Passover 201140 Questions

Order of the Sader• KADDESH

– Say the Kiddush– Drink the Wine

• UR’CHATZ– Wash our hands

• KARPAS– Bless the fruit of the Earth– Dip in salt water; taste the salt

• YACHATZ– Break the matzah– Hide half

• MAGGID– Tell the story

• RACHTZAH– Wash our hands, say the blessing

• MOTZI/MATZAH– Say the blessings for bread

• MAROR– Dip the bitter herb in charoset

• KORECH– Eat the bitter herb and matzah

• SHULCHAN ORECH– Eat the meal

• TZAFUN– Find and eat the Afikomen

• BARECH– Say the blessing after the meal, drink

the third cup, welcome Elijah

• HALLEL– Sing songs, 4th cup of wine

• NIRTZAH– Complete the Seder

“And you shall observe the Matzah, for on this very day I brought out their battalions from the land of Egypt, and you shall observe this day through your generations”

- Exodus 12:17

What is this?• Questioner: “Observe the Matzah? I thought it was “Observe the Passover.”• Reader: In Exodus at this point the term matsot is used as the name of the

festival, which is also called pesach. Some have suggested that these were originally two different holidays – matsot agricultural and pesach pastoral – that were drawn together.

• Questioner: Ok, so we’re supposed to observe the holiday, but why should we? What’s the point?

• Reader: To understand where we come from• Reader: To get our bearings for where we go next (“next year in Jerusalem”)

Reader: To teach our children what it means to be Jewish• Reader: To remember when we were slaves, and think about how we are still

enslaved today.• Reader: To remember when we were slaves, and think about our responsibilities

to people who suffer now, to people who are still slaves.• Reader: In every generation, each of us should feel as though we ourselves had

gone forth from Egypt, as it is written: “And you shall explain to your child on that day, it is because of what the Eternal did for me when I, myself, went forth from Egypt.”

Get Ready: Candle Lighting

• Reader: "She would rather light candles than curse the darkness, and her glow has warmed the world.“

• Questioner: Who said that?• Reader: It’s a variation on a Chinese proverb. Adlai

Stevenson said it during a speech at the UN general assembly in 1962, talking about Eleanor Roosevelt

• [Light candles]• Group: Baruch atah Adonai Eloheinu Meleh ha-olam

asher kidshanu b’mitzvo-t v’tzivanu l’hadlik neir shel yom tov.

Why so many questions?

• Reader: The key to Jewish exegesis is to assume that nothing is obvious. Questions are the great cultural paradox. They both destabilize and secure social norms....Ease with questions conveys a fundamental trust in the goodwill and good sense of others….consequently we celebrate challenging the Torah to make sense, and above all to be a defensible expression of Devine goodness…when we ask good questions the Torah is given anew on Sinai at that very moment.

• Rabbi Steven Greenberg

Get Set: Blessing over Wine(Kaddesh)

• Reader: In Exodus, there are a lot of laws that pertain differently to natives, or “ezrah” and sojourners, or “ger.” The word “ezrah” is literally a kind of plant, probably a grapevine. Metaphorically, it means something like “nurtured by the soil.” The fact that native Israelites are referred to as “grapevines” says a lot about the importance of grapes and wine in our culture.

• Questioner: Why are we obligated to drink four cups of wine?

Why Four Cups?• Reader: There are many reasons proposed. Here are the ones from the

Hagaddah and from three different Jewish sages• Reader: The Hagaddah says: With each cup, we recall the four different

promises of freedom that God gave our people: “I will free you from the burdens of the Egyptians,” “I will deliver you from their bondage,” “I will redeem you with an outstretched arm,” and “I will take you to be my people.”

• Reader: The Vilna Gaon says: They relate to the four worlds: this world, the messianic age, the world at the time of the revival of the dead, and the world to come.

• Reader: The Maharal says: They refer to the four matriarchs, Sarah, Rebecca, Rachel, and Leah

• Reader: The Abarbanel says: They refer to the four redemptions of the Jewish people: the choosing of Abraham, the Exodus from Egypt, survival during the Diaspora, and the final redemption to come.

• Questioner: What other reasons are there?

White Wine or Red?

• Reader: Traditionally, Ashkenazi Jews drank white wine at the Seder, while Sephardic Jews drank red wine.

• Reader: During the Middle Ages, Jews in Christian countries were accused of drinking human blood at the Seder (the “blood libel”). To avoid even the appearance of this, Ashkenazi Jews switched to white wine.

“Kiddush” Blessing over the Wine

• Reader: You have called us for service from among the peoples, and have hallowed our lives with commandments. In love you have given us festivals for rejoicing, seasons of celebration, this Festival of Matzah, the time of our freedom, a commemoration of the Exodus from Egypt. Praised are you, Adonai, who gave us this joyful heritage.

• Group: Baruch Atah Adonai Eloheinu Meleh ha-olam borei p’ri ha-gafen

• Reader: We praise You, O God, Sovereign of Existence, Who creates the fruit of the vine.

Go: Blessing the Fruit of the Earth(Karpas)

Questioner: What does the Karpas symbolize?Reader: Karpas means “fruit,” as in “fruit of the earth.” It symbolizes Spring, renewal, and redemption.Questioner: Why does the Karpas ritual come first in the Seder?Reader: The word is a pun. Karpas also means “linen” or “cloth,” and that’s the way it’s used most frequently in the Torah. From “cloth,” the word came to symbolize Joseph’s “coat of many colors.” Reader: Using this pun, Talmudic commentaries tie the sprig of greens to the story of Joseph.Questioner: What’s the story of Joseph got to do with Passover?Reader: Joseph’s brothers became jealous of him initially over the coat. Their jealousy led (eventually) to slavery in Egypt, so the coat represents the first step toward slavery, the beginning of the story.

Dipping the Karpas• Questioner: Why do we dip the

karpas?• Reader: To spur curiosity and get

the children’s attention• Reader: We dip in salt water to

symbolize that our redemption is mixed with the tears of slavery

• Reader: We dip in vinegar to symbolize that our redemption is mixed with the bitterness of slavery

• Reader: We dip in red charoset to symbolize Joseph’s coat, and the beginning of our sojourn in Egypt

Baruch Atah Adonai Eloheinu Melech ha’olamBorei p’ri ha-adamah

What is the meaning of the Seder plate?

Seder Plate ExplainedBitter Herb (Maror)We eat bitter herb to remember to bitterness of slavery

Collinsville Ill. is the horseradish capital of the world, supplying 2/3rds of U.S. demand, all from just about 2,000 acres planted. The major growers are the Keller family (a century old family farm) and Horseradish House (established by J.R. Kelly in 1933).

Shank Bone (Z’roa)The meaning of most Passover symbols was assigned in the Rabbinic Period, but the Torah specifies this one: “And it shall come to pass, when your children shall say unto you, What mean ye by this service? That ye shall say, It is the sacrifice of the Lord’s Passover, who passed over the houses of the children of Israel in Egypt, when he smote the Egyptians, and delivered our houses.”

The California Wool Growers Association, which shifted focus from wool to meat half a century ago, is the oldest agricultural organization in the state. It was established in 1861 by Basque immigrants to the Stockton area, and is still dominated by their descendants. California’s sheep and lamb population is about 610,000. According to Exodus, the Jews left Egypt with a herd of about 675,000.

CharosetA sweet mixture of fruits and nuts meant to symbolize the mortar used by the slaves

California is the 4th largest apple-producing state. The first orchards, established in the 1880s, were around Sebastopol. California pioneered the practice of growing smaller apple trees closer together. This improved consistency and yield, and enabled pickers to use smaller ladders, which led to pickers hiring more women and teenagers.

KarpasKarpas means “fruit,” as in “fruit of the earth” or harvest. On the Seder plate it can also refer to Joseph.

About 50% of all vegetables grown in the U.S. come from California. About 1.1 million migrant laborers work in California. 80% of them are from Mexico, and 96% of them are undocumented. In biblical terms, they are “sojourners” or “ger”

Roasted Egg (Beitzah)Many meanings are ascribed. Here are some: renewal,fortitude, mourning for the loss of the temple, honoring the midwives in Egypt who defied Pharaoh’s order and saved the Jewish people

California hens lay almost 5 billion eggs every year, just 5% of the U.S. total. Proposition 2, requiring humane treatment of laying hens, was passed in 2008, and goes into effect in 2015.

Breaking the Matzah(Yachatz)

Group: This is the bread of poverty which our ancestors ate in Egypt. All who are hungry, come and eat. All who are needy, come and celebrate Passover with us. Now we celebrate here. Next year may we be in the land of Israel. Now we are slaves. Next year may we be free

What’s the story with Matzah?• Reader: Matzah is the central symbol, used as the name of the festival.• Reader: The commandment to eat matzah is particularly strong. If you eat leavened bread

during the Passover, the Torah says you are cut off from the Jewish people• Reader: The Rabbinical rules about matzah are stricter than the Kashrut rules; you can eat

meat with milk, for instance, if one of them is sufficiently diluted. But any leaven at all is forbidden during Passover

• Questioner: When does matzah first appear in the Bible?• Reader: In the story of Sodom. Two visitors come to Sodom, and Lot, a sojourner there, takes

them in and offers them hospitality, despite the danger to himself. He makes a feast “with matzah” for them. They turn out to be angels sent by God to destroy the city, but Lot is saved.

• Questioner: What does matzah signify?• Reader: It represents haste; hurrying to take advantage of the opportunities God gives you.• Reader: According to the Bal Shem Tov, the “chometz” (leaven) represents “puffiness” or ego.

We avoid it during Passover to work on controlling our egos.• Reader: Chometz can also mean things in our lives that we would like get rid of or free

ourselves from.

Four QuestionsMah nishtanah ha-lahylah ha-zeh mi-kol ha-layloht,

mi-kol ha-layloht?Why is this night different from all other nights?

1. She-b'khol ha-layloht anu okhlin chameytz u-matzah, chameytz u-matzah. Ha-lahylah ha-zeh, ha-lahylah ha-zeh, kooloh matzah?Why is it that on all other nights during the year we eat either bread or matzoh, but on this night we eat only matzoh?

2. She-b'khol ha-layloht anu okhlin sh'ar y'rakot, sh'ar y'rakot. Ha-lahylah ha-zeh, ha-lahylah ha-zeh, maror?Why is it that on all other nights we eat all kinds of herbs, but on this night we eat only bitter herbs?

3. She-b'khol ha-layloht ayn anu mat'bilin afilu pa'am echat, afilu pa'am echat. Ha-lahylah ha-zeh, ha-lahylah ha-zeh, sh'tay p'amim?Why is it that on all other nights we do not dip our herbs even once, but on this night we dip them twice?

4. She-b'khol ha-layloht anu okhlin bayn yosh'bin u'vayn m'soobin, bayn yosh'bin u'vayn m'soobin. Ha-lahylah ha-zeh, ha-lahylah ha-zeh, koolanu m'soobin?Why is it that on all other nights we eat either sitting or reclining, but on this night we eat in a reclining position?

Four AnswersReader: We eat only matzah because our ancestors could not wait for their breads to rise when they were fleeing slavery in Egypt, and so they took the breads out of their ovens while they were still flat, which was matzah.Reader: We eat only Moror, a bitter herb, to remind us of the bitterness of slavery that our ancestors endured while in Egypt.Reader: We dip twice - (1) green vegetables in salt water, and (2) Maror in Charoses, a sweet mixture of nuts and wine. The first dip, green vegetables in salt water, symbolizes the replacing of tears with gratefulness, and the second dip, Maror in Charoses, symbolizes sweetening the burden of bitterness and suffering to lessen its pain.Reader: We recline at the Seder table because in ancient times, a person who reclined at a meal symbolized a free person, free from slavery, and so we recline in our chairs at the Passover Seder table to remind ourselves of the glory of freedom.

Tell the Story(Maggid)

Reader: And a new king arose over Egypt who knew not Joseph. And he said to his people, “Look, the people of the sons of Israel is more numerous and vaster than we. Come, let us be shrewd with them lest they multiply and then, should war occur, they will actually join our enemies and fight against us and go up from the land.” Reader: And they set over them forced-labor foremen so as to abuse them with their burdens, and they built store-cities for Pharaoh: Pithom and Ramases. And as they abused them, so did they multiply and so did they spread, and they came to loathe the Israelites. Reader: And the Egyptians put the Israelites to work at crushing labor, and they made their lives bitter with hard work with mortar and bricks and every work in the field – all their crushing work that they performed.

You tell the story

Moses became a prince of Egypt – what did he see that changed his life?What did he do?God called Moses, how did he respond?Moses went to Pharaoh and asked to let the people go. How did pharaoh respond?

Plagues 1-3• Reader: “Moses said: ‘Thus said the Lord: By this shall you know

that I am the Lord: Look, I am about to strike with the staff in my hand on the water that is in the Nile, and it will turn into blood.’”

• Group: Dahm…Blood• Reader: “Thus said the Lord: Send off My people that they may

worship Me. And if you refuse to send them off, look I am about to scourge all your region with frogs.”

• Group: T’z fardaya…Frogs• Reader: “And the Lord said to Moses, ‘Say to Aaron: Stretch out

your staff and strike the dust of the land and there will be lice in all the land of Egypt.”

• Group: Kinim…Lice

Plagues 4-6• Reader: “If you do not send off My people, I am about to send against

you the horde, and the houses of Egypt will be filled with the horde, and the soil too, on which they stand.

• Group: Arov….flies• Reader: “If you refuse to send them off and you still hold on to them,

look, the hand of the Lord is about to be against your livestock which is in the field.”

• Group: Dever…cattle disease• Reader: “And the Lord said to Moses and to Aaron: ‘take you handfulls

of soot from the kiln and let Moses throw it toward the havens before Pharaoh’s eyes, and it shall become a fine dust over all the land, and it shall become on man and beast a burning rash erupting in boils.’”

• Group: Sh’chin…Boils

Plagues 7 - 10• Reader: “And the Lord said to Moses: ‘Stretch out your hand over the

heavens, that there be hail in all the land of Egypt.”• Group: Barad…hail• Reader: “And the Lord said to Moses: ‘Stretch out your hand over the land of

Egypt for the locust.”• Group: Arbeh…locusts• Reader: “And the Lord said to Moses, ‘Stretch out your hand over the heavens

that there be darkness upon the land of Egypt, a darkness one can feel.’”• Group: Choshech…darkness• Reader: “And it happened at midnight that the Lord struck down every

firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh sitting on his thrown to the firstborn of the captive who was in the dungeon, and every firstborn of the beasts.”

• Group: Makat B’chorot…killing of the first born

Pharaoh’s Stubbornness• Questioner: Why didn’t Pharaoh see the writing on the wall and

let them go after the first or second plague? • Reader: God said to Moses “I myself have hardened his heart.”• Questioner: Why did God do that?• Reader: To show his power• Reader: To be remembered by Jews for all time• Reader: As a warning against the arrogance of power• Reader: To symbolize the difficulty of making changing things• Reader: Amichai Lau-Lavie* asks “Who are the Pharaohs within

you?” What do they enslave you from doing? How do they hold you back? Why have you placed them there? What purpose do they serve?

*Contemporary Jewish thinker

DayenuIlu hotsi, hotsianu, hotsianu mimitsrayim,hotsianu mimitsrayim, Dayeinu! Da, dayeinu! Da, dayeinu! Da, dayeinu! Dayeinu! Dayeinu! Ilu natan, natan lanu, natan lanu et hatorah,natan lanu et hatorah, Dayeinu! Da, dayeinu! Da, dayeinu! Da, dayeinu!Dayeinu! Dayeinu! Ilu natan, natan lanu, natan lanu et hashabbat,natan lanu et hashabbat, Dayeinu! Da, dayeinu! Da, dayeinu! Da, dayeinu! Dayeinu! Dayeinu!

Had He only brought us out of, only brought us out from Egypt then it would have been sufficient. Dayeinu! Dayeinu!Had He given, given to us, given to us only Shabbat, then it would have been sufficient. Dayeinu! Dayeinu!Had He given, given to us, given to us only Torah, then it would have been sufficient. Dayeinu.

Second Cup of Wine

“Thou hast made us to drink the wine of astonishment.”

- Psalm 60

Baruch Atah Adonai Eloheinu Melech ha’olamBorie p’ri ha-gafen

Bless the Matzah(Motzi/Matzah)

• Group: Baruch Atah Adonai Eloheinu Melech ha’olam hamotzi lechem min ha’aretz.– We praise you, eternal, ruler of

the universe, who brings forth bread from the earth

• Baruch Atah Adonai Eloheinu Melech ha’olam asher kid’shanu b’mitzvotav v’tzivanu al achilat matzah.– We praise you, Eternal, ruler of

the universe, who makes us holy by Your mitzvot and commands us to eat matzah.

Dip and Eat the Bitter Herb(Maror/Korech)

Questioner: Why do we eat the Maror?Reader: To remind us of the bitterness of slaveryQuestioner: What was that like?Reader: “And they set over them forced-labor foremen so as to abuse them with their burdens.”Reader: “And the Egyptians put the Israelites to work at crushing labor, and they made their lives bitter with hard work with mortar and bricks and every work in the field.Reader: “And Pharaoh charged his whole people, saying ‘Every [Israelite] boy that is born you shall fling into the Nile, and every girl you shall let live.”Reader: According to the International Labor Organization, at least 12 million people are caught up in slavery today, or 20 times the number of Jewish slaves in Egypt, according to the Bible. Most slaves today are women, and half are children.Questioner: Where are all these slaves?Reader: According to the ILO, most are in Asia. But the Congressional Research Service says that about 17,500 people are trafficked in the U.S each year. San Francisco is a hub for trafficking.Questioner: How are people enslaved today?Reader: Victims are enticed through fraud, coerced, or sometimes sold by their familiesQuestioner: What do slaves do?Reader: Most slaves today are forced into agriculture “work in the field,” or into prostitution, though slaves also do domestic and industrial work.Group: Baruch Atah Adonai Eloheinu Melech ha’olam asher kid’shanu b’mitzvotav v’tzivanu al achilat MarorReader: We praise you, Eternal, ruler of the universe, who makes us holy by Your mitzvot and commands us to eat maror. Eat the bitter herb

Elijah and the Empty Cup

Reader: this cup is for Eliyahu Hanavi, Elijah the Prophet. We open our front door to greet our honored guest and invite him to join our seder. Reader: Jewish legends recall the mystical appearance of Elijah the Prophet in times of trouble, to promise relief and redemption, to lift downcast spirits, and to plant hope in the hearts of the downtrodden.

Eliyahu hanaviEliyahu ha’TishbiEliyahu, Eliyahu, Eliyahu haGiladiBimhera v’yameinu, yavo elienu im Mashiach ben David

This Week’s Torah Portion(Parsha Kedoshim)

• Reader: When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not fully reap the corner of your field, nor shall you gather the gleanings of your harvest, and you shall not glean your vineyard, nor shall you collect the [fallen] individual grapes of your vineyard; you shall leave them for the poor and the stranger.

• Reader: When you enter the land and plant any tree for food, you shall regard its fruit as forbidden for three years, but in the fourth year all its fruit shall be set aside for jubilation before the Lord. Then in the fifth year you may use its fruit--that its yield to you may be increased: I, the Lord, am your God.

• Reader: You shall commit no injustice in judgment; you shall not favor a poor person or respect a great man; you shall judge your fellow with righteousness.

• Reader: You shall not stand by [the shedding of] your fellow's blood. I am the Lord.• Reader: The stranger who sojourns with you shall be as a native from among you,

and you shall love him as yourself; for you were strangers in the land of Egypt. I am the Lord, your God.

Ending the Formal Part• Questioner: Are we ever going to eat?• Reader: While Passover Seders can go on for hours, many Rabbis consider

the Haggadah an anthology of best practices, rather than a program you have to complete. We end our formal Seder with the “Shulchan Orech,” or meal.

• Reader: It is traditional to end the Seder by saying “Next year in Jerusalem!”• Questioner: But isn’t that just a relic of mediaeval times? We can go to

Jerusalem whenever we want to.• Reader: In the Talmud, “Jerusalem” is often used metaphorically. It can

mean “when the Messiah comes.”• Reader: Or “Next year, when I have liberated myself from some of my own

Pharaohs”• Reader: Or “Next year, when I have helped liberate others from the

Pharaohs of today.”

L’Chaim

Passover Meal(SHULCHAN ORECH)

Resources for Fighting Slavery

• Join Free the Slaves. A national organization fighting slavery http://www.freetheslaves.net/action

• Join the Jewish Abolitionist movement http://www.freedomshabbat.org/about/jewish-abolitionist-movement/

• Join Fair Trade Judaica in their campaign against coco beans harvested by slave labor http://fairtradejudaica.org/

• Government information http://www.state.gov/g/tip/