New ritual ideas for 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). 5784/2024:
1. Set an empty place for a captive whose story speaks to you. Find out as much as you can about one captive and symbolically invite her/him to your table.
2. “Let all who are hungry come and eat.” These words ring even more true this year. On the eveEve, according to the book of Genesis, is Adam's wife, the first woman to be created. of our people’s storytelling, the stories of those who are displaced from their homes, those who have lost their jobs and their businesses, and all those who suffer from hunger in Gaza, are spiritually invited to come and eat. The holiness of the family table is spiritual to the degree in which we receive the face of the “Other” to sit with us and to eat.
We can volunteer or donate to Leket or to Kimcha D’Pascha of the Reform Movement.
3. Invite participants to write their own personal plagues ahead of time, such as:
- Blood–of the young women and men who were brutally murdered at the Nova Festival
- Blood–of the Spotters who were gunned down while on watch
- Blood-–of the women who were physically abused
- Blood–of the captives, and the wounded, the raped
- Lice, locusts, boils–the non-hygienic conditions in which the captives suffer
- Pestilence–the killing of the farm animals and domestic pets in the Kibbutzim surrounding Gaza
- Darkness-–Where has Hope gone? Where is the Holy work of peace between peoples? Where is the government who takes care of her citizens ?
- Plague of the killing of the firstborn–Where are the children who were of the massacre? Where did they disappear to? Where are the young soldiers, where are the babies?
4. The Daughters–A Contemporary Interpretation
The Wise daughter who was at the Spotters’ post and reported unusual activity and was ignored. She stayed at her post, despite everything.
The Brave daughters include the soldiers who put on helmets and uniforms to be medics at the ambulances in Gaza. The soldiers who entered together with their brother soldiers in order to guard the borders in the South and in the North. The brides who got married in army uniforms and a veil during the war. This is an act of faith.
The daughter who could not scream,when they raped her at the festival and in the tunnels in Gaza.
The Innocent daughter.This is all of us. We thought that we lived in a safe country. Our lives have been changed drastically. Discuss.
5. Opening the door for ElijahElijah is a biblical prophet who is said never to have died. There are therefore many legends associated with Elijah. In the Talmud, unresolved arguments will be resolved when Elijah comes. He will herald the coming of the messiah. In Jewish ritual, Elijah is a liminal figure, arriving at moments of danger and transition – at a brit milah, a chair is put out for him, a cup is poured for Elijah at the Passover seder, and he is invoked at havdalah. His Hebrew name is Eliyahu. and for MiriamMiriam is the sister of Moses and Aaron. As Moses' and Aaron's sister she, according to midrash, prophesies Moses' role and helps secure it by watching over the young baby, seeing to it that Pharaoh's daughter takes him and that the baby is returned to his mother for nursing. During the Israelites' trek through the desert, a magical well given on her behalf travels with the Israelites, providing water, healing, and sustenance. the Prophet and for the Daughter of Pharoah: Let us open the door to the gates of our hearts to all those displaced from their homes and communities from the Kibbutz around Gaza. We open the door to the displaced with their heavy loss of family members, neighbors and friends who were killed or taken into captivity. To the displaced from the cities and Kibbutzim of the North who have become refugees in their own country . The children who do not have school. To those who were uprooted from their workplaces, business and from making a living.
To the reservists who have left their children and families for months on end. Many do not have access to showers, to warmth, to decent food or to their families. We open the doors to our homes as it is written in the HaggadahLit. "Telling.” The haggadah is the book used at the seder table on Passover to tell the story of the Exodus, the central commandment of the holiday. It is rich in song, prayer, and legend. There are many different version of the Haggadah produced throughout Jewish history., to suffering of others.
May the God of Elijah the Prophet, The God Miriam the Prophet, the God of the daughter of Pharoah, come to fill our home with the spirit of holiness, come to sip of the fifth cup, the cup of “And who brought us to the Land of IsraelLit. ''the one who struggles with God.'' Israel means many things. It is first used with reference to Jacob, whose name is changed to Israel (Genesis 32:29), the one who struggles with God. Jacob's children, the Jewish people, become B'nai Israel, the children of Israel. The name also refers to the land of Israel and the State of Israel., renewed with justice and mercy and in opening our hearts to the Other.
6. Guidance for a 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. with Young Children
When young children are present at the Seder, we may speak in general terms of “Opening the door to all who are in need of a home, to warmth and to love. “ If the children would be upset by mention of the Captives, we can say, “those of our people who are not with us.”
We may begin with asking “Mah Nishtana,” children will expect to take their place and to ask the traditional questions. The importance of cultivating curiosity and openness; to hear the voices of our children is of supreme importance.
We do not object to joy at the time of crisis, in fact, PurimLit. "Lots." A carnival holiday celebrated on the 14th of the Jewish month of Adar, commemorating the Jewish victory over the Persians as told in the Book of Esther. Purim is celebrated by reading the megilla (Book of Esther), exchanging gifts, giving money to the poor, and holding a festive meal. At the megilla reading, merrymakers are dressed in costumes, people drink, and noisemakers (graggers) are sounded whenever the villain Haman's name is mentioned. and Passover are built on these contrasts. If joy encourages children to identify more with the story of justice and helping others, “Mah tov!”
I suggest preparing cut out pictures of the main characters of the MosesThe quintessential Jewish leader who spoke face to face with God, unlike any other prophet, and who freed the people from Egypt, led them through the desert for forty years, and received the Torah on Mt. Sinai. His Hebrew name is Moshe./Miriam story attached to sticks for children in order to tell of the Exodus from Egypt. The characters are Moses, Miriam, AaronBrother of Moses, chosen as Moses' interlocutor. His Hebrew name is Aharon., Bat Pharoah, ShifraShifra is one of the two Hebrew midwives mentioned in Exodus 1 who refuses Pharaoh's orders to kill the boy children, instead enabling them to live. She, along with her partner Puah, is instrumental in beginning the process leading to the Exodus. Shifra is often identified as Jochebed, Moses' mother., PuahPuah, like Shifra, is one of the Hebrew midwives mentioned in Exodus 1 who defies Pharaoh's orders to kill the boy babies. This first act of defiance was instrumental in leading to the Israelite exodus from Egypt. Puah is often identified in the midrash with Miriam, Moses' older sister., Yocheved, Tzipporah, Gershom and Eliezar, God, the burning bush, Pharoah. To return the story of the Exodus to the Haggadah is exceptionally relevant this year. And not just to youth.
