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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. In Hebrew, urchatz means “washing”...

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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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Around our tables sit four daughters.Wise DaughterThe Wise daughter understands that not everything is as it appears.She is the one who speaks up, confident that her opinion counts. She is the one who can take the tradition and ritual that is placed before her, turn it over and over, and find personal meaning in it. She is the one who can find the secrets in the empty spaces between the letters of the Torah.She is the one who claims a place...

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[Resume taking turns reading. Each person is invited to read a grouped set of lines - or to pass.] Passover is the celebration of life. The story of the Jewish people is truly a triumph of life. Against the odds of history, the Jewish people have done more than survive - we have adapted creatively to each new time, each new place, from the birth of our people to the present day. Even though death has pursued us relentlessly, time and...

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Back to basics, get rid of what is bloated and inflated“Letting go means just what it says. It’s an invitation to cease clinging to anything- whether it be an idea, a thing, an event, a particular time, or view, or desire. It is a conscious decision to release with full acceptance into the stream of present moments as they are unfolding. To let go means to give up coercing, resisting or struggling, in exchange for something more powerful and wholesome which...

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As we sit here as free men and women, it is so easy for us to forget the hardships that our ancestors had to overcome for our freedom. The exodus from servile Egypt to liberated Israel is viewed as the most pivotal event in Jewish history. So why do we lean on Pesach? It was the custom of ancient royalty to recline on the left for two reasons: a) Food is normally held in the right hand. Leaning toward the left...

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“If the concept of God has any validity or any use, it can only be to make us larger, freer, and more loving." -James Baldwin

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Ahora es el momento de partir la matza, una parte se guarda para la braja y otra se guarda para el afikoman. El afikoman es un invento, para que los chicos no se aburran, el mayor esconde el afikoman y despues el que lo encuentra tiene premio.

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One element of the story of the exodus that the Roberts' version elides is God's hardening of Pharaoh's heart. Moses Maimonides (ca 1135 - 1204 CE) recognized this element of the story as a significant paradox since it seemed to suggest that God forced Pharaoh to make the wicked decisions that brought about the punishment of the plagues. As Maimonides recognizes, if this were so, then the notion that the plagues were a punishment as well as a means of the...

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The karpas, the green vegetable, is the first part of the seder that makes this night different from all other nights. So far, the first glass of wine and the hand washing, though significant, do not serve to mark any sort of difference; they are regular parts of meals. The karpas, however, is not. As a night marked by difference, that difference starts now. Tonight, we celebrate difference with the karpas. Here, difference brings us hope, joy, and renewed life. We...

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Kadesh: Blessings over Cup #1 of wine and marking sacred time. Urchatz: Ritually washing hands without offering a blessing. Karpas: Eating green vegetable dipped in salt-water. Yachatz: Breaking the middle matzah (of the ceremonial 3) to create the Afikoman. Maggid: Telling the story. Why is this night different? 4 sons! 10 plagues! Enough already! Pascal lamb, matzah and bitter herb explanations. Cup #2. Rachtzah: Ritually washing hands with a blessing before breaking bread. Motzi: Blessing over bread. Matzah: Blessing over matzah....

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Our eating of maror and talking about slavery might [...] carry with it a lesson about the negative power of shame. I don’t like sharing my stories of pain or difficulty. They often feel like stories of failure. It often feels like my pain is a result of my inadequacy in managing my life or lack of success. If I were a better person, more capable, wiser, more powerful, my story would be all about happiness. Sadness becomes associated with failure....

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Four times the Torah commands us to tell our children about the Exodus from Egypt and because of this, traditional Haggadot speak of four kinds of sons. The Hebrew word for “children” is the same word as “sons” and either can be used. Our sages teach that perhaps there is really a part of each of the four children in us all. The wise child questions, “What is the meaning of the laws and observanc- es which the Lord, our God,...

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A Medieval addition to the Haggadah, this hymn originally contained fifteen verses mirroring the fifteen steps in the Seder.   How many are the gifts God bestowed upon us! Had God: Brought us out of Egypt and not divided the sea for us Divided the sea and not permitted us to cross on dry land, Permitted us to cross on dry land and not sustained us for forty years in the desert, Sustained us for forty years in the desert and not...

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Toward the end of the meal, the children look for the afikoman, which has been hidden. Since neither the meal nor the Seder can be concluded before everyone has eaten a piece of it, whoever finds the afikoman is given a reward. Nothing is eaten after the afikoman, so that the matzoh may be the last food tasted. This custom of hiding the afikoman is not found in early Haggadot and was probably added as a device to keep up the...