Said the parents to their children,
“From your bondage you’ll cut loose,
You will eat your fill of matzah,
you will drink four cups of juice.”
Now these parents had four children,
yes their kids they numbered four,
One was wise and one was wicked,
one was simple and a bore.
And the fourth was sweet and winsome,
was so young and also small,
While the other asked the questions,
this one could not speak at all.
Said the wise one to the parents,
“Would you please explain the laws...
Of the customs of the Seder,
will you please explain the cause?”
And the parents proudly answered,
“’Cause our forebears ate in speed,
Ate the Pesach lamb ’ere midnight,
and from slavery were freed.
“So we follow their example,
and ’ere midnight we must eat
The afikoman (O so tasty!)
which will be our final treat.”
Then did sneer the child so wicked,
“What does all this mean to you?”
And the parents’ voice was bitter,
as their grief and anger grew.
“If yourself you don’t consider
as a child of Yisrael,
Then for you this has no meaning,
you could be a slave as well.”
Then the simple child said simply,
“What is this?” And quietly,
The good parents told their offspring.
“We were freed from slavery.”
But the youngest child was silent,
and just could not ask at all,
but with eyes all bright with wonder,
listened to the details all.
Now dear children heed this lesson,
and remember evermore,
What the parents told their children,
told their kids that numbered four.
Every Seder tells a story that belongs to you and me,
You and I were slaves in Egypt.
Now we’re blessed with liberty.
Why do we wash our hands all the time?
This washing, even though it is an official task of the Seder, is done without a blessing. It is strictly for cleanliness purposes. And why not? We're about to handle food. It seems so easy for us. We turn on the tap, and there it is. But water is scarce. May we be aware of our water as we continue the Seder.
We start by getting to know one another:
As we embark on our adventure together here tonight, it is possible that some of us do not know each other.
Take turns around the table as each person shares his or her name and how it is that she or he has come to this Seder. Because the Seder recounts or Exodus from slavery in Egypt, you might also share:
I’m leaving Egypt and I’m taking with me a:_______________________
Similarly, a Sefardi custom suggests that we take turns, beginning with our host, and ask the person to our left:
Who are you?
Where are you coming from?
Where are you going?
To which the answer is:
I am Israel. I am coming from Egypt. I am going to Jerusalem.
What do “Israel,” “Egypt,” and “Jerusalem” represent to you right now? What are you doing in your life to transition from a metaphorical Egypt to a metaphorical Jerusalem? We will explore some meanings of these terms as we progress in our adventure.
Charoset is a smooth mixture of various chopped fruits including apples, and nuts, as well as wine and spices. It represents the mixture of clay and straw from which we made the mortar during our bondage. It also calls to mind the women of Israel who bore their children in secret beneath the apple trees of Egypt, and, like the apple tree that first produces fruit and then sprouts leaves to protect the fruit, our heroic mothers first bore children without any assurance of security or safety. This beautiful and militant devotion sweetened the misery of slavery, even as we dip our bitter herbs in Charoset. The pattern of our celebration is the mixture of the bitter and the sweet, sadness and joy, of tales of shame that end in praise.
The Seder Plate
Think of the Seder Plate as a “combination plate” dinner that formed the meal in ancient days. The foods were not merely symbolic, but were eaten—from the plate. As the Seder menu changed, the foods on the Seder Plate required explanation. (clockwise from the upper-right-of-center)
Zeroa (shankbone), represents the Passover offering made in Temple times. It will be explained during the Seder. At vegetarian Seders it has become customary to use a red beet instead. No classic prooftext exists for the use of a beet. Some people refer to Talmud Bavli Pesachim 114b. However, this comment actually deals with rice (!) and beets as additional foods at the meal itself—not a symbolic food on the Seder Plate. Nonetheless, the blood-red color of the beet serves as a metaphoric stand-in for the blood of the lamb shank. I suggest scoring and roasting a beet with its greens.
Beitzah (boiled or roasted egg), represents the holiday offering made in the days of the Temple. It plays no role in the Seder. It will be explained during the Seder.
Maror (bitter herbs), though possibly horehound, it is usually a piece of unground horseradish, represents the bitterness of slavery in Egypt.11 It will be explained during the Seder.
Charoset ( a mixture of chopped nuts, apples and wine (and other wonderful ingredients) represents the clay the Jews used to make bricks for the Egyptians.12 It will be explained during the Seder.
Chazeret another bitter herb, usually ground horseradish, or a bitter lettuce such as endive. It plays no role in the Seder, and will not be explained.
Karpas any green vegetable (parsley, celery—some traditions suggest a boiled potato), represents the new
We begin our Seder and join our efforts with those everywhere who celebrate the Passover searching for its meaning in their lives; as an expression of our liberation so far... There are many possible modes for understanding the events retold in the Pesach Haggadah.
Of these, three are braided together so that, if we concentrate exclusively on any one of them, we diminish the special qualities of the entire story.
By participating in the symbolic actions built into the order of the Seder, we can share in: the experience of the rebirth of the natural world around us, the national liberation of our people, the spiritual redemption of each individual human being.
We begin this evening: some of us feeling shackled by the bonds of winter, some of our people—and other peoples of the world—persecuted, many of us confined by our own personal limitations.
Tonight we hope to set in motion: processes of growth that encourage within each of us the renewal of each person’s unique vision, and efforts to work for the freedom of our scattered—and all, oppressed— people, as we see about us the flowering of a new year.
Indeed, we begin our Seder here.
However, our goals are neither our renewal, our freedom, nor our flowering.
Pesach is but the pointer to the acceptance of our commitments to complete these tasks—in a harvesting of the fruits of our labors yet to come.
Said the parents to their children,
“From your bondage you’ll cut loose,
You will eat your fill of matzah,
you will drink four cups of juice.”
Now these parents had four children,
yes their kids they numbered four,
One was wise and one was wicked,
one was simple and a bore.
And the fourth was sweet and winsome,
was so young and also small,
While the other asked the questions,
this one could not speak at all.
Said the wise one to the parents,
“Would you please explain the laws...
Of the customs of the Seder,
will you please explain the cause?”
And the parents proudly answered,
“’Cause our forebears ate in speed,
Ate the Pesach lamb ’ere midnight,
and from slavery were freed.
“So we follow their example,
and ’ere midnight we must eat
The afikoman (O so tasty!)
which will be our final treat.”
Then did sneer the child so wicked,
“What does all this mean to you?”
And the parents’ voice was bitter,
as their grief and anger grew.
“If yourself you don’t consider
as a child of Yisrael,
Then for you this has no meaning,
you could be a slave as well.”
Then the simple child said simply,
“What is this?” And quietly,
The good parents told their offspring.
“We were freed from slavery.”
But the youngest child was silent,
and just could not ask at all,
but with eyes all bright with wonder,
listened to the details all.
Now dear children heed this lesson,
and remember evermore,
What the parents told their children,
told their kids that numbered four.
Every Seder tells a story that belongs to you and me,
You and I were slaves in Egypt.
Now we’re blessed with liberty.
Why do we wash our hands all the time?
This washing, even though it is an official task of the Seder, is done without a blessing. It is strictly for cleanliness purposes. And why not? We're about to handle food. It seems so easy for us. We turn on the tap, and there it is. But water is scarce. May we be aware of our water as we continue the Seder.
We start by getting to know one another:
As we embark on our adventure together here tonight, it is possible that some of us do not know each other.
Take turns around the table as each person shares his or her name and how it is that she or he has come to this Seder. Because the Seder recounts or Exodus from slavery in Egypt, you might also share:
I’m leaving Egypt and I’m taking with me a:_______________________
Similarly, a Sefardi custom suggests that we take turns, beginning with our host, and ask the person to our left:
Who are you?
Where are you coming from?
Where are you going?
To which the answer is:
I am Israel. I am coming from Egypt. I am going to Jerusalem.
What do “Israel,” “Egypt,” and “Jerusalem” represent to you right now? What are you doing in your life to transition from a metaphorical Egypt to a metaphorical Jerusalem? We will explore some meanings of these terms as we progress in our adventure.
Charoset is a smooth mixture of various chopped fruits including apples, and nuts, as well as wine and spices. It represents the mixture of clay and straw from which we made the mortar during our bondage. It also calls to mind the women of Israel who bore their children in secret beneath the apple trees of Egypt, and, like the apple tree that first produces fruit and then sprouts leaves to protect the fruit, our heroic mothers first bore children without any assurance of security or safety. This beautiful and militant devotion sweetened the misery of slavery, even as we dip our bitter herbs in Charoset. The pattern of our celebration is the mixture of the bitter and the sweet, sadness and joy, of tales of shame that end in praise.
The Seder Plate
Think of the Seder Plate as a “combination plate” dinner that formed the meal in ancient days. The foods were not merely symbolic, but were eaten—from the plate. As the Seder menu changed, the foods on the Seder Plate required explanation. (clockwise from the upper-right-of-center)
Zeroa (shankbone), represents the Passover offering made in Temple times. It will be explained during the Seder. At vegetarian Seders it has become customary to use a red beet instead. No classic prooftext exists for the use of a beet. Some people refer to Talmud Bavli Pesachim 114b. However, this comment actually deals with rice (!) and beets as additional foods at the meal itself—not a symbolic food on the Seder Plate. Nonetheless, the blood-red color of the beet serves as a metaphoric stand-in for the blood of the lamb shank. I suggest scoring and roasting a beet with its greens.
Beitzah (boiled or roasted egg), represents the holiday offering made in the days of the Temple. It plays no role in the Seder. It will be explained during the Seder.
Maror (bitter herbs), though possibly horehound, it is usually a piece of unground horseradish, represents the bitterness of slavery in Egypt.11 It will be explained during the Seder.
Charoset ( a mixture of chopped nuts, apples and wine (and other wonderful ingredients) represents the clay the Jews used to make bricks for the Egyptians.12 It will be explained during the Seder.
Chazeret another bitter herb, usually ground horseradish, or a bitter lettuce such as endive. It plays no role in the Seder, and will not be explained.
Karpas any green vegetable (parsley, celery—some traditions suggest a boiled potato), represents the new
We begin our Seder and join our efforts with those everywhere who celebrate the Passover searching for its meaning in their lives; as an expression of our liberation so far... There are many possible modes for understanding the events retold in the Pesach Haggadah.
Of these, three are braided together so that, if we concentrate exclusively on any one of them, we diminish the special qualities of the entire story.
By participating in the symbolic actions built into the order of the Seder, we can share in: the experience of the rebirth of the natural world around us, the national liberation of our people, the spiritual redemption of each individual human being.
We begin this evening: some of us feeling shackled by the bonds of winter, some of our people—and other peoples of the world—persecuted, many of us confined by our own personal limitations.
Tonight we hope to set in motion: processes of growth that encourage within each of us the renewal of each person’s unique vision, and efforts to work for the freedom of our scattered—and all, oppressed— people, as we see about us the flowering of a new year.
Indeed, we begin our Seder here.
However, our goals are neither our renewal, our freedom, nor our flowering.
Pesach is but the pointer to the acceptance of our commitments to complete these tasks—in a harvesting of the fruits of our labors yet to come.
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