Jews of Color

Why are we talking about liberation?

"Liberation requires us to become aware of and dismantle the inevitable ways systems of domination live in us. Freedom, the ongoing state achieved through liberation, requires this awareness profoundly. Through releasing old, habitual, behavioral contracts that uphold white supremacy in ourselves and others and building new embodied competencies, we reclaim our bodies and inhabit our lives ever more fully and intentionally. As our experience of life is heightened and nourished by increased awareness and capacity to choose, rather than only react, we become more able to coordinate skillfully with others from a ground of authenticity, trust and accountability." -Black Organizing for Leadership

“For Jewish support of #BlackLivesMatter to really make a difference, the discussion of racism, classism and sexism MUST come home. We need these discussions in our communities, our synagogues, our institutions, our homes as an analysis and challenge of our assumptions about our history as a people and the richness of our heritage.”– Sabrina Sojourner, #BlackLivesMatter Hanukkah Action, 2014

A traditional Passover seder is a festive, ritual-rich meal in which we remember the ancient Jewish story of liberation from slavery in Egypt. Over the centuries, thousands of different versions of the Passover haggadah, or “narrative,” have been written. Tonight, our haggadah will connect an ancient liberation story to liberation struggles that are still ongoing.

Jews have always been a multi-ethnic people, from the “mixed multitudes” who escaped Pharaoh in Egypt, to stand together at Sinai, to the incredible diversity of our many communities and traditions around the world historically and today. And whether you connect to the liberation story of the Exodus or the liberation story of Rabbi Heschel marching with Dr. King in Selma – and many, many stories in between – our people are called to work for justice everywhere.

Tonight we will lift up Black voices and Black stories both Jewish and Gentile. We will celebrate the resilience of the human spirit and take responsibility to lessen the daily demands on that spiritual strength. Tonight we will honor Black lives and Black voices by making an individual and communal commitment, as Jews, to racial justice.

Tonight we ask you to be vulnerable to each other. We ask you to wrestle with our responsibility to our sisters and brothers, because we cannot aid in the liberation of our friends from behind the walls that keep us separate.

At Passover, we receive a personal directive to create an inclusive and welcoming community. Even when we intend to be welcoming, many in our community still feel like strangers. The things that divide us — race, ethnicity, gender, class, religion, among others — also have the power to unite us. During the Seder, we are each meant to remember that we ourselves were once strangers in a strange land. If the Jewish community is to be a home for all, we must make room at the table and share our stories. We hope this supplement will inspire thought, conversation and action; each and every one of us can be the welcome that another needs.

This short supplement can be inserted after the Maggid or beginning of the Passover Story: "This is the bread of affliction that our fathers ate in the land of Egypt. Whoever is hungry, let him come and eat; whoever is in need, let him come and conduct the Seder of Passover. This year [we are] here; next year in the land of Israel. This year [we are] slaves; next year [we will be] free people."

Leader: At the start of the Seder, Jews around the world welcome all those who want to join us at our tables, in our homes, and in our community.

Leader: We welcome Jews of all ethnic backgrounds to join us at our table;
All: There are many ways to express and celebrate Jewish traditions.

Leader: We welcome Jews of all races to join us at our table;
All: We learn and grow from many points of view.

Leader: We welcome those who have chosen Judaism to join us at our table;
All: New enthusiasm and energy revitalizes the Jewish people.

Leader: We welcome all those exploring or connected to Judaism to join us at our table;
All: A variety of experiences and understandings strengthen the Jewish people.

Leader: We welcome those of other faiths or traditions to join us at our table;
All: We know that sharing our stories will help build a future of freedom.

All: We welcome all who have ever felt like strangers to our table. Tonight we go forth together for we are all strangers in Egypt.

Optional discussion question - Share a time when you felt like an outsider but were actively welcomed into a new community or space. How did that happen? How did it make you feel?

Download here:https://globaljews.org/resources/publications/welcoming-all-an-inclusive-passover-reading/

By Maya Kasowky

What follows are short descriptions of Seder customs from around the world. For this lesson each custom can be printed out on a separate card or strip.

Circling the seder plate over the heads of each participant, while saying “In Haste we left Egypt”.  The response is “We were slaves to Pharaoh in Egypt”

Where it fits in the seder: The very beginning Where it is from: Morocco and Tunisia

Putting the shank bone, charoset, maror, karpas, egg, and matzah all around the table, rather than on a seder plate.

Where it fits in the seder: During set-up, before the seder starts Where it is from: Persian and Yemenite Jews

Putting the shank bone, charoset, maror, karpas, egg, and matzah in a covered basket, ready to carry out of Egypt with us.

Where it fits in the seder: During set-up, before the seder starts. Where it is from: Tunisia

Putting a fishbowl with live fish on the seder table

Where it fits in the seder: During set-up, before the seder starts. Where it is from: Tunisia

Having first night Seder in Hebrew, and the second night Seder in the language you speak at home.

Where it fits in the seder: Throughout Where it is from: Kavkaz (in the Caucasus mountains, in or near Russia)

Each person takes a turn holding up the Matzot and reciting the steps of the seder (Kadeish U’rchatz, Karpas, Yachatz…).

Where it fits in the seder: The beginning Where it is from: Persia

Take a pillowcase, and fill it with heavy objects, before the seder.  During the seder, take turns carrying it around the table on your back, to experience a little of the hard work that Jews did as slaves in Egypt.

Where it fits in the seder: At “Avadim Hayinu”, “We were slaves to Pharaoh in Egypt” Where it is from: Romania

Interruption in the seder by a “nomad” who is leaving Egypt.  Dialogue with the “guest” goes like this;

Seder leader: Where are you coming from?

Nomad: Egypt

Seder Leader: Where are you going?

Nomad: Jerusalem

Seder Leader: What are the supplies for your trip?

Nomad: [sings the 4 questions]

Where it fits in the seder: Right before the 4 questions, or any time, as a surprise Where it is from: Iraq

Pour out bits of wine or grape juice into a bowl of water, and see it turn red/bloody.

Where it fits in the seder: The recital of the ten plagues. Where it is from: Sefaradi custom

Pour wine or grape juice out of a Cup of Pharaoh

Where it fits in the seder: The recital of the ten plagues. Where it is from: India

Gently mock-whip the person who knows where the afikomen is hidden, until they reveal where it is.

Where it fits in the seder: At the very end of the meal. Where it is from: Bukhara

Tie the afikomen onto the back of one child at the seder.

Where it fits in the seder: After Yachatz, and it remains there until the end of the meal. Where it is from: Iraq