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Nirtzah is the conclusion of the Seder.  It is customary at this time to say the words "L'shanah haba'ah b'yerushalayim" which means "Next year in Jerusalem".  This was the dream of Jews all over the world for the last two thousand years.  It represented the idea that maybe, next year, we will make our pilgrimmage to Zion / Israel / the Promised Land / the land of milk and honey, with Jerusalem at its centre.  This pilgrimmage was also to a...

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The Fourth Cup of Wine The Cup of Elijah, The Cup of Hope Leader: Let us all fill our wine glasses. {Picks up Elijah's cup for all to see.} This is the cup of Elijah. According to tradition, we open the door to permit the possible entry of the prophet Elijah, who is, according to tradition, the herald of the Mashiach (Messiah) or (is there a difference?) an era of peace and freedom for all human beings.  If the weather is...

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Bareich is when two things happen:(1) We say the 'grace after meals' or 'birkat hamazon' (or not)(2) We fill our glasses again, say the prayer and drink a third cup of wine to honour the joy of being together around this table on this festive evening. Baruch atah adonai, elohaynu melech ha'olam, borei p'ri ha'gafen.

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At the conclusion of the meal, the children are given an opportunity to find the Aphikomon (Afikomen) that has been hidden earlier in the evening. The reader redeems it from the child who has found it and distributes pieces of it to all present.  The child gets a prize.After partaking of the Aphikomon, it is customary to eat nothing else.  As for wine, though, we're only halfway through ...

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Gefilte Fish - A Mythical MidrashAccording to Ashkenazi Jewish custom, we eat Gefilte fish on Passover. The question arose as to why Gefilte fish is so closely associated with Passover, and why it seems to appear on so many Seder tables.Here is one answer:When the Israelites found themselves trapped between the Sea of Reeds (sometimes mistakenly called the Red Sea) and the pursuing Egyptian chariots, they panicked. They cried to Moses, who cried to God who said: wait, let me think...

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Now we partake of the charoset, which symbolizes the mortar which our enslaved ancestors used for building. Though the labor was bitter, it was made bearable by the sweetness of hope. We combine some charoset with some maror between two pieces of matzoh to soften the bitterness of suffering.  This is known as the "Hillel sandwich" after one of the most famous of all Rabbis. You may now eat everything in sight, but save room for dinner.

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When most of us think of maror, or bitter herbs, we think of khreyn (Yiddish for horseradish). But when you think about it, horseradish is not really bitter… it is pungent and spicy. According to the Talmud, the correct vegetable to use is lettuce, probably a variety of Romaine lettuce. Indeed, this is what many Sephardi Jews use for maror. Of course, Romaine lettuce is not really bitter either. According to Dr. Joshua Kulp, “our pleasant tasting lettuce is the result...

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Time to eat matzah.  As each of you breaks off four pieces of matzah for your plate, ponder this: Matzah is literally free of all additives, externalities and superficial good looks -- it is bread without the hot air. It represents the bare essentials. Everything we pursue in life can be divided into necessities and luxuries. To the extent that a luxury becomes a necessity we lose an element of our freedom by being enslaved to a false need. On Passover...

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Fun fact: Persian and Afghani Jews hit each other over the heads and shoulders with scallions every time they say Dayenu! They especially use the scallions in the ninth stanza which mentions the manna that the Israelites ate everyday in the desert, because Torah tells us that the Israelites began to complain about the manna and longed for onions, leeks and garlic. Feel free to be Persian/Afghani for the evening if you’d like.If He had brought us out from Egypt אִלּוּ...

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In the absence of a stable homeland, Jews have made their home in books – a Jewish home without books is not a Jewish home – and the Haggadah – the core of which is the re-telling of the Exodus from Egypt – has been translated more widely, and revised more often, than any other Jewish book.  Everywhere Jews have wandered, they have produced Haggadot (plural: there are 7,000 known versions, not to mention the countless homemade editions like this one),...

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Famine in Canaan.  Relocation to Egypt.  Joseph rules - things are good.  Time passes and memory fades.  Descendants of Jacob (Hebrews?) are enslaved.  Eventually, their numbers threaten one of the Pharaohs.  To send a message and control population growth, Hebrew boys are marked for slaughter.  One such boy (Moses) escapes and is adopted by the Pharaoh's daughter.  Moses eventually agrees to lead his people to freedom.  Moses makes demands of the reigning Pharaoh, who pays no heed.  Moses enlists God and...

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Traditionally, The Four Sons (or Children) include a wise son, a wicked (or rebellious) son, a simple son and one who does not even know enough to ask.  Each of the first three ask questions about the Seder, essentially "Explain all this to me - what are my responsibilities?" "What has all this nonsense you are babbling about got to do with me?" and "What IS all this anyway?" while the fourth is silent - requiring the adults to be proactive...