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Michael row the boat ashore, Hallelujah Michael row the boat ashore, Hallelujah Sister help to trim the sails, Hallelujah Sister help to trim the sails, Hallelujah Jordan's river is deep and wide, Hallelujah And I've got a home on the other side, Hallelujah Michael row the boat ashore, Hallelujah Michael row the boat ashore, Hallelujah Michael's boat is a music boat, Hallelujah Michael's boat is a music boat, Hallelujah Michael row the boat ashore, Hallelujah Michael row the boat ashore, Hallelujah...

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SING Loe Yisah Goy Loe Yisah goy el goy cherev loe yilmedu ode milchamah. (Let every one neath her vine and fig tree live in peace and unafraid, and into ploughshares beat their swords, nations shall learn war no more.) Down by the Riverside I’m going to lay down my sword and shield down by the riverside (x3) and study war no more. I ain’t going to study war no more. (x6)

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"Imagine"   Imagine there's no heaven It's easy if you try No hell below us Above us only sky Imagine all the people Living for today... Aha-ah... Imagine there's no countries It isn't hard to do Nothing to kill or die for And no religion, too Imagine all the people Living life in peace... You... You may say I'm a dreamer But I'm not the only one I hope someday you'll join us And the world will be as one Imagine no...

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Welcoming the Possibility of the Messianic Age Fill but do not yet drink the Fourth cup of wine or grape juice We open the door for Elijah—the prophet who heralds the coming of the Messiah and a world in which all peoples will coexist peacefully and for Miriam—acknowledging the image of God in one another and our commitment to bury in the past the pain others inflicted upon us and the sexism that our community in the past inflicted on Jewish...

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We often talk at the seder about the Four Children: the Wise, Wicked, Simple, and the One Who Does Not Know How to Ask. We see a little of ourselves in each child as we discuss their place in the seder and how we explain to them the story of Passover. Do we tell them that we were there together at Sinai, including them in our legacy, or do we exclude them and criticize their apathy? This year, as we consider...

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Why do we tell the story of our oppression? It is in the telling of the story that transformation occurs. In every liberation movement, the sharing of stories becomes crucial. When women fist gathered in consciousness raising groups or alcoholics shared their experience, strength and hope in smoky church basements, stories were shared. I begin to see that story isn't just my story. First we touch the common pain then the common hope. From there we devise strategies for transformation. I...

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The saltwater on our table traditionally represents the tears of the Israelite slaves. The green vegetables we dip in the water suggest the possibility of growth and renewal even in the midst of grief. The greens on the table also remind us of our commitment to protect the planet from ecological destruction. Instead of focusing narrowly on what we may “realistically” accomplish in today’s world, we must focus on what the planet needs in order to survive and flourish. We must...

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Ur’chatz As we wash our hands, we imagine washing away all cynicism and despair. We allow ourselves to be filled with the hope that the world can be transformed in accord with our highest vision of the good. We wash away our own sense of powerlessness—because powerlessness corrupts. The irony of systems of oppression in the contemporary world is that they usually depend upon the participation of the oppressed in their own oppression. Rather than challenging the system, people accept their...

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Tonight we also celebrate and rejoice at the freedom experienced by millions of people when ancient slavery was replaced for many by a form of feudalism that gave some rights and entitlements to peasants who worked the land for all powerful land owners; and the freedom experienced by millions of people when feudal arrangements were replaced by capitalist societies which gave legal rights to people that may have been violated in practice but nevertheless were real advances. We can celebrate also...

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When we talk about God we are talking about the spiritual energy of the universe which makes it possible to transcend the tendency of human beings to pass on to others the hurt and pain that has been done to us, the force that permeates every ounce of Being and unites all in one transcendent and imminent reality. God is the Force in the universe that makes possible the transformation from “that which is” to “that which can and ought to...

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"Jerusalem" By Steve Earle I woke up this mornin' and none of the news was good And death machines were rumblin' 'cross the ground where Jesus stood And the man on my TV told me that it had always been that way And there was nothin' anyone could do or say And I almost listened to him Yeah, I almost lost my mind Then I regained my senses again And looked into my heart to find That I believe that one...

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