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Long ago, Pharaoh ruled the land of Egypt. He enslaved the Jewish people and made them work very hard building his cities.   song: Bang bang bang Phaoraoh was especially cruel to Jewish children. One mother hid her baby, Moses, in a basket in the river. Pharoah's daughter found him and took him home to live in the palace. Moses grew up. He saw the slaves working so hard. He had a fight about it and ran away to be a shepherd....

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It is one of life's joys that each year Jews celebrate the holiday of Pesach - its message of freedom - its response to suffering - its hope for renewed life. United with family and dear friends, Jews celebrate the holiday of Pesach - with gratitude for blessings - for love - for freedom.

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To those unfamiliar with the terrain, the desert can seem like a harsh and empty place. Indeed, the desert of the Passover story is devoid of sustenance and life. At this point in the Seder, it is tradition to reflect on liberation and rebirth as connected ideas. To symbolize rebirth, we take a vegetable, like parsley, and dip it into salt water, which represents the tears shed by our Jewish ancestors when they were enslaved. Mixing the sweet and the bitter...

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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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Leader: God brought ten plagues upon the Egyptian people as part of the Israelites’ journey to freedom. Tonight we read ten modern plagues that result from unfair, inequitable, and excessive practices in the criminal justice system. As we read each plague we remove a drop of wine from our glasses to symbolize our anguish at the suffering these plagues have caused. Recite together:  The concentration of police drug enforcement resources in poor communities of color  The forfeiture laws and...

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by Miriam Grossman May it be your will Our God and God of our ancestors that you lead us in peace and direct our steps (our marching, Rebellious, organized, queer dance-partying, prayerful steps) in peace and guide us in peace and support us in just peace (and in the tearing down of walls, and in the rising up of peoples), and cause us to reach our destination in life and joy and peace (all of us together, no one left behind)....

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Bienvenido, shalom, welcome to Seder A La Mexicana: a journey from exilio (exile) to liberdad (freedom.) We start by setting intentions for the event with all of you here tonight. The first one is that of inclusión, Pesach is a time of inclusion. Tonight we come together to recreate in story and espíritu (spirit) of Moses and the Israelites journey from Mitsrayim (Egypt or a "narrow bridge") to liberdad, the land of Israel. Tonight we honor our ancestors, the curanderas (healers,)...

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The first hand-washing of the seder is unusual. The rabbis point out that even a child would wonder at least two things: why do we wash without a blessing and why do we bother to wash when we will not be eating our meal for some time. They suggest that we wash our hands here in order to raise questions. Questions, both of wonder and of despair, are crucial to our time at the seder and, really, our growth as human...

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Long ago at this season, our people set out on a journey. On such a night as this, Israel went from degradation to joy. We give thanks for the liberation of days gone by. And we pray for all who are still bound. God, may all who hunger come to rejoice in a new Passover. Let all the human family sit together, drink the wine of deliverance, and eat the bread of freedom: Freedom from bondage     and freedom from oppression Freedom...

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1. Hannah Senesh was a Hungarian Jew, one of 37 Jews who lived in the British Mandate for Palestine (now Israel), who were trained by the British army to parachute into Yugoslavia during the Second World War in order to help save the Jews of Hungary, who were about to be deported to the German death camp at Auschwitz. 2. Senesh was arrested at the Hungarian border, imprisoned and tortured, but she refused to reveal details of her mission and was...

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The beauty of Urchatz was revealed to me during a women's seder.  Each participant washed the hands of another with care and kavanah (intentionality)—and without words. The sisterhood created in the sacred silence elevates communal consciousness. How will we utilize this state of purity? V'ahavtah l're'echa kamochah - to love the other as ourself. How will this ancient wisdom propel us forward to empower the silent? How will we elevate the hands of all those still in Mitzrayim? --Jessica K. Shimberg,...

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OPENING SONG: Hinay ma tov umah na’im shevet achim gam yachad. How good and how pleasant it is for brothers and sisters to dwell together in unity. (Psalm 133) KADESH: SANCTIFYING OUR GATHERING A central symbol of the Passover seder—literally an “order”— is four cups of wine or grape juice, representing different stages of the seder. We move from gathering to hearing other people’s stories, then to sharing our own exodus narratives, and finally to song. Let us fill the first...

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Rabban Gamliel says that anyone who has not discussed three central symbols has not fulfilled the obligation of the seder. These are the Passover lamb, Pesach in Hebrew, representing freedom; matzah, representing poverty; and bitter herbs, maror in Hebrew, representing suffering. Pesach—Freedom I have been out of jail [in Israel] for a few weeks now. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate my freedom after what I have been through. I take nothing for granted…My only wish is to remain...