you may pass, after hearing the word NO NO NO. During the Seder we get bored and we ask “When can we eat” and until this breaking of the Matzah, we get told NO NO NO. It is hope that there is...

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Shabbat Candles May the festival lights we now kindle, Inspire us to use our powers To heal and not to harm, To help and not to hinder, To bless and not to curse, To serve You, O God of freedom.

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The Fifth Question: What can we do to help alleviate poverty? There are numerous charities which aim to get donations to end poverty. It is important to make food and money to these various charities to help others. We must remember that we were once "strangers in the land of Egypt" (Exodus 23:9). This quote appears numerous times in the Torah and explains to us to have sympathy for others because we were once abused and manipulated so we should consider...

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The Passover SymbolsWe have now told the story of Passover… but wait! We’re not quite done. There are still some symbols on our seder plate we haven’t talked about yet. Rabban Gamliel would say that whoever didn’t explain the shank bone, matzah, and marror (or 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. It is called the pesach, from the Hebrew word meaning...

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The most devastating effect of slavery, ultimately, is that the slave internalizes the master's values and accepts the condition of slavery as his proper status. People who live in chronic conditions of poverty, hunger, and sickness tend to show similar patterns of acceptance and passivity. As with slaves,their deprivation deprives from their political and economic status and then becomes moral and psychological reality. It is this reality that was overthrown in the Exodus.—Irving Greenberg We got used to standing in line...

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We’ve been bound by a hardened heart And our inability to see ourselves in each other. We have been puffed up by ego and pride. Enslaved by how things have always been. And now it is time to go. But fear threatens to paralyze. How can we possibly exist any other way? Our imagination falters The attachment to what we know is so great It doesn’t matter that it causes us so much pain. We dig in. We will not be...

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In a moment, our Seder will be complete. However, we remember that working against oppression in the world is our never-ending responsibility. We recommit ourselves to the vision of a world filled with peace and justice for all. We work for a world where "nation shall not lift-up sword against nation nor study war anymore." We work for a world where people are not treated differently because of their race, their religion, their gender, their age, their marital status, their skin...

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As we recite the Haggadah, which retells the Exodus of the Children of Israel from Egypt, we have the strange feeling that, once again, we are living in Biblical times. More than any generation before, my contemporaries have known not only a paroxysm of evil but also the realization of a promise; not only the Kingdom of Night but also the rebirth of a dream; not only the horror of Nazism but also the end of the nightmare; not only the...

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Karpas (parsley that is dipped in saltwater) - time for spring awakening, new directions, renewal and bursting forth of new ideas. We take this time to honor those from other faiths who travel with us. We acknowledge that they bring a new perspective to our lives. We are grateful for the growth that we have experienced because they are in our lives. As a plant bursts forth with new energy to bloom, so too we recognize that at this time of...