LEADER Each year, Jews across the world join with family, friends, neighbors, and strangers to celebrate the holiday of Passover with a symbolic meal called a seder. 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...

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...

As we prepare to drink our first cup of wine and make our first promise, we acknowledge that not everyone is able to feed their bodies with affordable nutritious food. Far too many people in our country simply do not have adequate resources to do that which so many take for granted: eat in a way that actually provides nourishment and sustenance. Our first cup of wine is our first promise: ALL We will work to ensure that everyone has access...

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...

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. The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly known as food stamps) is the nation’s most important anti-hunger program and the cornerstone of the federal nutrition safety net, providing vital assistance to tens of millions of...

(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...

LEADER: The story of the Jewish people’s journey from slavery to liberation is the heart of the seder. Ha Lachma Anya. This is the bread of poverty. 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...

LEADER: 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 ALL Why during this seder do we focus on hunger? The Passover seder celebrates liberation from bondage and the joy of freedom. But in communities across our country, millions of Americans struggle to put enough nutritious food on...

On Passover, we read about the ten plagues God unleashed on the Egyptians. The plagues we see today, however, are not punishments from God, but ones of our own doing – because ending hunger is not a matter of resources, but of political will. As we read each of these plagues aloud, we dip a finger into the wine and touch a drop onto our plate. This reminds us that, even as we celebrate freedom, our freedom is not complete when...

LEADER 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...

LEADER 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 the Israelites put lamb’s blood on their doors to escape the tenth plague, the slaying of the first born. We eat matzah because there was not enough time for the Israelites to...

LEADER 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 the Israelites put lamb’s blood on their doors to escape the tenth plague, the slaying of the first born. We eat matzah because there was not enough time for the Israelites to...

LEADER The Second Cup represents our promise: ALL We will learn why — in a nation of such abundance — there are still millions of people who struggle with hunger. The more we know about the reasons that people in our community experience food insecurity, the better able we will be to create solutions that will free them from this bondage. LEADER We lift our glasses and read the blessing together (drink wine after the blessing): Baruch ata Adonai Elohenu Melech...

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.) LEADER We join together...

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...

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...

To carry out the instruction, “They shall eat it with unleavened bread and bitter herbs” (Numbers 9:11), the great sage Hillel would combine matzah and maror on Passover and eat them together. We eat a sandwich of matzah, maror, and charoset to remember both the bitterness and injustice of hunger and the redemptive sweetness that comes with working together to bring about real social change. (The bottom matzah on the seder plate is broken and distributed. Each person takes two pieces...

 When you are asked in the world to come, “What was your work?” and you answer, “I fed the hungry,” you will be told, “This is the gate of the Lord; enter into it, you who have fed the hungry.”             That hunger exists throughout the world is clearly a reality but it need not be so.  Hunger is not the result of scarcity – the world produces twenty percent more food than is necessary to feed every man, woman and child...

MAZON’s Fifth Question: Why on this night are millions of people going hungry? Passover is a magical time when we gather with family and friends to retell the story of our people’s freedom from bondage. We read from a prayer book, perform rituals that are thousands of years old, and eat. We eat A LOT. Many of us eat far more than we should, but the food is so delicious, it’s nearly impossible to resist. Unfortunately, not everyone is lucky enough...

Ask The Fifth Question: Why on this night are millions of people still going hungry?    Passover is a magical time when we gather with family and friends to retell the story of our people’s freedom from bondage. We read from a prayer book, perform rituals that are thousands of years old, and eat. We eat A LOT. Many of us eat far more than we should, but the food is so delicious, it’s nearly impossible to resist. Unfortunately, not everyone is...