“Even before Christianity emerged, Jews were a troublesome people to ruling classes of the ancient world, because they had emerged with a revolutionary message, articulated in the Exodus story: the message that ruling classes were not inevitable, that the world could be fundamentally transformed …”

– Rabbi Michael Lerner, from Jews and Blacks: Let the Healing Begin, by Rabbi Michael Lerner and Doctor Cornel West

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This special seder, created in the spirit of the original Freedom Seder of 1969, and drawing on both The Promised Land Haggadah and The Ma’ayan Passover Haggadah, was created by Cara Michelle Silverberg for a Work that Reconnects (WTR) five day workshop that began the first day of Passover, 2016.

Within her haggadah, Cara integrated embodiment work coming out of the deep ecology movement (spiral of the WTR) and a social justice framing via the “four questions” that W.E.B. DuBois poised to future generations of organizers and civil rights activists – four questions that were given new life through the Black Prophetic Fire of Cornel West in his opening remarks for the Left Forum conference in New York City, 2014.

We hope that our readers will find value and inspiration in this liberatory Passover seder. White Awake has embedded a few links into the haggadah online, to help those less familiar with the form to visualize the instructions given.

Those of you who are Jewish may be inspired to incorporate elements of this haggadah into a Passover seder with your family, friends, and/or community. This haggadah is available to be used and reinterpreted as you see fit.

If you want to hold a ritualized meal that intentionally explores systems of oppression, but don’t have access to Jewish community with whom you can hold a Passover seder, the WTR Passover Seder haggadah might be a lovely source of inspiration for a different type of event. As with all things, it is important to learn the roots and honor the sources of traditions and teachings.

If you would like to read more about Cara’s process creating this haggadah, see our interview with her here. If you would like to more fully understand how White Awake frame’s this type of cultural, spiritual practice within the context of our work, please see our Community Practice section.

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How to use this Haggadah:

• A circular or square table setting in which all participants can see each other is ideal. This seder was first led for 32 people, sitting at six tables positioned in a open rectangle (with no seats in the center). We set each table with its own set of ritual items – a seder plate, a bowl/towel/pitcher, a plate of matzah, a bowl of charoset, and a bottle of grape juice and wine. We also included flowers on the tables, and four pairs of candles for the candle lighting (tea lights, so they burned out by the end of the seder and were not so tall as to cause a hazard).

• The blessing for lighting the candles in the beginning of the seder was originally composed for a seder occurring on Shabbat.

• Participants take turns reading aloud, except sections designated “Leader.”

• Blessings and text between two ∞ symbols are intended to be read in unison by all present, according to participants desire and ability.

• The notes in [ ] brackets indicate the estimated amount of time necessary for the following section. There are four sections in this seder, which each correspond to one station of the Work That Reconnects spiral.

• Please keep in mind that this is a very long ritual, with almost all of the traditional elements included, and a lengthy discussion around DuBois’s four questions in the middle. To complete this entire haggadah with a group, you will need about three and a half hours.

• Songs used in the seder can be found on their own page, here.

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[OPENING & INTRODUCTION – 15 min]

Kavannah (Intention)

Leader: Let us all take a few moments to arrive, breathe and make silence together. The intention of this seder is to honor the stories of oppression and liberation that have shaped human history, and the experiences of destruction and rebirth that have shaped this Earth throughout all time.

May our stories of oppression and liberation give power to our collective process of claiming the sacredness of life – in every moment, in every species, in every generation. May this seder bring us closer to understanding and being forces of tikkun olam (repair of the world soul).

Introductory Notes

Seder means “order” in Hebrew and is the name of this ritual meal. The haggadah, or booklet we are reading from, means “telling” in Hebrew and refers to the telling of the story of the Exodus. It also refers to the sharing of anecdotes, songs and prayers that relate to our experiences of oppression and liberation.

A Passover seder is not simply a series of ritual actions. It is a process by which we actively engage in an intellectual and spiritual process of questioning the systems of injustice that pervade our world. One way of doing this is asking questions. At some Passover seders, adults even do silly and strange things just to get the children to ask questions! You are invited and encouraged throughout this seder to ask clarifying questions, rhetorical questions, any questions that help to open your mind and heart.

There are many different versions of the haggadah, all designed to emphasize certain dimensions of the Passover story. Some parts of this seder have been slightly rearranged from the traditional order as a way to adapt it to this unique community. This haggadah is inspired by the Freedom Seder by Rabbi Arthur Waskow (a radical elder in the Jewish justice and environmental movements who created the first Freedom Seder during the Civil Rights Movement); The Promised Land Haggadah by Lynn Lebow Nadeau; and The Ma’ayan Passover Haggadah by the Jewish Women’s Project.

While Hebrew is a gendered language, some Jewish feminists and humanists have created blessing alternatives to the traditional masculine gender constructions of Jewish prayers. This haggadah switches between feminine and non-gendered grammatical formulations of blessings in order to honor the mother Earth from which all is born and a world beyond gender binaries. This wording is different from what one would hear at a more traditional seder or Jewish prayer service. For those present who prefer to use traditional Hebrew blessings with masculine grammatical formulations, this is perfectly welcome.

Participants may also choose to use English words such as Creator, Mystery, Peacemaker, Mother of Life, etc. to represent their own concepts of sacred energy. Please feel free to use whatever words feel right to you and refrain from words that do not. Should you feel inclined to listen to blessings and readings rather than speak them aloud, this is also perfectly welcome.

Candle Lighting (when Seder falls on Shabbat)

Sundown tonight is the beginning of Passover and the beginning of Shabbat. We will now kindle the festival and Sabbath lights.

During six days of the week, we work, worry and bustle about, guided by the six directions and their energies of activity and movement – north, south, east, west, sky, earth. On Shabbat, and on this festival night of Passover, we retreat from the world of work and worry, we give ourselves space to explore the transformational power within each of us, and we return to the seventh direction from which we all come – the center, the source.

(Turn out all the lights. Participants near the candles each light one. Recite together:)

∞

Yitromeim l’beinu, t’shovav, nafshenu,

B’hadlakat neir shel Shabbat v’shel yom tov.

May our hearts be lifted, our spirits refreshed,

as we light the Sabbath candles.

∞

Blessing The Children (when Seder falls on Shabbat)

Another traditional blessing on Shabbat is the blessing over the children. While this blessing is generally said by parents for their own children, tonight we will say a blessing for all children as well as the children present here with us.

(Leader offers a blessing for the children.)

[GRATITUDE – 35 min, all the way through the 1st cup of wine]

Miriam’s Cup

This is Miriam’s Cup. (Leader holds up Miriam’s Cup.) When the Hebrews wandered in the desert, Miriam the Prophetess manifested water wherever they traveled. Miriam’s Well, as it came to be known, nourished the people as they wandered.

We will go around the room introducing ourselves by name and sharing a single word about something we are grateful for. As we share, we will pass around Miriam’s Cup and each pour a drop of water from our own water glass into her Cup.

(Whoever is near Miriam’s Cup, begin the sharing and pass to your left. When the sharing is complete, readers continue below.)

This cup, now overflowing with our gratitude, brings our hearts and minds together. It will remain on our seder table throughout the meal, as a reminder of all that nourishes us, even in times of struggle.

(Leader introduces a partner exercise. At its conclusion, Leader brings the group’s attention back together.)

Leader: Please turn to someone sitting next to you, introduce yourself, and take turns completing the following sentence: “I feel truly free when … ”

While your partner is speaking, your job is to simply and lovingly listen – no responses or questions. When I ding the bell, you’ll switch who is speaking and listening. Again, the prompt is, “I feel truly free when …” Please find your partner, and begin your sharing.

(Bring the group back together with a bell and a song.)

First Cup of Wine

Sanctifying a cup of wine is one of the most common Jewish traditions. Wine is a symbol of joy, of the flowing cup of life. By blessing wine, we make it, and the moment we mark by drinking it, sacred. For those of you who do not wish to drink wine, grape juice is available.

Tonight, we will drink four cups of wine (or grape juice), each symbolizing stages in the process of liberation. We begin with this first cup, which honors our gratitude and appreciation for the world and each other. With this first cup, we also recite a traditional Hebrew blessing expressing gratitude for our arrival together in this precious moment.

Leader: Pour just an ounce or so of wine or juice in your glass. You do not need to drink it all at once, but you will want to finish it by the time we reach the blessing for the second cup (about a half hour from now).

∞

N’vareykh et Eyn Hahayim matzmihat p’ri hagefen.

Let us bless the Source of Life that ripens the fruit on the vine.

∞

B’rucha at yah Eloheinu Ruach haolam shehecheyatnu v’kiyimatnu v’higiyatnu lazman hazeh.

You are Blessed, Breath of the World, who has kept us in life and sustained us, enabling us to reach this season.

∞

Urchatz (first ritual hand washing)

Twice during this meal, we perform a ritual hand washing as an act of cleansing and sanctifying.

For this first washing, the seder leader will symbolically wash their hands for all of us. All are invited to raise their hands in the air, look around at the hands of ourselves and others, and meditate upon the sacred work our hands undertake in this world.

[HONORING OUR PAIN – 45 min, all the way through 2nd cup of wine]

Karpas (parsley in salt water)

(Leader introduces a partner exercise. After the exercise, the leader brings the attention of the group back together and readers continue below.)

Leader: Turn again to the person you shared with before in the open sentence exercise. Tap your partner on the shoulder – whoever tapped first is partner A speaking first, and the other person is partner B lovingly listening first. When I ding the bell, you will switch roles. Take turns completing the following sentence: “A form of oppression I see in the world is … and when I turn my attention toward it, I feel … ”

Try to trust your body and emotive instincts and really sink into your feelings. I will ring the bell at two minutes so you can switch who is speaking and listening.

(Bring the group back together with a bell.)

We come now to the karpas – parsley and salt water. The green karpas represents spring awakening, the force that waits behind grief and loss.

To ignite this awakening, we must deeply honor our grief and loss. We dip the karpas in salt water, empathizing with the tears of all those who feel pain, oppression and destruction. We dip, and we join together in the following blessing:

∞

B’rucha at yah eloheinu ruach ha’olam boreit p’ri ha’adamah.

You are Blessed, Breath of the World, who creates fruit of the earth.

∞

Yachatz (breaking the middle matzah)

At any other Jewish festival meal, we break bread and eat it. At this meal, we break bread and later hide it, reminding us that this seder is both a celebration of freedom and a search for it.

At each table, there is a stack of three matzot. Someone at each table may remove the middle matzah from the plate and break it in two.

Leave the two pieces on the plate to remind us of the fracturing of our world and all that needs healing.

Maggid (the story)

This is the part of the seder when we examine the story of the Israelites’ Exodus from Egypt. We begin by explaining each of the items on the seder plate.

(As readers explain each item on the plate, someone near the item should hold it up for others to see.)

The matzah, or unleavened bread, was the bread eaten by the Jews during their hasty departure from Egypt, as their bread did not have time to rise. The communion wafer used in the Catholic mass is based on the matzah used at the Last Supper.

The maror, or bitter herb (horseradish root), represents the bitterness of slavery – of the Jews in Egypt and of all beings who are enslaved and abused.

The charoset, a mixture of fruit, nuts and wine, represents the mortar out of which our ancestors were forced to make bricks when they were slaves in Egypt. The sweet taste reminds us that all labor has its dignity and satisfactions.

Traditional seder plates include the z’roa (shank bone), which symbolizes the sacrificial lamb whose blood saved the Jewish children while the plague of slaying of the first born took the lives of Egyptian children. The Talmud, a sacred Jewish text, says that vegetarians may use a beet instead of a shank bone because it also “bleeds.”

The karpas (green vegetable) represents the perpetual rebirth and freedom of Springtime, even when the frozen winters have diminished our hope.

The beitzah (roasted hard boiled egg) represents the cycle of life and death.

The orange, first added to the seder plate by Jewish feminists to represent women’s rights and strength in Jewish leadership, has come to represent a wider expression of Jewish feminism and LGBTQ identity and solidarity.

The Four Questions

In the traditional “Four Questions” we ask, “Why is this night different than all other nights?” The act of questioning opens our minds to the possibility that the conventional way things are is not the way they have to be. Tonight, we will ask four questions to examine the systems of power that surround us and to wonder: does it have to be this way?

Dr. Cornel West says: “W.E.B. DuBois, in 1957 at the age of 89 years old, decides to write love letters to the younger generation. It’s almost as if he knew that there would be another wave of marvelous, new, moral and spiritual militancy among a younger generation, who are hungry and thirsty—something beyond the superficial culture of spectacle … He says, ‘I’ve been wrestling with four questions all of my life, and every generation has to come to terms with these questions.’”

(Leader explains how the Four Questions discussion exercise will work.)

Leader: Each table will focus on one of the Four Questions. Your table’s question is printed on one side of a card on your table. Focus only on the question – not the quote on the other side of the table card. You will have approximately 10 minutes to discuss within your group, and then we will all come back together to share one or two points related to each question.

1. The first question: “How shall integrity face oppression?”

– What is integrity? In what part/s of your life do you feel the most integrity? In what situations do you find it hard to act with integrity?

2. That second question DuBois raises: “What does honesty do in the face of deception? What does it mean to aspire to be an honest person?”

– Do you speak your truth? What is the impact of truth telling?

3. The third question: “What does decency do in the face of insult?”

– How do you stand up for your values and beliefs when challenged or offended? How do you stand up for others?

4. The last query: “How does virtue meet brute force?”

(Cornel West on this question: “The last query is, in some ways, the most difficult one, because we don’t like to talk about it—DuBois says, how does virtue meet brute force? Because anybody who has the audacity to be fundamentally committed to integrity, honesty, and decency may sooner or later have to come to terms with brute force, with repression…”)

– Are you willing to put your body on the line for justice? What does this look like for you?

(Leader brings group back together with a bell and a song. Time allowing, each small group may share 2-3 things that came up for them in their discussion. This can also be led in paired sharings, as opposed to whole table conversations.)

Ten Plagues

We now recite the 10 plagues that God wrought upon the Egyptians while the Hebrews were enslaved. As we recite each plague in Hebrew and in English, we remove a drop of wine for our cups, using our small finger to dip from the cup onto our plate. This removal of wine from our own cups reminds us that freedom comes at a cost, that our pleasure is always in tension with the suffering of the world, including the suffering of oppressors.

(All together, recite the Ten Plagues.)

∞

Blood
Frogs
Lice
Flies
Pestilence
Boils
Hail
Locusts
Darkness
Killing of the firstborn

∞

A common, modern interpretation of the Ten Plagues of the Exodus story is that they were not lightning bolts flung by a Super-Pharaoh in the sky, but rather ecological disasters brought about by the arrogance and stubbornness of Pharaoh.

We ask ourselves: Who and what are the Pharaohs of our modern day? What Plagues are these Pharaohs bringing on our Earth? To what extent do we contribute to the onslaught of these Plagues? For each modern Plague, we drop some more wine or grape juice from our glasses:

• Mass incarceration, and the systemic plague of police violence and excessive use of force, especially against indigenous people and people of color.
• Ongoing physical and cultural genocide against indigenous people’s of the world.
• Unheard-of droughts in Africa and the Middle East, setting off hunger, starvation, civil wars and genocide.
• Decimated mountaintops and dead coal-miners in Appalachia.
• Erratic weather patterns that destroy staple food crops and ruin millions of homes and lives.
• Systemic racism, rampant Islamophobia and xenophobia, violence against women.
• Water contaminated by fracking and agricultural runoff.
• Inability of wildlife to successfully reproduce due to massive oil spills.

What other plagues are impacting humans and more-than-human beings across this planet?

(Leader makes time for participants to name other modern plagues.)

Second cup of wine

Leader: We now come to our second cup of wine. We bless and drink this second cup to honor our pain for the world.

∞

N’vareykh et Eyn Hahayim matzmihat p’ri hagefen.

Let us bless the Source of Life that ripens the fruit on the vine.

∞

Rachtzah (second ritual hand washing)

Dismantling injustice takes many hands and many hearts. Deep grieving requires community. As a way of supporting each other now, use the bowl, pitcher and towel on your table to wash the hands of the person to your left, using the bowl as a catchment for the water you pour over your neighbor’s hands. Remember the water of Miriam’s Cup and the deep nourishment this cleansing can offer. As you wash, we will sing a Hebrew song of healing, the words and translation for which can be found in the listing of songs that accompany this haggadah.

∞

N’vareykh et Eyn Hahayim matzmihat p’ri hagefen.

Let us bless the Source of Life that ripens the fruit on the vine.

∞

[SEEING WITH NEW EYES – 30 min, all the way to 3rd cup of wine and singing]

Deep Time (WTR terminology)

On the Shabbat just before Passover, we read the last passage of the last of the Prophets, Malachi, who proclaims on behalf of the Breath of Life:

“Before the coming of the great and awesome day when the Breath of Life may become a Hurricane of Change, I will send the Prophet Elijah, to turn the hearts of the parents to the children and the hearts of the children to the parents, lest the earth be utterly destroyed.”

This passage reminds us that for healing to come, the generations must turn their hearts to each other. We turn our hearts to the generations before us to honor them, and we turn our hearts to the generations after us to care for them. Each gives us a special wisdom.

(Leader leads a meditative exercise. Afterwards, readers continue.)

Adaptation of the Seventh Generation exercise (WTR form)

Leader: If you are able, please stand with you feet about hip width apart, comfortable and relaxed, your back long tall. If you cannot stand, please sit with your limbs uncrossed, relaxing the weight of your body into your chair, and bringing some attention to the alignment of your back.

Breathe into your belly and lower back, and feel the structure and weight of your body as you stand or sit. (brief pause) Now imagine you are a tree, and the roots of this tree extend downward from your tailbone, connecting you deep into the center of the earth. Flowing up from the top of your spine, your shoulders, neck, and head is the fork of the trunk that leads to branches. These branches extend out above your head, reaching for the sky while the roots extend down into the earth. Breath, relax, and feel or imagine this rootedness in earth and extension towards sky. (brief pause)

Now imagine your ancestors stretching behind you, one after the other, back through time. And imagine the future generations stretching out in a line in front of you, one after the other, extending throughout all time. Is there a message these ancestors and future generations have for you? (brief pause) Do you hear the message, see the message, feel this message? (brief pause) Hold the message or messages you receive in your hands like a precious gem. (brief pause) Notice if there is a place in your body you want to store it, so you can always come back and contemplate this message again. (brief pause)

(Once the meditation is complete, return to participant readers.)

The following Hebrew text is one of the paramount texts Jews are obligated to say as part of the Passover seder. It reminds us that our duty of working towards liberation for all is never complete, that every generation must be part of the struggle for justice and healing. Please read this text with me.

∞

B’chol dor vador chayavim anu lirot et atzmeinu k’ilu yatzanu mi mitzrayim

In every generation, it is our duty to consider ourselves as if we had personally come forth from Egypt.

∞

We thank you ancestors and we thank you future generations for joining us here and blessing us with your wisdom. It gives us spiritual fuel to pursue justice and healing.

Blessings Over the Ritual Foods

Physical nourishment is also essential for pursuing justice and healing. We have almost reached the festive meal. But first, we look to the seder plate.

Each person should take a piece of the broken matzah, as well as a piece of a whole matzah. Each person should take a bit of maror (horseradish), as well as a bit of charoset (fruit and nuts).

As we eat these ritual foods, we contemplate their symbolism. The traditional order of blessings and eating is included below for those who would like to bless and eat in the ritual order. For those who prefer to take in this physical nourishment in your own way, please do so now.

Please also pour yourself more wine or juice in preparation for our group blessing over the third cup in just a few moments – but don’t drink yet!

∞

Motzi Matzah (bread)

B’rucha at ya, eloheinu ruach ha’olam hamotzi’ah lechem min ha’aretz.

Blessed are You, Breath of the World, who brings forth bread from the earth.

Yitromeim libeinu, t’shovav nafsheinu ba’achilat matzah.

As we eat the matzah, may we enter the spirit of our liberation.

∞

Maror (bitter herbs)

B’rucha at yah, eloheinu ruach ha’olam asher kidshatnu b’mitzvoteha v’tzivatnu al achilat maror.

You are Blessed, Breath of the World, who makes us holy with mitzvot and commands us to eat bitter herbs.

∞

Koreich (Hillel sandwich)

The second-century sage Hillel interpreted the biblical commandment to eat the matzah, maror and charoset as a commandment to mix all three together, combining the symbols of slavery and freedom into one “sandwich.”

(Leader encourages participants to create and take a bite of the Hillel sandwich now.)

Bareich (third cup of wine)

Leader: We now raise up our third cup of wine. We bless and drink this cup to honor the new ways of seeing the world that this community and seder has offered us.

∞

N’vareykh et Eyn Hahayim matzmihat p’ri hagefen.

Let us bless the Source of Life that ripens the fruit on the vine.

∞

(Leader brings closure to Seeing With New Eyes section by leading the song “I Am Determined To Walk In Freedom”, encouraging participants to stand, sing, dance, and shake it out! All songs used in the seder can be found here.)

[FESTIVE MEAL & GOING FORTH – 60 min for Chef’s intro, the meal and afikomen]

Shulchan Oreich (festive meal)

Leader: We now get to enjoy our festive meal! This time of eating, drinking, and talking together holds the space for the final stage in the spiral: “going forth”. We hope you will use your dinner conversation to follow up on our discussion of W.E.B. DuBois’ four questions, share with one another the actions that call to you, and talk about how you may be finding new ways to focus your longstanding interests on liberatory social change.

Towards the end of the meal, please listen for the bell so that we can bring our attention back to the whole group, and finish the seder together.

(Leader introduces the Chef, who explains what the meal is and how getting food will work. Clean up occurs AFTER the entire ritual is complete.

Everyone now joins in the meal together, talking and socializing as they please.

When people are almost done eating the Leader brings group’s attention back together. It is fine if people are not seated, so long as they are all paying attention and able to hear.)

Tzafun (search for the afikomen)

Leader: Earlier in the seder, when you all broke the middle matzah to symbolize the fracturing of the world, I took the middle matzah, wrapped it in a napkin and hid it! Remember: Justice and healing is something we must search and strive for and we can engage in this process with joy! Traditionally, all the children at the seder search for this afikomen (dessert). I cordially invite you to find your inner child and participate on a search for the afikomen! Once it is found, we will join back together at the table to conclude our seder. For those who wish to recite the birkat hamazon, this is a good time to do so.

Whoever finds the afikomen will get a prize! GO!

[CONCLUSION – 15 min]

Nirtzah (conclusion)

Leader: Standing O for our chef!

Elijah the Prophet is said to be the messenger of peace whose arrival tells us that the world we dream of has come. We open the door now for a few moments to invite Elijah to join us. Let us make silence together and determine our intentions for how we contribute to this peace.

Leader: “We fill Elijah’s Cup with wine by each pouring in a drop from our own glasses, symbolizing our contributions to this Great Turning. While passing around Elijah’s Cup, we will sing a song in three parts – listen to catch on and stay on a part that you feel comfortable with.” (Leader leads the group in singing “We Are The Ones by Sweet Honey In The Rock.” All songs used in the seder can be found here.)

(Leader facilitates the ritual of pouring into Elijah’s Cup.)

Leader: We now come to bless our fourth cup of wine. With this cup, we recognize the strength and resilience we possess in bringing healing to our world.

∞

N’vareykh et Eyn Hahayim matzmihat p’ri hagefen.

Let us bless the Source of Life that ripens the fruit on the vine.

∞

Closing Words:

All will come again into its strength

the fields undivided, the waters undammed,

the trees towering and the walls built low.

And in the valleys, people as strong

And varied as the land.

You too, God, will find your strength.

We who must live in this time

Cannot imagine how strong you will become.

– Rainer Maria Rilke, Book of Hours

Leader: Our seder is officially complete. You are welcome to continue drinking, singing and helping clean up. Thank you all for your presence and participation.

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“This hagaddah may be revised, adapted and used in other contexts, in whole or in part. Please honor prior sources and contributors in order to honor the tradition, elders and leaders involved in its evolution.” (C.M. Silverberg, 2016)

White Awake has made slight adaptations to Cara’s original haggadah, in keeping with our website format and organizational focus. If you are not Jewish, please respect that this is a Jewish cultural form. While you may be inspired by this seder to create a ritual meal of your own, please do not hold a seder without participation and/or input from Jews.

Photo credits: Dori Midnight / Bill Wetzel / Ewan Munro

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Cara Michelle Silverberg works in the field of youth leadership and environmental and social justice programs, with a focus in Jewish and interfaith community building. She is pursuing a Master of Arts in Peacebuilding and Conflict Transformation at the School for International Training in Brattleboro, Vermont. You can contact her on LinkedIn or follow her blog: onthefringesofplace.com