Preliminaries

 Internet Seder  Getting Ready  A Tehine, A Private Prayer for Candle Lighting  On Being a Seder Leader  Tips on Running A Seder  Opening Prayer

Kadesh Blessing over Wine Urhatz Washing Hands Karpas Eating Vegetable

 Leaving Egypt

Yahatz Breaking Middle Matzah

 Finding Our Broken Parts  Poor Bread

Maggid Telling Story

 Entering the Night (Read before telling the story of the Exodus)  Returning Moses to the Haggadah  Who Will Be Today’s Midwives?  A Passover Skit  B'KHOL DOR VADOR - IN EVERY GENERATION (May be read before the second cup of wine)  The Rasha (Wicked Child) – What Do We Learn? (A Discussion Source Sheet)  Miriam’s Cup  How does Dayyenu “finish the story?”  Dayyenu: But Would It Have Been Enough?  Dayyenu for Israel  How does Dayyenu help us “conclude with Praise?”  Dayyenu on its Head  Dayenu  The Passover Lamb That Our Ancestors Ate…For What Reason?  Samaritan Passover Offering on Mount Gerizim: Modern Photos  The Korban Pesach and the Zeroa: A Tale of Two Tellings  Importance of the Korban Pesach in Biblical Times  Another Biblical Perspective on the Korban Pesach: Linking of Generations  Dayyenu Rohtzah Washing Hands with Blessing

Motzi Matzah Blessings over Matzah

Maror Eating Bitter Herb

Korekh Assembling Pesah Sandwich

Shulhan Orekh Festive Meal

 Katz-Klein Family Pesah Nut Game

Tzafun Eating Afikoman

 A Prayer for Peace

Barekh Blessing After Meal

 Ritual of Remembrance

Hallel Songs of Praise

Nirtzah Concluding Prayers

 I Read The Haggadah Backwards This Year Preliminaries

Internet Seder

As you are getting ready for Passover? Send older kids to check out these (and the many other websites that exist for Pesach) and find something good to read or do at the seder: http://www.torahtots.com/holidays/pesach/pesach.htm http://www.ucalgary.ca/~elsegal/Uncle_Eli/Eli_Intro.html http://www.akhlah.com/?s=passover&submit=search

If you find anything really good, send it to me so that I can include it in future Seder Sparks! —-

Rabbi Barry Dov Katz

Getting Ready

Make copies of the “Hametz Free Zone” sign. As parts of the kitchen are made ready for Passover, let kids affix the sign to that part of the kitchen.

Before the Holiday ask kids to cut out, draw or paint pictures of things that represent freedom. Older kids can cut out newspaper articles on the same theme. Arrange the items in a collage for guests to look at as they are waiting for the seder to begin. During the seder use the collage to spark discussion.

At the beginning of your seder ask each person to introduce themselves with a pantomime (a simple gesture or movement) that represents one thing that free people can do. After each person finishes, everyone else has to imitate the last pantomime. At the end, silently go around and do them all in order. Source: Rabbi Barry Dov Katz

A Tehine, A Private Prayer for Candle Lighting (Read after lighting candles)

May it be Your will, my God and God of my ancestors, to grant my family and all Israel a good and long life. Remember us with blessings and kindness. Fill this home with Your Divine Presence. Give me and the family I love the opportunity to be truly wise, lovers of God, people of truth, who illuminate the world with Torah and good deeds. Please hear my prayer at this time...

(Insert your own prayers at this point)

Regard me as a worthy descendant of our mothers, Sarah, Rebecca, Rachel and Leah, and let my candles burn and never be extinguished. Let the light of your face shine upon us. Amen.

Source: Unknown

On Being a Seder Leader

When I close my eyes I see the faces around the table of family sedarim of my youth. I hear the voice of my Zaidie chanting the haggadah in the singsong of the Old Country. I smell the tzimmes and the farfel and the matzah ball soup from my Bubbie’s Kitchen. I taste the sweetness of the charoset that I made for the family seder when I was ten. I feel the shock of eating too much maror much too quickly. When I open my eyes I see the faces around the table of family sedarim in my children’s youth. I hear my voice and the voices of my family chanting the haggadah in the singsongs of the Old and New Country. I smell the tzimmes and the farfel and the matzah ball soup—now pareve. I feel the promise of Pesach from generation to generation. Sitting around the seder table the generations merge. Every Jew who ever was, Who ever will be is Telling the story. Only now the guests are looking at meTo guide them. I am not my Zaide. I am not my own children. I am a Jew who has left Egypt, and I’m headed to the Promised Land. May God grant me the ability to relate the story of our people, Eliciting from all the facets of our tale So that our children and our children’s children Will continue the story and the journey.

Source: Unknown

Tips on Running A Seder

Look Know your audience - Prepare a Seder that is geared for the people around your table this year.

This means conduct it for their age level(s) and their knowledge of the Seder. You should also sense how much time you can take before the festive meal (Shulhan Orekh) and after the meal. By knowing the time and not making it too long, you will cut down on the most often asked questions of the Seder "When are we eating?" and "How much time is left?"

Comment Prepare (or ask some guests to prepare) a few comments that will bring another perspective to your seder. Look through new Haggadot, the newspaper, or the internet to find short quotations that will get people talking about the story of the Exodus and our lives today. Some people can do this and still read/sing the entire Haggadah. It makes for a long but fulfilling night. Others will need to omit some parts of the Haggadah.

Play Especially for kids and for adults who are kids at heart, it is great to bring any kind of toys, puppets, and building toys to the Seder. We found some great jumping frogs that we played with. Sometimes I ask the kids to go in the other room and “build Egypt” from blocks and legos and then we go in to tell the story and hear about what they built.

Sing Have as much singing as possible. There is something almost magical about sitting at home and singing together. This is something that families don't do much anymore. Sing as much as you can at the Seder. Use songs that your children have learned in their Pre-School or Hebrew School or Jewish Day School. Download some from the internet. Ask a musical guest to teach a seder favorite.

Feel Feel the freedom to have your own discussions at the Seder. These are some of the most interesting and meaningful times of Seders at home. Because this is an intergenerational gathering, it is a great opportunity for us to learn from one another. Some basic questions you can ask for discussion are:

Can you share a favorite Seder memory from your past?

Has there been a time when you have felt enslaved? Do you feel that way at all today?

What does freedom mean to you?

Source: Some of these ideas are adapted from “Tips for Your Seder” by Rabbi Eliott Perlstein

Opening Prayer

On this night, we gather around the seder table Remembering our passage from bondage to freedom.

On this night, we journey from now to then, Telling the story of our people’s birth.

On this night, we retrace our steps from then to now, Reclaiming years of desert wandering.

On this night, we welcome each soul. Sharing stories of courage, strength, and faith.

On this night, we renew ancient hopes And dream of a future redeemed. Source: The Open Door Haggadha, CCAR. p4

Kadesh Blessing over Wine

Urhatz Washing Hands

Karpas Eating Vegetable

Leaving Egypt

(Before eating the Karpas read this selection)

I remember when we left Egypt, I held on to my grandfather’s hand. I helped him carry his bundle of food and clothes, even though I could see the muscles on his arms were tight and strong. When the bundles got heavy, he gave me hope. He said we were traveling to a better world and to get there we had to cross land and sea. Then he made me laugh! He described the place we were going to as a land flowing with milk and honey. Can you imagine?!

Ask each person at the seder to describe one way they could help make a better world.

Source: Why On This Night by Rachel Musleah:

Yahatz Breaking Middle Matzah

Finding Our Broken Parts (May be recited before Yachatz – Breaking the Middle Matzah)

No prayer is recited before we break the middle matzah on our Seder plate. This is a silent act. We realize that, like the broken matzah, we are all incomplete, with prayers yet to be fulfilled, promises still to be redeemed.

We hide part of this broken matzah and hope it will be found by the end of our Seder meal, for we recognize that parts of ourselves are yet unknown. We are still discovering what makes us whole. With the generations that have come before us and with one another, our search begins.

Source: Rabbi Harold Schulweis

Poor Bread

(Read after Breaking the Middle Matzah) Ha Lahma Anya This is the poor bread.

There are four types of poverty or affliction (anya): There is one who has no food There is one who has food but not enough One who is weary, empty, after an extended journey… The affliction of slavery

Can you find a hint of each of these in the Ha Lahma Anya…

When we were slaves in Egypt we suffered four types of poverty and when we departed we were redeemed from all of them.

How was this so? How prevalent are these kinds of poverty today in the Jewish community? In the wider community?

Today here is a fifth aspect of poverty as the Talmud notes: True poverty is the lack of knowledge. (Nedarim 41a) This is a kind of poverty that is not so keenly sensed.

What kind of knowledge do we lack? Where might one find redemption from the poverty of the mind? What other kinds of poverty exist? How might we address them?

Hence Ha Lahma Anya can be interpreted as “there are five kinds of poverty.”*

*The Hebrew letter “Hey” also represents the number 5 and sounds like the word “Ha,” as in “Ha Lahma Anya,,,”

From The Vilna Gaon Haggadah, Grodno 1753

Maggid Telling Story

Entering the Night (Read before telling the story of the Exodus)

When we are in pain, the last place we want to be is alone at night. “How am I ever going to make it through the night?” we ask ourselves as darkness descends. During the day we lean upon a myriad of distractions to lessen the sting of our pain. But as the world around us begins to grow still, the world within us starts to stir. This inner world is filled with turmoil, with thoughts we would rather push away than deal with, and feelings we would prefer to ignore rather than acknowledge. It’s as if we have two separate personalities. By day we are confident and rational; by night we are vulnerable and shaky. By day we are atheists. By night we believe in God and goblins and ghosts and spirits.

But as much as we may dread darkness, it is also a great teacher.

Night teaches us humility. It reminds us that we are not invulnerable, that we are small and frail and mortal, part of nature’s great and unchanging rhythm. As much as we’d like to defy its pull, we must, like every living creature, eventually give in to the darkness. No matter how many lights we may have on, or how long we may try to stay up and watch TV, we must all inevitably concede and let go.

Night teaches us that we are more complicated than we think; that we have the power to dream great dreams, as well as the capacity to wish for terrible things.

Night teaches us how to pray. During the day we rarely have the need or the time to talk to God; at night we find ourselves whispering secrets to God as if to a close and trusted friend. I don’t think it is an accident that most of the Bible’s prophets encountered God only at night, for night teaches us to be more receptive to the world of the spirit, to miracles.

Night forces us to rest, to reflect, to regroup. To be still. To stop running and hiding.

Most of all, night teaches every one of us—the sinner, the cynic, the sufferer, the tortured soul—that we are capable of rebirth. It calls to mind the darkness of the womb from which we all emerged and urges us to remember that we too can re- create ourselves out of that same darkness. It reminds us that we have the power to enter the darkness, face our deepest fears, and emerge whole and new and reborn.

There is one problem with all of this, though. We might be reborn in the night, but when morning comes we wake up and pretend that nothing really happened to us. We wipe the sleep out of the corners of our eyes, the fears out of the recesses of our minds, and the prayers out of the depths of our souls. Only when we are willing to embrace the side of us that dwells in the night can we begin to experience the world with an openness and a capacity to perceive and receive the many blessings that God bestows upon us everyday of our lives.

Tonight, we remember the pain of our nights of slavery and, at the same time, try to capture the dreams that sustained us then. As we begin telling the story of our Exodus, let each person share a hope for this night: What question do you want answered? What do you want to experience? When this Passover night ends, where do you want to be?

Source: Based on a selection from the book, To Begin Again by Naomi Levy Returning Moses to the Haggadah

SOME HAVE ARGUED that Moses was deliberately excluded from the Haggadah to avoid deifying a human leader. Certainly the hero of the traditional Haggadah is and should be God. But it is likely that Moses was often mentioned in the rabbinic Seder when parents told their children the story of the Exodus. We have introduced Moses explicitly into our Haggadah as recommended by Moses Maimonides. “It is a mitzvah to tell the children about the Exodus even if they did not ask…If the children are mature and wise, tell them all that happened to us in Egypt and all the miracles God did for us by means of Moses…”(Laws of Chametz and Matza 7:2)

Ask people at your seder: Is it a good thing or a bad thing that Moses is not really mentioned in the Haggadah? Why/Why Not (A challenge for the kids- find the one place that Moses is mentioned in a minor way)

Adapted from The Family Participation Haggadah: A Different Night by Noam Zion and David Dishon

Who Will Be Today’s Midwives? ONE SUNDAY morning in 1941 in Nazi occupied Netherlands, a mysterious character rode up on his bicycle and entered the Calvinist Church. He ascended the podium and read aloud the story of the midwives who saved the Hebrew babies and defied Pharaoh’s policy of genocide. And then he turned to the congregation:

“Who is today`s Pharaoh? he asked. “Hitler,” the congregation replied. “Who are today’s Hebrew babies?” he shouted. “The Jews,” they yelled And then, quietly, he asked “Who will be today’s midwives?” During the war (1941-1945) seven families from this little church hid Jews and other resisters from the Nazis.

Ask the people at your seder: What might have motivated these people to risk their lives to help Jews? How is the story of the midwives powerful in our day?

On the same theme: Al Axelrad, the Hillel rabbi at Brandeis University in the 1960’s, established an annual award for non-violent resistance to tyranny. He named it after the midwives who resisted and outsmarted Pharoah and saved the Hebrew infants from drowning: The Shifra and Puah Award.

Before your seder, ask people to prepare a presentation about a person to whom they would give this award this year? (For young teens: Ask them to make a “campaign poster” about this person and bring it to present to the others)

Adapted from The Family Participation Haggadah: A Different Night by Noam Zion and David Dishon

A Passover Skit In Egypt the Jews ate quickly and anxiously because they were nervous about the plague of the first born and they were expecting their imminent departure into freedom. Today Jews of Africa and Asia customarily act out the Exodus itself dressing their children (or a dramatically inclined adult) in baggy clothes, a scarf or hat, hiking boots, a walking stick, a belt with a canteen and, most important the afikoman wrapped in one’s clothes on the shoulder (or perhaps in a back pack). Try sending some children out of the room (or the house) with a bag of props and the help of an adult to prepare this dialogue. Here is a semi-traditional script that may be used by the “actors” at the Seder.

Knock on the door

Adults Who’s there? Children Moshe, Aaron, and Miriam. Adults Come in. Tell us about your journey! Children We have just arrived from Egypt where we were slaves to Pharaoh. He made us do such hard work. [Improvise about how bad it was.]

Adults How did you escape?

Children God sent Moshe and Aaron to tell Pharaoh: “Let my people go.” When he refused, God sent 10 plagues. [Improvise describing some of the plagues.] Finally God brought the most awful plague on the first born to Egypt. then Pharaoh was really scared, so he kicked us out.

Adults Why are you dressed like that? What is on your shoulder?

Children We escaped in the middle of the night and had no time to let the dough for our bread rise. The dough that was wrapped in our cloaks and slung over our shoulders turned to matza in the heat of the sun. Adults Tell us about your adventures.

Children Pharaoh changed his mind after releasing us and chased us to the edge of the Red Sea. We would have been caught for sure, but then God split the sea. [Describe how it felt.]

Adults Where are you going now?

Children To Jerusalem

All La-shana ha-ba-ah Bee’Yerushalayeem!

Adapted from The Family Participation Haggadah: A Different Night by Noam Zion and David Dishon

B'KHOL DOR VADOR - IN EVERY GENERATION (May be read before the second cup of wine)

In every generation, each person has the obligation to look at himself or herself, as if personally brought out of Egypt.

We have discussed liberation and sung its praises. We have recounted oppression and remembered its tears. We have numbered our blessings and offered our gratitude. And now, with pangs of hunger in our bellies, we prepare to indulge in a feast of redemption.

Still, others cannot celebrate liberation. Others yet shed tears. Others cannot yet sing out, “Dayenu”.

Each one of us has the power to act as an agent of redemption, if only we can see ourselves as God’s partners in pursuing justice.

I can stay the tears of others, if I can see myself as diminished by their sorrow. I can hasten the time when everyone will be able to rejoice in freedom if I can see myself as the companion of those fighting against oppression. I can honor the history and struggles of my own people, if I can respond to the struggles of people everywhere to gain dignity and deliverance from bondage. When I look at myself in the mirror after this celebration of freedom, who will I see?

The Rasha (Wicked Child) – What Do We Learn? ( A Discussion Source Sheet)

The Wicked Child asks “Mah haavodah hazot lachem – What does this service mean to you?” To you and not to this child. Since the child withdraws from the community and denies God’s role in the Exodus, challenge the child by replying, “This is done because of what the Eternal One did for me when I went out of Egypt. For me and not for you. Had you been there you would not have been redeemed.” (Interpretative translation)

Consider how each of the following sources described the Rasha. Which description, if any, resonates for you?

When you look in the Torah, in describing the other children who ask questions, we are told: “Vahaya ki yishalach bincha –It shall be when your child asks.” That’s how the questions of the other children are introduced. But that’s not what it says by the rasha. Regarding the rasha the Torah says, “Vahaya ki yomru aleichem b’neichem – and it shall be when your child tells you.” The others ask a question because they want to have a dialogue, they want to learn more, they want to understand. The rasha is not interested in a dialogue; the rasha in only interested in what he has to say. The rasha is making a statement. Meshech Chochmah

The rasha’s query is read by tradition as mocking, and hence the response is framed as a rebuke. But perhaps the rasha’s question masks a deep hunger. What if the rasha longs to draw closer but does not know how? The Open Door: A Passover Hagaddah The wicked child might not be wicked at all; perhaps she is just expressing our doubts – what is the purpose of all this trouble you put yourself through at Pesach? Are you really working for freedom? Annoyed at someone who gives voice to our own fears, we react harshly to hide our feelings. The wicked child becomes our scapegoat. Rabbi Michael Strassfeld

The wicked child is saying that we only have to think about Egypt, the rituals and mitzvot are unnecessary, since simply remembering the Exodus is enough. He does not understand that one must work for redemption and live in it afterwards, that intellectualizing is not enough. Rabbi Michael Strassfeld

The inclusion of the rasha in the Seder achieves the ultimate purpose of everything. The chacham (wise one) is taught not to argue: “Why should I bother with the rasha? Let him be lost through his wickedness!” He (the wise one) must be conscious of the fact that all of Israel are surety for one another. Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson

Source: Rabbi Barry Dov Katz

Miriam’s Cup

Zot kos Miryam, kos mayim chayim, zeicher litziat Mitzrayim.

This is the cup of Miriam, the cup of living waters, a reminder of the Exodus from Egypt.

Throughout their desert wanderings, The Israelites were refreshed by miraculous springs That bubbled out of deep crevices In the rocky landscape.

When Miriam died, the waters dried up. The people mourned the slave child who waited by a river, The woman who danced across a sea, The leader who sang a nation to freedom.

When the springs flowed once more, They named them Miriam’s Well.

When fear blocks our path, when our travels deplete us, We seek sources of healing and wells of hope. May our questions and our stories nourish us As Miriam’s Well renewed our people’s spirits.

Pour water from kos miryam into every person’s cup. Source: The Open Door Haggadah p. 12

PASS THE BREAD (OF THE POOR)

Thoughts on – and something to do at – your Seder A name for matzah is lechem oni, Bread of the Poor. When we were slaves to Pharaoh in Egypt and when we left Egypt we had limited time to prepare our meals and so, a little flour and water baked quickly was our only sustenance.

Some people see the tradition of breaking the middle matzah at the beginning of the seder as a reminder of the desperation of those times. When someone has very little to eat, this person is likely to squirrel away some food for later. And so, even as we sit at tables that will soon be laden with brisket, tzimmis and farfel (or the modern or vegetarian equivalent) we set aside some matzah in remembrance of the days when we simply did not have enough to eat.

Rabbi Joseph Soloveitchik suggests another way of understanding this custom and the idea of the “bread of the poor.” He writes: “When we think of the enslavement of the Jewish people in Egypt, we usually think that all the Jews must have been equally burdened by it, but in truth that was not so. There were various degrees of slavery. Some Jews lived under better conditions, some worse. According to our Sages, the tribe of Levi was never enslaved. What this means is that some had access to food and some did not.”

Rabbi Soloveitchik goes on to suggest that those who had bread would break off pieces and give it to those who did not. The bread they shared was called bread of the poor, lechem oni, because it was shared with a neighbor who was poor. With the possible exception of the tribe of Levi, we could never be sure when we would be among the haves or the have- nots, the givers or the takers.

With a warm piece of bread in your hands, you feel rich. It was not a simple act to offer it to another. Rabbi Aaron Goldscheider (The Night That Unites Haggadah) comments, “When we break the matzah as our forefathers did, it is a symbol of the hesed, the loving-kindness, and the solidarity of Jews toward their fellow Jews, their brothers and sisters, even under the harshest conditions.”

Privilege, goes this argument, is meant to be shared. When I have something- bread, resources, contacts, or power- I need to consider how it can be used to benefit not just myself but those in concentric circles around me- my family, my community, and even to those beyond the religious or other groups with which I identify most closely. What we have is not our own; it is tem- porarily in our custody. And so, as an act of love and sacred obligation we pass it on in one form or another. We use our resources to lift up humanity.

Victor Frankl wrote of his experience during the Shoah (Holocaust), “We who lived in concentration camps can remember the men who walked through the huts comforting others, giving away their last piece of bread. They may have been few in num- ber, but they offer sufficient proof that everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms -- to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one's own way.”

When you break the middle matzah this year, I encourage you to consider reading this selection:

This piece of whole matzah reminds me of what I have-the food in my cupboard, the resources at my disposal, the people I know, the power or skills I possess, the love that surrounds me. As I break this matzah into two pieces and set one aside, I remember that there are people who do not have what I have. Here at this seder, I commit to pass that which I have in relative abundance to another person. And I hope that I can graciously accept what I lack from the people around me.

After you read, pass the half matzah that remains on the table to each guest and ask them to share one thing that they can pass over to another person during the year. Is there a tzedakah they hope to support, a cause where they can share their time or talents, or a personal way that they can support someone who needs them? We were all slaves to Pharaoh in Egypt. Let us consider what we need to receive this year and what can give so that at next year’s seder, more of us will feel free.

Hag Kasher v’Sameach! Rabbi Barry Dov Katz How does Dayyenu “finish the story?”

With measured and mounting jubilation, this lilting litany chronicles an extraordinary progression. It tells how God in His loving kindness raised us, step by step, from the degradation of slavery to the heights of freedom as God's chosen people. (Rabbinical Assembly Haggadah, 20th C. CE USA)

Dayyenu: But Would It Have Been Enough? (A Discussion Source Sheet)

“If God had brought us to Mt. Sinai and not given us the Torah, dayyenu, it would have been enough!” Considering how important the Torah is to us, many commentators have been troubled by this verse of Dayyenu. Here are some responses to read and discuss at your Seders!

Rabbi Abraham ben David of Posquières (“Ravad,” 12th century, France) Why would it have been enough to bring the Israelites to Mt. Sinai without giving them the Torah?] Bringing us to Mt. Sinai brought benefit to Israel, as it is said, “The contaminating lusts of the nations ceased for Israel who stood at Mt. Sinai; but for those who did not stand at Mt. Sinai, their contaminating lust did not cease” [Shabbat 145b-146a]. And, thus the passage from the Haggadah is explained.

Rabbi Levi Yitzchak of Berditchev (Russia, 18th century Hasidic rebbe) This verse makes no sense. What would be the purpose of coming to Sinai if there was to be no Torah, no revelation? The answer lies in what happened to Israel in the three days of preparation for the great event. Each one who was present, he says (and of course all of us were present at Sinai!), so sincerely and deeply opened themselves Torah, casting aside all material concerns in order to hear only God’s word, that they were able to discover the entire Torah already implanted within their own hearts. Each of us contains Torah with us; it is only our preoccupation with trivial and superficial pursuits that keeps us from turning inward to find it. The promise of revelation was enough to evoke this discovery/revelation from within.

- Arthur Green in My People’s Passover Haggadah v. 2, p. 61 (Ed. Hoffman & Arnow).

Rabbi Shlomo Eliashiv (Lithuania and Jerusalem, early 20th century,) How could a rabbinic Jew ever say that the Sinai experience would have been “enough” without the actual giving of the Torah? The answer depends on emphasizing “and not given us the Torah.” . . . . According to Rabbi Eliashiv, even if God “had not given us the Torah,” means that even if we “had not been given the power of halakhic (Jewish law) decision making [p’sak].” The point is that even so, we would still have had access to Torah decisions via direct divine instruction, and that would suffice. It would be dayyenu, for we would know what to do. Now, however, that we have been given the power to decide halakhic matters, then “how much more so is this [gift] a most increased blessing that God has given us!” … now that the Torah has been given to us—that is, we have the power to decide Halakhah according to a set of articulated rules—we have both the authenticity of Sinai and the creativity of our own participation in the halakhic process.

- Daniel Landes in My People’s Passover Haggadah v. 2, p. 64.

Which response do you like the best, and why? Are there any you are uncomfortable with? What are the things in our lives about which we can say dayyenu—it would be enough [without them], and what are the things about which we would say lo dayyenu—it would not be enough? Source: Rabbi Noah Arnow Dayyenu for Israel

Had God upheld us throughout two thousand years of Dispersion, But not preserved our hope for return - Dayenu

Had God preserved our hope for return But not sent us leaders to make the dream a reality -Dayenu

Had God sent us leaders to make the dream a reality, But not given us success in the U.N. vote - Dayenu

Had God given us success in the U.N. vote, But not defeated our attackers in 1948- Dayenu

Had God defeated our attackers in 1948, But not unified Jerusalem - Dayenu

Had God unified Jerusalem, But not led us toward peace with Egypt and Jordan - Dayenu

Had God returned us to the Land of our ancestors, But not filled it with our children - Dayenu

Had God filled it with our children, But not caused the desert to bloom - Dayenu

Had God caused the desert to bloom, But not built for us cities and town - Dayenu

Had God rescued our remnants from the Holocaust's flames, but not brought our brothers from Arab lands - Dayenu

Had God brought our brothers from Arab lands, But not opened the gates for Russia's Jews - Dayenu

Had God opened the gate for Russia's Jews, But not redeemed our people from Ethiopia - Dayenu

Had God redeemed our people from Ethiopia, But not planted in our hearts a covenant of One People - Dayenu

Had God planted in our hearts a covenant of One People, But not sustained in us a vision of a perfect world - Dayenu

Source: Rabbi Yitz Greenberg in honor of the 50th Anniversary of the Establishment of Israel. (1998)

How does Dayyenu help us “conclude with Praise?” "Dayenu" sets the stage for Hallel, as we will now praise God [by singing Hallel] not only in gratitude for taking us out of Egypt, but also in appreciation for each significant stage of the redemptive process.

Ge'ulat Yisra'el - the redemption of Israel - is a process that is comprised of many stages. Every significant step in this process, even without the full attainment of the ultimate goal, requires our gratitude and praise to Hashem. In each stage of redemption, Am Yisra'el is required to recognize that stage and thank Hashem accordingly, while at the same time recognizing that many more stages remain yet unfulfilled. "Dayyenu" challenges us to find the proper balance.

Source: Rabbi Menachem Leibtag, 20th C. Israel

The principle of "dayyenu," of giving thanks even for the partial and incomplete, is crucial for living in this uncertain world in which few dreams ever come to total fruition. We thank God every day for the miracle of being alive. In learning gratitude to God, we also learn to show gratitude to parents, teachers, loved ones, and friends, even when their efforts fall short of completeness. Source: Noam Zion and David Dishon, A Different Night, 20th C. CE Israel

Dayyenu on its Head if only we create caring, compassionate communities - Dayenu.

If only we bring holiness into our lives, homes and communities - Dayenu.

If only we teach our children to pursue tzedek (justice), and to give tzedakah (charity) generously - Dayenu.

If only we engage in tikkun olam (mend our broken world) - Dayenu.

If only we recognize ourselves as being created in the image of God, and so recognize God's image in others - Dayenu.

If only our friends and family provide us with emotional warmth, guidance, support, and practical help - Dayenu.

If only we live during our time of medical breakthroughs, allowing many of us to live longer lives than almost any other Jews in history - Dayenu.

If only the land of Israel once again has become a sovereign state where Jews, for the first time in two millennia, govern themselves - Dayenu.

If only the in-gathering of the exiles, from the former Soviet Union, Ethiopia, Syria, Iran, and a hundred other countries, has contributed to Israel's strength and multicultural vitality - Dayenu.

If only America, the most open Diaspora community in Jewish history, provides us with religious freedom and offers us and our children opportunities to obtain a good education - Dayenu Source: UJA Federation New York, 2001

Dayenu Dayenu is the song of our gratitude. A Jew defines himself by his capacity for gratitude. A Jewish philosopher was once asked, “What is the opposite of nihilism?” And he said, “Dayenu,” the ability to be thankful. Source: Elie Wiesel

The Passover Lamb That Our Ancestors Ate…For What Reason? A new fellowship was formed around the paschal lamb; a new community sprang into existence. Being together, living with each other, sharing something many possess in common was made possible by the ceremonial of the paschal lamb. The Halakhah coined the term Havurah with reference to the group gathering for this ceremonial….

The slave suddenly realizes that the little he has saved up for himself, a single lamb, is too much for him. The slave spontaneously does something he would never have believed he was capable of doing, namely, he knocks on the door of the neighbor he had never noticed, inviting him to share the lamb with him and to eat together… Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik, Festival of Freedom

Samaritan Passover Offering on Mount Gerizim: Modern Photos The Samaritans follow a religion closely related to Judaism. They claim that theirs is the true religion of the ancient Israelites. Today, a small community of 750 Samaritans lives in Israel.

Show these pictures to the people around your seder table. Ask: What is happening here? What is the mood of the pictures?

How do they remind you of your own Passover celebrations and how are they different?

What, if anything do they suggest about the function of the korban Pesach-the Passover offering?

For me- the top picture is serious, togetherness, a little scary, huddling together for protection. The bottom picture is about family. Korban Pesach is real- not a symbol on a seder plate. Source: Rabbi Barry Dov Katz and Internet

Another Biblical Perspective on the Korban Pesach: Linking of Generations

And it shall come to pass, when your children shall say to you, “What do you mean by this service?” That you shall say, “You shall say the Passover sacrifice (zevach pesach) is for A-donai, who passed over (asher pasach) the houses of the children of Israel in Egypt when He struck the Egyptians but saved our houses (beiteinu). The people then bowed down low.” Exodus 12:26-27

At stake, then, during the Plague of the First Born are not only individual children but the inheritors of the covenant: the next generation. The collective as well as the personal fate of the people who leave Egypt is wholly dependent on their descendants.

Rabbi David Silber, A Passover Haggadah-Go Forth and Learn, 2011

Of all of the possible symbols of the Passover story (Matzah, Maror, Kiddush Cup….) why was the Passover sacrifice chosen by the Torah as the answer to the question: What do you mean by this service? Is it the symbol that you would choose to show kids? Adults?

To the left is a picture of a Passover version of Silly Bandz.” Ask younger participants at your seder to identify the symbols of the seder here.

Dayyenu…

Dayenu v'lo Dayenu - It is enough and of course it is not enough. The most important piece of the Dayenu is the implied ellipsis at the end of the song, three little dots urging us to continue to write it, each day of our lives.

Source: Rabbi Adam Kligfeld, 20th C. CE USA

Rohtzah Washing Hands with Blessing

Motzi Matzah Blessings over Matzah Maror Eating Bitter Herb Korekh Assembling Pesah Sandwich Shulhan Orekh Festive Meal

Katz-Klein Family Pesah Nut Game

Games played with nuts (usually filbert or walnuts) are an old Pesah tradition. They keep the kids (and some of the adults) awake late into the night. Here is the version my Zayda, Al Klein, taught me. We would play it as the adults lingered over dinner. When it was time for the Afikoman we would return to the table with lots of energy.

Give each player 5-10 nuts. Place one odd shaped nut at an equal distance from all of the players. Take turns rolling your nut towards the odd shaped nut. If you hit it, you get the to take the pot (all of the other nuts that have been rolled to the center, minus the odd nut). If you hit another nut, take it and the nut you rolled. The game is over when someone has amassed all of the nuts or when it’s time to find the afikoman.

NOTE: After services on the first three mornings of Pesah Rabbi Katz invites all players to Nut Game Tournament. Nuts will be provided.

Source: Rabbi Barry Dov Katz

Tzafun Eating Afikoman A Prayer for Peace (Read before Searching for the Afikoman)

Why is this night different, in so many ways, from seders past? For tonight, as we search for the afikoman, we seek something even more elusive: Peace. For ourselves and for the world.

We ask You, Creator of Peace, to help our country find the courage to be a stronghold of peace, and its advocate among the nations.

Grant our leaders the wisdom to be like the disciples of Aaron, loving peace and pursuing it.

Shelter the men and women of our armed forces in the safety of your presence, so that they will not be afraid.

Bring peace to Israel and its neighbors.

Send healing to all those who are in pain, who mourn, who suffer in our unredeemed world.

On this night of storytelling and discussion, Help us understand the power of listening to each other as we search for wholeness.

We know that we cannot only pray to You, O God, to end war; You have made the world in such a way that we must find the path to peace within ourselves and with our neighbors.

Help us to discover quiet, serenity, and security as we celebrate our holiday of freedom, For Your sake and for ours, speedily and soon.

So that our land, our people, and world may be safe And that our lives may be blessed. Source: Selection adapted from works by Rabbis Jack Reimer and Chaim Stern

Barekh Blessing After Meal

Ritual of Remembrance (May be recited after the third of the four cups of wine)

The Jews in Bergen-Belsen had no matzah for Pesah 1944. It was decided that it was permissible to eat hametz, and that the following prayer should be recited before eating:

“Our Father in Heaven, behold, it is evident and known to You that it is our desire to do Your will and to celebrate the festival of Pesah by eating matzah and by observing the prohibition against hametz. But our hearts are pained that the enslavement prevents us from doing so, and our lives are in danger. Behold, we are ready to fulfill Your commandment, ‘And you shall live by them and not die by them.’ Therefore, our prayer to You is that You may keep us alive and save us and rescue us speedily so that we may observe Your commandments and do Your will and serve You with a perfect heart. Amen.”

On this Seder night, we recall with anguish and with love our martyred brothers and sisters, the six million Jews of Europe who were destroyed at the hands of a tyrant more fiendish than Pharaoh. Their memory will never be forgotten. Their murderers will never be forgiven.

Trapped in ghettoes, caged in death camps, abandoned by an unseeing or uncaring world, Jews gave their lives in acts that sanctified God’s name and the name of His people Israel. Some rebelled against their tormentors, fighting with makeshift weapons, gathering the last remnants of their failing strength in peerless gestures of courage and defiance. Others went to their death with their faith in God miraculously unimpaired. Unchecked, unchallenged, evil ran rampant and devoured the holy innocents.

But the light of the Six Million will never be extinguished. Their glow illumines our path. And we will teach our children and our children’s children to remember them with reverence and with pride.

Source: Unknown

Hallel Songs of Praise

Nirtzah Concluding Prayers

I Read The Haggadah Backwards This Year

I read the haggadah backwards this year The sea opens, the ancient Israelites slide back to Egypt like Michael Jackson doing the moonwalk Freedom to slavery That’s the real story One minute you’re dancing hallelujah with the prophetess the next you’re knee deep in brown in the basement of some minor pyramid

The angel of death comes back to life two zuzim are refunded.

When armies emerge from the sea like a returning scuba expedition the Pharaoh calls out for fresh towels.

The bread has plenty of time to rise.

I read the hagaddah backwards this year, left a future Jerusalem, scrubbed off the bloody doorposts, wandered back to Aram.

Rabbi Daniel Brenner

To keep things interesting, ask participants to tell the story of the Exodus backwards!

Even more interesting, ask them to tell the story of the Exodus backwards- starting with them sitting around your seder table tonight! What details of your past link would you include as links back to the Exodus? After you are done, read Rabbi Daniel Brenner’s poem. Did he end where you ended? Another idea: Sing Echad Mi Yodea backwards- it has a nice drama to it! Source: Rabbi Barry Dov Katz