Contributors

Hal Stern

Livingston, NJ , US
@freeholdhal

-- Cup #2 & Dayenu

Orange On The Seder Plate

by Hal Stern

In the early 1980s, Susanna Heschel was lecturing at Oberlin College Hillel and discovered a feminist themed Haggadah that suggested putting a crust of bread on the Seder plate to represent groups that were marginalized in Judaism, especially women. Heschel changed that practice so that an orange would be used – not violating the rules of Passover, and to symbolize the fruitfulness of inclusion. Heschel adds that oranges have seeds so we remember to spit out hate, bigotry, and exclusion.

Why A New Haggadah

by Hal Stern

“Hagaddah” means “the telling.” Our friend Steve collects Haggadot, because each one tells the story a little differently. The story is the same each year, but our context, our perspective, our emphasis is different, and that is the whole point of retelling the story. This has been a different year. What will we tell about it in future years? Mad Max style stories of social meltdown? Stories of signs and wonders? Each year we tell the story differently because we see...

-- Cup #2 & Dayenu

Miriam's Cup

by Hal Stern

A decade after the introduction of an orange on the seder plate, the ritual of Miriam’s Cup emerged from a Rosh Chodesh group in Boston as another way to honor women during the seder. Miriam’s Cup builds upon the message of the orange, transforming our seder into an empowering and inclusive experience. We add a cup of water next to our Seder plate, to draw attention to the importance of Miriam and the other women of the Exodus story, women who...

Uncle Ziemel's Afikomen

by Hal Stern

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, literally “dessert” in Greek. After dinner, the guests will have to hunt for the afikomen in order to wrap up the meal… and win a prize. We eat matzah in memory of the...

An Introduction in Musical Analog

by Hal Stern

The seder is divided into two halves - the story of our past redemption from bondage in Egypt, and the future redemption of our selves from "spiritual hametz" - arrogance, indulgence and selfishness. The Seder is like a concert - a nicely composed first set, a break for a meal, a raucous second set and the encore in Jerusalem. The Haggadah speaks to us as children and as adults, before and after slavery, but it focuses on patterns of four -...

Science and Faith

by Hal Stern

Last year Paris and Belgium. This year London, Stockholm and St. Petersburg. We watched the terror attacks in horror, and once again the calls go out for security and privacy tools that governments can abuse, under the banner of our safety. If we value our freedom, we must value our privacy and that of others as well, and we must protect the free development of science and math as they are the lenses into the practice of freedom and the freedom...

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Stern Family Haggadah 5779

Stern Family Haggadah 5779

A rock and roll tinged, scientifically minded, stuff of family legend, inclusive Haggada for 5779.

The Sea and Stars Haggadah

The Sea and Stars Haggadah

An exploration of separation, unity, and our place in the universe

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