Haggadot Contributors

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EXODUS IN A NUTSHELLAt the end of the biblical book of Genesis, Joseph and his eleven brothers go to Egypt to live. They have many children and their children have many children. Eventually, there are so many of them that them that Pharaoh, the kind of Egypt, begins to fear that they—the Hebrews will rise up against him. To prevent this, Pharaoh enslaves the Hebrews. According to tradition, these slaves are the ancestors of the Jewish people.  Pharaoh is cruel. He...

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So Moses goes back to Egypt and he demands that Pharaoh free the Hebrews from bondage. But Pharaoh refuses! And so God sends a plague upon Egypt, turning all the rivers and streams to blood. All the fish die and the Egyptians can find no clean water to drink. Pharaoh, in desperation, agrees to free the slaves. But as soon as the waters become clear again, he changes his mind.And so God sends a second plague. Now hordes of frogs descend...

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Elijah the ProphetOn the Seder night, we open the door for Elijah the Prophet, and we place a cup of wine on the table especially for him.Our hopes have long been centered on Elijah since legends has it that he will herald the time of complete human freedom. But he will come only when people have prepared the way for him. This simply means that we, all of us, are Elijah. We must liberate ourselves from prejudice and injustice. We must...

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 DAYENUIlu ho-tzi hotzi-a-nuho-tzi-a-nu-mi-mitz-ra-yimho-tzi-a-nu-mi-mitz-ra-yimday-en-u  (CHORUS:)Day-day-en-uDay-day-en-uDay-day-en-uDay-en-u, day-en-uIl-lu-na-tan na-tan la-nuna-tan la-nu et ha-sha-batna-tan la-nu et ha-sha-batday-en-u( CHORUS)I-lu na-tan na-tan la-nuna-tan la-nu et ha-to-rahna-tan la-nu et ha-to-rahDay-en-u(CHORUS)SECOND CUP OF WINE(All raise glasses and say:)We shall never forget the slavery of Egypt or any other enslaved people, past or presentWe shall be mindful always of the need for freedom for all, and the joy of liberation.Boruch atto adonoi elohenu melech ho'olom bore p'ri haggofenBlessed are You, Lord our God, King of the University, who creates the...

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Every year, Jews drink four cups of wine and then pour a fifth for Elijah. "The cup is poured, but not yet drunk. Yet the cup of hope is poured every year. Passover is the night for reckless dreams; for visions about what a human being can be, what society can be, what people can be, what history may become. That is the significance of 'Le-shanah ha-ba-a b'Yerushalayim' (Next year in Jerusalem)."

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Bareich Our Seder's joyous interludeour celebration must soon concludewe look toward the day o comewhen songs of freedom all will hum (Raise wine glasses)Ba-ruch A-tah A-do-nai, E-lo-hei-nu Me-lech Ha-o-lamBo-rei, pe-ree ha-ga-fen.O Holy One of Blessing, Your Presence fills creation,We praise you for creating the fruit of the vine.(drink third glass of wine)

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The Second Cup of WineLEADER: The fate of every Jew is bound up with the fate of the Jewish people.ALL: And the destiny of the Jewish people cannot be separated from the destiny of all humanity.LEADER: Let us drink this cup of wine to symbolize our pledge to break the bonds of slavery for all who are not free.ALL: Blessed are You, Lord our God, King of the Universe, who creates the fruit of the vine Baruch Atah Ado-nai Elo-heinu Melech...

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The Seder PlateThe items on the seder plate are symbols of the past. By placing the seder plate on our table, we link the past with the present and look with hope toward the future.The matzo is a symbol of suffering and affliction but also of liberation.  The bitter herbs symbolize the bitterness of our lives as slaves in Egypt and the bitter lives of those exploited today.The parsley and the salt water we will dip it in remind us that...

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BORUCH ATTO ADONOI ELOHENU MELECH HO'OLOM BORE P'RI HAGGOFEN

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Kiddush(Source: The Rheingold Family Haggadah)The joy of Passover is the joy of love; the hope of Passover is the hope of love.Our ancestors suffered the coldness of hate and dreamed of the warmth of human kindness and universal love. And then, after the long winter of their bondage, freedom burst forth upon them like spring. In the rich sweetness of this wine, we celebrate in kinship the love and faith that give life. Love, freedom, and faith in life - these...

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There's No Seder Like Our Seder(Sung to the tune of "There's no Business like Show business") There's no seder like our sederThere's no seder I knowEverything about it is halachic Nothing that the Torah won't allowListen how we read the whole HaggadahIt's all in Hebrew'Cause we know howThere's no Seder like our sederWe tell a tale that is swellMoses took the people out into the heatThey baked the matzahWhile on their feetNow isn't that a story That just can't be beat?Let's...

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Our passover things(Sung to the tune of "My Favorite Things" from The Sound of Music)Cleaning and cooking and so many dishesOut with the hametz no pasta no knishesFish thats gefillted Horseradish that stingsThese are a few of our Passover things.ChorusMatzah and karpas and chopped up harosetShankbones and kiddish and Yiddish neurosesTante who kvetches andUncle who singsThese are a few of our Passover things.ChorusMatzi and marror and trouble with pharoahsFamines and locusts and slaves with wheelbaarrowsMatzah balls floating and Eggshell that clingsThese...

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Our passover things(Sung to the tune of "My Favorite Things" from The Sound of Music)Cleaning and cooking and so many dishesOut with the hametz no pasta no knishesFish that's gefillted Horseradish that stingsThese are a few off our Passover things.ChorusMatzah and karpas and chopped up harosetShankbones and kiddish and Yiddish neurosesTante who kvetches andUncle who singsThese are a few off our Passover things.ChorusMatzi and marror and trouble with pharoahsFamines and locusts and slaves with wheelbaarrowsMatzah balls floating and Eggshell that clingsThese...

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Tonight we dip our bitterness in the sweetness of charoset. Charoset, the sweet mixture of fruits and nuts, symbolizes the mortar of the bricks of the Israelites. It is also the mortar of commitment and interdependence that enabled the Jewish community to survive through those centuries of oppression. It is the building blocks of hope and tradition, which are sweet. We take our maror of fear, and by dipping it into the sweetness we create a new model that honors the...

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Maggid means retelling the story of the exodus from Egypt.In every generation, we must see ourselves as if we personally were liberated from Egypt. We gather tonight to tell the ancient story of a people's liberation from Egyptian slavery. This is the story of our origins as a people. It is from these events that we gain our ethics, our vision of history, our dreams for the future. We gather tonight, as two hundred generations of Jewish families have before us,...

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ALL: This is the bread of affliction, the simple bread which our ancestors ate in the land of Egypt.HOST: From the three matzos, I take the middle piece, break it in two. Why do we break this bread in two? Because if we hold on to the whole loaf for ourselves, it remains the bread of oppression. If we break it in order to share it, it becomes the bread of freedom.I wrap one of the two pieces in a napkin. ...