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Passover is a time for us to reflect on our own freedom and an opportunity to connect our lives with the struggles of others. At AVODAH, we support emerging Jewish leaders as they work to address some of the most pressing issues in the fight against poverty. We study the complex (and often overlapping) systemic issues that impact people in our country, and explore how Jewish tradition calls on us to respond. This year, we’ve collected stories and insights from members...

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Use this piece in tandem with the telling of the Exodus story. Think about the connection between the Jewish story of Exodus from Egypt to more contemporary examples of persecution and forced migration. How did the formation of the territory now known as the United States depend upon the forced migration of people already residing on the land? The Hebrews’ Exodus from Egypt is a climactic moment in the Passover story. After suffering for generations as slaves in Egypt, the Hebrews...

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In every generation, each of us should feel as though we ourselves had gone forth from Egypt. In every generation, each of us should feel as though we ourselves had been freed from bondage. In every generation, each of us should feel as though we ourselves fought for humane conditions in the workplace. God may have freed us from bondage in Egypt with an outstretched arm, but redemption from injustice in the workplace, be it a non-living wage, oppression of undocumented...

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Early in the Seder we say, “All who are hungry, let them enter and eat.” We move ceremoniously through the Haggadah, reminding ourselves that we once were slaves in Egypt and explaining the meaning of each bite we eat. But millions of Americans and Israelis have only a few bites to eat, which has a very different meaning – it is a reminder that they are  still  enslaved.This year, please join MAZON: A Jewish Response to Hunger as we again ask...

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Avadim Hayinu(Purchase Fair Trade Kosher for Passover chocolate through: http://fairtradejudaica.org/make-a-difference/fair-trade-jewish-holidays/fair-trade-your-seder/fair-trade-chocolate-you-can-eat-on-passover/)The Haggadah reminds us that “we were slaves to Pharoah in Mitzrayim, and then Adonai brought us out of there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm.” We were freed from slavery, yet slavery is not an institution only of the past; it still exists among us.The Passover Seder celebrates our liberation as a people from the oppressive slavery we experienced in ancient Egypt. It recounts the story of the Jewish...

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Martin Niemoller First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out--Because I was not a Socialist. Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I did not speak out-- Because I was not a Trade Unionist. Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out-- Because I was not a Jew. Then they came for me--and there was no one left to speak for me.

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(1) How big of a problem is this? According to the U.S. department of state, there are over 12 million slaves around the world. (2) What is being done about the problem? The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services assists victims of trafficking in the United States by funding service programs and through public information campaigns. (3) Why isn't more being done? Money doesn't grow on trees (and politics). (4) What can you do to help? Go to this government...

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While our tradition applies specific meaning to the four cups of wine found within the Passover seder, many modern Haggadot have begun to reinterpret the original four cups. The four cups are derived from four expressions of redemption found in Exodus 6:6-7: “I will bring you out;” “I will deliver you;” “I will redeem you;” and “I will take you.” Due to the positive, redemptive focus of each phrase, each cup could come to represent current groups that need to be...

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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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By: Rabbi David Jaffe In Talmud Bavli Pesachim 115b, Rava teaches, "[One who] swallows the matzah [without chewing] has fulfilled the obligation [of eating matzah]. [However, one who] swallows the maror [without chewing] does not fulfill the obligation [of eating maror]." Rashbam explains that even though ideally one should taste the matzah, after the fact, even swallowing without tasting is a form of eating and thus one has fulfilled the mitzvah. Maror is different. Actually tasting the maror, and not just...

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Child labor in cocoa fields has been documented in the following countries: Cameroon, Ghana, Cote d’Ivoire, (leading supplier, accounting for around 40% of production) Guinea and Nigeria.Hundreds of thousands of children work in cocoa fields, and many of them are exposed to hazardous conditions, where they:- Spray pesticides and apply fertilizers without protective gear- Use sharp tools, like machetesSustain injuries from transporting heavy loads beyond permissible weight- Do strenuous work like felling trees, and clearing and burning vegetationThese children are treated...

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Ha lachma anya—this is the bread of affliction. At the seder we begin as slaves. We eat matzah, the bread of affliction, which leaves us hungry and longing for redemption. It reminds us of a time when we couldn’t control what food was available to us, but ate what we could out of necessity. The matzah enables us to taste slavery— to imagine what it means to be denied our right to live free and healthy lives.But, while we will soon...

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I read the haggadah backwards this year I read the haggadah backwards this year The sea opens, the ancient Israelites slide back to Egypt like Michael Jackson doing the moonwalk Freedom to slavery That’s the real story One minute you’re dancing hallelujah with the prophetess the next you’re knee deep in brown in the basement of some minor pyramid   The angel of death comes back to life two zuzim are refunded.  When armies emerge from the sea like a returning scuba...

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Our hands were touched by this water earlier during tonight's seder, but this time is different. This is a deeper step than that. This act of washing our hands is accompanied by a blessing, for in this moment we feel our People's story more viscerally, having just retold it during Maggid. Now, having re-experienced the majesty of the Jewish journey from degradation to dignity, we raise our hands in holiness, remembering once again that our liberation is bound up in everyone...

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Martin Niemoller First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out--Because I was not a Socialist. Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I did not speak out-- Because I was not a Trade Unionist. Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out-- Because I was not a Jew. Then they came for me--and there was no one left to speak for me.

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Ha lachma anya—this is the bread of affliction. At the seder we begin as slaves. We eat matzah, the bread of affliction, which leaves us hungry and longing for redemption. It reminds us of a time when we couldn’t control what food was available to us, but ate what we could out of necessity. The matzah enables us to taste slavery— to imagine what it means to be denied our right to live free and healthy lives.But, while we will soon...

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Traditionally, the four cups of wine drunk on Pesach correspond to the four promises god supposedly made to the Israelites: I will bring you out, I will deliver you, I will redeem you, and I will take you to be my people (Exodus 6:6-7). We will accord each cup a more urgent significance, using each as a reminder of a different kind of slavery that persists in the world today, and commemorating those who are still not free.The first cup: Physical...