• Let all who find the city holy, live in peace and freedom.
• Let all captives be free—crowned with joy everlasting. Let them attain joy and gladness (Isaiah 51:11).
• Let all who fight for justice, have the persistence of Moses, the voice of Aaron, and the initiative of Miriam.
• Let those envisioning a Jerusalem of peace, feel empowered to see their vision to fruition.
• Let Jerusalem live up to the vision of the prophets that nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they know war anymore (Isaiah 2:4).
• Let this holy place embody tzelem elohim (dignity of every human being).
• Let our souls not be shrouded in the plague of darkness.
• Let the stone the builders rejected become the cornerstone (Psalm 118:22).
• Let the gates of justice open for all Israelis and Palestinians to experience collective freedom.
• Let those who spread evil be silenced (weekday Amidah prayer).
• Let all those in a place of narrowness, move to a place of expansiveness, from darkness to light, and from oppression to redemption (Acheinu prayer).
• Add your own
This year, given the current circumstances, what object would you add to your seder plate?
The seder opens with kiddush (the sanctification over wine). This is certainly unremarkable, after all kiddush is the opening act of every Shabbat and holiday meal. But kiddush – a ritual sanctification of time – has an intimate and unique connection to Pesach’s central theme: freedom. How so?
As Israel was about to be released from slavery, God instituted a new calendar: “This month shall (mark for you the beginning of months; the first of the months of the year for you.” (Exodus 12:2) Why is this the first mitzva (commandment) communicated to a free nation?
A slave’s time is not their own. They are at the beck and call of their master. Even when the slave has a pressing personal engagement, their taskmaster’s needs will take priority. In contrast, freedom is the control of our time. We determine what we do when we wake up in the morning; we prioritize our day. This is true for an individual, but also for a nation. God commands Israel to create a Jewish calendar because, as an independent nation, Israel should not march any more to an Egyptian rhythm, celebrating Egyptian months and holidays. Instead Israel must forge a Jewish calendar, with unique days of rest, celebration and memory. Controlling and crafting our time is the critical first act of freedom.
Kiddush says this out loud. We sanctify the day and define its meaning! We proclaim this day as significant, holy and meaningful. We fashion time, claim ownership of it, and fashion it as a potent contact point with God, peoplehood and tradition. This is a quintessential act of Jewish freedom.
Today, we often feel short of time; that time controls us. Kadesh reminds us that true freedom and self-respect is to master and control time for ourselves, to shape our life in accordance with our values.
How does time feel differently this year?
Passover, like many of our holidays, combines the celebration of an event from our Jewish memory with a recognition of the cycles of nature. As we remember the liberation from Egypt, we also recognize the stirrings of spring and rebirth happening in the world around us. The symbols on our table bring together elements of both kinds of celebration.
We now take a vegetable, representing our joy at the dawning of spring after our long, cold winter. Most families use a green vegetable, such as parsley or celery, but some families from Eastern Europe have a tradition of using a boiled potato since greens were hard to come by at Passover time. Whatever symbol of spring and sustenance we’re using, we now dip it into salt water, a symbol of the tears our ancestors shed as slaves. Before we eat it, we recite a short blessing:
בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יְיָ, אֱלֹהֵינוּ מֶלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם, בּוֹרֵא פְּרִי הָאֲדָמָה
Baruch Atah Adonai, Eloheinu Melech ha-olam, borei p’ree ha-adama.
We praise God, Ruler of Everything, who creates the fruits of the earth.
We look forward to spring and the reawakening of flowers and greenery. They haven’t been lost, just buried beneath the snow, getting ready for reappearance just when we most needed them.
We have aspects of ourselves that are being buried under the stresses of how we are living now. What elements of your life are you most looking forward to reviving once this crisis has passed?
• Let all who find the city holy, live in peace and freedom.
• Let all captives be free—crowned with joy everlasting. Let them attain joy and gladness (Isaiah 51:11).
• Let all who fight for justice, have the persistence of Moses, the voice of Aaron, and the initiative of Miriam.
• Let those envisioning a Jerusalem of peace, feel empowered to see their vision to fruition.
• Let Jerusalem live up to the vision of the prophets that nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they know war anymore (Isaiah 2:4).
• Let this holy place embody tzelem elohim (dignity of every human being).
• Let our souls not be shrouded in the plague of darkness.
• Let the stone the builders rejected become the cornerstone (Psalm 118:22).
• Let the gates of justice open for all Israelis and Palestinians to experience collective freedom.
• Let those who spread evil be silenced (weekday Amidah prayer).
• Let all those in a place of narrowness, move to a place of expansiveness, from darkness to light, and from oppression to redemption (Acheinu prayer).
• Add your own
This year, given the current circumstances, what object would you add to your seder plate?
The seder opens with kiddush (the sanctification over wine). This is certainly unremarkable, after all kiddush is the opening act of every Shabbat and holiday meal. But kiddush – a ritual sanctification of time – has an intimate and unique connection to Pesach’s central theme: freedom. How so?
As Israel was about to be released from slavery, God instituted a new calendar: “This month shall (mark for you the beginning of months; the first of the months of the year for you.” (Exodus 12:2) Why is this the first mitzva (commandment) communicated to a free nation?
A slave’s time is not their own. They are at the beck and call of their master. Even when the slave has a pressing personal engagement, their taskmaster’s needs will take priority. In contrast, freedom is the control of our time. We determine what we do when we wake up in the morning; we prioritize our day. This is true for an individual, but also for a nation. God commands Israel to create a Jewish calendar because, as an independent nation, Israel should not march any more to an Egyptian rhythm, celebrating Egyptian months and holidays. Instead Israel must forge a Jewish calendar, with unique days of rest, celebration and memory. Controlling and crafting our time is the critical first act of freedom.
Kiddush says this out loud. We sanctify the day and define its meaning! We proclaim this day as significant, holy and meaningful. We fashion time, claim ownership of it, and fashion it as a potent contact point with God, peoplehood and tradition. This is a quintessential act of Jewish freedom.
Today, we often feel short of time; that time controls us. Kadesh reminds us that true freedom and self-respect is to master and control time for ourselves, to shape our life in accordance with our values.
How does time feel differently this year?
Passover, like many of our holidays, combines the celebration of an event from our Jewish memory with a recognition of the cycles of nature. As we remember the liberation from Egypt, we also recognize the stirrings of spring and rebirth happening in the world around us. The symbols on our table bring together elements of both kinds of celebration.
We now take a vegetable, representing our joy at the dawning of spring after our long, cold winter. Most families use a green vegetable, such as parsley or celery, but some families from Eastern Europe have a tradition of using a boiled potato since greens were hard to come by at Passover time. Whatever symbol of spring and sustenance we’re using, we now dip it into salt water, a symbol of the tears our ancestors shed as slaves. Before we eat it, we recite a short blessing:
בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יְיָ, אֱלֹהֵינוּ מֶלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם, בּוֹרֵא פְּרִי הָאֲדָמָה
Baruch Atah Adonai, Eloheinu Melech ha-olam, borei p’ree ha-adama.
We praise God, Ruler of Everything, who creates the fruits of the earth.
We look forward to spring and the reawakening of flowers and greenery. They haven’t been lost, just buried beneath the snow, getting ready for reappearance just when we most needed them.
We have aspects of ourselves that are being buried under the stresses of how we are living now. What elements of your life are you most looking forward to reviving once this crisis has passed?
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