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THE MATZAH OF HOPE and PEACE Neal Borovitz Avadim Hayinu:  Not only were we slaves to the Pharaoh of Egypt, we have also been enslaved and persecuted by other Pharaohs.  Among these Pharaohs of every age were the Kings of Babylonia, the Emperors of Greece and Rome, the Churchmen and Nobles of Medieval Spain, Hitler and his Nazi followers, the Pharaohs of Moscow, and the dictators, potentates and terrorists of the contemporary Arab world.  The Babylonian exile was followed by a...

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If He had brought us out from Egypt, Ilu hotzianu mimitzrayim, אִלּוּ הוֹצִיאָנוּ מִמִּצְרָיִם    Dayenu, it would have been enough! dayeinu! דַּיֵּנוּ   If He had given us the Shabbat, Ilu natan lanu et hashabbat, אִלּוּ נָתַן לָנוּ אֶת הַשַּׁבָּת  Dayenu, it would have been enough! dayeinu! דַּיֵּנוּ   If He had given us the Torah, Ilu natan lanu et hatorah, אִלּוּ נָתַן לָנוּ אֶת הַתּוֹרָה    Dayenu, it would have been enough! dayeinu! דַּיֵּנוּ   Ilu Hotzi, Hotziyanu  Hotziyanu Mi-mitzrayim Hotziyanu Mi-mitzrayim Dayeinu {Day...

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Pharaoh and the Ten Plagues ------------------------------------------- One morning Pharaoh awoke in his bed, He looked out the window and here's what he said, "OY VEY! The Nile River has all turned red!!!" Red here, red there, red water flowing everywhere! (move hands like flowing water) Flowing, flowing everywhere, flowing, flowing everywhere, Red here, red there, red water flowing everywhere! One morning Pharaoh awoke in his bed, There were frogs on his bed and frogs on his head Frogs on his nose...

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One morning Pharaoh awoke in his bed, There were frogs on his bed and frogs on his head Frogs on his nose and frogs on his toes, Frogs here, frogs there, frogs were jumping everywhere!

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Now, what does all of this mean in this great period of history? It means that we've got to stay together. We've got to stay together and maintain unity. You know, whenever Pharaoh wanted to prolong the period of slavery in Egypt, he had a favorite, favorite formula for doing it. What was that? He kept the slaves fighting among themselves. But whenever the slaves get together, something happens in Pharaoh's court, and he cannot hold the slaves in slavery. When...

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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 gentiles hiding Jews...

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What is a Miriam’s Cup? A Miriam’s Cup is a new ritual object that is placed on the seder table beside the Cup of Elijah. Miriam’s Cup is filled with water. It serves as a symbol of Miriam’s Well, which was the source of water for the Israelites in the desert. Putting a Miriam’s Cup on your table is a way of making your seder more inclusive. It is also a way of drawing attention to the importance of Miriam and...

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When he was 11 years old, Mikhail Chlenov would go to Moscow’s Choral Synagogue to buy matzah for his grandparents. It was in the early 1950s, when the Soviet regime’s anti-Jewish policy reached its most severe stage. But outside the synagogue, the Russian capital’s main Jewish center at that time, the line to buy matzah was long and tolerated by the authorities. "Matzah used to be the only visible symbol of an individual’s involvement in Judaism," says Chlenov, chairman of the...

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Throughout the year, the physical reality of our bread is Chametz, leavened, fermented bread. it is indicative of, indeed, it is the cause of the fermentation of our thoughts. What we eat and how we eat influences our mental processes. Eating just for pleasure or the alleviation of hunger is beneath the level of man. Our thought processes sink below the human level. We become prey to undesirable fantasy. We must therefore BREAK those spontaneous thoughts the moment we become aware...

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Rabbi Shimshon Dovid Pincus was a 20th century Israeli Haredi Rabbi of American origin Z'roah - Chesed - The Z'roah is the symbol we use on the Seder Plate today to represent the Korban Pesach. The Korban Pesach is the method through which we internalize the Intellectual Emunah of the Three Matzos. It is the Chesed, the generous giving of the spiritual gift of Emunah. Spiritual gifts are the embodiment of chesed, since chesed implies an unlimited, endless giving of good....

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Talmud Pesachim 116a And they baked unleavened cakes of the dough which they brought forth out of Egypt, for it was not leavened, because they were thrust out of Egypt, for it was not leavened because they were thrust out of Egypt, and could not tarry, neither had they prepared for themselves any food. The Unleavened Bread is eaten because our fathers were redeemed from Egypt, as it is said, and they baked unleavened cakes of the dough which they brought...

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Oh Listen, Oh Listen, Oh Listen King Pharaoh ;    Oh Listen, Oh Listen Please Let My People Go! They Want to Go away They work too hard all Day;   King Pharaoh King Pharaoh What Do You Say? NO! NO! NO! I will not let them Go!

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Miriam’s Song By Debbie Friedman Chorus--{And the women dancing with their timbrels, Followed Miriam as she sang her song, Sing a song to the One whom we've exalted, Miriam and the women danced and danced the whole night long} And Miriam was a weaver of unique variety The tapestry she wove was one which sang our history. With every strand and every thread she crafted her delight! A woman touched with spirit, she dances toward the light Chorus{} When Miriam stood...

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"For four daughters did the Bible speak: The Curious One, who excitedly asked everyone, 'What is this amazing looking Matza?' and asked the same about every item on the table and in the world. The Passionate One, who loved the scents, colors, and flavors of the seder table and all the people around it, who sang and danced with all her heart, who put on plays with her cousins and laughed so hard the back-door neighbors heard her and looked forward...

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Avadim Hayinu:  Not only were we slaves to the Pharaoh of Egypt, we have also been enslaved and persecuted by other Pharaohs.  Among these Pharaohs of every age were the Kings of Babylonia, the Emperors of Greece and Rome, the Churchmen and Nobles of Medieval Spain, Hitler and his Nazi followers, the Pharaohs of Moscow, and the dictators, potentates and terrorists of the contemporary Arab world.  The Babylonian exile was followed by a return to Zion; the Hellenistic domination by the...

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Birchat hamazon – blessing after the meal--by Alexander Massey Brich rachamana malka d’alma marei d’hai pita. (Talmud, Brachot 40b) A Fountain of Blessings is the Compassionate One, Ruler of Eternity and the concealed and revealed Universe, Master of this Bread. (Translation-interpretation) The origin of this blessing is recorded in the Talmud with the following story: “Benjamin the shepherd made a sandwich [literally, a ‘doubled (wrapped) loaf’] and said, Blessed be the Master of this bread [brich marei d’hai pita], and Rab...

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Pesachim 39b:8 (Babylonian Talmud) We fulfill [our obligation] with all [things] that have the taste of marror ; we do not fulfill [our obligation] with all [things] that do not have the taste of marror . Excerpt from "A Humanistic Haggadah" MAROR - THE BITTER HERB - [Maror held up for all to see.] Why do we have Maror on the Seder plate? Tradition says that this bitter herb is to remind us of the bitterness of slavery. As it is...

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Talmud Pesachim 116a And they baked unleavened cakes of the dough which they brought forth out of Egypt, for it was not leavened, because they were thrust out of Egypt, for it was not leavened because they were thrust out of Egypt, and could not tarry, neither had they prepared for themselves any food. –Exodus 12:39 The Unleavened Bread is eaten because our fathers were redeemed from Egypt, as it is said, and they baked unleavened cakes of the dough which...

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Pesach Haggadah, Magid, Rabban Gamliel's Three Things Rabban Gamliel was accustomed to say: Anyone who has not said these three things on Pesach has not fulfilled his obligation, and these are them: the Pesach sacrifice, matsa and marror. The Pesach [Passover] sacrifice that our ancestors were accustomed to eating when the Temple existed, for the sake of what [was it]? For the sake [to commemorate] that the Holy One, blessed be He, passed over the homes of our ancestors in Egypt,...

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Sukkah 27b tells the story of R. Eliezer chastising his student R. Ilai for visiting his mentor on the holiday. R. Eliezer was of the view that part of the Biblical mitzvah of enjoying the holiday is remaining in one’s house. He said, “I praise the lazy who do not leave their houses on the holiday.” R. Tzvi Hirsch Chajes, in his glosses to Sanhedrin 32b, asks that if that is the case, why does the Haggadahtell of a time during...

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