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by Emma Lazarus Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame, With conquering limbs astride from land to land; Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame. "Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!" cries she With silent lips. "Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled...

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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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The beauty of Urchatz was revealed to me during a women's seder.  Each participant washed the hands of another with care and kavanah (intentionality)—and without words. The sisterhood created in the sacred silence elevates communal consciousness. How will we utilize this state of purity? V'ahavtah l're'echa kamochah - to love the other as ourself. How will this ancient wisdom propel us forward to empower the silent? How will we elevate the hands of all those still in Mitzrayim? --Jessica K. Shimberg,...

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ALL: Tonight we might have put an oyster on our Seder plate. While I didn’t particularly want to put something traif atop that most kosher of dishes, this Passover falls on the first anniversary of the Deepwater Horizon blowout in the Gulf of Mexico. And since BP, the leaseholder of the failed well, seems intent with its new television ads on making us forget about the spill, I felt that something drastic was in order to help us remember. Combining the...

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Select ONE question from the list below and ask your neighbor: For what in your life do you feel most grateful? If you could change anything about the way you were raised, what would it be? What do you value most in a friendship?

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6. I wasn't one of the six million who died in the Shoah, I wasn't even among the survivors. And I wasn't one of the six hundred thousand who went out of Egypt. I came to the Promised Land by sea.  No, I was not in that number, though I still have the fire and the smoke within me, pillars of fire and pillars of smoke that guide me by night and by day. I still have inside me the mad...

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Had G-d upheld us throughout 2,000 years of Dispersion,But not preserved our hope for return...Had G-d preserved our hope for return,But not sent us leaders to make the dream a reality...Had G-d sent us leaders to make the dream a reality, But not given us success in the UN vote  in 1947...Had G-d given us success in the UN vote  in 1947,But not defeated our attackers in 1948...Had G-d defeated our attackers in 1948,But not unified Jerusalem...Had G-d unified Jerusalem,But not...

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Touch Me by Stanley Kunitz Summer is late, my heart. Words plucked out of the air some forty years ago when I was wild with love and torn almost in two scatter like leaves this night of whistling wind and rain. It is my heart that's late, it is my song that's flown. Outdoors all afternoon under a gunmetal sky staking my garden down, I kneeled to the crickets trilling underfoot as if about to burst from their crusty shells; and...

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Super-kosher Manischewitz, Exodus and Moses (to the tune of "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious") Super-kosher Manischewitz, Exodus and Moses The story of the Passover our Seder meal discloses Reminds us that the life of slaves was not a bed of roses Super-kosher Manischewitz, Exodus and Moses Um diddle diddle diddle um diddle ai Um diddle diddle diddle um diddle ai The Jews were bound in Egypt and were feeling rather low So Moses went to Pharaoh and said “Let my people go.” Pharoah said “Be...

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Oh GodI am almost afraid to look over my shoulderTo see how far I’ve comeThe expanse seems impossibly wideAnd yetHere I amDancingSinging Your NameSurrounded by love and familyBreathing hope in and outI raise my eyes to the horizon and it feels so closeI am giddy with reliefYour sea is calm now at our backsThe line of the brown rocksFrom which we leaptOnly hours agoSeems a distant memoryThis moment is all joy and wonderWe sing and we singCircles within circles of men...

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 By Eliyahu KitovIt is a mitzvah that the Passover matzot be made specifically for the purpose of fulfilling the obligation to eat matzot on Passover, as the verse (Exodus, 12:17) states: You shall guard the matzot. The matzah must be guarded to ensure that it does not become chametz; matzah which was not guarded may not be used on Passover.How do we "guard" the matzah used on Passover? From the time that the wheat is taken to the mill to be...

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Pesach is a time of inclusion. On seder night, there are two moments where we metaphorically open our doors and invite others in. One is at the opening of the Magid portion of the seder, when we say, “All who are hungry come and eat.” There is a beautiful message here: we were once slaves; poor and hungry, and we remember our redemption by sharing what we have with others. The other, comes towards the end of the seder, when we...

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NARRATOR 1 (10 LINES)NARRATOR 2 (13 LINES)PHARAOH (15 LINES)SLAVE (2 LINES)HERALD (1 LINE)MOSES (8 LINES)GOD (7 LINES)PHARAOH’S SON (2 LINES)AARON (12 LINES)SHEEP (2 LINES)YOCHEVED (1 LINE)PRINCESS (4 LINES)PRINCESS’S ATTENDANT (4 LINES)MIRIAM (4 LINES) NARRATOR 1: The story of Moses and the Exodus from Egypt has been told thousands of times. It’s a reminder to the Jewish people that once we were slaves in Egypt, but now we are free. And so, this year, as in years before, generation upon generation, we...

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“People of our time are losing the power of celebration. Instead of celebrating we seek to be amused or entertained. Celebration is an active state, an act of expressing reverence or appreciation. To be entertained is a passive state--it is to receive pleasure afforded by an amusing act or a spectacle.... Celebration is a confrontation, giving attention to the transcendent meaning of one's actions. ― Abraham Joshua Heschel This is what every Seder is about. Celebration of freedom, expressing reverence, appreciation,...

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THE FIRST CUP OF THE FRUIT OF THE VINE     Leader: Let us all fill our glasses with the fruit of the vine. [Resume taking turns reading. Each person is invited to read a grouped set of lines - or to pass.] Spring is the season of new growth and new life. Every living thing must either grow, or die; growth is a sign and a condition of life. Human beings are perhaps unique among the Earth's inhabitants. Our most significant growth...

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(Adapted from Machar Congregation) Take turns reading. Each person is invited to read a grouped set of lines - or to pass. The tale of our people's first quest for freedom from slavery in Egypt was written so long ago that no one knows how much of it is fact and how much is fiction. Like all good stories, however, its moral lessons are valid and important. It is written that long ago, during a time of famine, the ancient Israelites...

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Uncover and hold up the three pieces of matzah and say: Behold, the bread of affliction which our ancestors ate in the land of Egypt. Let all who are hungry come and eat; let all who are needy come and celebrate Passover with us. This year we are here; next year we will be in Israel. This year we are slaves; next year we will be free. Take the middle matzah and break it into two, one piece larger than the...