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Mah Nishtana: What's New? What significant change has occurred in your life since this time last year? Name one meaningful piece of news. ​Elijah's Cup is passed around as each guest speaks. A blessing or toast concludes the round. Avadim Hayinu: Our Slavery. Identify the problem. What enslaves you today? What's holding you back from being freer, happy, and creative? ​Use a blank note of paper - on one side write HOW AM I FREE and on the other side write...

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Pour the Second cup: resistance to oppression [Read:] In every generation, a Pharaoh rises up to enslave us. In every generation, every human being must seek to free the community anew. [All join in singing:] When Israel was in Egypt's land, Let my people go; Oppressed so hard they could not stand, Let my people go! (Chorus:) Go down, Moses, 'Way down in Egypt's land; Tell ol' Pharaoh, Let my people go! Thus says the Lord, bold Moses said, Let my...

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“Remember you are water. Of course you leave salt trails. Of course you are crying. Flow. P.S. If there happens to be a multitude of griefs upon you, individual and collective, or fast and slow, or small and large, add equal parts of these considerations: that the broken heart can cover more territory. that perhaps love can only be as large as grief demands. that grief is the growing up of the heart that bursts boundaries like an old skin or...

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~  HEAR YE HEAR YE  ~ The Extremely Riotous and Indomitable League of Intrepid Aspiring Crones doth hereby convene to carve time and hold space  for these purposes: * Thinking & talking & communing about the shit that matters most, and *  Geting clearer on what, exactly, that shit is, both collectively and individually and  *  Figuring out what's holding us each and all back from taking actions more appropriately aligned with our times L'chaim! 

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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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At Passover, we are confronted with the stories of our ancestors’ pursuit of liberation from oppression. Facing this mirror of history, how do we answer their challenge? How do we answer our children when they ask us how to pursue justice in our time? What does the Activist Child ask? “The Torah tells me, ‘Justice, justice shall you pursue,’ but how can I pursue justice?” Empower him always to seek pathways to advocate for the vulnerable. As Proverbs teaches, “Speak up...

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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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Passover is rich in social justice themes. It is impossible to study the story of our redemption and not feel compelled to eradicate injustice in the world today. Among the primary social justice themes found in the Exodus story and in the Passover observance are hunger and homelessness and oppression and redemption. “This is the bread of affliction which our ancestors ate in the land of Egypt. Let all those who are hungry come and eat with us. Let all who...

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We’ve been bound by a hardened heart And our inability to see ourselves in each other. We have been puffed up by ego and pride. Enslaved by how things have always been. And now it is time to go. But fear threatens to paralyze. How can we possibly exist any other way? Our imagination falters The attachment to what we know is so great It doesn’t matter that it causes us so much pain. We dig in. We will not be...

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It’s been a crazy week. The world with all its worries and bothers is still clamoring for your attention. The first step is to forget all that. Leave it behind. Enter into a timeless space, where you, your great-grandparents and Moses   all coincide. The beginning of all journeys is separation. You’ve got to leave somewhere to go somewhere else. It is also the first step towards freedom: You ignore the voice of Pharaoh inside that mocks you, saying, “Who are you...

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-By Rabbi Lynn Gottleib The roasted lamb symbolizes the ancient gathering of community for the freedom meal. How do we end the sacrifice of innocents?How do we ensure the peaceful future of our children and our children's children?How do we draw the circle of peace so that it encompasses all the people of the Holy Land?

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How have you changed, how are you different? I changed this year. On all other nights I asked only Four Questions. This night I have a fifth question: “How long will the cycle of violence  continue?” Chase and be chased, beat and be beaten, When will the madness end? How have you changed, how are you different?  I changed this year. I was once a sheep and a tranquil kid.  Today I’m a tiger and a ravening wolf I was once...

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-By Rabbi Lynn Gottleib Flat bread is a symbol for discarding oppression. What stories do we tell in response to historical fears that keep us bound to cycles of violence? Which ideas are chametz from another generation? What are the fundamental values from which peace can grow? What fear-based places must we liberate within ourselves so we can embrace a just peace?