I just want to take a moment to say "Thank You" to Hilda, who has been "enslaved" getting ready for the meal we are about to eat.  There is an enormous amount of preparation (changing over all the dishes and buying the special Pesach food) and cooking (for both the meat eaters and vegetarians in our family), and Hilda really goes all out to make this a most special and wonderful meal, following in the tradition of her beloved mother, Becky...

I want to take a moment to give a special thank you to Hilda, who has truly "slaved" to bring us this wonderful meal.  Passover is always a tremendous amount of preparation (changing the dishes and buying special Passover foods), and cooking goes on for days before the Seder, but Hilda really goes all out to provide us with a fantastic dinner and tasty desserts.  Each year adds another layer of memories for a very special holiday.  Thank you Hilda!!

Freedom and pain are inexorably linked.  Our approach to the "bitter" times is neither to deny nor to seek escape but to face up to the challenges and embrace the opportunity they offer.The key is to recognize that pain and suffering emanate from exactly the same source as joy and pleasure.  The self same God that redeemed us from Egypt was the One who allowed us to be enslaved there in the first place, because, painful though it was, it was...

Matzah is literally free of all additives, externalities and superficial good looks -- it is bread without the hot air.  It represents the bare essentials.Everything we pursue in life can be divided into necessities and luxuries.  To the extent that a luxury becomes a necessity we lose an element of our freedom by being enslaved to a false need.Jewish thought teaches that we should not submit to peer pressure, viewing ourselves as competing with others.  It is far better to focus...

In the traditional Passover Seder, we thank God for the miracles God performed, and, after reciting each miracle, reply aloud "Dayenu" -- this alone would have been enough and for this we are grateful.Hunger is a slavery of our times, a bondage from which we continue to struggle.  Yet, though our freedom from hunger is incomplete, we have taken great steps forward in the fight against hunger and oppression in the United States.We take time now to reflect on all those...

The leader takes out the middle Matzah, breaks it in two and holds up both pieces. Reader 1:  At every Passover seder, we break the middle matzah.  In a few moments, we will put the larger piece aside for the Afikoman or dessert.  Usually, we place the smaller piece back between the two whole Matzot, as we prepare to remember our ancestors' lives as slaves in Egypt.  Tonight, however, we delay the second part of the ritual so we can consider...

Each drop of wine is our hope and prayer that people will cast out the plagues that today threaten everyone, everywhere they are found, beginning in our own hearts:The making of war,The teaching of hate and violence,Despoliation of the earth,Perversion of justice and government,Fomenting of vice and crime,Neglect of human needs,Oppression of nations and peoples,Corruption of culture,Subjugation of science, learning, and human discourse,The erosion of freedoms.

Welcome to our home!  We are so pleased to be able to share this special occasion with you and we feel so blessed to be surrounded by our loved ones.  Passover is truly a season of rejoicing, as we celebrate our liberation from slavery thousands of years ago. We look forward to retelling the ancient story, just as our parents, grandparents, great-grandparents, and all the generations that came before them did.  We look forward to learning how the lessons from the...