Haggadah Companion 2020
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
1 of 15 Introduction By Annette Charak Sharing seder with family, friends and community is a central part of Jewish life and a striking marker of the festival of Pesach. This year, we have a new kind of different for the night that is different from all other nights. And we should be inspired to explore our creativity in making it meaningful and memorable not just for this year: new ideas, new games, new ways to share what we normally do together, even as we are separated. Gatherings by Zoom for the seder or before the seder will be commonplace and may inspire a new way for families who are geographically separated to “do seder” in the future. And telling the story and remembering our redemption in our household bubbles will imbue the evening with an intimacy that is foreign to many of us but which we may seek to replicate in years to come. We have gathered in this Haggadah Companion the reflections and contributions of several generous Shiraniks for you to enjoy at your seder or in your Pesach preparations, another way to bring something new to your Pesach discussions and celebrations. As we in Australia head for winter, we are reminded that in Israel, Pesach is the festival of spring. May this uniquely Jewish festival, with its universal message of freedom, be the harbinger of redemption and renewal—in all their forms—for us all. Chag sameach, A gut yontev. 2 of 15 So, this night seems different By Josh Goodman At 29 I can't claim to have much wisdom. But one lesson I feel proud to categorise as 'wisdom', perhaps my first wise morsel, is that life always finds a way to kick you in the face. And what you get out of life is determined by your ability to get up and keep going. Upon reflection, it is wholly possibly that I stole this wisdom from the history of the Jewish people. If it is in fact merely an ancient anecdote, its shadow certainly eclipses 2020. In this time of forced isolation, we as a community need to work out a way to keep moving forward. As we find ourselves knee deep in this unforeseen impediment, divine intervention presents us with a beautiful challenge to overcome this trial, and learn through overcoming. If we are to believe the census, Seder nights are supposedly the most significant event in the calendar for the Australian Jewish community. It might not be the holiest time of the year for every Jew, but it's the event that touches more Jews than anything else. It succeeds in delivering a sense of narrative, community and sustenance in a way that Yom Kippur... doesn't, for one reason or other. The common story-ness of the Seder is in many ways the fire that unites everyone around the table and fuels the sense of community. This is aided by a communal longing for first course, a communal tipsy feeling after glasses 3 and 4, and the communal nostalgia about the fact that we have all done this before, every year, with the same and different people. It is that last component - that nostalgia of bygone Seders, that we need to hold onto in this weird and powerful time. Everyone reading this has had the privilege to grow up crowded around a table, engaging in the Seder story; with family, friends, friends of friends, your other friends cousin's friend (who it turns out is actually more related to you than them), and probably a few foreigners. The story has never changed. For the first time, however, the experience of reading the story will. This year we will be participating in Seders in our own private spaces, surrounded only by our most intimate relations. For both my wife and I, this will be for the first time. For my parents, too, it will be their first Seder of 2. For many people, this night will be different to all other nights in which we ask, 'why is this night different?'. In this light, G-d has given us the opportunity to participate in reading this story, the story that arguably defines the relationship between G-d and the Jewish people, in a new and wonderful way. The nostalgia of bygone Seders is there for all of us to tap into as we read. It is an exciting opportunity to transport ourselves to every seder table we have ever sat at. All the best meals, the best company, the best readers, the best discussions, the fastest hallels, the mildest weather, the best charoset, the most enriching experiences. This is a time to reflect on how grateful we are for the life we have lived to this point, and ask ourselves what we want our life to look like in the future, once we emerge from this pandexodus. The story of G-d taking us out of Egypt and the Jewish people settling in Israel was not a short, peaceful fairytale. It took work, sacrifice and a lot of faithful leadership. And so does a good Seder. To the entire warm and wonderful Shira community, Next year in Melbourne! 3 of 15 Fir Kashes: Ma Nishtana By Tali Shroot (age 8) Avadim Hayinu: a Discussion Point By Susie Gartner Themes of freedom and slavery are pivotal to Pesach. We were once slaves and now we are free. We sing, remember and recall with gratitude AS IF WE WERE THERE. During this current crisis, where are you in this? Where do you find yourself? Can we be, paradoxically, both enslaved and free? Wishing you a chag sameach, Susie Gartner 4 of 15 Leyl Shimurim By Shani Tzoref I've been studying a piyyut called Leyl Shimurim that is dated to the classical period of piyyut in the Land of Israel (6th-8th century). I want to share the closing lines of this piyyut. (I've also included some notes about two spinoffs here in this mail, but that might be too tedious to impose on the seder group). The poem was written as a "ma'ariv"-- a piyyut. to be said during the kriat shma of ma'ariv, leading into the shmoneh esreh of the first night of Pesach. Its premise is that the main events of history happened and will happen on the first night of Pesach-- from creation, through God's revelation to Avraham in the brit ben habetarim, yetziat mitzraim, and on to the future Redemption. This night--and specifically the exact middle of this night--is the time that has been "safeguarded" in the sense that it has been designated for transformative events throughout history, especially nation-building and salvation. There is a later poem that was written as a parody of this piyyut: leyl shikorim-- the night of the drunkards.... but that is for another time. ((though i personally do need to be careful about drinking wine on pesach.)) Rabbi Meir bar Yitzchak (Nehorai) of Orléans (11th century), the composer of Akdamut for shavuot, wrote a more complicated "leyl shimmurim", for ma'ariv of the 2nd night pf pesach in Diaspora. He ends each line with a quotation of a biblical verse, and he includes quite a few references to women, either from biblical text or midrashim: Sarai being taken to Pharoah's palace; Avimelech's dream; Rivka's arranging for Jacob to get Isaac's blessing; Pharoah's daughter taking in Moshe--and her reward, to be spared from dying in the plague of firstborns. He presents this event through the words of Eshet Chayil, following a midrash: On the night of safeguarding, she (Pharoah's daughter) who had seen that the merchandise (Moshe) was good-- he candle will not be snuffed out... on the nights of the Pesach festival. ליל שימורים: טעמה כי טוב סחרה לא יכבה בלילה נרה.... בלילי חג פסח The last lines of leyl shimmurim (notice the shin of shimurim, and tav of teshu'a: it's an alphabetic acrostic): The night of safeguarding (God) announced to his beloved nation, whom he saved from the hands of Lehavim (= Egypt, as per the genealogy in Gen 10:13 where Lehavim are named among the children of Mizraim; but also means “flames"). It is a salvation for Israel ("Bat-Rabbim, Song of Songs 7:5), who repose in comfort and peace, without fear. כן יהי רצון חג כשר ושמח ליל שימורים: https://bit.ly/2XaQoYp ליל שיכורים: https://bit.ly/2wlJKDS 5 of 15 This Symbol Will Not Fit on Your Seder Plate By Andrew Wirth A note from Andrew: This is a Seder Idea I came up with after writing a drash some years ago. We have used it a few times. This idea utilises the largest prop ever seen at a Seder- it wont fit on the Seder table! Below is the drash (note form) to accompany the prop. At any convenient point in the seder, take everyone outside. Start reading the drash, and when it feels right, look up. — In each generation, a person is obligated to see himself as if he himself has come out of Egypt. We use our historical imagination in order to find ways to connect to this ancient story. Props and symbols- seder plate, Dress as slaves, pharoah, The ultimate prop... one simple but powerful sensory experience that (if the weather is good) we can all share with the generation who left Egypt, exactly as they experienced it without needing any imagination. What might that be? The first commandment given to the Jewish people as a whole was given just before Pesach.