This is the first cup of wine, which corresponds with the first expression of redemption: I will take you out. Please sit or stand according to your custom for the blessing over the wine. Parentheses indicate portions for Shabbat רָיְהִי עֶרֶב וַיְהִי בֹקֶר יוֹם הַשִּׁשִּׁי. וַיְכֻלּוּ הַשָׁמַיִם וְהָאָרֶץ וְכָל צְבָאַָם. וַיְכַל _____ בַּיוֹם הַשְּׁבִיעִי מְלַאכְתּוֹ אֲשֶׁר עָשָׂה וַיִּשְׁבֹּת בַּיוֹם הַשְּׁבִיעִי מִכָּל מְלַאכְתּוֹ אֲשֶׁר עָשָׂה. וַיְבָרֶךְ אֱלֹהִים אֶת יוֹם הַשְּׁבִיעִי וַיְקַדֵּשׁ אוֹתוֹ כִּי בוֹ שָׁבַת מִכָּל מְלַאכְתּוֹ אֲשֶׁר בֶָּרָא אֱלֹהִים לַעֲשׂוֹת Vay'hi...

הא לחמא עניא די אכלו אבהתנא בארעא דמצרים. כל דכפין ייתי ויכל. כל דצריך ייתי ויפסח. השתא הכא. לשנה הבאה בארעא דישראל. השתא עבדי. לשנה הבאה בני חורין Ha lachma anya di achalu avahatana b'ara d'Mitzrayim. Kal dichfin yeitei v'yeichul. Kal ditzrich yeitei v'yifsach. Hashata hacha, l'shanah haba'ah b'ara d'Yisrael. Hashata avdei. L'shana haba'ah b'nei chorin. This is the bread of affliction that our ancestors ate in Egypt. Let all who are hungry come and eat. Let all who are in...

The beginning of the Magid is not in Hebrew, but rather Aramaic. Why is that? During this section, we invite anyone who is hungry to partake in our seder. One explanation is that this should be done in the language most commonly spoken, which was Aramaic at the time of the Second Temple. Another explanation is that Aramaic is the only language angels don't speak, and tonight we are so elevated that we speak directly to God, and don't need angels...

There are three pieces of matzah on the table for ritual use. We uncover them, and break the middle piece. We use the middle piece of matzah, and not the top piece, because we will make a blessing on the top piece later. Blessings are said on whole things. Now that the middle matzah is broken,  the smaller piece is replaced with the other pieces. It is the "poor man's bread" which our Passover story revolves around. The larger piece will...

Now, take your vegetable and dip it three times in the salt water. Before eating, we recite together: בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה __ ____ מֶלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם, בּוֹרֵא פְּרִי הָאֲדָמָה Baruch Atah Adonai, Eloheinu Melech ha-olam, borei p’ree ha-adama. Blessed are you, God, Ruler of Everything, who creates the fruits of the earth.

This ritual combines two symbols in our tradition.  A green vegetable represents spring and rebirth. Saltwater represents the tears our ancestors shed as slaves. Our tradition combines these symbols of joy and despair both in this ritual and in this holiday, because the joy of liberation cannot be separated from the pain of slavery.

We will shortly bless and eat karpas - but first we must rituially wash our hands. We will NOT, however, say the blessing that usually accompanies handwashing, because we will not be eating bread afterwards. We wash our hands because they are the what we use to accomplish any task we undertake. Our hands build and write, give and hold, heal and create. Our hands also strike and tear, shatter and bruise, poison and  destroy. This ritual is not to wash...

Please fill your neighbor's glass with wine or grape juice. A good goal for the night is to never pour into your own glass. This is because in the times of the story of the Exodus, only royalty did not serve themselves. Instead, servants and lower courtesans poured their wine for them. So, as an expression of freedom, we do not serve ourselves.

This year slaves; next year free. This year here; next year in Jerusalem!

Three hundred years ago, a ship called the  Mayflower  set sail to the New World. This was a great event in the history of England. Yet I wonder if there is one Englishman who knows at what time the ship set sail? Do the English know how many people embarked on this voyage? What quality of bread did they eat? Yet more than three thousand three hundred years ago, before the  Mayflower  set sail, the Jews left Egypt. Every Jew in...

We continue with a Sephardi/Mizrachi tradition of beating each other with smelly vegetables to the tune of Dayeinu. Although there are about 15 verses, we will be singing 3. אִלּוּ הוֹצִיאָנוּ מִמִּצְרָיִם Ilu hotzi- hotzianu, hotzianu mi-mitzrayim, hotzianu mi-mitzrayim, dayeinu... If he hadn't taken us out of Egypt, it would have been enough אִלּוּ נָתַן לָנוּ אֶת הַשַּׁבָּת Ilu natan- natan lanu, natan lanu et ha-shabat, natan lanu et ha-shabat, dayeinu... If he hadn't given us Shabbat, it would have been...

Please raise your glass, and stand or sit as is your custom, for the second cup of wine. בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה __ ____ מֶלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם בּוֹרֵא פְּרִי הַגָפֶן Baruch atah Adonai, Eloheinu melech ha’olam, borei p'ri hagafen. Praised are you, Adonai, Lord our God, Ruler of the universe, who has created the fruit of the vine.

As we rejoice at our deliverance from slavery, we acknowledge that our freedom was hard-earned. We regret that our freedom came at the cost of the Egyptians’ suffering, for we are all human beings made in the image of God. We pour out a drop of wine for each of the plagues as we recite them. Take a drop of wine out of your cup for each plague Blood | dam | דָּם Frogs | tzfardeiya | צְפַרְדֵּֽעַ Lice | kinim...

The Four Children Our society likes to break people into categories: the weak and the strong, the good and the bad, the fast and the furious, the haves and the have-nots. Our tradition speaks of four children: the wise child, the wicked child, the simple child, and the one who does not know how to ask. Each child has a different reaction to hearing the Passover story. . . What does the wise child say? “What are the testimonies, the statutes,...

(Traditionally, the Four Questions are recited by the youngest person present. As such, we ask all freshmen and PSEO students who are present and able to sing them tonight) ? מַה נִּשְּׁתַּנָה הַלַּיְלָה הַזֶּה מִכָּל הַלֵּילוֹת Mah nish-ta-na ha-lai-lah ha-zeh mikol ha-lei-lot? Why is this night of Passover different from all other nights of the year? #1 .שֶׁבְּכָל הַלֵּילוֹת אָנוּ אוֹכְלִין חָמֵץ וּמַצָּה, הַלַּיְלָה הַזֶּה - כּוּלוֹ מַצָּה She-b'chol ha-lei-lot anu och'lin cha-meitz u-matzah. Ha-laylah hazeh kulo matzah. On all other...

God uses four expressions of redemption to describe the Exodus from Egypt: I will take you out... I will save you... I will redeem you... I will take you as a nation… In response, we drink each cup of wine as an expression of celebration of our deliverance. There is also a fifth expression: "And I will bring you to the land which I promised Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and will give it to you as an inheritance." In response, there...