Leader:
No prayer is recited before we break the middle matzahThe unleavened bread eaten on Passover that recalls the Israelite's hasty escape from Egypt when there was no time for the dough to rise. Matzah is also considered the "bread of our affliction," eaten while we were slaves. on our SederLit. Order. The festive meal conducted on Passover night, in a specific order with specific rituals to symbolize aspects of the Exodus from Egypt. It is conducted following the haggadah, a book for this purpose. Additionally, there an ancient tradition to have a seder on Rosh Hashanah, which has been practiced in particular by Sephardi communities. This seder involves the blessing and eating of simanim, or symbolic foods. The mystics of Sefat also created a seder for Tu B'shvat, the new year of the trees. plate. This is a silent, reflective act.
Reader:
For we recognize that, like the broken matzah, we are incomplete, with prayers yet to be fulfilled, promises still to be redeemed.
We hide part of this broken matzah and hope it will be found by the end our Seder meal.
For we recognize that parts of ourselves are yet unknown. We are still discovering what makes us whole.
We hide the larger of the two parts of the matzah.
For we recognize that more is hidden than revealed.
Group:
With the generations that have come before us, and with one another, our search begins.
From Miriam’s Tapestry: PassoverPassover is a major Jewish holiday that commemorates the Jewish people's liberation from slavery and Exodus from Egypt. Its Hebrew name is Pesakh. Its name derives from the tenth plague, in which God "passed over" the homes of the Jewish firstborn, slaying only the Egyptian firstborn. Passover is celebrated for a week, and many diaspora Jews celebrate for eight days. The holiday begins at home at a seder meal and ritual the first (and sometimes second) night. Jews tell the story of the Exodus using a text called the haggadah, and eat specific food (matzah, maror, haroset, etc). Seder Haggdah, compiled by Shari Lash and Nonni Keynes. A Project of Tapestry, Calgary, Alberta, 1995.