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What is a Seder?

by Moishe House Portland

In celebration of Passover, we are commanded to hold or attend a Seder and retell the story of our liberation from Egypt. During our Seder, meaning order, we will follow the order of the rituals required to properly tell the story. Instead of just reading the story from the Torah (first five books of the Bible/cornerstone of Jewish text) we use a combination of symbolic food and asking questions. The Exodus story is one of redemption from slavery. We retell this...

Counting the Omer

by Moishe House Portland

Jewish holidays celebrate important historical moments, and also many are associated with the seasons of nature. In addition to celebrating our going out of Egypt, Passover marks the beginning of the barley harvest. On the second day of Passover, an omer, a sheaf of barley, was brought to the Temple as an offering. Shavuot, which comes 49 days later, commemorates the giving of the Torah, and also marks the beginning of the wheat harvest. At the second Seder, it is traditional...

Bareich and Third Cup

by Moishe House Portland

After the meal we recite this blessing to thank God for the food we have eaten. ָ בּ ר וּ ךְ ַ א ָ ת ה ְ י ָ י ַ ה ָ ז ן ֶ א ת ַ ה ֹכ ל . Baruch atah Adonai, hazan et hakol. We praise You, O God, Source of food for all who live. We will now drink our 3rd cup of wine! Baruch Atah Adonai, Eloheinu Melech ha-olam, borei p’ree hagafen. We praise...

Conclusion

by Moishe House Portland

Thank you all for coming! We hope to see you at an event soon!

Hallel

by Moishe House Portland

(Refill your glass of wine for this next part) On our table we have two cups, one for Miriam and one for Elijah. This is the cup of Elijah. According to Jewish tradition, the Prophet Elijah was a brave man who denounced the slavery of his day. Legend teaches that he will return one day to lead everyone to peace and freedom. It was customary during the Passover Seder to open the door of the house for Elijah, in the hope...

-- Four Questions

Four Questions

by Moishe House Portland

The formal telling of the story of Passover is framed as a discussion with lots of questions and answers. The tradition that the youngest person asks the questions reflects the centrality of involving everyone in the seder. The rabbis who created the set format for the seder gave us the Four Questions to help break the ice in case no one had their own questions. Asking questions is a core tradition in Jewish life. The four questions will now be said...

Shulchan Oreich

Shulchan Oreich

by Moishe House Portland

Eating the meal! Enjoy! Don't forget that we have more to do after dinner, including the final two cups of wine! (You may now also eat the other food on the table. We will dismiss by table to go get food from the buffet.)

Koreich

by Moishe House Portland

When the Temple stood in Jerusalem, the biggest ritual of them all was eating the lamb offered as the pesach or Passover sacrifice. The great sage Hillel would put the meat in a sandwich made of matzah, along with some of the bitter herbs. While we do not make sacrifices any more – and, in fact, some Jews have a custom of purposely avoiding lamb during the Seder so that it is not mistaken as a sacrifice – we honor this...

Exodus story part 2

by Moishe House Portland

The tenth plague is where the Jewish holiday of Passover derives its name, because while the Angel of Death visited Egypt it "passed over" Israelite homes, which had been marked with lambs’ blood on the doorposts. It was this last plague that finally made Pharaoh decide to free the children of Israel from slavery. All of Israel packed up their belongings and left Egypt. Again Pharaoh changed his mind and went after the Israelites. G-d sent a barricade of smoke and...

-- Exodus Story

Exodus Story

by Moishe House Portland

Our story starts in ancient times, with Abraham, the first person to stop worshiping idols and worship Adonai (or G-d). Abraham entered into a covenant with G-d which inspired him to leave his family and begin a new people in Canaan. G-d had made a promise to Abraham that his family would become a great nation, but this promise came with a frightening vision of the troubles along the way: “Your descendants will dwell for a time in a land that...

Maggid - Beginning

Maggid Introduction

by Moishe House Portland

We now begin the part of the Seder where we tell the story of our Exodus. Pour the second glass of wine for everyone. You will need a full glass of wine for this next part. The central imperative of the Seder is to tell the story. We are instructed: “ You shall tell your child on that day, saying: ‘This is because of what Adonai did for me when I came out of Egypt.' ” (Exodus 13:8) We relate the...

Maror

by Moishe House Portland

Next are the bitter herbs or maror. Put some of the maror on a piece of matzah. Together, we recite: ָבּרוּךְ ַאָתה יי ֱאלֹ ֵהינוּ ֶמֶלךְ ָהעוָֹלם, ֲא ֶשר ִקְד ָשנוּ ְבּ ִמ ְצווָֹתיו, ְו ִצָוּנוּ ַעל ֲאִכיַלת ָמרוֹר. Baruch atah, Adonai Eloheinu, Melech haolam, asher kid’shanu b’mitzvotav v’tzivanu al achilat maror. Blessed are You, Eternal our God, Sovereign of the universe, who has sanctified us with Your commandments and ordained that we should eat bitter herbs. The bitter herbs serve...

Motzi Matzah

by Moishe House Portland

The blessing over the meal and matzah | motzi matzah | מוֹצִיא מַצָּה The familiar hamotzi blessing marks the formal start of the meal. Because we are using matzah instead of bread, we add a blessing celebrating this mitzvah. Together, we recite: ָבּרוּךְ ַא ָתה יי, ֱאלֹ ֵהינוּ ֶמ ֶלךְ ָהעוֹ ָלם, ַהמּוֹ ִציא ֶלֶחם ִמן ָהָאֶרץ. Baruch atah, Adonai Eloheinu, Melech haolam, hamotzi lechem min haaretz Blessed are You, Eternal our God, Sovereign of the universe, who brings forth bread...

-- Cup #2 & Dayenu

Cup #2

by Moishe House Portland

We praise G-d, Ruler of Everything, who redeemed us and our ancestors from Egypt, enabling us to reach this night and eat matzah and bitter herbs. May we continue to reach future holidays in peace and happiness. בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יְיָ, אֱלֹהֵינוּ מֶלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם, בּוֹרֵא פְּרִי הַגָּפֶן Baruch Atah Adonai, Eloheinu Melech ha-olam, borei p’ree hagafen. We praise G-d, Ruler of Everything, who creates the fruit of the vine. Drink the second glass of wine!

-- Cup #2 & Dayenu

Dayenu

by Moishe House Portland

The plagues and our subsequent redemption from Egypt are but one example of the care G-d has shown for us in our history. Had G-d but done any one of these kindnesses, it would have been enough – dayeinu. Everyone sing together: אלו הוציאנו ממצרים דיינו Ilu hotzi'eynu mimitzrayim Dayeynu If God had only brought us out of Egypt, It would have been enough for us. אלו נתן לנו את השבת דיינו Ilu natan lanu et ha-shabbat Dayeynu If God had...

Yachatz

by Moishe House Portland

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” in Greek. After dinner, the guests will have to hunt for the afikomen in order to wrap up the meal. We eat matzah in memory of the quick flight of our...

Urchatz

by Moishe House Portland

There are two points during the Seder when we wash our hands. This first washing, Urchatz, is a symbolic and ritual washing, done by one person and with no blessing. The second washing, Rachtzah, is a washing used to prepare all of us for the meal and is said with a blessing. As we wash our hands for the first time this evening, we remember that we have the freedom to access resources that many do not. The first hand-washing of...

The Seder Plate

by Moishe House Portland

The Passover seder is used to tell the story of our Exodus. The main way that we do that is through the use of symbolic food on the seder plate. Maror – The bitter herb. This symbolizes the harshness of the lives of the Jews in Egypt. Charoset – A delicious mix of sweet wine, apples, cinnamon and nuts that resembles the mortar used as bricks of the many buildings the Jewish slaves built in Egypt. Karpas – A green vegetable,...

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Willamette Haggadah

Willamette Haggadah

by Moishe House Portland

Moishe House Haggadah 2017

Moishe House Haggadah 2017

by Moishe House Portland

Welcome to the Moishe House Passover Seder! We are so happy that you could join us!

Moishe House Portland Haggadah 2018

Moishe House Portland Haggadah 2018

by Moishe House Portland

Shulchan Oreich

The Wandering is Over Haggadah - Shulchan Oreich

by JewishBoston

Eating the meal! | shulchan oreich | שֻׁלְחָן עוֹרֵךְ Enjoy! But don’t forget when you’re done we’ve got a little more seder to go, including the final two cups of wine!

The Wandering is Over Haggadah - Dayeinu (long version)

by JewishBoston

Dayeinu If God had taken us out of Egypt, And not judged the Egyptians, That would have been enough. If God had judging the Egyptians, And not done the same to their gods, That would have been enough. If God had judged the Egyptian gods, And not enacted the plague of the death of the first born, That would have been enough. If God had enacted the plague of the death of the first born, And not given us the spoils, ...

Matzah: Bread of Affliction, Bread of Hope and Possibility

by A Way In

A WAY IN Jewish Mindfulness ProgramHaggadah SupplementMATZAHBread of Affliction, Bread of Hope and Possibility Ha lachma anya— This is the bread of affliction our ancestors ate in the land of Egypt. As we go through the seder, the matzah will be transformed. It will cease to be the bread of affliction and it will become the bread of hope, courage, faith and possibility.And it begins with a breaking.YACHATZ: Breaking the MatzahReader: Each person is invited to hold a piece of matzah,...

-- Cup #2 & Dayenu

Symbols of the seder plate

by Spencer Ruskin

Leader: Before we can partake of the Seder meal, we must discuss the Mitzvot, the primary symbols of Passover.Leader: The first mitzvah is Zeroa, traditionally a roasted shank bone of the lamb, which reminds us of the sacrifice made by the Hebrews on the night of the tenth plague. On our seder plate, we have not a bone, but a beet, whose color reminds us of the blood, without the enslavement or suffering of animals.\Leader: The next is the Matzoh, by...

The Cup of Sanctification - Kadesh

by Valley Beth Shalom (VBS)

The Hebrew word “Kiddush” means sanctification. But it is not the wine we sanctify. Instead, the wine is a symbol of the sanctity, the preciousness, and the sweetness of this moment. Held together by sacred bonds of family, friendship, peoplehood, we share this table tonight with one another and with all the generations who have come before us. Let us rise, and sanctify this singular moment. HOW? We will drink four cups of wine at the Seder in celebration of our...

Seder Plate

by JewBelong

Seder Plate

Eliyahu & Miriam

by Rabbi Sarah Rubin

Eliyahu and Miriam We open the door and invite Eliyahu and Miriam into our homes. To show how truly free we are, we send our youngest to open the door. Elijah the prophet - may we create a world where everyone experiences redemption and freedom, growth and possibility. Let all who are hungry be fed, let all who are bereaved be comforted, let all who suffer find release. Miriam the prophet - may we support a world in which our resources...

-- Cup #2 & Dayenu

Modern Additions to the Seder Plate

by Cantor Cheryl Wunch

Passover offers a variety of opportunities to infuse our holiday celebrations with social justice themes. Here are a few modern additions to consider adding to your table: Miriam's Cup: This new custom celebrates Miriam’s role in the deliverance from slavery and her help throughout the wandering in the wilderness. A cup of water is placed next to Elijah's cup to symbolise Miriam's role in the redemption from slavery. With this new custom, we recognise that women have always been – and...

-- Four Children

The Four Children

by Andrew Hazen

Once we were slaves of Pharaoh in Egypt, but the Lord our God brought us forth with a strong hand and an outstretched arm. If God had not brought our forebears out of Egypt, then we and our children and our children's children might still be enslaved. Therefore, even if we were all wise, even if we all had understanding and were learned in the Torah, it would still be our duty to tell and retell the story of the Exodus....

Miriam's Cup

by Miranda Cooper

Miriam the prophet, strength and song in her hand; Miriam, dance with us in order to increase the song of the world! Miriam, dance with us in order to repair the world. Soon she will bring us to the waters of redemption!

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