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The story of Passover begins with Joseph, son of our patriarch, Jacob.   Joseph was held in high esteem by the Pharoah after having advised that Egypt should store grain, preventing a widespread famine. After Joseph and his brothers died, the Pharaoh forgot all that Joseph had done for Egypt, and fearing the increasing numbers of the Israelites, he enslaved the Israelites to prevent them from becoming too powerful. Pharaoh put heavy taxes on them and recruited the men into forced labor...

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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, literally “dessert” in Greek. After dinner, the guests must hunt for the afikomen in order to wrap up the meal. Because the meal cannot end...

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Dipping a green vegetable in salt water | karpas | כַּרְפַּס Passover, like many of our holidays, combines the celebration of an event from our Jewish memory with a recognition of the cycles of nature. As we remember the liberation from Egypt, we also recognize the stirrings of spring and rebirth happening in the world around us. The symbols on our table bring together elements of both kinds of celebration. We now take a green vegetable, representing our joy at the...

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 Ritual hand-washing in preparation for the seder |  urchatz  | וּרְחַץ This is a moment to cleanse and refresh, so that we can begin the seder intentionally.As you wash your hands, imagine washing away any distractions, leaving your mind clear to engage fully in tonight's ritual.

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Our Passover meal is called a seder, which means “order” in Hebrew, because we go through 14 specific steps as we retell the story of our ancestors’ liberation from slavery in Egypt.  Haggadah means "telling" in Hebrew; fitting, as it helps us tell the story of Passover.קַדֵּשׁKiddush (the blessing over wine) | kadeish |וּרְחַץRitual hand-washing in preparation for the seder | urchatz |כַּרְפַּסDipping a green vegetable in salt water| karpas |יַחַץBreaking the middle matzah | yachatz |מַגִּידTelling the story of Passover...