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The word of the week is עוני (oni) it means poverty. The Passover Seder is kind of all about it.
But we forgot, and made it all about songs, and afikomans, and frogs, and freedom, and slavery.
Those are important too -- but why Matzah for freedom? We were in a rush. Or maybe there's more to it...
So what's Passover really about?
- It's about identity - How do you see yourself? Are you impoverished?
Probably not, you're reading this on a smartphone or a computer - either way, you're doing OK.
- But we're supposed to "see ourselves as if we had been" enslaved. We were so poor that ALL we had to eat was matzah.
Ashkenazi Romanian upbringing) but ONLY matzah. No turkey for the matzah sandwich, no
Nutella. Just matzah. All the time.
Nutella. Just matzah. All the time.
- It's about saying things, things we mean.
"All who are hungry, come and eat."
This is the saddest statement in the Haggadah.
It's sad because we say this not to hungry people (i.e. those for whom food
insecurity is normal) but to those people we invited, sitting at the table. If they're
hungry, it's only because it's getting to be around 7pm, and the Seder is lengthy.
We were supposed to put it into action. To physically get up and say:
So here are my 3 Pesach mistakes to avoid:
1. Singing songs without thinking about their meaning.
If you are singing a song about thanks (that's much of the songs) figure out
and say aloud in English what it is you're thankful for.
To quote Rabbi Heschel z'l:
This is the saddest statement in the Haggadah.
It's sad because we say this not to hungry people (i.e. those for whom food
insecurity is normal) but to those people we invited, sitting at the table. If they're
hungry, it's only because it's getting to be around 7pm, and the Seder is lengthy.
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| DOES ANYONE NEED TO EAT??? COME!!! |
- הא לחמא עניא דאכלו אבהתנא בארעא דמצרים, כל דכפין ייתי וייכול," כל דצריך ייתי יפסח.
“This is the bread of poverty – that our forefathers ate in the Land of Egypt. All that are hungry, come and eat; those who need – come and dine.”
So here are my 3 Pesach mistakes to avoid:
1. Singing songs without thinking about their meaning.
If you are singing a song about thanks (that's much of the songs) figure out
and say aloud in English what it is you're thankful for.
To quote Rabbi Heschel z'l:
"What's needed is a worship of the heart,
not a service of the lips."
2. Reading the Haggadah as if it were in indecipherable Sanskrit.
Today's Haggadah will tell you what all that funky Aramaic and Hebrew
means. Take a gander even 5 minutes beforehand - it's supposed to be
meaningful, but that only happens if you're involved in
meaning-making. If you only have an old-school Haggadah - it's time to invest.
I am a teacher, so I understand - you need to talk about the ten plagues.
Let's start talking about modern day plagues too -- The kind that are
still plaguing us, and that we should work towards ending:
Hunger, Despotism, Lack of clean water, Bullying, Racism, Sexism,
Intolerance, Greed, Death from curable diseases
- to name 9 - add one of your own.
It's not easy to affect change. I know. I grew up attending the Seder
that my grandparents organized, and it was like a high-speed bulldozer -
if you got in the way of monotonous reading - prepare for destruction.
15 years later one of my greatest regrets is not engaging my grandfather in
15 years later one of my greatest regrets is not engaging my grandfather in
meaningful conversation about his Judaism, his Jewishness and personal connection.
Don't accept a Judaism that doesn't speak to you. Speak to it. Make it your own.
Don't accept a Judaism that doesn't speak to you. Speak to it. Make it your own.
OK, sure, sounds nice. But: How?
Here's 3 ideas. Try one, or come up with your own.
1. Do weird and new stuff. The whole point of the random Seder
elements was so that you could get down to business: saying, "What the
heck is going on here?!" (That's a loose translation of mah nishtana
by the way).
Here's 3 ideas. Try one, or come up with your own.
1. Do weird and new stuff. The whole point of the random Seder
elements was so that you could get down to business: saying, "What the
heck is going on here?!" (That's a loose translation of mah nishtana
by the way).
- Pass a matzah over people's heads around the table (Moroccan
tradition). When someone invariably asks: "What the heck is going on
here?!" Answer: Matzah is supposed to be on our minds: once upon a
time we were so poor all we could afford to eat was matzah with a side
of matzah.
- Put an orange on the Seder plate (Feminist custom) commemorating
the valiant efforts of the women in the Exodus story that are
thoroughly locked out of the Haggadah. The midwives refused Pharaoh's
orders to kill the baby boys (the first recorded act of civil
disobedience), and it was Moses' mother and adopted mother that saved
and raised him.
2. Tell stories.
Tell the story of your family. The holiday is all about ancestry,
tradition). When someone invariably asks: "What the heck is going on
here?!" Answer: Matzah is supposed to be on our minds: once upon a
time we were so poor all we could afford to eat was matzah with a side
of matzah.
- Put an orange on the Seder plate (Feminist custom) commemorating
the valiant efforts of the women in the Exodus story that are
thoroughly locked out of the Haggadah. The midwives refused Pharaoh's
orders to kill the baby boys (the first recorded act of civil
disobedience), and it was Moses' mother and adopted mother that saved
and raised him.
2. Tell stories.
Tell the story of your family. The holiday is all about ancestry,
leaving one land for another, and reasons why - add your own family's
piece to the puzzle.
Tell the story of your food. The blessing on the bread (in
this case matzah) is: Thank you God, ruler of the universe, that
brings matzah out of the ground. Except, matzah doesn't come out of
the ground. Someone has to seed, maintain, and harvest grain. Then
someone else has to process it into flour, take it on a truck to a
factory where people make the matzah - appreciating the process can
make even sawdust-like matzah a valued commodity. Engendering
appreciation is the whole point of blessings - don't miss the boat.
3. Add to the Haggadah -- it's really old.
Either buy a set of Haggadot (that's the plural) that has new, imaginative,
piece to the puzzle.
Tell the story of your food. The blessing on the bread (in
this case matzah) is: Thank you God, ruler of the universe, that
brings matzah out of the ground. Except, matzah doesn't come out of
the ground. Someone has to seed, maintain, and harvest grain. Then
someone else has to process it into flour, take it on a truck to a
factory where people make the matzah - appreciating the process can
make even sawdust-like matzah a valued commodity. Engendering
appreciation is the whole point of blessings - don't miss the boat.
3. Add to the Haggadah -- it's really old.
Either buy a set of Haggadot (that's the plural) that has new, imaginative,
interesting readings and art in it, or add your own pages - see the bottom
of this post for one such page. I have a hard time watching 80's television,
why on Earth we would think that it will be exciting to read 380's texts
without any eye for our world is beyond me.
without any eye for our world is beyond me.
If you'd like some resources to help in the process of modernizing the Seder here are a few:
1. An outline of the Seder* with notes on pages, and family friendly
activities. The Haggadah this is designed around is: "A Different
Night" by Mishael Zion - A GREAT Haggadah.
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| * My sincerest thanks to Professors Hauptman and Tauber at JTS for their input and notes. Matbeah was developed as a resource for the Ohel Ayala Brooklyn Seder 2013 |
2. If the topic of hunger is one you'd like to build on here is a source sheet with some Torah (ancient) and
a few voices (classical and modern) discussing the commandment to "open one's hand" to the ani - the poor person". This can 5 minute discussion material, or a whole lesson for you Day-School / Religious School / Hebrew School teachers out there.
It's related to a topic that I think is very rich --
In what ways did being a slave in Egypt form our national identity? Our idea of moral / ethical concerns? Of kedusha (holiness)?
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| Right click, Save, then Print. |
3. Multimedia extravaganza. If you feel comfortable showing a video -
http://www.g-dcast.com has a cute 5 minute cartoon on the four sons. Here it is:
4. I have developed two curricula on Pesach - If you are a teacher of Hebrew School / Day-School / Religious School or Adult-Ed - please check out these two links. Each is 5 activities / lessons, and It's free!
Looking for Heroes in the Exodus Narrative AND Pesach - A Living Tradition
Most importantly, have a happy and a healthy holiday.
Mick Fine
UJA-Federation Rabbinic Fellow
The Jewish Theological Seminary of America
Like the post? Share. Comment. Post it on Facebook. Tweet. Send to a
friend. Thanks for reading, sharing, and for adding feedback. Tweet
http://www.g-dcast.com has a cute 5 minute cartoon on the four sons. Here it is:
4. I have developed two curricula on Pesach - If you are a teacher of Hebrew School / Day-School / Religious School or Adult-Ed - please check out these two links. Each is 5 activities / lessons, and It's free!
Looking for Heroes in the Exodus Narrative AND Pesach - A Living Tradition
Most importantly, have a happy and a healthy holiday.
Mick Fine
UJA-Federation Rabbinic Fellow
The Jewish Theological Seminary of America
Like the post? Share. Comment. Post it on Facebook. Tweet. Send to a
friend. Thanks for reading, sharing, and for adding feedback. Tweet
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