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There are many questions. Now we begin to answer. Our history moves from slavery toward freedom. Our narration begins with degradation and rises to dignity. Our service opens with the rule of evil and advances to the kingdom of God. 1. We were slaves to Pharoah in Egypt and the Lord freed us from Egypt with a mighty hand. Had not the Holy One liberated our people from Egypt, then we, our children and our children's children would still be enslaved....

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While the English Earl of Sandwich is generally credited for inventing the snack of his namesake, Hillel may have originated it two thousand years ago by combining matzah, a slice of paschal lamb, and a bitter herb. Jews no longer sacrifice and eat the lamb, so the Passover sandwich is only matzah, charoset, and a bitter herb now.Each person receives some bitter herbs and ḥaroses, which they place between two pieces of matzo.All say in unison: “Kein ah-saw Hillel” and eat...

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Legend has it that the first sandwich was created not by Lord Sandwich, but by Hillel, who ate his Paschal sacrifice together with marror and matzah.Sadly, this really is just a legend.How did he combine these three ingredients? It seems clear that he did not place the meat and marror between two sheets of matzah.“Korech”, the words used to describe his method, means to wrap or to fold. He could only have wrapped or folded his matzah if it was soft...

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Dayenu is a 15-line poem recording the stages of redemption, from the exodus from Egypt through the giving of the Torah, to the building of the Temple. After each stage, we exclaim that had G-d stopped there, and not taken the Israelites any closer to their final destination, dayenu - that would have been enough for us.The earliest full version of the poem appears in the 9th century, in the very first prayer book, compiled by Rav Amram Gaon in Babylonia. ...

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Four Cups, Four Languages of Redemption - and a FifthTraditioanlly we have four cups of wine at the seder, and we leave a fifth for Elijah the prophet. These cups correspond to the four phrases below reflecting the language of redemption - and a fifth is added for our future redemption: V'hotzaiti - And I will take you out (of slavery), V'hitzalti - And I will save you, V'ga'alti - And I will redeem you, V'lakachti - And I will take...

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by Joshua Ratner, Rabbis Without Borders One of my favorite parts of the Passover seder is the singing that takes place after we finish eating. There are so many great, fun songs, from “Ehad Mi Yodeah” to "Chad Gadya."Perhaps my favorite song is “Dayenu.” The words are fairly easy to sing in Hebrew, and the chorus is so catchy that even those who don’t know Hebrew can easily join in. But beyond its functionality, the content of Dayenu (literally “it would...

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The prophet Isaiah said: They shall beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation shall not take up sword against nation, they shall never again know war. But they shall sit every one under their vines and fig trees, and none shall make them afraid. Group sings: Lo yisa goy el goy cherev. Lo yil'medu od milchamah.(x2) The swords have not yet been put aside, and the time of the plowshare and the pruning hooks is still...

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Dayenu is a song of praise referencing different historical contexts we experienced, from slavery in Egypt to the building of the Temple in Israel. After each verse, we sing the chorus, stating that if this was the total of God’s miraculous intervention into our lives, it would have been sufficient. One of the primary purposes of the Passover Seder is to make us feel as if we personally experienced the exodus from Egypt and the redemption from slavery to freedom. This...

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“And the Eternal brought us forth from Egypt”- not by a ministering angel, not by a fiery angel, not by a messenger, but by Himself, in His glory, did the Holy One, blessed be He, as the Bible records: “And I will pass through the land of Egypt on that night, and I will smite all the first-born in the land of Egypt from the man to beast, and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgements. It is...

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Dayenu דַּיֵינוּ אִלוּ הוֹצִיאָנוּ מִמִצְרַים, וְלֹא עָשָׂה בָּהֶם שְׁפָטִים, דַּיֵינוּ. אִלוּ עָשָׂה בָּהֶם שְׁפָטִים, וְלֹא עָשָׂה בֵאלֹהֵיהֶם, דַּיֵינוּ. אִלוּ עָשָׂה בֵאלֹהֵיהֶם, וְלֹא הָרַג אֶת בְּכוֹרֵיהֶם, דַּיֵינוּ. אִלוּ הָרַג אֶת בְּכוֹרֵיהֶם, וְלֹא נָתַן לָנוּ אֶת מָמוֹנָם, דַּיֵינוּ. אִלוּ נָתַן לָנוּ אֶת מָמוֹנָם, וְלֹא קָרַע לָנוּ אֶת הַיָּם, דַּיֵינוּ. אִלוּ קָרַע לָנוּ אֶת הַיָּם, וְלֹא הֶעֱבֵירָנוּ בְּתוֹכוֹ בֶּחָרָבָה, דַּיֵינוּ. אִלוּ הֶעֱבֵירָנוּ בְּתוֹכוֹ בֶּחָרָבָה, וְלֹא שְׁקַע צָרֵנוּ בְּתוֹכוֹ, דַּיֵינוּ. אִלוּ שִׁקַע צָרֵנוּ בְּתוֹכוֹ, וְלֹא סִפֵּק צָרְכֵּנוּ בּמִדְבָּר אַרְבָּעִים שָׁנָה, דַּיֵינוּ. אִלוּ סִפֵּק צָרְכֵּנוּ בּמִדְבָּר...

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Maggid – Exodus Story This is the heart of the Seder: the act of telling ( Haggadah ) of the history, starting with the forefathers (Abraham, Isaac and Jacob/Israel), through the enslavement in Egypt, the rescue (Exodus), the giving of the Torah in Sinai and the conquest of the land of Israel. The forefathers It is written: "Joshua said to all the people: so says the Lord God of Israel--your fathers have always lived beyond the Euphrates River, Terah the father...

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Obligations of the Holiday Rabban Gamliel would teach that all those who had not spoken of three things on Passover had not fulfilled their obligation to tell the story, and these three things are: Say together : Pesach, Matzah, Maror Point to the shank bone: Pesach The Pesach which our ancestors ate when the Second Temple stood: what is the reason for it? They ate the Pesah because the holy one, Blessed be He “passed over” the houses of our ancestors...