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1. Once upon a time our people went into galut, 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,...

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The Seder Plate Karpas:  Karpas represents the initial flourishing of the Israelites during the first years in Egypt. At the end of the biblical book of Genesis, Joseph moves his family to Egypt, where he becomes the second-in-command to Pharaoh. Protected by Joseph's exalted status, the family lives safely for several generations and proliferate greatly, becoming a great nation. The size of this growing population frightens the new Pharaoh, who enslaves the Israelites, lest they make war on Egypt. Even under...

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Gathered around the Seder table, we pour four cups, remembering the gift of freedom that our ancestors received centuries ago. We delight in our liberation from Pharaoh’s oppression. We drink four cups for four promises fulfilled. The first cup as God said, “I will free you from the labors of the Egyptians.” The second as God said, “And I will deliver you from their bondage.” The third as God said, “I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great...

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The word Seder means “order.” While order can be oppressive when it suppresses creativity and choice, order can also be a liberating source of stability. In the first chapter of Genesis, the world is fashioned out of chaos, each stage of Creation providing the foundation for the next. First light bursts out from darkness; then the waters appear, followed by trees and plants; then animals, from small to large; and finally, human beings. The organizing principle of Creation is itself a...

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Pack Nothing. Bring only your determination to serve  and your willingness to be free. Don’t wait for the bread to rise. Take nourishment for the journey,  but eat standing, be ready to move at a moment’s notice. Do not hesitate to leave your old ways behind— fear, silence, submission. Only surrender to the need  of the time— to love justice and walk humbly with your God. Do not take time to explain to the neighbors. Tell only a few trusted friends...

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Not with a strong hand And not with an outstretched arm And not with great awe And not with signs And not with wonders Rather hesitantly, with small steps, terrified by darkness Softly Dedicated Purposefully With accuracy And love Carrying little signs like the wrinkles of passing time, the transition of seasons, my changing body, the pearls of my longings. Getting out of Egypt

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Not the peace of a cease-fire, not even the vision of the wolf and the lamb, but rather as in the heart when the excitement is over and you can talk only about a great weariness. I know that I know how to kill, that makes me an adult. And my son plays with a toy gun that knows how to open and close its eyes and say Mama. A peace  without the big noise of beating swords into ploughshares, without...

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It has rained for five days running the world is a round puddle of sunless water where small islands are only beginning to cope a young boy in my garden is bailing out water from his flower patch when I ask him why he tells me young seeds that have not seen sun forget and drown easily.

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The traditional aspiration, “Next Year in Jerusalem,” is our people’s millennia-old hope for redemption. At AJWS, our yearning takes the form of hope and action for a more just world. Join us, this year, in helping achieve… Peace in societies torn by war Freedom from bigotry and oppression Equality for minorities shunned by prejudice and hatred Respect for the aspirations and humanity of women and girls Acceptance for people persecuted for who they are or whom they love Sustenance for communities...

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“This time we cannot cross until we carry each other. All of us refugees, all of us prophets. No more taking turns on history’s wheel, trying to collect old debts no one can pay. The sea will not open that way. This time that country is what we promise each other, our rage pressed cheek to cheek until tears flood the space between, until there are no enemies left, because this time no one will be left to drown and all...

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If your own suffering does not serve to unite you with the suffering of others, if your own imprisonment does not join you with others in prison, if you in your smallness remain alone, then your pain will have been for naught. –Love and Justice in Times of War Haggadah

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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. White Ashkenazi Jews have a rich history but are only a part of the Jewish story. Mizrahi & Sephardi Jews; Yemeni Jews; Ethiopian Jews; Jews who trace their heritage to the Dominican Republic, to Cuba & Mexico; to Guyana...

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Take Us Out of Mitzrayim (Sung to the tune of "Take Me Out to the Ball Game") Take us out of Mitzrayim, Free us from slavery Bake us some matzah in a haste Don't worry 'bout flavor, Give no thought to taste. Oh it's rush, rush, rush, to the Red Sea If we don't cross it's a shame, For it's ten plagues, Down and you're out At the Pesah history game

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by Bradley Burston Blessed are You, Creator of the Second Chance, Vendor of questions and plagues Just this once, just for this cup, Come on down. Take a seat. Take a sip. Taste Of this cup meant to bring an end to plagues and questions. Roll them on your Sacred Tongue, taste as if chewing Taste what we taste Come on down. We're ready to leave Egypt now. We've said our goodbyes and punched the clock for the last time. We've...

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By Alicia Garza, Co-Founder of the #BlackLivesMatter Solidarity is a verb, not an adjective. Solidarity requires that we act in accordance with our deepest purpose and longings. Much can be learned from a long tradition of radical solidarity between Jewish and Black communities. Today, shifts in our political conditions raise the important question: what are the opportunities for solidarity right now, in an increasingly complicated world where anti-Black racism threatens to erode our legacies? Within the Jewish community, the increasing prevalence...

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Song of Miriam By Rabbi Ruth Sohn I, Miriam, stand at the sea and turn to face the desert stretching endless and still. My eyes are dazzled — the sky brilliant blue, sunburst sands unyielding white. My hands turn to dove wings. My arms reach for the sky and I want to sing the song rising inside me. My mouth open, I stop. Where are the words? Where the melody? In a moment of panic my eyes go blind. Can I...

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Three Questions There is a Sefardic (Iraqi or Afghani) custom of turning to the person beside you, asking these three questions, and offering the three brief answers. Try this, and see what opens in you.  Who are you? (I am Yisrael.)  Where are you coming from? (I am coming from Mitzrayim.)  Where are you going? (I am going to Yerushalayim.) from the Velveteen Rabbi

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By Avigayil Halpern Blood: Young girls tuck tampons quickly into backpacks, secret them in purses, hide them in Ugg boots. It’s not blue dye that the river is running with, and periods are more trouble than the pamphlet in that goody bag from middle-school health class would leave one to believe. “It’s beautiful to be female,” we’re told, but nobody accounts for cramps and cramps and cramps and bloodied sheets and cramps. We are under no obligation to love our bodies,...

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Written by Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg and Rabbi Lauren Holtzblatt On Passover, Jews are commanded to tell the story of the Exodus and to see ourselves as having lived through that story, so that we may better learn how to live our lives today. The stories we tell our children shape what they believe to be possible—which is why at Passover, we must tell the stories of the women who played a crucial role in the Exodus narrative. The Book of...

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True freedom requires sacrifice and pain. Most human beings only think they want freedom. The truth is they yearn for the bondage of social order, rigid laws, materialism. The only freedom man really wants is to be comfortable. - Emma Goldman

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Old pirates, yes, they rob I; Sold I to the merchant ships, Minutes after they took I From the bottomless pit. But my hand was made strong By the 'and of the Almighty. We forward in this generation Triumphantly. Won't you help to sing These songs of freedom? - 'Cause all I ever have: Redemption songs; Redemption songs. Emancipate yourselves from mental slavery; None but ourselves can free our minds. Have no fear for atomic energy, 'Cause none of them can...