Around the Table: A Guide to a User-friendly Haggadahoceansidejewishcenter.org/Haggadah/Around the...
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1 Around the Table: A Guide to a User-friendly Haggadah By Rabbi Mark B Greenspan, Oceanside New York The Passover Seder remains the most beloved and frequently observed holiday in the Jewish calendar. People who find themselves in places as diverse as Katmandu and Kentucky make their way to a Seder table on the first nights of Passover. But having joined in this celebration, they are often confronted by difficulties. Many people do not have even a rudimentary knowledge of Hebrew or Jewish ritual. And even those who do are often confused by this arcane text. The early parts of the text are simple enough: the Kiddush, the four „questions,‟ and even the four children, but once we get into the heart of the Haggadah, people find themselves growing uneasy. What is the Haggadah talking about? Of course it tells the story of the Exodus, but it does so much more. This classical work is a short but dense rabbinic text that presumes that we not only know something about scripture but Midrash and Talmud as well. The Haggadah interprets biblical verses in ways that often contradict their literal meaning. Sometimes these interpretations add whole new vistas of meaning that are not at all apparent in the biblical text. For instance, how does Arami oved avi, literally, “My father was a wandering Aramean,” come to mean “An Aramean tried to kill my father?” Why does the Haggadah quote the books of Ezekiel and Chronicles? Why don‟t we simply tell the story of Passover by reading the opening chapters of Exodus rather than quoting and interpreting a passage from the book of Deuteronomy? And why is Moses never mentioned in the Haggadah considering his important role in this story? We need to „unpack‟ the Haggadah text in order to understand it and appreciate what it is trying to teach us. There are, of course many attempts to create a family friendly Haggadah. Unfortunately, many of them leave out large parts of the Haggadah and lose the flavor of this beloved classical work. “Around the Table” is an attempt to create a user- friendly Haggadah that seriously grapples with the traditional text. It begins with the assumption that the Haggadah is not meant simply to be read, but to be discussed. Because it is made up of Midrash, there is a kind of dialogue taking place within the text itself, and that is how we need to approach it. Biblical verses raise questions which in turn give way to new insights and understandings of our tradition. Sometimes the interpretations cause us to ask even more questions. What is Midrash? The word doresh, to expound, is a technical term that comes from the same root word as Midrash. The Hebrew root D’R’SH’ means, to seek out, to investigate, or to inquire. It is easier to see a Midrash than it is to define it so I am tempted to simply point at the Haggadah and say, “this is a great example of Midrash,” and leave it at that. However, that would not really answer the question. Midrash is both a type of literature (as in Midrash Rabbah and Midrash Tanchumah) as well as a particular approach to the reading of scripture.
Transcript of Around the Table: A Guide to a User-friendly Haggadahoceansidejewishcenter.org/Haggadah/Around the...
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Around the Table:
A Guide to a User-friendly Haggadah By Rabbi Mark B Greenspan, Oceanside New York
The Passover Seder remains the most beloved and frequently observed holiday in the
Jewish calendar. People who find themselves in places as diverse as Katmandu and Kentucky make their way to a Seder table on the first nights of Passover. But having
joined in this celebration, they are often confronted by difficulties. Many people do
not have even a rudimentary knowledge of Hebrew or Jewish ritual. And even those who do are often confused by this arcane text. The early parts of the text are simple
enough: the Kiddush, the four „questions,‟ and even the four children, but once we get
into the heart of the Haggadah, people find themselves growing uneasy.
What is the Haggadah talking about? Of course it tells the story of the Exodus, but it
does so much more. This classical work is a short but dense rabbinic text that
presumes that we not only know something about scripture but Midrash and Talmud as well. The Haggadah interprets biblical verses in ways that often contradict their
literal meaning. Sometimes these interpretations add whole new vistas of meaning
that are not at all apparent in the biblical text. For instance, how does Arami oved avi,
literally, “My father was a wandering Aramean,” come to mean “An Aramean tried to kill my father?” Why does the Haggadah quote the books of Ezekiel and Chronicles?
Why don‟t we simply tell the story of Passover by reading the opening chapters of
Exodus rather than quoting and interpreting a passage from the book of Deuteronomy? And why is Moses never mentioned in the Haggadah considering his
important role in this story? We need to „unpack‟ the Haggadah text in order to
understand it and appreciate what it is trying to teach us.
There are, of course many attempts to create a family friendly Haggadah.
Unfortunately, many of them leave out large parts of the Haggadah and lose the flavor
of this beloved classical work. “Around the Table” is an attempt to create a user-friendly Haggadah that seriously grapples with the traditional text. It begins with the
assumption that the Haggadah is not meant simply to be read, but to be discussed.
Because it is made up of Midrash, there is a kind of dialogue taking place within the text itself, and that is how we need to approach it. Biblical verses raise questions
which in turn give way to new insights and understandings of our tradition.
Sometimes the interpretations cause us to ask even more questions.
What is Midrash? The word doresh, to expound, is a technical term that comes from the same root word as Midrash. The Hebrew root D’R’SH’ means, to seek out, to investigate, or to inquire. It is easier to see a Midrash than it is to define it so I am tempted to simply point at the Haggadah and say, “this is a great example of Midrash,” and leave it at that. However, that would not really answer the question. Midrash is both a type of literature (as in Midrash Rabbah and Midrash Tanchumah) as well as a particular approach to the
reading of scripture.
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In its largest sense Midrash is the quest to find new meanings in a sacred text. Midrash
begins with the biblical text but is not limited by it. It assumes that the text is meaningful in the most literal sense of the phrase. Every word and letter has multiple meanings and insights which we can draw out of the text. No questions are off limits. Why does the Torah begin with a Bet (in the word Bereshit) and not an Aleph? What did Abraham and Isaac talk about as the ascended Mount Moriah on the way to the Akedah, the binding? Rabbi Larry Kushner has suggested that Midrash is what we discover between the words of the text. Since the Torah is considered black fire on white fire, even the empty
text is fair game for finding meaning. Every jot and tittle (the crowns on top of the letters in the Torah scroll) is meaning-full. We read the words and we allow them to take us to unexpected places. We seek new meanings and discover new spiritual, moral, religious and social insights when we read the text. The sages compared the study of Torah to
hitting an anvil with a hammer. Sparks fly off the anvil in all directions. These sparks are human insights. Through Midrash the Torah brings new light into the world.
It is not enough to simply read the text of the Haggadah. In our home, it is
customary to go around the table and to invite each person to read a passage or two in Hebrew or in English. Comments and questions often flow freely from this reading.
As the leader of the Seder, I often orchestrate the Seder by personally reading key
passages and reminding people when to raise their cup of wine, when to read and what to do. The Haggadah can be approached as a play with parts and roles for each
person.
Still it takes more than a perfunctory reading to make sense out of this text. There
should be give and take, discussion and questions throughout the Seder. In “Around
the Table” you will find not only a script that faithfully follows the Haggadah, but
questions, set off in boxes, for discussion to personalize the Seder. These questions are not meant to be exhaustive but to encourage participants to take leave of the
traditional Seder agenda and to encourage discussion and inquiry. It would also be
helpful for the Maggid, the Seder leader, to read through the Haggadah, along with some commentary, prior to the Seder so that he/she can decide whether to read and
discuss the whole text or if parts of the text are going to be left out. Preparation is
essential for a meaningful Seder.
You will note that there are different roles identified within this Haggadah. The Seder
leader is referred to as the Maggid, literally „the one who tells the story.‟ The Maggid is
not so much a story teller as he/she is the director. In addition to the Maggid, the four children pop up from place to place throughout the Haggadah (not just at the
beginning) with questions true to their own intellects and characters. There is also a
special part for someone who represents the voice of Bible called “the Scriptural Reader.” These parts can be given out to specific individuals or one can simply go
around the table with each person reading the subsequent comment. There are also
parts for the whole group, creating a kind of choral voice in the Seder as well.
Music plays an important role in the celebration of Passover, particularly in the second
half of the Seder. There is a CD accompanying this Haggadah to help you and your
guests learn some of the most popular traditional melodies of the Seder prior to Passover. Take the time to listen to and become familiar with these melodies share
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them with your guests before the Seder. Key passages have been transliterated in
“Around the Table” so that portions of the Haggadah can be recited or song in Hebrew. The transliterations may not be consistent but they should be intuitive and
easy to follow. Please note that an underlined “h” (h) is the Hebrew letter het and an
underlined ch is the letter chaf. Both of these letters have a guttural sound similar to
the sound you make when you get something stuck in the back of your throat, as the name “Bach.”
There is, of course a great deal of preparation necessary for a meaningful Seder. Guests must be invited, meals prepared and the proper foods purchased. There are
other books that present a more exhaustive how-to guide for preparing for the
Passover Seder. For our purpose, I offer a check list of items that are necessary for the Seder ceremony:
1. Matzah
2. Wine 3. Salt water
4. A roasted shank bone
5. Haroset – there are many recipes for this concoction but the most popular one includes chopped apples, cinnamon, and wine
6. A hard boiled egg that has been roasted in the oven
7. Bitter Herbs – while many people will use the stuff that comes in a jar, I would encourage you to buy fresh horse radish and slice it up into thin pieces. Some
people use romaine lettuce instead of horse radish.
8. Greens – parsley or celery can be used. In some households it is customary to
eat potatoes since we recite the same blessing on potatoes that we do for vegetables.
9. A bowl and pitcher for the two washings
10. Pillows on each of the chairs 11. Enough wine cups for each person plus a special decorative cup of Elijah
12. A cup of Miriam
13. A special plate for the Seder symbolic foods. 14. One Haggadah for each person at the table
15. A special cover for the three Matzot that sit in the middle of the table
16. A gift for the participant who finds the Afikomen.
Special Thank You’s
Many people contributed to this work along the way. It is a product of both continued study and participation in the Passover Seder over a life time. I want to begin by thanking my parents for communicating a love of Judaism to me and to my family for giving me a place in which to share and grow this love. I especially want to thank my sister, Bonni Schiff, for the
tremendous editorial work she contributed in helping me produce this Haggadah and for challenging me to find new and meaningful ways to share our traditions with others. No doubt there are still mistakes for which I take full responsibility. Other people read the Haggadah along the way: Len Lerner, the executive director of the Oceanside Jewish Center, Karen Rosenberg whose constant assistance in our office is indispensable, my daughter Naomi who has been a partner along the way this year; my wife Marilyn who is my constant and supportive partner in all my projects even when they are mishigas; and the entire staff of the
Oceanside Jewish Center.
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BEDIKAT HAMETZ
―On the eve of the fourteenth day search for Hametz
By the light of the candle.‖
Mishnah Pesahim
1. Several weeks prior to Passover we begin to put our home in order for the
upcoming festival. Slowly we begin to consume all the left over leavened food that is
still in the house and we curtail the purchase of any foods that we cannot eat on Passover. Moving from room to room, we begin this massive undertaking by cleaning
out all the drawers and cupboards so that our home is free of hametz
2. Finally, a day or so before Passover, the final conversion of the kitchen takes place. The counters are cleaned and covered, the refrigerator is thoroughly scrubbed out and
its shelves are covered with foil or paper. After scouring the oven we turn it on at a
high temperature so that the remnants of hametz are burned away. The kitchen is usually ready a day or two before Passover so that it not only looks different but
smells different. There is a newness about everything that makes us feel as though
we have moved into a new dwelling.
3. Having cleaned the house of all forbidden food by the night prior to the eve of
Passover, we are now ready for the search to begin. Except for the last morsels of
bread that have been carefully put aside, the house has been purged of hametz These crumbs and bits of bread have been saved for tonight when we will search the
house for the forbidden food. We have been so efficient in cleaning our homes that
we must hide our own hametz to make sure that there is something to find, lest the blessing that we recite prior to the search “al biur hametz,” "for the removal of
hametz," be in vain. Ten small pieces of hametz are placed in plastic bags and hidden
by a member of the household so that the others search for them as well as any other hametz that may have been overlooked.
4. The search should be carried out by the light of a candle. (A flashlight may be used
in place of a candle; however, while it is more practical and less dangerous, it loses some of the poetry of the ceremony.) The searchers should make a point of checking
out all parts of the house where hametz might be found, not just the area where the
ten pieces of hametz have been hidden. This search should be more than a symbolic act. Prior to beginning the search we recite the following blessing.
Praise to You, Adonai, our God, Sovereign of the Universe, who has sanctified us with
the commandments and commanded us concerning the removal of hametz.
Baruch atta Adonai elohaynu melech ha'olam
Asher kiddshanu bimitzvotzav vitzeevanu al biur hametz.
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6. For the next few moments everything revolves around the grand search. With the
house fully prepared for the great celebration, we peek beneath the furniture and in the corners of the bookshelves for any hametz that may have inadvertently been left
behind. We should search with holy intent and kavannah. Once the hametz has been
discovered and gathered, the searchers recite the following declaration. Something
miraculous takes place: with our words that which was edible now becomes non-existent like the dust of the earth.
All leavened products and hametz which are in my possession which I have not seen nor removed and of which I am unaware shall be non-existent and owner-less like the
dust of the earth.
Kol hamira v'hamiah d'eekah vir'shoot'tee
D'lo hameetay u'd'lo biartay u'd'lo yadana lay libatayl v'lehavay hefker ki’afra d’ara.
7. The following morning we participate in Biur Hametz, the ceremony for
the removal of the hametz before nine-thirty. Any hametz that was discovered
the night before is taken outside and burned. While doing so the participants recite the following declaration:
All leavened food that is in my possession whether I saw it or not and whether or not I have removed it shall be non-existent and owner-less like the dust of the earth.
Kol hamira v'hamiah d'eekah vir'shoot'tee
Da'hazeetay u'd'lo hazeetay d'lo hameetay u'd'lo biartay
Di'vee'artay u'd'lo vee'artay, libatayl v'lehevay hefker ki’afra d’iara
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Around the Table on Seder Night
Maggid: Tonight we gather around the Seder table, family and friends; we
recall the past, celebrate the present and express hope for the future.
Group: We come together to tell our story, to tell the story of our people.
Reader: This table is a stage where we re-live our past and recall its lessons.
It is an altar, where we give thanks to the One who redeemed us from slavery
and who continues to deliver us from sorrow and oppression, from the task
masters who lord over us.
Maggid: We do not come empty handed. What do we bring with us? Family
heirlooms to adorn the Seder table, Haggadot stained with the wine of past
celebrations, memories of Seders past, and recollections of loved ones and friends who are no longer present.
Group: They continue to inhabit our world. We feel their presence as we begin
“this telling,” as we take our place in the chain of our tradition.
Spend a few minutes before you begin the Seder recalling memories and personalities of past Sedarim. What is your earliest Seder
memory?
What is your most cherished Seder memory?
If you could invite anyone to attend this Seder who would you invite? Who do you remember as we begin the Seder this evening?
Reader: We are not alone. Tonight our household is combined with households throughout the world. Our voices rise up to heaven.
Reader: The Holy One rejoices in our telling, in our songs, in our insights and
in our celebration. Our words adorn God. The heavenly world sings as we
make the journey from slavery to freedom and from sorrow to celebration. For this journey gives us hope.
Maggid: The Seder begins in song. We sing the order of the evening as a way
of recalling the story of the Exodus, the path that led from slavery to freedom.
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SEDER SIGNS EXPLANATION OF WHAT WE
DO
SINGING THE SEDER
SIGNS
KADESH ש We sanctify the day over the first of קד
four cups of wine
First Cup
U’REHATZ ורחץ We wash our hands (without a
blessing) in preparation for the
spring greens
Clean Hands
KARPAS כרנס We dip greens in salt water
Dipped Greens
YAHATZ יחץ We break the middle Matzah in half
and hide the larger piece for the
Afikomen
Break Bread.
MAGGID We tell the story of the Exodus
beginning with Mah Nishtanah
Our Story
RAHTZAH רחצה We wash our hands, preparing for
the meal, this time with a blessing
Wash Again
MOTZI MATZAH מסה מוציא
We recite the blessing over the
Matzah
We Bless our Bread;
MAROR רור Bitter herbs dipped in the Haroset
Bitter Herbs
KORECH ך We make a sandwich recalling how כור
our ancestors ate the Passover
offering
Sandwiched in;
SHULHAN ORECH ך שלחן עור
We celebrate with a festive meal
Now We Eat.
ZAFUN צפון The hidden Matzah is revealed for
the final course of the meal
The Matzah Revealed
BARECH ך בר We give thanks for the food and the
good land which God has given us
Give thanks
HALLEL הלל With Psalms of Praise we anticipate
future redemption
Once again
NIRTZAH נרצה We end with “Next year in
Jerusalem” May God accept our
offering of words
In Jerusalem
At some Seders it is customary to sing the “Order of the Seder” as you
come to each of the sign posts along the way. Before you recite the Kiddush, everyone sings “Kaddesh.” When you wash, you sing, “Kaddesh, U’rehatz,” and so on, adding one more sign with each section of the Haggadah. Refer back to this page for each rendition of the song and to keep track of the various sign posts along the way in the Seder.
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KADDESH
Maggid: We welcome this sacred moment. We sanctify it with words of praise
and acknowledge its uniqueness. Let us build a palace in time and an oasis
where we can encounter God‟s presence.
Reader: We are about to bless the first of four cups of wine which remind us
of the four promises God made to our ancestors in Egypt. The first cup
celebrates the promise, “I will bring you out from beneath the burdens of Egypt.” Our redemption began with our liberation from physical bondage.
We drink four cups of wine as part of the Seder. These four cups are an
expression of the four promises that God gave to the people of Israel in Exodus 6:6 – 8: “Say, therefore, to the children of Israel, „I am the Eternal One. I will bring you out of from beneath the burdens of Egypt, and I will deliver you from their bondage, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great judgments. I will take you to be My people and I will be
your God, and you will know that I am the Eternal One who took you out from beneath the burdens of Egypt…‟” Since the passage continues with a fifth promise, “I will bring you to the land which I swore to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob…” some have suggested there should be a fifth cup of wine as well. The cup of Elijah symbolizes this fifth cup since when Elijah comes to usher in the messianic era he will answer all the unanswered questions in our world.
Are the four promises of redemption different from one another? What aspect of redemption does each one express?
Why does wine play such an important role in Jewish life? What does it add to the celebration of the Seder and other special religious occasions?
Do you think we should drink a fifth cup of wine in celebration of the
founding of the state of Israel in our generation? Why yes and why no?
Pour the first cup of wine. In some households it is customary to serve and poour wine for each
other to demonstrate that we are no longer slaves.
When the Seder coincides with Friday Night
“Evening and Morning, the sixth day: The heaven and the earth and all they contained
were completed. And God stopped on the seventh day from all the work he had been doing and rested on the seventh day from all the work he had been doing. And God
blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, for on it He ceased from all His work which
He created to do.”
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Vayeh’hee erev vayeh’hee voker yom hasheeshee. Vayechulu ha’shama’im
v’ha’aretz v’chol tz’va’am. Vay’chal eloheem bayom hash’vee’ee milachto asher
asa vayishbot bayom hash’vee’ee mikol milachto asher asa. Vayivarech eloheem et yom hash’vee’ee vayikadaysh oto kee vo shavat meekol milachto
asher bara eloheem la’asot
With the permission of all who are assembled
Praise to You, Adonai, our God, sovereign of the universe,
who created the fruit of the vine.
Baruch attah Adonai elohaynu melech ha-olam
boray p’ree hagafen.
Praise to You, Adonai, our God, Sovereign of the Universe, who has chosen us from
among all nations, lifting us up among all languages and sanctified us with His
commandments. Adonai, our God, You have lovingly given us (The Sabbath Day for rest), festivals for happiness and times for rejoicing, (This Sabbath Day and)
this festival of Matzah, season of our freedom, as reminder of the Exodus from Egypt,
(lovingly) as a sacred assembly. You have chosen us and You have sanctified us
apart from all peoples and You have caused us to joyfully inherit (the Sabbath) and Your holy feasts. Praise to You, who sanctifies (the Sabbath) and Israel and the
Seasons.
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Baruch attah Adonai elohaynu melech ha-olam
asher bahar banu meekol ahm
v’romimanu meekol lashon v’kiddishanu b’mitzvotav. V’teetayn lanu
Adonai elohaynu b’ahavah moadim l’simha hagim u’zemanim l’sasson. Et yom hag hamatzot hazeh, Z’man herutaynumikra
kodesh zecher litziat Mitzraim. Ki vanu vaharta v’otanu kidashta
mikol ha’amim. u’moaday kodshecha bisimha u’vi’sasson
hinhaltanu. Baruch atta Adonai, mikadesh Yisrael v’hazmanim
When the Pesah Seder falls on a Saturday night:
When Passover falls on a Saturday night, we add the following passages associated with the Havdalah service. The word Havdalah comes from the Hebrew
root “to distinguish or separate.” This service is traditionally marks the conclusion of the Sabbath. Rather than blessing God who distinguishes „the sacred from the profane,‟ we acknowledge God as the One who distinguishes “the holiness of the Shabbat from the holiness of the festival.”
Praise to You, Adonai, our God, Sovereign of the Universe
who creates the light giving fire.
Praise to You, Adonai, our God, Sovereign of the Universe, who distinguishes between
the holy and the profane, between light and darkness, between the Seventh Day and the other days of creation, You have distinguished between the holiness of the
Sabbath and the holiness of the festivals, You have distinguished and sanctified Israel
through Your Sanctity. Praise to You, Adonai, who distinguishes between the holy and
the Holy.
Baruch attah Adonai elohaynu melech ha-olam Boray mi’oray ha’aysh
Baruch attah Adonai elohaynu melech ha-olam hamavdeel bayn kodesh l’hol
Bayn ohr l’hoshech, bayn Yisrael li’ameem, bayn yom hash’vee’ee lishayshet
yimay hama’aseh, bayn kidushat shabbat l’kidushat yom tov hiv’dalta v’et yom hash’vee’ee mee’shayshet yimay hama’aseh kidashta. Hiv’dalta vekeedashta et
amcha Yisrael bik’dushatecha. Baruch attah Adonai hamav’deel bayn kodesh
l’kodesh
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Sheheheyanu: The Blessing of Time
Praise to You, Adonai, our God, Sovereign of the Universe,
Who has kept us alive and sustained us and allowed us to reach this season.
Baruch attah Adonai elohaynu melech ha-olam
sh’he’he’yanu v’kee’yemanu v’higeeyanu lazman hazeh
We recline to the left while drinking the wine in the fashion of free men and women.
U’REHATZ
Maggid: This table is a sacred altar where we encounter God and meet one another. As we prepare to eat the first course of our Seder meal, we cleanse
our hands and our hearts to participate in this sacred meal.
In some homes it is customary for the Maggid to rinse his hands in water
poured from a pitcher into a bowl. In other homes it is the custom for each participant to do so.
KARPAS Maggid: Passover ushers in the spring, a time of hope. Hope and anguish are
intermingled as we dip the greens, symbolic of this new season, in the salt
water, a reminder of our tears.
ינו, יי אתה ברוך א, העולם מלך אלה :האדמה נרי בור
Praised are you Adonai, sovereign of the Universe,
Who creates the fruit of the earth.
Baruch attah Adonai elohaynu melech ha-olam
boray pree ha’adamah
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YAHATZ
Maggid: Silently, we break the middle matzah and hide it away for later. A
slave never knows where his next meal will come from. But this hidden matzah is both a symbol of slavery and an expression of hope. There are hidden
meanings and puzzles for us to ponder this evening. As we tell the story of the
Exodus, we will search for new meanings in this ancient rite. May we find its
meaning for our lives and our generation. May we renew its lessons and find the delight of a hidden treasure in them.
It is customary for the Seder leader to take the middle matzah and to break it in half. The larger half is hidden either by the Seder leader or by the children who are present to be ransomed later on before the end of the meal.
MAGGID
Maggid: We begin this evening by opening the door of our home as our
ancestors did and inviting those who are less fortunate to join with us in telling our story. As we tell our ancestors‟ story we become one with them. The door
of redemption is opened.
We raise the broken piece of matzah before
returning it to the table and sing:
Ha Lahma anya di achalu avhatana b’ara d’mitzraim.
Kol d’chfin yeitay v’yechol. Kol d’tzrich yeitay v’yifsah.
Hashata Hacha l’shana Haba’ah b’ara d’yisrael. Reader: This is the bread of affliction which our ancestors ate in the land of
Egypt.
Group: All who are hungry come and eat. All who are needy come celebrate the Pesah with us.
Reader: Now we are here. Next year may we be in the Land of Israel.
Group: Now we are slaves. Next year may we be free men and women.
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Return the matzah to the table
Maggid: This is a story about our children. They were the victims of
oppression and genocide. Pharaoh decreed that they should be cast into the
Nile and smothered on the birth stool as they breathed their first breath of life. It‟s said that the taskmasters oppressed the Israelite children. From the fields
and fortresses of Egypt, the children cried out to God as their lives were cut
short.
Reader: God heard their cry. Their cry rose up to heaven and broke God‟s
heart. In Europe, too, children were the youngest victims of the Nazis. We
hear their cry on this night of remembrance as we listen to the cry of all
children.
Group: Why did the Egyptians unleash their fury on the children? Children are
our future.
Reader: And they are curious by nature. The ability to ask questions is a true
sign of freedom. One who cannot ask is not free and one who cannot listen has
enslaved oneself. We encourage children to ask questions on the night of the Seder.
Group: What if the child cannot ask or if there are no children at the Seder?
Reader: Our tradition teaches: “If the child is capable of asking, let him ask.
If not, let spouses ask one another. And if the person is alone let him ask
himself. Even two sages familiar with the intricacies of Passover should ask one another questions.” (Pesahim 116a)
Maggid: Let us consider what makes this night different and why it is that we
should ask questions:
Traditionally the Mah Nishtanah is recited by the youngest child present at the Seder who is capable of learning this passage. The Mishnah, the first
codification of Jewish law, suggests that this passage be recited by a parent if the child is unable to ask the questions him/herself. The Mah Nishtanah can be recited in Hebrew or in English.
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How different this night is from all other nights!
On all other nights we eat leavened and unleavened bread; tonight we only eat unleavened bread.
On all other nights all types of vegetables; tonight we eat bitter herbs
On all other nights we don‟t have to dip even once; tonight we do so twice.
On all other nights we can eat upright or leisurely leaning on our side; tonight all of us lean.
Mah nishtana haleila hazeh mikol halaylot!
Sh’bichol halaylot anu ochlim hametz u’matzah, haleila hazeh kulo
matzah.
Sh’bichol halaylot anu ochlim sh’ar yirakot, haleila hazeh maror.
Sh’bichol halailot ayn anu matbilin afilu pa’am ahat haleila hazeh sh’tay fi’amim.
Sh’bichol halaylot anu ochlim bayn yoshvin u’vayn misubin haleila
hazeh kulanu misubin.
Why does the Haggadah single out these four aspects or symbols of the Seder? In what other ways is this night different from all other nights?
And why do we do so before we have actually experienced participated in the Seder?
What does each of these elements represent and relate to the story of Passover?
Complete: On all other nights we ____________; Tonight we______________.
What questions would you like to ask on the night of the Passover?
From Slavery to Freedom: The First Telling
All of Us Can Learn
Reader: This night is different from all others. Why? There are many answers to this question but let us explore the uniqueness of this night of memories
and celebration by beginning with one answer.
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Group:
This can be read by the whole group or skipped continuing with Maggid
We were slaves to Pharaoh in Egypt; but the Lord our God took us out from
there with a mighty hand and an out-stretched hand. And if the Holy Blessed
One had not taken us out of Egypt we and our children and our children‟s
children would still be subjugated to Pharaoh in Egypt. Even if all of us were wise, proficient elders and knowledgeable in the Torah, we would still be
obligated to tell the story of the Exodus from Egypt. Anyone who tells the story
of the Exodus from Egypt at length, behold such a person is praiseworthy!
Avadim ha’yeenu l’faroh b’mitzra’im. Vayotzee’aynu Adonai
elohaynu meesham, b’yad hazakah u’vizroa n’tuyah, v’eelu lo
hotzee hakadosh baruch hu et avotaynu meemitzra’im haray anu
u’va’naynu uv’nay vanaynu, m’shu’badim hayeenu l’faroh
b’mitzra’im. V’afeelu kulanu hachameem, kulanu nivonim, kulanu
zikayneem, kulanu yodeem et hatorah, mitzvah alaynu l’sapayr
beetzee’at mitzra’im. V’chol hamarbeh l’sapayr beetzee’at mitzra’im haray zeh mishubah
Maggid: Avadim h’yeenu l’faroh b’mitzra’im
Reader: We were Pharaoh‟s slaves in Egypt but the Eternal One, our God, took
us out with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm.
Group: Had the Holy One not taken our ancestors out of Egypt, then we, our children, and our children‟s children would still be subjugated to Pharaoh in the
land of Egypt.
Reader: Even if we are wise, knowledgeable, and discerning students of
Torah, we still have an obligation to tell the story of the Exodus from Egypt. In
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fact, the more depth with which one explores the Exodus the more
praiseworthy one is!
Reader: For generations our people have joined together around the table,
recalling the Exodus, delving deeply into its significance.
Maggid: We remember sages who recalled the Exodus in the second century in the town of B‟nai Brak in Eretz Yisrael. Beneath the fury and oppression of
Rome, they spoke of liberation and redemption. They dreamed of peace and
independence.
Reader: These men not only spoke of legends. They were legends. They sit
with us this evening: Rabbi Akiva who chanted love songs between God and
Israel by teaching Song of Songs;
Reader: Rabbis Eliezer and Joshua who carried their teacher Rabban Yohanan
ben Zakkai out of burning Jerusalem and established the academy at Yavneh,
and Rabbi Tarfon whose wisdom was greater than his considerable wealth.
.
Group: What did they speak about on that night? Did they dwell on the past or was the story of the Exodus a prism though which they wrestled with their own
times? As we recall the story of the Exodus, what do we hear?
Reader: They discussed the Exodus throughout the night until their students came and said: “Our teachers, the time has come for the morning Sh’ma. Time
passes and now you must turn your attention to the daily responsibilities of
life.”
In order that you may remember the day you left Egypt all the days of your life
Deuteronomy 16:3 This verse is used as a proof text in a discussion which originated in Mishnah Berachot, which deals with the daily recitation of the Sh’ma. Each time we recite the Sh’ma, “Hear O‟ Israel the Lord our God the Lord is one,” we also say “I am the Lord,
your God, who took you out of the land of Egypt to be your God. I, the Lord, am your God.” In fact, the discussion in the Mishnah has nothing to do with Passover; it is about whether the third section of the Sh’ma that contains this verse must be recited
in the evening as well. Since this passage speaks about recalling the Exodus, it was incorporated into the Haggadah. It is relevant here because it is a reminder that the
Exodus is something upon which we dwell not only occasionally but every day.
Are there other events in Jewish history about which we should dwell as much as we focus on the Exodus?
We are told to be kind to the stranger no less than 36 times in the bible because “You were slaves in Egypt.” Why was it necessary to repeat this rationale so many
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times? What would be our modern day equivalent for this reason for being and doing Jewish today?
How does our awareness of the Exodus influence our social and religious identity?
What responsibilities are connected with this awareness for us today?
Maggid: Rabbi Elazar ben Azarya also dwelled on the meaning of the Exodus.
He was said to be „like‟ a man of seventy because he aged prematurely when he was elected the head of the high court, the Sanhedrin. He pondered the
question of how to integrate the Exodus into the daily life of the average Jew.
Reader: He said: “I could not succeed in proving that the Exodus must be mentioned nightly until my colleague, Ben Zoma, found a proof text: „In order
that you may remember the day you left Egypt all the days of your life‟ The
phrase, „The days of your life‟ refers to the daylight hours. The addition of the
word „All‟ in „All the days of your life,‟ means that you must make mention of the Exodus even in the evenings.”
Reader: Others took the obligation to mention the Exodus even further. The
sages claimed that the Exodus transcended this world. Even in Messianic times we would continue to dwell on this miracle. The phrase “the days of your life,”
teaches us that we dwell on the Exodus in the here and now. The addition of
the word “All” in “all the days of your life” means that we must recall the
Exodus even in Messianic times.
Group:
Praised is the One who is present everywhere. Blessed is the One.
Blessed is the One who gave the Torah to the people Israel. Blessed is the
One. About four types of children the Torah speaks: one is wise; one is wicked;
one is simple; and one does not know how to ask.
Baruch hamakom, baruch hu,
baruch sheh’natan torah l’amo Yisrael, baruch hu.
Maggid: Blessed is the one who is everywhere.
Group: Blessed is the One!
Maggid: Blessed is the one who gave the Torah to the People Israel.
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Group: Blessed is the One!
Reader: Did you notice that? There are four statements beginning with the word Baruch. There are four statements in the Mah Nishtanah. I‟ve noticed
that four continues to recur throughout the Seder: four cups of wine, four
promises of redemption, four verses from Deuteronomy, and of course the four
children who are about to join us. Why so many fours?
Reader: There are patterns hidden in the story of Exodus just as there are
hidden patterns in the universe. They draw our attention to God‟s signature.
Sometimes we refer to them as coincidence. And sometimes we find new meanings in these patterns. They remind us that there is more than one way
to see the world.
Maggid: Who are these four children? The Torah alludes to them. One is wise, one is wicked, one is simple and one doesn‟t even know how to ask questions.
Group: Each has a place at our Seder table. Each has something to contribute
to our gathering.
Reader: The first is the wise child. What type of question does this child ask?
“What are the statutes, the laws, and the ordinances which the Eternal One,
our God, has commanded you?” (Deuteronomy 6:20)
Reader: How do we answer this child? We teach this child as much as we can,
from A to Z, from the first cup of wine to the final bit of Matzah. “The Seder
has not ended until you have concluded with the taste of the Afikomen in your
mouth.
Group: And why does he say that “God has commanded you?” Doesn‟t he
consider himself a part of this great tradition?
Reader: The wise child is a student in search of wisdom. He stands poised and ready to enter the tradition. This child turns and addresses those who have
already entered: “Teach me. Help me to understand what you have already
embraced.”
Maggid: The wicked child, what does he say?
Reader: “What does this stuff mean to you?”
Group: We can hear a different tone in the way you address us. You don‟t
really consider yourself a part of this celebration, do you? For you this avodah,
this service, is slavery, a burden, and not celebration.
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Reader: Worst of all, you have chosen to exclude yourself from the
community. How can we speak to you if you are not a part of Klal Yisrael, the community of Israel?
Reader: If he hears our bitterness maybe he will be more responsive. “This is
done because of what Adonai did for me when I went forth from Egypt.” (Exodus 13:8) God did this for me – not for you. If you had been there God
might not have redeemed you.”
Maggid: There is a simple child who says, “What is this?”
Reader: “You should tell him, „It was with a mighty hand that the Eternal One
took us out of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.” (Exodus 13:14)
Reader: For this child we begin by telling the story straight forward and
simple.
Maggid: And for the one who does not know how to ask questions, what do
we say? Inspire him to ask. You should open the discussion for him by letting him know how meaningful this is for you.
Reader: Tell him: “This is done because of what Adonai did for me when I
went forth from Egypt.” (Exodus 13:8) God took me, and you, out of Egypt, for all of this that you see before you on the table tonight.
Reader: Let us discuss the symbols and tell the story, Let us speak of the
unleavened bread, the bitter herbs and all the other symbols that we find before us on the Seder plate.
When we speak about the four children, we are really discussing the various types of people who populate the Jewish world. Medieval art rarely depicted these four types as children. They understood them as adults who differ from one another both in character and intellect. The Haggadah reminds us that each person has a place at our table. Even the Rasha, the so-called wicked one,
deserves to be acknowledged because he has not absented himself from this celebration. There is still hope for him, even if his comments and questions are caustic.
Why does the Haggadah choose to give the wise and the wicked children different answers than the Torah offers to each of their
questions?
How would you answer each of the four children? Would you give each of them a different type of an answer than the responses found in the Haggadah?
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A silent child is not necessarily uninterested. How can we anticipate what is going on in his mind?
What does the Haggadah mean when it says to “set his teeth on edge?”
Is it ever appropriate to answer a child caustically? What other types of children might be sitting around the Seder table?
How should we answer them? As we continue the Haggadah, think
about the types of questions each of these children might ask about each section of the Seder.
The Second Telling: Promises
Reader: Where do we begin the story? Do we begin in the land of Egypt where we were enslaved? Or do we begin in Canaan where Jacob raised a
mighty family, or earlier still? Or maybe we begin our story with Terach and
Abraham beyond the Jordan River?
Group: Mit’heelat ovday avodah zarah hayoo avotaynu.
Maggid: Originally, our ancestors worshipped idols but God brought us close
so that we could serve Him.
Reader: Our story begins long before Egypt. Abraham went off in search of a
new life and a God he could serve. His father‟s house was enslaved to false
idols and images that could not save him.
Reader: Joshua, who brought us to the Land of Canaan, brought the word of God to Israel: “Long, long ago, your ancestors lived beyond the Euphrates.
Terah, the father of Abraham and Nahor, worshipped idols. But I took your
father Abraham to the Land of Canaan and I multiplied his descendents. I gave
him Isaac and to Isaac I gave Jacob and Esau. I gave Esau Mount Seir as an inheritance while Jacob and his children went down to Egypt.“ (Joshua 24:2-4)
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Wise Child: “This story causes me to wonder how our journey was so
circuitous. Why must I remember my ancestors, the ones who chose to
worship idols from whom our father Abraham fled?”
Wicked Child: “You say we are chosen yet God sent us to Egypt while He
blessed Esau with a fertile mountain on which to live peaceably and securely.
Surely there had to be an easier path for us to follow, one without suffering or pain. And as for our numbers, have our ancestors‟ numbers really increased?
We are but a tiny fraction of the world in which we live.”
Simple Child: ―There are so many names to remember and promises, my head is spinning! Can you tell me more?”
Group: Blessed is the One who keeps His promise to Israel. Blessed is the
one! We learn that the Holy One foresaw both our enslavement and our redemption when He made a covenant with Abraham!
Reader: Our story begins with Abraham and Sarah, to whom God made a
promise. “Know for certain that your offspring shall be strangers in a strange
land, and shall be enslaved and afflicted for four hundred years. But know with equal certainty that I will judge the nation that enslaves them and afterwards
they will leave with great wealth.” (Genesis 15:13-14)
We cover the matzah and lift up the cup of wine as we proclaim these words.
Maggid: We raise the cup of wine as we acknowledge God‟s promises with words of thanksgiving.
V'hee sheh amda la’avotaynu vilanu.
Sheh’lo ehad bilvad amad alaynu lichalotaynu
ela sheh’bichol dor vador omdim alaynu lichalotaynu. V’hakadosh baruch hu matzeelaynu miyadam
Group: And it is that which has sustained our ancestors and us: it wasn‟t just
one who rose up against us to destroy us; rather in every generation they have
arisen to destroy us but the Holy One has saved us from them.
Reader: Promises sustain us in darkness and light.
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Not one but many sought us harm.
From generation to generation we remember them,
Those who rose up against us, And in our memory and in Your promise
We have overcome them.
For some of the sages the story of the Exodus began long before we reached the land of Egypt. It is not just a story about political liberation from slavery but also a story about finding our identity through our faith in God. The story begins with God‟s promise to Abraham, with Abraham‟s rejection of idolatry, and with the struggle for existence as a minority. God was with us long before we went to Egypt as we learn in the next passage and will continue to be with us long afterwards. But will we be with God?
We think of idolatry as a thing of the past. What meaning does it have to speak about idolatry today? What do we worship? What are the false gods that we must reject?
The passage above suggests that all the events from the time of Abraham were part of a „divine plan.‟ If so how do we reconcile this idea with free will?
If God planned to redeem Israel from slavery after four hundred years then what role did we have in the unfolding of these events?
Come and Learn: The Third Telling:New Meanings in Old Words
Scriptural Reader: Let me tell you our story, how we came to be here:
“My father was a wandering Aramean and with just a few people he went down
to Egypt to dwell there. There he became a great nation, mighty and numerous. The Egyptians dealt harshly with us and oppressed us. They
imposed hard labor upon us. We cried out to the Eternal, the God of our
ancestors. The Eternal One heard our voice, saw our affliction, our misery and
our oppression. The Eternal took us out from Egypt with a mighty hand, an
outstretched arm, with awesome power and with signs and wonders.” (Deuteronomy 26)
Some Directions for the next section of the Seder:
The next section of the Haggadah is an elaboration of the verses taken from the
book of Deuteronomy. Originally these verses were recited as a declaration when the Jewish people brought their first fruits to the Temple on the festival of Shavuot. They
contain a concise summary of the story of the Exodus couched in very personal
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terms. The Midrash expands on these verses by interpreting them phrase by phrase.
Hidden with these words is the entire story of the Exodus. Unfortunately many people skip this section of the Haggadah or read it so quickly it has little meaning. Yet the Mishnah tells us this is the essential telling of the story of
the Exodus.
This is a good time for discussion. Here are some questions to guide you in a discussion of Deuteronomy 26.
As we begin this section of the Haggadah, reread the verses above and
consider what they say. Why do you think the sages chose these verses rather than the more complete telling of the story of the Exodus in the book of Exodus?
Are there any phrases that seem redundant or beg for an explanation in this passage?
What do these verses add to our understanding of the Exodus that we do not yet know?
Look at the verses in the context of the Torah. Why does the passage stop at this point in the Haggadah? What does it leave out? Why?
Maggid: Arami oved avi – Our story begins with danger and oppression. Even
before Pharaoh, Laban the deceitful sought to destroy our forefather, Jacob.
Simple Child: Laban? Who was Laban?
Reader: Laban was Rebecca‟s brother and the father of Rachel and Leah. He sought to deceive our forefather, Jacob, and enslave him in a world filled with
idolatry. When Jacob and his family fled from Laban‟s homestead in Aram,
Laban pursued him with murderous intent and only stopped when he heard
God‟s ominous warning.
Wise Child: But we are here to tell the story of our descent to Egypt, the story
of our enslavement by Pharaoh and our oppression in the house of bondage.
What does Laban have to do with this story? And where is Laban even
mentioned in this verse which speaks of a wandering Aramean? Isn‟t the Aramean of whom the Torah speaks Jacob? Our forefather wandered to the
land of Aram and then returned home to his father‟s house in Canaan.
Maggid: Maybe so, but there are many meanings to the Torah, some hidden between the letters of the words of the text. New meanings shine forth from
white fire hidden beneath the penetrating black fire of God‟s words. The Torah
is filled with wonder and meaning. Sages have found new interpretations for
each verse, each word, and each letter of the Torah, some of which surprise
us.
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Reader: Hebrew letters in the Torah have crowns that adorn them. Even these
have meaning. Each crown placed on top of the letters sings a song of praise
and wisdom. We call this Midrash, searching for meaning in the words of the Torah and even between the words of the Torah. As we read these verses, we
plumb the depths of their meaning and search for new insights.
Reader: So this “Wandering Aramean” might be Jacob, or Laban, or even Abraham who grew up in Aram. Or Arami might be a veiled reference to the
Romans who enslaved the Jewish world at the time that the Haggadah was
composed. Or maybe even a reference to the Syrian tyrants who promoted the
growth of Hellenism in the time of the Maccabees. Which interpretation is correct? Maybe all of them!
Scriptural Reader: The verse continues: “He went down to Egypt and
sojourned there.”
Reader: Jacob did not choose to go down to Egypt. He went there in response
to God‟s command. God had already told Abraham that they would sojourn in
Egypt and would leave with great wealth. Even as His children became more
comfortable in Egypt they knew that they would not remain there, that this was only a milestone on a long journey.
Scriptural Reader: “They were few in number but became a nation there,
great, mighty and numerous.”
Reader: They started as a clan and soon became a nation. In the fiery forge of
Egypt, beneath the whip of Pharaoh‟s taskmasters, they not only increased in
number but fashioned a unique identity.
Scriptural Reader: “The Egyptians dealt harshly with us and oppressed us.
They imposed hard labor upon us.”
Reader: What more could the Egyptians do to us? Wasn‟t it enough that they made us suffer beneath their oppression?
Maggid: Vayarei’u otanu – These words can also be interpreted to mean “They
made us look bad.” The Torah says that the Egyptians not only dealt harshly with us but they slandered us with malicious lies.
Wise Child: I understand Like those who oppressed us throughout the ages
they blamed us as a way of justifying their vicious acts and hatred. “They‟re a fifth wheel. They can‟t be trusted! They are not like us,” said Pharaoh.
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Scriptural Reader: “The Egyptians oppressed us. They imposed hard labor
upon us.”
Maggid: Convinced that the descendents of Jacob were dangerous, it didn‟t
take much to get the Egyptian people to agree to enslave this small
community. The Egyptians both hated and needed the Israelites. Maybe they
hated them because they needed them. The Israelites were a cheap source of labor and a constant reminder of their own powerlessness. Without the
descendents of Jacob they knew Pharaoh would turn to them to obey his will.
Scriptural Reader: “We cried out to the Eternal, the God of our ancestors.”
Reader: When the old Pharaoh died and a new one arose in his stead the
Israelites took advantage of the transition to express their sorrow. When they
cried out the people thought they were mourning the death of the leader of Egypt – they were really bemoaning their bitter fate.
Scriptural Reader: “The Eternal One heard our voice, saw our affliction, our
misery and our oppression.”
Reader: God hears the cry of those who suffer and cries with them. God saw
how the Egyptians afflicted the Israelites by separating husbands and wives.
The Holy One raged at the injustice of innocent children dying at the hands of
oppressors. God felt the oppression that the Egyptians imposed upon our descendents.
Scriptural Reader: “The Eternal One took us out from Egypt with a mighty
hand, an outstretched arm, with awesome power and with signs and wonders.”
Reader: It was God and God alone who brought us out of Egypt. Not angels,
nor divine beings, nor even the humble servant whose name we do not
mention in this Haggadah. God and God alone took us out of Egypt. It was the
Holy One who executed judgment, God and no other!
Does God work alone and if so who is the Angel of Death?
Most people will tell you that it was the Angel of Death who smote the first born in Egypt. Yet this last verse suggests otherwise. It was God and God alone who brought terror to Egypt. Actually the expression Angel of Death never appears in the Torah. The closest thing we can find is the word Mashhit which can be translated as Destroyer (JPS), or bringer-of-ruin (Fox). “The Eternal will pass over the door and will not let the Destroyer enter and smite your home.” (Exodus 12:23) The expression Angel of Death first appears in the book of Proverbs 16:23: “The king‟s wrath is a messenger (angel) of death; but a wise person can appease it.” In the relatively late
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popular song at the end of the Seder, Had Gadya, we sing that the Angel of Death
smote the slaughterer and the Holy One who smote the Angel of Death.
How do we account for this seeming contradiction in the Haggadah and the tradition?
Why did the framers of the Haggadah make a point of emphasizing the role of
God alone in the Exodus to the exclusion of “you know who” and angels.
Doesn‟t Moses deserve some credit for the redemption of the Jewish people from Egypt?
Scriptural Reader: The Eternal did so with “a mighty hand, an outstretched
arm, with awesome power and with signs and wonders.”
Reader: Plague after plague, the Eternal reminded Pharaoh that he was powerless. From the death of the cattle to the sword that slew the first born,
from a river that turned to blood to the awesome presence of God in the land
of Egypt, the people came to understand that there is a power beyond nature
and a force that transcends human might in the universe.
Reader: Each plague was a sign and a wonder that God is present in the
heavens and on the earth. God is present in…
As we recite each of these expressions we remove a bit of wine from our cup
Dam -- In blood Va’esh -- and fire
Vitimrot Ashan -- and in pillars of smoke
The Ten Plagues
Maggid: Let us recall the ten plagues that the Eternal One brought upon the
Egyptians in Egypt As each of the plagues is mentioned, a bit of wine is removed from the cup with the finger or by pouring. We do the same thing when we mention Rabbi Judah‟s mnemonic for the plagues.
Dam - Blood
Tzfardeah - Frogs
Kinnim - Lice
Arov - Wild Beasts
Dever - Pestilence
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Shehin - Boils
Barad - Hails
Arbeh - Locust
Hoshech - Darkness
Makat Bechorot - The Death of the First Born
Rabbi Yehudah used to abbreviate the plagues by their first initial:
D’ztach, Adash Ba’ahav
Miriam’s Cup
In recent years many a new Passover custom has developed. One of those customs is the addition of a special cup in honor of Miriam. Miriam is not just the faithful sister of Moses who stood at his side throughout the years of turmoil and wandering in the wilderness. She is said to be the source of the miraculous well which quenched the Israelites thirst in the desert. Miriam‟s well disappears when Moses‟ sister passes away. In contrast to the drops of wine which symbolize the plagues, we now pour a bit of water into the cup of Miriam as a symbol of the need for healing and renewal. We also acknowledge the important role women have played in the story of the Exodus.
Maggid: We have emptied our cup as we acknowledged the fearfulness of the
plagues. The suffering of others causes us pain even when they mean us harm.
Now we turn to the cup of Miriam, which we fill with water. Tradition teaches us that Miriam was the source of a miraculous well which sustained the Jewish
people throughout their wanderings
Reader: She is a reminder of the Nashim Tzidkaniyot, the righteous women, who sustained the Jewish people throughout the Exodus and maintained the
hope for redemption.
Group: They were midwives and mothers, teachers and workers. They were courageous enough to defy Pharaoh‟s decree and willing to sacrifice everything
to protect their children.
Maggid: We pass Miriam‟s cup around the table and each of us adds a bit of water to the cup. Each drop is a reminder that we have the power to sustain
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the world with compassion, caring, communication, and friendship; with love,
learning and understanding; each of us can sustain the world with wisdom,
reconciliation and peace.
As we pass Miriam‟s cup around the table we sing:
Miriam the prophetess, strength and song are in her hand. Miriam will dance with us to strengthen the world‟s song; Miriam will dance with us to heal the
world. Soon, and in our time she will lead us to the waters of salvation.
Miriam Hanive’ah, oz v’zimrat b’yada
Miriam tirkod eetanu l’hagdeel zimrat olam Miriam tirkod eetanu l’takayn et ha’olam
B’mhayra b’yamaynu t’vee’aynu El may ha’yishuah, El may ha’yishuah
Dayyenu: It would have been enough!
Maggid: But this is only the beginning of our journey. There is so much more
for which we should be grateful. God‟s graciousness is endless and God‟s
miracles are countless.
Reader: The Philosopher Judah Halevi wrote: “let him who despairs think of
the liberation from Egypt, and all that is mentioned in the passage, „God has
bestowed many favors upon us.‟” He will find no difficulty in picturing how we
may recover our greatness even if only one of us should remain. (Kuzari 3:11)
Maggid: Let us join together as we sing Dayyenu!
ינו לםקום טובות מעלות כםה :על
God has bestowed many favors upon us.
נו אלו מםצרים הוציאנו, שפטים בהם עשה ולא :די
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Had He brought us out of Egypt, and not executed judgments against the
Egyptians,
It would have been enough—Dayyenu
אלו עשה בהם שפטיםיהם עשהולא אלה נו, ב : די
Had He executed judgments against the Egyptians, and not their gods,
It would have been enough—Dayyenu
יהם עשה אלו אלה ביהם את הרג ולא נו, בכור : די
Had He executed judgments against their gods and not put to death their
firstborn, It would have been enough--Dayyenu
---------------------------------------------------
נו אלו רב סיני הר לפני ק
נו, התורה את לנו נתן ולא : דיHad He brought us to Mount Sinai, and not given us the Torah,
It would have been enough--Dayyenu
נו נתן אלו התורה את ל
רץ הכניסנו ולא ל לא נו, ישרא :דיHad He given us the Torah, and not brought us into Israel,
It would have been enough—Dayyenu
נו אלו רץ הכניס ל לא ישרא
ית לנו בנה ולא נו הבחירה את־ב : דיHad He brought us into Israel, and not built the Temple for us,
It would have been enough—Dayyenu
Ilu hotzi anu mimitzraim v’lo asa bahem shefatim…dayyenu
Ilu asa bahem shefatim v’lo asa bay-lohayhem…dayyenu
Ilu asa bay-lohayhem v’lo harag et behorayhem…dayyenu
Die, die, yaynu…
Ilu kayrvanu lifnei har Sinai v’lo natan lanu et hatorah…dayyenu
Ilu natan lanu et hatorah v’lo hichneesanu l’eretz Yisrael…dayyenu
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Ilu hichneesanu l’eretz Yisrael v’lo bana lanu et bayt
habehira…dayyenu
Die, die, yaynu…
The Fourth Telling: Show and Tell: Symbols and Their Meaning
Maggid: For some people meaning is best achieved through concrete symbols. We have heard the story of the Exodus; now let us see it through the symbols
on the Seder plate.
ר ל היה אומ לו בנסח: רבן גמליא י , כל שלא אמר שלשה דברים א לא יצא ידן, חובתו לו ה סח: וא רור. פ ה ומ :מצ
Rabban Gamliel hayah omer: kol sheh’lo amar sh’elosha divarim
aylu ba’Pesah lo yatza yiday hovato. V’aylu hayn: Pesah Matzah u’Maror
Reader: Rabban Gamliel said that we cannot fully appreciate the story of the
Exodus until we have seen it and explored its meaning. There are three central
symbols which our ancestors used in Egypt to mark the first Exodus and which they used later in Jerusalem to celebrate this festival. They are Pesah, Matzah
and Maror.
Group: Why did our ancestors eat the Pesah, the Passover lamb, in the time of
the great Temple in Jerusalem?
Reader: Because God passed over the houses of our ancestors in Egypt. The
word Pesah means to pass over.
Scriptural Reader: It is written in scripture: “You shall say: It is the Passover
offering of the Eternal One, who passed over the houses of the Israelites in
Egypt when he smote the Egyptians and spared our homes. The people bowed
in homage and worshipped.” (Exodus 12:27)
Everyone points at the Matzah.
Group: Why do we eat Matzah?
Reader: We eat Matzah because the Holy One redeemed us even before the
dough had time to ferment and rise.
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Scriptural Reader: It is written in the Torah: “They baked unleavened cakes
of the dough that they had taken out of Egypt for it was not leavened since they had been driven out of Egypt and could not delay; nor had they prepared
any provisions for themselves.” (Exodus 12:39)
Everyone points at the bitter herb on the Seder plate.
Group: Why do we eat this Maror, this bitter herb?
Reader: We eat the Maror because the Egyptians embittered the lives of our
ancestors in Egypt.
Scriptural Reader: We learn this from the Torah: “They made life bitter for them with hard labor, with mortar and bricks, and with all kinds of work in the
field; all the work they imposed on them was rigorous.” (Exodus 1:14)
Group:
בכל דור ודור חיב אדם לראות את עצמו , כאלו הוא יצא מםצרים
B’khol Dor Vador hayav adam lirot atzmo ki’ilu hu yatzah mee-mitzraim. In every generation it is a person‟s obligation to see him/herself as
if he/she personally left Egypt, as it is written:
Scriptural Reader: You shall tell your child on that day: „It is because of that which the Lord did for me on that day when He took me out of Egypt.‟ (Exodus
12:8)
Reader: It was not just our ancestors who God redeemed; God also redeemed us with them, as it is written, “God brought us out from there that he might
bring us home and bring us to the land which he had pledged to our
ancestors.” (Deuteronomy 6:23)
The matzah is covered and we raise the wine cup.
Maggid: Therefore it is our duty to thank and praise the One who performed these miracles for our ancestors and for us. God took us out from slavery to
freedom, from sorrow to happiness, from mourning to rejoicing, from darkness
to light and from subjugation to redemption. Let us sing a new song,
Hallelujah!
Replace the cup of wine on the table.
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Rejoicing: Hallelujah!
These passages can be read in Hebrew or English.
Psalm 113
י יי .הללויה ם יי הללו את. הללו עבד עתה ועד עולם. ש ם יי מברך מ : יהי שם יי .מםזרח שמש עד מבואו : על ה מים כבודו . גוים יי כל רם על. מהלל ש
ינו בת. מי כיי אלה רץ: הםגביהי לש : הםשנילי לראות ב מים ובאעפר דל אשפת ירים אביון. מקימי מ י עםו. להושיבי עם־נדיבים: מ :עם נדיב
חה ם הבנים שמ : הללויה. מושיבי עקרת הבית א
Praise the Lord! Praise, you servants of the Lord, praise the name of the Lord.
Blessed be the name of the Lord from this time forth and forever. From the
rising of the sun to its setting, the Lord's name is to be praised. High above all
nations is the Lord; above the heavens is His glory. Who is like the Lord our God, who though enthroned on high, looks down upon heaven and earth? He
raises the poor man out of the dust and lifts the needy one out of the trash
heap, to seat them with nobles, with the nobles of His people. He turns the
barren wife into a happy mother of children. Halleluyah!
Halleluyah! Halelu avday Adonai, halelu et shaym Adonai.
Yehi shem Adonai mivorach may’ata v’ad olam.
Meemizrah shemesh ad mivo’o mihulal shaym Adonai.
Ram al kol goyeem Adonai al hashamayim kivodo.
Mi kAdonai elohaynu hamgbihi lashavet.
Hamashpili lirot bashamayim u’va’aretz.
Meekeemee may’afar dahl may’ashpot yareem evyon. Lihosheevee eem nideevim eem nideevay amo.
Mosheevee akeret habayeet aym habaneem simayha Halleluyah
Psalm 114
ל מםצרים את ישרא ז, בצ עם לע ית יעקב מ ל . היתה יהודה לקדשו : ב ישראן יןב לאחור, הים ראה וינס: ממשלותיו ילים: הירד גבעות . ההרים רקדו כא
י ן תןב לאחור. מה־לך הים כי תנוס: צאן כבנ ילים: הירד . ההרים תרקדו כאי וה יעקב. מלפני אדון חולי ארץ: צאן גבעות כבנ י אל ההפכי הסור : מלפנ .חלמיש למעינו־מים. אגם־מים
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When Israel went out of Egypt; Jacob's household from a people of strange
speech, Judah became God's sanctuary, Israel His kingdom. The sea saw it and fled; the Jordan turned backward. The mountains skipped like rams, and the
hills like lambs. Why is it, sea that you flee? Why, O Jordan, do you turn
backward? You mountains, why do you skip like rams? You hills, why do you
leap like lambs? O earth, tremble at the Lord's presence, at the presence of the God of Jacob, who turns the rock into a pond of water, the flint into a flowing
fountain.
B’tzayt Yisrael meemitzraim bayt ya’akov may-am loez.
Hayta yehudah likadsho Yisrael mam’sh’lotav. Hayam ra’ah vaynos hayarden yisov l’akhor.
Heh-harim rakdu k’aykleem giva’ot k’vnay tzon.
Mah lecha hayam kitanus hayarden tisov l’ahor
Heh-harim tirk’du k’aylim giva’ot kivnay tzon
Milifnay adon huli aretz meelifnei elo-ah ya’akov
Hahofchi hatzur agam mayim halmeesh limy-no mayim
We raise the cup of wine once again and recite either in Hebrew or in English:
לך העולם, ברוך אתה יי ינו מ ינו מםצרים אשר גאלנו וגאל את, אלה , אבותנו ללילה הזה ן. לאכל־בו מסה ומרור, והגיע ינו, כ י אבות אלה ינו ו , יי אלה
רים נו למועדים ולרגלים אח נו לשלום, יגיע חים בבנין . הבאים לקראת שמבמוצאי שבת )ונאכל שם מן הזבחים ומן הנסחים , וששים בעבודתך, עירך
, על קיר מזבחך לרצון, אשר יגיע דמם, (אומרים מן הנסחים ומן הזבחיםנו נו, ונודה לך שיר חדש על גאלת ל, ברוך אתה יי :ועל נדות נפש :גאל ישרא
Maggid : Blessed art Thou, Lord our God, King of the universe, who hast
redeemed us and our fathers from Egypt and enabled us to reach this night
that we may eat matzah and maror. So Lord our God and God of our fathers, enable us to reach also the forthcoming holidays and festivals in peace,
rejoicing in the rebuilding of Zion, thy city, and joyful at thy service. There we
shall eat of the offerings and Passover sacrifices (On Saturday night read: of
the Passover sacrifices and offerings), which will be acceptably placed upon thy altar. We shall sing a new hymn of praise to Thee for our redemption and for
our liberation. Blessed art Thou, O Lord, who hast redeemed Israel.
Baruch attah Adonai elohaynu melech ha’olam asher gi’alanu v’ga’al
avotaynu mimitzraim v’higeeyanu l’lie’lah hazeh leh’echol matzah
u’maror. Kayn Adonai elohaynu vay’lohay avotaynu yagee’aynu
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l’mo’adim v’lirigalim aherim habaim l’krataynu lishalom s’mayhim
bivinyan eereh’chav’sassim ba’avodatecha v’nochal shammin
hazivachim umin hap’sachim asher yagee’a damam al kir
mizvahecha liratzon v’nodeh lecha shir hadash al gi’ulataynu v’al
p’dut nafshaynu. Baruch attah Adonai ga’al Yisrael
The Second Cup of Wine
We fill each other’s cups of wine in the manner of free men and women.
Maggid: We now raise the second cup of wine which acknowledges the second
of God‟s four promises to the Israelites: “I will deliver you from their bondage.”
It was not enough for God to liberate us physically. Slavery is also a mind-set. We thank God for giving us the strength to overcome the mentality of slavery
that afflicted us.
ינו מלך העולם, ברוך אתה יי א נרי הגפן, אלה :בור
Praise to You, Adonai, our God, Sovereign of the Universe Who creates the fruit
of the vine.
Baruch attah Adonai elohaynu melech ha-olam boray p’ree hagafen.
We recline to the left as we drink the wine
in the fashion of free men and women.
RAHTZAH As we prepare to begin our festive meal we wash our hands, reciting the appropriate blessing. Two or three cups of water are poured over each hand and the blessing is then recited. The dinner table is a sacred altar. By washing our hands we symbolically cleanse ourselves in preparation for this holy meal.
לך העולם ינו מ ,אשר קדשנו במצותיו, ברוך אתה יי אלה : וצונו על נטילת ידים
Praise to You, Adonai, our God, Sovereign of the Universe who sanctifies us
with Your commandments, and commanded us concerning the washing of the hands.
Baruch atta Adonai elohaynu melech ha’olam
asher kidshanu bimitzvotav vitzeevanu al nitilat yada’im
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MOTZI MATZAH
We recite two blessings over the matzah, one acknowledging it as our most basic food and the other proclaiming it as a symbol of our history. We raise all three pieces of matzah for the blessing. We lean to the left while eating
the matzah.
רוך אתה יי ינו מלך העולם, ב רץ, אלה :הםוציא לחם מן הא
Praise to You, Adonai, our God, Sovereign of the Universe
who brings forth bread from the earth.
Baruch atta Adonai elohaynu melech ha’olam Hamotzee lehem min ha’aretz
Then we lay down the bottom piece of matzah and recite the second blessing:
ינו מלך העולם, ברוך אתה יי אשר קדשנו במצותיו, אלה
: וצונו על אכילת מסה
Praise to You, Adonai, our God, Sovereign of the Universe who sanctifies us
with Your commandments, and commanded us concerning the eating of matzah.
Baruch atta Adonai elohaynu melech ha’olam
asher kidshanu bimitzvotav vitzeevanu al achilat matzah
MAROR
Bitter herbs are eaten along with a bit of charoset after saying the following blessing. The bitter herbs should either be fresh horseradish or romaine lettuce and not bottled horseradish. Since the maror is a reminder of slavery we do not
lean in a leisurely manner it.
אשר קדשנו במצותיו, ברוך אתה יי אלהינו מלך העולם
: וצונו על אכילת מרור
Praise to You, Adonai, our God, Sovereign of the Universe who sanctifies us
with Your commandments, and commanded us concerning the eating of the
bitter herbs.
Baruch atta Adonai elohaynu melech ha’olam
asher kidshanu bimitzvotav vitzeevanu al achilat maror
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KORECH
We make a sandwich with the third piece of matzah and a portion of maror dipped in the charoset
ית הםקדש היה קים: כר למקדש כהללזז ל בזמן שב ן עשה הל כל ביחד ך נסח מסה ומרור ואוכ . היה כור
:על מסות ומרורים אכלהו: לקים מה מאמר Maggid: Zecher limikdash k’hillel. To remind us of the Temple, we do as Hillel
did in Temple times; they combined matzah and maror in a sandwich and ate
them together, to fulfill what is written in the Torah: “They shall eat it with
unleavened bread and bitter herbs."
SHULHAN ORECH
We are now ready to begin the Passover meal. This is a time for conversation and celebration, a time to catch up with dear family and friends and to continue the discussion of the themes of Passover. We should not lose sight of the fact that this is not just dinner but a se’udat mitzvah, a sacred meal which celebrates the
performance of a commandment. Our words and actions should be as filling as the food we eat. This might be a good time to return to some of the discussion questions posed earlier in the Haggadah.
TZAFUN The last bit of food that we eat in our Seder meal is the Afikomen, the piece of matzah which was hidden at the beginning of the Seder. It is customary for children to bargain with the adults to redeem the Afikomen since we cannot continue the Seder without it. A symbol of the paschal offering, we continue the evening with the taste of this bit of matzah in our mouth.
BARECH Every meal concludes with blessings in which we give thanks to the One who has given us food. We give thanks not only to show our gratitude but to remind ourselves that we are partners with God in feeding the world. We have a responsibility to share the earth‟s bounty with others. We ought to devote a few minutes before the Birkat HaMazon to discussing ways to feed the hungry and care for the forgotten. The grace begins with Psalm 126 and then a call to prayer in which the leader invites his friends and company to bless the One who allows us to eat of God‟s food. The words in parentheses are only recited where there are at least ten Jewish adults present.
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Psalm 126
A song of ascent: when the Eternal One restored the exiles to Zion we were
like dreamers. Then our mouths were filled with laughter and joyous song was
on our tongues. Then it was said among the nations, “Adonai has done great
things for them.” Great things indeed He did for us; therefore we rejoiced. Restore us, Adonai, as you return streams to Israel‟s desert soil. Those who
sow in tears will reap in joyous song. A tearful person will plant in sadness,
bearing his sack of seed, but he will come home in gladness bearing his
sheaves of grain.
Shir ha’ma’alot: bishuv adaonai et shivat tzion hayeenu k’holmim.
Az yimalay sihok peenu u’l’shonaynu reenah. Az yomru vagoyeem,
higdeel Adonai la’asot eem ayleh. Higdeel Adonai la’asot emanu,
hayeenu simahim. Shuvah Adonai et shiveetaynu ka’afikeem
banegev. Hazorim beh’dima beh’reenah yiktzoru.
Haloch yelech u’vacho nosay meshech hazara. Bo yavoh vireenah
nosay alumotav.
Leader: Havayrie nivarech
Assembled: Yehi shaym Adonai mivorach mayata v’ad olam
Leader: Yehi shaym Adonai mivorach mayata v’ad olam
B’rshut havayrie nivarch (elohaynu) sheh’achalnu misheh’lo.
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Assembled: Baruch (elohaynu) sheh’achalnu mee’sheh’lo uv’tuvo
hayeenu
Leader: Baruch (elohaynu) sheh’achalnu mee’sheh’lo uv’tuvo
hayeenu. Baruch hu u’varuch sheh’mo
Praised are you, Adonai, sovereign of the universe, who nourishes the whole
world with grace, kindness and mercy. You give food to all creatures, for thy kindness endures forever. Through this great goodness we have never been in
want; may we never be in want of sustenance for His great name's sake. God
is the one who sustain all, who is beneficent to all, and provides food for all the
creatures, which He has created. Praised are You, Adonai, who sustains all.
Baruch attah Adonai elohaynu melech ha’olam hazan et ha’olam
kulo bituvo b’hen b’chesed uv’rahamim. Hu notayn lehem lichol
basar ki l’olam hasdo. Uv’tuvo hagadol tameed lo hasar lanu v’al
yehsar lanu mazon l’olam va’ed. Ba’avur sheh’mo hagadol ki hu el
zan umifar’nes lakol, umayteev lakol umay’cheen mazon lichol
bireeyotav asher bara. Baruch attah Adonai hazan et hakol.
We give thanks to the Eternal One our God who caused our ancestors to inherit a
good and precious land, covenant and Torah, life and sustenance as it is written: “You shall eat, and be satisfied, and bless Adonai your God for the good land which God has
given you. Praised are you, Adonai, for the land and for food.
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Kakatuv: V’achalta v’savata uvay’rachta et Adonai eloheh’cha al
ha’aretz hatova asher natan lach. Baruch atta Adonai al ha’aretz
v’al hamazon.
We thank you God for the opportunity to celebrate this festival of Pesah, the Feast of Matzot. On this festival remember our ancestors and be gracious to
us. Consider the people of Israel standing before you in prayer for the days of
Messiah and the rebuilding of Jerusalem. Grant us life, well-being, loving
kindness and peace. Be merciful to us and save us for we place our hope in you.
Rebuild Jerusalem the holy city speedily in our days. Praise to You, Adonai,
who will rebuild Jerusalem in mercy. Amen.
Uv’nay yirushalayim eer hakodesh bim’hayra biyamaynu. Baruch attah Adonai, bonay birahamav yirushalayim amen!
Praised are you Adonai our God, Sovereign of the universe, whose goodness is
constant throughout all time. Favor us with compassion now and in the future
as You did in the past. May we be worthy of the days of the Messiah.
Baruch attah Adonai elohaynu melech ha’olam hatov v’hamayteev lakok. Hu hayteev hu mayteev, hu yay’teev lanu. Hu gimalanu, hu
gomlaynu, hu yigmilaynu li’ad, l’hen lehesed uli’rahamim
veezakaynu limot hamashiah
May the all merciful bless the land of Israel, the first blossom of our
redemption
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Harahaman hu yivarech et mideenat Yisrael ray’sheet tzmihat gi’ulataynu.
May the one who establishes peace in the heavens, grant peace to us, to all
Israel and to all humankind, Amen!
Oseh shalom bimromav hu ya’aseh shalom
alaynu v’al kol Yisrael v’eemru, amen
Third Cup of Wine
We fill each other’s cup with wine.
Maggid: The third cup of wine reminds us of God‟s promise, “I will redeem you.” Redemption is an ongoing process that happened not once but many
times in our history. As we partake of the third cup of wine our attention
turns to the darkness and light of our history following the Exodus. We believe
that the Exodus is a paradigm, a model for our history. It reminds us never to take the blessings of life for granted and to know that even in the darkest hour
God is present.
ינו מלך העולם, ברוך אתה יי א נרי הגפן, אלה :בור
Praise to You, Adonai, our God, Sovereign of the Universe Who creates the fruit
of the vine.
Baruch attah Adonai elohaynu melech ha-olam boray p’ree hagafen.
We recline to the left while drinking the wine in the fashion of free men and women.
The fourth cup of wine is poured and the door is open in commemoration of the fact that Passover is considered to be a Leil sh’murim, a night of vigil. Though Jews were often accused of the blood libel around the time of Passover, they were not afraid to open the doors of their homes and freely express their trust in God. In fact they may very well have opened their doors to show that they had nothing to hide. The open door became an opportunity to welcome Elijah into our midst. Elijah will announce the coming of the Messianic era, a time when there will no longer be strong and weak, hunter and hunted. For some people it is a custom to leave his cup empty and to then pass it around the table, each person pouring a little of the wine from their own cup into Elijah‟s cup. In this way we give expression to the idea
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that each of us has something to contribute to the cup of redemption. As we pass the cup around the table we sing “Eliyahu HaNavi.”
Group: Eliyahu Hanavi, Eliyahu Hatishbi
Eliyahu, Eliyahu, Eliyahu Hagiladi
Bim’hayrah biyamaynu yavo aylanu,
eem mashiah ben David
Maggid: As our ancestors opened their doors of their home they expressed
deep anger for the suffering that was inflicted on them by their neighbors. The
forces of darkness were all around them. It was hard to trust a world that
marginalized their people.
Group: They said: “Pour out Your wrath upon those nations that do not
recognize You and upon those kingdoms that do not invoke Your name; for
they have devoured Jacob and destroyed God‟s habitation.”
Reader: Dark forces still inhabit our world. Only a generation ago Amalek‟s
disciples annihilated one out of every three Jews in the world. A million and a
half children died in the Shoah. This evening we remember them. We have not yet begun to understand the full impact of this tragedy.
Reader: Yet we cannot live with distrust. We recognize that we are partners in
building a world of peace and justice, a world without oppression, a world
without violence. If we are threatened then the world is not safe; and if others are threatened, then we know that we are not safe. Therefore, we continue to
work and pray for a world of hope and light, a world of godliness and goodness
for all people.
Group:
Ani ma’amin beh’emunah sh’laymah Bivee’aht hamashiah
V’af al pee sheh’yit’mah’may’ah eem kol zeh ani ma’amin I believe with complete faith in the coming of the Messiah, and even though he
tarries I still believe…
HALLEL
In the final section of the Seder participants join in a celebration of songs of praise
and redemption. Our attention turns from past redemption in Egypt to our hope for future redemption. Finally the Seder ends with a series of popular songs. Only a few
sections of the concluding psalms and songs have been included here. Participants are encouraged to refer to a traditional Haggadah for a more complete collection of these passages and songs.
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(1)
Psalm 115:12-18 The Lord who has remembered us will bless. He will bless
the house of Israel; He will bless the house of Aaron; He will bless those who
revere the Lord, the small with the great. May the Lord increase you, you and
your children. The Lord, who made the heaven and earth, blesses you. The heaven is the Lord's heaven, but He has given the earth to mankind. The dead
cannot praise the Lord, nor can any who go down into silence. We will bless the
Lord from this time forth and forever. Halleluyah!
Yivarech et bayt Yisrael, yivarech et bayt aharon.
Yivarech yiray Adonai haketaneem eem hag’doleem. Yosef Adonai alay’chem, alay’chem v’al binaychem.
Biruchim atem la’Adonai, oseh shama’im va’aretz.
Hashama’im shama’im la’Adonai
v’ha’aretz natan liv’nay adam.
Lo ha’maytim yihalelu’yah v’lo kol yor’day dumah
Va’anah’nu nivarech yah, may’ata v’ad olam, Haleluyah!
(2)
Psalm 117
Give thanks to the Lord, all you nations; praise Him, all you peoples!
For His kindness overwhelms us, and the truth of the Lord is forever, Halleluyah!
Halilu et Adonai kol go’yim shab’huhu kol ha’umin
Ki gavar alaynu hasdo, veh’emet Adonai li’olam haleluyah
(3)
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Psalm 118:1-4
Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; His kindness endures forever.
Let Israel say: His kindness endures forever. Let the house of Aaron say: His kindness endures forever.
Let those who revere the Lord say: His kindness endures forever.
Hodu la’Adonai ki tov, ki l’olam hasdo
Yomar na Yisrael ki l’olam hasdo
Yomru na Yisrael ki l’olam hasdo Yomru na yiray Adonai ki l’olam hasdo.
(4)
From the narrow places I called out to God; God answered me expansively and set
me free.
Min hamay’tzar karatee yah Ananee va’merhav yah
(5) Each verse is recited twice:
I thank you for you have answered me and have become my salvation. The stone that the builders rejected has become the major cornerstone.
This the Lord's doing; it is marvelous in our eyes.
This is the day that the Lord has made; we will be glad and rejoice on it.
Odecha ki aneetanee, vat’hee lee lee’shu’ah (2X)
Even ma’asu habonim ha y’ta l’rosh pee’nah (2X)
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May’ayt Adonai ha’y’ta zot hee nifaat b’ay’nay’nu (2X)
Zeh hayom asa Adonai nageelah vi’nismiha bo (2X)
(6)
ADIR HU
Awesome is He, May He build His temple very soon.
O God, build thy temple speedily.
Chosen is He, great, and famous; May He build... Glorious is He, pure and guiltless; May He build...
Pious is He, clean and unique; May He build...
Powerful is He, wise and majestic; May He build...
Revered is He, eminent and strong; May He build... Redeeming is He, righteous and holy; May He build...
Merciful is He, omnipotent, and indomitable; May He build...
Adeer hu adir hu, yivneh vay’to bikarov, bim’hayrah bim’hayrah biya’maynu bikarov
el b’nay, el benay, benay baytcha b’karov
Bahur hu, gadol hu, dagul hu, yivneh vay’to bikarov
bim’hayrah bim’hayrah biya’maynu bikarov
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el b’nay, el benay, benay baytcha b’karov
Hadur hu, vateek hu, zakie hu, hasid hu, yivneh vay’to bikarov bim’hayrah bim’hayrah biya’maynu bikarov
el b’nay, el benay, benay baytcha b’karov
Tahor hu, yahid hu, kaveer hu, lamud hu, melech hu, nora hu
sageev, hu eezuz hu, podeh hu, tzadeek hu, yivneh vay’to bikarov
bim’hayrah bim’hayrah biya’maynu bikarov el b’nay, el benay, benay baytcha b’karov
Kadosh hu, rahum hu, shaddai hu, takeef hu yivneh vay’to bikarov
bim’hayrah bim’hayrah biya’maynu bikarov
el b’nay, el benay, benay baytcha b’karov
(7)
Ehad mee yodeah?
Ehad anee yodea
One is our God in heaven and earth.
Ehad elohaynu sheh’bashama’im uva’aretz
sh’na’im mee yodeah? sh’na’im anee yodea
Two are the tablets of the covenant
Sh'nay luhot haberit ehad elohaynu sheh’bashama’im uva’aretz
shlo’sha mee yodeah? shlo’sha anee yodea
Three are the fathers of Israel
46
Shlo’sha avot, sh’nay luhuot habrit, ehad Ehad elohaynu
sheh’bashama’im uva’aretz
arba mee yodeah? arba anee yodea
Four are the mothers of Israel
Arba eema’hot, shlo’sha avot, sh’nay luhuot habrit, ehad Ehad
elohaynu sheh’bashama’im uva’aretz
chameesha mee yodeah? chameesha anee yodea
Five are the books of the Torah
Chamisha chumshay torah, arba eema’hot shlo’sha avot, sh’nay
luhuot habrit, ehad Ehad elohaynu sheh’bashama’im uva’aretz
sheesha mee yodeah? sheesha anee yodea
Six are the orders of the Mishnah
Shisha sidray Mishnah, chamisha chumshay torah, arba eema’hot
shlo’sha avot, sh’nay luhuot habrit, ehad Ehad elohaynu
sheh’bashama’im uva’aretz
sheeva mee yodeah? sheeva anee yodea
Seven are the days of the week
47
Shiva yi’may shabbata, shisha sidray Mishnah, chamisha chumshay
torah, arba eema’hot shlo’sha avot, sh’nay luhuot habrit, ehad Ehad
elohaynu sheh’bashama’im uva’aretz
shmo’na mee yodeah? shmo’na anee yodea
Eight are the days to circumcision
Shmo’nah yi’may meelah, shiva yi’may shabbata, shisha sidray
Mishnah, chamisha chumshay torah, arba eema’hot shlo’sha avot,
sh’nay luhuot habrit, ehad Ehad elohaynu sheh’bashama’im
uva’aretz
Teesha mee yodeah? Teesha anee yodea
Nine are the months to child birth
Tisha yar’hay laydah, shm’onah yi’may meelah, shiva yi’may
shabbata, shisha sidray Mishnah, chamisha chumshay torah, arba
eema’hot shlo’sha avot, sh’nay luhuot habrit, ehad Ehad elohaynu sheh’bashama’im uva’aretz
Asara mee yodeah? Asara anee yodea
Ten are the commandments
48
Asara dibra’ya, Tisha yar’hay laydah, shm’onah yi’may meelah,
shiva yi’may shabbata, shisha sidray Mishnah, chamisha chumshay
torah, arba eema’hot shlo’sha avot, sh’nay luhuot habrit, ehad Ehad
elohaynu sheh’bashama’im uva’aretz
Ahad asar mee yodeah? Ahad asar anee yodea
Eleven are the stars in Joseph's dream
Ahad asar kochvaya, asara dibra’ya, Tisha yar’hay laydah,
shm’onah yi’may meelah, shiva yi’may shabbata, shisha sidray Mishnah, chamisha chumshay torah, arba eema’hot shlo’sha avot,
sh’nay luhuot habrit, ehad Ehad elohaynu sheh’bashama’im
uva’aretz
sh’naym asar mee yodeah? sh’naym asar anee yodea
Twelve are the tribes of Israel
Sh’naym asar shivtaya, ahad asar kochvaya, asara dibra’ya, tisha yar’hay laydah, shm’onah yi’may meelah, shiva yi’may shabbata,
shisha sidray Mishnah, chamisha chumshay torah, arba eema’hot
shlo’sha avot, sh’nay luhuot habrit, ehad Ehad elohaynu
sheh’bashama’im uva’aretz
shlo’sha asar mee yodeah? shlo’sha asar anee yodea
49
Thirteen are the attributes of God
Shlo’has asar meedayah, sh’naym asar shivtaya, ahad asar
kochvaya, asara dibra’ya, Tisha yar’hay laydah, shm’onah yi’may
meelah, shiva yi’may shabbata, shisha sidray Mishnah, chamisha
chumshay torah, arba eema’hot shlo’sha avot, sh’nay luhuot habrit,
ehad Ehad elohaynu sheh’bashama’im uva’aretz
(8)
One kid One kid which father bought for two zuzim, one kid, one kid
Had gadya had gadya d’zabin abba b’tray zuzay, had gadya had gadya
Then the cat ate the kid that father bought for two zuzim.
One kid, one kid. One kid, one kid.
V’ata shunra, v’ach’la l’gadya, d’zabin abba b’tray zuzay, had gadya had gadya
Then the dog bit the cat that ate the kid that father bought for two zuzim.
One kid, one kid. One kid, one kid.
V’ata kalba, v’nasach l’shunra, d’ach’la l’gadya, d’zabin abba b’tray
zuzay, had gadya had gadya
50
Then the stick beat the dog that bit the cat that ate the kid that father bought
for two zuzim. One kid, one kid. One kid, one kid.
V’ata hutra, v’hika l’kalba, d’nasach l’shunra, d’ach’la l’gadya, d’zabin abba b’tray zuzay, had gadya had gadya
Then the fire burned the stick that beat the dog that bit the cat that ate the kid
that father bought for two zuzim. One kid, one kid. One kid, one kid.
V’ata nura, v’saraf, l’shunra, d’hika l’kalba, d’nasach l’hutra, d’ach’la
l’gadya, d’zabin abba b’tray zuzay, had gadya had gadya
Then the water quenched the fire that burned the stick that beat the dog that
bit the cat that ate the kid that father bought for two zuzim. One kid, one kid.
One kid, one kid.
V’ata maya, v’kava l’nura, d’saraf l’hutra, d’hika l’kalba, d’nasach l’shunra, d’ach’la l’gadya, d’zabin abba b’tray zuzay, had gadya had
gadya
Then the ox drank the water that quenched the fire that burned the stick that beat the dog that bit the cat that ate the kid that father bought for two zuzim.
One kid, one kid. One kid, one kid.
V’ata tora, v’shatah l’maya, d’kava l’nura, d’saraf l’hutra, d’hika l’kalba,
d’nasach l’shunra, d’ach’la l’gadya, d’zabin abba b’tray zuzay, had
gadya had gadya
Then the slaughterer killed the ox that drank the water that quenched the fire
that burned the stick that beat the dog that bit the cat that ate the kid that father bought for two zuzim. One kid, One kid.
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V’ata shohet v’shahat l’tora, d’shatah l’maya, d’kava l’nura, d’saraf
l’hutra, d’hika l’kalba, d’nasach l’shunra, d’ach’la l’gadya, d’zabin abba
b’tray zuzay, had gadya had gadya
Then the angel of death slew the slaughterer that killed the ox that drank the
water that quenched the fire that burned the stick that beat the dog that bit the cat that ate the kid that father bought for two zuzim. One kid, one kid.
V’ata malach hamavet, v’shahat l’shohet , d’shahat l’tora, d’shatah
l’maya, d’kava l’nura, d’saraf l’hutra, d’hika l’kalba, d’nasach l’shunra,
d’ach’la l’gadya, d’zabin abba b’tray zuzay, had gadya had gadya
The Holy One, blessed be He, came and slew the angel of death that slew the
slaughterer that killed the ox that drank the water that quenched the fire that
burned the stick that beat the dog that bit the cat that ate the kid that father bought for two zuzim. One kid, one kid.
V’ata hakadosh baruch hu, v’shahat l’malach hamavet, d’shahat
l’shohet , d’shahat l’tora, d’shatah l’maya, d’kava l’nura, d’saraf
l’hutra, d’hika l’kalba, d’nasach l’shunra, d’ach’la l’gadya, d’zabin abba
b’tray zuzay, had gadya had gadya
Fourth Cup of Wine
Maggid: We come to the fourth cup of wine for the promise, “I will take you to be my people and I will be your God.” All of this, to what purpose did it serve? To
bring us to Mount Sinai, to allow us to enter the Covenant, to serve God and
become a blessing to the world. What is freedom about if it does not serve a higher
purpose.
ינו מלך העולם, ברוך אתה יי א נרי הגפן, אלה :בור
Praise to You, Adonai, our God, Sovereign of the Universe Who creates the fruit
of the vine.
52
Baruch attah Adonai elohaynu melech ha-olam boray p’ree hagafen.
NIRTZAH On the second night of Passover we count the Omer. We inaugurate a period of counting and self-reflection which culminates on Shavuot, when we celebrate the giving of the Torah. The forty nine days of counting (Sefirat HaOmer) thus parallels
the journey from Egypt to Sinai.
The Counting of the Omer
ינו מלך העולם, ברוך אתה יי אשר קדשנו במצותיו, אלה
וצונו עלPraise to You, Adonai, our God, Sovereign of the Universe who sanctifies us
with Your commandments, and commanded us concerning the counting of the
Omer.
Baruch atta Adonai elohaynu melech ha’olam asher kidd’shanu
b’mitzvotav v’tzeevanu al sefirat ha’omer
Today is the first day in the counting of the Omer
Hayom yom ehad la’omer
May God accept this Seder As it concludes according to Halacha,
Complete in all its laws and ordinances.
Just as we were privileged to arrange it tonight,
So may we be granted to perform it again. O Pure One, who dwells in the heights above,
Establish us as a countless people once again,
Speedily guide Your people Israel, a verdant vine,
and bring them as a redeemed people to the land of Zion with song.
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Hasal siddur Pesah ki’hilchato. Ki’chol mishpato v’hukato
Kasher zacheenu l’sader oto. Kayn nizkeh la’asoto.
Zach shochen mi’onah komaym k’hal adat mi manah
Bikarov na’hayl nitay chana piduyim l’tzion b’reenah
NEXT YEAR IN JERUSALEM
Copyright 2006 Rabbi Mark B Greenspan
All rights Reserved.
For information on obtaining or copying Around the Table Haggadah Contact Rabbi Greenspan, [email protected]
