had you-i been given but seconds
in this unreal reality,
and the ten-thousand things not made themselves
known to me-you, daiyenu,

had the ten-thousand things made themselves
known to me-you, and your-my blood not thudded
circuitously, stubbornly, daiyenu,

had your-my blood thudded
circuitously, stubbornly,
and these atoms not stayed gathered
into matter as me-you, daiyenu,

had these atoms stayed gathered into matter
as me-you, and you-i not been born
earthly entity, daiyenu,

had you-i been born earthly entity, and these lungs
not breathed me-you, daiyenu,

had these lungs breathed me-you,
and you-i not strengthened
from struggling, daiyenu,

had you-i strengthened from struggling, and the
time-space web not caught me-you, daiyenu,

had the time-space web caught me-you,
and you-i not made manifest
believed-in possibility, daiyenu,

had you-i made manifest
believed-in possibility, and never felt faith
inside me-you, daiyenu,

had you-i felt faith inside me-you,
and not lost ego-identity, daiyenu,

had you-i lost ego-identity, and not detached from a
conceptually separate me-you, daiyenu,

had you-i detached from a
conceptually separate me-you,
and never found inner tranquility, daiyenu,

had you-i found inner tranquility, and never let
angel-death tongue-kiss me-you, daiyenu,

had you-i let angel-death tongue-kiss me-you, and
not answered with reciprocity, daiyenu,

had you-i answered with reciprocity,
and not still vibrated energy for eternity,
had you-i been given but seconds in this unreal
reality, had it all been arbitrary,
had it all been but a word,

a breath,
a blink,
a touch,
a grace,
a pulse,
a truth,
daiyenu,
daiyenu,
Daiyenu.

Time for the fourth cup of wine, and a blessing.

We drink the fourth cup of wine in honor of the Infinite’s promise of redemption: that we will be the Infinite’s very own, and that the Infinite, will, in turn, be for us.

We bless this moment by saying:

Thank you Infinite, for enabling us to acknowledge the blessing of transformation, intensification and concentration into sweetness.

Let me be not deceived,
let me remember this
moment holds sweetness
enfolded in its deep grievousness.

Let me be a vessel for
the healing this planet
so deeply needs.

Use me
as a source of soothing
for everyone suffering
under every destructive
regime’s undoing.

Use me
as a sukkat shalom,
as shelter from
the tumbling detritus
of crumbling empires,

as comfort
for those terrified
of this
natural catastrophe.

Let me awaken
the sleepers

and weave lullabies
for the sleepless.

Let me tend with
utmost tenderness.

Help me find the calm inside
so that I may grant it
expansiveness.

From within this cocoon,
use me to reveal
the mercy of retreat.

Use me as a tool
to teach
of Mother Gaia’s
tremendous gentleness,

of her unfathomably vast patience
with this human race—

what unimaginable grace
she shows us.

What merciful tolerance
she bestows upon us:

to serve us
three-day-pay-or-quit papers,
rather than a
well-deserved
immediate eviction notice.

Remind me that I was born
for this moment.

Let this be the turning point,
we so desperately need,

let me be
empathy,

let me mourn
each soul’s last gasp
of breath,

let me be compassion,
let me
radiate graciousness,

please,
hear this simple petition,
please
use me to priestess
the emerging world
Into existence.

Tonight, we have joined in an unbroken chain with our ancestors and our ancestors’ ancestors (and our ancestors’ ancestors’ ancestors!) in commemorating this sacred day, remembering that we were once in bondage and now are liberated. We will be grateful. We will remember those who came before us and we will lovingly envision those who will come after. We will stand against the enslavement of any living beings and we will uplift all of our brothers and sisters and we will know that none of us are free while another suffers in bondage.

We will celebrate again, next year, in the promised land!

Traditionally, we Jews light candles to transition from the day-to-day into the sacred. We honor this tradition with the power of the flame, and take it to a new place by bringing in sacred plant ritual. We lambs and lions will light sage to connect us to the land we now live on, in our current exile. We let the sacred smoke do its work to clear away past traumas, preconceived ideas, and insecurities related to Jewish ritual experience. We can be brand new!

We bless this moment by saying:

Thank you Infinite, for the opportunity to have awe and enter into a new experience that is ancient.

We encourage you to ask four questions of your own... about anything... ask them of yourselves and of each other.

Can we be humble enough to admit when we do not know something, rather than pretending to have the answer? Can we be gracious enough to answer another’s question without shaming them for not knowing? Can we be brave enough to inquire within, and ask ourselves our own hard questions? Can we open our hearts to the love that wants to come in, if only we will release our clever defenses?

Traditionally, we Jews use wine to mark a time of celebration and enter into a space of joy. We lambs and lions drink traditional Ethiopian Honey Wine to honor two queens: The Queen of Sheba (and all our brothers and sisters from the sacred land of Ethiopia,) and The Queen Bee, to celebrate the sweet, abundant and rich gifts she brings. She is a matriarchal creature who communicates through dance to her deeply intertwined community.

We bless this moment by saying:

Thank you Infinite, for enabling us to acknowledge the blessing of transformation, intensification and concentration into sweetness. (Rachel Kann)

Shechiyanu (You, the Infinite gave us life!)

We bless this moment by saying:

Thank you Infinite, for giving us life, allowing us to grow, and for bringing us to this special moment. We won’t take it for granted.

Reclining: Do what you want, get as comfortable as you want to be. Lean to the left, lay on the ground, whatever. We recline because we are free. In ancient times, only those who were free had the luxury of reclining while eating.

Restore I/Me/Us/We to our natural state.
Remind I/Me/Us/We that all we actually do is vibrate:

Mystic atomic shifts,
shiny shattered shards,
peeling off klippot,
sparks of willingness,
beautiful bits of potential.
Allow us to transcend these fleshly packages,
these sweet and frail beautiful body-beings
which are no more and no less than slowed light.
Right the wrongs inside us with your gentle correction.

Let us be pliant and guided,
spirits undivided,
aligned with rightness, joy and harmony.
Permit our distinct uniqueness
to slip into perfect union with one another:
seven billion snowflakes clicking into sacred mosaic,
un-melted, un-melded, undeniable in all their diversified glory,
each piece definite and desperately necessary,
falling like a lockful of tumblers touched by your key of divinity.

Penetrate us.
Press against us where we need it,
hit the sweet spot with your sanctified kiss,
your infinite soothing loveliness,
your whisper-wing of prettiness.
Lure us to you,
reel us in,

begin the holy reparation that will only unfold

if—and only if—
we awaken.
We stand before you,
naked in your garden,
wandering through Pardes,
behold our cracked-open hearts.

Let the linear continuum of time-space
finally reach its event horizon at long last,
let the past kiss the future
in the hallowed present moment,
let us finally reach the finishing line
of this human race,
let us step into grace and amazement
as we curve in on ourselves,
spiraling.

Enfold us in your holy circle of tzimtzum,
hold us in your loving womb,
let Miriam clap her tambourine,
let us join hands,
let us dance,
evolving,
revolving into spherical reality.
Bring The Revolution.
Let us stand face to face,
Panim el Panim
as we waltz into your Sea of Reeds
split open to receive our faithful leap,
as we heliotrope into your big-bright radiance,
as we sing unto thee in present tense.
Let us all rise.
Let us be worthy.
Let it be time.
Let the sparks fly.
Let us in.
Let us begin.

Let us make ourselves into vessels unbreakable
so that we may receive your everything.
Let there be light.