Nature

Rabbi Nachman of Bratslav once said: "May it be my custom to go outdoors each day among the trees and grass - among all growing things and there may I be alone, and enter into prayer, to talk with the One to whom I belong."

Our connection to nature is an intimate one--it is a connection that allows us to get in touch the Divine: To listen to the Divine voice, and speak to the Divine heart.

When we say the blessing for Karpas, we dip greens into salt water, bringing to mind both hope of new beginnings and grief of unbearable losses. It is a beautiful tradition that teaches us through touch, taste, sight, and sound that these two emotions (so often thought to be in conflict) can be held together. The Holy Oneness is large enough to hold them. And as a community--a creation and manifestation of that Oneness--are also strong enough and wise enough to hold these two powerful emotions at the same time.

We are living in a time where climate change threatens the beauty of the natural world--a world in which we humans are inextricable woven. Our hope is necessary. Our grief is real.

As you dip the karpas into the salt water, think of an element of nature that fills your heart and imagine the loss if future generations were not able to experience it as you have.

Let us now bless the holy nature of the verdant earth and our salty tears; the holy nature of our grief and our hope.

Following the blessing, feel free to share the moment in nature you held in your heart.

בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יי אֱלֹהֵינוּ מֶלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם, בּוֹרֵא פְּרִי הָאֲדָמָה

Baruch Atah Adonai, Eloheinu melech ha’olam, borei p’ri ha’adamah.

Blessed are you, Adonai our God, Sovereign of the Universe, who creates fruit from the earth.

The olive tree does not weep and does not laugh. The olive tree

Is the hillside’s modest lady. Shadow

Covers her one leg, and she will not take her leaves off in front of the storm.

Standing, she is seated, and seated, standing.

She lives as a friendly sister of eternity, neighbor of time

That helps her stock her luminous oil and

Forget the invaders’ names, except the Romans, who

Coexisted with her, and borrowed some of her branches

To weave wreaths. They did not treat her as a prisoner of war

But as a venerable grandmother, before whose calm dignity

Swords shatter. In her reticent silver-green

Color hesitates to say what it thinks, and to look at what is behind

The portrait, for the olive tree, is neither green nor silver.

The olive tree is the color of peace, if peace needed

A color. No one says to the olive tree: How beautiful you are!

But: How noble and how splendid! And she,

She who teaches soldiers to lay down their rifles

And re-educates them in tenderness and humility: Go home

And light your lamps with my oil! But

These soldiers, these modern soldiers

Besiege her with bulldozers and uproot her from her lineage

Of earth. They vanquished our grandmother who foundered,

Her branches on the ground, her roots in the sky.

She did not weep or cry out. But one of her grandsons

Who witnessed the execution threw a stone

At a soldier, and he was martyred with her. After the victorious soldiers

Had gone on their way, we buried him there, in that deep

Pit – the grandmother’s cradle. And that is why we were

Sure that he would become, in a little while, an olive

Tree – a thorny olive tree – and green!

translated from the Arabic by Marilyn Hacker

Remember the days of old:consider the years of many generations (Deut. 32:7)

Every year, hundreds of giant sea turtles swim hundreds of miles from their homes near Brazil to a tiny island in the Atlantic Ocean in order to find their mates.  For years, scientists tried to understand how the turtles could find their way every time, from so far away. It was a tiny island, and even airplanes sometimes had trouble finding it. 

What do you think it was?? 

Once upon a time, a very, very long time ago, when the dinosaurs lived, that little island was closer to Brazil, and it used to be a short swim from where the turtles lived. It is in their memory to know where to go, even though they themselves don't remember, they have a memory together of the way that it used to be, and they heard stories from their turtle parents about that special place.

Each year, they go there together to remind themselves of the trip that their ancestors used to take.

Tonight, we are just like those turtles. 

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.

Before we eat it, we take the parsley and dip it into the salt water. This is the story of Passover in a simple gesture. The parsley is the promise of something new and meaningful. The salt water is what it cost to get there. We can't have one without the other.

(Dip the parsley in the salt water. Say the blessing.)

בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יְיָ, אֱלֹהֵינוּ מֶלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם, בּוֹרֵא פְּרִי הָאֲדָמָה

Baruch Atah Adonai, Eloheinu Melech ha-olam, borei p’ree ha-adama.

Blessed are You, Lord our God, Ruler of the universe, who creates the fruit of the earth.

(Eat the parsley.)

Most of us know what it is to work hard for something that matters — to find that the sweetness and the struggle arrived together. That is not just the Exodus story. It is what makes any story worth telling.

Nirtzah marks the conclusion of the seder. Our bellies are full, we have had several glasses of wine, we have told stories and sung songs, and now it is time for the evening to come to a close. Looking forward, let's sing a song looking forward to the next year and beyond.

World to Come by Sarina Elenbogen-Siegel

I've been dreaming of the world to come

Where there's peace and wholeness for everyone

We will dance under the sun

Full moon and our hearts will be one

I've been dreaming of the world the come

It is the season of our liberation

Tell the age old story so we can look forward

Our empathy grows as our senses awaken

I've been dreaming of the world to come

Where there's peace and wholeness for everyone

We will dance under the sun

Full moon and our hearts will be one

I've been dreaming of the world to come

Feet planted firmly in the grass

Know that this moment cannot last

But I can taste a bite of the world to come

I've been dreaming of the world to come

Where there's peace and wholeness for everyone

We will dance under the sun

Full moon and our hearts will be one

I've been dreaming of the world to come

Olam Haba Shechina

Olam Haba Shechina

Olam Haba Shechina

I've been dreaming of the world to come

Where there's peace and wholeness for everyone

I've been dreaming of the world to come

Where there's peace and wholeness for everyone

I've been dreaming of the world to come

Olam Haba Shechina

https://sarinaelenbogen-siegel.bandcamp.com/track/world-to-come

Nature has the power to inspire awe in us. After winter’s long frost, we feel a real sense of hope as the first flowers emerge from the earth. Or, we may feel a sense of our small but mighty place in the universe when we look out at the ocean. These Jewish blessings help us express our sense of wonder, and you may wish to write your own blessings for the natural world.

Recite when seeing large-scale wonders of nature such as high mountains, vast deserts, seas, major rivers, shooting stars and the sunrise: 

Baruch atah Adonai, Eloheinu melech ha’olam, oseh maasei v'reishit.

We praise You, Eternal God, Sovereign of the universe, who makes the works of creation.

On seeing the small-scale wonders of nature, such as beautiful trees and flowers, animals, and people:

Baruch atah Adonai, Eloheinu melech ha’olam, shekacha lo beolamo.

We praise You, Eternal God, Sovereign of the universe, that such as these are in Your world.

On seeing a rainbow:

Baruch atah Adonai, Eloheinu melech ha’olam, zocher hab'rit v'neeman biv'rito v'kayam ma-amaro.

We praise You, Eternal God, Sovereign of the universe, who remembers, is faithful to, and fulfills Your covenant with and promise to creation.