(raise second cup of wine)
The fate of every Jew is bound up with the fate of the Jewish people and the destiny of the Jewish people cannot be separated from the destiny of all humanity. Let us drink this cup of wine to symbolize our pledge to break the bonds of slavery for all who are not free.
L'CHAIM!
(Drink the second cup of wine)
At this point in our festivity, let us reflect upon the significance of Passover. Passover celebrates freedom. Can we be free while others are not? If there are people anywhere who are oppressed, then we cannot celebrate Passover with a clear conscience.
"Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.
Injustice to any people is a threat to justice to ALL people.
I will not remain silent in the face of injustice."
— Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Mah nishtanah ha-lailah ha-zeh mi-kol ha-leilot? mi-kol ha-leilot?
Why is this night different from all other nights?
She-b-khol ha-leilot `anu `okhlin hamets u-matsah, hamets u-matsah, ha-lailah ha-zeh ha-lailah ha-zeh kulo matsah?
On all other nights we eat either bread or matsah. Why, on this night, do we eat only matsah?
She-b-khol ha-leilot `anu `okhlin sh'`ar y'raqot, sh'`ar y'raqot, ha-lailah ha-zeh, ha-lailah ha-zeh maror, maror?
On all other nights we eat herbs of any kind. Why, on this night, do we eat only bitter herbs?
She-b-khol ha-leilot `ein `anu matbilin `aphilu pa'am `ehat, `aphilu pa'am `ehat, ha-lailah ha-zeh ha-lailah ha-zeh sh'tei ph'amim?
On all other nights, we do not dip our herbs even once. Why, on this night, do we dip them twice?
She-b-khol ha-leilot `anu `okhlin bein yoshvin u-vein m'subin, bein yoshvin u-vein m'subin, ha-lailah ha-zeh, ha-lailah ha-zeh kulanu m'subin?
On all other nights, we eat either sitting or leaning. Why, on this night, do we eat while leaning?
Leader:
As we continue our seder, we will answer these four questions about what makes this night different from all other nights.
This blessing can be recited as we light the candles to begin the Passover Seder and to celebrate the arrival of spring:
Blessed is the light in the world.
Blessed is the light within humanity.
Blessed is the light of Passover.
Barukh ha-or ba-olam
Barukh ha-or ba-adam
Barukh ha-ror ba-Pesakh
(If this blessing is different or new to you: Judaism is a constantly evolving conversation, practice, and identity. This text has been used by tens of thousands of Jews over the past fifty years.)
The wine of Passover is the wine of joy, the wine of love, the wine of celebration, the wine of freedom:
Freedom from bondage and freedom from oppression,
Freedom from hunger and freedom from want,
Freedom from hatred and freedom from fear,
Freedom to think and freedom to speak,
Freedom to teach and freedom to learn,
Freedom to love and freedom to share,
Freedom to hope and freedom to rejoice,
Soon, now, in our days, and forever.
Precious is the life within the world.
Precious in the life within us.
Praised are those who bring forth the fruit of the vine
L’chaim!
The beauty of Urchatz was revealed to me during a women's seder. Each participant washed the hands of another with care and kavanah (intentionality)—and without words. The sisterhood created in the sacred silence elevates communal consciousness. How will we utilize this state of purity? V'ahavtah l're'echa kamochah - to love the other as ourself.
How will this ancient wisdom propel us forward to empower the silent? How will we elevate the hands of all those still in Mitzrayim?
--Jessica K. Shimberg, Spiritual Leader, The Little Minyan Kehilla, Columbus, OH; ALEPH Rabbinical Program Class of 2018
The first time I heard a trafficking survivor speak many years ago, she told the story of her parents trafficking her for sex from the time she was a young girl until she was an adult. I sat in horror, listening to her calm recollection of how both her mother and father trafficked her, sometimes leaving her for days at a time in a makeshift brothel when she was barely old enough to read and write.
Her story was my T’ruah – a decibel defying call to action to open doors, pull back curtains, and shout from the rooftops the pain and suffering of trafficked individuals in our midst.
The call guides my work at the National Council of Jewish Women, alongside incredible and passionate advocates around the country, to raise awareness about trafficking in the United States where children are bought and sold in every state, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. And the call informs my work to create lasting social change through legislative advocacy – working with lawmakers to address the systemic issues that allow trafficking to exist, including lack of education and opportunities, and passing legislation to reform the child welfare system which effectively serves as a supply chain to traffickers.
The sound of the shofar on Passover reminds me not only of one woman’s unspeakable journey, but of my greater responsibility to ensure my call becomes a collective call to action for all of us in the Jewish community.
-- Jody Rabhan, Director of Washington Operations, National Council of Jewish Women
Choose from among the spring vegetables on the Seder table and dip one in salt water.
The spring vegetable reminds us to pay attention to this season, the time in the northern hemisphere when we again see flowers blooming and hear birds chirping. The salt water in which we dip the vegetable recalls the salty tears our ancestors shed when they were enslaved as well the tears of those today who are oppressed or enslaved. The blessing we recite heightens our awareness and gratitude for this moment, when we are free to celebrate together.
בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה עוֹלָמֵנוּ, יָחִיד וּמְיוּחָד
.בּוֹרֵא פְּרִי הָאַדָמָה
Ba-rookh a-ta o-la-may-noo, ya-cheed u-m'yoo-chad, bo-ray p'ree ha-a-da-ma.
Blessed are you, unique world of ours, for producing the fruit of the earth.
Some households serve a salad of seasonal vegetables at this point, to take the edge off people's hunger and thus to allow greater ease for telling and discussing the Passover story.
(raise second cup of wine)
The fate of every Jew is bound up with the fate of the Jewish people and the destiny of the Jewish people cannot be separated from the destiny of all humanity. Let us drink this cup of wine to symbolize our pledge to break the bonds of slavery for all who are not free.
L'CHAIM!
(Drink the second cup of wine)
At this point in our festivity, let us reflect upon the significance of Passover. Passover celebrates freedom. Can we be free while others are not? If there are people anywhere who are oppressed, then we cannot celebrate Passover with a clear conscience.
"Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.
Injustice to any people is a threat to justice to ALL people.
I will not remain silent in the face of injustice."
— Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Mah nishtanah ha-lailah ha-zeh mi-kol ha-leilot? mi-kol ha-leilot?
Why is this night different from all other nights?
She-b-khol ha-leilot `anu `okhlin hamets u-matsah, hamets u-matsah, ha-lailah ha-zeh ha-lailah ha-zeh kulo matsah?
On all other nights we eat either bread or matsah. Why, on this night, do we eat only matsah?
She-b-khol ha-leilot `anu `okhlin sh'`ar y'raqot, sh'`ar y'raqot, ha-lailah ha-zeh, ha-lailah ha-zeh maror, maror?
On all other nights we eat herbs of any kind. Why, on this night, do we eat only bitter herbs?
She-b-khol ha-leilot `ein `anu matbilin `aphilu pa'am `ehat, `aphilu pa'am `ehat, ha-lailah ha-zeh ha-lailah ha-zeh sh'tei ph'amim?
On all other nights, we do not dip our herbs even once. Why, on this night, do we dip them twice?
She-b-khol ha-leilot `anu `okhlin bein yoshvin u-vein m'subin, bein yoshvin u-vein m'subin, ha-lailah ha-zeh, ha-lailah ha-zeh kulanu m'subin?
On all other nights, we eat either sitting or leaning. Why, on this night, do we eat while leaning?
Leader:
As we continue our seder, we will answer these four questions about what makes this night different from all other nights.
This blessing can be recited as we light the candles to begin the Passover Seder and to celebrate the arrival of spring:
Blessed is the light in the world.
Blessed is the light within humanity.
Blessed is the light of Passover.
Barukh ha-or ba-olam
Barukh ha-or ba-adam
Barukh ha-ror ba-Pesakh
(If this blessing is different or new to you: Judaism is a constantly evolving conversation, practice, and identity. This text has been used by tens of thousands of Jews over the past fifty years.)
The wine of Passover is the wine of joy, the wine of love, the wine of celebration, the wine of freedom:
Freedom from bondage and freedom from oppression,
Freedom from hunger and freedom from want,
Freedom from hatred and freedom from fear,
Freedom to think and freedom to speak,
Freedom to teach and freedom to learn,
Freedom to love and freedom to share,
Freedom to hope and freedom to rejoice,
Soon, now, in our days, and forever.
Precious is the life within the world.
Precious in the life within us.
Praised are those who bring forth the fruit of the vine
L’chaim!
The beauty of Urchatz was revealed to me during a women's seder. Each participant washed the hands of another with care and kavanah (intentionality)—and without words. The sisterhood created in the sacred silence elevates communal consciousness. How will we utilize this state of purity? V'ahavtah l're'echa kamochah - to love the other as ourself.
How will this ancient wisdom propel us forward to empower the silent? How will we elevate the hands of all those still in Mitzrayim?
--Jessica K. Shimberg, Spiritual Leader, The Little Minyan Kehilla, Columbus, OH; ALEPH Rabbinical Program Class of 2018
The first time I heard a trafficking survivor speak many years ago, she told the story of her parents trafficking her for sex from the time she was a young girl until she was an adult. I sat in horror, listening to her calm recollection of how both her mother and father trafficked her, sometimes leaving her for days at a time in a makeshift brothel when she was barely old enough to read and write.
Her story was my T’ruah – a decibel defying call to action to open doors, pull back curtains, and shout from the rooftops the pain and suffering of trafficked individuals in our midst.
The call guides my work at the National Council of Jewish Women, alongside incredible and passionate advocates around the country, to raise awareness about trafficking in the United States where children are bought and sold in every state, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. And the call informs my work to create lasting social change through legislative advocacy – working with lawmakers to address the systemic issues that allow trafficking to exist, including lack of education and opportunities, and passing legislation to reform the child welfare system which effectively serves as a supply chain to traffickers.
The sound of the shofar on Passover reminds me not only of one woman’s unspeakable journey, but of my greater responsibility to ensure my call becomes a collective call to action for all of us in the Jewish community.
-- Jody Rabhan, Director of Washington Operations, National Council of Jewish Women
Choose from among the spring vegetables on the Seder table and dip one in salt water.
The spring vegetable reminds us to pay attention to this season, the time in the northern hemisphere when we again see flowers blooming and hear birds chirping. The salt water in which we dip the vegetable recalls the salty tears our ancestors shed when they were enslaved as well the tears of those today who are oppressed or enslaved. The blessing we recite heightens our awareness and gratitude for this moment, when we are free to celebrate together.
בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה עוֹלָמֵנוּ, יָחִיד וּמְיוּחָד
.בּוֹרֵא פְּרִי הָאַדָמָה
Ba-rookh a-ta o-la-may-noo, ya-cheed u-m'yoo-chad, bo-ray p'ree ha-a-da-ma.
Blessed are you, unique world of ours, for producing the fruit of the earth.
Some households serve a salad of seasonal vegetables at this point, to take the edge off people's hunger and thus to allow greater ease for telling and discussing the Passover story.
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