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“An Invitation to a Plant-Based Meal”  Adam Gorod, Jewish Veg. D.C.  Our food choices during the Exodus were so much simpler. We could subsist on manna alone. Free of animal products, manna was a bread from heaven with a taste like coriander seed. Today the options—even during Passover—are more varied. Any number of Kosher-for-Passover items sit in the curated displays of many supermarkets at the arrival of spring. These options, however, make one fact unavoidable: we are now, at all seasons,...

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The great sage Hillel provided us with the tradition of constructing the Hillel sandwich, combining the bitterness of the maror with the sweetness of the charoset between the fortitude of the two pieces of matzah--the symbol of freedom. Through this ritual, we think about mortar and brick. We think of the Israelites traveling through the desert with no homes, no place to land and build up their strong communities, and only the matzah as a reminder of their freedom. It is...

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The bitter herbs serve to remind us of how the Egyptians embittered the lives of the Israelites in servitude. When we eat the bitter herbs, we share in that bitterness of oppression. We must remember that slavery still exists all across the globe. When you go to the grocery store, where does your food come from? Who picked the sugar cane for your cookie, or the coffee bean for your morning coffee? We are reminded that people still face the bitterness...

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THESE WORDS ARE DEDICATED TO THOSE WHO DIED Because they had no love and felt alone in the world Because they were afraid to be alone and tried to stick it out Because they could not ask Because they were shunned Because they were sick and their bodies could not resist the disease Because they played it safe Because they had no connection Because they had no faith Because they felt they did not belong and wanted to die THESE WORDS...

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How is this night different from other nights?  On other nights we are not obligated to ask the questions of what separates us from redemption.  Tonight we are so obligated.1)  Why are women not yet universally recognized as being created in the divine image?2)  Why are Israelis still living in a state of war?3)  Why are millions of people still suffering from hunger?4)  Why are there still dictators who prevent the voices of their people from being heard?Like the traditional Four...

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At Passover each year, we read the story of our ancestors’ pursuit of liberation from oppression. When confronting this history, how do we answer our children or our contacts when they ask us how to pursue justice in our time? WHAT DOES THE REVOLUTIONARY CHILD ASK? “The Torah tells me, ‘Justice, justice you shall pursue,’ but how can I pursue justice?” Empower him always to seek pathways to advocate for the vulnerable. As Proverbs teaches, “Speak up for the mute, for...

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It is one of life's joys that each year Jews celebrate the holiday of Pesach - its message of freedom - its response to suffering - its hope for renewed life. United with family and dear friends, Jews celebrate the holiday of Pesach - with gratitude for blessings - for love - for freedom.

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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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We Won't Get Fooled Again: Helping Teens Identify Pharaoh A boy is tricked into being part of a game with other boys only to find out that he is the target of mockery and abuse. A girl is happy to be included as a "friend" at a lunch table until she finds it was only a ploy to get back at another girl. A boy is "hit on" as part of a practical joke. A girl is lured into an unwelcomed...

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by Rabbi Fred Scherlinder Dobb     Horseradish is hard to find in the hinterlands outside Gallup NM. On this dry bit of Earth, next to what's left of Navajo/Hopi/Zuni lands, Pesach was clearly going to be a new experience. I had taken the year off from Brandeis to join the Global Walk for a Livable World 1990, figuring the truest education would be to "get up and walk the land" (Gen. 13:17), and to "serve and defend it" (Gen. 2:15). We'd started...

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by  JEANNE LOHMANN All day I try to say nothing but thank you,  breathe the syllables in and out with every step I take through the rooms of my house and outside into a profusion of shaggy-headed dandelions in the garden where the tulips’ black stamens shake in their crimson cups. I am saying thank you, yes, to this burgeoning spring and to the cold wind of its changes. Gratitude comes easy after a hot shower, when my loosened muscles work, ...

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This symbolic washing of the hands recalls the story of Miriam's Well. Legend tells us that this well followed Miriam, sister of Moses, through the desert, sustaining the Jews in their wanderings. Filled with mayim chayim, waters of life, the well was a source of strength and renewal to all who drew from it. One drink from its waters was said to alert the heart, mind and soul, and make the meaning of Torah become alive. As we prepare to wash...