SEDER OR PASSOVER. (a "how to" guide)

 

THE PRAYERS WHICH CONNECT US TO OUR JEWISH BRETHREN ARE SOLEMN BUT THE OCCASION IS A HAPPY ONE AS IT CELEBRATES BEING FREED FROM SLAVERY IN EGYPT.  

 

IT CAN BE HELD AT ANY TIME BUT IS SOMETIMES HELD ON THE WEDNESDAY IN HOLY WEEK

 

The items needed for the celebration are as follows:-

 

A TABLE CONTAINING THE FOLLOWING ITEMS:

 

1. MATZOS. Unleavened Bread – reminder of the Israelites lack of time to

    make leavened bread. Three Matzos are placed one on top of the other.

   The middle one is used first – that represents Abraham. The top one is used

    next – that represents Isaac. The bottom one, used last, represents Jacob.

   (Available at many shops and supermarkets).

 

2. SHANK BONE OF LAMB. Represents the Passover Lamb which was

    sacrificed in the Temple of Jerusalem for centuries in thanksgiving for the

    Angel of Death ‘passing over’ Jewish homes when the first born of the

    Egyptians were slain. (Have lamb shank for a meal and save the bone).

 

3. EGG. Reminder of the Festival of Offering brought to the Temple on big

    religious festivals. Also a symbol of new life which they were entering on

    leaving Egypt. (A hard boiled egg is all that is required).

 

4. MAROR. Bitter herbs Reminder of the bitterness of slavery in Egypt before

    being freed by God. (For ‘bitter herbs’ use horseradish! Very hot; be

    careful!)

 

5. HAROSET. Nuts, Apples and Raisins chopped and mixed together to

    resemble mortar. Two meanings – a reminder of the clay with which the

    Israelite slave made bricks for Pharaoh. Also a symbol of joy and

    sweetness of deliverance. (Make the mixture yourself).

 

6. KARPAS. Green Vegetables. Reminder of the goodness of God in

    providing food from the earth. (Use Parsley.)

 

7 SALT WATER. We dip the KARPAS in the salt water twice before eating it. Salt is a

   purifying preservative but is it also a sign of friendship and solidarity, binding 

   participants at a banquet.

 

8. WINE/OR FRUIT JUICE. Drunk four times during the meal. This represents

    a four fold  promise God made to the Israelites in Egypt.

                  1. I will bring you forth.

                  2. I will deliver you.

                  3. I will redeem you.

                  4. I will look after you.

 

9. TWO CANDLES. To be lit by a Mother Figure.

 

Leaning to the left!

As the Polish make parodies about the English and the English make parodies about the Irish so the Israelites made parodies about the Romans! In order to humorously imitate the wealthy Romans they would ‘lean to the left’ when drinking thereby making a parody of the Romans who ate and drank while laying on their couches and leaning on their tables.

 

So when you drink try ‘leaning to the left’. But be careful, it’s not easy to do so without spilling the drink!

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There is plenty of opportunity for ‘participation’ of those attending the Seder. As well as the ‘Group Reponses’ there needs to be a ‘Commentator’ a ‘Leader’ a ‘Young Person’, and up to ‘18 Participants’. Plenty of opportunity for anyone who likes to get involved.

Part way through the Seder there is a meal. This can be as simple or as complex as you want to make it. Sandwiches are appropriate or, if the venue makes it possible, soup, main course and a dessert are equally acceptable. In either case the meal should not be rushed. The meal is a special happy time in the celebration. To respect the Jewish tradition Pork should not be included in the meal.

 

THE PASSOVER

BLESSING OF THE DAY (Kadesh)

Commentator:- Now, in the presence of friends and loved ones, with the signs of festive rejoicing before us, we gather for our sacred celebration, with the household of Israel, our elders and young ones, linking and bonding the past to the future, living the story that is told for all peoples, whose shining conclusion is yet to unfold, we gather to observe the Passover.

GROUP:- FOR IT IS WRITTEN: REMEMBER THE DAY ON WHICH YOU WENT FORTH FROM EGYPT, FROM THE HOUSE OF BONDAGE, AND HOW THE LORD FREED YOU WITH A MIGHTY HAND.

Hymn:-  ‘Father God I wonder........’. Or other appropriate hymn.

GROUP:- (As the candles are lit. To be lit by a ‘Mother figure’.)

HAPPY ARE THOSE OF STEADFAST FAITH WHO STILL BLESS THE LIGHT OF CANDLES SHINING IN THE DARKNESS........REJOICE, O EARTH, IN THOSE WHO KEEP THE WAY, FOR THERE IS STILL A SONG FOR THEM WITHIN YOU.

Leader:- We praise you, O God, King of the universe, creator of fire and light. We bless you for giving us light to shine in the darkness. We praise you for giving us festive holy light.

Leader:- ‘Blessed are you, Lord, God of life’.

GROUP:- BLESSED ARE YOU, LORD, GOD OF LIFE.

THE CUP OF BLESSING

(POUR DRINK INTO CUPS. Do not drink)..

Commentator:- The story we re-live here tells us how, in many different ways, God  

promised to free his people. With cups of wine, we remember each promise. We remember 

that our God first told us:-

GROUP:- ‘I AM THE LORD, AND I WILL FREE YOU FROM THE BURDENS OF THE                                                                        EGYPTIANS’.

Leader:- We praise you, O God, King of the Universe, creator of the fruit of the vine. We praise you, Lord of all life, for setting us apart for your service, and blessing our lives with your love. In love you have given us festivals for rejoicing, seasons of celebration and this commemoration of our freedom, and we praise you, O Lord our God, for giving us this joyful heritage. You have taught us to know light from darkness, sacred from profane, and as we sense the holy, we are ourselves consecrated. We praise you, Lord over all, for keeping us in life and bringing us to this day of celebration.

Leader:- ‘Blessed are you, Lord, God of life’.

GROUP:-  BLESSED ARE YOU, LORD, GOD OF LIFE.

(ALL DRINK SOME OF THE WINE).

 

SPRING: SIGN OF GOD’S LOVE

 

Commentator:- The rebirth of Spring is, for us, full of renewing the signs of your love for us each Spring. We praise you for creating the fruits of the earth.

Leader:- ‘Blessed are you, Lord, God of life.’

GROUP:- BLESSED ARE YOU, LORD, GOD OF LIFE

(EACH PERSON TAKES SOME PARSLEY, DIPS IT TWICE IN SALT WATER AND EATS IT. Green vegetables are a reminder of God providing us with food from the earth. Salt is a purifying preservative and also a sign of friendship and solidarity, binding participants at a banquet.)

THE BOND OF SHARED BREAD

The leader takes the middle Matzah and shares it out.

GROUP:- THIS IS THE BREAD OF OUR POVERTY IN EGYPT. LET ALL WHO ARE   HUNGRY COME AND EAT. LET ALL WHO ARE IN WANT SHARE THE HOPE OF PASSOVER.

Leader:- We praise you, O God, King of the Universe, for giving food for the hungry, We praise you for giving us bread from the earth.

Leader:- ‘Blessed are you, Lord, God of life.’

   

GROUP:- BLESSED ARE YOU, LORD, GOD OF LIFE. (All eat unleavened bread. Matzah.)

 

THE MEMORY OF SLAVERY

 

The leader breaks and shares out the top Matzah. We use this to scoop up some maror. (Maror is bitter herbs - reminds the Jews of the bitterness of slavery in Egypt from which God delivered them.)

 

Leader:- We praise you, O God, King of the Universe for making our freedom precious to us by our memory of the bitter life of slavery. We praise you for giving us herbs for remembrance.

Leader:- ‘ Blessed are you, Lord, God of life’.

 

 

GROUP:- BLESSED ARE YOU, LORD, GOD OF LIFE. (All eat Matzah with Maror.)

 

The Leader breaks and shares out the third Matzah. We use this to scoop up some haroset. (Haroset is nuts, apples and raisins chopped and mixed together to resemble mortar - some have said to be a reminder of the clay with which the Israelites made bricks when slaves of Pharaoh; it also symbolizes the joy and sweetness of deliverance.)

 

Leader:- We praise you, O God, King of the Universe, for giving us the hope of redemption while we laboured without hope. We praise you for making our miserable life sweet.

 

Leader:- ‘Blessed are you, Lord, God of life.’

 

GROUP:- BLESSED ARE YOU, LORD, GOD OF LIFE. (All eat Matzah with Haroset.)

The Questions.

Young Person:- “Why is this night different from all other nights?

                     “Why do we not eat leavened bread tonight, but only Matzah?”

                     “Why do we especially eat bitter herbs tonight?                  

                     “Why do we dine tonight with special ceremony?”

Commentator:- Four times Scripture commands us to tell our children of the Exodus from Egypt; four times it repeats:  ‘And you shall tell your children on that day.........’ It is as if there are four different kinds of people, and to each, we should respond in a different way, according to his question, his situation and his need.

Participant:- The wise person asks:- ‘What has the Lord our God commanded us to do?’ To him we should explain the observance of the Passover thoroughly.

GROUP:- IT IS THE WISE WHO WANT TO KNOW THE SERVICE IT IS THEIRS TO DO.

Participant:- The wicked person says:- ‘What it this observance to you?’ Since he says  ‘To you’, and not ‘To us’, he rejects the essentials of our faith. To him we respond sharply; ‘It is because of what the Lord did for ME.....’

GROUP:-  THE WICKED ONE WITHDRAWS HIMSELF FROM ANYTHING BEYOND HIMSELF; AND THUS FROM HIS OWN REDEMPTION.

Participant:- The simple person asks; ‘What is this? To him we say; ‘With a mighty arm God freed us from Egypt, from the house of slavery’.

GROUP:- TO THE PERSON OF OPEN SIMPLICITY, GIVE A STRAIGHTFORWARD ANSWER, FOR THE LAW OF THE LORD MAKES WISE THE SIMPLE.

Participant:- With the person who is unable to ask, you must begin yourself, saying, ‘This is because of what the Lord did for me when I went free from Egypt’.

GROUP:- WITH ONE WHO HAS NO NEED TO KNOW, NO DESIRE TO SERVE, YOU MUST BEGIN YOURSELF TO AWAKEN THE NEED.

Hymn:- Number 473 - ‘Seek Ye First the Kingdom of God’. Or other appropriate hymn..

 

THE NARRATION.

 

Commentator:- There are many questions; there are many ways of asking. Our answer is a history that moved from slavery towards freedom, a narration rising to dignity from degradation. Our story opens with the rule of evil and advances towards the kingdom of God.

GROUP:- WE WERE SLAVES TO PHARAOH IN EGYPT AND THE LORD FREED US WITH HIS GREAT POWER. HAD HE NOT LED US OUT OF EGYPT, THEN WE AND ALL OUR FAMILIES WOULD STILL BE ENSLAVED. SO WE WILL TELL AGAIN THE STORY OF GOD’S LOVE FOR US.

1.  Participant:- In the beginning our fathers lived beyond the river Euphrates. They were social outcasts, Armenians, and they served other Gods. But God drew us nearer to his service

 

2.  Participant:- The Lord took our father Abraham from across the river and led him into the land of Canaan, and increased his descendants; to Abraham he gave Isaac, and to Isaac he gave Jacob, and to Jacob he gave Joseph.

 

3.  Participant:- Joseph was sold by his brothers to be a slave in Egypt, but he became a powerful and trusted servant of Pharaoh. And Joseph had power in the land of Egypt.

 

4.  Participant:- There was a famine in all the lands, but in Egypt there was bread. Pharaoh said to the Egyptians, ‘Go to Joseph, and whatever he tells you, you shall do’. And all the world came to Joseph in Egypt. Jacob and his sons came too and settled in Egypt.

 

5.  Participant:- Joseph died, and all his brothers and all that generation, and Pharaoh died, and the numbers of the Israelites increased. A new King arose over Egypt who did not know Joseph. He said to his people ‘Look the Israelite people are too numerous for us. Let us deal shrewdly with them, lest they increase and in the event of war join our enemies in fighting against us, and take over our country’.

 

 6.   Participant:- So they set guards over them, and made them build cities for Pharaoh with forced  labour. The Egyptians made their lives bitter with heavy labour making mortar and bricks and working in the fields. But the more they were oppressed, the more they increased and spread out, so that the Egyptians came to fear and despise the Israelites. Then Pharaoh commanded his people saying; ‘Every boy that is born to them shall be thrown into the river Nile, but girls may live’.

 

 7.   Participant:- We cried to the Lord, the God of our fathers and the Lord saw our plight, our misery and our oppression.  God heard our moaning, and he remembered his covenant with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. God looked upon the Israelites and he knew.........

 

 8.   Participant:- The Lord sent Moses to lead his People out of Egypt and into their own land. 

     Pharaoh would not let his slaves leave. So God sent plagues on the land of Egypt until    Pharaoh let the Israelites leave, to save his own people.

 

9.  Participant:- And the Lord brought us out of Egypt by his mighty hand by his outstretched arm and awesome power, and by signs and portents; not through any messenger not through any go-between or an angel, but God alone did it - may he be praised.

 

GROUP:- PRAISE OUR GOD WHO KEPT FAITH WITH HIS PEOPLE. WE PRAISE OUR GOD WHOSE ANCIENT PROMISE OF REDEMPTION LIVES ON TO THIS DAY.

Hymn:- Number 351 - ‘Moses, I know you’re the man,’ Or other appropriate hymn.

 

Leader:  Who is like you, O God? Who is like you, awesome in praises, working wonders! The Lord shall reign for ever and ever! How many gifts has God given to us?  Had he brought us out of Egypt and not divided the sea for us;

GROUP:- DA - YE - NU.   (Dayneu = that was enough)

Leader:- Had he permitted us to cross the sea on dry land and not sustained us for 40 years in the desert;

GROUP:- DA - YE - NU.

Leader:- Had he sustained us for 40 years in the desert and not fed us with manna;

GROUP:- DA - YE - NU.

Leader:- Had he fed us with manna and not given us the Sabbath;

GROUP:- DA – YE – NU.

Leader:- Had he given us the Sabbath and not given us the law;

GROUP:- DA - YE - NU.

Leader:- Had he given us the law and not led us to Israel;

GROUP:- DA - YE - NU.

Leader:- Had he led us into the land of Israel and not sent us true prophets;

GROUP:- DA - YE - NU.

Leader:- Had he sent us true prophets and not made us a holy people;

GROUP:- DA – YE – NU.

GROUP:-  HOW MANY REASONS WE HAVE TO BE THANKFUL TO GOD. HE BROUGHT US OUT OF EGYPT, DIVIDED THE RED SEA FOR US, SUSTAINED US FOR 40 YEARS IN THE DESERT, FED US WITH MANNA, GAVE US THE LAW, LED US INTO THE PROMISED LAND, SENT US TRUE PROPHETS AND MADE US A HOLY PEOPLE.

 

Participant:- In family groups, our people ate the paschal  lamb. The shankbone is the symbol of this Passover Sacrifice.  We are reminded that God passed over the houses of our fathers in Egypt during the redemption.

GROUP: IN OUR DAY TOO, GOD IS THE GUARDIAN OF THE HOUSEHOLD AS WE  RENEW THE FAMILY BOND.

 

Participant:- The matzah reminds us that the dough prepared by our people had not time to rise. They baked unleavened bread, since they could not delay, nor had they provided provisions for themselves.

 

GROUP:- TO THE PERSECUTED OF THE EARTH, WE LINK OURSELVES TODAY.

 

Participant:- It is said that we eat Maror because the Egyptians embittered the lives of our people with all the tasks ruthlessly imposed on them.

 

GROUP:- TODAY, AS WELL, WHEREVER SLAVERY REMAINS, WE TASTE ITS BITTERNESS.

 

Commentator: In every generation, each person should feel as though he himself had gone forth from Egypt.

GROUP:-  STILL WE REMEMBER; IT WAS WE WHO WERE SLAVES.....WE WHO WERE STRANGERS.

 

Commentator:-  It was not only our ancestors that the Holy One Redeemed, but us as well, along   with them, as it is written; ‘and he freed us from Egypt so as to take us and give us the land which he had sworn to our fathers’.

 

(ALL RAISE GLASSES BUT DO NOT DRINK.)

 

Leader:  Therefore let us rejoice at the wonder of our deliverance from bondage to freedom, from  agony, from servitude to redemption. Before God let us ever sing a new song.

 

(THE WINE GLASSES ARE SET DOWN, UNTASTED.)

 

Participant:- Blessed be the name of the Lord, from dawn till day finds its end. He looks down from heaven to earth; raises up the poor from the dust. Glorious on high, caring for men, praise our God who makes all men joyful.  Servants of God, sing praises to him. Alleluia.

 

THE CUP OF DELIVERANCE 

Commentator: With the second cup of wine, we recall the second promise of liberation.

GROUP:- I THE LORD, WILL DELIVER YOU FROM SLAVERY.

(ALL RAISE GLASSES.)

 

Leader:- ‘Blessed are you, Lord, God of life.’

GROUP:- BLESSED ARE YOU, LORD, GOD OF LIFE.

 

(ALL DRINK.)          (WASH HANDS IN PREPARATION FOR THE MEAL.)

 

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THE MEAL.

 

(MATZAH WILL BE THE LAST FOOD EATEN.)

 

THE THANKSGIVING.

 

(REFILL GLASSES WITH WINE).

 

Commentator:- Let us give thanks for this meal.

 

GROUP:- THE NAME OF THE ETERNAL GOD BE BLESSED, NOW AND FOREVER. LET US PRAISE HIM OF WHOSE BOUNTY WE HAVE PARTAKEN AND BY WHOSE GOODNESS WE LIVE. THROUGH HIS KINDNESS, MERCY AND COMPASSION, ALL EXISTENCE IS ETERNALLY SUSTAINED. HE IS FOREVER FAITHFUL. HIS SURPASSING GOODNESS FILLS ALL TIME AND SPACE.

GROUP:- SUSTENANCE THERE IS FOR ALL; NONE NEED EVER LACK, NO BEING EVER WENT HUNGRY FOR FOOD. WE PRAISE OUR GOD, THE ONE SUSTAINING ALL.

GROUP:- WE BLESS YOU LORD. WE THANK YOU WITH JOY; WE COME TO YOU WITH A SONG IN OUR HEARTS.

 

Participant:- On this festival of Matzos, inspire us to goodness. On this day of liberation, make us a blessing.  On this festival of Passover, preserve us in life. Make us worthy of the Messianic promise of a world that is yet to be.

Leader:- May he who blessed Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, bless this place, this table, our homes and all assembled here; and so may our loved ones share our blessing.

THE CUP OF REDEMPTION

Commentator: With the third cup of wine, we recall the third promise.

GROUP:- ‘I THE LORD, WILL REDEEM YOU BY MY OUTSTRETCHED ARM’.

 

(ALL RAISE GLASSES. But do not drink).

 

Leader:  We praise you, O God, King of the Universe, creator of the fruit of the vine. We praise you that by your might, you have redeemed us for your kingdom.

 

Leader:- ‘Blessed are you, Lord, God of life.’

GROUP:- BLESSED ARE YOU, LORD, GOD OF LIFE.

 

(ALL DRINK.)

 

THE CUP OF ELIJAH

 

Commentator:- The prophet Elijah had a great love for the poor and downtrodden. Legend says he will return to earth from time to time to befriend the helpless. The prophet Malachi promised that Elijah would return to announce the coming of the Messiah when all mankind would be free. We welcome him to our Seder as a herald, for it it written;

GROUP:- ‘I WILL BRING YOU INTO THE LAND’.

 

Leader:- (Pours and sets aside a cup of wine.) May the All Merciful send us Elijah the Prophet to comfort us with tidings of deliverance.

 

(A YOUNG PERSON OPENS THE DOOR.)

GROUP:- BEHOLD, I WILL SEND YOU ELIJAH THE PROPHET AND HE WILL TURN THE HEARTS OF PARENTS TO THEIR CHILDREN AND THE HEARTS OF CHILDREN TO THEIR PARENTS. BEFORE THE COMING OF THE GREAT AWESOME DAY OF THE LORD. I WILL BRING YOU INTO THE LAND..........I, THE LORD.

 

(YOUNG PERSON CLOSES DOOR.)

Hymn of Praise:- Number 269 - ‘I will sing your Praises’ Verses 1, 2 & 4. Or other appropriate hymn.

 

Commentator:- We sing Alleluia. We praise our God with the ancient chants from the days of the Temple’s glory. Our song is one with all the hymns that celebrate the triumph of men over the powers of destruction, by the might of God.

 

GROUP:- AND WE WILL BE ONE WITH ALL PEOPLES WHO SING PRAISE: PRAISE FOR THE EARTH RESTORED TO ITS GOODNESS: PRAISE TO MEN RESTORED TO THEMSELVES: PRAISE FOR LIFE FULFILLED IN SACRED CELEBRATION.

 

Hymn of Praise:- Number 448 - ‘Praise him, praise him,’ Verses 1 to 4. Or other appropriate hymn.

 

Leader:- Out of the depths, I called upon the Lord. He answered me with deliverance.

 

GROUP:- WE WILL NOT DIE BUT LIVE.        

 

Leader:- The dead praise not the Lord, nor any that go down into silence.

GROUP:- BUT WE WILL PRAISE THE LORD FOR EVER.

 

Leader:- I shall walk before the Lord in the land of the living.

GROUP:- WE WILL NOT DIE BUT LIVE.

 

Leader:- God is my strength and my song, and he has become my triumph.

GROUP:- AND WE WILL PRAISE THE LORD FOR EVER.

 

Leader:- The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone.

 

GROUP:- WE WILL NOT DIE, BUT LIVE, LIVE TO DECLARE THE WORKS OF THE LORD, AND WE WILL PRAISE THE LORD FOREVER. PRAISE THE LORD, MY WHOLE BEING. ALL THAT IS WITHIN ME PRAISE HIS HOLY NAME.

 

THE CUP OF THE FUTURE.

 

Leader:- (Raises a glass of wine.) We set aside this cup as a sign of hope.

GROUP:- AS A SIGN OF THE BEGINNING OF REDEMPTION, THE PEOPLE ISRAEL LIVES.

Leader:- Passing through waters, amidst signs and wonders, was this your people born.

GROUP:- THE PEOPLE ISRAEL LIVES. THIS PEOPLE WHICH YOU FORMED STILL LIVES TO TELL OF YOUR GLORY. THE PEOPLE OF ISRAEL LIVE.

Leader:- Through the great struggle, towards the fulfilment of our longing for the redemption of Israel.

GROUP:- WE AND OUR CHILDREN WILL LIVE. THE PEOPLE OF ISRAEL WILL LIVE.

Leader:- Before us still we dimly glimpse our greatest tasks, our finest work, our most worthy hours.

GROUP:- TO PLAN, TO BUILD AND TO BLESS, WHEREVER THE PEOPLE OF ISRAEL LIVE.

Leader:- We praise you O God, King of the Universe, for you have blessed us with your Law, and commanded us to renew the hope of redemption.

(Glass is set down untasted.)

Hymn of Praise:- Number 560 - ‘This is the day’ First verse only. Repeated three times. Or other appropriate hymn.

 

THE CUP OF ACCEPTANCE

 

Commentator:- As our Seder draws to an end, we take up our cups again. The fourth cup reminds us of our covenant with the Eternal One, and recalls us to the tasks that still await us a people called to serve God.

GROUP:- FOR OUR GOD SAID ‘I WILL TAKE YOU TO BE MY PEOPLE’.

(ALL RAISE GLASSES.)

Leader:- We praise you, O God, King of the Universe, creator of the fruit of the vine. You have called us to be your holy people and have made us signs of hope for the world. For this we thank you.

GROUP:- BLESSED ARE YOU, LORD, GOD OF LIFE.

(ALL DRINK.)

 

THE PEACE

Commentator:- This Seder is now ended, its rites observed in full and its purpose revealed. Now let us go in peace.

GROUP: PEACE, PEACE FOR US, PEACE FOR ALL PEOPLE.  THIS IS OUR HOPE  FOR ALL PEOPLE. MAY ALL BE FREE.

 

(Not part of the Official Seder but at this point it can be appropriate to offer each other a Sign of Peace).