To explore the structure of the Seder and this Haggadah, check the
Table of Contents
The drama begins. Our journey starts. We support one another and share each others’ strengths.
This evening’s adventure will slide in and out of time, pulling together many of the stories of our people—we will leave Egypt following Moses, Miriam and Aaron. We will dine with the Rabbis of ancient Judaea as they live during the Roman occupation. We will recall the creativity and suffering of the Jewish communities of Europe in their thousand year settlement there. We will share stories of our own contemporary experiences as Jews living all over the world. These are our stories—but not our only teachers. We have much to learn from our guests and neighbors for whom these stories may be totally fresh. Whether this is a ritual we have experienced every year since our birth or one that is new to us, we turn to it now for the chance to learn something about oppression and freedom, something about the miracles of the world we live in, and something of our connections to ancient traditions as they can be understood in our own time.
🌀 All hold hands
We share our power to bless.1
May God bless and guide us. May truth become strong within us, may we speak our words in charity, may we act out of love and justice. We have received a noble heritage from which we draw strength.
We encourage the child in us to grow toward mystery and mastery.
יְשִׂמְךָ אֱלֹהִים כְּאֶפְרַיִם וְכִמְנַשֶּׁה.
Yesimcha Elohim k’Efraim v’chiMenasheh.
We emulate Ephraim and Menasheh, who carried forward the life of our people.
יְשִׂמֵךְ אֱלֹהִים כְּשָׂרָה, רִבְקָה, רָחֵל וְלֵאָה, בִּלְהָה וְזִלְפָּה.
Yesimech Elohim k’Sarah, Rivkah, Rachel, v’Leah Bilhah v’Zilpah.
We emulate Sarah and Rebecca, Rachel and Leah, Bilhah and Zilpah who carried forward the life of our people.
יְבָרֶכְךָ יְיָ וְיִשְׁמְרֶךָ. יָאֵר יְיָ פָּנָיו אֵלֶיךָ וִיחֻנֶּךָּ. יִשָּׂא יְיָ פָּנָיו אֵלֶיךָ וְיָשֵׂם לְךָ שָׁלוֹם.
Yevarechecha Adonai v’yishmerecha Ya’eir Adonai panav eilecha vichuneka Yisa Adonai panav eilecha v’yasem lecha shalom.
May the Source of all caress and protect us.
May the energies of the Source of all glow within us and be generous to us.
May we feel the Source of all present within us filling us with wholeness.
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To explore the structure of the Seder and this Haggadah, check the |
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Footnotes
1 Unless the Seder begins on the eve of Shabbat, these blessings are not part of the classic Haggadah. However, there is no reason not to include them as they help unify those gathered. I added this section in the ’90s.