In Crow and Weasel, a fable inspired by North American Plains myths, Barry Lopez writes, “The stories people tell have a way of taking care of them ... Sometimes a person needs a story more than food to stay alive.” Maybe this is why Maggid, the storytelling section of the Haggadah, is the heart of the seder. In fact, the Haggadah teaches us, “The more expansive a person is in recounting the story of departing Egypt, the more praiseworthy.” This line invites seder facilitators and guests to weave their own creativity, experiences, and insights into the seder’s storytelling.

Below, you will find four stories by four writers, each representing a different family and a different Jewish experience. In the first, Mishael Zion paints a portrait of the many voices, past and present, that are represented at his family seders. Vlada Nedak describes her introduction to Passover in Ukraine and the importance of translating the Haggadah into Ukrainian. Tamar Elad-Appelbaum expresses the importance of asking questions and the need for collective liberation. Finally, Ziva (Tezezew) Mekonen Degu recounts her family’s annual retelling of their own exodus, from Ethiopia to Israel. As you read these excerpts, we invite you to consider your own family’s history and how telling that story has changed over time and been integrated into different contexts.