DOCSLIB.ORG

A Haggadah Companion

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
A Haggadah Companion THE QUARANTINE SEDER: A Haggadah Companion Introduction1 Passover will be different this year for almost everyone This resource is designed to help you plan a memorable around the world. Many people will be leading a Seder for Seder befitting this year’s unusual circumstances. But the first time. Many Seders will be small. There will be please don’t see it as a to-do list, or as the be-all and end-all more Seders this year than ever before in history! of what your Seder should look like. We all have enough to worry about. Pick and choose what will be helpful and fun Many of us are grieving the Seder that will not take place and relaxing for you and your family, and drop all the rest. this year, and the people we were looking2 forward to Remember: this is a holiday that celebrates freedom! celebrating with. The Talmud teaches, “The gates of tears are never closed” – even when we pray for something that cannot take place. Grieving our losses can open the space to explore new opportunities for what is possible during this time of social distancing. 1 Written by Dr. Ronit Ziv-Kreger, Momentum Director of Education and Leadership Development, inspired by Momentum Trip Leaders, staff, and years of Seders with wonderful educators, rabbis, friends and family. 2 Hagigah 5. A Small Seder – Is it legit? Isn’t the Seder all about passing the Exodus story from generation to There’s more to the Seder than We can choose to get creative, generation? What’s the point of having the number of participants, and both in the planning stages and a Seder when the different generations there are precedents for tiny during the Seder itself. can’t come together? Two thoughts on Seders. this question frame this Haggadah companion: There’s more Choose to get creative – to the Seder planning in advance 3 The Talmud teaches that this time of year and this While we provide different ideas for the planning phase, we particular month are not only about the redemption recommend keeping it simple so that you can focus on the from Egypt which occurred many years ago, this is also a spiritual opportunity that the Seder is meant to offer you. propitious time for the future redemption as well. The Seder provides a spiritual opportunity. Preparation: An important part of Jewish ritual in general, and of Passover in particular, is preparing. This year, We are living in a historic moment; we’re all facing a unleash creative opportunities to embrace the voice of challenge together. How can human consciousness be each family member, including those who may not be with affected by this unprecedented global situation? What are you during the Seder. How might children play a role in your deepest hopes? How might we experience this year planning your family Seder? as an emergence from bondage to freedom? The story of the Seder moves from dis-grace to the grace of praise. This Surprise questions and notes: One way to bring in the transition is not only from Egypt to the splitting of the sea, voice of those who will not be at your Seder is to have family but also from our current situation to a future we dream of, members and friends send each other stories, blessings, aspire to, and aim toward. and questions to read during the Seder. A central aspect of the Seder is asking questions. These are Advance ritual check-ins: As part of your preparation, questions from the future4 generation, from the children, leverage the days leading up to the Seder by checking in but the Talmud teaches that when children are not present, with family and friends in ritually rich ways. Some people adults should ask each other – and even a person having the may plan to have a video call the day before the Seder at a Seder alone should not miss the spiritual opportunity to ask time that accommodates different time zones, during which him- or herself questions. family members and friends can share stories and maybe even sing together. Rabbi Yochanan ben Yosef Treves (16th century) composed a guide for the Seder in the aftermath of great persecution Shared learning: Have your whole family join one of the Momentum webinars when many families were split apart. He taught that most together from wherever they are, and people think that Maggid , the storytelling portion of the then have a group conversation about the teaching. Seder, refers to the biblical verse that instructs us: “Tell your children.” This explanation might not have resonated Cooking “together”: One can even cook “together” with with people who were alone, so he offered a second friends or family members. You can all make the same explanation: The word Maggid is related to Aggadah, the recipe and send photos to each other, or talk via phone or spiritual, story-like parts of the Talmud, making the case video while cooking. that the Maggid section of the Seder is about inspiring ourselves and learning lessons. Have children call grandparents to learn family recipes, or better yet, have a video conversation to enjoy the shared ritual preparation from afar. Engage your children with creating edible ten plagues! 3 Rosh Hashanah 11a. 4 Pesachim 116a. Collaborative supplement or book: Using Google Docs, Plan for royalty: Jewish tradition sees the dining6 table you can collaborate with family members and friends on as our home’s sacred space. The Talmud teaches that the making your very own Haggadah supplement. Invite each transformational power of the altar, which stood in the person to contribute a section or a story. Teens may be Holy Temple in Jerusalem, is now most available at our willing to interview a family elder to add their voice. Those table. How might you make the table special? who can’t join together can still print out the document and use it at their own Seder. To make your own Passover book, What different spaces in your home might be fitting for Bookcreator.com this example check out and . different parts of the Seder? Can your Seder include times to move and stretch your body? Can you make the leaning, Make-at-home, do-it-yourself workshop: Consider a which is part of the Seder, a nod to royalty and comfort? crafting and Jewish learning opportunity for Pesach with Perhaps you can hold the Seder on the couch, or somewhere online Atiq: The Jewish Maker Institute, which offers an you’ll be really comfy. Kids can have fun designing an workshop for all ages. The workshop explores what it adventurous setting for storytelling and royal comfort. means to be free and offers guidance for crafting modern, Smaller Seders allow for new flexibility. interactive Seder objects inspired by the traditional texts Storytelling props and games: Consider engaging children and your own unique perspectives. Their aim is to connect in preparing fun props to use during the storytelling this you to the Seder experience, to your own sense of freedom, year. This can include puppets, Legos, cartoons, plays, and to each other. Instructions are written for teens and costumes, a Moses basket and baby doll, a bag full of adults, but the workshop itself is kid-friendly. Children ages plagues, and the like. Older children might enjoy creating 7 and up will get the most out of this workshop, but younger a game for the Seder, such as Pesach Bingo or Jeopardy, ones can still enjoy crafting alongside everyone else! matzah mosaics, or an “Escape Room” adventure of short videos leaving Egypt. Plan an afikoman scavenger hunt with clues Activities for young children: Include PJ Library favorites connected to the Seder plate items (karpas-vegetables, egg, and holiday books. Check out these . Mah shankbone, charoset fruit and nut mixture, and maror- Some children may want to learn or brush up on the Year of Nishtanah bitter herbs). Check out the Try it Out section of the , the Four Questions song, while others may Growth’s Passover chapter . prefer building a tent, booth, or fort like the Israelites had Yoga poses that in the desert. Children can learn or lead Helping those in need: Include in your planning for the go along with the Passover story . You can print the script Seder a way to care for those who are in need. There are and invite the children to do the poses during the Seder. many who are suffering now in different ways. How might Baby Moses song They also might enjoy learning a simple . we share what we have in order to care for others who need Torah Godly Play’s Children and adults might like soulful our help, especially in advance of the holiday? telling of the Passover story, which5 ends with a series of conversation-starter questions . Search for leaven: The night before the Seder is traditionally the time for a symbolic, seek-and-destroy wonderful Haggadah PJ Library also offers a with an option mission in which families search their homes to ensure for a free PDF printout to help guide the Seder in a child- that all chametz-leaven has been removed. Make this friendly way. If you are leading a Seder with children, it’s adventurous for the children by hiding ten wrapped really worth it! Cheerios or pieces of chametz around the house. At nightfall the search begins. As each piece of chametz is short video found, it's collected in a paper bag. Here’s a of the ritual. The search concludes the next morning with reciting a blessing and burning the chametz.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Rewriting the Haggadah: Judaism for Those Who Hold Food Close
    Bard College Bard Digital Commons Senior Projects Spring 2020 Bard Undergraduate Senior Projects Spring 2020 Rewriting the Haggadah: Judaism for Those Who Hold Food Close Rose Noël Wax Bard College, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.bard.edu/senproj_s2020 Part of the Food Studies Commons, Jewish Studies Commons, and the Social and Cultural Anthropology Commons This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License. Recommended Citation Wax, Rose Noël, "Rewriting the Haggadah: Judaism for Those Who Hold Food Close" (2020). Senior Projects Spring 2020. 176. https://digitalcommons.bard.edu/senproj_s2020/176 This Open Access work is protected by copyright and/or related rights. It has been provided to you by Bard College's Stevenson Library with permission from the rights-holder(s). You are free to use this work in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights- holder(s) directly, unless additional rights are indicated by a Creative Commons license in the record and/or on the work itself. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Rewriting the Haggadah: Judaism for Those Who Hold Food Close Senior Project Submitted to The Division of Social Studies of Bard College by Rose Noël Wax Annandale-on-Hudson, New York May 2020 Acknowledgements Thank you to my parents for teaching me to be strong in my convictions. Thank you to all of the grandparents and great-grandparents I never knew for forging new identities in a country entirely foreign to them.
    [Show full text]
  • Literacy in Medieval Jewish Culture1
    Portrayals of Women with Books: Female (Il)literacy in Medieval Jewish Culture1 Katrin Kogman-Appel Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer Sheva The thirteenth century saw a new type of Hebrew book, the Passover haggadah (pl. haggadot). Bound together with the general prayer book in the earlier Middle Ages, the haggadah emerged as a separate, independent volume around that time.2 Once the haggadah was born as an individual book, a considerable number of illustrated specimens were created, of which several have come down to us. Dated to the period from approximately 1280 to 1500, these books were produced in various regions of the Iberian peninsula and southern France (Sepharad), the German lands (Ashkenaz), France, and northern Italy. Almost none of these manuscripts contain a colophon, and in most cases it is not known who commissioned them. No illustrated haggadah from the Islamic realm exists, since there the decoration of books normally followed the norms of Islamic culture, where sacred books received only ornamental embellishments. The haggadah is usually a small, thin, handy volume and contains the liturgical text to be recited during the seder, the privately held family ceremony taking place at the eve of Passover. The central theme of the holiday is the retelling of the story of Israel’s departure from Egypt; the precept is to teach it to one’s offspring.3 The haggadah contains the text to fulfill this precept. Hence this is not simply a collection of prayers to accompany a ritual meal; rather, using the 1 book and reading its entire text is the essence of the Passover holiday.
    [Show full text]
  • Haggadah SUPPLEMENT
    Haggadah SUPPLEMENT Historical Legal Textual Seder Ritualistic Cultural Artistic [email protected] • [email protected] Seder 1) Joseph Tabory, PhD, JPS Haggadah 2 cups of wine before the meal ; 2 cups of wine after the meal (with texts read over each pair); Hallel on 2nd cup, immediately before meal; more Hallel on 4th cup, immediately after meal; Ha Lachma Anya – wish for Jerusalem in Aramaic - opens the seder; L’Shana HaBa’ah BiYerushalyaim – wish for Jerusalem in Hebrew - closes it; Aramaic passage (Ha Lachma Anya) opens the evening; Aramaic passage (Had Gadya) closes the evening; 4 questions at the beginning of the seder; 13 questions at the end (Ehad Mi Yode‘a); Two litanies in the haggadah: the Dayenu before the meal and Hodu after the meal. 2) Joshua Kulp, PhD, The Origins of the Seder and Haggadah, 2005, p2 Three main forces stimulated the rabbis to develop innovative seder ritual and to generate new, relevant exegeses to the biblical Passover texts: (1) the twin calamities of the destruction of the Jerusalem Temple and the Bar-Kokhba revolt; (2) competition with emerging Christian groups; (3) assimilation of Greco-Roman customs and manners. 2nd Seder 3) David Galenson, PhD, Old Masters and Young Geniuses There have been two very different types of artist in the modern era…I call one of these methods aesthetically motivated experimentation, and the other conceptual execution. Artists who have produced experimental innovations have been motivated by aesthetic criteria: they have aimed at presenting visual perceptions. Their goals are imprecise… means that these artists rarely feel they have succeeded, and their careers are consequently often dominated by the pursuit of a single objective.
    [Show full text]
  • Pesach – Chag Kasher V'sameach
    ב''ה CBT: Pesach Essentials Monday, Mar. 27, 2017h Pesach – Chag Kasher v’Sameach Outline & Source Sheet Course Content: In these classes, we are going to learn and 1 Achilah b’Kedusha (Consecrated discuss Kashrut from an Orthodox Consumption) perspective and we will be discussing kashrut 2 Kosher Concepts and Food in terms of CBT’s congregational standards. 3 What is a Kosher kitchen? In developing this course, I have met with 4 Kashering Your Kitchen Rabbi Allouche and asked him about where 5 Common Kosher Kitchen Issues CBT as a community holds. I will take any 6 Cooking for Shabbat v’Yom Tov questions regarding community standards to 7 Pesach – Chag Kasher v’sameach Rabbi and bring an answer back to the class. Pesach – Chag Kasher v’sameach Pesach – The time of our redemption The Events and Observances of Pesach Pesach Kashrut Basics Akiva ben Avraham [email protected] www.meira-akiva.com Page 1 of 9 ב''ה CBT: Pesach Essentials Monday, Mar. 27, 2017h Pesach – Chag Kasher v’Sameach Outline & Source Sheet Pesach – The time of our redemption 1) What does Pesach mean? Exodus 12:14-20 14) This day shall be to you one of remembrance: you shall celebrate it as a festival to the LORD throughout the ages; you shall celebrate it as an institution for all time. 15) Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread; on the very first day you shall remove leaven from your houses, for whoever eats leavened bread from the first day to the seventh day, that person shall be cut off from Israel.
    [Show full text]
  • Jewish Holiday Guide Tu B’ Shvat 1 As Arepresentation Ofthenatural Cycle
    Jewish Holiday Guide Tu B’Shvat 15th day of Shvat “…Just as my ancestors planted for me, so I will plant for my children (Talmud Ta’anit 23a).” Tu B’Shvat is a time when we celebrate the New Year for trees. It falls on the 15th of Shvat in the Hebrew calendar and it is a time for us to focus on our ecological responsibilities and the life cycle of renewal. The very first task that was assigned to humans by God was to care for the environment: ‘God took man and put him into the garden to work it and guard 1 it…’ (Genesis 1:15). In Israel, Tu B’shvat is usually celebrated by planting trees and holding the Tu B’shvat seder. Planting trees is a custom that was first held in 1884 in Israel due to the spiritual significance of the land of Israel and the agricultural emphasis that the Zionist brought with them to Israel. The Tu B’shvat seder is formed out of 4 sections for the 4 worlds as the Kabballah says: • The spiritual world of God represented by fire – Atzilut (nobility) • The physical world of human represented by earth – Assiyah (Doing) • The emotional world represented by air – Briyah (Creation) • The philosophical, thoughtful world represented by water – Yetzirah (Making) Each section of the seder also represents one of the four seasons, and mixtures of red and white wine are drunk in different amounts as a representation of the natural cycle. Tu B’ Shvat Tu Purim 14th day of Adar “The Feast of Lots” Purim is one of the most joyous and fun holidays on the Jewish calendar, as it celebrates the story of two heroes, Esther and Mordecai, and how their courage and actions saved the Jewish people living in Persia from execution.
    [Show full text]
  • Haggadah Portions That Are Talmud Quotes Source Sheet by Emanuel Ben-David
    Haggadah portions that are Talmud quotes Source Sheet by Emanuel Ben-David We use two Hebrew words to describe the Ritual of the first night of Passover: ,SEDER - which means order; not a command, but order of things. Also - סֵ דֶ ר changing status of a situation from chaos to orderly, organized (like changing one's status from illegal immigrant to legal resident). Haggadah - from the root that means to tell. As a noun, it would be - הֲ ָ ג דַ ה interpreted as A Story. Lets examine how this word is connected to the commandments that order (dictate, not SEDER...) us to tell a story. שמות י״ג:ג׳ Exodus 13:3 (ג) וַיֹּ֨אמֶ ר מֹשֶׁ֜ ה אֶ ל־הָﬠָ֗ ם זָכ֞ וֹר אֶ ת־ ,And Moses said to the people (3) “Remember this day, on which you הַיּ֤וֹם הַזֶּה֙ אֲשֶׁ֨ ר יְצָאתֶ֤ם מִ מִּ צְ רַ֙יִם֙ went free from Egypt, the house of מִ בֵּ ֣ י ת ֲﬠ בָ דִ֔ י ם כִּ֚ י בְּ חֹ֣ זֶק יָ֔ ד הוֹצִ ֧ יא יְהֹוָ ֛ה bondage, how the LORD freed you אֶתְכֶ֖ם מִ זֶּ֑ה וְ ֥לֹא יֵאָכֵ֖ל חָמֵֽ ץ׃ from it with a mighty hand: no leavened bread shall be eaten. שמות י״ג: ח׳ Exodus 13:8 (ח) ְ ו הִ ַ גּ דְ תָּ ֣ לְ בִ נְ �֔ בַּ יּ֥ וֹם הַ ה֖ וּא לֵ אמֹ֑ ר And you shall explain to your (8) בַּ ﬠֲב֣ וּר זֶ֗ ה ﬠָ שָׂ ֤ ה יְ הוָ ה֙ לִ֔ י בְּ צֵ אתִ ֖ י son on that day, ‘It is because of what the LORD did for me when I מִ מִּ צְ רָ ֽ יִ ם ׃ ’.went free from Egypt V'Higad'tah - it is not a simple saying, sounding, verbalizing; it is - ָ ְ ו הִ ַ ג דְ תַ Source Sheet created on Sefaria by Rabbi Emanuel Ben-David 1 telling the story in a way that it is understood and verify that indeed it is.
    [Show full text]
  • Pesach Rabbi Deborah Silver
    4607-ZIG-Walking with JEWISH CALENDAR [cover]_Cover 8/17/10 3:47 PM Page 1 The Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies Walking with the Jewish Calendar Edited By Rabbi Bradley Shavit Artson ogb hfrsand vhfrsRachel Miriam Safman 4607-ZIG-WALKING WITH JEWISH CALENDAR-P_ZIG-Walking with 8/17/10 3:46 PM Page 79 WHO KNOWS FOUR? THE DEEPER MEANING OF PESACH RABBI DEBORAH SILVER INTRODUCTION h, the Pesach seder! Tablecloths stained with spilled wine, Haggadot brought down from distant closets, the seder Aplate polished up once again. Aren’t we glad to be here? Yet Pesach runs the risk of being rather like Ebenezer Scrooge’s Christmas Past - hung about with pleasant memories that distance rather than include us. In the same way, the seder runs the risk of being on the wrong side of predictable - boring rather than reassuring, sentimental rather than genuinely feeling, complacent rather than inspiring. Perhaps part of the reason for this is that the seder is one of the most consistently observed Jewish practices. Most of us can probably remember seders from our childhood, and there are those of us who might even have the occasion commemorated in photographs or on film. But this is a festival which bears a closer examination. The story of the birth of the Jewish people is permeated with rich layers of meaning. In this essay we will shake out the crumbs, as it were, and see what we can make of the pattern on the tablecloth. To begin with, let’s look at the number of times that we mention the number four at the seder: We drink four cups of wine.
    [Show full text]
  • Passover Resources / Links – 2019 / 5779
    PASSOVER RESOURCES / LINKS – 2019 / 5779 HAGGADOT / SEDER PLANNING CHOOSING A HAGGADAH THAT WORKS FOR YOU (two publishers offer advice) http://www.karben.com/haggadahs (Kar-Ben) http://tinyurl.com/jvfpbes (Behrman House) NEW – THE KVELLER HAGGADAH (A SEDER FOR CURIOUS KIDS AND THEIR GROWNUPS) https://www.kveller.com/haggadah/ NEW – PASSOVER HAGGADAH GRAPHIC NOVEL https://www.korenpub.com/koren_en_usd/koren/haggada/passover-haggadah-graphic- novel.html “THE EXODUS: AN EXTRAORDINARY PASSAGE” - free download Passover Seder supplemental text-learning guide from Global Day of Jewish Learning https://www.theglobalday.org/Passover/ “WELCOME TO THE SEDER – A PASSOVER HAGGADAH FOR EVERYONE” www.tinyurl.com/ybohzt6e “HEARING YOUR OWN VOICE” http://ayeka.org.il/publications/hearing-your-own-voice-the-ayeka-haggadah/ “SHARING THE JOURNEY: THE HAGGADAH FOR THE CONTEMPORARY FAMILY” www.tinyurl.com/y8epaocq “A FAMILY HAGGADAH: LARGE-PRINT EDITION” www.tinyurl.com/yck67ron “LET’S MAKE YOUR OWN PASSOVER HAGGADAH TOGETHER” http://haggadot.com “NEXT YEAR IN A JUST WORLD” – Haggadah and Seder readings from the American Jewish World Service / http://tinyurl.com/luenqja HA LACHMA ANYA FOOD & JUSTICE HAGGADAH SUPPLEMENT - Uri L’Tzedek http://utzedek.org/social-justice-torah/uri-ltzedek-publications/pesach-supplement/ “CREATING LIVELY PASSOVER SEDERS: A SOURCEBOOK OF ENGAGING TALES, TEXTS & ACTIVITIES” by David Arnow, Ph.D. - http://tinyurl.com/znro5rj “PASSOVER: THE FAMILY GUIDE TO SPIRITUAL CELEBRATION” by Dr. Ron Wolfson with Joel Lurie Grishaver - https://tinyurl.com/y5lk4frl
    [Show full text]
  • Passover Guide5781/2021 the Sephardic Comprehensive Guide to Celebrating a Kosher Pesah
    בס״ד OSHER K JERSEYJSO SHORE ORTHODOX RRABBINATE Passover Guide5781/2021 The Sephardic comprehensive guide to celebrating a Kosher Pesah Premier Edition Sponsored By HARRY & ALICE ADJMI & FAMILY HOW TO KOSHER FOR PESAH Step By Step Instructions PASSOVER RECIPES From Our Community Cooks & Caterers JSOR PASSOVER GUIDE OSHER K JERSEYJSO SHORE ORTHODOX RRABBINATE Table of Contents Rabbinical Board Rabbi Rachamim Aboud Rabbi Edmond Nahum Rabbi Shaul J. Kassin Messages from our Rabbis 10 Kashrut Coordinator Rabbi Isaac Farhi Why is This List Different? 20 Kashrut Administrator Rabbi Hayim Asher Arking Passover Points President 22 Steven Eddie Safdieh Executive Committee Koshering for Pesah Elliot Antebi 24 Edmond Cohen Mark Massry Passover Food Guide Sammy Saka 26 Steven S. Safdieh Richard Setton Jeremy Sultan Quick Pick Medicine List 37 Office Manager Alice Sultan Liquor & Tequila List Women's Auxiliary 38 Joy Betesh Kim Cohen HomeKosher 42 Contributing Writers Rabbi Hayim Asher Arking Rabbi Moshe Arking Pesah Protocol Mrs. Shoshana Farhi 44 Rabbi Meyer Safdieh Richard Setton Recipes 46 Editor Raquele Sasson Pesah FAQ Graphic Design/Marketing 56 Jackie Gindi - JG Graphic Designs Establishments 64 · Visit us on our website www.jsor.org · Follow us on Instagram @jsor_deal · Join our WhatsApp Chat Cover Photo: Sarah Husney | Art Director: Jackie Gindi (via website link) for questions, Table setting: Aimee Hidary and up-to-date information 6 NISSAN 5781 | MARCH 2021 FRIDAY, MARCH 26: Burn Hamets by 11:32am SHABBAT, MARCH 27- EVE OF PESAH: Stop eating Hamets 10:20am. Get rid of any remaining Hamets and recite When Pesah Falls Kal Hamirah by 11:32am SUNDAY, APRIL 4: Holiday over 8:04pm on Saturday Night One can use sold Hamets at 8:45pm Adapted from the Saka Edition of the Yalkut Yosef on Purim 1.
    [Show full text]
  • DEIB Passover.Pub
    RADIOLOGY DIVERSITY, EQUITY, INCLUSION & BELONGING PROGRAM March 27th—April 4th Sundown to Sundown The date of Passover changes each year. Passover takes place in early spring during the Hebrew calendar month of Nisan, as prescribed in the book of Exodus. Exodus 12:18 commands that Passover be celebrated, “from the fourteenth day of the month at evening, you shall eat unleavened bread until the twenty-first day of the month at evening.” Why is Passover Celebrated? Passover, or Pesach in Hebrew, is one of the Jewish religion’s most sacred and widely observed holidays. It is centered around the retelling of the Biblical story of Exodus, where God freed the Israelites from slavery in Egypt. The celebration of Passover is prescribed in the book of Exodus in the Old Testament (in Judaism, the first five books of Moses are called the Torah). Often celebrated for eight days (seven in Israel), and in- corporates themes of springtime, a Jewish homeland, fam- ily, remembrance of Jewish history, social justice and free- dom, including recognizing those who are still being op- pressed today. All of these aspects are discussed, if not symbolically represented, during the Passover seder. Seder Meaning: The Hebrew word “seder” translates to “order” or “arrangement” referring to the very specific order of the ritual. The Passover seder is a home ritual blending religious ritu- als, food, song and storytelling. It is traditional for Jewish families to gather on the first night of Passover (first two nights in Orthodox and Conservative communities outside Israel) for a religious feast known as a se- der for the Jewish holiday.
    [Show full text]
  • Divrei Torah on the Haggadah 5779
    Introduction to the Seder- The Missing Fifth1 The number four is a major theme at the Seder. In fact, at first glance there seem to be four sets of four at the Seder: the four questions, the four sons, the four cups of wine, and the four expressions of redemption. The truth is that there is a fifth set of four, which we can perhaps call the “missing fifth,” which is that the essential section of Maggid, in which we expound upon the Midrash’s understanding of the retelling of the exodus story, also contains a four, namely four verses. Rabbi Sacks contends that, in fact, each of these groups really contains what he calls a “missing fifth.” And the four that are present symbolize our celebration of redemption from Egypt, but the missing fifth represents that part of the redemption that we are still missing, as we continue to live in exile without the Beit HaMikdash and peace in the world. There is actually a debate in the Rishonim as to whether there should be a fifth cup of wine at the Seder, and our custom is to compromise; we pour the fifth cup, but do not drink it. This is what we call the Kos Shel Eliyahu, or the cup of Elijah. It is a glimpse of the ultimate redemption, which we can already begin to see, but cannot yet fully taste. The four expressions of redemption also seem to have a fifth to the set, as when one looks at their source in the Torah one notices that right after G-d promises that He will take us out, save us, redeem us, and take us as a nation, He then promises that He will takes us to the land of Israel, “V’heiveiti.” This too is a reference to the full redemption in Israel, which is not fully present at the Seder.
    [Show full text]
  • Archetype and Adaptation: Passover Haggadot from the Stephen P
    Archetype and Adaptation: Passover Haggadot from the Stephen P. Durchslag Collection The week-long, springtime Jewish holiday of Pesach, or Passover, is beloved for its symbolic meaning and joyous customs. Passover marks the freeing of the Israelites from slavery in Egypt, a narrative with universal appeal as a paradigm for collective and, according to some traditions, personal liberation. The Haggadah (plural: Haggadot), or “telling,” is the collection of prayers, legends, and stories recited on the eve of Passover. The basic text derives from the biblical instruction to retell the story of the Exodus each year during Passover in conjunction with a ritual meal called the Seder, or “order” (Exodus 13:8). Over the centuries songs and illustrations have been added to engage children, to whom the story was to be told, and some passages are given added prominence when they resonate with contemporary concerns. Illustrations in medieval manuscripts depict scenes from Exodus, the life of Moses, and Jewish Patriarchs. Many of these scenes continue to appear in early printed Haggadot, but the emphasis shifts to passages drawn directly from the text. The Haggadah has shown remarkable stability and flexibility: thousands of editions in all languages testify to its central role in Jewish life and its ability to incorporate new themes and respond to changing conditions. This exhibition is drawn entirely from the private collection of Stephen P. Durchslag, the largest known collection of Haggadot in private hands. “Archetype and Adaptation” explores the enduring influence of early printed Haggadot as well as the ability of modern versions to reflect political and social developments such as the Holocaust, Zionism, gay rights, and feminism.
    [Show full text]