Passover Haggadah

Edited by: Maya Bernstein

Welcome to the Seder!
Welcome to all of you who have come to experience this distinctive, festive,
annual commemoration of the story of the Jewish people’s exodus from
Egypt – the Passover Seder.

Passover is an eight-day holiday celebrated each spring by Jews around the

world. It is a holiday that celebrates freedom in all of its forms – personal,
communal, religious, and national. The central rituals of the holiday are
eating unleavened bread, called matzo, instead of breads and grains, and
telling the biblical Passover story on the Seder night. Each community, and
even each family, has its own unique traditions for the Seder – and we
hope you will enrich the Seder with your own traditions and thoughts, and
enjoy celebrating the holiday with your school’s diverse Jewish community.

Seder is a Hebrew word that means order. Ironically, the commemoration

of the holiday of freedom is extremely structured – the central ritual of the
holiday is an ordered ritual! Shouldn’t freedom mean relief from structure?

Upon leaving Egypt, the Jewish people received the Torah – the Five Books
of Moses - a set of laws that structure time, and communal and personal
behavior. According to the Jewish tradition, true freedom can be
experienced only when structured moral guidelines are in place. The Seder
provides a strong skeletal structure, which helps guide the discussion about
the nature of freedom. Debate, improvisation, and discussion are
encouraged – so please join the conversation, and help enrich the Seder
with your own thoughts and ideas – and help all those around you
experience a deeper freedom.

We hope you grow from and enjoy this experience, and pray that this year
brings true freedom and growth for our community, and the entire world.

Chag Sameach! Happy Holiday!

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 The Seder Plate

KARPAS – A Green Vegetable

The word karpas is derived from the Greek word karpos, which means “fruit of
the soil.” Karpas is a green vegetable that symbolizes the spring, and represents
the themes of rebirth and rejuvenation. It reminds us of our connection to land,
and to its cycle of renewal and continuity.

MARROR – Bitter Herbs

Marror gives us a taste of bitter slavery and lack of freedom. Many people use
Romaine lettuce or horseradish as marror.

CHAROSET – A Sweet Mixture of Apples, Nuts, and Wine

Charoset is a pasty mixture of nuts, dates, apples, wine and cinnamon. The
Talmud says this serves as an antiseptic to dilute the harsh effects of the marror.

ZERO'AH – The Shankbone

We place a roasted chicken bone (vegetarians use a roasted beet) on the Seder
plate to commemorate the sacrificial lamb offering brought during the Temple
period. In Temple times, every Jew was "registered" to eat the sacrificial lamb
with a group. The Talmud says that the bigger the group, the better. This is a
source for having large Seder gatherings!

BEITZAH – The Egg

A second offering was brought to the Temple and eaten as the main course of the
Seder meal. Today, instead of a second piece of meat, we use a roasted egg-which
is traditionally a symbol of mourning-to remind us of the destruction of the
Temple. The round egg also symbolizes the Passover theme of cycles and rebirth.

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Seder Order – Table of Contents
Kadesh - A Toast to Freedom

Fill your cup with wine or grape juice. This is the first of four cups you'll enjoy
at tonight's Seder. Everyone stands and recites Kiddush together. P. 6

Urchatz - Washing Hands

Fill a cup with water. Pour some water over your right hand three times, then
over your left hand three times. There is no blessing recited at this point. P.7

Karpas - The Appetizer

We dip a green vegetable into saltwater. The saltwater represents the tears of
the Hebrew slaves. We taste this harshness in order to give us the humility
necessary for freedom. P.7

Yachatz - Break the Matzah

Take the middle matzah from your Seder Plate and break it into two. Put the
smaller piece back between the two complete matzahs. This piece is the "poor
man's bread" over which we will recount the story of our Exodus. The larger
piece becomes the Afikoman; put it in a bag and set it aside until the Seder's
end (children often steal the Afikoman, and hide it – knowing that the Seder
can’t end without it! This is a wonderful way to include children in the Seder).
P.7

Maggid - Retelling the Story

The Seder Plate is moved aside and the second cup of wine is filled. The story of
the Exodus is retold and explored. The Exodus from Egypt is not
commemorated only as a historic event, but also as a dynamic process that
occurs daily as we emancipate ourselves from our own limitations and strive
towards freedom in our personal lives. At the end of this reading, say the
blessing over the second cup. P.8

Rachtzah - Washing Hands

We prepare ourselves to eat matzah by again washing our hands. Pour some
water over your right hand three times, then over your left hand three times.
Say the appropriate blessing and dry your hands. P.22

Motzei - Thank G-d for Bread

Raise the three matzahs together-the top one, the broken middle one and the
bottom one-and say the blessing. Then return the bottom matzah to the Seder
Plate. P.22

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Matzah - Bless the Matzah

Recite the blessing on the top and (broken) middle matzah. Break off a piece
from each of these two matzahs for yourself and for each of those sitting at your
table. It is customary to recline while eating matzah, the bread of freedom. P.22

Marror - Bitter Herbs

Marror evokes the bitter taste of slavery in Egypt. Dip the marror into the
charoset, which recalls the mortar of the pyramids the Jews built in Egypt, and
then say the blessing. Do not recline while eating marror – as it is a food of
slavery, and reclining evokes freedom. P.22

Korech – Sandwich
Make a marror & charoset sandwich! This is a custom that Hillel, a famous
Rabbi in the Talmud, used to do, in order to fuse together the various foods and
their symbols: we bring the bitter and the sweet together, and the food of
freedom together with the food of slavery, realizing how closely linked they are,
grateful that our lives are sweet and free. P.23

Shulchan Orech - Festive Meal

It is the custom of some to begin the meal with eating the egg on the Seder
Plate, dipped in saltwater. The egg symbolizes the cycle of life. Now, finally, it’s
time to eat. Enjoy your meal!!! P.23

Tzafun - Out of Hiding

At the conclusion of the Passover meal, the Afikoman (which had been set aside
at the beginning of the Seder) is eaten. Afikoman is a Greek word that means
dessert. It is the last thing that should be eaten on the Seder night. P.23

Bairach - Grace after the Meal

The third cup is now filled. Say the grace after the meal and then the
appropriate blessing for wine, and drink this cup while reclining. The Cup of
Elijah is customarily filled at this time, and Eliyahu Hanavi, Elijah the Prophet,
is sung. This song symbolizes a hope for a time of peace and wholeness, a time
of true freedom for the world. P.24

Hallel - Out of Hiding

"Songs of Praise" are now offered. Sing them to your heart's content! At the
end, say a blessing and drink the fourth and final cup while reclining. P.25

Nirtzah - Acceptance

The steps of the Seder have been integrated into our consciousness and
accepted. Now we pause, take a deep breath, and reflect on our experience: We
examined our personal challenges through the slavery of our ancestors, and we
achieved a personal freedom by re-exploringthe Exodus. We end the Seder with
a prayer for peace. P.27

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 Kadesh – Sanctifying the Meal with the Blessing Over Wine
Fill your cup with wine or grape juice. This is the first of four cups you'll enjoy
at tonight's Seder. Everyone stands and recites the blessing over the wine
together, and the leader recites the middle paragraph. Everyone concludes with
a blessing celebrating the joy of being together in health for this year’s Seder.

Welcome to All! Savri, Maranan Verabotai,

Baruch ata Adonai, Eloheinu melech haolam, borei pri hagafen.

Blessed are You, Lord our G-d, King of the universe, who creates the fruit of the vine.

Blessed are You, G-d, our G-d, King of the universe, who has chosen us from among all people,
and raised us above all tongues, and made us holy through His commandments. And You, G-d,
our G-d, have given us in love festivals for happiness, feasts and festive seasons for rejoicing the
day of this Feast of Matzot and this Festival of holy convocation, the Season of our Freedom, a
holy convocation, commemorating the departure from Egypt. For You have chosen us and
sanctified us from all the nations, and You have given us as a heritage Your holy Festivals, in
happiness and joy. Blessed are You, G-d, who sanctifies Israel and the festive seasons.

Baruch ata Adonai, Eloheinu melech haolam, shehechiyanu, vekiyemanu, vehigiyanu lazman hazeh

Blessed are You, Lord our G-d, King of the universe, who has granted us life, sustained us, and
enabled us to reach this occasion.

What’s Kiddush About?

The word lekadesh means to sanctify- to make holy, or to separate. Each Jewish holiday begins
with the declaration that the coming days are separate from all other days, they are holy and
sanctified, crevices in time, elevated above the daily and the normal. This distinction is made
over a cup of wine, for wine since wine symbolizes the most basic and least holy of all substances,
it is a strong symbol that even the most mundane can be made spiritual, and even the most
profane has the potential for holiness. In elevating this cup of wine and using it to sanctify time,
we assert the possibility that holiness can be revealed in all things, and assert as well that we have
a special ability to recognize holiness, and even to create it.

On Pesach, the Kiddush’s meaning is magnified because the wine symbolizes freedom. Wine is
the rich man’s beverage. It also symbolizes uninhibitedness – a type of freedom. But here again
the Jewish understanding of freedom is alluded to, for we do not drink without restraint, but
rather in a controlled manner, in the context of the Seder. Freedom is within the context of
boundaries. Wine is also a symbol of joy and pleasure, and we drink this wine in celebration of
our redemption and our freedom. It is customary to pour wine for one another at the Seder.

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 Urchatz - Washing Hands
Fill a cup with water. Pour some water over your right hand three times, then
over your left hand three times. There is no blessing recited at this point.

We eat Karpas, a fresh taste of newfound freedom, a product of the spring, yet we mix it
with salt water, memories of bitterness and tears. The pendulum continues to swing
between freedom and slavery, redemption and servitude, setting the stage for the
Matzah, which embodies both, and for the discussion of the Exodus.

Karpas - The Appetizer

We dip a green vegetable into saltwater, and say the following blessing:

Baruch ata Adonai, Eloheinu melech haolam, borei pri ha’adamah.

Blessed are You, Lord our G-d, King of the universe, who creates the fruit of the earth.

Yachatz - Break the Matzah

Take the middle matzah from your Seder Plate and break it into two. The larger piece becomes the
Afikoman, the dessert matzah, which is needed in order to conclude the Seder.

Children are encouraged to participate in the Seder –

one of the important aspects of the Seder is to pass on the Exodus from generation to generation.
Many aspects of the Seder exist simply to involve children, and keep them awake and engaged
throughout the long evening. At many Seders, children “steal” the Afikoman from the Seder
leader, and hide it. The adults then try to find the Afikoman, and if they are unable to, children
can bargain with parents for treats – since they know that the Afikoman is needed to conclude the
Seder. This hide-and-seek game is a wonderful way to engage the children who may be
participating in your Seder.

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 What’s Matzah About?

Matzah is referred to as “lechem oni,” poor man’s bread. We eat it in order to remember the
poverty the Jews suffered while they were slaves in Egypt. The Seder, though, is a celebration of
freedom. Why eat poor man’s bread at a feast of freedom? The Matzah helps to remind us that
Pesach is a celebration of the beginning of freedom. The Exodus is only the beginning of a
process, which has not been completed. Matzah reminds us that we are at an inchoate stage in
the redemption process. “Lechem oni” is also explained as “lechem sheonin alav harbe,” the
bread over which many questions are answered. Here the Rabbis are playing with the word “oni,”
which means poverty in Hebrew, but sounds like the Hebrew word “oneh,” which means to
answer. The Matzah sparks many questions, and so it too is an educational tool during the Seder.

Matzah also reminds us of the hurriedness with which the Jews left Egypt. The Jews had to rush
out of Egypt in the middle of the night, and did not have time to let their bread rise. There is a
phrase in Hebrew that says “mitzvah haba’a leyadcha, al tachmitzena” – when you have the
potential to to do something worthwhile and good, act at once, lest you loose the chance to do it.
Matzah, symbolizes that immediate action, that ability to respond quickly, and take advantage of
opportunity. Had the Jews let their bread rise, they might never have left Egypt. Matzah reminds
us of this, and challenges us to be as perceptive and active in our own lives.

Finally, matzah must be closely watched and regulated when it is being made, for it should not
stay in the oven over eighteen minutes – lest it rise into bread. It is not allowed to fulfill its
potential and to rise. This concept of matzah reveals another angle on the Jewish concept of
freedom: when freedom is unregulated, it can grow and expand out of control, and become
meaningless. Passover is the beginning of freedom – it is a holiday during which we celebrate all
of the potential we have as a free nation, as free individuals. But when we try and grab all of that
freedom at once, we may harm ourselves. Matzah reminds us to tread the path of freedom and its
potential carefully.

Maggid - Retelling the Story

The Seder Plate is moved aside and the second cup of wine is filled. The story of
the Exodus is retold and explored. The Exodus from Egypt is not
commemorated only as a historic event, but also as a dynamic process that
occurs daily as we emancipate ourselves from our own limitations and strive
towards freedom in our personal lives. At the end of this reading, say the
blessing over the second cup.

"When a day passes, it is no longer there. What remains of it? Nothing more than
a story. If stories weren't told or books weren't written, humans would live like
the beasts, only for the day." (Isaac Bashevis Singer)

Reb Zebulun said, "Today we live, but by tomorrow today will be a story. The
whole world, all human life, is one long story."

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 Maggid begins with an invitation to all who are
hungry - physically, spiritually, emotionally – let all come together on this night,
and experience freedom.

Raise the tray with the matzot and say:

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

The Four Questions – Mah Nishtanah?

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 Mah nishtana halayla hazeh mikol haleilot? Mikol Haleilot?

Shebechol haleilot anu ochleen chametz umatsah, chametz umatzah.

Halaila hazeh, halaila hazeh, kulo matzah. Halaila hazeh, halaila hazeh, kulo matzah.

Shebechol haleilot, anu ochlim she’ar yerakot, she’ar yerakot, halaila hazeh halaila
hazeh kulo maror, halaila hazeh halaila hazeh kulo maror.

Shebechol haleilot, ein anu matbilin afilu pa’am echat, afilu pa’am echat, halaila hazeh
halaila hazeh shtei pe’amim, halaila hazeh halaila hazeh shtei pe’amim.

Shebechol haleilot, anu ochlin bein yoshvin uvein mesubin, bein yoshvin uvein mesubin,
halaila hazeh halaila hazeh kulanu mesubin, halaila hazeh halaila hazeh kulanu
mesubin.

What makes this night different from all [other] nights?

On all nights we need not dip even once, on this night we do so twice!

On all nights we eat bread or matzah, and on this night only matzah.

On all nights we eat any kind of vegetables, and on this night we eat marror!

On all nights we eat sitting upright or reclining, and on this night we all recline!

The Power of Questions:

Isidor I. Rabi, the Nobel laureate in physics was once asked, "Why did you become a scientist,
rather than a doctor or lawyer or businessman, like the other immigrant kid in your
neighborhood?" "My mother made me a scientist without ever intending it. Every other Jewish
mother in Brooklyn would ask her child after school: 'Nu? Did you learn anything today?' But not
my mother. She always asked me a different question. 'Izzy,' she would say, 'Did you ask a good
question today?' That difference - asking good questions - made me become a scientist."

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 Songs of Freedom

Avadim Hayinu –

Avadim hayinu, hayinu, le’Pharoh bemitzrayim, bemitzrayim,

Avadim hayinu, ata ata b'nei horin, b'nei horin.

We were Slaves to Pharaoh in Egypt, and now we are free!

Let My People Go

When Israel was in Egypt land

Let My People go

Oppressed so hard they could not stand

Let My People go.

Go down, Moses

Way down in Egypt land

Tell old Pharaoh to Let My People go. (African-American Spiritual)

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 If I Had a Hammer

If I had a hammer
I'd hammer in the morning
I'd hammer in the evening ... all over this land,
I'd hammer out danger
I'd hammer out a warning
I'd hammer out love between all of my brothers and my sisters
All over this land.

If I had a bell
I'd ring it in the morning
I'd ring it in the evening ... all over this land,
I'd ring out danger
I'd ring out a warning
I'd ring out love between all of my brothers and my sisters
All over this land.

If I had a song
I'd sing it in the morning
I'd sing it in the evening ... all over this world,
I'd sing out danger
I'd sing out a warning
I'd sing out love between all of my brothers and my sisters
All over this land.

Well I've got a hammer

And I've got a bell
And I've got a song to sing ... all over this land,
It's a hammer of justice
It's a bell of freedom
It's a song about love between all of my brothers and my sisters
All over this land.
(Words and music by L. Hays and P. Seeger)

Amazing Grace
Amazing grace! How sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me
I once was lost, but now I’m found, was blind, but now I see

‘Twas grace that taught my heart to fear, and grace my fears relieved
How precious did that grace appear the hour I first believed

Through many dangers, toils and snares I have already come

‘Tis grace hath brought me safe thus far, and grace will lead me home

The Lord has promised good to me; His word my hope secures
He will my shield and portion be as long as life endures

Yes, when this flesh and heart shall fail, and mortal life shall cease
I shall possess, within the veil, a life of joy and peace. (African-American Spiritual)

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Meditations on Freedom & Hope
That's the difficulty in these times: ideals, dreams, and cherished hopes rise within us, only to
meet the horrible truth and be shattered. It's really a wonder that I haven't dropped all my
ideals, because they seem so absurd and impossible to carry out. Yet I keep them, because in
spite of everything I still believe that people are really good at heart. I simply can't build up my
hopes on a foundation consisting of confusion, misery and death. I see the world gradually
being turned into a wilderness. I hear the ever-approaching thunder, which will destroy us, too.
I can feel the suffering millions - and yet, if I look up into the heavens, I think it will come out
all right, that this cruelty too will end, and that peace and tranquility will return again. In the
meantime, I must uphold my ideals, for perhaps the time will come when I shall be able to carry
them out. (Diary of Anne Frank, Amsterdam 1944)

My thinking had been opened wide in Mecca. I'm for truth, no matter who tells it. I'm for justice,
no matter who it is for or against. I'm a human being first and foremost, and as such I'm for
whoever and whatever benefits humanity as a whole." (El-Hajj Malik el-Shabazz, The
Autobiography of Malcolm X)

ON THE HIGHROAD
There’s a tinkling in the pasture and a whistling
And the field lies in gold till evening
A hush of green wells,
My wide open spaces and a road.

The trees risen from the dew

Gleam like glass and metal.
I shall never stop looking, I shall never stop breathing
And I shall die and will keep going. (Natan Alterman, Israeli Poet, 1910=1970)

It was during those long and lonely years that my hunger for the freedom of my own people
became a hunger for the freedom of all people, white and black. I knew as well as I knew anything
that the oppressor must be liberated just as surely as the oppressed. A man who takes away
another man’s freedom is a prisoner of hatred, he is locked behind the bars of prejudice and
narrow-mindedness. I am not truly free if I am taking away someone else’s freedom, just as surely
as I am not free when my freedom is taken from me. The oppressed and the oppressor alike are
robbed of their humanity. (Nelson Mandela)

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Prayer is meaningless unless it is subversive, unless it seeks to overthrow and to ruin the
pyramids of callousness, hatred, opportunism, falsehoods. The liturgical movement must become
a revolutionary movement, seeking to overthrow the forces that continue to destroy the promise,
the hope, the vision. (Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel, 1970)

I have the audacity to believe that peoples everywhere can have three meals a day for their bodies,
education and culture for their minds, and dignity, equality and freedom for their spirits. I believe
that what self-centered men have torn down, men other-centered can build up. I still believe that
one day mankind will bow before the altars of God and be crowned triumphant over war and
bloodshed, and nonviolent redemptive goodwill will proclaim the rule of the land. "And the lion
and the lamb shall lie down together and every man shall sit under his own vine and fig tree and
none shall be afraid." (Isaiah, 11) I still believe that we shall overcome. (Martin Luther King, Jr.
Nobel Prize Acceptance Speech, December 10, 1964)

No matter what part of the world we come from, we are all basically the same human beings. We
all seek happiness and try to avoid suffering. We have the same basic human needs and concerns.
All of us human beings want freedom and the right to determine our own destiny as individuals
and as peoples. That is human nature. (His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Nobel Prize Acceptance
Speech, December 1989)

We shall overcome,
We shall overcome.
We shall overcome some day!
Deep in my heart, I do believe,
We shall overcome some day.
We'll walk hand in hand...
(Repeat as "We shall overcome," above)
Black and white together... (Repeat...)
Christian, Muslim, Jew (Repeat)
We are not afraid... (Repeat...)
The people shalI be free... (Repeat...)
We shall live in peace... (Repeat...)
We shall overcome!
(African-American Spiritual)

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 THE FOUR CHILDREN
The number four is very significant in the Passover Seder. The holiday of Passover has four
names – Chag HaPesach, the holiday of passing over, which alludes to God’s passing over the
homes of the Israelites when smiting the Egyptians with plagues. Chag Haaviv, the holiday of
spring, symbolizing renewal and rebirth. Chag Hamatzot, the holiday of matzah, and all of its
rich significance, and Chag Hacheirut, the holiday of freedom and redemption.

We drink four cups of wine during the Seder as well. Each cup corresponds to a verb in the
Exodus story describing redemption: vehotzeiti, vehitzalti, vega’alti, velakachti. The process of
redemption is a four-step process: being brought out of slavery, physically, being saved from
slavery, emotionally and mentally, being redeemed as an individual and re-attaining personal
freedom, and being brought to a new place, a place of new potential.

And now we read about the Four Children. What do they represent? One idea is that they
represent different aspects of one individual, when confronted with this holiday, or even with
Judaism in general. There is a part of each of us that is knowledgeable about what is occurring,
and that is curious and excited to learn more. There is a part of each of us that in some way
sometimes feels like we want to dismiss this all as nonsense, that wants to separate ourselves
from it. There is a part of each of us that approaches this with wide eyes, overwhelmed by all
that is occurring around us. And then there is a part of us that feels ignorant about our own
religion, so ignorant that we do not even know how to ask about it, or where to begin to
approach it. The four children represent each complex individual sitting at the Seder.

The wise one, what does he say? "What are the testimonies, the statutes and the laws which the Lord,
our G-d, has commanded you?" You, in turn, shall instruct him in the laws of Passover, [up to] `one is not to
eat any dessert after the Passover-lamb.'

The wicked one, what does he say? "What is this service to you?!" He says `to you,' but not to him! By
thus excluding himself from the community he has denied that which is fundamental. You, therefore, blunt
his teeth and say to him: "It is because of this that the Lord did for me when I left Egypt"; `for me' - but not
for him! If he had been there, he would not have been redeemed!"

The simpleton, what does he say? "What is this?" Thus you shall say to him: "With a strong hand the
Lord took us out of Egypt, from the house of slaves."

As for the one who does not know how to ask, you must initiate him, as it is said: "You shall tell your
child on that day, `It is because of this that the Lord did for me when I left Egypt.'"

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 Tanya Zion (Israel, 1996)

"The Ideal Jewish Daughter" reflects not only the inclusion of daughters into the art of the four
"sons" but also the confusion of role models they face. Traditionally, guns and trucks
"belonged" to boys and Barbie dolls to girls, but the artist presents them tongue-in-cheek as the
"bad" and "good" girl. Around the frame we see the variety of real life options available.

Women in the Passover Story

Woman play a special role in the Passover story. The Bible, in the Book of Exodus, tells of the
Jewish midwives’ heroic resistance to Pharaoh’s evil decree to drown all male children born to
Jewish women. The midwives, despite the risk, saved all of these children, and delivered them
safely to life. Al Axelrod, the Hillel rabbi at Brandeis University in the 1960's, established this
annual award for non-violent resistance to tyranny. He named it after these midwives, Shifrah
and Puah, who resisted and outsmarted Pharoah and saved the Hebrew infants from drowning (in
Tel Aviv the maternity hospital is located at the intersection of Shifra and Puah street). A good
example for someone who deserved this award is Harriet Tubman, who escaped in 1849 from her
plantation in Maryland with the help of the "Underground Railroad". Soon she became a major
"conductor" bringing more than 300 slaves to freedom. Despite the high price on her head, her
faith in God gave her the courage to persist, and earned her the nickname "Moses of her people".
To whom would you give the Shifrah & Puah award this year?

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It is said that when Pharaoh made the decree that all male Jewish babies be drowned, the Jewish
men separated themselves from their wives, saying that there was no reason to have children
when they would immediately be killed. There is a Midrash (a biblical story-commentary) that
says that when Miriam, Moses’s older sister, saw that her father Amram was no longer with her
mother, Yocheved, Miriam said – Father! Pharaoh wants to kill all of the Jewish boys. But you,
by separating yourself from Mother, are taking life from all Jewish children, the girls as well! And
that very night Amram returned to Yocheved, and Moses was conceived. At some Seders people
have a sixth cup in honor of Moshe’s sister Miriam. It is filled not with wine but with water, for
according to the Midrash, while Miriam was alive the Jews always had water in the desert, and it
was because of her merit that a well followed them from one location to another.

"When Israel performed hard labor in Egypt, Pharaoh decreed that the men must not sleep in
their homes, so that they would not engage in sexual relations. R. Shimon bar Halafta said: What
did the daughters of Israel do? They went down to draw water from the Nile and God would bring
little fish into their jars. They cooked some of the fish and sold the rest, buying wine with the
proceeds. Then they went out to the fields and fed their husbands. After eating and drinking, the
women would take out bronze mirrors and look at them with their husbands. The wife would say
"I'm prettier than you," and the husband would reply, "I'm more beautiful than you." Thus they
would arouse themselves to desire and they would then "be fruitful and multiply."

Years later, when God told Moses to build a tabernacle in the desert, all Israel came to volunteer
beautiful things. Some brought gold and silver. The women said, "What do we have, to donate to
the tabernacle?" They took their bronze mirrors and brought them to Moses.

At first, Moses became angry and refused to accept the mirrors since their function is to arouse
jealousy and sexual desire. God said to Moses: "Moses, do you dare scorn these mirrors? They are
more precious to Me than all the other donations, because through these mirrors the women gave
birth in Egypt to all these multitudes. Take them and make them into the bronze basin, with
which the priests will purify themselves" (Tanhuma Pikudei 9).

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 The Ten Plagues

These are the Ten Plagues which the Holy One, blessed be He, brought upon the Egyptians, namely as follows:

When saying the ten plagues, spill ten drops of wine from your cup. These spilt drops of wine reflect the pain that we feel that our
freedom came at the expense of another people’s pain and suffering. As we spill these drops of wine and remember the price of our
freedom, we pray that today we learn to achieve freedom through compassion, dialogue, and respect, so that one individual and
one nation’s freedom does not come at the expense of another nation’s or individual’s freedom and rights.

Dam - Blood
Tzefardeah - Frogs
Kinim - Lice
Arov - Wild Beasts
Dever - Pestilence
Schin - Boils
Barad - Hail
Arbeh - Locust
Choshech - Darkness
Makat Bechorot -Slaying of the First-born

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Dayenu

Eelu hotzi’ hotzi'anu, hotzi'anu mi-Mitzrayim,

V'lo asah vahem sh'fatim, dayenu.

Day day yeinu, day day yeinu, day day yeinu, dayeinu dayeinu!

Day day yeinu, day day yeinu, day day yeinu, dayeinu dayeinu!

If God had only taken us out of Egypt, and hadn’t done it so miraculously, it
would have been enough! If God had only split the Red Sea, and hadn’t given us
the Torah, it would have been enough! If God had only given us the Torah, and
hadn’t brought us into the Land of Israel, it would have been enough! Dayenu!

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The Afghani Onion Free-for-All

If things at your Seder are slowing down and people seem drowsy, try the Afghani custom of
distributing green onions during the song “Dayenu”. Participants hit each other (gently?) with the
green onion stalks, every time they sing the refrain "Da-yeinu".

Perhaps this custom refers to the biblical history of the Jews who
complained about the manna God had given them and recalled with longing the onions in Egypt.
“We remember the fish that we used to eat in Egypt, the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, the
ONIONS and the garlic. Now our gullets are shriveled. There is nothing at all. Nothing but this
manna to look at" (Numbers 11:5-6). By beating each other with onions we admonish ourselves
not to yearn for the fleshpots of Egypt and not to forget the Egyptian bondage.

PERSONALIZING REDEMPTION

Rabban Gamliel used to say: Whoever does not say these three things on Passover has not fulfilled
her obligation. And these are: Pesach, Matzah, and Maror.

Pesach – What is its meaning? It is because God passed over our ancestor’s houses in Egypt.
Matzah – What is its meaning? It is because our ancestors were redeemed from Egypt.
Maror – What is its meaning? It is because the Egyptians embittered our ancestors’ lives in
Egypt.

In every generation, it is your obligation to see yourself as if you had personally

gone out from Egypt.

(Tractate Pesachim Chapter 10, Mishnah 5)

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The word for Egypt in Hebrew is Mitzrayim, which literally means, “a narrow place.” As you
experience the Seder, try to go around the table and share with those at your meal some personal
thoughts and reflections about ‘slavery’ and ‘freedom’ in your own life.
What is your mitzrayim – narrow place?

 What are the challenges, difficulties, and limitations of that place?

 Why do you want to leave?

 What must you leave behind when you go?

 What will you take with you?

 Where will you go? What is the “Promised Land?”

 How will you get there?

 Will you go alone? Is there room for others?

 How does the exodus occur?

 Include three symbols that depict your exodus.

2nd Cup of Wine

This brings us to the end of the Maggid section. We now say the blessing over and drink the
second cup of wine while reclining:

Baruch ata Adonai elohaynu melech ha'olam boray pri ha'gafen

Praised are you, Lord our G-d, Sovereign of the Universe, who creates
the fruit of the vine.

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 Rachtzah - Washing Hands
We prepare ourselves to eat matzah by again
washing our hands. Pour some water over your right
hand three times, then over your left hand three
times. Say the appropriate blessing and dry your
hands.
Blessed are You, L-rd, our G-d, King of the universe, who has sanctified us with His
commandments and commanded us concerning the washing of the hands.

One should not speak until after making the next 2 blessings and eating the Matza.
Motzei - Thank G-d for Bread
Raise the three matzahs together-the top
one, the broken middle one and the
bottom one-and say the blessing. Then
return the bottom matzah to the Seder
Plate.

Blessed are You, Lord our G-d, King of the universe, who
brings forth bread from the earth.

Blessed are You, Lord our G-d, King of the universe, who has sanctified us with His
commandments and commanded us concerning the eating of Matza.

Marror – Bitter Herbs

Dip the marror into the charoset and say the following blessing:

Blessed are You, Lord our G-d, King of the universe, who has sanctified us with His
commandments and commanded us concerning the eating of Marror.

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 Korech – Sandwich

Make a marror & charoset sandwich! This is a custom that Hillel, a famous Rabbi in the Talmud,
used to do, in order to fuse together the various foods and their symbols: we bring the bitter and
the sweet together, and the food of freedom together with the food of slavery, realizing how
closely linked they are, grateful that our lives are sweet and free. Recite:

Thus did Hilel do at the time of the Temple: He would combine Matza and Maror and
eat them together, as it said: "They shall eat it with Matza and bitter herbs."

Shulchan Orech - Festive Meal

It is the custom of some to begin the meal with eating the egg on the Seder Plate, dipped in
saltwater. The egg symbolizes the cycle of life. Now, finally, it’s time to eat. Enjoy your meal!!!

Tzafun - Out of Hiding

At this point in the Seder, after you have retrieved and eaten the Afikoman at the end of your
meal, it is customary to open the door for Elijah – the prophet who symbolizes redemption. If you
look very closely at Elijah’s cup of wine on the Seder plate, you might even see him take a little
sip! While the door is open, Eliyahu Hanavi, Elijah the Prophet, is sung. This song symbolizes a
hope for a time of peace and wholeness, a time of true freedom for the world.

Eliyahu Hanavi

Eliyahu Hanavi, Eliyahu Hagiladi, (Elijah the Prophet, Elijah the Savior)
Eliyahu, Eliyahu, Eliyahu Hanavi,
Bimhera Yavo Eleinu , Yavo Eleinu, (He will soon come to us)

Im Mashiach Ben David, Im Mashiach Ben David (Bringing redemption)

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 Bareich - Grace after the Meal
The third cup is now filled, and the grace after meal is said.

Baruch ata Adonai, eloheinu melech haolam, hazan et haolam kulo betuvo beechen
bechesed uvrachamim. Hu noten lechem lechol bassar ki le’olam chasdo, uvetuvo
hagadol, tamid lo chasar lanu ve’al yechsar lanu mazon le’olam va’ed. Baavur shemo
hagadol, ki hu el zan umefarnes lakol, umetiv lakol umechin mazon lechol beriyotav
asher bara. Baruch ata Adonai, hazan et hakol.

Blessed are You, Lord our G-d, King of the universe, who, in His goodness, feeds
the whole world with grace, with kindness and with mercy. He gives food to all flesh, for
His kindness is everlasting. Through His great goodness to us continuously we d o not
lack food, and may we never lack it, for the sake of His great Name. For He is a
[benevolent] G-d who feeds and sustains all, does good to all, and prepares food for all
His creatures whom He has created, as it is said: You open Your hand and satisfy the
desire of every living thing. Blessed are You Lord, who provides food for all.

3rd Cup of Wine

We now say the blessing over and drink the third cup of wine while reclining:

Baruch ata Adonai elohaynu melech ha'olam boray pri ha'gafen

Praised are you, Lord our G-d, Sovereign of the Universe, who creates the fruit
of the vine.

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 Hallel – Songs of Praise

With a full belly, a mind and soul filled with innovative ideas about redemption and freedom, how
can you resist singing?

Hineh Mah Tov Uma’naim – How Good and Sweet It Is!

Hinei ma tov uma na-im Behold, how good and how pleasant it is
shevet achim gam yachad for brothers to dwell together in unity

Heveinu Shalom Aleichem – Peace Be Unto You!

Heiveinu shalom aleichem Peace unto you

Oseh Shalom Bimromav – God Creates Peace

Oseh shalom bimromav God creates peace in God’s realm

Hu Ya’aseh shalom aleinu And God will create peace in our realm
Ve’al kol yisrael And for all of Israel
Ve’imru, imru amen And we say, Amen!
Ya’aseh shalom, ya’aseh shalom, shalom aleinu ve’al kol yisrael

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 Chad Gadya – One Little Goat

Chad gadya, chad gadya, One little goat, one little goat
dizvin aba bitrei zuzei that Father bought for two zuzim
Chad gadya, chad gadya One little goat, one little goat

Echad Mi Yodaya -- Who Knows One?

Who knows one? I know one!
One is haShem, one is haShem, one is haShem, in the heavens and on earth.

Who knows two? I know two!

Two are the tablets that Moshe brought,
And one is haShem, one is haShem, one is haShem, in the heavens and on earth.

Who knows three? I know three!

Three are the Papas,
Two are the tablets that Moshe brought,
And one is haShem, one is haShem, one is haShem, in the heavens and on earth.

Who knows four? I know four!

Four are the Mamas, three are the Papas,
Two are the tablets that Moshe brought,
And one is haShem, one is haShem, one is haShem, in the heavens and on earth.

Who knows five? I know five!

Five are the books of the Torah,
Four are the Mamas, three are the Papas,
Two are the tablets that Moshe brought,
And one is haShem, one is haShem, one is haShem, in the heavens and on earth.

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 Od Yavo Shalom Aleinu – Peace Will Come, Peace Will Come

Od yavoh shalom aleinu v'al kulam Peace will come to us and to all
Salam, aleinu v'al kol ha'olam, salam, salam Peace, to us and to the world

L'shana Haba'ah

L'shana haba'ah b'y'rushalayim, Next year in Jerusalem, the city of wholeness

L'shana haba'ah b'y'rushalayim ha'b'nuyah Next year in Jerusalem, the city of peace

Nirtzah - Acceptance

The steps of the Seder have been integrated into our consciousness and accepted. Now we pause,
take a deep breath, and reflect on our experience: we examined our personal challenges through
the slavery of our ancestors, and we achieved a personal freedom by re-exploring that story.

We end the Seder with a prayer for peace.

4th Cup of Wine We now say the blessing over and drink the final cup of wine while reclining:

Baruch ata Adonai elohaynu melech ha'olam boray pri ha'gafen

Praised are you, Lord our G-d, Sovereign of the Universe, who creates the fruit
of the vine.

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As we drink the last cup of wine, and finish the Seder, we pray that we be blessed
with a year of personal, national, and global redemption.

A Prayer for Peace

May it be Your will, O Lord our G-d and G-d of our ancestors, to banish war and
bloodshed from the world, and to establish great and wonderful peace in the world. And
nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore. All
the inhabitants of the earth will know the truth – that we did not come into this world to
argue and quarrel, Heaven forbid, nor for hatred and jealousy and bloodshed, Heaven
forbid. We came into this world to know You, Eternal One. And so have mercy on us, and
fulfill the promise that peace will come to the earth, and you will dwell without fear, and
justice will lap upon the earth’s shores like the waves, and mercy like a fierce river. And
the world will be full of awe and knowledge, and love and kindness, Amen.

(Rabbi Natan Steinhartz, 1780-1845)

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Acknowledgements:

Graphics & Images Taken From:

www.jafi.org.il/education/hartman/home.html (pp. 1, 2, 10, 15, 16, 17, 18, 20)

http://www.chabad.org/holidays/passover/pesach.asp?AID=1759 (pp. 4-8, 22-25)

http://www.library.yale.edu/judaica/exhibits/haggadah (pp.21, 24,27,28)

http://www.jdc.org.il/fsu/pesach/english/mus1.html (pp. 9, 11, 26)

Seder Order Text Taken From: http://www.chabad.org/holidays/passover/pesach.asp?AID=1759

(pp. 4-8, 22-25)

Blessings Taken From: http://www.akhlah.com/holidays/pesach/blessings.asp (pp.21-22, 24, 27)

Afghani Onion Free for All, The Power of Questions, & Women in Passover Taken From:
www.jafi.org.il/education/hartman/home.html (pp. 10, 16-17, 20)

Explanations for Seder Rituals Written by: Maya Bernstein

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