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Rabbi Sue levi Elwell When we open a Haggadah that our families have used for years, the pages may be stuck together with charoset, matzah crumbs make tracks along the bindings, and wine stains decorate the pages on which the plagues are enumerated. The Haggadah, the text of the Seder, is a script of questions and answers. Based upon the order for telling the story prescribed in the second century Mishnah, the Haggadah is a collection of biblical excerpts and ritual direction, supplemented and enhanced over the centuries with creative interpretations, poems, and songs. Like any time-honored teaching tool, the Haggadah has been adapted by each generation and culture that has used it around the family table. Who is at the Table? Today’s families are rich and varied. They are multi-generational, including individuals related by birth, adoption and affection. Some are Jews by birth, some are Jews by choice, some come from other traditions, and some from no tradition at all. One way to ensure that your family enjoys a rich Seder experience is to include a range of ages and backgrounds around your table, welcoming visitors and those new to your community, and following the tradition of including individuals who otherwise might not attend a Seder.
An inclusive Seder welcomes everyone and invites participation from the beginning. Guests may be asked to contribute by sharing a treasured recipe, preparing parts of the meal, or making decisions about the liturgy. You may want to ask everyone who is invited to bring a question or a poem to contribute to the evening. When family members and friends share the responsibilities for this special event, no single individual need bear the weight of this communal celebration. One way to bring people together at the outset of the Seder is to ask them to introduce themselves, sharing something about their past experiences of Passover. When each voice is acknowledged, the celebration can begin. The Table An inclusive Seder does not have to take place in the dining room. Choose a room in your home that can comfortably accommodate the diverse participants who will attend. Will parents of small children be able to be a part of the evening? Will children have access to play space in addition to their places at the table? Will older people be comfortable in their chairs? Will those who have special needs be able to participate fully? While most families prefer to hold their S‘darim (plural of Seder) around a large table, other families use several small tables. Some families begin their Seder in a family room, with the Seder plate, matzah, salt water, wine and glasses. Only when they arrive at Shulchan Oreich, the main meal, does everyone gather around the main table.
You may choose to use a Haggadah in its entirety, or choose particular portions that will enrich and enhance your family’s celebration. Read through the Haggadah in the weeks before your Seder and decide which pieces will and won’t work for your family. Think about how to "customize" a Seder experience that will include everyone present. You will want to include the essential sections of the Haggadah. The Maggid section should include what some call "the four tellings:" the Four Questions, the Four Children, biblical verses and their midrashic interpretations, and an explanation of pesach, matzah and maror. As more Jews become fluent in Jewish traditions, many families are designing and producing their own supplements to, or versions of, the Haggadah. Such Haggadot draw on a rich range of sources, both historical and contemporary, and reflect the geographical origins, the travels and the studies of individual family members. Some families create their own Haggadah every few years, cutting and pasting from published editions, adding drawings and sketches by various family members, or marking children’s growth by including artwork, poems and interpretations of various portions of the Passover story. Leaders and Readers The most successful S‘darim reflect not only shared planning and execution but shared liturgical leadership. While one person might be the primary facilitator, every person at the table should have an opportunity to read, respond, and, if able, to take a turn leading the group. To prepare yourself to act as Seder facilitator, become familiar with the Haggadah or Haggadot to be used. Then you will be able to guide others and to open discussion at particular times during the course of the evening. You may wish to underscore the importance of certain sections, encourage particular readers for chosen parts, or move quickly through various sections.
Some sections invite discussion. After the Ha Lachma Anya, those gathered might discuss their understanding of "Let all who are hungry come and eat." After the Four Questions, encourage those present to ask their own questions. As an introduction to Hallel, one might ask, "What has given us joy this year?" When the text speaks of our ancestors’ bondage and journeys, think about including stories of those who journeyed to freedom more recently. When To Hold Your Seder Most home S‘darim are held on the first and second nights of Passover. Some people celebrate with different individuals on each night. Some have traditions of using different tunes or haggadot on each of the first two nights. Some attend S‘darim on nights one and two, and then gather together again on the seventh or eighth night with a special focus. Next Year in Jerusalem The Seder ends with a challenge: next year in Jerusalem. For Jews, Jerusalem is not only a city but a symbol of the heart and soul of our people. When we end our Seder, we understand the yearning for Jerusalem as a yearning for a healed and renewed Judaism that fully honors Jewish women and men, respecting the humanity of all people. Rabbi Sue Levi Elwell is Director of the Center for Outreach and the Family, United American Hebrew Congregations. This article is adapted from The Journey Continues, a Haggadah integrating diverse approaches to the Exodus story and the Passover Experience. For information on obtaining copies of the Haggadah and accompanying cassette, please call Making Connections at 215-635-2202. [Top of Page][Making Connections Home]
Rabbi Jacob J. Staub More American Jews join together for a Passover Seder than any other Jewish ritual observance. For many families, the Seder has evolved into a family reunion centered around an elegant meal of ritual foods, punctuated by a few songs from the Haggadah. Amidst the excitement of family festivities and the pressure of preparing food, it is easy to overlook the deeper wisdom and meaning of the holiday.
The story of Exodus tells us that we came together as the People Israel through the magnificent saving power of God. But Passover is more than a commemoration of an event that occurred over 3,000 years ago. The text in the Haggadah literally instructs us to re-enact and re-experience our ancestors’ liberation from slavery: "In every generation, all of us are obliged to view ourselves as if we were slaves and have participated in the Exodus from Egypt." Today, most American Jews enjoy unprecedented political, economic, and social freedom—so much so that it may at first seem impossible to identify as slaves. Passover, however, teaches us to look again. The holiday reminds us that we are not as free as we might think. This Passover, how can we make this night really different? How can we turn the Seder from just another gathering into a holiday with a contemporary message that resonates for us as American Jews? Modern Enslavement Passover traditions instruct us to clear our homes of hametz, leavened products, and to maintain a yeast-free, non-fermented diet for the week. We do so to recall the haste with which the Israelites fled from Egypt, having no time to wait for their bread to rise. The break from slavery had to be quick and clean; the Israelites had to leave unfettered by baggage.
Although we enjoy extensive freedom, we, too, spend much time waiting for our bread to rise. We are enslaved by old baggage—which takes many forms. It may be accumulated material possessions, the piles of work on our office desks, the responsibility of caring for our homes and lawns, worries about our investments, or our need for top-quality clothes, automobiles, and vacations. We are also personally enslaved by the narrowness of our thoughts. In fact, one mystical understanding of the word Mitzrayim, the Hebrew word for Egypt, reads the word "Mi-tzarim" to literally mean "out of the narrow, constricted place." According to this teaching, while we may not have labored under Egyptian taskmasters, we remain bound by our internal fears and doubts. In our lives today, how many times have we refrained from speaking frankly to bosses or colleagues, for fear of losing our job? How often are we limited by self-doubts that we can’t do what we really want to do? Do family relationships or friendships restrict us from living the way we really want to live? Passover reminds us that each of us is in need of liberation from our own Egypt. Sharing the Bounty The holiday also teaches that none of us is free until we all have adequate sustenance. At the Seder, we lift up the matzah and say, "This is the bread of affliction....Let all who are hungry come and eat!" In traditional Jewish communities, the poor were invited to join the feast.
Recounting the story of our humble origins ensures that we don’t forget what it feels like to be poor and oppressed. We have a primary obligation to work for the liberation of all people and peoples. Our empathy leads us to action–to tikkun olam, the repair of the world’s imperfections. Because We Were Once Slaves And so we sit at the Seder as free people, reclining in leisure on pillows, drinking four cups of wine, each intended to remind us of a different aspect of the liberating power of God. We pour a special cup of wine for the Prophet Elijah, the traditional herald of the dawn of the messianic age. We remember Elijah the Prophet so that we won’t lose sight of the vision of a redeemed world–a world in which we would be free of psychological limitations, physical ailments, family quarrels, political battles, economic hardships, or environmental hazards. We eat haroset to remember the mortar we used in our slave labor. We grind our teeth on maror, the bitter herbs, to taste with all our senses the experience of bondage. Re-experiencing the tale furthers our individual and collective liberation by recalling how we are yet enslaved. Teaching the Children The youngest child asks "Mah nishtanah–How is this night different?" We do all of this in the context of the Seder, a ritual meal that brings different generations together by telling the story of our origins and trying to make sense of it. By reviewing our past, we seek together to divine our future. To the extent that we communicate, in age appropriate ways, about our understanding of slavery and freedom, we are able to move the Jewish story along, by one year, by one generation. On Passover, we commemorate the Exodus from Egypt and are reminded that this world is in ongoing need of liberation. In celebrating Passover, we become and help others to become a little bit more free. Rabbi Jacob J. Staub is Vice President for Academic Affairs at the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College. [Top of Page][Making Connections Home]
Rabbi Philip Warmflash "For
Seven Days You Shall Eat Matzah…Remove All Leaven From Your Homes."
Keeping kosher involves every aspect of preparing and eating food: certain foods may not be eaten together; specific foods are restricted altogether. Separate utensils are used to prepare dairy foods and meat products. The rules of keeping kosher reflect the Jewish tradition’s respect for the holiness of the meal. At Passover the laws of keeping kosher become more complex. Passover celebrates the liberation of the Jewish people from slavery in Egypt. One of the most profound ways we express this freedom is by restricting the foods we eat. At first it seems a bit ironic, but how better to understand freedom than by experiencing its absence? Passover Food is Different The laws governing "keeping" Kosher for Passover–when observed at their fullest–may seem extremely demanding. A kitchen must be cleaned and any utensils (including plates, pots, or silverware) used during the rest of the year for hametz are not used on Passover. While it is possible to ritually clean some glass and metal, porcelain, china, plastic and wood utensils must be removed and replaced. Because the laws of Kashrut require the separation of meat and dairy products, this most often means having two additional sets of dishes!
Passover as a Process While Passover kashrut may at first seem overwhelming, consider this: Passover commemorates a process—the transition from slaves to a free people. Such a major shift is not easy, nor is it quick...it is a gradual series of steps. Similarly, you can begin to look at "Kosher for Passover" as a process. Begin simply, take a few small steps, see how they feel, and then, each year, gradually enhance your practice as you develop a family tradition. Here are some ways that you can begin: • As a family, choose a day (or more) before Passover begins to clean your kitchen (and anywhere else food is eaten) thoroughly! Have everyone pitch in to scrub and get at those old crumbs. • Take all foods that are not Kosher for Passover (bread, crackers, cookies, pasta, or cereals) out of your house and donate them to a local food pantry.
• Place products not Kosher for Passover in a special cabinet or on a special shelf in your kitchen to remind yourself that these days are different. • Explore the Kosher for Passover selection in your local supermarket. You may be surprised at the number and variety of products prepared especially for Passover. Try something new. • Designate a special cabinet or a special shelf in your kitchen for your Kosher for Passover foods. • Prepare Kosher for Passover lunches for your children and yourself. You are not limited to sandwiches on matzah–fruits, vegetables, and most dairy products (yogurt or cheeses) can be used during Passover. For more information, try: • The Haggadah: Many Haggadot (plural of Haggadah) have a section about Kosher for Passover.
• Ira Steingroot. Keeping Passover: Everything You Need to Know to Bring the Ancient Tradition to Life and Create Your Own Passover Celebration. (Harper/San Fransisco) • Michael Strassfeld. The Jewish Holidays: A Guide and Commentary. (Harper & Row). • Ron Wolfson. The Art of Jewish Living: The Passover Seder. (Federation of Jewish Men’s Clubs) (These books and others are available at most larger book shops.) Rabbi Philip Warmflash
is Executive Director of Community Hebrew Schools
of Greater Philadelphia. Contact Making Connections for a Kosher for
Passover guide or a general guide to Kashrut. Phone: 215-635-2202; e-mail:
erivel@jopp.org [Top of Page][Making Connections Home]
An Anthology of Quotations The Haggadah recalls slavery as a historic moment but also declares that "we still are slaves now, though next year we will be free."
To encourage your guest to comtemplate the meanings of freedom and slavery, distribute this list of quotations to your guests prior to the Seder. At the table, ask participants to read the quote that expresses something felt deeply and explain their reasons for choosing it:
There is no boredom
like that which can afflict people who are free, and nothing else.
The only freedom which
deserves the name is that of pursuing our own good, in our own way, so
long as we do not attempt to deprive others of their, or impede their
efforts to obtain it.
When is a man free?
Not when he is driftwood on the stream of life...free of all cares or
worries or ambitions....He is not free at all—not drugged, like the
lotus eaters in the Odyssey... To be free in actions, in struggle, in
undiverted and purposeful achievement, to move forward towards a worthy
objective across a fierce terrain of resistance, to be vital and aglow
in the exercise of a great enterprise– that is to be free, and to
know the joy and exhilara-tion of true freedom. A man is free only when
he as an errand on earth.
What then is the meaning
of freedom for modern man? He has become free from the external bonds
that would prevent him from doing and thinking as he sees fit. He would
be free to act according to his will, if he knew what he wanted, thought,
and felt. But he does not know. He conforms to anonymous authorities and
adopts a self which is not his. The more he does this, the more powerless
he feels, the more is he forced to conform. In spite of a veneer of optimism
and initiative, modern man is overcome by a profound feeling of powerlessness
and enslavement.
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Spring
Traditions
Choosing
a Haggadah 
Shoshana
Silberman, 
Rabbi
Philip Warmflash, 
acting
out the journey. Props include a tent, knapsacks, bowls of water
(to jump over) and a variety of frog puppets (the more the merrier).
Offering our youngest some food to nibble on and a showcase early
in the Seder sustains their attention and enhances our family experience.
and
the "rebellious" Jew as the marginal, uninvolved Jew.
The "simple" Jew can be interpreted as the "ethno-cultural"
Jew (emphasizing customs and food), and the Jew "unable to
ask" as Jews who are seeking answers from those willing to
reach out to them and share positive experiences. Perhaps, when
all is said and done, there is a little of each of the four in every
one of us! 
Nowadays,
the younger children bargain the Afikoman for a gift but we still
ask the Seder leader for a family story!
Hedda
Morton, Associate Director, Community Hebrew Schools
ten
plagues, wandering in the desert (footprints made from a cardboard
tracing of the smallest foot in the house), and the song "Who
Knows One?" There’s certainly a wealth of themes to be
found in the Haggadah!
•
Make a banner they would carry leaving Egypt;
named
"Miriam’s well" or "Miriam’s bowl"
around the table—named after the healing waters associated
with Miriam’s presence in the camp of Israel in the wilderness.| For
more information on Making Connections (family
events, holiday ceremonies, learning opportunities, home study kits, recipes
and more) please contact us: PHONE: 215-635-2877 FAX: 215-635-2344 E-MAIL: erivel@jopp.org |
Making Connections is a project of the Jewish Outreach Partnership of Greater Philadelphia in cooperation with area synagogues and Jewish agencies. Making Connections has been funded by a special grant from the Continuity Commission of the Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia. | |
| Rabbi
Philip Warmflash, Executive Director, Jewish Outreach Partnership Kathy
Elias, Director, |
©1996-2001
Jewish Outreach Partnership Jonathan Kremer Designs All illustrations
©1996-2001 Jonathan Kremer, |
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Design ©1996-2001 Lion's
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