Why do we wash our hands all the time?
This washing, even though it is an official task of the Seder, is done without a blessing. It is strictly for cleanliness purposes. And why not? We're about to handle food. It seems so easy for us. We turn on the tap, and there it is. But water is scarce. May we be aware of our water as we continue the Seder.
We start by getting to know one another:
As we embark on our adventure together here tonight, it is possible that some of us do not know each other.
Take turns around the table as each person shares his or her name and how it is that she or he has come to this Seder. Because the Seder recounts or Exodus from slavery in Egypt, you might also share:
I’m leaving Egypt and I’m taking with me a:_______________________
Similarly, a Sefardi custom suggests that we take turns, beginning with our host, and ask the person to our left:
Who are you?
Where are you coming from?
Where are you going?
To which the answer is:
I am Israel. I am coming from Egypt. I am going to Jerusalem.
What do “Israel,” “Egypt,” and “Jerusalem” represent to you right now? What are you doing in your life to transition from a metaphorical Egypt to a metaphorical Jerusalem? We will explore some meanings of these terms as we progress in our adventure.
Charoset is a smooth mixture of various chopped fruits including apples, and nuts, as well as wine and spices. It represents the mixture of clay and straw from which we made the mortar during our bondage. It also calls to mind the women of Israel who bore their children in secret beneath the apple trees of Egypt, and, like the apple tree that first produces fruit and then sprouts leaves to protect the fruit, our heroic mothers first bore children without any assurance of security or safety. This beautiful and militant devotion sweetened the misery of slavery, even as we dip our bitter herbs in Charoset. The pattern of our celebration is the mixture of the bitter and the sweet, sadness and joy, of tales of shame that end in praise.
We begin our Seder and join our efforts with those everywhere who celebrate the Passover searching for its meaning in their lives; as an expression of our liberation so far... There are many possible modes for understanding the events retold in the Pesach Haggadah.
Of these, three are braided together so that, if we concentrate exclusively on any one of them, we diminish the special qualities of the entire story.
By participating in the symbolic actions built into the order of the Seder, we can share in: the experience of the rebirth of the natural world around us, the national liberation of our people, the spiritual redemption of each individual human being.
We begin this evening: some of us feeling shackled by the bonds of winter, some of our people—and other peoples of the world—persecuted, many of us confined by our own personal limitations.
Tonight we hope to set in motion: processes of growth that encourage within each of us the renewal of each person’s unique vision, and efforts to work for the freedom of our scattered—and all, oppressed— people, as we see about us the flowering of a new year.
Indeed, we begin our Seder here.
However, our goals are neither our renewal, our freedom, nor our flowering.
Pesach is but the pointer to the acceptance of our commitments to complete these tasks—in a harvesting of the fruits of our labors yet to come.
The evening shadows lengthen. We prepare ourselves to light the holiday candles. In this act we unite and identify ourselves in time and space with all Jews in other periods and places of our history. Albert Einstein stood in awe of the universe as he struggled to formulate his theory of a unified field. He was not ready to assign consciousness to the unity he proposed. But our ancestors taught us of a Divine Unity: the Source of all things who unites us all as one family. From this idea they developed the concept of ethical monotheism.
Our prophets claimed that the unity of creation called us to act. We still hear their voices, calling us to work for social justice as the foundation for community peace. I come tonight because I want to join this process, as we build a creative and fulfilling Jewish life. I hope each person who participates in this Seder will add their efforts, as we learn, understand, and enrich the traditions of our past, making them meaningful for our future.
As we foster the beauty and uniqueness of our own heritage, so we support those who further the beauty and uniqueness of their respective traditions.
We unite with other Jews and with all who act so that people around the world can live in peace and freedom and develop so they can reap the fruits of their lives as human beings. We know that as long as we live a light glows within us. Even when we close our eyes we experience it. The world itself fills with light and we humans have the ability to increase or decrease its presence.
Look! The day ends. The earth turns from sunshine to dusk and then to darkness. As so often before, we assume for ourselves the task of kindling candles in the night, to enlighten the dark corners of our world. We still live in perilous times. Behind us, though receding into the memories of even the oldest among us, we can still sense the fires of Auschwitz and Hiroshima. Before us, on all sides we face a terror of towers falling and the potential of thermonuclear clouds rising. We gather tonight to create from fire, not the heat of destruction, but the light of instruction; indeed to see more clearly the wisdom, strength and caring that glows from within each of us. Many peoples of the world marked significant events with fire. We Jews also associate lighting fires with special occasions. Like other peoples who regarded fire as a gift to be used wisely and with respect, we also focus our attention on the Source of the lights we use in our ceremonies.
May these candles, lighted on the Festival of Freedom, bring light into our hearts and minds. May they renew our courage to act for justice and freedom here and now. May they illumine the path to truth, justice and peace. And so we repeat the ancient blessing:
Baruch atah Adonai, Eloheinu Melech ha-olam, asher kiddishanu b’mitzvotav,v’tzivanu lehadlik neir shel [Shabbat v'shel] Yom Tov.
Blessed are You Adonai our God, Sovereign of all space and time, who has made us distinct through Your directives and has directed us to kindle the [Shabbat and] holiday lights.
Our journey starts. The drama begins. We support one another and share one another’s strengths.
This evening’s adventure will slide in and out of time, pulling together many of the stories of our people—we will leave Egypt following Moses, Miriam and Aaron. We will dine with the Rabbis of ancient Judaea as they experience the Roman occupation. We recall the suffering and creativity of the Jewish communities of Europe in their thousand year settlement there. We will share stories of our own contemporary experiences as Jews living in North America. These are our stories—but not our only teachers. We have much to learn from our guests and neighbors for whom these stories are totally fresh. Whether this is a ritual we have experienced every year since our birth or one that is new to us, we turn to it now for the chance to learn something about oppression and freedom, something about the miracles of the world we live in, and something of our connections to ancient traditions as they can be understood in our own time.
We share our power to bless.
May God bless and guide us. May truth become strong within us, may we speak our words in charity, may we act out of love and justice. We have received a noble heritage from which we draw strength. We encourage the child in us to grow toward mystery and mastery.
Yesimcha Elohim k’Efraim v’chiMenasheh.
We emulate Ephraim and Menasheh, who carried forward the life of our people.
Yesimech Elohim k’Sarah, Rivkah, Rachel, v’Leah.
We emulate Sarah and Rebecca, Rachel and Leah, who carried forward the life of our people.
Yevarechecha Adonai v’yishmerecha Ya’eir Adonai panav eilecha vichuneka Yisa Adonai panav eilecha v’yasem lecha shalom.
May the Source of all caress and protect us. May the energies of the Source of all glow within us and be generous to us. May we feel the Source of all present within us filling us with wholeness.
Why do we wash our hands all the time?
This washing, even though it is an official task of the Seder, is done without a blessing. It is strictly for cleanliness purposes. And why not? We're about to handle food. It seems so easy for us. We turn on the tap, and there it is. But water is scarce. May we be aware of our water as we continue the Seder.
We start by getting to know one another:
As we embark on our adventure together here tonight, it is possible that some of us do not know each other.
Take turns around the table as each person shares his or her name and how it is that she or he has come to this Seder. Because the Seder recounts or Exodus from slavery in Egypt, you might also share:
I’m leaving Egypt and I’m taking with me a:_______________________
Similarly, a Sefardi custom suggests that we take turns, beginning with our host, and ask the person to our left:
Who are you?
Where are you coming from?
Where are you going?
To which the answer is:
I am Israel. I am coming from Egypt. I am going to Jerusalem.
What do “Israel,” “Egypt,” and “Jerusalem” represent to you right now? What are you doing in your life to transition from a metaphorical Egypt to a metaphorical Jerusalem? We will explore some meanings of these terms as we progress in our adventure.
Charoset is a smooth mixture of various chopped fruits including apples, and nuts, as well as wine and spices. It represents the mixture of clay and straw from which we made the mortar during our bondage. It also calls to mind the women of Israel who bore their children in secret beneath the apple trees of Egypt, and, like the apple tree that first produces fruit and then sprouts leaves to protect the fruit, our heroic mothers first bore children without any assurance of security or safety. This beautiful and militant devotion sweetened the misery of slavery, even as we dip our bitter herbs in Charoset. The pattern of our celebration is the mixture of the bitter and the sweet, sadness and joy, of tales of shame that end in praise.
We begin our Seder and join our efforts with those everywhere who celebrate the Passover searching for its meaning in their lives; as an expression of our liberation so far... There are many possible modes for understanding the events retold in the Pesach Haggadah.
Of these, three are braided together so that, if we concentrate exclusively on any one of them, we diminish the special qualities of the entire story.
By participating in the symbolic actions built into the order of the Seder, we can share in: the experience of the rebirth of the natural world around us, the national liberation of our people, the spiritual redemption of each individual human being.
We begin this evening: some of us feeling shackled by the bonds of winter, some of our people—and other peoples of the world—persecuted, many of us confined by our own personal limitations.
Tonight we hope to set in motion: processes of growth that encourage within each of us the renewal of each person’s unique vision, and efforts to work for the freedom of our scattered—and all, oppressed— people, as we see about us the flowering of a new year.
Indeed, we begin our Seder here.
However, our goals are neither our renewal, our freedom, nor our flowering.
Pesach is but the pointer to the acceptance of our commitments to complete these tasks—in a harvesting of the fruits of our labors yet to come.
The evening shadows lengthen. We prepare ourselves to light the holiday candles. In this act we unite and identify ourselves in time and space with all Jews in other periods and places of our history. Albert Einstein stood in awe of the universe as he struggled to formulate his theory of a unified field. He was not ready to assign consciousness to the unity he proposed. But our ancestors taught us of a Divine Unity: the Source of all things who unites us all as one family. From this idea they developed the concept of ethical monotheism.
Our prophets claimed that the unity of creation called us to act. We still hear their voices, calling us to work for social justice as the foundation for community peace. I come tonight because I want to join this process, as we build a creative and fulfilling Jewish life. I hope each person who participates in this Seder will add their efforts, as we learn, understand, and enrich the traditions of our past, making them meaningful for our future.
As we foster the beauty and uniqueness of our own heritage, so we support those who further the beauty and uniqueness of their respective traditions.
We unite with other Jews and with all who act so that people around the world can live in peace and freedom and develop so they can reap the fruits of their lives as human beings. We know that as long as we live a light glows within us. Even when we close our eyes we experience it. The world itself fills with light and we humans have the ability to increase or decrease its presence.
Look! The day ends. The earth turns from sunshine to dusk and then to darkness. As so often before, we assume for ourselves the task of kindling candles in the night, to enlighten the dark corners of our world. We still live in perilous times. Behind us, though receding into the memories of even the oldest among us, we can still sense the fires of Auschwitz and Hiroshima. Before us, on all sides we face a terror of towers falling and the potential of thermonuclear clouds rising. We gather tonight to create from fire, not the heat of destruction, but the light of instruction; indeed to see more clearly the wisdom, strength and caring that glows from within each of us. Many peoples of the world marked significant events with fire. We Jews also associate lighting fires with special occasions. Like other peoples who regarded fire as a gift to be used wisely and with respect, we also focus our attention on the Source of the lights we use in our ceremonies.
May these candles, lighted on the Festival of Freedom, bring light into our hearts and minds. May they renew our courage to act for justice and freedom here and now. May they illumine the path to truth, justice and peace. And so we repeat the ancient blessing:
Baruch atah Adonai, Eloheinu Melech ha-olam, asher kiddishanu b’mitzvotav,v’tzivanu lehadlik neir shel [Shabbat v'shel] Yom Tov.
Blessed are You Adonai our God, Sovereign of all space and time, who has made us distinct through Your directives and has directed us to kindle the [Shabbat and] holiday lights.
Our journey starts. The drama begins. We support one another and share one another’s strengths.
This evening’s adventure will slide in and out of time, pulling together many of the stories of our people—we will leave Egypt following Moses, Miriam and Aaron. We will dine with the Rabbis of ancient Judaea as they experience the Roman occupation. We recall the suffering and creativity of the Jewish communities of Europe in their thousand year settlement there. We will share stories of our own contemporary experiences as Jews living in North America. These are our stories—but not our only teachers. We have much to learn from our guests and neighbors for whom these stories are totally fresh. Whether this is a ritual we have experienced every year since our birth or one that is new to us, we turn to it now for the chance to learn something about oppression and freedom, something about the miracles of the world we live in, and something of our connections to ancient traditions as they can be understood in our own time.
We share our power to bless.
May God bless and guide us. May truth become strong within us, may we speak our words in charity, may we act out of love and justice. We have received a noble heritage from which we draw strength. We encourage the child in us to grow toward mystery and mastery.
Yesimcha Elohim k’Efraim v’chiMenasheh.
We emulate Ephraim and Menasheh, who carried forward the life of our people.
Yesimech Elohim k’Sarah, Rivkah, Rachel, v’Leah.
We emulate Sarah and Rebecca, Rachel and Leah, who carried forward the life of our people.
Yevarechecha Adonai v’yishmerecha Ya’eir Adonai panav eilecha vichuneka Yisa Adonai panav eilecha v’yasem lecha shalom.
May the Source of all caress and protect us. May the energies of the Source of all glow within us and be generous to us. May we feel the Source of all present within us filling us with wholeness.
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