Ben Kodesh LChol MMatzah LHametz A Ceremony for the End of Pesach by Rabbi Daniel Gropper

Introductory Note: First of all, this, like all Jewish works, is a work in progress. I am not aware of any ceremony currently existing aside from a basic havdallah ceremony that might make a distinction between the end of Pesach and the rest of the year. The truth is that the impetus for this ceremony came from a real distaste for Matzah. While Pesach celebrates our freedom from bondage, it is during Pesach that I feel very constricted (in both a literal and metaphoric sense). A time where I am not free to eat what I want to eat is for me, a narrow place1. Therefore, it is my intention that with this ceremony, we celebrate our true freedom. Our true ability to choose how we fill our bodies and our souls.

The Ceremony Begins: For seven days we have become one with the generation of the wilderness. We have left our own Mitzrayim, our own narrow places, to journey to freedom. Yet any journey towards freedom must involve an element of retreat, a degree of traveling downwards into the depths of servitude in order to fully understand freedom. As Rabbi Nachman of Bratslav, commenting on the beginning of Parashat Bo said, Moses had to go down into Paroh, into the depths of slavery before he could bring the Israelites out of Egypt. Like Moses, we have spent a better part of the past seven days in Paroh, and now we are ready to emerge into freedom. This, our Zman Matan Heruteinu. Our Torah Commands:

Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread; on the very first day you shall remove leaven from your houses . . . (Exodus 12:15)

We cleaned our homes, scoured our kitchens, bought matzah, matzah meal, and kosher lpesach Coca-cola. We said motzi over matzah at our seder and at our Shabbat dinner, we ate fried matzah, matzah pizza, and matzah with whatever we could think would go with it.

You shall celebrate a sacred occasion on the first day . . . (Exodus 12:16) We celebrated with one, two or more sedarim. We asked questions, gave answers, told stories, and sang songs. We drank four cups of wine, ate gefilte fish, and searched for the afikoman.

You shall observe the Feast of Unleavened Bread, for on this very day I brought your ranks out of the land of Egypt; you shall observe this day throughout the ages as an institution for all time . . . (Exodus 12:17) We found ways to explore the forms of bondage we find ourselves in today, we thought of ways to make the holiday of Pesach meaningful for our modern lives, and we made promises, wishes, and blessings for our friends and families in the years ahead so that next year we will be a little closer to the heavenly Jerusalem.
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In the first month, from the fourteenth day of the month at evening, you shall eat unleavened bread until the twenty-first day of the month at evening. No leaven shall be found in your houses for seven days (Exodus 12:18 19). And so this evening we stand, on the precipice between time. Between that which is holy and that which is secular. Between the holiday of Pesach and the rest of the year, between the 21st of the month of Nisan and the 22nd. We stand at a time when the grain is beginning to grow in the land of Israel, when our houses are filled more with crumbs of matzah than crumbs of chametz, and when our bodies ache for the taste of bread and other products filled with leaven.

Therefore, let us make havdallah to distinguish between holy times and less holy times. While havdallah is usually made over wine to symbolize the sweetness of Shabbat and the hope that we will see a time when everyday is Shabbat, we make this havdallah over beer.2 Beer dates itself back to the time of the Pharaoh and is made with wheat. It is possible to imagine that our ancestors, hot and tired after a days work in the sun baked deserts of Egypt, would come home and open up a cold one. But it is also possible to believe that under a regime of slavery, such a beverage was forbidden to them. Therefore, our havdallah recognizes our ability to drink as free people and to re-enter our regular lives with the first tastes of Chametz.

HAVDALLAH CEREMONY For the Beer:

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Ba-ruch A-tah A-do-nai E-lo-hei-nu Me-lech Ha-O-lam She-Ha-Kol Ne-He-Ye Bid-VaRoh. Blessed are You Adonai our God, Ruler of the Universe at whose word all things come into existence. For the Spices:
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Ba-ruch A-tah A-do-nai E-lo-hei-nu Me-lech Ha-O-lam Bo-rei Mi-nei B-sa-meem Blessed are You Adonai our God, Ruler of the Universe, who creates all types of spices.

For the Candle:

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Ba-ruch A-tah A-do-nai E-lo-hei-nu Me-lech Ha-O-lam, Bo-rei M-o-rei Ha-Aish Blessed are You Adonai our God, Ruler of the Universe, who creates the lights of the fire. For the Separation:
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Ba-ruch A-tah A-do-nai E-lo-hei-nu Me-lech Ha-O-lam Ha-Mav-deel Bain Ko-desh LChol Blessed are You Adonai our God, Ruler of the Universe, who makes a distinction between sacred and secular.

The Festive Meal

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On the day after the Passover offering, on that very day, they ate of the produce of the country, unleavened bread and parched grain. The next day, when they ate of the produce of the land, the manna ceased. The Israelites got no more manna; that year they ate of the yield of the land of Canaan. (Joshua 5:11-12)

As we are no longer restricted by time to what we may and may not eat, and like our ancestors of old who reached the promised land and ate of a land flowing with milk and honey, we now end our servitude to matzah. We may now eat from any and all of the foods that we as free people choose to eat.

Ha Motzi
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Ba-ruch A-tah A-do-nai E-lo-hei-nu Me-lech Ha-O-lam, Ha-Motzee Le-chem Min HaAretz. Blessed are You Adonai our God, Ruler of the Universe, who brings forth bread from the earth.

The Festival Meal: Lets Eat! Traditional End of Pesach Food: The best pizza you can find. Traditional End of Pesach Drink: High Class Designer Beer Dessert: (Cake or pie) Tzedakah: At the end of Birkat HaMazon, there is a line that reads, - VLo Ra iti Tzaddik Neezav vzaro mevakesh lechem I never saw a righteous so forsaken that his children were begging for bread. At the literal level, we know this statement is false. And no matter how we might interpret it, there are righteous people whose children are hungry. We who are free and can choose what we want to eat and when, must remember that many are enslaved by hunger every day of their lives. Our tradition commands us to leave the corners of our fields and the gleanings of our reaping for the powerless in our society. Let all who are hungry come and eat is a statement that we should make every day, not only at our Passover table. By working to eradicate hunger, we can feed those in need. And in so doing, can help liberate them to express a different type

of freedom, freedom from want. As we pass around this basket whose contents will be donated to Mazon: A Jewish Response to Hunger (www.mazon.org), think of those you know, those you see and those you hear about whose lives are still enslaved to hunger, homelessness, and poverty. A Blessing Before Giving Tzedakah:
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Ba-ruch A-tah A-do-nai E-lo-hei-nu Me-lech Ha-O-lam A-sher kid-shanu bmitz-vo-tav, vtzi-va-nu lir-dof tzedek. Blessed are You, Adonai our God, ruler of the universe who makes us holy through Mitzvot and commands us to pursue justice.

BIRKAT HaMAZON:3

Leader: Ra-bo-tai, ne-va-reich ! Group: Ye-hi sheim A-do-nai me-vo-rach Mei-a-ta ve-ad o-lam! Leader: Ye-hi sheim A-do-nai me-vo-rach Mei-a-ta ve-ad o-lam! Bi-re-shut ma-ra-nan

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ve-ra-ba-nan ve-ra-bo-tai ne-va-reich (E-lo-hei-nu) she-a-chal-nu mi-she-lo.

Group: Ba-ruch (E-lo-hei-nu) she-a-chal-nu

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mi-she-lo u-ve-tu-vo cha-yi-nu. Ba-ruch hu, u-va-ruch she-mo!

The Blessing for Food Together:

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Ba-ruch a-ta, A-do-nai E-lo-hei-nu, me-lech ha-o-lam, ha-zan at ha-o-lam ku-lo be-tu-vo. Be-chein be-che-sed u-ve-ra-cha-mim hu no-tein le-chem le-chol ba-sar, ki le-o-lam chas-do. U-ve-tu-vo ha-ga-dol ta-mid lo cha-sar la-nu, ve-al yech-sar la-nu ma-zon le-olam va-ed, ba-a-vur she-mo ha-ga-dol. Ki hu Eil zan u-me-far-neis la-kol u-mei-tiv la-kol u-mei-chin ma-zon le-chol be-re-yo-tav a-sher ba-ra. Ba-ruch a-ta, A-do-nai, ha-zan et ha-kol. Through Gods kindness, mercy and compassion all existence is eternally sustained. God is forever faithful. Gods surpassing goodness fills all time and space. Sustenance there is for all. None need ever lack, no being ever want for food. We praise You , O God, the One sustaining all. The Blessing for the Land
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Ka-ka-tuv: ve-a-chal-ta, Et A-do-nai E-lo-he-cha Al ha-a-rets ha-to-va a-sher na-tan lach. Ba-ruch a-ta, A-do-nai, Al-ha-a-rets ve-al ha-ma-zon.

As it is written in the Torah: You shall eat, be satisfied and bless Adonai your God for the good land given to you. We praise You, O God, for the earth and for sustenance.

The Blessing for Jerusalem

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U-ve-nei Ye-ru-sha-la-yim ir ha-ko-desh bi-me-hei-ra ve-ya-mei-nu. Ba-ruch a-ta, A-donai, bo-neh ve-ra-cha-mav Ye-ru-sha-la-yim. A-mein. And build Jerusalem, O God, speedily in our day. We praise You, O God, whose compassion builds Jerusalem. Asking for Peace On Shabbat:
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Ha-ra-cha-man, hu yan-chi-lei-nu yom she-ku-lo Sha-bat u-me-nu-cha le-cha-yei ha-ola-mim. All merciful, may we inherit a Shabbat of eternal peace. Maker of Peace
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O-she sha-lom bi-me-ro-mav, hu ya-a-she sha-lom a-lei-nu, ve-al kol Yis-ra-eil, ve-I-meru: A-mein. May God who causes peace to reign in the high heavens, bring peace for us and all Israel.
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A-do-nai oz le-a-mo yi-tein, A-do-nai ye-va-reich et a-mo va-sha-lom. May God give strength to our people. May God bless all peoples with peace.

Counting of the Omer: The seventh day of the omer. One week from leaving Mitzrayim and six weeks until the covenant at Sinai. We celebrate the harvest of barley and wheat as a necessity of life. As we come closer to Sinai, to Gods revelation, and our reception of the Ten Commandments, we must count our days so that each day has meaning for us. According to the Rabbis of the Kabbalah, each day of the Omer has its own meaning. 22 Nisan is said to be a combination of the Sphirot (spheres of divinity) Chesed and Malchut; loving-kindness and majesty. On this day that marks our true freedom from all forms of bondage, we should aspire to live our lives by combining the virtues of love and leadership.
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Baruch Atah Adonai, Eloheinu Melech HaOlam, Asher Kidshanu BMitzvotav VTzivanu Al Sphirat HaOmer. Blessed Are You Adonai, our God, Ruler of the Universe who makes us holy through mitzvoth and commands us to count the omer.

(If you observe seven days of Pesach)

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Ha Yom Shivah Yamim Shhem Shavuah Echad La-Omer. Today is the seventh day of the Omer, which is one week of the counting of the omer.

(If you observe eight days of Pesach)

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Ha Yom Shmona Yamim Shhem Shavuah Echad vyom Echad La-Omer. Today is the seventh day of the Omer, which is one week of the counting of the omer.

LShanah HaBaah BYerushalayim Next Year in Jerusalem!!