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If the event includes a festival meal, it should be served at this time. We encourage you to use the time while participants are eating to engage in discussion about hunger and/or conduct an advocacy activity.

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Karpas is from the Greek word karpos, which means “fruit of the soil.” When spring comes we note with pleasure the bounty of vegetables and fruits in the market. Yet in communities and neighborhoods across the country, instead of a seasonal bounty there exists persistent scarcity. Nearly 5 million seniors in the U.S. currently struggle to put enough nutritious food on the table. With 10,000 baby boomers turning 65 every day—many of them aging into poverty—hunger among seniors is quickly becoming...

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(Full texts of Psalms 113 or 114 may be inserted here) “Hallel is about praising God, not about self-satisfaction. The latter makes us complacent and lethargic, but the former can only expand our dedication to the principles that God’s goodness represents in our lives. Our praise of God can motivate us to do God’s work in the world – the work of liberation, love, and justice.” — Rabbi Sheila Peltz Weinberg Taken from “A Night of Questions: A Passover Haggadah,” The...

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Each year at the Seder, we ask the traditional Four Questions. And each year, MAZON asks a Fifth Question to raise awareness about a particular hunger-related issue and spark important conversations around the seder table. This year, we turn our attention to our seniors, who are aging into poverty and hunger at a rapid rate. Why is it that when we talk about aging in America, we never talk about hunger? Why is this time of life different from all other...

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During the traditional seder, we join together and drink four cups of wine: a cup for each of the promises of freedom God made to the Israelites as God led them out of bondage. Today we join together and make four new promises — promises not about breaking the shackles of Egyptian slavery, but about breaking the bonds of hunger. We do so standing together and calling for a better tomorrow, one in which we are all blessed to have bountiful...

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LEADER: Another important Passover symbol is maror, bitter herbs. Bitter herbs serve as a reminder of how the Egyptians embittered the lives of our fathers and mothers. When we eat these bitter herbs, we recognize the bitterness of servitude and oppression. ALL: It is our obligation, as people and as members of this community, to do what we can to lighten the load of those less fortunate and to show compassion for all those who continue to face the oppression of...

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The Four Questions we ask at our Hunger Seder challenge us to consider what is different about this night. Only when we ask the right questions can we understand the causes of hunger and take action to end this unnecessary plight. 1. Why during this seder do we focus on hunger? Hunger remains a painful physical reality for far too many of our friends, neighbors, and family members. Hunger is an oppressive force that holds individuals back from realizing their full...

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READ RESPONSIVELY LEADER: Today we give thanks for the Passover storyALL: And its enduring message of freedom and justice. LEADER:Today we give thanks for our individual blessingsALL: And our commitment to increase blessing and nutrition for all. LEADER: Today we give thanks for the opportunity to gather.ALL: And lift our voices to speak out on behalf of those who are hungry. LEADER: Today we give thanks and actALL: So that no one goes hungry tomorrow. KOS R’VI-I – THE FOURTH CUP...

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Rabbi Gamliel taught that when we tell the story of the Exodus, we must also explain the meaning of the most important symbols: zeroah, matzah, and maror. (Leader holds up each symbol as the designated portion is read.) Zeroah is a roasted shank bone, which reminds us that God told the Israelites to put lamb’s blood on our doors to escape the tenth plague, the slaying of the first born. We eat matzah because there was not enough time for the...

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We thank God for providing us wheat to make bread. In doing so, God gives us the tools we need to sustain ourselves and our communities. We have the tools to create a hunger-free world. It is our responsibility to use these tools to create a more just society. (Leader lifts up a piece of matzah and invites all to eat a piece of matzah after the blessing.) LEADER We join together in the blessing over the matzah: Baruch ata Adonai...

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Afikomen comes from the Greek word for dessert and is the last item eaten during the seder. Traditionally, the Afikomen is hidden toward the beginning of the seder to keep children’s attention. When the meal is over, the seder’s younger participants search the house for the Afikomen. This year, let us consider the search for the Afikomen as a symbol for the ongoing search for answers as to why so many in America are not able to eat healthy nutritious meals...

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In the traditional Passover seder, we pause to reflect on what we have in our lives for which we are grateful and thank God for the miracles God performed. Let’s now recite aloud the blessings we enjoy. After each blessing, we take a moment to say together “Dayenu — it would have been enough.” 1. We are grateful that so many among us do not suffer from the oppression and hardship of daily hunger. Dayenu 2. We are grateful to live...

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(Leader breaks matzah and holds up the smaller broken piece. The larger piece is set aside as the Afikomen.) LEADER: This broken matzah reminds us that our world is broken. We recall those who are poor, whose uncertainty about their future compels them to put aside the “broken half” for later use. We are shaken out of our complacency as we recall God’s words: “Remember that you were slaves in the land of Egypt.” Through service to others, we meet the...

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Once again we wash our hands, this time in anticipation of the festive meal. May this ritual act of hand washing, followed by a blessing, lead to other sacred acts of preparation and protest, advocacy and activism, so that all may find they have the nutritious food they need (Either have volunteers walk around to each table with a pitcher of water and a basin or invite seder guests to wash their hands in some other way.) We join together in...

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LEADER: The story of the Jewish people’s journey from slavery to liberation is the heart of the seder. ALL: This is the bread of poverty which our ancestors ate in the land of Egypt. Let all who are hungry come and eat. Let all who are in need come and share our meal. This year we are here. Next year, may we all be in the land of Israel. This year we are still slaves. Next year may we all be...

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Each year, Jews across the world join with family, friends, neighbors, and strangers to celebrate the holiday of Passover. But why? What is behind this tradition? Seder means “order.” The ordered rituals and symbols of the Passover seder help us to tell the story of the Jewish people’s liberation from slavery in Egypt. (Leader holds up the Seder Plate and briefly explains the ritual items and what they symbolize.) For today’s seder we choose to recognize that while the Jewish people...

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The washing of hands is a ritual of purification. We symbolically “wash away” apathy or indifference and prepare ourselves to reignite our passion for justice and our commitment to ending hunger. Later, we wash our hands again and say a blessing in preparation for the festive meal. (The leader pours water—from a “washing cup” into a bowl—over each hand and then repeats the procedure, symbolically washing the hands for all those at the seder table. No blessing is recited at this...

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If the event includes a festival meal, it should be served at this time. We encourage you to use the time while participants are eating to engage in discussion about hunger and/or conduct an advocacy activity.

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Rabbi Gamliel taught that when we tell the story of the Exodus, we must also explain the meaning of the most important symbols: zeroah, matzah, and maror. (Leader holds up each symbol as the designated portion is read.) Zeroah is a roasted shank bone, which reminds us that God told the Israelites to put lamb’s blood on our doors to escape the tenth plague, the slaying of the first born. We eat matzah because there was not enough time for the...