• No results found

Shulchan OreichShulchan Oreich

In document Greatest Hits Haggadah. By Haggadot (Page 50-61)

Shulchan Oreich

A Fish Tale A Fish Tale Contributed by

Contributed by Jeremy Kenner Jeremy Kenner Source:

Source: Gerald Weiss (modified)

Gefilte Fish - A Mythical Midrash Gefilte Fish - A Mythical Midrash

According to Ashkenazi Jewish custom, we eat Gefilte fish on Passover. The question arose as to why Gefilte fish is so closely associated with Passover, and why it seems to appear on so many Seder tables.

Here is one answer:

When the Israelites found themselves trapped between the Sea of Reeds (sometimes mistakenly called the Red Sea) and the pursuing Egyptian chariots, they panicked. They cried to Moses, who cried to God who said:

wait, let me think ...

Aha!

As it happens, in a quirky moment during the evolutionary process, God created an odd kind of sea creature. It was awkward looking and lumpy, with

no fins, no scales, no eyes, no tail...and very, very pale. Yuch! So God stuck

this evolutionary oddity in an out of the way place where it could live out its life-cycle in peace, unobserved. God put this wild Gefilte fish species in only one body of water on Earth -- somewhat off the beaten path -- in the Sea of Reeds (again, often mistakenly called the Red Sea) -- where the species lived and multiplied in obscurity for ages.

So anyway, suddenly, God, who has a really long memory, remembered the wild Gefilte fish and the unique capability they developed, namely, the ability to suck in and hold 40 times (400 times, according to Rabbi Akiva) their weight in water.

And God spoke to the wild Gefilte, numbering in the tens of thousands, saying, "OK, fellas, at the count of three, SUCK IN!" All at once, tens of thousands of wild Gefilte fish made a whooshing, sucking sound, as they simultaneously sucked in so much water that the middle of the Sea of Reeds

-- E ls: eria Mat ls:

Post-It note to everyone at your Seder, and ask them to write that challenge in a word or two. Wait until everyone is ready,and ask them to stick their notes to their foreheads at the same time. Ask the group look around at what everyone has written.

Ask folks to raise their hands if they see at least one other note that they can relate to (hint: everyone will always raise their hands).

It’s a common experience. We all have those things that we wish we could change, that hold us back just a little bit. We want to be freed of them. All too often, we convince ourselves that we're alone in these struggles, but through making ourselves vulnerable with a bit of communal disclosure, we discover that nothing could be further from the truth.

It’s not always easy to do so, but at the Passover Seder, we can create a moment where we symbolically try to let those things go. And sometimes we can use that as an opportunity to start fresh.

Close the activity by placing a bowl in the center of the table, do any one of the following:

Ask each person to free themselves just for tonight by tearing up their Post-Its and placing them into the bowl.

As an alternative, you can have people tear up the notes of others instead.

A guest at a Seder of mine a couple years back pushed back against this framing and proposed a variation that I love: he said that we don't have to reject or ignore our struggles, but that instead we can embrace them as a part of our whole selves. He then lovingly moved his note over his heart and kept it there for the rest of the evening.

Leave the bowl at the table as a reminder of those little struggles in our lives and the intention to move past them.

Or you can pour wine on them or something like that. It's totally up to you.

Koreich

who invented the sandwhich who invented the sandwhich Contributed by

Contributed by Alanna Witz Alanna Witz Source:

Source: http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-V4j-TOhrf2s/Ti7-O2z5tAI/AAAAAAAAPq4/qjOkAE1fIC0/s1600/food+fight.png

-- E

treated. Sometimes we overhear others saying, "Them colored people were slaves" down in Tennessee. The children feel hurt when they hear such remarks; but I tell them it was no disgrace in Tennessee to belong to Colonel Anderson. Many darkeys would have been proud, as I used to be, to call you master.

Now if you will write and say what wages you will give me, I will be better able to decide whether it would be to my advantage to move back again.

As to my freedom, which you say I can have, there is nothing to be gained on that score, as I got my free papers in 1864 from the Provost-Marshal-General of the Department of Nashville. Mandy says she would be afraid to go back without some proof that you were disposed to treat us justly and kindly; and we have concluded to test your sincerity by asking you to send us our wages for the time we served you. This will make us forget and forgive old scores, and rely on your justice and friendship in the future. I served you faithfully for thirty-two years, and Mandy twenty years. At twenty-five dollars a month for me, and two dollars a week for Mandy, our earnings would amount to eleven thousand six hundred and eighty dollars. Add to this the interest for the time our wages have been kept back, and deduct what you paid for our clothing, and three doctor's visits to me, and pulling a tooth for Mandy, and the balance will show what we are in justice entitled to. Please send the money by Adams's Express, in care of V. Winters, Esq., Dayton, Ohio. If you fail to pay us for faithful labors in the past, we can have little faith in your promises in the future. We trust the good Maker has opened your eyes to the wrongs which you and your fathers have done to me and my fathers, in making us toil for you for generations without recompense. Here I draw my wages every Saturday night; but in Tennessee there was never any pay-day for the negroes any more than for the horses and cows. Surely there will be a day of reckoning for those who defraud the laborer of his hire.

In answering this letter, please state if there would be any safety for my Milly and Jane, who are now grown up, and both good-looking girls. You know how it was with poor Matilda and Catherine. I would rather stay here and starve—

and die, if it come to that—than have my girls brought to shame by the violence and wickedness of their young masters. You will also please state if there has been any schools opened for the colored children in your

neighborhood. The great desire of my life now is to give my children an

edu

-- Ten Plagues -- Ten Plagues

Ten ancient and modern plagues Ten ancient and modern plagues Contributed by

Contributed by Alida Liberman Alida Liberman Source:

Source: Adapted from A Humanist Modern Haggadah by Eszter Hargittai

Let us all fill our cups with wine...

Reader 1:

Reader 1: Tonight we drink four cups of the fruit of the vine. There are many explanations for this custom. They represent, some have said, the four terms

God to describe the redemption in Exodus: "I shall take you out...", "I shall

rescue you...", "I shall redeem you...", "I shall bring you..." The four cups might also reprsent the four corners of the earth, for freedom must live everywhere; the four seasons of the year, for freedom's cycle must last through all the seasons.

Reader 2

Reader 2: A full cup of wine symbolizes complete happiness. The triumph of Passover is diminished by the sacrifice of many human lives when ten plagues were visited upon the people of Egypt. In the ancient story, the plagues that befell the Egyptians resulted from the decisions of tyrants, but the greatest suffering occurred among those who had no choice but to follow. It is fitting that we mourn their loss of life, and express our sorrow over their suffering. Therefore, let us diminish the wine in our cups as we recall the ten plagues that befell the Egyptian people.

[As each plague is named, everyone dips a finger in wine and then touches a plate to remove the drop.]

Blood, Frogs, Gnats, Flies, Cattle Disease, Boils, Hail, Locusts,Darkness, Death of the

Firstborn.

Reader 3:

Reader 3: In the same spirit, our celebration today is also shadowed by our awareness of continuing sorrow and oppression in all parts of the world.

Ancient plagues are mirrored in modern tragedies.

Reader 4:

Reader 4: We are a world people, living in many lands and among many nations. The power of science has shrunk our planet and has made all of us

Koreich Koreich

Hillel Sandwich Hillel Sandwich Contributed by

Contributed by Haggadot Haggadot

Source:

Source: Original Illustration from Haggadot.com

the der der Rea 5:

-- Ten Plagues Circle of Plagues Circle of Plagues Contributed by

Contributed by Samantha Leff Samantha Leff Source:

Source: Original

Up to ten people can play this game

Step 1: Each person represents a plague and picks an action that will represent their plague (Example: I pick frogs then proceeds to jump like a frog).

Step 2: One person is encircled by all the other members.

Step 3: A circle member is chosen to start and they must do their symbol and then do some other circle member's symbol. The person whose symbol it is must do their symbol and someone else's before the person in the center touches them.

Step 4: If someone in the circle symbols the person in the center or is tapped, they switch places with the person in the center.

Maror

Maror Cocktail Maror Cocktail Contributed by

Contributed by SippingSeder SippingSeder Source:

Source: SippingSeder.com

The seder plate holds two types of bitter herbs. Both symbolize the bitterness and harsh conditions the Jews endured as slaves in Ancient Egypt. For maror, the first bitter herb, many people use freshly-grated or whole horseradish root.

Our maror cocktail is basically a “borscht martini.” We didn’t invent the idea, and we’ve heard murmurs about various incarnations of the drink for the past couple of years. Double Cross Vodka promotes a recipe for one. Eastern Standard in Boston had something similar on their menu a while back.

Camper English has written about both on his Alcademics blog.

Our version comes to The Sipping Seder for three reasons. This is our favorite cocktail involving horseradish. We absolutely love beets. And, our recipe takes an interesting turn on the concept. We base our version on golden beets and use a red beet garnish so that the drink gradually changes color as you sip. It’s beautiful and a lot of fun to watch.

Ingredients:

3 oz (90 ml) Belvedere Vodka 1 Small Golden Beet – raw, peeled

1 Slice Fresh Horseradish – peeled, about the size of a quarter (25 x 25 x 2 mm)

-- T en Pla gue s

The Jo urn ey Tow ard s L ibe rat ion - T he Har d P art

s art d P Har he - T ion rat ibe s L ard Tow ey urn Jo The s n n ohe ohe K C K C y y d b d b ute ute tribtrib Con Con Sou rce : rce Sou :

Orig ina l

The pl agu es rep res ent m om ent s o f h ard shi p in ou r jo urn ey tow ard fr eed om ,

str ugg les w ith th e p ow er s tru ctu res th at c ons tric t u s. T oni ght w e w ill ref lec t

on our pe rso nal pl agu es, w ays in w hic h w e h ave tr ied to as ser t o ur o wn

pow er b y re cre atin g s tra teg ies of co ntr ol a nd dom ina tio n th at w e h ave

suf fer ed fro m in an un jus t w orld .

Whe re hav e w e tr ied to tu rn hie rar chy up sid e d ow n ra the r th an co-cre atin g a

wor ld of e qua lity an d li ber atio n fo r a ll?

W her e h ave w e b een st uck in fe ar a nd

def ens ive nes s ra the r th an fin din g th e s tre ngt h to be vu lne rab le and as k

gen tly fo r w hat w e n eed

?

Tak e a m om ent fo r q uie t re fle ctio n. W e w ill the n s ym bol ica lly re mov e te n

dro ps of w ine fr om ou r g las ses to ac kno wle dge th e p ain th at h as

acc om pan ied ou r jo urn eys to war d li ber atio n. A s y ou tak e te n d rop s o ut o f

you r g las s fe el f ree to sa y a pe rso nal pl agu e o ut l oud , o r to th ink ab out th ese

pla gue s s ile ntly .

-- Ten Plagues Ten Plagues - Frog Ten Plagues - Frog Contributed by

Contributed by Haggadot Haggadot

Source:

Source: Original Illustration from Haggadot.com

Maror love love

Contributed by

Contributed by Eric Schiffer Eric Schiffer Source:

Source: ayeka

Love Love Charoset

Charoset - everyone's favorite. - everyone's favorite.

When the table is full of matza, maror, a boiled egg, and lettuce, how could anyone not love the mixture of nuts, dates, cinnamon, apples, and wine? But

it's not so easy to find the connection between charoset and Pesach.

The Talmud mentions that charoset 's thick consistency reminds us of the

mortar used to make bricks in Egypt.

The ingredients of charoset are all mentioned in Shir haShirim (Song of

Songs), the beautiful poem that many read at the end of the Seder. Shir

haShirim can be interpreted as a vivid and sensual love song between two

individuals, and/or as a moving ballad between the Jewish People and God.

Eating charoset is, in a sense, ingesting this love song, making it a Biblical

love potion.

The face of someone who has fallen in love shines with hope.

The face of someone who has fallen in love shines with hope.

Often, with the passing of years, the early spark felt when first falling in love can fade. But when we look at old pictures and read the letters written in early romance, we can sometimes rekindle the flames of our passion.

The Seder, with its 4 cups of wine, reclining posture, charoset , and lengthy

discussion of the Jewish People's "first date" with God, evokes and rekindles this love.

And as with all love stories, hope is renewed.

Activity for Seder:

Activity for Seder:

When was the last time you felt God's love for you?

When was the last time you felt God's love for you?

For the Jewish People?

For the Jewish People?

-- C up

#2

& D

In document Greatest Hits Haggadah. By Haggadot (Page 50-61)

Related documents