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On this night we retrace our steps from then to now, reclaiming years of desert wandering. On this night we ask questions, ancient and new, speaking of servitude and liberation, service and joy. On this night we welcome each soul, sharing stories of courage, strength, and faith. On this night we open doors long closed, lifting our voices in songs of praise. On this night we renew ancient hopes and dream of a future redeemed. On this night we gather around...

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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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RITUAL HAND-WASHING IN PREPARATION FOR THE SEDER Water is refreshing, cleansing, and clear, so it’s easy to understand why so many cultures and religions use water for symbolic purification. Washing hands can take place twice during our Seder: now, with no blessing, to get us ready for the rituals to come; and then later, with a blessing, preparing us for the meal.

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(to the tune of “Take Me Out to the Ball Game”) Take us out of Egypt, free us from slavery Bake us some matzo, in a haste Don’t worry ‘bout flavor, give no thought to taste Oh it’s rush, rush, rush, to the Red Sea If we don’t cross it’s a shame For it’s ten plagues, down and you’re out At the Pesach game

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BREAKING THE MIDDLE MATZO There are three pieces of matzo stacked on the table. We now break the middle matzo into two pieces. One piece is called the Afikomen, literally “dessert” in Greek. The Afikomen is hidden and must be found before the Seder can be finished. We eat matzah in memory of the quick flight of our ancestors from Egypt. As slaves, they had faced many false starts before finally being let go. So when the word of their freedom...

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May you grant my family and all Israel a good and long life. Remember us with blessings and kindness. Give me the opportunity to raise my children and grandchildren to be truly wise and people of truth. Please hear my prayer at this time. Regard me as a worthy descendant of Sarah, Rebecca, Rachel and Leah, and let my candles never be extinguished. Let the light of Your face shine upon us. Amen.

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WHO KNOWS ONE? Who Knows One? I know one! One is our God in the heaven and earth. Two are the tablets of the covenant. Three are the patriarchs. Four are the matriarchs. Five are the books of the Torah. Six are the sections of the Mishnah. Seven are the days of the week. Eight are the days to circumcision. Nine are the months to childbirth. Ten are the commandments at Sinai. Eleven are the stars in Joseph’s dream. Twelve are...

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On this Seder night, we recall with anguish and love our martyred brothers and sisters, the six million Jews of Europe who were destroyed at the hands of a tyrant more fiendish than Pharaoh. Their memory will never be forgotten. Trapped in ghettos, caged in death camps, abandoned by an unseeing or uncaring world, Jews gave their lives in acts that sanctified God’s name and the name of the people Israel. Some rebelled against their tormentors, fighting with makeshift weapons, gathering...

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So let’s bring Dayeinu into the present. We are grateful, and yet what miracles and accomplishments would be suffcient (Dayeinu) in today’s world for us to be truly satisfied? 1. When all workers of the world receive just compensation and respect for their labors, enjoy safe, healthy and secure working conditions and can take pride in their work. . . DAYEINU 2. When governments end the escalating production of devastating weapons, secure in the knowledge that they will not be necessary....

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MATZO SANDWICH OF BITTER HERB AND CHAROSET While the English Earl of Sandwich is generally credited for inventing the snack of his namesake, Hillel may have originated it two thousand years ago by combining matzo, a slice of paschal lamb, and a bitter herb. Jews no longer sacrifice and eat the lamb, so now the Passover sandwich is only matzah, charoset, and a bitter herb.

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(to the tune of “Just a Spoon Full of Sugar”) Oh, back in Egypt long ago, the Jews were slaves under Pharaoh They sweated and toiled and labored through the day So when we gather pesach night, we do what we think right Maror, we chew, to feel what they went through 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...

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The meal is served!

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IT WOULD HAVE BEEN ENOUGH One of most beloved songs in the Passover Seder is "Dayeinu". Dayeinu commemorates a long list of miraculous things God did, any one of which would have been pretty amazing just by itself. For example, “Had God only taken us out of Egypt but not punished the Egyptians – it would have been enough.” Dayeinu, translated liberally, means, “Thank you, God, for overdoing it.” Dayeinu is a reminder to never forget all the miracles in our...

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What do these words mean? We are slaves because yesterday our people were in slavery and memory makes yesterday real for us. We are slaves because today there are still people in chains around the world and no one can be truly free while others are in chains. We are slaves because freedom means more than broken chains. Where there is poverty and hunger and homelessness, there is no freedom; where there is prejudice and bigotry and discrimination, there is no...

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DIPPING A GREEN VEGETABLE IN SALT WATER Passover, like many of our holidays, combines the celebration of an event from our Jewish memory with 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. We now take a vegetable, representing spring, and dip it into salt water, a symbol of the tears our ancestors shed as slaves. Before we eat it, we recite...

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(to the tune of “Louie, Louie”) Pharaoh, Pharaoh Oh baby! Let my people go! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Singin' Pharaoh, Pharaoh Oh baby! Let my people go! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! A burnin' bush told me just the other day that I should come over here and stay Gotta get my people outta Pharaoh's hands Gotta lead my people to the Promised Land The Nile turned to blood! There were darkened black skies! Gnats and frogs! There were locusts and flies!...