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Why is there no orange on our Seder plate?      In the early 1980s, while speaking at Oberlin College Hillel, Susannah Heschel was introduced to an early feminist Haggadah that suggested adding a crust of bread on the Seder plate, as a sign of solidarity with Jewish lesbians (there's as much room for a lesbian in Judaism as there is for a crust of bread on the seder plate). Heschel felt that to put bread on the Seder plate would be to...

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Passover combines the celebration of an event from 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, in this case parsely, to represent our joy at the dawning of spring after our long, cold winter. Whatever symbol of spring and...

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Tonight with the traditional candles we also light a Veladora with the Virgen De Guadalupe, who is the protector of all Mexican People and all of Latino America. Similar to a Yarzeit candle, a candle of remembrance, people all over Mexico light veladora's in their home with prayers for those in struggle, those lost, and those in need of protection. Tonight we also light a veladora for all those who still are in the bondages of modern slavery and are yet...

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Be patient. Expand your sense of the possible. Expect no more of anyone than you can deliver yourself. Concern yourself with what is right rather than who is right. Never forget that, no matter how certain, you might be wrong. Learn the needs of those around you and respect them. Avoid the pursuit of happiness. Seek to define your mission and pursue that. Understand humility. Foster dignity. Endure. 10 of the 25 "Principles of Adult Behavior" , by John Perry Barlow.

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PASSOVERTell me: how is this night different From all other nights?How, tell me, is this PassoverDifferent from other Passovers?Light the lamp, open the door wideSo the pilgrim can come in,Gentile or Jew;Under the rags perhaps the prophet is concealed.Let him enter and sit down with us;Let him listen, drink, sing and celebrate Passover;Let him consume the bread of affliction,The Paschal Lamb, sweet mortar and bitter herbs.This is the night of differencesIn which you lean your elbow on the table,Since the forbidden...

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Why do we eat much on this night and others eat little? Why do we eat the unleavened bread and throw our leavened bread away instead of donating it to the food pantry? Why do we dip our food into sauce and salt andcharosetwhile others may not even havea crumb to dip? Why do we lay back, relax and eat the food that comes to us so easily while others work to buy bread for their family? This clip originally appeared...

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Caged Bird BY MAYA ANGELOU A free bird leaps  on the back of the wind    and floats downstream    till the current ends  and dips his wing  in the orange sun rays  and dares to claim the sky.  But a bird that stalks  down his narrow cage  can seldom see through  his bars of rage  his wings are clipped and    his feet are tied  so he opens his throat to sing.  The caged bird sings    with a fearful trill    of things unknown   ...

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Korech:  Mixing the Bitter and the SweetOne of my favorite moments of the seder comes just before dinner is served.  It is called Korech.  It is also known as the Hillel sandwich.  It is the moment when we eat maror (the bitter herbs) and the charoset (the sweet apple and nut mixture) on a piece of matzah.  What a strange custom to eat something so bitter and something so sweet all in one bite.  I can taste it now, just thinking...

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The Paschal Lamb reminds us that the Holy One, praised be God, passed over the houses of our ancestors in Egypt. The Matzah is to remind us that before the dough our ancestors prepared for bread had time to rise, God revealed the might, power and presence of God unto them and redeemed them. The Bitter Herbs are to remind us that the Egyptians embittered the lives of our ancestors in Egypt. In gratitude for the miracles which God has performed...

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Traditionally each of the cups of wine are linked to one of the statements of redemption spoken by God in the Torah “I will bring you out”. “I will deliver you”. “I will redeem you”. "I will gather you to me.” (Exodus 6:6-7). This cup of wine therefore corresponds to the first statement “I will bring you out of slavery” For women the first step to freedom was equality in the law.  The struggle for this freedom began in the desert,...

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“Rabbi Gamliel used to say that those who have not spoken of the following three things on Pesach has not fulfilled the obligation of the holiday. They are Pesach, Matza and Maror.” Pesach – the Pascal Sacrifice. I am Pesach when I sacrifice my own needs for the needs of others. I am Pesach when I say yes, though I mean no. I am Pesach when I bleed each month. Matza. I am Matza when I am broken and split into...

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“I will redeem you”. Modern Feminists focus not just on rights but on experience. We create female experiences to fill the gap from the past. We redeem our heritage. Jewish feminists no longer reject the bible out of hand as patriarchal. Instead we write our own commentaries and midrashim to insert the voices of women. We create our own rituals, such as Simchat Bat and sederim such as these. Not to replicate men’s rituals but to create our own. The third...