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Elijah the ProphetOn the Seder night, we open the door for Elijah the Prophet, and we place a cup of wine on the table especially for him.Our hopes have long been centered on Elijah since legends has it that he will herald the time of complete human freedom. But he will come only when people have prepared the way for him. This simply means that we, all of us, are Elijah. We must liberate ourselves from prejudice and injustice. We must...

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!בתאבון Let's eat! Dig in! Bon Appetit!    

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Later, we will read and explore the whole story of the Exodus from Egypt, but first we give a simple answer to each of these four questions. We eat matzoh because when our ancestors were told by Pharaoh that they could leave Egypt, they had no time to allow their bread to rise, so they baked hurriedly, without leavening. At the Seder, we eat bitter herbs to remind us of the bitterness our ances- tors experienced when they were oppressed as...

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Every year, Jews drink four cups of wine and then pour a fifth for Elijah. "The cup is poured, but not yet drunk. Yet the cup of hope is poured every year. Passover is the night for reckless dreams; for visions about what a human being can be, what society can be, what people can be, what history may become. That is the significance of 'Le-shanah ha-ba-a b'Yerushalayim' (Next year in Jerusalem)."

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ALL: This is the bread of affliction, the simple bread which our ancestors ate in the land of Egypt.HOST: From the three matzos, I take the middle piece, break it in two. Why do we break this bread in two? Because if we hold on to the whole loaf for ourselves, it remains the bread of oppression. If we break it in order to share it, it becomes the bread of freedom.I wrap one of the two pieces in a napkin. ...

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Matzah is both a reminder of our past and a symbol of our future. It was first used to celebrate the spring festival when our farming ancestors threw out their sour dough — the leavening — and baked unleavened bread to welcome the New Year. Later the Matzah became associated with the Exodus from Egypt. As the Torah says, “And they baked unleavened bread from the dough which they brought out of Egypt. There was not sufficient time to allow it...

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Questioning is a healthy sign of freedom. Asking questions is so fundamen- tal that, according to the rabbis, even if one finds oneself alone on Passover, the Four Questions should be asked aloud. Traditionally, the youngest child is called upon to ask these four questions about the differences that mark this night. We encourage children to question and all who are present may ask the Four Questions. Ma nish-ta-na ha-lyla ha-zeh meekol ha-lailot? She-be-chol ha-lay-lot anu ochlin chamaytz u-matzo, ha-laila ha-zeh...

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So Moses goes back to Egypt and he demands that Pharaoh free the Hebrews from bondage. But Pharaoh refuses! And so God sends a plague upon Egypt, turning all the rivers and streams to blood. All the fish die and the Egyptians can find no clean water to drink. Pharaoh, in desperation, agrees to free the slaves. But as soon as the waters become clear again, he changes his mind.And so God sends a second plague. Now hordes of frogs descend...

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At this point, I will symbolically wash my hands for all of us, without saying the blessing. As I take a moment to wash my hands, imagine that you are washing away all anxiety and stress in your life, and allow yourself to be filled with the hope that the world can be a better place for us all.

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Maggid means retelling the story of the exodus from Egypt.In every generation, we must see ourselves as if we personally were liberated from Egypt. We gather tonight to tell the ancient story of a people's liberation from Egyptian slavery. This is the story of our origins as a people. It is from these events that we gain our ethics, our vision of history, our dreams for the future. We gather tonight, as two hundred generations of Jewish families have before us,...

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("This Old Man” by Craig) Then God sent,Plague number one, Turned the Nile into blood. All the people in Egypt were feeling pretty low They told Pharaoh "Let them Go!" Then God sent, Plague number two, Jumping frogs all over you. All the people in Egypt were feeling pretty low They told Pharaoh "Let them Go!" Then God sent, Plague number three, Swarms of gnats from head to knee. All the people in Egypt were feeling pretty low They told Pharaoh...

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(to the tune of "Just a spoon full of sugar")   Chorus: Just a tad of charoset helps the bitter herbs go down, The bitter herbs go down, the bitter herbs go down. Just a tad of charoset helps the bitter herbs go down, In the most disguising way.   Oh, back in Egypt long ago, The Jews were slaves under Pharaoh. They sweat and toiled and labored through the day. So when we gather Pesach night, We do what we think right....

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 DAYENUIlu ho-tzi hotzi-a-nuho-tzi-a-nu-mi-mitz-ra-yimho-tzi-a-nu-mi-mitz-ra-yimday-en-u  (CHORUS:)Day-day-en-uDay-day-en-uDay-day-en-uDay-en-u, day-en-uIl-lu-na-tan na-tan la-nuna-tan la-nu et ha-sha-batna-tan la-nu et ha-sha-batday-en-u( CHORUS)I-lu na-tan na-tan la-nuna-tan la-nu et ha-to-rahna-tan la-nu et ha-to-rahDay-en-u(CHORUS)SECOND CUP OF WINE(All raise glasses and say:)We shall never forget the slavery of Egypt or any other enslaved people, past or presentWe shall be mindful always of the need for freedom for all, and the joy of liberation.Boruch atto adonoi elohenu melech ho'olom bore p'ri haggofenBlessed are You, Lord our God, King of the University, who creates the...

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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...

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Tonight we dip our bitterness in the sweetness of charoset. Charoset, the sweet mixture of fruits and nuts, symbolizes the mortar of the bricks of the Israelites. It is also the mortar of commitment and interdependence that enabled the Jewish community to survive through those centuries of oppression. It is the building blocks of hope and tradition, which are sweet. We take our maror of fear, and by dipping it into the sweetness we create a new model that honors the...

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Every year, Jews drink four cups of wine and then pour a fifth for Elijah. "The cup is poured, but not yet drunk. Yet the cup of hope is poured every year. Passover is the night for reckless dreams; for visions about what a human being can be, what society can be, what people can be, what history may become. That is the significance of 'Le-shanah ha-ba-a b'Yerushalayim' (Next year in Jerusalem)."

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Tonight we dip our bitterness in the sweetness of charoset. Charoset, the sweet mixture of fruits and nuts, symbolizes the mortar of the bricks of the Israelites. It is also the mortar of commitment and interdependence that enabled the Jewish community to survive through those centuries of oppression. It is the building blocks of hope and tradition, which are sweet. We take our maror of fear, and by dipping it into the sweetness we create a new model that honors the...

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Our passover things(Sung to the tune of "My Favorite Things" from The Sound of Music)Cleaning and cooking and so many dishesOut with the hametz no pasta no knishesFish that's gefillted Horseradish that stingsThese are a few off our Passover things.ChorusMatzah and karpas and chopped up harosetShankbones and kiddish and Yiddish neurosesTante who kvetches andUncle who singsThese are a few off our Passover things.ChorusMatzi and marror and trouble with pharoahsFamines and locusts and slaves with wheelbaarrowsMatzah balls floating and Eggshell that clingsThese...