Contributors

Sebastian Greenholtz

A Different Kind of Exodus

Many Jews use the Passover seder to discuss the state of Israel and how the brave pioneers took over the land. But here are two stories of a different kind of modern day exodus, painting a very different picture of those events. From “Justice and Only Justice” by Naim Ateek Our town was occupied on May 12, 1948. (The State of Israel was proclaimed two days later.) We lived under occupation for fourteen days. On May 26, the military governor sent...

Songs

Solidarity Forever

by Sebastian Greenholtz

When the union's inspiration through the workers' blood shall run There can be no power greater anywhere beneath the sun Yet what force on earth is weaker than the feeble strength of one But the union makes us strong [Chorus] Solidarity forever, Solidarity forever, Solidarity forever, for the union makes us strong! Is there aught we hold in common with the greedy parasite, Who would lash us into serfdom and would crush us with his might? Is there anything left to...

Commentary / Readings

Quote from R. Heschel

by Sebastian Greenholtz

"Prayer is meaningless unless it is subversive, unless it seeks to overthrow and to ruin the pyramids of callousness, hatred, opportunism, falsehoods. The liturgical movement must become a revolutionary movement, seeking to overthrow the forces that continue to destroy the promise, the hope, the vision." —Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel, 1970

Hallel

Go Down Moses

by Sebastian Greenholtz

Go down Moses way down in Egypt land Tell all Pharaohs to let My people go When Israel was in Egypt land Let My people go Oppressed so hard they could not stand Let My people go So the God seyeth, Go down, Moses way down in Egypt land Tell all Pharaohs to let My people go So Moses went to Egypt land Let My people go He made all Pharaohs understand Let My people go Yes The Lord said, Go...

Hallel

Wade in the Water

by Sebastian Greenholtz

By Eva Cassidy Wade in the water Wade in the water, children Wade in the water God's gonna trouble the water Who's that yonder dressed in red? Wade in the water Must be the children that Moses led And God's gonna trouble the water Wade in the water Wade in the water, children Wade in the water God's gonna trouble the water Who's that yonder dressed in white? Wade in the water Must be the children of the Israelites God's gonna...

Hallel

Hallelujah

by Sebastian Greenholtz

Now I've heard there was a secret chord That David played, and it pleased the Lord But you don't really care for music, do you? It goes like this The fourth, the fifth The minor fall, the major lift The baffled king composing Hallelujah Hallelujah Hallelujah Hallelujah Hallelujah Your faith was strong but you needed proof You saw her bathing on the roof Her beauty and the moonlight overthrew you She tied you to a kitchen chair She broke your throne,...

Hallel

Fourth Cup for a Right to Joy

by Sebastian Greenholtz

The last of our four cups is dedicated to the right of every human being to enjoy themselves and their lives fully, without fear of oppression, without constant worry about food security or how to pay the bills. We are incredibly alienated from ourselves and the people around us by the daily grind of living under capitalism. We don't have time to enjoy ourselves from the constant work, obligations, and sheer exhaustion. One of the best things about socialism is when...

Bareich

Third Cup for Rememberance

by Sebastian Greenholtz

Now we fill our own glasses with winefor the third time. The third cup is dedicated to remembering those who died in the course of the struggle for revolution. Workers from all backgrounds and walks of life fought and died for the Paris Commune, the Russian Civil War, the Spanish revolution, the Venezuelan revolution, the Haymarket Riot, and so many others. Some people see these sacrifices as revolutionary martyrdom and glorify the bloodshed. But we know socialism will not come on...

-- Cup #2 & Dayenu

Two Approaches to Dayenu

by Sebastian Greenholtz

Singing Dayenu is a much loved tradition at the Passover seder. We recognize all the things that God gave the Israelites throughout their exodus and journey in the desert, and respond with the phrase "Dayenu - it would have sufficed us." But even without a supernatural God we can still sing Dayenu honestly. Part 1: Appreciate what do you have Dayenu is a song all about appreciating what we have and what we’ve been given. In this time of economic and...

Hallel

Miriam and Elijah's Cups

by Sebastian Greenholtz

It is customary to fill a cup of wine for the prophet Elijah, who in messianic literature will announce the coming of the messiah so we open the door for him to enter and usher in an age of peace and harmony. At our seder we have two cups at the center. One is for Elijah, and the other for Miriam. Miriam's cup is filled with water, to remember the well that followed Miriam through the desert after crossing the Red...

Tzafun

Tzafun - Afikomen out of hiding

by Sebastian Greenholtz

After the meal, the half-matzah which had been “hidden,” set aside for the afikoman (“dessert”), is found and then eaten. Everyone should eat at least 1½ ounces of matzah, reclining, before midnight. After eating the afikoman, we do not eat or drink anything except for the two remaining cups of wine. We read earlier in the seder about the afikomen and some of what it represents. Why do we save the afikomen for the end? We often say that socialism is...

Koreich

Explaining Korech

by Sebastian Greenholtz

In keeping with the custom instituted by Hillel, the great Talmudic sage, a sandwich of matzah and maror is eaten. Break off two pieces of the bottom matzah, which together should be at least one ounce. Again, take at least one ounce of bitter herbs and dip them in the charoset. Place this between the two pieces of matzah and eat the sandwich while reclining. In the days of the second temple in Jerusalem, Rabbi Hillel was a great teacher who...

Maror

Marxist Maror

by Sebastian Greenholtz

Take at least one ounce of the bitter herbs. Dip it in the charoset, then shake the latter off. This bitter herb allows us to taste the bitterness of slavery. Today, most Jews use horseradish as maror. Originally, though, maror was probably a bitter lettuce, such as romaine, or a root, such as chicory. Like life in Egypt, these lettuces and roots taste sweet when one first bites into them, but then become bitter as one eats more. We dip maror...

Motzi-Matzah

Explaining Motzi-Matzah

by Sebastian Greenholtz

Now we share the matzah around the table. The matzah is called the bread of affliction, representative of the meager food given to slaves. It also represents freedom, as the midrash about the exodus explains, the Israelites had to leave Egypt quickly once they were given permission, and in ancient times bread rose by collecting the naturally-occurring yeast in the air. However this took a very long time, so the Israelites simply took their dough without letting it rise and baked...

Motzi-Matzah

Kashrut of Working Conditions

by Sebastian Greenholtz

It was practice of Rabbi Levi Yitzchak each Passover to supervise the bakeries of Berditchev. In addition to the kashrut of the matzot, he was concerned with the working conditions of the women and children employees. One year, observing that they were being exploited, being forced to work from early morning until late at night, he approached the bakery owner. “Our enemies used to cause great consternation among our people,“ he said, “charging that we use non-Jewish blood to bake our...

-- Four Questions

Marxist Four Questions

by Sebastian Greenholtz

The traditional four questions ask about the symbols of the seder: why do we eat matzah, why do we eat bitter herbs, why do we lean. But these are not all the symbols we can inquire about. 1. On all other nights we each eat off our own plate. Why on this night do we have one communal seder plate? 2. On all other nights we talk freely at the table. Why on this night do we have a discussion led...

-- Four Children

The Four Children - A Marxist Approach

by Sebastian Greenholtz

At Passover each year, we read the story of our ancestors’ pursuit of liberation from oppression. When confronting this history, how do we answer our children or our contacts when they ask us how to pursue justice in our time? WHAT DOES THE REVOLUTIONARY CHILD ASK? “The Torah tells me, ‘Justice, justice you shall pursue,’ but how can I pursue justice?” Empower him always to seek pathways to advocate for the vulnerable. As Proverbs teaches, “Speak up for the mute, for...

-- Cup #2 & Dayenu

Second Cup for Freedom from Oppression

by Sebastian Greenholtz

The second cup of wine is dedicated to all those struggling for freedom today, struggling to be freed from economic oppression, psychological imprisonment, and debt bondage. The Israelites of the Exodus story were not captured from foreign lands and maintained as possessions as the slaves of the 19th century, but were forced through economic and social necessity to work against their will, or face starvation and death. So too is the face of human trafficking today. An estimated 21 to 36...

No Recent Haggadah

Commentary / Readings

Four Cups of Wine: Social Justice Readings for Your Seder

by ReformJudaism.org

While our tradition applies specific meaning to the four cups of wine found within the Passover seder, many modern Haggadot have begun to reinterpret the original four cups. The four cups are derived from four expressions of redemption found in Exodus 6:6-7: “I will bring you out;” “I will deliver you;” “I will redeem you;” and “I will take you.” Due to the positive, redemptive focus of each phrase, each cup could come to represent current groups that need to be...

Yachatz

Let All Who are Hungry, Come and Eat—A Reading for The Passover Seder - A Supplement from AJWS

by Daniel Gropper

Ha lachma anya—this is the bread of affliction.At the seder we begin as slaves. We eat matzah, the bread of affliction, which leaves us hungry and longing for redemption. It reminds us of a time when we couldn’t control what food was available to us, but ate what we could out of necessity. The matzah enables us to taste slavery— to imagine what it means to be denied our right to live free and healthy lives.But, while we will soon enjoy...

Yachatz

Breaking the matzah - hunger

by Alida Liberman

Breaking the matzah There are three pieces of matzah stacked on the table. We now break the middle matzah into two pieces. The host should wrap up the larger of the pieces and, at some point between now and the end of dinner, hide it. This piece is called the afikomen, literally "dessert." After dinner, the guests will have to hunt for the afikomen. Reader 1: Ha lachma anya—this is the bread of affliction. At the seder we begin as slaves....

Introduction

Human Trafficking Today

by Tziona Szajman

Human Trafficking Today Human trafficking is the practice of modern day slavery, and is one of the largest criminal indus- tries in the world, generating an estimated $32 billion per year. Approximately 27 million people are enslaved today and 800,000 people are trafficked across international borders each year (this number does not include those trafficked within a country’s borders). Fifty percent of those victims are children, and 80% are women and girls. While human trafficking is often thought of as solely...

Introduction

by Diane Akerman

The Seder This book is a Hagadah.which means “telling.” Tonight we will be having a seder, which means, “order”.Through this traditionally ordered ritual, we will retell the story of the Israelites’ journey out of Egypt, eat special foods that symbolize Pesach's many messages, and teach each other the traditions of Pesach, first celebrated more than 3,000 years ago. An ancient rabbinic text instructs us, “Each person in every generation must regard himself or herself as having been personally freed from Egypt.”...

Bareich

Social Justice Blessing

by Haggadot

-- Four Children

Four Children, Four Attitudes

by Truah: The Rabbinic Call for Human Rights

Our tradition speaks of four children or four attitudes: 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 about slavery. . . What does the wise child say? “What are the testimonies, the statutes, and the laws that apply to this situation? How are we to discern what God demands of us?” You are to answer this child: “God brought us out of...

-- Four Children

Four Children Through the Lens of Food Justice

by Ritualwell

The Generous Child The generous child knows all about food justice and donates much of their monthly allowance to charity. This child encourages their parents to volunteer, brings the most cans in during school food drives, and never eats too much. The Spoiled Child The spoiled child knows and understands food justice, but chooses not to care. This child is selfish, easily upset by not getting what they want, and is likely a picky eater. This child's catch phrases are “So...

-- Four Questions

The Four Questions: What Questions Must We Ask Tonight?

by Ritualwell

The answers to the first three questions are drawn from Michelle Alexander’s groundbreaking book, The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness (2010). Excerpts are cited with “NJC” and the page number. Question #1 Why does America have the highest incarceration rate of any developed nation in the world? Many factors have increased the incarceration rate, including the War on Drugs, the imposition of mandatory minimum sentencing, and privatization of prisons, which creates financial incentives for keeping people...

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