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By: Rabbi David Jaffe In Talmud Bavli Pesachim 115b, Rava teaches, "[One who] swallows the matzah [without chewing] has fulfilled the obligation [of eating matzah]. [However, one who] swallows the maror [without chewing] does not fulfill the obligation [of eating maror]." Rashbam explains that even though ideally one should taste the matzah, after the fact, even swallowing without tasting is a form of eating and thus one has fulfilled the mitzvah. Maror is different. Actually tasting the maror, and not just...

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When you come to the land which Y-H-W-H will give you, as He has spoken, you are to keep this service!And it will be when your children ask you, "What does this service (mean) to you?"  Then say, "It is a Paschal offering to Y-H-W-H who passed over the houses of the Israelites in Mitzrayim when he struck Mitzrayim but saved our homes."

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Teach Your ChildrenSongwriter: NASH, GRAHAMYou Who Are On The Road Must Have A Code That You Can Live By And So Become Yourself Because The Past Is Just A Goodbye. Teach Your Children Well Their Father's Hell Did Slowly Go By And Feed Them On Your Dreams The One They fix The One You'll Know By. Don't You Ever Ask Them Why If They Told You, You Would Cry So Just Look At Them And Sigh And Know They Love You....

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Feel the freedom as one person holds the water basin and another pours water over your hands to put you in a state of ritual purity as we begin our freedom meal with hors d’oeuvres symbolizing the Spring.

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Kitniyot literally means small things.  They include rice, corn, lentils, beans and peanuts.  At soime point in the Middle Ages, Ashkenazi Jews stopped eating kitniyot during Pesach.  Conservative and Orthodox Rabbis in Israel have permitted eating kitniyot, as have some Conservative Rabbis in the United States.  Nevertheless, it remains a wide-spread custom within Ashkenazi Jewry to avoid kitniyot during Pesach.  

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Hametz is made from one of these five grains.WHEATRYESPELTOATSBARLEYMatza MUST be made from one of these five grains.  From the moment that water touches the flour made of these grains, the matza must be rolled out and baked within 18 minutes.

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The Ballad of the Four Sons(to the tune of "Clementine") wriiten by Ben Aronin in 1948 Said the father to his children, "At the seder you will dine, You will eat your fill of matzah, You will drink four cups of wine." Now this father had no daughters, But his sons they numbered four. One was wise and one was wicked, One was simple and a bore. And the fourth was sweet and winsome, he was young and he was small....

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אַדִּיר הוּא אַדִּיר הוּא, יִבְנֶה בֵּיתוֹ בְּקָרוֹב. בִּמְהֵרָה, בִּמְהֵרָה, בְּיָמֵינוּ בְּקָרוֹב. אֵל בְּנֵה, אֵל בְּנֵה,  בְּנֵה בֵּיתְךָ בְּקָרוֹב. בָּחוּר הוּא, גָּדוֹל הוּא, דָּגוּל הוּא, יִבְנֶה בֵּיתוֹ בְּקָרוֹב. בִּמְהֵרָה,בִּמְהֵרָה, בְּיָמֵינוּ בְּקָרוֹב. אֵל בְּנֵה, אֵל בְּנֵה, בְּנֵה בֵּיתְךָ בְּקָרוֹב. הָדוּר הוּא, וָתִיק הוּא, זַכַּאי הוּא, חָסִיד הוּא, יִבְנֶה בֵּיתוֹ בְּקָרוֹב. בִּמְהֵרָה,בִּמְהֵרָה, בְּיָמֵינוּ בְּקָרוֹב. אֵל בְּנֵה, אֵל בְּנֵה, בְּנֵה בֵּיתְךָ בְּקָרוֹב. טָהוֹר הוּא, יָחִיד הוּא, כַּבִּיר הוּא, לָמוּד הוּא, מֶלֶךְ הוּא, יִבְנֶה בֵּיתוֹ בְּקָרוֹב. בִּמְהֵרָה,בִּמְהֵרָה, בְּיָמֵינוּ בְּקָרוֹב. אֵל בְּנֵה, אֵל בְּנֵה, בְּנֵה בֵּיתְךָ בְּקָרוֹב....

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On Pesah we begin counting the Omer, a 49 day period to Shavuot, we can have as an Omer practice becoming more conscious of our consumption patterns, perhaps not buying any new non-consumables (things that we do not use up, i.e. food is a consumable,  clothing is not).  During the Seder we will sing Dayenu- it would have been enough. This is good time for us contemplate how much stuff is enough.  We can use Pesah for the cultivation of a...

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Peace Trainby the artist born as Steven Katz (Kohen haTzadik!)Now I've been happy lately, thinking about the good things to come And I believe it could be, something good has begun Oh I've been smiling lately, dreaming about the world as one And I believe it could be, some day it's going to come Cause out on the edge of darkness, there rides a peace train Oh peace train take this country, come take me home again Now I've been smiling...

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Sometimes I lay under the moon And thank God I'm breathin' Then I pray don't take me soon' Cause I am here for a reasonSometimes in my tears I drown But I never let it get me down So when negativity surrounds I know someday it'll all turn around becauseAll my life I been waitin' for I been prayin' for, for the people to say That we don't want to fight no more They'll be no more wars and our children...

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There have been many suggestions as to Judaism's most fundamental concept.  Here's my candidate:  In each and every generation, each of us must see ourselves as if we left Mitzrayim.Rav Kook says each of us took something from that experience that the world needs before it can be fully redeemed.  Our father Abraham knew well how to argue with God, but he didn't argue when told his descendants would be slaves for 400 years.  We needed to live through the affliction,...

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Do you know who cries the most in the Bible?  King David!  He's no cry baby -- he's a man of tears! He knows that those who sow in tears will reap in songs of joy.  So, we dip, we indulge in salt water at the beginning of the seder with hope that, by the end of the seder, God will wipe away the tears from every face.  (Isaiah 25:8 and Revelation 7:17, 21:4)

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Raise the Matzah Ha lachma anya di achalu avhatana b’ara d’mitzrayim. Kol dichfin yeitei v’yeichol, kol ditzrich yeitei v’yifsach. Hashata hacha, l’shanah habaah b’ara d’Yisrael. Hashata avdei, l’shanah habaah b’nei chorin.

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In ancient times our people were farmers and shepherds. In this festive season, we are meant to feel a connection with the food we eat from the land and to remember that we are surrounded by blessings and miracles no less majestic than those our ancestors witnessed thousands of years ago. Spring reminds us that we are again given a chance for renewal; a new chance to create peace and goodness in our world. We dip karpas - greens - to...

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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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בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יי אֱלֹהֵינוּ מֶלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם בּוֹרֵא פְּרִי הַגָפֶן. Baruch atah Adonai, Eloheinu melech ha’olam, borei p'ri hagafen. Praised are you, Adonai, Lord our God, Ruler of the universe, who has created the fruit of the vine.בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יי אֱלֹהֵינוּ מֶלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם, אֲשֶׁר בָּחַר בָּנוּ מִכָּל עָם וְרוֹמְמָנוּ מִכָּל לָשׁוֹן וְקִדְּשָׁנוּ בְּמִצְוֹתָיו. וַתִּתֶּן לָנוּ יי אֱלֹהֵינוּ בְּאַהֲבָה מוֹעֲדִים לְשִׂמְחָה, חַגִּים וּזְמַנִּים לְשָׂשׂוֹן, אֶת יוֹם חַג הַמַצוֹת הַזֶה, זְמַן חֵרוּתֵנוּ מִקְרָא קֹדֶשׁ, זֵכֶר לִיצִיאַת מִצְרָיִם. כִּי בָנוּ בָחַרְתָּ וְאוֹתָנוּ קִדַּשְׁתָּ מִכָּל הָעַמִּים,...

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When you come to the land which Y-H-W-H will give you, as He has spoken, you are to keep this service!And it will be when your children ask you, "What does this service (mean) to you?"  Then say, "It is a Paschal offering to Y-H-W-H who passed over the houses of the Israelites in Mitzrayim when he struck Mitzrayim but saved our homes."