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. We belong. We belong to one another. And we belong to the generations who have come before and who will come after us, sharing this sacred story and celebration. Let us rise, and sanctify this singular moment.
IN DEPTH The blessing praises God for creating the "fruit of the vine." We recite the blessing, not over the whole grape, but over wine — squeezed and fermented through human skill. So, too, the motzee blessing is recited not over sheaves of wheat but over bread, leavened or unleavened, ground
We have become slaves to the cities we build and to the cars we drive. Trees make way for future slums and blue skies for burning fuel. Have we forgotten that it is the soil from which humanity came, the earth which each year displays the miracle of creation?
As Spring re-awakens all that is green, let us re-awaken our ties to the natural world and our bonds to the earth. We dip greens into salt water and acknowledge through our blessing that there is a Creator and a purpose to the universe, that we are partners in the work of Creation.
Ma Nishtana is the opening phrase of the Four Questions sung at every Passover Seder. They mean "How is it different?" as in "How is this night different than all other nights?" It's the first real question at the seder table. The phrase also means what difference is seen tonight? We've taken that phrase to expand the notion of transformation that occurs in each of us in preparation for our great spring holiday of change, Passover.
Find more information here: https://www.vbs.org/worship/ma-nishtana
We have become slaves to the cities we build and to the cars we drive. Trees make way for future slums and blue skies for burning fuel. Have we forgotten that it is the soil from which humanity came, the earth which each year displays the miracle of creation?
As Spring re-awakens all that is green, let us re-awaken our ties to the natural world and our bonds to the earth. We dip greens into salt water and acknowledge through our blessing that there is a Creator and a purpose to the universe, that we are partners in the work of Creation.
FOR DISCUSSION Look again at the Four Sons, for the simplicity of the account is deceptive.
What makes the Wise One wise? If he's wise, why must he ask a question?
Who is this Wicked One? Why is he at the table, instead of staying home on Seder night? What is his wickedness? Why does the text say, "were he in Egypt, he would not have been freed?" Is cynicism a form of slavery? What is the motivation for his cynicism? How do you suppose he became wicked? What turns children against the values of their parents?
Is the Simple One's simplicity a reflection of innocence and wonder, or indifference and apathy? Is there really ever such thing as an "innocent bystander' in life? Can one claim to be an "innocent bystander" to poverty, war, slavery, genocide?
Have you ever been "The One Who Does Not Know How To Ask?" So thoroughly confused, baffled, or overwhelmed by life that you couldn't even form the question?
Which one of these is you, now, in your life? Are you the Wise, the Wicked, the Simple, or the Silent?
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. We belong. We belong to one another. And we belong to the generations who have come before and who will come after us, sharing this sacred story and celebration. Let us rise, and sanctify this singular moment.
IN DEPTH The blessing praises God for creating the "fruit of the vine." We recite the blessing, not over the whole grape, but over wine — squeezed and fermented through human skill. So, too, the motzee blessing is recited not over sheaves of wheat but over bread, leavened or unleavened, ground
We have become slaves to the cities we build and to the cars we drive. Trees make way for future slums and blue skies for burning fuel. Have we forgotten that it is the soil from which humanity came, the earth which each year displays the miracle of creation?
As Spring re-awakens all that is green, let us re-awaken our ties to the natural world and our bonds to the earth. We dip greens into salt water and acknowledge through our blessing that there is a Creator and a purpose to the universe, that we are partners in the work of Creation.
Ma Nishtana is the opening phrase of the Four Questions sung at every Passover Seder. They mean "How is it different?" as in "How is this night different than all other nights?" It's the first real question at the seder table. The phrase also means what difference is seen tonight? We've taken that phrase to expand the notion of transformation that occurs in each of us in preparation for our great spring holiday of change, Passover.
Find more information here: https://www.vbs.org/worship/ma-nishtana
We have become slaves to the cities we build and to the cars we drive. Trees make way for future slums and blue skies for burning fuel. Have we forgotten that it is the soil from which humanity came, the earth which each year displays the miracle of creation?
As Spring re-awakens all that is green, let us re-awaken our ties to the natural world and our bonds to the earth. We dip greens into salt water and acknowledge through our blessing that there is a Creator and a purpose to the universe, that we are partners in the work of Creation.
FOR DISCUSSION Look again at the Four Sons, for the simplicity of the account is deceptive.
What makes the Wise One wise? If he's wise, why must he ask a question?
Who is this Wicked One? Why is he at the table, instead of staying home on Seder night? What is his wickedness? Why does the text say, "were he in Egypt, he would not have been freed?" Is cynicism a form of slavery? What is the motivation for his cynicism? How do you suppose he became wicked? What turns children against the values of their parents?
Is the Simple One's simplicity a reflection of innocence and wonder, or indifference and apathy? Is there really ever such thing as an "innocent bystander' in life? Can one claim to be an "innocent bystander" to poverty, war, slavery, genocide?
Have you ever been "The One Who Does Not Know How To Ask?" So thoroughly confused, baffled, or overwhelmed by life that you couldn't even form the question?
Which one of these is you, now, in your life? Are you the Wise, the Wicked, the Simple, or the Silent?
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