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بالهنا و الشفاء בתיאבון! Bon profit!  Dobar tek! Smakelijk eten! Hyvää ruokahalua! 食飯 Bon appétit! Guten appetit! Καλή όρεξη! Jó étvágyat! Buon appetito! 잘먹겠습니다 Gero apetito! Пријатно јадење Сайхан хооллоорой Приятного аппетита ¡Buen provecho ขอให้เจริญอาหาร! Afiyet olsun!

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When most of us think of maror, or bitter herbs, we think of khreyn (Yiddish for horseradish). But when you think about it, horseradish is not really bitter… it is pungent and spicy. According to the Talmud, the correct vegetable to use is lettuce, probably a variety of Romaine lettuce. Indeed, this is what many Sephardi Jews use for maror, as the Selber family has always done. Of course, Romaine lettuce is not really bitter either. According to Dr. Joshua Kulp,...

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As we now transition from the formal telling of the Passover story to the celebratory meal, we once again wash our hands to prepare ourselves. A good meal together with friends and family is itself a sacred act, so we prepare for it just as we prepared for our holiday ritual, recalling the way ancient priests once prepared for service in the Temple.Anyone who wishes to is welcome to wash their hands.בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יְיָ אֱלֹהֵֽינוּ מֶֽלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם, אֲשֶׁר קִדְּשָֽׁנוּ בְּמִצְוֹתָיו, וְצִוָּנוּ  ...

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If He had brought us out from Egypt אִלּוּ הוֹצִיאָנוּ מִמִּצְרָיִםand had not carried out judgments against them וְלֹא עָשָׂה בָּהֶם שְׁפָטִים— Dayenu, it would have been enough דַּיֵּנוּIf He had carried out judgments against them אִלּוּ עָשָׂה בָּהֶם שְׁפָטִיםand not against their idols וְלֹא עָשָׂה בֵּאלֹהֵיהֶם— Dayenu, it would have been enough דַּיֵּנוּIf He had destroyed their idols אִלּוּ עָשָׂה בֵּאלֹהֵיהֶםand had not smitten their first-born וְלֹא הָרַג אֶת בְּכוֹרֵיהֶם— Dayenu, it would have been enough דַּיֵּנוּIf He had smitten...

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One of most beloved songs in the Passover seder is "Dayenu". A few of us will read the stanzas one at a time, and the everyone else will respond, "Dayenu" – meaning, “it would have been enough”.How many times do we forget to pause and notice that where we are is exactly where we ought to be? Dayenu is a reminder to never forget all the miracles in our lives. When we stand and wait impatiently for the next one to...

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One of most beloved songs in the Passover seder is "Dayenu". The stanzas are read one at a time, and the participants respond, "Dayenu" – meaning, “it would have been enough”. How many times do we forget to pause and notice that where we are is exactly where we ought to be? Dayenu is a reminder to never forget all the miracles in our lives. When we stand and wait impatiently for the next one to appear, we are missing the...

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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. We pour out a drop of wine for each of the plagues as we recite them.Dip a finger or a spoon into your wine glass for a drop for each plague.These are the ten plagues which God brought down on the Egyptians:דָּם Blood | dam |צְפַרְדֵּֽעַ Frogs...

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Passover combines the celebration of an event from Jewish memory with a recognition of the cycles of nature. As we remember the liberation from Egypt, we also recognize the stirrings of spring and rebirth happening in the world around us. The symbols on our table bring together elements of both kinds of celebration. We now take a vegetable, in this case parsely, to represent our joy at the dawning of spring after our long, cold winter. Whatever symbol of spring and...

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The first hand-washing of the seder is unusual. The rabbis point out that even a child would wonder at least two things: why do we wash without a blessing and why do we bother to wash when we will not be eating our meal for some time. They suggest that we wash our hands here in order to raise questions. Questions, both of wonder and of despair, are crucial to our time at the seder and, really, our growth as human...