Holocaust

May you find the strength to combat Anti-semitism and help provide the teaching of love to those who hate.

May you have the courage to stand up for your own beliefs.

Grant us the strength and resilience to support our loved ones.

May we acknowledge our own strength and resilience in persevering through hate.

May you remain safe in the face of those who wish you harm.

May you find others who share their experiences so they know they are not alone.

May we create communities that accept, uplift, and celebrate those among us.

The Blue Dove Foundation with Association of Reform Jewish Educators

"I have concluded that one way to pay tribute to those we loved who struggled,

resisted and died is to hold on to their vision and their fierce outrage at the

destruction of the ordinary life of their people. It is this outrage we need to keep

alive in our daily life and apply to all situations, whether they involve Jews or non-

Jews. It Is this outrage we must use to fuel our actions and vision whenever we see

any signs of the disruptions of common life: the hysteria of a mother grieving for

the teenager who has been shot, a family stunned in front of a vandalized or

demolished home; a tamily separated, displaced; arbitrary and unjust laws that

demand the closing or opening of shops and schools; humiliation of a people

whose culture is alien and deemed inferior; a people left homeless without

citizenship; a people living under military rule. Because of our experience, we

recognize these evils as obstacles to peace. At those moments of recognition, we

remember the past, feel the outrage that inspired Jews of the Warsaw Ghetto and

allow it to guide us in present struggles.

The story of passover includes discussions of slavery and oppression. While we would love for this to be only a discussion of the past, these topics are still part of our lives today.

When we talk about being delivered from Egypt, we use the word Mitzrayim, which has been translated as a narrow place.

What are the narrow places we know from our own life experience? Are we still in a narrow place and longing for deliverance?

No topic of conversation is forbidden at the seder table.

The seder officially begins with a physical act: lighting the candles.  In Jewish tradition, lighting candles and saying a blessing over them marks a time of transition, from the day that is ending to the one that is beginning, from ordinary time to sacred time.  Lighting the candles is an important part of our Passover celebration because their flickering light reminds us of the importance of keeping the fragile flame of freedom alive in the world.

Baruch Atah Adonai Eloheinu melech ha'olam asher kid'shanu b'mitzvotav, v'tzivanu l'hadlik ner shel Yom Tov.

Blessed are You, Adonai our God, Ruler of the Universe, who has sanctified us with laws and commanded us to light the festival lights.

As we light the festival candles, we acknowledge that as they brighten our Passover table, good thoughts, good words, and good deeds brighten our days.

The Seder Plate

We place a Seder Plate at our table as a reminder to discuss certain aspects of the Passover story. Each item has its own significance.

Maror – The bitter herb. This symbolizes the harshness of lives of the Jews in Egypt.

Charoset – A delicious mix of sweet wine, apples, cinnamon and nuts that resembles the mortar used as bricks of the many buildings the Jewish slaves built in Egypt

Karpas – A green vegetable, usually parsley, is a reminder of the green sprouting up all around us during spring and is used to dip into the saltwater

Zeroah – A roasted lamb or shank bone symbolizing the sacrifice made at the great temple on Passover (The Paschal Lamb)

Beitzah – The egg symbolizes a different holiday offering that was brought to the temple. Since eggs are the first item offered to a mourner after a funeral, some say it also evokes a sense of mourning for the destruction of the temple.

Orange - The orange on the seder plate has come to symbolize full inclusion in modern day Judaism: not only for women, but also for people with disabilities, intermarried couples, and the LGBT Community.

Matzah

Matzah is the unleavened bread we eat to remember that when the jews fled Egypt, they didn’t even have time to let the dough rise on their bread. We commemorate this by removing all bread and bread products from our home during Passover.

Elijah’s Cup

The fifth ceremonial cup of wine poured during the Seder. It is left untouched in honor of Elijah, who, according to tradition, will arrive one day as an unknown guest to herald the advent of the Messiah. During the Seder dinner, biblical verses are read while the door is briefly opened to welcome Elijah. In this way the Seder dinner not only commemorates the historical redemption from Egyptian bondage of the Jewish people but also calls to mind their future redemption when Elijah and the Messiah shall appear.

Miriam’s Cup

Another relatively new Passover tradition is that of Miriam’s cup. The cup is filled with water and placed next to Elijah’s cup. Miriam was the sister of Moses and a prophetess in her own right. After the exodus when the Israelites are wandering through the desert, just as Hashem gave them Manna to eat, legend says that a well of water followed Miriam and it was called ‘Miriam’s Well’. The tradition of Miriam’s cup is meant to honor Miriam’s role in the story of the Jewish people and the spirit of all women, who nurture their families just as Miriam helped sustain the Israelites.

The Partisan Song (or Partizaner Lid) is the name of a Yiddish song considered one of the chief anthems of Shoah survivors. The lyrics of the song were written in 1943 by Hirsh Glick, a young Jewish inmate of the Vilna Ghetto. The title means "Never Say", and derives from the first line of the song, "Never say that you have reached the final road." During World War II, "Zog Nit Keynmol" was adopted by a number of Jewish partisan groups operating in Eastern Europe. It became a symbol of resistance against the Nazis. Hirsch was inspired to write the song by news of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising.

Zog nit keyn mol, az du geyst dem letstn veg, himlen blayene farshteln bloye teg. kumen vet nokh undzer oysgebenkte sho, s'vet a poyk ton undzer trot: mir zaynen do! fun grinem palmenland biz vaysn land fun shney, mir kumen on mit undzer payn, mit undzer vey, un vu gefaln s'iz a shprits fun undzer blut, shprotsn vet dort undzer gvure, undzer mut! s'vet di morgnzun bagildn undz dem haynt, un der nekhtn vet farshvindn mit dem faynt, nor oyb farzamen vet di zun in der kayor – vi a parol zol geyn dos lid fun dor tsu dor. dos lid geshribn iz mit blut, un nit mit blay, s'iz nit keyn lidl fun a faygl oyf der fray, dos hot a folk tsvishn falndike vent dos lid gezungen mit naganes in di hent. to zog nit keyn mol, az du geyst dem letstn veg, himlen blayene farshteln bloye teg. kumen vet nokh undzer oysgebenkte sho – s'vet a poyk ton undzer trot: mir zaynen do!

Never say this is the final road for you, Though leaden skies may cover over days of blue. As the hour that we longed for is so near, Our step beats out the message: we are here! From lands so green with palms to lands all white with snow. We shall be coming with our anguish and our woe, And where a spurt of our blood fell on the earth, There our courage and our spirit have rebirth! The early morning sun will brighten our day, And yesterday with our foe will fade away, But if the sun delays and in the east remains – This song as motto generations must remain. This song was written with our blood and not with lead, It's not a little tune that birds sing overhead, This song a people sang amid collapsing walls, With pistols in hand[1] they heeded to the call. Therefore never say the road now ends for you, Though leaden skies may cover over days of blue. As the hour that we longed for is so near, Our step beats out the message: we are here!