copyright 1997 Rabbi Amy R. Scheinerman
all rights reserved
(I wrote this seder to be used by family groups which include small children. The intent of the seder text is to make the symbols and meaning of the holiday comprehensible to small children, while still meaningful to adults. You may print out and copy the seder for use in your home if you retain the copyright in the printed version. Click here for a pdf version of the Haggadah that is easy to print.)
Welcome to our seder!
Tonight we observe a colorful and joyous festival which our people has celebrated for two thousand years.
The history of our people reaches back nearly 4000 years. We began as slaves in the land of Egypt. Today we are free people.
Long ago, our ancestors set out on an important journey. On a night such as this, they went forth out of Egypt, leaving behind slavery and degradation. On a night such as this they rejoiced in their newly found freedom and dignity.
Tonight we celebrate their freedom and ours. But we also remember all those of our generation who are not yet free. May this seder kindle in us the zeal to work for the freedom of all. May this seder inspire us to light the torch of freedom for all the world.
BA-RUCH A-TA A-DO-NAI E-LO-HAY-NU ME-LECH HA-O-LAM A-SHER KI-DE-SHA-NU BE-MITZ-VO-TAV VE-TZI-VA-NU LE-HAD-LIK NER SHEL (SHABBAT V') YOM TOV.
Blessed are You, Lord our God, ruler of the universe who makes us holy with commandments and commands us to light the (Shabbat and ) festival lights.
BA-RUCH A-TA A-DO-NAI E-LO-HAY-NU ME-LECH HA-O-LAM SHE-HE-CHE-YA-NU VE-KI-YE-MA-NU VE-HIG-I-YA-NU LAZ-MAN HA-ZEH.
Blessed are You, Lord our God, ruler of the universe, who has kept us alive, sustained us and enabled us to celebrate this joyous occasion.
Tonight we will drink four cups of wine. Our tradition abounds
with explanations of this custom. It has been said that the four cups represent
the four corners of the universe, for we seek freedom everywhere; it has been
said that they symbolize the four seasons of the year, for freedom must be
scrupulously guarded at all times; it has been said the four cups represent
the four ancient empires that tyrannized Israel and have since passed away,
for tyranny will pass away once and for all when the messianic age is realized;
and it has been said that the four cups of wine symbolize God's four promises
to save our people: "I will bring you out ... I will deliver you ... I will
redeem you ... I will take you to be My people." (Exodus 6:6,7).
We can also think of the four cups as representing four types of freedom. The first cup represents physical freedom, the most basic freedom of all. Our ancestors could not accept the covenant of Torah while they were in Egypt because, as slaves, they lacked the freedom to determine the course of their own lives.
Not all people enjoy the freedoms we
cherish. Many in our world still seek physical freedom from oppression and
degradation. We dedicate the first cup of wine to them. May we soon share
our freedom and our joy with them, and may the sweet taste of the wine remind
us of our responsibilities toward them.
BA-RUCH A-TA A-DO-NAI E-LO-HAY-NU ME-LECH HA-O-LAM BO-RAY PE-RI HA-GA-FEN.
Blessed are You, Lord our God, Ruler of the universe, Creator of the fruit of the vine.
It is spring. The air is growing warmer. The trees are budding.
Flowers are blooming. Pesach is a springtime holiday. The karpas reminds us
of springtime and hope. Sometimes we despair of the evil in our world. Pesach
calls us to hope again.
Now we dip the karpas in salt water because tears taste salty. We remember the tears our people cried in Egypt when they were slaves. May we never be so comfortable that we become complacent, forgetting the pain of others.
BA-RUCH A-TA A-DO-NAI E-LO-HAY-NU ME-LECH HA-O-LAM BO-RAY PE-RI HA-A-DA-MAH.
Blessed are You, Lord our God, ruler of the universe, Creator of the fruit of the earth.
There are three matzot under the cloth on the matzah plate.
We take half of the middle matzah to be the afikomen, which means "dessert."
We will hide the afikomen. We will save the other half for the blessings later
in our seder service.
This is the bread of suffering which our people ate when they were slaves in Egypt. We invite all who are hungry to join us. We pray that all who are slaves will soon be free.
Passover is a very special holiday. We do many things differently during Passover.
Why is this night different from all other nights?
On four occasions, the Torah instructs parents to teach their children the story of the Passover. Thus the Sages inferred that there are four types of children.
Wise Children ask: "What is the meaning of the duties, laws and rules which God has commanded?" Such children should be taught everything, for their minds are open to learning about, and appreciating, our heritage.
Wicked Children ask: "What does this service mean to you?" To you and not to us. Since such children cut themselves off from the community of Israel, we respond: "I do this because of what God did for me when I came out of Egypt." For me and not for them, for had they been there, they would not have left Egypt with us.
Simple Children ask: "What does this mean?" To them we say: "With a mighty hand God led us out of Egypt, out of the House of Bondage."
And to children who do not know how to ask, we begin by explaining that our Torah commands: "You shall tell your child on that day ..." And so we begin our story now.
God's unfailing help has sustained our ancestors and us. For not only one enemy has risen up to destroy us, but in many generations, people have risen up to destroy us. But the Holy One, blessed be God, delivers us from their hands.
OUR STORY BEGINS WITH DEGRADATION AND ENDS WITH DIGNITY. MAY OUR LIVES AND ENDEAVORS END AS OUR STORY, IN GLORY.
Approximately 4000 years ago, our people were slaves in Egypt. If God had not brought us out of Egypt, we would still be slaves there. Every year we retell the story, because it is our people's story and because it is wonderful to tell. We also retell this story each year to remind ourselves of the importance of human freedom. The story of our people's Exodus from Egypt reassures us that freedom is possible; deliverance can come; salvation is within our reach; the dream of redemption can become a reality.
Nearly 4000 years ago there was a famine in the Land of Israel. Our ancestor Jacob took his family and settled in Egypt, where there was plenty of food. The children of Jacob lived well in Egypt. They become a great nation, powerful and numerous.
Some time later, a new king came to the throne of Egypt. He feared the Israelites because there were so many of us. He said, "If there is a war, they will join our enemies and fight against us." So Pharaoh forced our people to become his slaves. He ordered us to make bricks and build buildings for him. Taskmasters were set over us; they imposed heavy labor and we built the cities of Pithom and Raamses.
We cried out to God for help and God heard our plea, saw our suffering and responded to our oppression. God remembered the Covenant with our ancestors Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
Pharaoh refused to let us go free, so God brought Ten Plagues to the land of Egypt: blood, frogs, lice, insects, cattle disease, boils, hail, locusts, darkness and the slaying of the first-born sons of the Egyptians. When Pharaoh's own son died he finally agreed to let us go.
"God alone executed the judgment of death: 'For I will go through the land of Egypt in that night. I and not any intermediary.' The Holy One, blessed be God, could have given the Israelites the power to avenge themselves upon the Egyptians, but God did not want to sanction the use of their fists for self-defense even at that time; for, while at that moment they might merely have defended themselves against evil-doers, by such means the way of the fist spreads through the world, and in the end defenders become aggressors. Therefore, the Holy One, blessed be God, took great pains to remove Israel completely from any participation in the vengeance upon the evil-doers, to such an extent that they were not even permitted to see the events." (Rabbi Aaron Samuel Tamaret of Mileitchitz)
When we recall these plagues, we remove a drop of wine -- our symbol of joy -- from our wine cups for each one, because our joy is less when we remember the sufferings of the Egyptians. Together, let us recall the Ten Plagues against Egypt:
The Jews left Egypt at midnight in such a hurry that they did not have time to let their bread dough rise. They baked it immediately and it came out flat and hard -- the first matzah.
Our people escaped to the Reed Sea with the Egyptians in hot pursuit. Rabbi Judah says: When the Israelites stood at the shore of the Reed Sea, one said: "I do not want to go down to the sea first," and another said: "I do not want to go down to the sea first, either." While they were standing there deliberating, Nachshon the son of Aminidab leaped up, ran down to the shore, and jumped into the swirling watersÉ The waters rose around him and he began to drown. At the same time, Moses stood reciting long prayers before the Holy One. God said to him: "Moses, my friend is sinking in the water and the sea is closing in upon him; the enemy is pursuing and you stand there reciting long prayers!" Moses said before God: "Ruler of the universe, what else can I do?" God replied: "Lift up your rod!" Moses lifted his rod and the waters parted and the Israelites crossed over on dry land. Salvation comes to those who work, together with God, to bring it.
From the Reed Sea, our people traveled on to Mount Sinai where God gave them the Torah. At Sinai, we entered into our covenant with God which sustains us to this day and teaches us to cherish a vision of the world free of Pharaohs, slavery and plagues.
God did many wonderful things for us. God brought us out of Egypt, gave us the Shabbat, gave us the Torah and brought us into the Land of Israel. Any one of these would have been enough. Therefore we sing Dayenu which means "it would have been enough for us".
I-LU HO-TZI HO-TZI-A-NU HO-TZI-A-NU MI-MITZ-RA-YIM HO-TZI-A-NU MI-MITZ-RA-YIM DA-YAY-NU. (chorus)
I-LU NA-TAN NA-TAN LA-NU NA-TAN LA-NU ET HA-SHA-BAT NA-TAN LA-NU ET HA-SHA-BAT DA-YAY-NU. (chorus)
I-LU NA-TAN NA-TAN LA-NU NA-TAN LA-NU ET HA-TO-RAH NA-TAN LA-NU ET HA-TO-RAH DA-YAY-NU. (chorus)
Had God only brought us out of Egypt, it would have been enough for us.
Had God only given us the Shabbat, it would have been enough for us.
Had God only given us the Torah, it would have been enough for us.(To see facsimile of illuminated version of Dayenu from a 14th century Spanish Haggadah, click here.)
The Midrash relates that when the Egyptians were drowning in the Reed Sea, the angels wished to join in Israel's song of victory by singing "Halleluyah" but God rebuked them, saying: "How can you sing Halleluyah when My creatures are drowning?" In this spirit, we fill our second cup of wine only half-way; our gladness is diminished by any human suffering: even the suffering of our enemies.
The second cup of wine symbolizes intellectual
freedom -- freedom of the mind. Closed minds lead to misunderstanding and
human suffering. We need to open our minds to new ideas and try to understand
the ideas and beliefs of others. Knowledge and understanding will lead to
greater freedom for all in our world.
BA-RUCH A-TA A-DO-NAI E-LO-HAY-NU ME-LECH HA-O-LAM BO-RAY PE-RI HA-GA-FEN.
Blessed are You, Lord our God, Ruler of the universe, Creator of the fruit of the vine.
Rabban Gamaliel said: We have not fulfilled our duty until we have explained these three symbols: Pesach, Matzah and Maror.
What is the meaning of the shank bone? The shank bone reminds us of the lamb which our people sacrificed to God the night they left Egypt. In family groups, our people ate the pesach lamb while the Temple in Jerusalem was still standing. Tonight, we celebrate Pesach in family groups in our homes.
Why was the lamb chosen for sacrifice? Because this is the animal that the Egyptians worshiped. The shank bone on our seder plate symbolizes our rejection of idolatry. Idolatry has taken a different form in every age. In our own time, we have witnessed the results of idolatry when people place complete, unquestioning faith in someone or something other than God. This occurred in Germany, where eleven million souls, including six million of our own people, were tragically and cruelly lost. The presence of the shank bone on our seder plate reminds us of our obligation to combat idolatry whenever and wherever we encounter it, in order to insure the spiritual freedom of all.
What is the meaning of the matzah? Matzah reminds us of the dough our people baked the night they left Egypt. We left in such a hurry that we did not have time to allow the dough to rise.
BA-RUCH A-TA A-DO-NAI E-LO-HAY-NU ME-LECH HA-O-LAM A-SHER KI-DE-SHA-NU BE-MITZ-VO-TAV VE-TZI-VA-NU AL A-CHI-LAT MA-TZA.
Blessed are You, Lord our God, ruler of the universe, who makes us holy with commandments and commands us to eat matzah.
BA-RUCH A-TA A-DO-NAI E-LO-HAY-NU ME-LECH HA-O-LAM HA-MO-TZI LE-CHEM MIN HA-A-RETZ.
Blessed are You, Lord our God, ruler of the universe, who makes us holy with commandments and commands us to eat matzah.
What is the meaning of the maror ? It is bitter and eating
it makes us cry. On Passover, we try to feel the bitterness of slavery and
shed the tears our people shed when they were enslaved in Egypt.
In every generation, each person should feel as though he or she went forth from Egypt, as our Torah teaches: "And you shall explain to your child on that day, it is because of what the Lord did for me when I, myself, went forth from Egypt."
Not only our ancestors alone did the Holy One redeem, but us along with them, as it is written: "And God freed us from Egypt so as to take us and give us the land which God had sworn to our ancestors."
BA-RUCH A-TA A-DO-NAI E-LO-HAY-NU ME-LECH HA-O-LAM A-SHER KI-DE-SHA-NU BE-MITZ-VO-TAV VE-TZI-VA-NU AL A-CHI-LAT MA-ROR.
Blessed are You, Lord our God, ruler of the universe, who makes us holy with commandments and commands us to eat Maror.
In the tradition of Hillel, we follow the custom of making a matzah and maror sandwich. We eat the maror of slavery together with the matzah of freedom. In times of slavery there is always the hope of freedom. In times of freedom, there is always the memory of slavery.
Let us praise God whose bounty we have eaten and whose goodness fills the world, bringing freedom to those in slavery, and dignity to those suffering degradation.
Leader: RA-BO-TAI NE-VA-REICH.
Response: YE-HI SHEIM A-DO-NAI ME-VO-RACH MEI-A-TA VE-AD O-LAM.
Leader: BI-RE-SHUT MA-RA-NAN VE-RA-BA-NAN VE-RA-BO-TAI, NE-VA-REICH E-LO-HEI-NU SHE-A-CHAL-NU MI-SHE-LO.
Response: BA-RUCH E-LO-HAY-NU SHE-A-CHAL-NU MI-SHE-LO U-VE-TU-VO CHA-YI-NU.
Leader: BA-RUCH E-LO-HAY-NU SHE-A-CHAL-NU MI-SHE-LO U-VE-TU-VO CHA-YI-NU.
Together: BA-RUCH HU U-VA-RUCH SHE-MO. BA-RUCH A-TA A-DO-NAI, E-LO-HAY-NU ME-LECH HA-O-LAM, HA-ZAN ET HA-O-LAM KU-LO BE-TU-VO, BE-CHEIN, BE-CHE-SED U-VE-RA-CHA-MIM, HU NO-TEIN LE-CHEM LE-CHOL BA-SAR, KI LE-O-LAM CHAS-DO. U-VE-TU-VO HA-GA-DOL, TA-MID LO-CHA-SAR LA-NU, VE-AL YECH-SAR LA-NU MA-ZON LE-O-LAM VA-ED, BA-A-VUR SHE-MO HA-GA-DOL. KI HU EIL ZAN U-ME-FAR-NEIS LA-KOL U-MEI-TIV LA-KOL U-MEI CHIN MA-ZON LE-CHOL BE-RI-YO-TAV A-SHER BA-RA. BA-RUCH A-TA, A-DO-NAI, HA-ZAN ET HA-KOL. U-VE-NEI YE-RU-SHA-LA-YIM IR HA-KO-DESH BI-ME-HEI-RA BE-YA-MEI-NU. BA-RUCH A-TA A-DO-AI, BO-NEH BE-RA-CHA-MAV YE-RU-SHA-LA-YIM, A-MEIN.
O-SEH SHA-LOM BI-ME-RO-MAV, HU YA-A-SEH SHA-LOM A-LEI-NU VE-AL KOL YIS-RA-EIL VE-I-ME-RU, A-MEIN.
A-DO-NAI OZ LE-A-MO YI-TEIN, A-DO-NAI YE-VA-REICH ET A-MO VA-SHA-LOM.Let us praise God.
Praised be the name of God, now and for ever!
Blessed is our God, of whose abundance we have eaten.
Blessed is our God, of whose abundance we have eaten, and by whose goodness we live.
Blessed is the One Who Is!
Blessed is the Lord our God, Ruler of the universe, whose goodness sustains the world. The God of grace, love and compassion is the Source of food for all who live, for God's love is everlasting. Through God's great goodness we do not lack and will not ever lack. For God is in the goodness that sustains and nourishes all, providing food enough for every living being. Blessed is the Lord, Source of food for all who live.
O let Jerusalem, the holy city, be renewed in our time. Blessed is the Lord, by whose compassion we will see Jerusalem renewed and at peace. Amen.
May the Merciful One help us to see the coming of a time that is all Shabbat.
May God who causes peace of reign in the high heavens, let peace descend on us, on all Israel, and all the world, and let us say: Amen.
God will give strength to our people. God will bless our people with peace. Amen.
The third cup of wine symbolizes spiritual freedom. Our people has known the need for spiritual resistance in many ages. Even in the worst of circumstances, we have maintained our dignity. Even in the concentration camps, many Jews scrupulously observed Halakhah in defiance of the oppression they suffered at the hands of the Nazis. One such Jew addressed this question to Rabbi Ephraim Oshry: "Should a Jew, having to perform forced labor for the Nazis, continue to recite the benediction in the morning prayers: We praise You, Adonai our God, ruler of the universe, who has not made me a slave ?" Rabbi Oshry responded: "Heaven forbid that we should give up reciting this b'rachahÉ On the contrary, now of all times we are obliged to say this b'rachah so that our adversaries and tormentors realize that, although we are in their power to do with us as their wicked machinations devise, we nonetheless perceive ourselves not as slaves, but as free people, prisoners for the time being, whose liberation will soon comeÉ"
Let us seek the spiritual freedom that
generations before us sacrificed to maintain. Let us open our hearts and minds
to experience God in our own lives.
BA-RUCH A-TA A-DO-NAI E-LO-HAY-NU ME-LECH HA-O-LAM BO-RAY PE-RI HA-GA-FEN.
Blessed are You, Lord our God, Ruler of the universe, Creator of the fruit of the vine.
This special cup of wine is reserved for the prophet Elijah.
At each seder we open our door that the spirit of Elijah may enter. According
to one legend, Elijah takes a drop of wine from every seder in the world,
bottles all the wine and distributes the bottles to Jews who are too poor
to buy wine for their own seders.
Elijah's cup represents the promise of messianic freedom. It symbolizes a time which has not yet come, but for which we yearn and pray. The cup of Elijah is a cup from which we cannot drink until the redemption is complete, until the world is whole and at peace, until justice and compassion reign where corruption and bigotry now hold sway.
And lest we despair of that time ever arriving, let us take hope from the words of a child who had no reason to hope, yet did: "That's the difficulty in these times: ideals, dreams, and cherished hopes rise within us, only to meet the horrible truth and be shattered. It's really a wonder that I haven't dropped all my ideals, because they seem so absurd and impossible to carry out. Yet I keep them, because in spite of everything I still believe that people are really good at heart. I simply can't build up my hopes on a foundation consisting of confusion, misery and death. I see the world gradually being turned into a wilderness. I hear the ever-approaching thunder, which will destroy us too. I can feel the sufferings of millions and yet, if I look up into the heavens, I think that it will all come right, that this cruelty too will end, and that peace and tranquility will return again. In the meantime, I must uphold my ideals, for perhaps the time will come when I shall be able to carry them out." (from The Diary of Anne Frank)
Generations that came before us feared to open their doors. Elijah, we welcome you into our home and into our hearts. May your message of a world redeemed from pain, injustice and hatred inspire us to become God's partners in bringing the messianic age closer.
EI-LI-YA-HU HA-NA-VI, EI-LI-YA-HU HA-TISH-BI,
EI-LI-YA-HU EI-LI-YA-HU EI-LI-YA-HU HA-GIL-A-DI.
BIM-HEI-RA VE-YA-MEI-NU, YA-VO EI-LEI-NU;
IM MA-SHI-ACH BEN DA-VID, IM-MA-SHI-ACH BEN DA-VID.Elijah the prophet, Elijah the Tishbite, Elijah the Gileadite; may he soon come and bring the Messiah, son of David.
Who knows thirteen? I know thirteen.
Thirteen are the attributes of God;
Twelve are the tribes of Israel;
Eleven were the stars in Joseph's dream;
Ten commandments were given on Sinai;
Nine is the number of the holidays;
Eight are the days to the service of the covenant;
Seven days there are in a week;
Six sections the Mishnah has;
Five books there are in the Torah;
Four is the number of the matriarchs;
Three is the number of the patriarchs;
Two are the tables of the covenant;
One is our God in heaven and earth.
Chorus: Chad gadya, Chad gadya,
My father bought for two zuzim,
Chad gadya, Chad gadya.Then came the Holy One, blessed be God
and destroyed the angel of death
That slew the butcher
That killed the ox
That drank the water
That quenched the fire
That burned the stick
That beat the dog
That bit the cat
That ate the kid my father bought for two zuzim ,
Chad gadya É
As our seder draws to an end, we take
up our cups one last time. The redemption is not yet complete. Not everyone
in our world is yet free. This fourth cup reminds us of our responsibility
to be God's partners in bringing freedom to those enslaved, peace to those
at war, food to those who hunger. This is our purpose as Jews. May we live
to fulfill it.
BA-RUCH A-TA A-DO-NAI E-LO-HAY-NU ME-LECH HA-O-LAM BO-RAY PE-RI HA-GA-FEN.
Blessed are You, Lord our God, Ruler of the universe, Creator of the fruit of the vine.
The seder service is now concluded, its rites observed in full, its purposes revealed. As we gathered together to celebrate this seder tonight, may we be worthy to celebrate again in freedom next year. And may God, who redeemed our ancestors from slavery and degradation, redeem all who are enslaved and bring freedom and dignity to our entire world. Together, let us say:
A-DIR-HU, A-DIR-HU, YIV-NEH VEI-TO BE-KA-ROV.
BIM-HEI-RAH BIM-HEI-RAH BE-YA-MEI-NU BE-KA-ROV.
EIL BE-NEI EIL BE-NEI BE-NEI VEIT-CHA BE-KA-ROV.BA-CHUR HU, GA-DOL HU, DA-GUL HU. YIV-NEH VEI-TO BE-KA-ROV.
BIM-HEI-RAH BIM-HEI-RAH BE-YA-MEI-NU BE-KA-ROV.
EIL BE-NEI EIL BE-NEI BE-NEI VEIT-CHA BE-KA-ROV.NA-OR HU, SA-GIV HU, IZ-UZ HU, YIV-NEH VEI-TO BE-KA-ROV.
BIM-HEI-RAH BIM-HEI-RAH BE-YA-MEI-NU BE-KA-ROV.
EIL BE-NEI EIL BE-NEI BE-NEI VEIT-CHA BE-KA-ROV.PE-DEH HU, TZA-DIK HU, KA-DOSH HU, YIV-NEH VEI-TO BE-KA-ROV.
BIM-HEI-RAH BIM-HEI-RAH BE-YA-MEI-NU BE-KA-ROV.
EIL BE-NEI EIL BE-NEI BE-NEI VEIT-CHA BE-KA-ROV.God of might, God of right, we would bow before Thee,
Sing Thy praise in these days, celebrate Thy glory,
As we hear, year by hear, freedom's wondrous story:How God gave to each slave promised liberation,
This great word Pharaoh heard, making proclamation:
Set them free to serve Me, as a holy nation.We enslaved thus were saved, through God's might appearing,
So we pray for the day when we shall be hearing,
Freedom's call reaching all, people God revering.