Today is the birthday of the World, and it is Shekhina, the Divine Feminine, who birthed it. She brought forth from her Rechem shel Rachamim - the womb of compassion, two words which share a root and yet do not always feel rooted together. She gave birth to the World before becoming our Sabbath Bride; does that make her a deadbeat teen mom? 

Our tradition tells us that Shekhina descended upon the Earth as the lowest of the sefirot, the Presence closest to us, at the exact moment the Israelites were exiled. She came to us as the Sabbath Bride when we most needed that sanctuary of time, when we had no physical sanctuary. 

The Divine Sovereign gave us this world to adopt, to care for, to raise in love. As a busy Royal Parent, Shekhina shows her glorious presence from time to time - this is the main presence of God the Kabbalists tell us we are able to experience while in our earthly bodies - but still mostly looks to us to do the day-to-day work, and all we can do is hope our labors measure up. 

Boi Kallah, enter our Bride, into this holy space with us this Shabbat. Divine Maternal Spirit, show us compassion this new year. Ruler of the Universe, guide us toward a redeemed world within our lifetimes.

Shabbat Shalom and Chag Urim Sameach. Tonight we are attempting something that I don't believe has ever been done before - a Chanukah Seder. We are incorporating Shabbat and Chanukah blessings and songs, and adding in some new ways to honor the holiday as modeled by the Passover Seder, which was itself modeled after the concept of a Greek Symposium. We encourage full participation in the seder as a whole, but that also means opportunities to talk amongst yourselves at your tables, shouting out responses to things in this haggadah, coloring in pages, and using all your sense to immerse in this celebration.

This is not your average prayer service.

Light two candles (or one for each member of your family). Pause for a moment to look into the flames. Circle the flames with your hands three times and then cover your eyes as you recite the blessing. Peeking is OK!  

 

בָּרוּך אַתָּה ה׳ אֱלֹהֵינוּ מֶלֶך הָעוֹלָם אַשֶׁר קִדְשָׁנוּ בְּמִצְוֹתָיו וְצִוָנוּ לְהַדְלִיק נֵר שֶל שַבָּת

Baruch ata Adonai, Eloheinu Melech ha-olam, asher kidshanu b’mitzvotav vitzivanu l’hadlik ner shel Shabbat.

Blessed are You, Adonai our God, Ruler of the Universe, whose mitzvot add holiness to our lives and who has given us the mitzvah to kindle the lights of Shabbat 

Now we have said some prayers, sang some songs, learned hopefully some new things about this holiday, and we are ready to pause our program to just eat and chat.  But what is a seder without four questions? While you eat, talk amongst yourselves. I'll give you some topics.

Why is this night different from all other nights?

On most other nights, we probably don't light any candles at all, or we light two (for Shabbat, for Yom Tov, for ambience). Only tonight do we dine among so many candles all in one room.

On most other nights, we try to avoid this many different fried foods at one meal, lest our cardiologists and lipids specialists yell at us. Tonight we tell those doctors THIS OIL IS ORDAINED BY GOD.

On most other nights, we stave off the winter cold by cuddling up under blankets. Tonight we are warmed by the love of community.

On most other nights, we honor that we are modern Reform Jews. Tonight we honor the long chain of religious history and fierce determination of our ancestors to resist assimilation.

Discuss.

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Once the children at the seder have finished eating, they may go on a search for dreidles hidden in the lobby, library, and playroom. For every dreidle found, win a prize! And enjoy playing some dreidle while we wait for the adults to finish noshing and schmoozing.