Let's all enjoy some vegetarian, chametz-free food!

Chametz is leavened (risen) foods that are forbidden on pesach. This includes anything made with the grains wheat, barley, rye, oats or spelt that has come into contact with water and been allowed to ferment and “rise.”

This year the food is chametz-free, though not all of it has a kosher for pesach symbols. We decided to do this in order to focus more on the broad ideas of pesach food. Next year, we would love to do vegan chametz-free food!

Some Jews east kitniyot on passover - these include beans, but also some grains and seeds. Examples include rice, corn, sunflower seeds, sesame seeds, soybeans, peas, and lentils. Tonight we have prepared the food without kitniyot, though guests who do eat kitniyot are welcome to bring dishes containing them to share with others who also eat them.

 

We're now beginning to tell the story of Exodus. We'll be going in the reverse order to usual, starting with a cup of wine, then Dayenu, then the 10 plagues, then the story (we'll do a Play), then the four children, then the four questions!

Drink "2nd" (3rd in Reverse Seder) cup of wine.

 

Dayenu - IT WOULD HAVE BEEN ENOUGH

One of most beloved songs in the Passover Seder is "Dayeinu". Dayeinu commemorates a long list of miraculous things God did, any one of which would have been pretty amazing just by itself. For example, “Had God only taken us out of Egypt but not punished the Egyptians – it would have been enough.” Dayeinu, translated liberally, means, “Thank you, God, for overdoing it.”

Dayeinu is a reminder to never forget all the miracles in our lives. When we stand and wait impatiently for the next one to appear, we are missing the point of life. Instead, we can actively seek a new reason to be grateful, a reason to say “Dayeinu.”

We'll take part in the fun sephardi tradition of whipping each other with spring onions while we sing a few verses of Dayenu!

Song:

Ilu ho-tsi, Ho-tsi-a-nu, Ho-tsi-a-nu mi-Mitz-ra-yim, Ho-tsi-a-nu mi-Mitz-ra-yim, Da-ye-nu!
If he had brought us all out of Egypt, it would have been enough!

CHORUS: .. Dai, da-ye-nu, .. Dai, da-ye-nu, .. Dai, da-ye-nu, .. Da-ye-nu, da-ye-nu, da-ye-nu!

Ilu na-tan, na-tan la-nu, Na-tan la-nu et-ha-Sha-bat, Na-tan la-nu et-ha-Sha-bat, Da-ye-nu!
If he had given us Shabbat it would have been enough!

CHORUS: .. Dai, da-ye-nu, .. Dai, da-ye-nu, .. Dai, da-ye-nu, .. Da-ye-nu, da-ye-nu, da-ye-nu!

Ilu na-tan, na-tan la-nu, Na-tan la-nu et-ha-To-rah, Na-tan la-nu et-ha-To-rah, Da-ye-nu!
If he had given us the Torah it would have been enough!

CHORUS: .. Dai, da-ye-nu, .. Dai, da-ye-nu, .. Dai, da-ye-nu, .. Da-ye-nu, da-ye-nu, da-ye-nu!
.. .. Dai, da-ye-nu, .. Dai, da-ye-nu, .. Dai, da-ye-nu, .. Da-ye-nu, da-ye-nu!

Adapted from JewBelong Haggadah

Elliot will now introduce Shitacha!

After that, we'll sing the Ma Nishtana in reverse order:

מַה נִּשְּׁתַּנָה הַלַּיְלָה הַזֶּה מִכָּל הַלֵּילוֹת

Ma nishtana halaila hazeh mikol haleilot?
Why is this night different from all other nights?

שֶׁבְּכָל הַלֵּילוֹת אָנוּ אוֹכְלִין בֵּין יוֹשְׁבִין וּבֵין מְסֻבִּין, - הַלַּיְלָה הַזֶּה כֻּלָנו מְסֻ

4) Shebichol haleilot anu ochlin bein yoshvin uvein m’subin. Halaila hazeh kulanu m’subin.
Why is it that on all other nights we eat either sitting or reclining, but on this night we eat in a reclining position?

שֶׁבְּכָל הַלֵּילוֹת אֵין אֶנוּ מַטְבִּילִין אֲפִילוּ פַּעַם אֶחָת, - הַלַּיְלָה הַזֶּה שְׁתֵּי פְעָמִים

3) Shebichol haleilot ain anu matbilin afilu pa-am echat. Halaila hazeh shtei fi-amim.
Why is it that on all other nights we do not dip our herbs even once, but on this night we dip them twice?

שֶׁבְּכָל הַלֵּילוֹת אָנוּ אוֹכְלִין שְׁאָר יְרָקוֹת, - הַלַּיְלָה הַזֶּה מָרוֹר

2) Shebichol haleilot anu ochlin shi’ar yirakot haleila hazeh maror.
Why is it that on all other nights we eat all kinds of herbs, but on this night we eat only bitter herbs?

שֶׁבְּכָל הַלֵּילוֹת אָנוּ אוֹכְלִין חָמֵץ וּמַצָּה, הַלַּיְלָה הַזֶּה - כּוּלוֹ מַצָּה

1) Shebichol haleilot anu ochlin chameitz u-matzah. Halaila hazeh kulo matzah.
Why is it that on all other nights during the year we eat either bread or matzo, but on this night we eat only matzo?

 

5. Tzafun (Eating of the Afikoman)

7. Koreich (Sandwich)

This section on Koreich was contributed by Faustine Sigal, who is the International Director of Jewish Education for Moishe House. She works in France, where there are two Moishe Houses, both in Paris!

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In this Reverse Seder, we can do a reverse Koreich Sandwich - place the matzah in the middle, and enclose it with charoset and maror on the outside! That's a messy Koreich, but don't worry, there's two hand washings coming up soon!

As we eat the Koreich, we read a text giving credits for the recipe of this sandwich to Hillel. Why Hillel?

Hillel is a major figure in the rabbinic walk of fame. Descended from King David, he is often referred to for his qualities of wisdom, humility and compassion. In the tractate Avot (like a guide on ethics), he is quoted saying “be of the disciples of Aaron, loving peace and pursuing peace, loving people and bringing them closer to the Torah”. The Jewish concept “rodef shalom ”, peace pursuer (more than builder) is rooted in his teaching. It is also said of his students that “they were agreeable and humble, and when they taught the law they would teach both their own opinions and the opinions of (their opponents). They even prioritized the statements of (their opponents).”

Hillel is the model we refer to when seeking the ability to reconcile different truths towards peace. His name is associated with the commitment to honour complexity in life, to acknowledge that “these and those are the words of the living God”. Any experience, idea, longing – be it as positive as Redemption – is made of the combination of differences. The seder in general brings together differing, if not opposing things:

• Joy of redemption and sadness of affliction;

• Memories and compassion with hunger and a festive meal;

• Jewish particular memories and values and a universalistic commitment;

• Repeating old texts every year and making them fresh every year, etc.

Korech, this part of the seder, is the sandwich version of this view on life. We walk into Hillel’s step and combine different concepts towards one horizon. We bring different elements together into one redemptive bite.

We now come to eat the bitter herbs. While we eat it, we remember the bitterness of the lives of our ancestors and think about the bitterness in the lives of others around the world.

The following is adapted from the CCJ's Freedom Seder Haggadah:

The traditional Haggadah doesn't specify what the bitter herbs should be, traditions include horseradish or lettuce. The bitter taste is meant as a reminder of the hardship experienced by the Israelites in slavery. This empathy can be extended to considering the suffering of those who are still enslaved or in bonded labour. Slavery and trafficking for the purpose of labour can take many forms and covers a wide range of industries from textiles to shing and manual labour in factories or on farms. Debt bondage is a specific form of slavery in which a person is employed to pay off a debt, but ‘the value of these services as reasonably assessed is not applied towards the liquidation of the debt or the length and nature of those services are not respectively limited and defined’ . While we recall the Biblical Exodus story and the slavery and bitter hardships it describes, we should be aware that these conditions and experiences still exist in our world.

We will revisit human trafficking in our section on the 10 plagues.

בּרוּךְ ַאָתה יי ֱאלֹ ֵהינוּ ֶמֶלךְ ָהעוָֹלם, ֲא ֶשר ִקְד ָשנוּ ְבּ ִמ ְצווָֹתיו, ְו ִצָוּנוּ ַעל ֲאִכיַלת ָמרוֹר.

Baruch atah, Adonai Eloheinu, Melech haolam, asher kid’shanu b’mitzvotav v’tzivanu al achilat maror.

[Blessed are You, Eternal our God, Sovereign of the universe, who has sanctified us with Your commandments and ordained that we should eat bitter herbs.]