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The first cup of wine is poured and the Kiddush is recited. When the festival occurs on Shabbat, start here: Prepare the meal of the supernal King. This is the meal of the Holy One, blessed be He, and His Shechinah. The sixth day. And the heavens and the earth and all their hosts were completed. And on the seventh day G-d finished His work which He had made, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which...

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Not to us, L-rd, not to us, but to Your Name give glory, for the sake of Your kindness and Your truth. Why should the nations say, "Where, now, is their G-d?" Our G-d is in heaven, whatever He desires, He does. Their idols are of silver and gold, the product of human hands: they have a mouth, but cannot speak; they have eyes, but cannot see; they have ears, but cannot hear; they have a nose, but cannot smell; their...

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PRAISED art Thou, O Lord our God, King of the universe, who hast redeemed us and our ancestors from Egypt, and hast enabled us to observe this night of the Passover, the Feast of Unleavened Bread. O Lord our God and God of our fathers, may we, with Thy help, live to celebrate other feasts and holy seasons. May we rejoice in Thy salvation and be gladdened by Thy righteousness. Grant deliverance to mankind through Israel, Thy people. May Thy will...

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  Traditionally on Passover, all liquids which contain ingredients or flavors made from grain alcohol or vinegar (other than cider vinegar) are prohibited. Consequently, pickled foods are uncommon and undesirable for those observing the dietary guidelines of Passover. Equally undesirable in our world is the sour flavor of hatred, bigotry and homophobia. We take our sliced cucumber piece soaked in cider vinegar and lemon juice and recite:   בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יי אֱלֹהֵינוּ מֶלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם בּוֹרֵא פְּרִי הַאֲדָמָה.   Baruch Atah Adonai, Eloheynu Melech Ha’Olam,...

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It is a tradition at the Seder to include a section entitled “the Four Children.” We have turned it upside down, to remind us that as adults we have a lot to learn from youth. From the U.S. to South Africa to Palestine, young people have been, and are, at the forefront of most of the social justice movements on this planet. If there is a mix of ages of people at your seder, perhaps some of the older people would...

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On The Importance Of Questions The eldest reads: Nobel Prize winning physicist Isaac Isadore Rabi’s mother did not ask him: “What did you learn in school today?” each day. She asked him: “Did you ask a good question today?” More Questions The oldest teenager, or the person older than 19, yet closest to the teen years reads: Why do the same questions get asked each year? I probably have more questions than the youngest, why does a child ask the questions?...

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TZAFUN – The Afikoman / Dessert [If the adults have hidden the Afikoman since it was first put aside, let the children (the youngest generation that is out of diapers) look for it during the meal to win a prize. If one of the children has “stolen” it, let them mock whoever was supposed to be guarding it. In any case, it is now time to redeem the Afikoman. Then, each person eats a portion of the Afikoman. After one eats...

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At the four questions, invite anyone at the table to ask any question they have about the seder and the holiday. If no one knows the answer, what a great challenge for later!  At the four questions, ask the children what is the best question they’ve ever asked in school.

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In the Torah, only the priests of the Temple are commanded to wash, and only before they partake of the sacrificial meal. Today, we have no Temple in Jerusalem, no altar, no priests and no sacrifices. Instead, every home can be a Temple, every table an altar, every meal a sanctified experience, and every Jew a priest. And eating, a mechanical biological function, can be transformed into a ritual filled with meaning. 

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The evening shadows lengthen. We prepare ourselves to light the holiday candles. In this act we unite and identify ourselves in time and space with all Jews in other periods and places of our history. Albert Einstein stood in awe of the universe as he struggled to formulate his theory of a unified field. He was not ready to assign consciousness to the unity he proposed. But our ancestors taught us of a Divine Unity: the Source of all things who...

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The Torah says we are to speak these words before God and say, “My father was a wandering Aramean. He went down into Egypt and sojourned there. With few in number, he became there a great and populous nation. The Egyptians dealt harshly with us and afflicted us and imposed hard labor upon us. And we cried out to the Lord, the God of our fathers and God heard our cry and saw our affliction and our oppression. He brought us...

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These three Matzot are certainly not enough to feed us all tonight. What could they symbolize? Our sages offer a variety of explanations. Among these, they suggest that the Matzot represent the three ancient branches of the Jewish people: Cohen, Levite and Israelite. They can also represent our thoughts, our speech and our action. While our thoughts and actions remain whole, our speech (like that of Moses) is often broken. Our words form the transition from our thoughts to our actions....

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Was unterscheidet diese Nacht von allen anderen Nächten? In allen anderen Nächten brauchen wir nicht ein einziges Mal einzutunken, in dieser Nacht zweimal. In allen anderen Nächten können wir Gesäuertes und Ungesäuertes essen, in dieser Nacht nur Ungesäuertes. In allen anderen Nächten können wir verschiedene Kräuter essen, in dieser Nacht nur bittere Kräuter. In allen anderen Nächten können wir freisitzend oder angelehnt essen, in dieser Nacht sitzen wir alle angeleh

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Shir Hama’alot, b’shuv Adonai et shivat Tzion, hayinu k’cholmim. Az y’malei s’chok pinu ul- shoneinu rina, az yomru vagoyim, higdil Adonai la-asot im eileh. Higdil Adonai la-asot imanu, hayinu s’meichim. Shuva Adonai et sh’viteinu, ka-afikim banegev. Hazor’im b’dima b’rina yiktzoru. Haloch yeileich uvacho nosei meshech hazara, bo yavo v’rina, nosei alumotav. T’hilat Adonai y’daber pi, vivareich kol basar shem kod’sho l’olam va’ed. Va-anachnu n’varech ya, mei-ata v’ad olam, hal’luya. Hodu la-Adonai ki tov, ki l’olam chasdo. Mi y’maleil g’vurot Adonai, yashmi’a...

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A Song of Ascents. When the Lord returned us from exile back to Zion, it was as though we were dreaming. We laughed in joy and sang happy songs. It was said around the world: “The Lord has done great things for them.” The Lord did great things for us, and we rejoiced. God, restore our captives. We shall be like streams in the Negev. Those who sow in tears shall ultimately reap in joy. Though the farmer bears the measure...

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Open the door for Elijah the Prophet. All rise. Shfoch chamatcha el hagoyim asher lo y’da’ucha v’al mamlachot asher b’shimcha lo kara’u. Ki achal et Ya’akov v’et naveihu heishamu. Shfoch Aleihem zamech vacharon apcha yasigaim. Tirdof b’af v’tashmidaim mitachat shmay Adonai.

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After the meal, take the Afikoman and divide it among all the members of the household, by giving everyone a kezayit (the volume of one olive). Take care not to eat or drink (only water allowed, but not recommended) after the Afikoman. It is to be eaten in the reclining position and this ought to be done before midnight.