working document-haggadah-JAN

8/7/2019 working document-haggadah-JAN

1/1741

DAYENU

THEGRATEFULNESSHAGGADAH


2/1742

GRATEFUL FOR:

Jacob Lederman, of blessed memory

Loving father, husband and brother; master tailor, blacksmith and soccer player.

With wife Betty at their ninetieth birthday party

Zeide will always be remembered for his humor, strength and love of

grandchildren.The strains of his singing words of Hallel-mah lecho hayom, will always

echo in our hearts as we celebrate Passover at our family Seders.


3/1743

GRATEFUL FOR:

Eric Joel Tanenbaum, of blessed memory

Scholar, advocate for the powerless, loving father, caring brother, and fun-

loving cousin.

Rosanna, daughter, and Eric in Sussex, England, 2004.

He drank deeply from the cup of life, savored the haroset-like sweetness of

family, friends and travel, faced lifes maror-like bitterness with courage and humility.

We sat together at the Seder table as children, blessed by the presence of our zeideDovid and our families.


4/1744

I AM DEEPLY GRATEFUL FOR...

...the beautiful artistic background of the Haggadah cover that

was the creative result of Maria Costa, author and artist.

...

...the outstanding crew of tutors at the Apple One-To -One

program at the Garden State Plaza, Paramus, NJ, without whose

competent, dedicated and patient assistance this Haggadah

would never have come to fruition...

...Dr. Jacob Lindenthal, friend and mentor, whose ongoingcomments, humor and insights were invaluable, and who

recommended the Apple One-to-One program to me...

...my devoted and loving friend, Abraham Menashe, photographer

and poet, who in moments of darkness showed me the light,

believing in the sacred duty of listening to ones own voice...

...my beautiful son, Jeremiah, a young man of exceptional

creativity and decency, for his technical and emotional support...

...my daughter Jessica, my wife Rose, who together with my son,

constitute the most precious of all human gifts, the gift of a loving

family.


5/1745

Table of Contents

THE COLOR OF GRATITUDE

THE NATURE OF THIS HAGGADAH

HAGGADAT DAYENU THE GRATEFULNESS HAGGADAH :

INTRODUCTION

SEARCH FOR THE HAMETZ-

KINDLING THEFESTIVAL CANDLES-

BLESSING OF THE CHILDREN-

THE ORDER OF THE SEDER

KADESH-KIDDUSH-

URECHATZ-WASH-

KARPAS/GREEN VEGETABLE-

YACHATZ / DIVIDE-

MAGID / NARRATE-

!MAH NISHTANAH-THE FOUR QUESTIONS -

AVADEEM HAYINU - ;

STORY TELLING-WE WERE SLAVES...

THE FOUR CHILDREN -

IN THE BEGINNING-

E S E R M A K O T - THE TEN PLAGUES-

DAYENU- .

HALLEL-!

KOS SHEINEE -SECOND CUP OF WINE

RAHTZAH -LAVE / WASHING:

MOTZEE - MATZAH - ,

MAROR-

KOREKH / HILLEL SANDWICH -

SHULHAN OREKH/MEAL-

TZAFUN/AFIKOMAN / DESSERT-

BAREKH / BIRKAT HAMAZON - SHORTER FORM OF GRACE-BIRKAT HAMAZON .

KOS SHLISHEE - THIRD CUP-

KOS SHEL ELIYAHU -CUP OF ELIJAH -

MiIRIAMS CUP

FOURTH CUP -KOS RVEE - EE -

NIRTZAH / ACCEPTANCE-

SONGS

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6/1741

The Color of Gratitude#

As a toddler, my daughters favorite book and movie was titled Rainbow

Brite. She loved to have me read about how the villains of the story did everything

in their power to rid the world of color, and leave behind a landscape of drab andcolorless gloom. But Rainbow Brite, the pretty heroine, and her friends, each

representing a different color, always defeated the villains and preserved a beautiful

world saturated with an array of countless colors.

# The metaphor of color as beauty, happiness and hope, is one that is universal.

Color is a powerful vehicle for the communication of moods, feelings and states of

mind and heart. Each culture views color in a different way; individuals associate a

variety of colors to different states of mind which reflect their individuality and

uniqueness as human beings.

# Colors also resonate with a shared, even universal significance andassociation. Black and white are understood as contrasting shades, while yellow,

the color of the sun, suggests brightness, joy and openness. Green reflects fertility,

and blue the expansiveness and mystery of the seas and skies. Many describe the

spectrum of passionate emotions in colors of red, with anger and violence often

expressed in hues of bloody red.

Jewish mysticism understands divine manifestations in terms of colors as well.

As light is scattered into colors through the prisms of moisture-filled air, so too does

Gods light find colorful expression through the Sefirot, the emanations of the divine

light. For example, within the chromatic schema of the ten sefirot, the sixthemanation, Tiferet, Splendor, is associated with the colors sapphire-blue and

magenta, in which three colors (white, red, and [yellowish] green) are to be united.

Positioned at the very center of the Tree of Lifeand thus connecting the realms of

above and belowTiferet corresponds to the location of the heart, just as this

emanation is associated with the attributes of beauty, glory, harmony, and

compassion.

# Because of colors powerful role in the unfolding of the human spiritual

experience, I decided that the use of colors could transmit to the reader the broad

spectrum of gratitude as a core component of the Seder experience. By using a widevariety of colors in the background of my pages of commentary, colors that are

indeterminate and open to individual interpretation, the readers visceral

understanding could be expanded and deepened.

My choice of colors was often unconscious and intuitive, in the hope thatsomehow the full scope of gratefulness could be arrived at through the exposure to

this rainbow of color without prior prejudice by way of suggested specific selections.


7/1742

# In essence, there is no one color that fully encompasses the richness of the

gratefulness posture in life. As human experience stretches to touch the widest

range of realities, so too does gratefulness offer us a path by which to embrace this

totality of life. # #

. # # My hope is that the colors of this Haggadah will enhance the readers

capacity to brush up against the brilliance of lifes untold blessings and elicit a

response of genuine gratefulness for all the gifts of being alive.


8/1743

This Haggadah presents the Seder participant or reader with the following features:

1.The full traditional Hebrew text, transliteration and translation.

2.Commentary recorded against backgrounds of color to enhance our awareness

and cultivation of Gratefulness in our Passover experience.

3.DOING GRATEFULNESS exercises to concretize and emotionalize the dimension

of gratefulness in our telling of the Passover story.

Doing Gratefulness

Before you begin the actual Seder, invite all participants to share their gratitude

color.


9/1744

Haggadat Dayenu-the Gratefulness Haggadah

Introduction:

As a child growing up in the cold Canadian city of Montreal, I remember the

first night of Pesach as a magical time. Returning from the synagogue with my zeide,

my grandfather, we trudged along streets drenched in slush, awaiting the

approaching sunshine of spring that would once again bring warmth and free

movement to our lives. We would soon shed our ear muffs, mittens and galoshes,

and rush out into the parks and play grounds for our first toss of the baseball;

needless to say, we were passionate hockey players but by the time April rolled

around, another sport beckoned, one we greeted without fur laden coats and itchy

woolen sweaters. The air was saturated with a delightful mixture of chilly briskness

and a welcome spring thaw.The first evening of Passover was a culmination of days of preparation-

shopping for Passover foods, removing year long modern utensils and bringing up

ancient ones for Passover from places of concealment, dinnerware drenched in the

old-a brass mortar and pestle in which the Haroset,the mixture of apples, wine, nuts

cinnamon and sugar, was made; knives and forks yellow with age and tipped with

elaborate designs; dishes and bowls offering sumptuous Seder meals for

generations gone by, both in Canada and in shtetls of Poland and Russia.

Tables and counter tops were covered with planks of wood and cardboard, alltaken from discarded boxes and containers. I loved the banging out of nails and the

sawing of thick slabs of wood especially designated for sinks and stove tops. Our

house was transformed, not into a palace of elegance but into a space of special

magic, a place that announced to one and all-Pesach is here!

I could not wait to be home, surrounded by the sights, sounds, smells and

sweetness of the Seder table. My heart would swell with anticipation.

Looking back I ask: What made the night of Passover so different from all other

nights? What did this night teach us about all nights, about all days, about all of life,for that matter?

On this night the child in all of us-whether or not we consider ourselves among

the wise, the sophisticated or the educated, poses a question that seeks a response

not of our minds as much as of our hearts. The question that we struggle to

recognize is not an academic or factual one. To ask for an explanation-historic,

scientific, even moral is quite natural. When the youngest asks: Why is this night


10/1745

different from all other nights and he/she is shown the symbols and tangible artifacts

of the ritual, the answer is readily available: We were slaves and now we are free.

But the journey from slavery to freedom, from darkness to light, from grief to

gratitude, from enslavement to redemption is more complex. It is not a static or

straightforward one; often we must cross hills and valleys, roads that are rough,

stretches of dry desert and towering mountains demanding arduous ascent. We are

expected to reenact the journey, to experience it anew in a deeply personal way.In each generation we are obligated to see ourselves as if we had actually

been redeemed from Mitzrayim! This obligation conveys the challenge to experience

the journey through words, memories, rituals, songs, feelings, wine and food. The

journey is an internal process of ongoing spiritual growth, one that allows for

shuttling, taking detours when roads are impassable, and carrying the compass of a

courageous heart and a compassionate soul.

Often, however, responses of the heart and soul elude us; we know and

understand that something is different on this night, but we need to further explorethe why, the mystery of Passover. We need help, we need each other, we need a

history, generations of our people and their experiences; we cannot discover the

mystery in isolation. The task is challenging and exciting, an adventure of the human

spirit.

Perhaps the following brief statements summarize the experience best:

Instructions for living a life:

Pay attention

Be astonished

Tell about it Mary Oliver, Red Bird.


11/1746

# Our tradition informs us that the Seder night is designed not only to arouse

childrens curiosity but to help all of us, the wise and the foolish, the clever and the

simple, the young and the old, to pay attention to this story of liberation and discover

the astonishment in the story.

Thus we are told, in the response to the inability to ask,- Vheegadtah-you shall tell, relate, recount, tell the story, saying - Baavur zeh- , It is

because of this that the Lord did all the miracles for me when I left Egypt.We are speechless; articulation of feelings is so difficult; we need the

Haggadah, the story, the answer, to help us discover the right question and thereby

reach our ultimate destination.

First time events have a powerful and an immediate impact on; the passage of

time and repeated similar circumstances erode the freshness of the experience.

What remains is the story, the memory, the ritual, words and songs as vehicles for

the reliving of the original event, so that it preserves its vibrancy and relevance.

#The challenge of every Seder celebration is to pay attention so that we are

astonished and then are to tell it so that we and our children will be reminded of

our godly images as sources of connection to the divine.

Every step and component of the Haggadah is a reflection of praise and

gratefulness that undergirds the entire experience. We re-experience the zeh, -

this, the specific and particular reason and nuance for every phase of our Seder

rejoicing and testimony. We begin the Seder with a question born of wonder when

the child asks:

#Mah nishtanah halaylah hazeh--How different is this night!The mah--how, why, the not knowing, the mystery of everything is connected to

the last word of the question or exclamation-zeh-. The question of the Tam,?, the innocent child (of the four children) is summarized in two words- mah zot? What is this? (Exodus 13:14).(zot : = fem. zeh: ) That is, out of asense of wholehearted innocence, from a place of trust and faith, this part of us

encounters the wonder, the mystery of the night in the word

The zeh- of the night of Passover suggests the uniqueness and themiraculous of this night as a time of transition from the darkness of slavery and

death to the morning of redemption and life. This transition, this night becoming day,

this moment of enslavement passing and morphing into redemption is a moment of

miracle for which we praise, urging the exercise of our associations and imaginations

to arrive at the fullness of meaning embedded in the word.


12/1747

Between the beginning and end of the narrative, the zeh- helps us

understand the nature of the Midrashic [Rabbinic] explication of Gods miracles in the

midst of the narrative.

Essentially, the zeh- of the Seder is an elaboration of the declaration

uttered by Moses and Israel at the Sea of Reedszeh eli vanvayhu-

.- this is my God and I will enshrine Him with my praise

Zeman Herutaynu--The Festival of our Freedom

The focus of this Haggadat Dayenu, this Gratefulness Haggadah, is directed

to the internal process of individual, spiritual freedom, to the achievement of an inner

sense of being free and living a joyful and fulfilling spiritual life. It is hoped that

through this inner path of freedom, we will find ourselves closer to bringing about theexternal freedoms so desperately needed by so many as well.

# It is my belief that a central gateway to inner freedom is that of gratefulness.

The Haggadah in its content and context provides us with many pathways of

awareness that lead us along the road of gratefulness whose ultimate destination is

freedom. Repeatedly, from the opening words of the Kiddush-the Sanctification over

the wine, to Dayenu and beyond, words, songs and rituals all resonate with

resounding echoes of gratefulness, of Halleluyah, of thanksgiving and praise.

Gratitude saturates the Seder experience making it evident that to arrive at a spiritualposture of freedom the way of gratefulness is essential.

# The Torah makes use of four phrases or languages of redemption/ freedom-

I will free youI will deliver youI will redeem youI will take you to be My

people.(Exodus 6:6-7). Each of these languages of freedom can be understood as a

stage in the spiritual journey from the perspective of being separated, of seeing the

world as a place of dual realities between the subject, the ego and the outside world,

the object, to a consciousness of unity, eventually witnessing the world as a place of

integration and unity. Each expression of freedom is a way of realizing theevolutionary spiritual growth embedded in the human spirit.

#


13/1748

#The Festival of Passover is referred to as zeman herutaynu-- the

season of our freedom; , the Hebrew for freedom, encompasses the meaning

of harut-, inscribed, imprinted, etchedinto. In other words, what is implied inthis term is the notion that freedom is intrinsic to the human soul. Passover thus

becomes a challenge to reach into the inner soul and rediscover or retrieve the

dimension of freedom that lives deep within our very being.Freedom is the souls signature; the spiritual journey demands the removal of

barriers that stand in the way of our gaining access to this deeply recessed part of

our souls.

Rumi, the Persian poet of the soul, understands the meaning of love in

similar fashion:

Your task is not to seek love

But merely to seek and find all the barriers

That you have built against it.

The same can be said of freedom; we build barriers against it, barriers born

of fear-fear of death, fear of not having enough, fear of not being enough, fear of

being happy. An antidote to these fears is gratefulness; when we cultivate our

awareness of life as a gift freely given, instead of our enslavement to greed we learn

the liberating power of gratitude; we recognize our thankfulness for who we arerather than being trapped by the compulsion to be perfect; rather than the fear of

and the fixation on, tomorrow, we feel the joy of the moment; we discover the

capacity to shed the chains of paralyzing guilt and embrace instead the redeeming

possibilities of gratefulness as the impetus for doing the good and the

compassionate in life.

Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and

more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos into order, confusion into clarity. It turnsproblems into gifts, failures into success, the unexpected into perfect timing, and

mistakes into important events. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for

today and creates a vision for tomorrow.

Melodie Beattie, Gratitude.


14/1749

In a real sense, the journey of the Seder is one to our authentic selves, to the

purity of our souls, souls that yearn to be free, to rest in the fullness of everything

and in that way to touch the fringes of the divine.

For many, the purpose of the Passover story is to remind us of our history, foster

group solidarity and Jewish identity, celebrate the strengthand unity of the Jewishfamily. The Seder is a powerful ethnic experience, with unique foods, its own

language and vocabulary, a range of colorful symbols and an array of intimate

emotional strands of Jewishness that weave themselves together into a mosaic of

being part of a special people and tradition. For others, the Passover story is a

constant reminder to renew efforts in achieving freedom for the oppressed

everywhere-its message is a universal and political one that touches the aspirations

of all groups who suffer the pain of enslavement.

These purposes, important as they are, should indeed be incorporated in our

Seder experience. Yet, I believe that the overriding objective of this annual

enactment is to tell a story that astonishes, amazes us, and in the midst of this

experience of wonder, to find in our hearts and voices the desire to sing praises,

articulate our gratefulness, in the Presence of the divine.

We now begin our journey.


15/17410

Bdikat Hametz-

Searching for Hametz:

On the night beforethe Seder, we place smallmorsels of bread in eachroom, and with a lit candle andfeather in our hand, we searchfor the leaven and collect thepieces of bread for burning thenext morning.

The light of the candlethat is focused in itsillumination helps us payattention to the fullness of theexperience. In a way, thissearch is an introduction to theprocess of careful

attentiveness that guides usthrough our journey from themundane to the holy, fromslavery to freedom, fromdarkness to light. By payingattention, by focusing our light,we observe the thinking andfeeling that often produce a

puffed-up, a hametz--leavened, barrier that thickensand blocks our heart. We can

then free ourselves to engagein the practice of bedikah, -

- of searching for andremoving the road blocks thatstand in the way of living withan n open heart, a place ofgreater humility, patience andcompassion.

Involvement ofchildren makes this searchparticularly joyful.

SEARCH FOR THE HAMETZ-

On the night preceding Passover, each family searches for

leaven-hametz-.Customarily,we search by the light of acandle or flashlight and use a feather to sweep up the hametzinto a paper bag. Before the search, small pieces ofhametz-bread are placed in every room on a napkin and collected

during the search.

' , 1 6 98 19. A,

Baruch ata adonai, eloheinu melech haolam, asher kidshanubmitzvotav vtzivanu al BI-UR HAMETZ.

Praised are You, Adonai our God, Sovereign of the universe,

who has taught us theway of holiness through the

commandments and has enjoined us to remove all hametz.

The following formula in Aramaic is recited after the search

and again the next morning after the leaven is disposed of,

usually by burning, no later than 10:am

ED H I J 9L N98 O E OIOE.

Kol chamira vachamiah dika virshuti dla chamiteih udlahvi-arteih udlahYedana lah lvateil vlehavei hefker kafra darah.

All the leaven in my possession that I have not seen and noteradicated is hereby nullified and considered like the dust of

the earth.

ERADICATING THE HAMETZ

Repeat above formula after disposing of all leaven.


16/17411

KINDLING OF FESTIVAL CANDLES-

) (

.

Baruch ata Adonai, elohainu melech haolam, asherkidshanu bmitzvotav vtzivanu lhadlik ner shel (shabbatv)Yom Tov.


who has taught us the way of holiness through the mitzvoth,and enjoined us to kindle the lights of (SABBATH and) the

PASSOVER FESTIVAl.

Add the THANKSGIVING blessing recited on the first

occurrence of any event or celebration

8'9 61, 198,:

.Baruch ata Adonai, eloheinu melech haolam,she,heh,cheh,yanu vkeemanu vhee,gee,anu lazman hazeh.

Praise are You. Adonai our God, Sovereign of the universe,

who has kept us alive, sustained us and enabled us to reachthis day.

Kindling the FestivalLights: Closing our eyes,we recall the darkness in theworld-hunger, disease, poverty,loneliness, war and the humancauses for this darkness-

greed, envy, hatred and fear.We quietly resolve to take thegratefulness we feel at themoment-gratefulness for life,for health, for sustenance, forthe love of family and friends,for our home, for the peace weenjoy, for our freedom, andtranslate these gifts intoofferings of chessed, ,ofcompassionate generosity sothat our light will bring a ray of

hope in the darkness of others.

A story from theBuddhist tradition:# One day, the King,Queen and people of a certaincity wished to honor theBuddha by lighting thousandsof lamps around themonastery. An old mendicantwoman wanted to make anoffering but after a whole dayof begging, she had only onecent. So she decided not toeat, and she bought some oilwith the pennyand poured itinto the many lamps displayedat the gate of the monastery.# Early in themorning, the master of themonastery went out to blow outthe lamps. All the lamps wentout except the one into whichthe beggar lady poured her oil.As he tried repeatedly to blowit out, it only grew brighter andbrighter.


17/17412

Doing

Gratefulness

In the silence of the moment, feel deeply that which makes yougrateful and happy.


18/17413

ParentalBlessingPlacing our hands on the

tender heads of our child/

children we open our

hearts and extend ablessing to them, in love

and in hope, reaching into

the deepest wells of

gratitude for these gifts of

our children

BLESSING OF THE CHILDREN-

Forsons we say:

Yesimcha elohim kephrayim vcheemnashehMay God make you like Ephraim and Menashe

Fordaughters we say:

Yesimeich elohim kSarah,Rivkah, Racheil vLeahMay God make you like Sarah, Rebecca, Rachel

and Leah

For all children:

Yevarechecha Adonai vyishmrechaYaeir Adonai panav eilehcha vichoonehkaYisa Adonai panav eilehcha vyaseim lechaSHALOM

May God bless you and protect you

May God turn His light toward you so that you

may be gracious and generousMay God favor you , your loved ones, Israel and

the human community, with PEACE.


19/17414

THE ORDER OF THE SEDERMNEMONIC-KADDESH URECHATZ-

T.E

(the outline of the Seder is recited as an aid to the

proper implementation of the Seders many diverse

rituals and practices.)

(Recited or chanted)

KADESH URECHATZ-TE

Sanctification and Partial Washing

KarpasYachatz-Dipping of green herbs and breaking of

Matzah

Magid Rachtzah-ITelling the narrative and full washing

Motzi Matzah-.Blessing over the Matzah

MarorKorech-1YEating of bitter herbs and sandwich

Shulchan Orech-1Y.Festive Meal


20/17415

Zafun Barech- Eating the Hidden Matzah-Afikoman-

and Grace

HALLEL NIRTZAH-

.]ESpecial Psalms of praise and

informal singing


21/17416

1.KADESH-KIDDUSH- H9^H9\ (

H9 ]9^9-: H9 ,H] , 6,1 9H : - ,

HT9, 6-,-I6:) -,Vayehi erev vayhi voker yom hashishi. Vayechuluhashamayim vhaaretz vchol tzevaam.Vayechal elohim etbayom hashviI melachto asher asah. Va yishbot bayomhashviI mikpl melachto asher asah. Vayevarech E;ohim etyom hashvi-I vayekadesh oto,ki vo shavat mikol melachtoasher bara Elohim la-asot.

(On Shabbat we add)

"And there was evening and there was morning , the sixth

day. Now the heavens and all their host were completed.

God completed the work of creation on the seventh day.

God then blessed the seventh day imbuing it with holiness

because on that day God ceased creating.

Yc: 61, 198,

.Baruch ata Adonai, Eloheunu melech haolam, borei PRI

HAGAFEN.

Praised are You, Adonai, our God, sovereign of the universe,

who has created the FRUIT OF THE VINE.

, 16 198,A, '9 -, 9 -, ( 6 98 H- , )g 9-) ( -jk, Il ,) m, ( .' 9A E I]. ( nOop 9) -. (

KADESH- GRATEFUL

FOR THE GIFT OF-

JOY

A song of praise is sung onlyover wine. (Talmud Berachot35a)

Holiness or sanctityusually conjures up images ofthe somber and intimidating.The holy man is typically seenas the ascetic, disembodiedfrom the physical gifts andpleasures of life, demandingdeprivation and suffering. It isno wonder therefore that thereligious term of holiness isnot often greeted with interest

or appeal.In Judaism,

"Kadosh"--holy-isunderstood in a radicallydifferent way. Needless to say,the notion of holy impliessome process or movementaway from the mundanetoward that which is viewed asgodly. There are indeedelements of disciplined

behavior, of guidelines thatneed to be followed. Butholiness should not repel usby scary associations ofpunishment and faultfinding.While "Kadesh" suggests thetranscendent, that which isbeyond the mundane,nonetheless it can be yearnedfor from a perspective ofintimacy and joy, not fear and

retreat.The beginning of the

Seder is entered into by

reciting a blessing over wine

and in this way the occasion is

marked as a sacred moment.

The first of four cups of wine is

drunk to celebrate the sanctity

of the festival. Holiness is


22/17417

1 9: I)(9]I9: ( T 98,

Baruch ata Adonai, Elohainu melech haolam, asherbachar banu mikol am vromemanu mikollashon,vkidshanu bmitzvotav,vateetein llanu Adonai

Elohainubahaveh(shabbatot lemnucha u)moadimlsimcha, chagim uzmanim lsason et yom (hashabbathazeh vet yom) chag hamatzothazeh, zeman cheirutaynu(bahavah) mikra kodesh, zeicher lyetziat Mitzrayim. Kivanu vacharta votanu kedashta mikol-ha-amim(vshabbat) umoadei kodshecha (bahavah uvratzon)bsimcha uvsason hinchaltanu.Baruch ata Adonai, mekadesh (hashabbat v) yisrael vhazmanim.

Praised are You.Adonai our God, sovereign of theuniverse, Who chose us for a unique relationship, raising

us, who know the language of wonder and gratitudeabove those who speak the language of the ordinary, blind

to the miracle of life, enabling us to encounter holiness

through Yourmitzvoth, giving us in love (Shabbat for rest)holidays for joy,festivals and special times for

celebration,particularly this (Shabbat and this) Passover,

this time of freedom(given in love) this sacred gathering,

this re-enactment of our going out ofMitzrayim. It is Youwho has chosen us,You who jave shared Your holinesswith us in amanner different from all other peoples. For

with (Shabbat and) festive revelations of Your holiness,

happiness and joy You have granted us ( lovingly andwillingly). Praised are You, Adonai, Who imbues

(Shabbat),Israel and the seasons with holiness.

On Saturday evening, we add the following havdallahsection into the Kiddush to separate the sanctity of the

Sabbat from the sanctity of Passover " (.

YY , 16 98, 1:

arrived at through the taste of

wine, that "which gladdens the

human heart." This would

suggest, therefore, that the

psychological and spiritual state

of mind that leads us to

holiness and a greater

awareness of the divine is joy. The Talmud conveys thispsychological reality quite

stunningly when it asserts, "The

Schekhina--the DivinePresence- does not rest on one

who is immersed in

sorrow-atzvut-... butonly when one is engaged in

rejoicing while fulfilling a

religious act.(Shabbat 30b)

The Festival is termed in

the Bible as a "Mikrah Kodesh"-

-a calling to holiness.Thus the Seder summons us to

embrace all that brings joy in

our life and in this way proceed

along the path of spiritual

maturity and holiness.

One sanctifies life, time,

the occasion of celebration, by

gratefully rejoicing in the totality,

the "allness" of God's gift of life

and the world.

" Know that joy is rarer, more

difficult than sadness.

Once you make this all-

important discovery,you must embrace joy as a

moral obligation."

- Andre Gide


23/17418

KADESH-

GRATEFUL FOR THE

GIFT OF MEMORY

At the center of the

Kiddush is the reference to its

recitation as zecher leyetziat

mitzrayim --recalling, aremembrance of , the Exodus

from Egypt. An act of

remembering is a sacred one,

one which engages both mind

and heart, one which allows

the human being to connect

mindfully to events of the past

that anchor ones life to the

deep foundations of humanhistory. In being mindful of the

Exodus, the Jew is rooted in

an ancient moment of

redemption that remains

attached to a moment of

deliverance yet to be. To

remember is to step towards

the dawn of a new beginning,

to see the light, the or,- -

that which God declared to begood at the beginning of time.

To forget, to not pay attention,

is to retreat into darkness, into

the choshech,-- the timeof chaos and emptiness, a

primordial time of terrifying

nothingness. The Passover

journey is one that begins in

darkness.and leads toward

light, meafaylah leorah-

-When weforget, we stumble in

darkness. If one were to

rearrange the letters of

choshech,-- one wouldarrive at the Hebrew word

shachoach,-- to forget.

, 1 6 98, 1

]I, ,1jkl . 9 9- .rln- '9 .' 9jk 198, .nsrlI[jk:)Baruch Ata Adonai,Elohaynu Melech Haolam, BorehMeoray Haesh

Baruch ata Adonai,Eloheinu melech haolam, hamavdilbein kodesh lchol,bein or lhoshech,bein Yisraellamim,bein yom hashevi-I lsheishet yemei hamaaseh, beinkedushat Shabbat lkedushat Yom Tov hivdalta,vet Yomhashevi-i mi sheishet yemei hamaaseh kidashta; hivdaltavkidashta et amcha Yisrael bekdushatehcha. Baruch ataAdonai,hamavdil bein kodesh lkodesh.


who differentiates between the sacred and the profane ,between light and darkness, between Israel and the other

nations, between the the seventh day and the six days ofcreating. you made a distinction between the sanctity of the

Sabbath and the sanctity of the festivals, and You sanctified

Shabbat more than the other days of the week,

distinguishing and hallowing Your people through Your

holiness. Praised are You, Adonai who differentiates

between the sanctity of Shabbat and the sanctity of Yom

Baruch Ata Adonai,Elohaynu melech ha-olam, Boreh

Me oray Ha-eish.

Praised are You Lord, Sovereign of the Universe, Who

creats the lights of fire.


24/17419

Zechor, -- the Hebrew forremember,when its letters are re-

arranged spells rakoz--concentrate, focus, pay attention.

Thus the ritual is designed to help

us be mindful, to shed light on a

distant reality that bears

relevance now and for all time,the story of freedom.

How remarkable that the

human has been given the gift of

being able to step back into

history and recapture the past

and experience the You are

there feeling! Human memory is

a gift which elicits gratitude.

Remembering is thesource of redemption,whileforgetting leads to exile.

Baal Shem Tov

Doing Gratefulness:

As you sip the wine, close your

eyes and pay attention to its

taste-be a wine connoisseur and

let the wine swirl around in your

mouth, allowing the palette to fully

absorb its sweetness and/or

tartness. Feel the liquid flow into

your stomach and warm your

belly.

8 , 1 6 98, 1'99:

Baruch ata Adonai Elohainu melechhaolam,shehecheyanu,vkiyemanu,vheegeanu,lazman hazeh.

Praised are You, Adonai ourGod, Sovereign of theuniverse , for giving us life,for sustaining us andenabling us to celebrate thisfestival.


25/17420

GRATEFUL FOR THE SENSES

#

HAVDALLAH , or separation, is the ritual that separates the Sabbath and the Festivalfrom the other days of the week.

Normally, wine, light and spices are used . Each item speaks to the richness of each of the

human senses to experience the delight of being alive. Wine is tasted, light is seen and spices aresmelled. The senses are indispensable ways by which to experience the world and serve as

gateways to human joy and pleasure.

Havdallah-- reminds us of these gifts for which we can heighten our gratitude andthanks


26/17421

11. URECHATZ-WASH-

We perform a partial washing without the recitation of a

blessing normally connected to this symbolic act of

purification prior to a full meal with a staple food such

as bread. Either the leader or all participants pour a little

water from a pitcher on to their hands to fulfill this task.

This is an activity that can engage children who can be

called upon to pass around the washing bowl and towel.

GRATEFUL FOR THE

GIFT OF- TRUST

Rechatz"--theritual of washing, in Aramaic

means trust. While washing is

a tangible act, trusting is a

response of the heart. It is onlyin the aftermath of recognizing

the sacredness of life through

joy that one is able to extend

the heart and hand with a

sense of trust. As the heart

opens to all that is, it is touched

by the capacity to let go and to

love. Washing the hands is

wedded symbolically and

spiritually to an act of innercleansing.

As the prophet

Ezekiel states in the segment

read for Parashat Parah,-

-the Sabbath on which thelaws of the Red Heifer are

read, only a few weeks before

Passover-"I will sprinkle pure

water upon you...I will purify

you from all impurities and all

your fetishes.. and I will give

you a new heart-I will remove

the heart of stone from your

body and give you a heart of

flesh."(Ez36:25-26)


27/17422

What is a heart of stone?The impurities and fetishes referred to by Ezekiel are the constituent parts of a heart of

stone. Such a heart is impervious to feeling, to empathy, to trust. It is a heart rooted in suspicion

and fear, hardening itself to form artificial barricades of self-protection and emotional distance by

investing meaning in outside objects that are worshipped as fetishes and idols. Behind barriers of

defensiveness and distrust, the world is seen as a place of danger, and life, a burden of blight.

How does one acquire a heart of flesh? Waters of purity, of gentle goodness will wash

away the hardness. Instead of stone, the heart will pulsate with the soft and pliant fleshiness offeeling and vulnerability. The Targum, the Aramaic translation of the Bible, interestingly renders

heart of flesh as " Lev Dachil-"- a heart with fear of God, reverence, awe, perhapsvulnerability.

Doing Gratefulness :

Recite: Water flows over these hands

May I use them skillfully

To preserve our precious planet

(Thich Nhat Hanh-Present Moment ,Wonderful Moment)


28/17423

KARPAS- GRATEFUL

FOR-THE GIFT OF-

SIMPLICITY

Seder participantstake a small morsel of an

ordinary vegetable, dip it insalt water, and recite the

blessing of thanks. Each of

these elements that grows

from the earth together with he

salt water representing the

oceans of this planet, embrace

the fundamental totality of all

life. Taking these items

together and praising the

Source of these essentials oflife bring to our attention the

wonder of the ordinary. The

obvious becomes mystery,

activating a heightened

sensitivity to the simplicity

inherent in everything.

# Our generation is a

complex one. Technology's

intention to simplify has

paradoxically, in fact, onlymade life more intricate, even

confusing. Karpas-- andsalt water return us to our

beginnings, to the basics of

human existence. Simple food,

simple drink, simple taste.

III. KARPAS/ GREEN VEGETABLE-

Some vegetable traditionally eaten at this time include

parsley, celery, onion or potato. At growing numbers of

Sedarim a platter of assorted vegetable is presented to the

participants to allow for some preliminary satisfying ofones hunger.

The vegetable is dipped in salt water as an act of

purification and seasoning, and as a reminder of the tears

of slavery.

Yc 61, 198,t:


who creates the FRUIT OF THE EARTH.


29/17424

The ordinariness of spiritual life comes from a heart that has learned to trust, from a

gratefulness for the gift of human life.. like water which finds its way between the stones or wears

them away a little at a time and gradually lowers itself to the ocean, this ordinariness brings us to

rest."(A Path With Heart, Jack Kornfield,Bantam New Age Books,1993,pp.319).

Salt water has been seen as the tears of suffering and sorrow. Amidst the sadness of

life however, the gift of the simple and ordinary grants us comfort and hope. Salt water incubates

lifelessness. The green vegetable graces our palates with the prospect of renewal and aliveness.

But tears also open the heart. In some mysterious way they wash away the heaviness and thehardness that make life such a burden.Without tears, it is impossible to touch the deepest parts of

ourselves. The Buddhist monk, Ajahn Chah said it well: If you havent wept deeply, you havent

begun to meditate.

Simple in actions and in thoughts, you return to the source of being." (The Wisdom

the Tao te Ching)

The simple, ordinary act of karpas in salt water speaks volumes of the power of life to

conquer death. Passover, after all, celebrates the process of redemption from the salty tears of

slavery to the refreshing flowering of freedom, from the confusion of complexity to the clarity of

the simple and ordinary.

Doing Gratefulness

With eyes closed, pay attention to the feeling of the vegetable in your

mouth; be aware of the saltiness, the natural flavor of the green herb.


30/17425

Yachatz-Gratefulness for

the gift of Imperfection

Judaism does notinsist on perfection. In all of

Jewish sacred texts, nowhere

do we come across the divine

demand: Thou shalt be perfect.Recognizing that perfection

belongs exclusively to God,

pursuing it would be construed

as an act of hubris. Judaism

did, however, hold out the

expectation that we strive for

holiness, to emulate Gods

deeds of compassion and

justice, but never to entertain

the prospect of becoming God.Human life is

incomplete, imperfect, in a

state of fragmentation and

brokenness.

We break the

Matzah-, putting one partaside and hiding it for later,

with the knowledge that the

divided piece will suffice for

our current celebration.Wholeness, perfection, the

ideal, is something hidden,

zafun,- - as yetundiscovered. The ultimate

transcends our awareness; all

we can do is imagine and

reach for that which we

conceive of as God-the Source

of perfection, unity, Shalom-

.To engage in the

journey toward greater God

consciousness, we can only

break up the wholeness of life

into understandable segments,

partialize reality and grasp, if

blessed, only momentary

glimpses of God. The matzah

I V. YACHATZ / DIVIDE-

The middle matzah-- is divided into two parts,with the larger part reserved for the Afikomen-

. This piece is either hidden by the childrenwith the expectation that the adults will later searchfor it and return it or by the adults so that the children

could conduct the search and return it on the

condition that a reward is offered in exchange.

However this is carried out, its purpose is to stimulate

interest and memory in the minds and hearts of the

young people at the Seder table.


31/17426

over which we conduct our Seder isLechem Oni,--a broken matzah, the food of humanswhose mortality and creatureliness render us insignificant, almost desperate in our search for the

divine. It is poor mans bread, as we emerge spiritually impoverished, a faulty facsimile of Gods

Image and likeness.

# Yet, it is precisely by way of a broken heart that we arrive at an awareness of

greater proximity to God. Can we pray when feeling smug about life, perfect and complacent?

The mature heart is not perfectionist; it rests in the compassion of our being

instead of the ideals of the mind. Before we seek the piece that fits the puzzle of our bewilderment,and restore the hidden piece to our fuller awareness and knowledge of God, we bless, praise God

for the partiality of life, of matzah-, and discover gratefulness in every bite of this bread ofaffliction.

We are left with the shattered pieces of our lives, with the fragments of our

history as a people still struggling to unify Gods name in this world. What remains as we continue

our ritual is the broken matzah-, and the story of lives, unleavened and incomplete.


32/17427

MAGID-GRATEFUL

FOR-THE GIFT OF-THE

STORY

# To Tell About It-The Haggadah- the telling.

The name of the

festival,Pesach, -- can bedivided into two syllables,

each of which spells out a

word; peh=-mouth,sach=-speak. Thus thevery essence of Passover,

inherent in its name, is the

exercise of talking out, of

speaking the story.

# Every story has a

theme, a thread that runs

through the narrative that

provides the listener with

something to hold on to,

something that helps organize

and integrate ones life in such

a way that meaning and

purpose are conferred upon

our existence. The word

haggadah- ---telling,contains the letters gimel

and daled--letters that

constitute the word, gid - -vein or artery. As the life force

of our bodies is carried

through our #veins, so too is

the essence of our souls

transmitted through the

stories of our spiritual

traditon. (I thank Rabbi DavidIngber, rabbi of Rommemu,

the Center for Mind, Body and

Spirit, NYC. for this insight.)

The Haggadah is a religious-

literary articulation of the

attempt to raise our spiritual

consciousness of the wonder

of life so that we can respond

V. MAGID / NARRATE-

HA LACHMAH ANYA-THIS IS THE

BREAD OFAFFLICTION-

The matzah is pointed to or raised over the heads ofparticipants as this segment is recited.

E A8 98 Lm c1 9L, Lm OI].E 8 , 9].8Lc: p, O]I.


33/17428

with gratefulness and thereby

know the joy of living.

Referring again to the

mode of interpretation known

as gematriah-the numerical

value of the word-we discover

an intriguing connection

between the act of telling andits unique purpose. The

numerical value of the word -

haggadah - the telling or the

story, is 17.

Hay=5; gimel=3; daled=4 ;

hay=5, their total is 17.

Likewise, the word for

vein, gid- , is numericallyequivalent to 17: Gimel=3;

yod=10 and daled is 4.

Emerging from this

connection is the conclusion

that the spiritual purpose, the

theme and bloodline of the

Passover narrative is the

goodness inherent in the

universe and in the act of

human liberation. Reading the

history of Jewish liberation is

recognizing the unending

wonder of life. Being

astonished and expressing

praise are the dual dimensions

of the ancient Hebrew chant,

the Biblical melody and song.

. This item ofimmediacy, tangible and

indispensable to life, in the

here and now, embraces thetotality of our past and our

future, the past experience of

slavery and freedom and the

future hope and expectation of

redemption. The reader is

presented with the power of

the now moment, infusing

the present with the infinity of

This is the bread of affliction which our

ancestors ate in the land

OfMitzrayim,

Let all who are hungry come and eat.

Let all who are in need, come and

celebrate the Passover.

Today, we are here. Next year in the land

of Israel.

Today, we are slaves. Next year, we will

be free.


34/17429

the past and the future, recognizing eternity in the fleeting moment of life. The morsel of matzah

reminds us that in spite of the ease by which matzah can break into crumbs, in spite of how fragile

our lives, how lonely and frightening, the knowledge of being rooted in a past and connected to the

future, blesses

us with hope and meaning and gives us reason for being grateful.

# #

This grateful awareness engenders generosity as we #continue

to recite:

Kol dichfin yeitei vyeichul --Let all who are

hungry come and eat

Having guests at our table, especially the poor, represents theconcretization of gratefulness into acts of hessed, act of compassion and kindness.

As we step up to the starting point of now, of the world as we know it, with

its poverty, hunger and homelessness, we look down the road, beyond the first laps of the race

toward redemption and catch a glimpse of a vision where all will have a roof over their heads and a

table laden with food at which to take a seat as dignified human beings, free from want.

Gratefulness in Hebrew is hakarat hatov--recognizing thegood, unearthing the gold of gratitude from the dross of downheartedness and despair.

HA LACHMAH ANEEYA--GRATEFUL FOR THE GIFT OF

THE NOW.

This is the bread of affliction- ha- in Aramaic is Zeh--this. Webegin the Seder by pointing to an object, as if it is a focus for the meditative experience of

recounting the story of freedom in the deepest recesses of our consciousness.

Anneya,-- in addition to its standard meaning of poor or afflicted,

has been translated as response, answer, from the root #Anoh -. Samuel said-The bread of

Oni-- Bread over which we respond with many words. (Pesachim 115 b.) If one is hungry, it ishard to speak; we preserveoour energy just to breathe, to live. Emptiness and want are saturated

with silence. Human language, speech, communication are all fueled by lechem -, by food,

by bread. And so we bless after we have eaten-You shall eat, feel satisfied and then bless.

Curiously, the verb anoh-

- is associated with a liturgical #response of

gratitude and thankfulness . in the Sanctuary, a psalm is recited each morning during daily

prayers. Enoo Ladonai btodah, --Lift your voice-respond, in thanks to the Lord;Sing to the Lord a song of praise -JPS translation 1985- (Psalm147:7).

#

#


35/17430

To tell a story is an act by which we try to realize our capacity

for wonder, meaning and delight. We understand human experience when we listen

to a story, and its meaning changes as our capacity to understand unfolds and

grows. All of us have stories; all of us are stories in the making, whose value is

appreciated when we pay greater attention to their meaning.

In Jewish thinking, " God, as it were, camouflaged Himself in

stories."(Breslov Haggadah).

# The narrative of the Bible, especially that of the Exodus,

transcends literature, words of entertainment and education. The stories of Scripture

in mystical thinking are the disguises of divinity in the world. God is hidden in every

word, every episode, and every experience. This is what transforms Scripture into a

sacred story.

The Exodus story, a tale of exile and eventual redemption, is

the story not only of Israel, but of all humanity, and of God Himself. As Israel and

humanity are in exile, so too is the Shechinah,, the Divine Presence. We tell

the story to rescue ourselves, others, even God.

Facts lead us to knowledge, but stories lead to

wisdom." (Rachel Naomi Remen-Kitchen Table Wisdom.)


36/17431

Story telling transcends the social, the psychological. Sharing

stories around the Seder table-Magid--transports us to a place where God's

hand in history and the world becomes evident. In a sense, a story is a renewed

revelation but hidden and discreet, requiring an openness of heart and mind to

perceive the pulse of the divine.

Stories stir our souls, shape memories and connections, stretch

our imaginations and nurture our hearts. Magid--story-teller, offers us a

vehicle of invaluable spiritual enrichment, linking us to those who came before and

leading us into the unknowable future with roots out of which we can meet with what

lies ahead with greater wisdom and faith.

"The one who elaborates upon the story of Yetziat Mitzrayim-

" .-the Exodus from Egypt-is considered praiseworthy

We are grateful for the story and for the gift of again being able share it in others

and ourselves.

# When the Ba'al Shem Tov had to fulfill a difficult task before him,

he would go to a certain place in the woods, light a fire, and meditate in prayer, and

what he set out to perform was done.

# When a generation later the "Maggid" of Mezeritz was faced with

the same task, he would go to the same place in the woods and say: We can no


37/17432

longer light the fire but we can still say the prayers," and what he wanted done

became a reality.

# Again, a generation later, Rabbi Moishe of Sassov had to perform a

task. And he too went into the woods and said: We can no longer light a fire, nor do

we know the secret meditations belonging to the prayer, but we do know the place

in the woods to which it all belongs, and that must be sufficient, and sufficient it

was.

But when another generation had passed, and Rabbi Israel of Rishin

was called upon to perform the task, he sat down on his chair and said: " We cannot

light the fire, we cannot speak the prayers, we do not know the place, but we can

tell the story of how it was done." And the story that he told had the same effect as

the actions of the other three.

#

# "In every generation we are obligated to tell the story..." The story will

enable us to perform the holy task of touching the Holy Presence. The story is all we

have.


38/17433


39/17434

MAH NISHTANAH-

GRATEFUL FOR THE GIFT

OF-ASKING QUESTIONS

Imagine a world inwhich there were no questions, no

sense of curiosity or wonderment!

What would the world be like if

everything were understood, therewas no mystery, all was evident

and known? Childrens eyes would

never sparkle with the light and joy

of discovery! Scientists would

never experience the thrill and

delight of a eureka moment!

Parents would never relish their

sense of pride when their child

successfully figured out the

answer to a riddle or difficultquestion!

How bland and

boring life would be without the gift

of exploration, the adventure of

learning and understanding, evenwith the many moments of

frustration and false conclusions!

REFILL THE WINE CUPS

MAH NISHTANAH-THE FOUR

QUESTIONS -

The youngest child is customarily invited to recite the

FOUR QUESTIONS. This practice my be shared among

all children at the table to again prompt an ongoing sense

of interest and involvement of the young in the Passoverproceedings.


40/17435

To ask is to be

human, to feel the exhilaration

of the search for truth, and to

reap the deepest reward when

catching a glimpse of its

reality.To ask what or why

is not to ask scientific

definitions, but to probe theunknown, to insist on depths

yet to be plumbed. (Zornberg,

Aviva,The Particulars of

Rapture,p.207.) Jewish

tradition is abundant in

questions; the very sinews of

Talmud are those constituting

questions of every

conceivable type.

The gematria ,the numerical value of the

word geulah,--redemption, is 45 [gimel=3;

aleph=1; vav=6; lamed=30;

hay=5] ; this corresponds to

the numerical value of the

word mah--what, or why,the word that initiates all

questions [mem=40; hay=5].

The first step toward

redemption stretches out of a

mind that asks, out of a heart

that hears the mystery of all

things.

Thus the

youngest are introduced to

this process at the Seder

table, and we witness with

gratitude our children stepping

into the unexplored terrain of

human life armed with

curiosity, and the relent less

desire to know!

Together with

them we ask: What is the

spiritual meaning of the

Exodus, of freedom, of life?

Where can we meet with the

9?

Mah nishtanah halayla hazeh mikol ha-leilot?

Why is this night of Passover different from all other

nights of the year ?.9:

Sheb'chol ha-leilot anu och'lin chameitz umatzah.

Ha-laylah hazeh kulo matzah.

On all other nights, we eat either leavened or

unleavened bread, why on this night do we eat only

matzah

9 I9 :

Shebechol haleilot anu ochlin shear yerakot,halaylahhazeh, maror.

On all other nights, we eat vegetables of all kinds,

why on this night must we eat bitter herbs?

9: .

Shebchol hasleylot ayn anu matbilin afilu paamechat,halayla hazeh,shtei peamim.

On all other nights, we do not dip vegetable even once,

why on this night do we dip greens into salt water andbitter herbs into sweet haroset?

9: .

Shebkhol ha-leilot anu okhlim bein yoshvin uvein

msubin, halailah hazeh kulanu msubin.


41/17436

wonder, the miraculous, and the

mystery? How do we become

aware of and cultivate a

relationship to, the giftedness of

life, of seeing the hand of the

divine in all things? How do we

incorporate an ongoing

response of gratefulness and

goodness to the totality of

human existence?

On all other nights, everyone sits up straight at the

table, why on this night do we recline and eat at

leisure?


42/17437

AVADEEM HAYEENU-

GRATEFUL FOR THE

GIFT OF ANSWERS A life without

answers is a frightening one,

one without purpose and

direction. We need answers to

serve us and our children as

guidelines by which to make

our way through life with a

sense of joy and anticipation,

a sense of trust and

predictability, a sense of order.

We provide answers deeply

embedded in the history of

our people, a tragic history of

enslavement, persecution and

homelessness, but one

suffused with hope and the

messianic expectation of

redemption. Thus the process

of answering and the answers

themselves infuse us with

gratefulness for the awareness

of their indispensable

significance to our own

personal journeys.

AVADEEM HAYINU -

Storytelling: We were slaves

(Read in unison, Hebrew or English, or ask different

individuals at your Seder table moving around, right to

left, with the privilege of passing.)

H986 g]E]. 6 9 98, o 8 ,

Y 1mv],E ] g L, L L 9], , H I].

8 I, O J],9E I].Y: v],

Avadim hayinu l'faroh b'mitzrayim. Vayotzi-einu

Adonai Eloheinu misham, b'yad chazakah uvizroa

n'tuyah, v'ilu lo hotzi hakadosh Baruch hu et avoteinu

mimitzrayim, harei anu uvaneinu uv'nei vaneinu,

m'shubadim hayinu l'faroh b'mitzrayim. Va-afilu

kulanu chachamim, kulanu n'vonim, kulanu z'keinim,kulanu yod'im et hatorah, mitzvah aleinu l'sapeir bitzi-

at mitzrayim. Vchol hamarbeh l'sapeir bitzi-at

mitzrayim, harei zeh m'shubach.

We were slaves in Egypt and the Lord freed us from

Egypt with a mighty hand. Had not the holy one

liberated our people from Egypt, then we, our children

and our children's children would still be enslaved.


43/17438

GRATEFUL FOR THE

ALLNESS OF LIFE

The Midrash presented

by Rabbi Elazar ben Azaryah

is perplexing; all his life he

failed to understand themeaning of the practice to

mention the Exodus in the

night time until Ben Zoma

interpreted the one ostensibly

insignificant word of the

Torah-kol---all, in thepassage all the days of your

life to suggest that the word

all refers to the night time. To

me this word-all-carries withit a fundamental implication

regarding our relationship to

the world and to God. We

remember the Exodus-the

capacity for freedom even

when our lives are darkened

by slavery, in the night time of

our lives.

The comprehensiveness

and totality of life ever allowsus to gain a glimpse of light

amidst darkness, to hold in our

memory and hope the

possibility of freedom when

engulfed by external or internal

forces that enslave us. Thus

we remain grateful for this gift

of hopeful memory and recite

the Exodus in the night time of

our daily experiences as well.

A Moment from a Seder of our Sages:

v9 ,9v9 v, E, v9 ', v9 E8,

9cv], Lv,

vm, xp9: c:9, cl,

Ma-aseh b'rabi Eli-ezer, v'rabi Y'hoshua, v'rabi Elazar

ben azaryah, v'rabi Akiva, v'rabi Tarfon, she-hayu

m'subin bivnei vrak, v'hayu m'sap'rim bitzi-at

mitzrayim, kol oto halaylah, ad sheba-u talmideihem

v'am'ru lahem. Raboteinu, higi-a z'man k'ri-at sh'ma,

shel shacharit.

It once happened that Rabbis Eliezer, Joshua, Elazar

ben Azaryah, Akiva and Tarfon were reclining at the

seder table in Bnei Brak. They spent the whole night

discussing the Exodus until their students came and

said to them: "Rabbis, it is time for us to recite the

Shema

] Y E8. v . 9v] D, 69 8, , : I.n 9 .n 9 v], ^ nyc: H . n 9 .9n n. 9:

Amar rabi Elazar ben Azaryah. Harei ani k'ven shivimshanah, v'lo zachiti, shetei-ameir y'tzi-at mitzrayim

baleilot. Ad shed'rashah ben zoma. Shene-emar: l'ma-

an tizkor, et yom tzeitcha mei-eretz mitzrayim, kol

y'mei chayecha. Y'mei chayecha hayamim. Kol y'mei

chayecha haleilot. Vachachamim om'rim. Y'mei

chayecha ha-olam hazeh. Kol y'mei chayecha l'havi

limot hamashi-ach.


44/17439

Rabbi Elazar ben Azaryah said: "I am like a seventy-year old man and I have not

succeeded in understanding why the Exodus from Egypt should be mentioned at

night, until Ben Zoma explained it by quoting: "In order that you may remember theday you left Egypt all the days of your life." The Torah adds the world all to the phrase

the days of your life to indicate that the nights are meant as well. The sages declare

that "the days of your life" means the present world and "all " includes the messianic

era.


45/17440

THE FOUR CHILDREN-

GRATEFUL FOR THE

GIFT OF-CHILDREN

Children aresources of spiritual repair in

this world; the ARI-Isaac Luria,

the great mystic of Safed in

the sixteenth century, pointed

out that the Hebrew letters for

repair and mending, tikun,-

- are the same as thosethat spell the Hebrew for baby

or infant-tinok- . It is noaccident that the Seder

incorporates and embraces

the presence and participation

of children whose presence atthe Seder in whatever way is a

vital animus in the process of

spiritual liberation.

Children, the

targeted audience of the

Seder story, cover a range of

character types-the wise, the

wicked, the simple, the one

who is not able to formulate

the question. The Haggadahis not selective; of course

there is admiration for children

who meet the higher

standards of adult expectation;

yet no child is left behind,

ignored or excluded from the

spiritual process. Approaches

toward the diversity of children

vary, adjusted to each level of

the childs uniqueness. Theparents task is to customize

the response recognizing each

childs singularity and

individuality.

Underlying thesediverse responses is the

awareness that gratefulness

can and should inform and

The Four Children -

. , . , , , .

,

Baruch hamakom, baruch hu. Baruch shenatan torah

l'amo yisra-eil, baruch hu. K'neged arba-ah vanim

dib'rah torah. Echad chacham, v'echad rasha, v'echad

tam, v'echad she-eino yodei-a lishol.

.

The Torah speaks of four types of children: one is

wise, one is wicked, one is simple, and one does not

know how to ask.

z9 ?9 986y? 9,

c :

:1. Chacham mah hu omeir? Mah ha-eidot v'hachukim

v'hamishpatim, asher tzivah Adonai Eloheinu etchem?

V'af atah emor lo k'hilchot hapesach. Ein maftirin

achar hapesach afikoman.

The Wise One asks: "What is the meaning of the laws

and traditions God has commanded?" (Deuteronomy

6:20) You should teach him all the traditions ofPassover, even to the last detail.

t? I?

, 6. |: 9l, .


46/17441

inspire our relationship with our

children, simply because they

are our children. Our love is

defined largely by our sense of

gratefulness for having the

child/children that we do. Every

question, no matter how

agreeable or oppositional,warrants an appropriate and

grateful response. In this way,

there is every possibility that

the child will hear our message

and take to heart the story in

all its grandeur and hope.

The four children

is also a metaphor for the four

parts of the human personality.

We all are constituted by acapacity for wisdom; we do

not lack for inclinations toward

that which is detrimental, even

destructive, of ourselves and

others; there persists an

aspect of our identity that

remains fixed on our being

childlike, simple and innocent;

and all of us share a level of

bewilderment and confusionthat often makes it impossible

to know even how to frame

the question that will help us

find an answer, find a clarity in

the midst of our ignorance.

We are

imperfect, a mosaic of various

shades and strands of

inconsistencies and

contradictions, seeking

wholeness, equilibrium and

integration. The Seder invites

us to recognize and embrace

all parts of who we are and

through this compassionate

awareness arrive at the portal

of greater wisdom and

kindness in the choices that we

69. DI], 98, ,68]: 8,

2. Rasha, mah hu omer? Mah ha-avodah ha-zot

lachem? Lachem vlo lo. Ul'fi shehotzi et atzmo min

hak'lal, kafar ba-ikar. V'af atah hakheih et shinav, ve-

emor lo. Ba-avur zeh, asah Adonai li, b'tzeitimimitzrayim, li v'lo lo. Ilu hayah sham, lo hayah nigal.

The Wicked One asks: "What does this ritual mean to

you?" (Exodus 12:26) By using the expression "to

you" he excludes himself from his people and denies

God. Shake his arrogance and say to him: "It is

because of what the Lord did for me when I came out

of Egypt..." (Exodus 13:8) "For me" and not for him --

for had he been in Egypt, he would not have beenfreed.

: ? ?. ,

3. Tam mah hu omeir? Mah zot? V'amarta eilav.

B'chozek yad hotzi-anu Adonai mimitzrayim mibeit

avadim.

The Simple One asks: "What is all this?" You should

tell him: "It was with a mighty hand that the Lord took

us out of Egypt, out of the house of bondage."

: , - . ,

4. V'she-eino yodei-a lishol, at p'tach lo. Shene-emar.

V'higadta l'vincha, bayom hahu leimor. Ba-avur zeh

asah Adonai li, b'tzeiti mimitzrayim.

As for the One Who Does Not Know How To Ask, you

should open the discussion for him, as it is written:

"And you shall explain to your child on that day, 'It is

because of what the Lord did for me when I came out

of Egypt." (Exodus 13:8)


47/17442

make. The totality of our

identity is to be acknowledged

and celebrated gratefully. Thus

we address each of our own

inner children and pay

attention to each question

sympathetically and earnestly.


48/17443

The Four Children from the perspective of Gratefulness:

Popular interpretation of the nature of the four children has

established a particular level of priority beginning with the wise child as the most

desirable and the wicked as the least. The other two, the simple one and the one

who doesnt know how to ask fall into the category of blameless children who

require the assistance of the adults.

Except for the wicked one, it appears that each child is

defined according to her/his intellectual capacity.

If we apply the criterion of gratefulness as a spiritual

standard by which to understand the four children, a different set of priorities is

called for, and each of the childrens descriptions demands a new interpretation. The

following represents such a categorization:


49/17444

1. CHACHAM--The WISE ONE: What motivates the wise

child in her approach to the Seder and to life is the need to know the how of

everything, to investigate the scientific understanding of everything, to be able to

objectively grasp the meaning of all things before she can be satisfied, even

grateful. Therefore, her question is a demand for proof-what are the exact

testimonies and principles and decisions connected to Passover without which I can

never master all the necessary requirements. The wise one takes nothing on faith;

knowledge is the ultimate good in her life.

# The answer of the haggadah is straightforward, an answer that

is comprehensive and structured, leaving nothing to chance. Once the established

rituals are completed according to the organized patterns of Jewish tradition, we do

not engage in any extraneous activity beyond the given parameters of a fixed text.

The Seder experience is quantified and measured ; gratitude is the product of

intellectual certainty and predictability.


50/17445


51/17446

! 3. THE ONE WHO DOESNT KNOW HOW TO ASK -

:

Like most of us, we recognize the centrality of gratefulness in

the unfolding of the full spiritual life, yet we fail to find the right ways by which to

express such levels of awareness and maintain them. Thus the need for a

conscious discipline and ritual as the Seder which we celebrate tonight.


52/17447

# 4 .TAM--The SIMPLE ONE-The model child for the pursuit of

gratefulness is the Tam-the simple one. To be simple in this context is not related to

ignorance, foolishness or stupidity. Rather, simplicity evokes the capacity to

genuinely and sincerely relate to the Seder, to life, to God with the innocence of

profound faith grounded in the ability to experience all of life gratefully and thankfully.

Consider the following enjoining statement in the book of Deuteronomy-Tamim

teeyeh eem adonai elohehcha--You must be wholehearted

with the Lord your God (Chpt.18:13) In other words, the spiritual quest is directed

toward the ability to achieve openheartedness and love, to embrace the totality of life

in the awareness of lifes giftedness and blessing, and thus respond in deed, word

and feeling with an outpouring of gratefulness.

The Tam interestingly simply asks: MAH ZOT?--

Whats this? The zot, -- this, as pointed out in my introduction, is a direct

exclamation of wonder, an open hearted outpouring of praise upon witnessing the

grandeur, beauty and the miraculous of life.


53/17448

Essentially all of us encompass these four children within our

own lives. Like the wise one, we wish to understand to better grasp the fullness of

life; like the wicked, often we are cynical and angry, and find it near impossible to

feel grateful especially when stricken with pain, loss or sorrow.

Who of us can always find the right words by which to properly express our

gratitude? So we feel like the one who cannot ask the right question; and all of us

are blessed with the purity of soul that yearns to connect itself to the essential beauty

and blessing of life and live in the embrace of wholeheartedness and simplicity, of a

gratefulness which can bring endless joy, strength and peace.


54/17449


55/17450

In The Beginning -

9 ptIm.9H : EJt.

]I, 6 98 .I

v

,

m

8

8 6c: H 8. H

18 , I 8 8EE, ^8.8 ]Hk9. 8 ]:9Hk8 . ^ , E8I]:

Mit'chilah ov'dei avodah zarah hayu avoteinu.

V'achshav keir'vanu hamakom la-avodato. Shene-

emar: Vayomer Y'hoshua el kol ha-am. Koh amar

Adonai Elohei yisra-eil, b'eiver hanahar yash'vu

avoteichem mei-olam, Terach avi avraham va-avi

nachor. Vaya-avdu Elohim acheirim. Va-ekach et

avichem et avraham mei-eiver ha-nahar, va-oleich

oto b'chol eretz k'na-an. Va-arbeh et zaro, va-eten

lo et Yitzchak. Va-etein l'yitzchak et Ya-akov v'etEisav. Va-etein l'eisav et har sei-ir, lareshet oto.

V'ya-akov uva-nav yar'du mitzrayim.

At first our forebears worshiped idols, but then the

Omnipresent brought us near to divine service, as

it is written: "Joshua said to all the people: so says

the Lord God of Israel--your fathers have always

lived beyond the Euphrates River, Terah the father

of Abraham and Nahor; they worshipped othergods. I took your father Abraham from the other

side of the river and led him through all the land of

Canaan. I multiplied his family and gave him Isaac.

To Isaac I gave Jacob and Esau; to Esau I gave

Mount Seir to inherit, however Jacob and

his children went down to Egypt."


56/17451

. ,

: ,, ,

.

.Baruch shomeir havtachato l'yisra-eil. Baruch hu.

Shehakadosh Baruch hu chishav et hakeitz, la-

asot k'mah she-amar l'avraham avinu bivrit bein

hab'tarim. Shene-emar: vayomer l'avram yadoa

teida, ki geir yihyeh zaracha, b'eretz lo lahem,

va-avadum v'inu otam arba meiot shanah. V'gam

et hagoy asher ya-avodu dan anochi. V'acharei

chein yeitz'u, birchush gadol.Praised be He who keeps His promise to Israel;

praised be He. The holy one, blessed be he,

predetermined the time for our final deliverance

in order to fulfill what He had pledged to our

father Abraham in a covenant, as it is written:

"He said to Abram, your descendants will surely

sojourn in a land that is not their own, and they

will be enslaved and afflicted for four hundred

years; however, I will punish the nation thatenslaved them, and afterwards they shall leave

with great wealth."

? ,

V'hi she-am'dah la-avoteinu v'lanu. Shelo echad

bilvad, amad aleinu l'chaloteinu. Ela sheb'choldor vador, om'dim aleinu l'chaloteinu, v'hakadosh

Baruch hu matzileinu mi-yadam.

This covenant that remained constant for our

ancestors and for us has saved us against any

who arose to destroy us in every generation, and

throughout history when any stood against us to

annihilate us, the Kadosh Barukh Hu kept saving

us from them.


57/17452

Aramee Oved Avi -My Ancestor Was

A Wandering Aramean-

(We lower the wine cup and continue with the

recitation of the traditional Midrash or Rabbinic

discussion of the Passover Exodus story as

recorded in the Torah, beginning first with the threatto Israel from Lavan and then the threat from

Pharaoh.)

Go and Learn

. , : ,

, ,

Tzei ul'mad, mah bikeish lavan ha-arami la-asot

l'ya-akov avinu. She-paroh lo gazar ela al

haz'charim, v'lavan bikeish la-akor et hakol, shene-

emar:

Go and learn: Note well that Lavan the Aramean

intended ultimately to kill our ancestor Jacob, after

he trapped him into working for his wives and flocks

for 20 years. Even Pharaoh only intended to kill the

male children, while Lavan intended to annihilate all

of Jacobs family, bringing the Jewish People to an

end.

The Torah Story of Slavery and

Redemption

H^v9,Vayeired mitzraymah. Anus al pi hadibur.

He went down to Egypt, compelled by divine

decree.

MIDRASH-GRATEFUL

FOR-THE GIFT OF-

EXEGESIS

# Midrash -- playsa central role in the unfolding

of the Passover story.

# What is Midrash-

? Derived from the

root,darosh,-- meaning

seeking, interpreting, studying,

explicating, when we exercise

our creativity and imagination,

as we encounter a sacred text,

we compose midrash-.When we allow our thinking to

soar to heights of freedom and

poetry, we become Midrash-makers. When we recognize

the indeterminate richness of

human language, especially

Hebrew-the language of the

Bible, we step into the

refreshing waters of Midrash-

.

# Midrash-- helps us payattention so that we can gain

astonishment and discover themiracle and wonder of life.

Certain common words or

terms act as focal points

around which basic ideas

revolve, words that act as

signposts guiding us on the

journey of greater

attentiveness to the holy.


58/17453

Hk v8 } . H: , v], J

, ^ E, HI ,nj E

L8jn^s: 9, ^8.

Vayagor sham. M'lameid shelo yarad ya-akov

avinu l'hishtakei-a b'mitzrayim, ela lagur sham,

shene-emar: vayomru el paroh, lagur ba-aretz

banu, ki ein mireh latzon asher la-a-vadecha, ki

chaveid hara-av b'eretz k'na-an. V'atah, yeish'vu

na avadecha b'eretz goshen.

He sojourned there implies that he didnt come tosettle in Egypt - only to dwell temporarily, as it is

written: "They said to Pharaoh: 'We have come

to sojourn in this land because there is no

pasture for your servants' flocks; the famine is

severe in Canaan. For now, though, let your

servants dwell in the land of Goshen.' "

(Deut. 26:5)

E8 |, : m.,n689n 9, snI9.

]~.

Bimtei m'at. K'mah shene-emar: b'shivim nefesh,

yar'du avotecha mitzray'mah. V'atah, sam'cha

Adonai elohecha, k'choch'vei hashamayim larov.

Few in number, as it is written: "With seventysouls your ancestors went down to Egypt, and

now the Lord your God has made you as

numerous as the stars in the sky."

]I] H9.:

Robert Alterbrilliantly explicated the use in

the Bible of what he has called:

leitworter, thematic key words,

which play a central role in

conveying core concepts to the

reader. (The Art of Biblical Poetry,

Robert Alter)

Furthermore, the

Rabbis recognized the

indispensable function of the

word itself and its association

with its repetition in other

locations of the text as a means

of arriving at sacred exegesis

and understanding. God is

encountered within sacred texts

rather than sacred spaces.

Rabbinic commentators were

called upon to capture the

resonances and nuances

dormant in the canonical texts.

In the response of

the Haggadah to the one who is

unable to articulate a question

about Passover and the

experience of its narration and

celebration, the author quotes a

verse from the Torah, Exodus

13:8:

You shall tell your children on

that day. It is because of this

that the Lord did for me when I

left Egypt. Freely translated, the

reference to this-zeh,-- isexpanded to mean for the sake

of - what the Lord did for me

when I went out of Egypt. Thusthe pivotal word by which one

can grasp the ability to ask out of

a sense of mystery and wonder

and with a feeling of profound

gratefulness, is the word Zeh-

-this. Because of this one


59/17454

Vay'hi sham l'goy. M'lameid shehayu yisra-eil

m'tzuyanim sham.

There he became a nation means that they

became a distinct people in Egypt.

L]I, : ,H , HEH, HE,

^A:

Gadol atzum. K'mah shene-emar: uv'nei yisra-eil,

paru vayishr'tzu, vayirbu vaya - atzmu, bimodm'od, vatimalei ha-aretz otam.

Great, mighty, as it is written. "The children of

Israel were fruitful and increased greatly; they

multiplied and became mighty, and the land was

full of them."

Ej9x1, : I8.

N]8, Hgt]: H, HE,9~9E8: ,1Y

Varav. K'mah shene-emar: R'vavah k'tzemach ha-

sadeh n'tatich, vatirbi, vatigd'li, vatavo-i ba-adi

adayim. Shadayim nachonu, us'areich tzimei-ach,

v'at eirom v'eryah.

And numerous, as it is written: "I made you aspopulous as the plants of the field; you grew up

and wore choice adornments; your breasts were

firm and your hair grew long; yet, you were bare

and naked."

can begin to sense the miracle

of the Exodus.

Obviously, as the

normative reading explains, the

zeh--this, refers to theExodus from Egypt. Yet, the

word by itself conveys a

vagueness that evokes spiritualspeculation and association to

other references as well. What

are the implications of the zeh-

? Is it merely a generalizedreference or does it convey a

specificity and depth that helps

us connect to dimensions of

divinity and wonder?

In its broadest

sense, zeh-- points to aspecific item in a particularcontext. As a demonstrativepronoun, it designates a thingthat is nearer than somethingelse or something less remote inthought or idea. At the sametime, to recognize the content ormeaning of this, context is all-important. In examining the

associations of zeh- (masc.)

or Zo,- -(fem.) in--Zotother places in the scripturalnarrative, the term unmistakablyhighlights the intimate

experienceof wonder andmiracle that is embedded in thevery soul of the Exodus event.

# The zeh-- in Midrashiccode language signifies the

pointing finger, the visual,

concrete apprehension of theobject.( Zornberg, Avivah

Gottlieb, The Particulars of

Rapture-Reflections on Exodus,

Doubleday, 2001,p.222-223)

Thus the occurrence of zeh-

- in the Haggadah is a meansby which to make the


60/17455

Ht HYAcH9.o:

Vayarei-u otanu hamitzrim vay'anunu, Vayit'nu

aleinu avodah kashah

The Egyptians treat us badly. They persecuted us

and imposed hard labor on us.(Deut. 26:6)

: HYAc.

98^lD8 ]E, ]y.9] 99, ,

9^:

Vayarei-u otanu hamitzrim. Kmah shene-emar:

havah nitchak'mah lo, pen yirbeh, v'hayah ki

tikrenah milchamah, v'nosaf gam hu al soneinu,

v'nilcham banu v'alah min ha-aretz.

And the Egyptians mistreated us as it is written:"Come

let us deal wisely with them, lest they should multiply

and it come to pass that when a war should happen, they

might join our enemies, fight against us and then depart

from us."

HY, : H9.HYE, 6A:

9v:Andafflictedus, asitiswritten: "Theysettaskmasters

overtheminordertooppressthemwiththeirburdens;

thepeopleofIsraelbuiltPithomandRaamsesas

storecitiesforPharaoh."

HH : Hto.:1 I[L[v

Vayit'nu aleinu avodah kashah. K'mah shene-

emar: vaya-avidu mitzrayim et b'nei yisra-eil

b'farech.

experience of liberation a more

concrete and visceral on. The

pointing finger of zeh -- is thespiritual stratum of gratefulness

which underpins the Exodus

enterprise. The zeh-- of theHaggadah points to the here and

now, the immediate, the obvious,as dimensions of divinity.

Every stage of the

Seder is the articulation and

enactment of many zehs, a

series of steps on the journey to

redemption, each step another

Zeh-- or Zot-- each oneinviting us to the awareness of

wonder for which we can only begrateful. Each zeh-- or zot-

- is an invitation to pay

attention.

# In the unfolding of the

rabbinic Midrash-- as a wayof glorifying and praising God for

the deliverance of the Exodus,

the Haggadah provides an

extensive exegesis on selected

passages from the book of

Exodus. The following are some

examples:

Byad hazakah-zo

hadever- With a mighty

hand-zo,-- this, refers to theplague of pestilence.

Bzroa netuya-zo

haherev- And with an

outstretched arm-zo,-- this,refers to the sword.

Uvmorah gadol-

zeh haSchechinah -And with

great awe-zeh,-- this . refersto the revelation of the


61/17456

They imposed hard labor upon us, as it is written:

"They imposed back-breaking labor upon the

people of Israel."

H98k, H986m,9: 9, HE9

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