Haggadot Contributors

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EVERY JEWISH FAMILY produces a unique version of the Passover seder—the big ritual meal of traditional foods, served after and amid liturgy, storytelling, and song. We’re all surprised at each other’s customs: You eat lamb? You don’t sing “Chad Gad Ya”? And yet, virtually every seder does share a few common elements. Matzoh crumbs all over the floor. Wine stains on the tablecloth. A seder plate containing the traditional symbols of the holiday: a roasted shank bone and hardboiled egg, recalling...

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Dipping the bitter herb in sweet charoset | maror  |מָרוֹר      In creating a holiday about the joy of freedom, we turn the story of our bitter history into a sweet celebration. We recognize this by dipping our bitter herbs into the sweet charoset. We don’t totally eradicate the taste of the bitter with the taste of the sweet… but doesn’t the sweet mean more when it’s layered over the bitterness? בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יְיָ, אֱלֹהֵֽינוּ מֶֽלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם, אֲשֶׁר קִדְּשָֽׁנוּ בְּמִצְוֹתָיו וְצִוָּֽנוּ עַל...

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The Fourth Cup of Wine The Cup of Elijah, The Cup of Hope Reader 1: Let us all fill our wine glasses. Reader 1 picks up Elijah's cup for all to see. This is the cup of Elijah. According to Jewish tradition, the Prophet Elijah was a brave man who denounced the slavery of his day. Legend teaches that he will return one day to lead everyone to peace and freedom. It was customary during the Passover Seder to open the...

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The olive branch is a universal symbol of peace, associated with the dove in the story of Noah's Ark and the Flood. Olive trees mature slowly, so only when there was an extended time of peace, with agriculture left undisturbed, could the olive tree produce its fruit. In 2008, Jewish Voice for Peace promoted putting an olive on the seder plate as part of its Trees of Reconciliation project, which sought to donate 3,000 olive saplings to Palestinian farmers to replant...

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by cynthia greenberg     1 leaving is the easy part not where to run, how to get there children pulling at your hems so many bags to carry which way in the dark will you wander what star use as your guide stepping out into the uncertain sands what then it is more than the worry of food, shelter, water, food what will become of us this is what holds you back 2 leaving is the simplest part to turn, in panic,...

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Reader 1: Long before the struggle upward begins, there is tremor in the seed. Self-protection cracks, roots reach down and grab hold. The seed swells, and tender shoots push up toward light. This is karpas: spring awakening growth. A force so tough it can break stone. Reader 2: Why do we dip karpas into salt water? Reader 1: At the beginning of this season of rebirth and growth, we recall the tears of our ancestors in bondage. Reader 2: And why...

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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 Exodus, much like the Book of Genesis, opens in pervasive...

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We lift the middle matzah and break it in two. Hear the sound of glass broken at the end of every Jewish wedding. Hear the echo of stone tablets cast down and shattered at the foot of the  mountain. Hear the crack of the whip on the backs of slaves. We carry our brokenness with us. We lift the middle matzah and break it in two. The larger piece is hidden. To remind us that more is concealed than revealed. To...

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3 Counterintuitive Lessons From Passover Rabbi David Wolpe A man in a desert alone is not free 1. You are an Egyptian. The Passover story is of a people liberated from slavery. When we celebrate Passover, we naturally identify with the Israelites, the oppressed, and not Pharaoh, the oppressor. But the Egyptians of the Bible also had to make ethical decisions. In our lives, we are constantly surrounded by those who serve us — waiters, clerks, housekeepers, hotel maids, bag boys,...

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Just as we search for the afikoman, we seek out the injustice in our societies, the hidden as well as the revealed, and organize to transform these dark places into ones filled with light. We seek within ourselves for the places where we are complicit in injustice and pledge to do better. And we search out the places where we are hurt or angry and wash these away, so we may proceed with calm and renewed determination. We say the blessing...