Contributors

Paul Browde

Fourth Cup

by Paul Browde

THE FOURTH CUP A) A Cup to the Future – To uprooting oppression and transforming all of our living cultures. We refuse to give up our voices, our histories, our blood to the corporations and the governments, to the pharaohs of the present day. We refuse to leave behind any of our people who do not look or desire or move or speak or believe the way we do. We refuse to be left behind ourselves. We are powerful agents of...

Cups of the Prophets

by Paul Browde

Cups of the Prophets Elijah’s Cup In the ninth century B.C.E., a farmer arose to challenge the domination of the ruling elite. In his tireless and passionate advocacy on behalf of the common people, and his ceaseless exposure of the corruption and waste of the court, Elijah sparked a movement and created a legend which would inspire people for generations to come. Before he died, Elijah declared that he would return once each generation in the guise of any poor or...

Bareich: The Third Cup - Blessing after the meal

by Paul Browde

THE THIRD CUP A) A Cup to Ourselves, to all of us who are at this seder tonight, to the present moment. We must love ourselves, for we are holy, and we have been created out of all that is. Let us take this moment to honor our bodies, our lives, and our communities. Let us honor all the things that have made us who we are- the pain and the pleasure. Let us savor our bodies in all their uniqueness:...

SONGS TO SING FOR ALL

by Paul Browde

Chad Gadyo My father bought a lamb for Seder. Chad gadyo, chad gadyo. Chorus: Ohhhhhhhhh (hold for as long or as loud as you can) We sing it high we sing it low, Chad Gad-ya-aaa Chad Gad-ya Then came the cat, which ate the lamb, My father bought to serve for Seder. Chad gadyo, chad gadyo. Chorus: Ohhhhhhhhh (hold for as long or as loud as you can) We sing it loud, we sing it soft, Chad Gad-ya-aaa Chad Gad-ya Then...

-- Four Children

the OTHER children

by Paul Browde

The “Other" Children It is clear that the traditional four sons are not representatives of our various communities. Therefore, tonight we include in our discussion four additional children. The Trans Child: Trans mah hi omeret? Mah col zeh? “What is up with this gender essentialist crap?” The Revolutionary Child: Revolutionary mah hi omer? Lama lo la’asot ma’shehu? “Why are we wasting time with all of this religious stuff? Religion is the opiate of the masses. Why on this night are we...

-- Four Children

The Four Adults

by Paul Browde

THE FOUR ADULTS 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...

-- Exodus Story

The Maggid

by Paul Browde

THE MAGGID ~ The Story Our story is the peoples’ story. Our seder, first conducted thousands of years ago, was first conducted in Aramaic. Aramaic was the language of the people. Aramaic was the language of the ancient rabbis in Jerusalem; Aramaic was the language of Jesus ben Joseph of Nazareth; Aramaic was the language of a dispossessed people living on land occupied by a foreign empire. Over the course of centuries, Aramaic faded out of use, the descendents of its...

If they take you in the morning

by Paul Browde

If they take you in the morning, the will come for us that night. James Baldwin

Urchatz

by Paul Browde

URCHATZ ~ A Hand Washing Ritual Fill a jug with water and bring it and an empty bowl to the table. Reader: One at a time, pour water over each others’ hands. As water is poured over your hands, share with us what you would like to let go of right now, what you would like to have “washed away”. And after each person speaks, give them support by all saying “Kayn Yihee Ratzon”, or “So Be It.” (23) Reader: During...

Maggid - Beginning

Second Cup of Wine

by Paul Browde

B) A Cup to Action: As we come together this year the world can seem grim, and at times we are very tired and lose hope of any change occurring, especially with the pace and level of destruction the US government is perpetrating. What we drink to tonight is our community fomenting change together, around this table and around the world. We all are engaged in struggle, personally, in this country, and internationally. This year, we drink to the people around...

Kiddush

by Paul Browde

KIDDUSH ~Blessing over the Wine or Grape Juice NOTE: We drink four cups of wine or juice during the seder, each of which may be focused on a different intention. We have included two different ‘tracks’ for the dedication of these four cups. The first track (A) is focused on cultural healing, and the second (B) on political struggle. Consider the cup of wine which we are about to drink. Countless sets of hands played a role in bringing the wine...

Bedikat Chametz

by Paul Browde

BEDIKAT CHAMETZ ~Removal of Chametz: An explanation and ritual One Jewish tradition in preparing for Passover, is eliminating chametz, or leaven from your house. Traditionally, we go through our cupboards and storage areas to remove all products of leavened grain from our possession. When this task (called bedikah) is accomplished, we destroy a symbolic measure of the collected items by burning (biur), and a blessing is recited. This spring-cleaning gives us an immediate opportunity to fulfill the mitzvah (commandment) of ma’ot...

Always a process

by Paul Browde

Always a Process by Deirdre Silverman For me, the recent meaning of Passover in my life has been a reclaiming of the seder ceremony away from the patriarchal tradition. My children may remember the seders of their early childhood, conducted by their grandfather entirely in Hebrew, incomprehensible to most in attendance, unvarying from year to year, except for how long it took until the children were sent away from the table for giggling. Before that, there were the Vietnam-era seders when...

No Recent Haggadah

The Shehecheyanu

by Leigh Nusbaum

The Shehecheyanu is a prayer that Jews have been saying for over 2000 years to mark special occasions. Tonight, all of us here together is special occasion. Whether Jewish or not, we have come here under a shared belief that everyone is entitled to be free. We all believe that everyone is entitled to certain inalienable rights. We all believe that we must treat our brothers and sisters with common decency. That is special and meaningful. To mark this special and...

-- Cup #2 & Dayenu

A Contemporary Dayeinu

by Bob Frankle

If we were delivered from bondage while others remained enslaved, could we say "Dayenu?" If we could be at peace while others died in wars, could we say "Dayenu?" If we were born to prosper while others were born to weep, could we say "Dayenu?" If we alone were chosen while others were forgotten, could we say "Dayenu?" And if we have enough to eat while others starve, can we say "Dayenu?" And if our houses are safe while others live...

Bedikat Chametz

by Paul Browde

BEDIKAT CHAMETZ ~Removal of Chametz: An explanation and ritual One Jewish tradition in preparing for Passover, is eliminating chametz, or leaven from your house. Traditionally, we go through our cupboards and storage areas to remove all products of leavened grain from our possession. When this task (called bedikah) is accomplished, we destroy a symbolic measure of the collected items by burning (biur), and a blessing is recited. This spring-cleaning gives us an immediate opportunity to fulfill the mitzvah (commandment) of ma’ot...

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