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8/7/2019 working document-haggadah-JAN
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DAYENU
THEGRATEFULNESSHAGGADAH
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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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pp.82pp.88
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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.
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# 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.
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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.
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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
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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.
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# 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.
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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.
#
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#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.
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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.
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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.
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KINDLING OF FESTIVAL CANDLES-
) (
.
Baruch ata Adonai, elohainu melech haolam, asherkidshanu bmitzvotav vtzivanu lhadlik ner shel (shabbatv)Yom Tov.
Praised are You, Adonai our God, Sovereign of the universe,
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.
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Doing
Gratefulness
In the silence of the moment, feel deeply that which makes yougrateful and happy.
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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.
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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
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Zafun Barech- Eating the Hidden Matzah-Afikoman-
and Grace
HALLEL NIRTZAH-
.]ESpecial Psalms of praise and
informal singing
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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
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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
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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.
Praised are You, Adonai our God, Sovereign of the universe,
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.
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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.
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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
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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)
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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)
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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:
Praised are You, Adonai our God, Sovereign of the universe,
who creates the FRUIT OF THE EARTH.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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).
#
#
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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.)
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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
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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?
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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.)
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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, .
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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)
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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.
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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:
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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.
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! 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.
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# 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.
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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.
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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."
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. ,
: ,, ,
.
.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.
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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.
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Hk v8 } . H: , v], J
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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
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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
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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
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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