Reader:
On the last day of Passover the rabbis teach we journeyed through the Sea of Reeds, we walked on dry land as the waters of the sea turned back upon Pharaoh and 600 of his “elite chariots … with officers on them all.” (Exodus 14:7) We withhold our joy in celebrating the death of our enemies, but join with Miriam, the prophetess, and the women who went forth after her with drums, with dances and singing.
Group:
Miriam spoke to them, “Sing to Hashem for S/He is exalted above the arrogant …” (Exodus 15:21)
Reader:
Today we gather, women from different generations, different religious perspectives, and different levels of knowledge of our tradition. We come together, searching for both personal and spiritual meaning in the story of our mothers, the women in our tradition, and those who are essential to the liberation of our people and the Exodus from Egypt.
Group:
We come here with an open heart, eager to learn, ready to listen, and willing to share as we elevate our experience of this most important Holy day. Hineini, “We are fully present,” honoring important and pivotal women in the formation of our history, role models of values and action, inspirational human beings who helped to shape the narrative of our past, transforming their darkness and redeeming their exile.
Reader:
We come in search of a past and of missing voices that can expand our understanding of how we navigate our future. Together we create a sanctuary of safety for inquiry and sharing through words and music. Together, in the comfort of sisterhood, we find women with common needs, fears, hopes and dreams as well as common feelings of self-judgment, self-imposed expectations, insecurities, losses, pain and grief.
Shechinah
Group:
Today we take pride in those who stood with strength, courage, and hope and allow their ‘chutzpah’ (audaciousness) and ‘grace’ to infuse us with greater insight and wisdom. We are reminded from where we came, how far we have come, and how far we still need go.
Reader:
We honor our texts that teach us to see through multiple lenses the variety and complexity of these Biblical women. Faced with challenges of survival, and enemies in their midst, they never backed down but rose up to defy tyrants. Let them inspire each one of us to do the same.
Group:
We accept the dark with the light, transform enslavement into potential for possibility, and know that freedom is a gift that brings redemption and responsibility.
Reader:
Seder means order, so our ceremony shall follow a pathway, an emanation of Shechinah, the indwelling presence of the Divine, through sixteen sections, the numerical value of Her Name, Shin (300), Chaf (20), Yud (10), Nun (50), Hay (5), which equal the number 385. When added together these three numbers equal 16, a Jewish alpha-numeric code called Gamatria. (1+6=7)
Group:
Today we will let the Shechinah, the female presence of the Divine in physicality, guide our path and lead us as a community of women who will then become representatives of Her divine presence and express her through our actions in the world.
Reader:
Let us speak and sing, ask and tell, and acknowledge our tears and express our joy. Let us remember struggles of the past, or the present, yet continue to sweeten them and voice our gratitude. Through our own struggles we empathize with others, particularly those in need today.
Group:
“In every generation, each woman is obligated to see herself ‘as if’ shestood in Egypt, facing down Pharaoh, defending the life of all children, and expressing their hope for the future.” Perhaps face down today’s Pharaoh.
1. Candlelighting
Reader:
On the first day of Creation, when darkness and chaos enveloped the world, G-d said, “Let there be light,” and the spiritual light of potentiality and hope came into existence. Today we light these candles creating sacred space and sacred time, celebrating the spirit of the feminine, the holy Shechinah.
Group:
May the light of the candles cast their glow on each one of us, on all those we love, and those in need of healing and Shaleym, wholeness. May they bring radiance to those who live with darkness, loneliness, and deprivation.
Baruch Atah Adonai, Eloheinu Malkah ha-Olam, asher kidshanu b’mitzvot v’tzivanu l’hadlik ner shel yom tov.
Blessed are you Adonai, Our G-d, Ruler of Existence
Who sanctifies us with commandments, commanding us to light the candles of this Holy day.
Reader:
Kadosh means holy, to “set apart” for uniqueness, purpose, and transformative promise. When we bless wine we are actually blessing the grape, the fruit of the vine. The grape represents potentiality to create sweet wine, tart juice, or even sour vinegar. It is round like a womb, filled and birthing possibilities to enrich each moment.
Group:
We will drink and bless four cups of wine that represent G-d’s four promises of redemption. Today we unveil Shechinah, partner with HaShem through the courageous acts of our ancestral women. They risked their lives to save ours. Had they not acted we would still be slaves. With each promise, “to free, to deliver, to redeem, and to take,” women of courage and integrity, emanated Shechinah, and acted in partnership with the Holy One. Each cup represents the four levels of the Kabbalistic view of the Universe: Assiyah, world of physicality, Yitzirah, world of Formation/angelic/emotive, B’riah, world of Creation, mind/consciousness, and Atzilut, world of close to the Divine. We acknowledge being lifted from the lowest world in Egypt, to the place of crossing the sea and tapping into the utter joy of reaching the possibilities of the future, the place of Sinai and the formation of a people and covenantal partner with the Holy One, and the place that comes, Mishkan, where G-d and people meet and draw near.
2. First cup of wine – “V’hotzaiti–I will free you …” through Shifra & Puah
Reader:
The king of Egypt said to the Hebrew midwives Shifrah and Puah, “when you deliver the Hebrew women … if it is a son, you are to kill him, if it is a daughter, she shall live. But the midwives were in awe of G-d and they did not do as the king of Egypt spoke to them, and they caused the boys to live.” (Exodus 1:16)
Group:
As we bless the first cup of wine let us remember these defiant and courageous women. They demonstrated awe for the Holy One and because of their righteousness “the people increased and became very strong.” They “freed” the babies.
Baruch Atah Adonai, Eloheynu Malkah Ha-Olam Borei Pri Hagafen.
Blessed are You Adonai, Our G-d, Ruler of Existence who creates the fruit of the vine.
3. Four Questions
Ma Nishtanah HaLailah Hazeh Mikol HaLailot? Why is this night different than all other nights?
Because tonight/today is the night we crossed the Sea of Reeds leaving Egypt behind and moving forward to Mt. Sinai to be in covenant with HaShem.
Because tonight/today we go through the birth canal of our mother, the great Shechinah, discovering a new soul in our liberation.
Because tonight/today we drink four cups of wine to recognize and bless our mighty ancestral mothers, partners who made the Exodus possible.
4. Second cup of wine – “V’hitzalti- I will deliver you” through Yocheved
Reader:
“The woman conceived and gave birth to a son. She saw that he was good and she hid him for three months. She could not hide him any longer, so she took for him a wicker basket … she placed the child into it and placed it among the reeds at the bank of the River.” (Exodus 2:2)
Group:
As we bless the second cup of wine we remember this defiant and courageous mother who saved her son and saw the light of Shechinah above his head and knew he would bring good.
Baruch Atah Adonai, Eloheynu Malkah HaOlam Borei Pri HaGafen.
Blessed are You Adonai, our G-d, Ruler of Existence Who creates the fruit of the vine.
5. Four Girls
Reader:
Four times Torah bids us to tell our children of the Exodus from Egypt. Four times the Torah repeats: “And you shall tell your child on that day …” From this our tradition understands that there are four kinds of personalities – a wise one, a wicked one, a simple one, or a silent one (that may not know how to ask). Perhaps each one of us has these four personalities within us at different times of our lives.
Four Girls Within All of Us
Girls Who Don’t Know How to Ask – Sometimes we are girls who don’t know how to ask; we don’t understand; we find that we cannot speak the language of the people in our company; we are struck dumb by a profound or strange new experience; or we are fearful because nothing like this has ever happened to us before. If we can remain silent, and tolerate our fear and our inability to speak for a while, we may discover worlds of riches we couldn’t possibly have imagined. But if our fear paralyzes us, if we love confidence yet withdraw from the world, or if it is fear of others that silences us, we truly need to be brought out from our slavery “by a might hand and an outstretched arm.”
Simple Girls – At times we are simple girls: relaxed and playful, enjoying life without questioning, analyzing or examining deeply; loving others with passion that cannot be expressed in words; being loved in return without any logic or reason. Yet, as simple girls we risk missing the color and texture of our complex universe, and we may forfeit the opportunity to contribute to tikkun olam, the repair and healing of the world.
Wicked Girls – At other times we are wicked girls: angry, rebellious, critical, and negative. We set ourselves apart from our community, feeling perhaps, that we don’t belong and not understanding that it is we, not others, who place ourselves on the outside. Yet, it is as wicked girls that we are able to see our world from another perspective, to see that sometimes the emperor wears no clothes and to speak up and criticize what is wrong and what is unjust.
Wise Girls – At times we are wise girls: strong and confident in what we know and who we are, curious and eager to learn more, seeing clearly through tangled and complex dilemmas, able to make wise and appropriate decisions for ourselves and on behalf of others. Yet, as wise girls we risk growing complacent in our knowledge, smug in the “superior” wisdom of the status quo, and so caught up in the pursuit of learning and producing that we neglect others around us and our own well-being.
“May we come to know and accept the four girls within all of us so that we can grow closer to wholeness and freedom this year.” – Ruth Berger Goldstone.
Which one rings true for you?
6. Third Cup of Wine – “V’ga-alti-I will redeem you” through Miriam
Reader:
“His sister stationed herself at a distance to know what would be done with him…she said to Pharaoh’s daughter, ‘Shall I go and summon for you a wet nurse from the Hebrew women, who will nurse the boy for you?’ So she went and summoned the boy’s mother…so the woman took the boy and nursed him.” (Exodus 2:4, 7,8)
Group:
As we bless the third cup of wine we remember the loyal, devoted and protective sister of Moshe who approached the Pharaoh’s daughter after picking up Moshe from his basket. She would make sure his real mother was able to make an intimate connection with her son ensuring his heritage and tradition would be instilled in him.
Baruch Atah Adonai, Eloheynu Malka HaOlam, Borei Pri HaGafen
Blessed are You Adonai, our G-d, Ruler of Existence Who creates the fruit of the vine.
7. Taste of Maror – Bitterness
Reader:
Maror comes from the word in Hebrew, Mar, which means bitter. We are reminded of the hard labor and embittered lives of the once enslaved people in Egypt. The word for Egypt is Mitzrayim, which literally means from a narrow place or Mi-tzar-yam, from a constricted sea. Egypt represented narrow and constricted thinking and values. It was a place of darkness, controlled by an autocratic ruler who believed he was not only the King but also a god. He watched as Israelite immigrant community grew and he became fearful that they could overtake Egypt. (Sound familiar?) “Behold! The Children of Israel, are more numerous and stronger than we. Come let us outsmart them lest they become numerous and it may be that if a war will occur, they too may join our enemies … he appointed taskmasters over them in oder to afflict them … Egypt enslaved the Children of Israel with crushing harshness.”
Queens, warriors, judges, prophetess, midwives, leaders, teachers, rabbis, cantors, wives, mothers, sisters and daughters. Jewish women throughout history have left their mark and even saved our people.
Their wisdom, strength, resilience, compassion, empathy, honesty, creativity and generosity shine as a beacon on to the world, their families, their friends and their communities.
Even today there are many peoples still enslaved, roughly over 40 million people throughout the world. They include forced child labor, forced marriages, forced sex exploitation, forced workers etc. Bitterness is the taste of many throughout the world. For some women there are continued struggles for equity and dignity in their work setting, financial challenges that leave them without health insurance for themselves and their families and others remain homeless without sanctuary and nutritious food to eat.
Some of us have the great fortune to be free of such evil and yet we all have known the taste of bitterness. We experience physical, emotional or spiritual pain, we know personal or professional loss, we experience physical and psychological trauma, we are caregivers for those ill and in need of support, and we encounter grief as loved ones leave this world. Here it is safe to speak of such bitterness.
What is or has been your taste of bitterness?
Group:
As we bless the eating of this maror let us acknowledge that the bitterness of slavery must be eradicated. May we be able to release the taste of bitterness, freeing ourselves from its hold, if only for a moment, knowing we can move through the pain, inch by inch, sweetening it with small pleasures, finding hope for the future.
Baruch Atah Adonai, Eloheynu Malkah Ha-Olam, asher kidshanu b’mitzvot v’tzivanu al achilat maror.
Blessed are You Adonai, our G-d Ruler of Existence, Who hallows us with commandments, commanding us regarding the eating of maror.
8. Taste of Charoset – Sweetness
Reader:
Charoset, because of its color and texture, is symbolic of the mortar used by our ancestors in building the great cities of Egypt. Yet Charoset is sweet, made from apples, dates or other fruits, along with nuts and wine, reminding us that often our own struggles and difficulties are doorways to new found possibility, potential, and even unexpected joy. Simple and pure food contains nutrition and goodness and brings sweetness to our lives. What sweetens your life?
Group:
As we bless this pure food, may we taste the sweetness of its inner sparks, being reminded that we can sweeten the bitterness in our lives through the pleasure of the senses – through taste, smell, sight, sound and touch. We honor the good with the bad, the light with the dark and the achievable in difficulty.
Baruch Atah Adonai, Eloheynu Malka HaOlam, Borei Pri HaEtz.
Bless are You Adonai, our G-d, Ruler of Existence, who creates the fruit of the trees.
9. Lo Dayeinu – It is not enough!
Reader:
Each year we sing of the many gifts we have received from the Divine, acknowledging that at any moment it would be enough, Dayeinu!
Let us also acknowledge the steady but slow progress for women and at that each stage it would not have been enough for there is still much to do to bring equality in the life of women within the family, work, and the political arena.
Group:
If Shechinah had brought us forth from bondage
And had not educated us, it would not have been enough.
If She had educated us and not given us opportunity to work, It would not have been enough.
If She had given us opportunity to work and not allowed us to advance, It would not have been enough.
If we were allowed to advance yet still maintain majority of housewife duties, it would not have been enough.
(Women’s Haggadah, 1993)
If we are allowed to advance yet still be paid 20-50% less than men, It would not be enough.
If we are allowed to advance yet there are only 25% women leaders in government,
It would not be enough.
If we are allowed to accuse men who abuse us physically & sexually, Yet we are always seen as the perpetrators and not the victims,
It would not be enough.
Reader:
Since ancient times, when women were seen as chattel and possessions, we have come a long way. Yet we must continue to work, march, and fight for equality, safety, healthy and realistic body images, and deserved acknowledgement and reward so we can sing Dayeinu.
Dai-dai-einu, Dai-dai-einu, Dai-dai-einu…
If I speak truthfully about the pain, joys and contradictions in our lives, If I listen to others with sensitivity and compassion,
If I fight against injustice – economic, sexism, racism and homophobia where we live, work, study and pray, Dayeinu
If I care for the earth and its future responsibly, If I realize my power to effect change,
If I teach my children and students to pursue justice, Dayeinu
If I bring holiness into my life, home, and community,
If I accept difficulty with grace and see potential in change.
If I honor my visions more than my fears.
Dayeinu
Dai-dai-einu, Dai-dai-einu, Dai-dai-einu…
Ma’yan Passover Haggadah
10. Hallel – Praise & Thanksgiving
Reader:
Three names are ours as a people; Ivri, which means border crosser, Yisrael, which means one who wrestles with G-d and man and prevails, and Y’hudim (Jews), which means “Thank You.” Each reflects important values that we hold dear – to cross into unknown territory and take risks, to wrestle and question the Divine and other human beings, and to express gratitude in our lives to the great Father and Mother, the source of all.
When this Passover holiday comes to an end, we are reminded of the gift of freedom, and the ability to have shared with loved ones, friends, and perhaps even strangers, festive meals with all of its customs and traditions. The end of the Pesach journey marks the “crossing of the sea,” arriving to the other of leaving Egypt. We are grateful for our lives and to have come to this moment, acknowledging our shared experience, a community of women, exploring, learning, and elevating the conclusion of this Pesach with this new and unique seder. Let us join in singing the Shehecheyanu, praising the Holy One, unity of male and female, for keeping us in life, sustaining us and bringing us here together for this sacred celebration.
Baruch Atah Adonai Eloheynu Malka HaOlam, Shehecheyanu, V’kiy’manu V’higianu Lazman Hazeh-2x A—men
Group:
We acknowledge the transcendent and imminent Divine presence, the male and the female of unification, HaKadosh Baruch Hu and the Shechinah, together as One, who heard the cries of the women and responded to their call. Shechinah protected women of wisdom and courage to face the tyrant Pharaoh. “There is no place devoid of the divine.” Tikkunei Zohar The Almighty also guided the prophet Moshe, the prophetess Miriam and the priest Aaron, to fulfill their “tikkun,” their purpose as leaders of the people, bringing them to Sinai to make a Covenant with HaShem. We praise Him/Her, the One, Who fills all of Existence, guiding and supporting each one of us.
Sing Hodu (Debbie Friedman, z”l)
Hodu L’Adonai ki tov, ki l’olam chasdo, ki l’olam chasdo.
Yomar-na, Yomar na, Yisrael, ki l’olam chasdo, ki l’olam chasdo.
Yomru-na yomru-na veit A-ha-ron, ki l’olam chasdo, ki l’olam chasdo.
May all who revere G-d’s name now say, ki l’olam chasdo, Sing praise to the Lord for G-d is good, ki l’olam chasdo. Hodo l’Adonai ki tov, ki l’olam chasdo, ki l’olam chasdo.
11. Fourth cup of wine – “V’lakachti – I will take you” through Bat-Yah
Reader:
“Pharaoh’s daughter went down to bathe by the River…she saw the basket among the reeds and she sent her maidservant and she took it. She opened it and saw him, the child, and behold! He was crying. She took pity on him, had compassion, saying ‘I will take you;’ ‘This is one of the Hebrew boys … She called him Moshe, as she said, ‘For I drew him from the water.’” So righteous is this woman, that the rabbis say she should be called Bat-Yah, daughter of Yah, G-d. (Exodus 2:5, 10)
Group:
As we bless this cup of wine let us acknowledge the compassion and the courage of the daughter of Pharaoh, well aware of her father’s decree to kill the male Hebrew babies, who took and protected this child. Her kindness allowed Moshe to be breastfed by his own mother, allowed to live with her till he was weaned, and then she raised him in the palace of her ancestors.
Baruch Atah Adonai, Eloheynu Malkah Ha-Olam, Borei Pri HaGafen.
Blessed are You Adonai, our G-d, Ruler of Existence Who creates the fruit of the vine.
12. Last taste of matzah
Reader:
“Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread; on that very day you shall remove leaven from your house.” (Exodus 12:15) And so we rid our homes of physical chametz, all that which can ferment and expand, and we rid our lives of emotional/spiritual chametz, all that takes up much too much room or grows to inflate our egos, our expectations, or is a hindrance to growth and moving forward. The matzah of our opening Seders is the bread of affliction or the bread of poverty and leads us to the bread of freedom acknowledging our journey.
“Zohar teaches however that matzah is also the bread of faith and the bread of healing.” -Tirzah Firestone
Today we eat the last taste of matzah representing hope for the coming weeks as we move towards Sinai to receive Torah. We remember that Passover is just the beginning of the journey for it culminates, seven weeks later “as if” we stand at Sinai, together with all Jews, ready to take Torah into our lives.
We acknowledge that this plain bread, baked no more than 18 minutes, 18 (Chai) means life, reminds us that we can sustain ourselves in simplicity with small yet meaningful pleasures, appreciating the power of un-complicating our lives. How can you simplify your life?
What are some of the little pleasures that can nurture joy in you?
Group:
As we bless this bread let us take a last taste of goodness and hope that all peoples will be sustained by pure and simple food. Let us find the spark of its nourishment in each bite and be grateful for the Divine, whose gift of sun and water encourages the growth of necessary ingredients so we can create delicious morsels.
Baruch Atah Adonai, Eloheynu Malka HaOlam asher kidshanu b’mitzot v’tzivanu al achilat matzah.
We praise You, our G-d, Ruler of Existence, Who hallows our lives with commandments and commands us regarding the eating of matzah.
Reader:
The second-century sage, Hillel, would take the three essential elements of the traditional seder, meat of the pascal offering, matzah and maror, and eat them together. Now we take the maror and the charoset, the bitter and the sweet, acknowledging that both exist in the world and in our lives and mingle them together between two pieces of matzah, a unification of both potentialities in harmony with the Source of All.
Group:
Today we place maror and charoset between two pieces of matzah, creating the ‘Hillel’ sandwich being reminded of the need to accept both the light and the dark, good and the bad, the sweet and the bitter. A celebration of life is learning how to transform our pain into possibilities of meaning and purpose.
13. Washing Hands – N’tilat Yadayim (Elevating our Hands)
Reader:
Before eating our meal we wash our hands, thanking G-d for the commandment that impels us to mindfulness … because our hands are the instruments with which we work in the world. It is hands that plant and write, that caress and create — but also hands can strike in anger to do violence and harm.
“We wash our hands to affirm to use our hands in holiness … to remind ourselves that tikkun olam is the task to which we, and our hands, are called.”
-Rachel Barenblat
Group:
Repeatedly we read of G-d’s interventions, “with a strong hand HaShem removed you from Egypt.” (Exodus 13:14) The hand represents redemption, strength, action, as well as gentleness and caring. It represents creativity, innovation, and formation as well as destruction, punishment, and death. Today we reflect on “how we use our hands.” [Moment of Silence to Contemplate]
Reader:
Just as the Priest washed his hands before officiating in his duties overseeing the offerings in the Mishkan and the Temple, so do we wash our hands before eating at the table, a symbol of the Altar, and enjoy this food we receive in gratitude. We do this in silence, in mindful awareness of how many were part of this food, its growth, harvesting, delivering and being here now.
Group:
As we pass the bowl of water around our table, assisting each other in cleansing our hands, we are cognizant of the purpose of our hands, our work and actions in our lives, with our families, our friends and others in the world. As we say the blessing let us be mindful of how we use our hands and the holiness of our bodies. Mindfully focus on this act.
Baruch Atah Adonai, Eloheynu Malkah HaOlam asher k’dishanu b’mitzvot v’tzivanu al n’tilat yadayyim.
Blessed are You Adonai, our G-d, Ruler of Existence, who hallows us with commandments, commanding us to wash (elevate) our hands.
14. Festive meal
Birkat Hamazon (Blessing for the source of our food)
Reader:
We now acknowledge the gift of our food, the sustenance it provides and the joy it brings as we share it with others.
Group:
Brich Rachamana Malka D’alma Marei D’haipita
You are the source of life for all and your blessing flows through me.
15. Miriam’s cup
Miriam’s Well
Reader:
Miriam, the prophetess, merited a well of water that accompanied the people on their journey through the desert to the Promised Land. The sister of Moshe and Aaron, she found her place and her voice. Midrash teaches that when Pharaoh decreed that newborn baby boys should be thrown into the Nile River, her father Amram divorced his wife Yocheved so that they would not be sexually active. Miriam, as a child, confronts her father, “Father, Father, your decree is harsher than that of Pharaoh. Pharaoh only decreed against the males, but you have decreed against both the males and the females.” (BT Sotah 12b) Amram remarries Yocheved and Moshe is born.
Later in Torah, Miriam uses her voice again, this time to challenge her brother, Moshe, who has abandoned his wife, Tziporah and their two sons, depriving her of intimacy and sexual union. Torah however states that she and Aaron spoke against Moses, complaining that “G-d speaks only to him and not to us as well.” Midrash interprets her speech in a variety of ways, as defending her sister-in-law versus slandering her brother and G-d. G-d punishes her with leprosy and she must leave the community for seven days to do T’shuvah, to repent, heal and then return.
The people do not journey forward until she rejoins the community. Ultimately she is seen for her righteous acts, standing by her baby brother as he floated down the Nile River and then bringing their mother to Moshe when he needs a wet-nurse. The well follows her until her death when it disappears. She receives the great honor of becoming great-grandmother to Betzalel, builder of the Mishkan, the dwelling place for the Divine in the desert.
Group:
We acknowledge the presence of Miriam’s cup on our table, remembering the power of water to purify, to cleanse, to heal, to nourish and sustain us. It is also a reminder of the Mikveh, the gathering of the Divine flow from above for moments of transformation. Let us also become aware that our own tears are like an internal Mikveh, a cleansing through our tears in moments of joy and sadness. Today let us honor this great woman, this loyal and courageous ancestor who prophesied her brother “would save Israel.” (BT Megillah 14a) She led the women through the waters in dance and song, praising the great Divine spirit, male/female together as One.
Miriam’s Song
(Debbie Friedman)
Chorus – And the women dancing with their timbrels, Followed Miriam as she sang her song.
Sing a song to the One whom we’ve exalted,
Miriam and the women danced and danced the whole night-long.
And Miriam was a weaver of unique variety,
The tapestry she wove was one, which sang our history. With every thread and every strand she crafted her delight, A woman touched with spirit, she dances toward the light. Chorus
As Miriam stood upon the shores and gazed across the sea, The wonder of this miracle she soon came to believe.
Whoever thought the sea would part with an outstretched hand, And we would pass to freedom, and march to the promised land. Chorus
And Miriam the Prophetess took her timbrel in her hand, And all the women followed her just as she had planned. And Miriam raised her voice with song,
She sang with praise and might. We’ve just lived through a miracle, we’re going to dance tonight. Chorus
16. Elijah’s Cup
Reader:
A empty cup sits upside down on our table. It is Elijah’s cup, which stands for the redemption to come for all peoples. Elijah the prophet, associated with the end of days, represents the hope for the Messiah when all peoples will be free and seen as One.
What enslaves you? How can you become freed?
The prophet Malachi, speaking for G-d, announces, “A sun of righteousness will shine for you…with healing in its rays…I will send you Elijah the prophet, and he will turn back the hearts of the parents to children, and the hearts of children to their parents … Behold, I send you Elijah before the coming of the great and awesome day of Hashem.” (Malachi 3:20, 23)
Group:
As Elijah’s cup is carried by the youngest at the table, each one of us will pour a drop of our wine into the cup as a promise to participate and contribute to the redemption of the world so that all peoples can be free from slavery, bigotry, hostility, and injustice.
Eliyahu Hanavi, Eliyahu Hatishbi, Eliyahu, Eliyahu, Eliyahu Hagiladi.
Bimheyra v’yameinu yavo eleinu
Im Mashiach Ben David, Im Mashiach Ben David.
Reader:
We conclude our service in gratitude to have been together to share this sacred time and sacred space. We have remembered the women who are central to the Exodus story. Let us also honor a number of women from our texts who have made an indelible difference in our tradition. Their actions have contributed to the evolving history of our people. Their sacrifice, their voices, their courage and their integrity changed the face of Judaism for all time.
Group:
We remember the four Imahot, the four ancestral mother, Sarah, Rebecca, Leah and Rachel who dedicated their lives to support their husbands, raise their children, and play pivotal roles in assuring the future of the people Yisrael.
We remember Tziporah, Moshe’s wife, who had to sacrifice her marriage so that her husband could sustain an intimate relationship with the Holy One.
We remember the unnamed women who seduced their husbands, weary and despondent from their slavery, to revive their spirits and embrace each other, once again, to bring life into the world as a statement of hope and confidence.
We remember the daughters of Zelophehad who requested that they inherit their father’s property since they had no brothers, changing the laws of inheritance for all women.
We remember Hannah who went to the Temple at Shiloh, standing in the place where only men stood and prayed to the Holy One, with sincerity and passion becoming a model for the sages of the most central prayer in our worship service, the Amidah.
We remember Deborah, prophetess and judge, whose wisdom caused the defeat of the Canaanite army.
We remember Ruth, the Moabite widow, who follows her mother-in-law Naomi and chose the people Yisrael and their G-d, becoming the first convert to Judaism, rewarded with birthing the line of the House of David.
We remember Esther, the young, beautiful, and clever queen who beguiled the King of Persia and defeats the evil Haman’s plot to destroy her people.
May the memory of these women be for blessing and inspiration.
Reader:
“Retelling the heroic stories of Shifrah/Puah, Yocheved, Miriam and BatYah reminds our daughters that with vision and the courage to act, they can carry forward the tradition these intrepid women launched.” -Ruth Bader Ginsburg
Acknowledging the women of our past gives them a deserved place in our history and we gain strength and inspiration for the future.
Take a moment to remember our heroines, women, past/present, in our lives and their impact on our lives.
For hundreds of years Jews have celebrated Passover with festive and ceremonial seders ending with the words “Next Year in Jerusalem.” Let us pray for peace in our homeland. May we one day all share moments such as today in the land of our ancestral women connecting not only to their stories but also to the land in which they stood unified and blessed by Shechinah.
Group:
May this seder ignite a spark of continued searching, learning, and connecting. May we be inspired to participate in the healing and wholeness of others. May we access a desire to play, to sing, and to dance, to find joy and celebration, like Miriam, even when life presents challenges and difficulty. May we feel the imminent presence of Shechinah within us at all times. May we find strength from the past, the blessings in our lives in the present, and continue to not only find hope for the future, but be part of shaping it.
After the dark and wet winter we welcome spring with its promise of sweetness, lightness, joy, growth and creativity.
May we see the beauty of G-d’s creations before us at all times and treasure the liberty and freedom to enjoy them.
T’fillat Haderech (Debbie Friedman)
May we be blessed as we go on our way, May we be guided in peace,
May we be blessed with health and joy, May this be our blessing, Amen
A—men, A—men, May this be our blessing A—men – 2x
May we be sheltered by the wings of peace, May we be kept in safety and love,
May grace and compassion find their way to every soul, May this be our blessing, Amen
A—men, A—men, May this be our blessing A—men – 2x
Eva Robbins is a rabbi, cantor, artist and the author of “Spiritual Surgery: A Journey of Healing Mind, Body and Spirit.”
