Va’afilu
kulanu chachamim, kulanu n’vonim, kulanu z’keinim, kulanu yod’im et haTorah,
mitzvah aleinu l’sapeir yitzi’at Mitzraiyim
Even if all of us were wise, all of us understanding, all of us
knowing the Torah, we would still be obligated to discuss the exodus from
Egypt. (From the Magid)
The Passover
seder is the most observed Jewish ritual. So ingrained in our psyche, there are
even secular, humanistic haggadot. The challenge then is not to encourage
sedarim, but to ensure annual sedarim that we all want to attend. Perhaps you,
like me, can recite the translation from the red and yellow Ktav haggadah that
seems to have been passed down at Sinai. But this is not enough. The seder is
meant to be a living text, one that grows each year with our own knowledge.
Frustration by generations, who recognize this, combined with inspiration from
countless haggadah texts, centuries old and from around the world, has sparked
a plethora of new haggadot. They seek to inspire and to teach, to aid current
and future seder leaders to create sedarim as they were meant to be, an
exciting first-person reenactment of our collective story. It matters not if we
have heard the story before. Each year we bring new experience, new knowledge
to the seder. Each year we are
new, and our relation to our story and our people is new. Therefore, even if
all of us are wise, with knowledge and understanding of the Torah, we are still
obligated to discuss, teach, and learn the story of the exodus from Egypt.
This presents
us with a challenge. How are we to prevent the rote repetition of the Pesach
story? When our children are you they bring questions. The seder itself is
designed for this. Strange practices make us wonder. But by the time we reach
our teen years they seem old hat, just part of the ritual. Our challenge is to
make the seder new each year, not just for our children, but for us all.
The seder is
not a static ritual, but a living text. We all know the parameters. We begin
our sedarim with them each year. Kadesh, Orchatz, Karpas, Yachatz, Magid,
Rochtza, Motzi Matzah, Maror, Korech, Shulchan Orech, Tzafon, Barech, Hallel,
Nirtza. Rather than worrying about the rote repetition of the words, follow the
steps. Tell the story through your actions. Explain the required symbols[i]
and discuss what they mean to you today. Make the seder your own.
Songs,
questions, art, news stories, and more can make the seder real for each of us.
Our music changes each year. There are the traditional songs, from Had Gadya to
the Ballad of the Four Sons, but there are also songs that represent us. We
sing labour movement songs. Hallel changes. We have used Jewish and Israeli
music, Broadway show tunes, and Disney songs. We have consulted with guests to
find out their favourites, and invited them to bring their own songs and
stories.
Each year we
buy a new haggadah. They come from the full range of Jewish experience, from
around the world and throughout history. We find new ideas and inspiration from
these haggadot. We begin to pull them out after Purim, and mark pages or make
notes. Last week I found a note I had written over ten years ago. It spoke to
me, and I will bring it to our seder.
The story of the exodus is
our formative Myth.[ii] It makes us
who we are as a people. It is a story that we should live and breathe. It
should make us proud and make us wonder.
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