Haggadah
Haggadah
Haggadah
PASSOVER HAGGADAH
FOR FAMILIES
At the center of the Seder service its very purpose is the story of the Exodus.
"Haggadah" means a "story-telling." At the Seder table, we will tell the story in all its
excitement. We will tell of the ancient story of Israel's redemption from the bondage in
Egypt. We will recall the dramatic and miraculous events that led to the exodus from the
ancient land of slavery.
The bible declared: "And you shall tell your son on that day, saying: It is because of what the
Lord did for me when I came forth out of Egypt." By this, the Bible means that young and
old should gather on the eve of Passover in order that we might relate to the children and to
all, this thrilling chapter in the history of our people.
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Lighting the Festival Candles
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Kiddush
Four times, during this Seder, we shall drink wine, a
symbol of joy and thanksgiving. The four cups represent
the four-fold promise which the Lord made to the
Israelites in Egypt. In the following words, He assured
them that they would be freed from slavery: "I will bring
you forth;" I will deliver you;" "I will redeem you; I will
take you."
Our festivals are ushered in with the Kiddush, a ceremony of sanctification, with this, the
first of the four Passover cups of wine.
In partaking of this fruit of the earth, we give thanks to God for all His bounties. We also
recall that our forefathers were tillers of the soil, who were ever grateful for the earth's
produce. In tasting of the salt water, we are asked to remember the tears that our ancestors
shed while suffering the tortures of slavery.
Baruch Atah Adonai Eloheinu Melech ha-olam, borei p'ri ha-adamah.
Amen
Blessed are Thou, O Lord, our God, King of the Universe, Who creates the
fruit of the earth. Amen
(The vegetable is dipped in salt water and eaten by all.)
I now perform the ceremony of "Yachatz". I shall break the middle matzo
in two, removing one half and setting it aside. This will become the
"Afikoman," the dessert, to be eaten at the conclusion of our meal.
(Break middle matzo, wrap half in a napkin, and place it on the side. Raise up the three
matzos.)
Lo! This is the bread of affliction, the humble and simple bread which our ancestors ate in
the land of Egypt. Let anyone who is hungry join us at this Seder, and let him partake of
what we have to share.
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May the Jewish people, wherever they are, those of them still deprived of freedom, enjoy
liberty at this time, next year.
May all people speedily attain freedom from fear and want and be privileged to build a
symbol of peace for all nations.
Sheb’chol ha-lay-lot ahnu och-leen sh’ar y’ar y’ra-kot, ha-lai-lah ha-zeh ku-lo Maror.
Sheb’chol ha-lay-lot ayn ahnu mat-bee-leen a-fee-loo pa-am e-e-chos, ha-lai-lah ha-zeh
sh’tay f’ah-meem.
Sheb’chol ha-lay-lot ahnu och-leen bayan yosh-veen u-vayn m’su-been, ha-lai-lah ha-
zeh ku-la-noo m’su-been.
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Why is this night different from all the other nights of the year?
On all other nights we eat either Chomitz or matzos, but on this night we eat only matzo.
On all other nights we eat all kinds of herbs, but tonight we eat only Maror.
On all other nights we do not even dip once, but on this night, we dip twice.
On all other nights we eat either sitting or reclining, but on this night, we eat reclining.
Soon we shall answer the four questions which you have asked.
But first, the Passover story.
Through the generations the story of Passover is told and retold, and throughout the
Haggadah the number four remains a reminder of an old magical belief buried in the origins
of the festival: four cups, four questions, and now the symbolic four sons.
Our sages mention four types of people according to the way they ask questions. One type is
very curious and asks many questions. Another is curious but shy. A third is scornful. A
fourth is indifferent. But each question must get an appropriate answer. The story of the
Exodus therefore is told in various ways, so that each type of person will grasp the meaning
and the ideal of the holiday of liberation. When questioning stops, the retelling loses its
purpose. It becomes rote and will soon be drained of meaning.
But there arose a new King over Egypt who feared the Jews. And he said to his people,
"Look at how rich and how strong are these children of Israel! If war comes, they may join
themselves to our enemies and fight against us!"
But one Jewish mother, trying to save her son, placed him in the river in a
little boat of reeds, trusting to the current rather than to man's cruelty...and
so the great story of Moses begins. It goes on to tell of how Pharaoh's
daughter found and loved the child, Moses, and took him for her own
child. It tells how, without knowing it, she hired Moses' own mother to be
his nurse.
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Moses grew up as the son of the Princess, but he never forgot his heritage. Once, he saved a
Jew who was being beaten by an Egyptian overseer; after he fled to avoid capture, he had a
vision of a Bush that burned, but was not consumed. When he asked, then, what power could
make fire flame without destroying, the voice of Existence answered: "I AM THAT I AM."
From that, he understood that he had a mission in his life: to bring the Jewish people back to
their true existence; to be the leader who would free them from their bondage and their pain.
The ancient story tells of how Moses went over and over again to the Pharaoh, asking that
the Egyptians let the Jews go, but Pharaoh would not let them go. His heart hardened more
each time that Moses asked.
But Moses feared not; his compassion and pride made him persistent. And then, the legend
says, came the Plagues, one by one, descending upon Egypt. The Jewish people rejoiced at
these signs of retribution, but there was also grieving.
Thus, for each Plague, we reduce the wine in our cups by one drop to give expression to our
sorrow for the pain and loss that each plague caused to the people of Egypt.
Together, pouring a drop of wine for the ten Plagues brought upon Egypt:
Dam, Blood
Tzfardeyah, Frogs
Kinim, Lice
A-rov, Swarms
De-ver, Blight
Sh'chin, Boils
Barad, Hail
Arbeh, Locusts
Choshech, Darkness
Makat B'chorot, Death of the First-Born.
Many Egyptians perished, and their suffering was great. Each time a Plague appeared
Pharaoh agreed to let the Jews go. But each time the Plague vanished, Pharaoh refused to let
them go. Finally, feeling great sorrow over the death of his first born, Pharaoh ordered
Moses to take his People out of the land. And Moses did, and the people arose from the
midst of their oppressors, and fled from their bondage.
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Dayenu, it would have been enough (see the transliteration on page 11)
How many are the gifts God has bestowed upon us!
Had God:
Brought us out of Egypt and not divided the sea for us – Dayenu
Divided the sea and not permitted us to cross on dry land – Dayenu
Permitted us to cross on dry land and not sustained us for forty years in the desert – Dayenu
Sustained us for forty years in the desert and not fed us with manna – Dayenu
Fed us with manna and not given us the Sabbath – Dayenu
Given us the Sabbath and not brought us to Mount Sinai – Dayenu
Brought us to Mount Sinai and not given us the Torah – Dayenu
Given us the Torah and not led us into the land of Israel – Dayenu
Led us into the land of Israel and not built for us the Temple – Dayenu
Built for us the Temple and not sent us prophets of truth – Dayenu
Sent us prophets of truth and not made us a holy people – Dayenu
For all of these, alone and together, we say – Dayenu
What does this mean, “Dayenu it would have been enough”? Dayenu means to celebrate
each step toward freedom as if it were enough, then to start out on the next step. Dayenu
means that if we reject each step because it is not the whole liberation, we will never be able
to achieve the whole liberation. Dayenu means to sing each verse as if it were the whole
song - and then sing the next verse!
Now that we have the story, we shall answer the four questions concerning Pesach
which you have asked.
The first question concerns the use of matzo. We eat these unleavened
cakes to remember that our ancestors, in their haste to leave Egypt, could not
wait for breads to rise, and so removed them from the ovens while still flat.
We partake of the Maror on this night that we might taste of some bitterness,
to remind ourselves how bitter is the loss of one caught up in the grip of
slavery.
We dip twice in the course of this Seder, greens in salt water and Maror in
Charoset, once to replace tears with gratefulness, and once to sweeten
bitterness and suffering.
The fourth question asks why, on this night, we eat in a reclining position. To
recline at mealtimes in ancient times, was the sign of a free man. On this night of Passover,
we demonstrate our sense of complete freedom by reclining during our repast.
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Motzi - Blessing over the matzo
We are now coming to the Seder meal. As we ordinarily begin with the
breaking of bread, we begin tonight with the breaking of matzo. We
recite two blessings; first is the regular blessing for bread, then a special
one for matzo.
(The upper and middle piece of the three matzos are broken and distributed.)
Baruch Atah Adonai Eloheinu Melech ha-olam, ha-motzi lechem min ha-
aretz. Amen
Praised art Thou, O Lord our God, King of the universe, who brings forth bread
from the earth. Amen
Baruch Atah Adonai Eloheinu Melech ha-olam, asher kidshanu b'mitzvo-
tav v'tzivanu al a-chilat matzah. Amen
Praised art Thou, O Lord our God, King of the universe, who has sanctified us
through Thy commandments, and ordained that we should eat unleavened bread.
Amen
At the Seder we eat matzo to remind us of the days of slavery and the freedom we enjoy
today. When the Jews ran away from Egypt they didn't have time to wait for their bread to
rise. So, their bread was flat and it was called matzo. (Eat matzo.)
Maror – Maror means bitter herb. The bitter herbs remind us of the bitterness of slavery. It
was bitter in Egypt in those days; it is no less bitter for Jews in many parts of the world today
where there is not freedom.
We shall now partake of the Maror reminding us of how bitter slavery is.
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We shall now partake of the Maror combined with the charoset thereby reminding us of how
bitter slavery is and how it can be sweetened by God’s kindness.
(Place some charoset and Maror between two pieces of matzo and eat the sandwich.)
Afikomen means dessert. In ancient times, the Paschal Lamb was the last food to be eaten.
In its place, we now partake of this piece of Afikomen, which completes our meal.
(Eat the matzo.)
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Nirtzah - Conclusion
The order of the Passover service is now complete. We have told the ancient story of Israel's
liberation. We have partaken of the traditional foods, symbols of the struggle for human
freedom.
As we have been privileged to observe the Seder, may all of us be privileged to celebrate it,
together, again next year. May it be God's will to preserve us in life and in good health. May
Zion be blessed and all mankind live in harmony and contentment.
Songs
It is traditional to conclude the Seder with fun songs. Here are two.
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Dayenu (transliteration)
Ilu hotzianu mimitzrayim v'lo asah bahem sh'fatim, dayeinu!
Ilu asah bahem sh'fatim v'lo asah beloheihem, dayeinu!
Ilu asah beloheihem, v'lo harag et b'choreihem, dayeinu!
Ilu harag et b'choreihem, v'lo natan lanu et mamonam, dayeinu!
Ilu natan lanu et mamonam, v'lo kara lanu et hayam, dayeinu!
Ilu kara lanu et hayam, v'lo he'eviranu b'tocho becharavah, dayeinu!
Ilu he'eviranu b'tocho becharavah, v'lo shika tzareinu b'tocho, dayeinu!
Ilu shika tzareinu b'tocho, v'lo sipeik tzorkeinu bamidbar arba'im shana, dayeinu!
Ilu sipeik tzorkeinu bamidbar arba'im shana, v'lo he'echilanu et haman, dayeinu!
Ilu he'echilanu et haman, v'lo natan lanu et hashabbat, dayeinu!
Ilu natan lanu et hashabbat, v'lo keirvanu lifnei har sinai, dayeinu!
Ilu keirvanu lifnei har sinai, v'lo natan lanu et hatorah, dayeinu!
Ilu natan lanu et hatorah, v'lo hichnisanu l'eretz yisra'eil, dayeinu!
Ilu hichnisanu l'eretz yisra'eil, v'lo vanah lanu et beit hamikdash, dayeinu!
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