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Ilu ho-tsi, ho-tsi-a-nu,  Ho-tsi-a-nu mi-Mitz-ra-yim,  Ho-tsi-a-nu mi-Mitz-ra-yim,  Da-ye-nu! .. CHORUS:  .. Dai, da-ye-nu,  .. Dai, da-ye-nu,  .. Dai, da-ye-nu,  .. Da-ye-nu, da-ye-nu, da-ye-nu!  ..  .. Dai, da-ye-nu,  .. Dai, da-ye-nu,  .. Dai, da-ye-nu,  .. Da-ye-nu, da-ye-nu! Ilu na-tan, na-tan la-nu,  Na-tan la-nu et-ha-Sha-bat,  Na-tan la-nu et-ha-Sha-bat,  Da-ye-nu! .. (CHORUS) Ilu na-tan, na-tan la-nu,  Na-tan la-nu et-ha-To-rah,  Na-tan la-nu et-ha-To-rah,  Da-ye-nu! .. (CHORUS) Translation: If G-d had only brought us out of Egypt, it would have been enough! If G-d had only...

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“Why on this night when we remember the oppression and resistance of Jews should we also think about the lives of people of color?” Because many Jews are people of color. Because racism is a Jewish issue. Because our liberation is connected. This clip about the experience of Jews of color is written in the first person by Leo Ferguson. As we read it, please feel free to use "we" or "they" pronouns as feels appropriate for you. White Ashkenazi Jews...

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1. Once upon a time our people went into exile in the land of Egypt. During a famine our ancestor Jacob and his family fled to Egypt where food was plentiful. His son Joseph had risen to high position in Pharaoh’s court, and our people were well-respected and well-regarded, secure in the power structure of the time. 2. Generations passed and our people remained in Egypt. In time, a new Pharaoh ascended to the throne. He found our difference threatening, and...

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As we rejoice at our deliverance from slavery, we acknowledge that our freedom was hard-earned. We regret that our freedom came at the cost of the Egyptians’ suffering, for we are all human beings. We pour out a drop of wine for each of the plagues as we recite them to signify having a little less sweetness in our celebration. Dip a finger or a spoon into your wine glass for a drop for each plague. These are the ten plagues...

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Z’roa–זרוע: a shankbone or beet, which represents the mighty hand and outstretched arm that liberated us from Mitzrayim. Maror-מרור: horseradish, which represents the bitterness of slavery in Mitzrayim. Charoset–חרוסת: a mixture of dried fruits and nuts which represents the mortar used to lay bricks, the work done while enslaved in Mitzrayim. Beitzah–ביצה: an egg, which represents life, wholeness, and liberation.​ Karpas–כרפס: parsley, which represents growth, change, and life. Salt Water–מי מלח: which represents our tears while enslaved, and our tenacity and...

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At this point in the Seder, we fill one additional cup and set it aside for the prophet Elijah. Traditionally, Elijah - Eliyahu in Hebrew - will come to herald the coming of the Messiah. It would be much easier to think that liberation will come because of some outside force - whether it be Elijah, the Messiah, or an idea of inevitable historical progress. But, in some traditions, Elijah's visit to our Seder is to check the work  we  are...

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Adir Hu - This Passover hymn lists attributes of God, with the refrain asking God to“build your House soon, speedily, in our time.” Today, we will sing “Adir Hu” both in praise and as a call for righteousness and compassion in our time. Adir hu, adir hu, (refrain) yivneh beito bekarov. Bimherah, bimherah, beyameinu bekarov. El bneh, el bneh, bneh beitcha bekarov. Bachur hu, gadol hu, dagul hu, (refrain) Hadur hu, vatik hu, zakai hu, (refrain) Chassid hu, tahor hu, yachid...

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We now say grace after the meal, thanking God for the food we’ve eaten. Baruch Atah Adonai Eloheinu melech ha’olam, hazan et ha’olam kulo b’tuvo b’chen b’chesed v’rachamin. Hu noten lechem l’chol basar ki l’olam chasdo. Uv’tuvo hagadol tamid lo chasar lanu v’al yech’sar lanu mazon l’olam va’ed. Ba’avur sh’mo hagadol ki hu zan um’farnes lakol umetiv lakol umechin mazon l’chol b’riyotav asher bara. Baruch Atah Adonai hazan et hakol. We praise God, Spirit of Everything, whose goodness sustains the world....

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During the Seder, it is traditional to hide the middle matzah that we broke earlier. We end the meal and begin the final sections of the Seder by finding and eating the middle matzah, called the Afikomen. To respect your time, instead of hiding the Afikomen anywhere in the whole building, we have hidden it under someone's plate here at the table. Lift up your plates to find out who has the Afikomen!

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Break up into groups of two to discuss the following questions: Have you or your family ever had the experience of being a stranger? Each person take a minute to share a story. Can you think of any contemporary examples of oppression of the stranger? What parallels or tensions exist between these examples, the Passover story, and the story you just shared with your partner? In today's world, what can we do, concretely, to follow the commandment to love the stranger?...

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"You shall not oppress a stranger, for you know the feelings of the stranger, having yourselves been strangers in the Land of Egypt" (Exodus 23:9). This commandment - the negative mitzvah not to oppress the stranger, combined with the positive mitzvah to love the stranger - is repeated more times than any other in the Torah. And, again and again, the justification is clear - you were strangers in the lang of Egypt. From the ADL Hagaddah: Our ancestors were immigrants...

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The following are questions a person at the beginning of the coming out process hears as they encounter a simple person, a wise person, a wicked person, and one that does not know how to ask a question. Are these questions, in fact, simple, wise, evil or undeveloped? How is otherness related to these questions? The Simple Child What is this? What does it mean to be gay? Or transgender? Or bi? Why are you gay? Can I be trans too?...

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The Torah speaks of four types of children: one is wise, one is wicked, one is simple, and one does not know how to ask. At the Passover seder, we are all commanded to ask questions about the story in order to fulfill the mitzvah of retelling the Passover story as if we, ourselves, were freed from Egypt. Our tradition speaks of four children: the wise child, the wicked child, the simple child, and the child who does not know how...

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Because on all other nights we are either Jewish or GLBTQA, but on this night we are both. 1) Because on all other nights we eat leavened bread – representative of the “airiness” and artificial nature of our lives – but on this night we eat matzah – representative of transparency and plain honesty. 2) Because on all other nights we enjoy a variety of tastes and vegetables, but on this night we focus on the maror – the bitterness of...

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(While we go around the circle, taking turns reading paragraphs, those not reading sing quietly the tune from the beginning of the Seder.) It is traditional to end the Seder with a promise: "l'shana ha'ba'a b'yerushalayim - next year in Jerusalem." What does this promise mean? The city of Jerusalem is sacred for Jews, Muslims, and Christians - for billions of people around the world. For Jews forced into the diaspora 2,000 years ago, wandering always in countries which were sometimes...

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Lo yisa goy el goy cherev V’lo yil’medu od milchamah. (Nation shall not lift up sword against nation Nor shall they learn war anymore. From Isaiah 2:4)

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Olam chesed yibaneh, We will build this world with love. Psalm 89:3, tune by Rabbi Menachem Creditor, written after 9/11

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Breaking the middle matzah | yachatz | יַחַץ There are three pieces of matzah stacked on the table. We now break the middle matzah into two pieces. The host should wrap up the larger of the pieces and, at some point between now and the end of dinner, hide it. This piece is called the afikomen. After dinner, the guests must hunt for the afikomen in order to wrap up the meal. We eat matzah in memory of the quick flight...

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We dedicate the first cup of this Seder to ending the occupation. (We fill our neighbors' cups.) In Israel/Palestine, the occupation continues to deny freedom and dignity to Palestinians. It has been over 50 years of home demolitions, endless checkpoints, and the imprisonment of children and teenagers like Ahed Tamimi. The occupation is a daily nightmare for Palestinians and a moral disaster for the Israelis who are mandated to enforce it as well as all those around the world who uphold...

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A bitter cud. Biting into the bitter, that bites back. Of all the gross tastes, sweet and salty, sour, we seek it the least. We spit it out. But not tonight. Tonight we must taste our bitterness. Bite into our failure, suck its essence. We were slaves in Egypt, the Haggadah reminds us, and we still are, but who enslaves us to what? The bone we chew is our own. Only I can tell myself where I am caught, trapped, held...

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"If there is no struggle there is no progress. Those who profess to favor freedom, and yet depreciate agitation, are men who want crops without plowing up the ground. They want rain without thunder and lightning. They want the ocean without the awful roar of its many waters. This struggle may be a moral one; or it may be a physical one; or it may be both moral and physical; but it must be a struggle. Power concedes nothing without a...

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This year as we consider our freedom we are mindful of the blight of mass incarceration both in this country and in Israel. When God took us out of Egypt, that freed us from external oppression. But we were not truly free until we stood at Har Sinai and became free to build our lives together in community. This year, we want to consider those who are not free in our two countries: the US and Israel. We want to think...

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Now we move to Karpas. Karpas is the Hebrew word for green vegetable. Traditionally, the karpas is either parsley or lettuce and represents the renewing of the seasons. Passover takes place during spring, and the karpas represents the beginning of a new season and the beginning of nature’s flowering. We hope the American Jewish community will renew its commitment to freedom and dignity for all peoples. The Karpas is also dipped in salt water to remind us of the bitterness of...

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It is traditional to drink four cups of wine or grape juice over the course of the Seder. At this Liberation Seder, we dedicate each cup to one part of the work of liberation: Ending the Occupation LGBTQ Liberation Racial Justice Justice for Immigrants and Refugees

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Welcome to this Liberation Seder. Passover is the season of liberation. As Jewish students, we know that our liberation is bound up in the liberation of all people. In the last year, we have seen countless attacks on the freedom and humanity of both Jews and other oppressed groups. We have seen the rights of immigrants and refugees attacked both here and in Israel. The rights of people of color, queer people, women, Muslims, and Jews are under threat. On Passover,...

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If my voice were louder, If my body stronger, I would tear through the streets, Crying: Peace, Peace, Peace. Volt ikh gehat koyekh, Volt ikh gelofn in di gasn, Volt ikh geshrign sholem, Sholem, Sholem, Sholem. Lu haya li koach, Hayiti ratsa barechov, Hayiti tsoeket shalom, Shalom, Shalom, Shalom. This song - in English, Yiddish, and Hebrew - was written by Jewish singer, musician, and activist Adrienne Cooper. It comes from a much older Shabbat tune. Adrienne Cooper was a leader...

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Don’t think the world is a tavern – created For fighting your way, with fists and with nails To the bar, where you gorge and you guzzle, while others Swooning from hunger and swallowing spit Drawing their swollen cramped bellies in tighter. Oh, don’t think the world is a tavern. Don’t think the world is a market – created So the stronger can prey on the tired and weak And purchase from destitute maidens their shame, From women, the milk of...

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I will deliver you... Just as we remember all of the times throughout history when the nations of the world shut their doors on Jews fleeing violence and persecution in their homelands, so, too, do we remember with gratitude the bravery of those who took us in during our times of need — the Ottoman Sultan who welcomed Spanish Jews escaping the Inquisition, Algerian Muslims who protected Jews during pogroms in the French Pied -Noir, and the Righteous Among the Nations,...