Pesah Sameah! Happy Passover! On Passover we celebrate

Transcription

1 INSPIRING A COMMUNITY OF LIFELONG LEARNERS Passover GUIDE 2018/5778 Kadesh: The Passover Seder as a Holy Experience By Rabbi Bryan Wexler ravbryan@tbsonline.org Pesah Sameah! Happy Passover! On Passover we celebrate the Exodus from Egypt and freedom. On Passover we celebrate tradition and continuity, peoplehood and family. On Passover we celebrate holiness. The theme of holiness kicks off each seder on the first two nights of the holiday. The first of the fifteen steps of the seder is Kadesh, sanctification. As such, we begin each seder with the recitation of Kiddush, praising God and sanctifying the day. The Kiddush we recite concludes with the words: ה ת אברוך מ ניםז ה ו ל א ר ש י ( ו ת ב ש ה :תבשל) ש ד ק מ,'ה Baruch Atah Adonai, m kadeish yisrael v hazmanim Baruch Atah Adonai, m kadeish yisrael v hazmanim Blessed are You, O God, who sanctifies Israel and the times of the year. Note that this year, since the first seder will be on Shabbat, we will add the word Shabbat to the blessing. We begin the seder by celebrating holiness and specifically the holiness that God bestows upon us and special moments such as the holiday of Passover. These words of blessing implore us to think about that which is holy in our lives. As we sit around our seder table, joined by family, friends, and loved ones, we are reminded of the holiness that fills the room. It is a linear holiness that reaches across to those we love and that stretches back in time to those who are no longer with us and to our ancestors that came before us. It is also a vertical holiness that extends upwards to God and strives to connect heaven and earth. Finally, it is a temporal holiness that marks the holidays and recognizes the special moments in our lives. Kadesh, reciting Kiddush, implores us to ask: How does our history and our people bring holiness to our lives and what are the special moments that elevate each of us? We hope that you will use this Passover Guide & Haggadah Supplement to prepare for your seders and have it with you at your seder table. Use it to help elevate your conversations and celebrations of the holiday for people of all ages and in doing so, may it bring an added sense of holiness to your families this Pesah season. Here and on the following pages you will find selected steps of the seder highlighted with explanations and commentaries from our clergy as well as pre-seder homework, activities for children, and discussion questions to make that step of the seder more family-friendly. Cantor Cohen has also made some recordings which can be found at tbsonline.org/passover. This Passover season, may we each feel the holiness that surrounds us and through our celebration of the holiday may we embrace the sense of Kadesh, sanctity, that we hope will remain with us and help to carry us throughout the year. Hag Kasher V Sameah! Pre-Seder Homework Send each guest three slips of paper: Comment, Question, Story. Tell them that each person needs to offer one of each during the seder, i.e. use up their coupons. Telling your guests about this in advance will give them a chance to prepare. Activities for Children Make up a big posterboard with the order of the seder (Kadesh, Orchatz, etc. etc.) in boxes, and have stickable pieces with pictures (wine cup, washing cup, matzah, set table, etc.) for the kids to run up to place in the correct place when we get to that part of the seder. Take a broom handle -- it's the staff of Moses, which by a miracle has passed through the ages to our table. Have each person introduce the one to her/his right and say something that is special, or holy about that person. Play Seder Bingo, and give each child a Bingo card to put a sticker or some food item on the corresponding square when you get to the part of the Seder on the square. Make each card different. Questions for Discussion In what ways do you feel connected to our history and the people of Israel? Who are the people that make your life holy? Describe a moment or time when you felt a sense of holiness in your life. How has the seder been a holy experience for you in years past?

2 Rabbi Berkowitz is the Director of Israel Programs for JTS & cofounder of Kol Ha-Ot, a program that explores the arts & Jewish learning. The Rabbi Berkowitz Scholar in Residence Weekend is made possible by a generous grant from the TBS Endowment Fund. Temple Beth Sholom Artist in Residence Weekend with Rabbi Matthew Berkowitz Rabbi Berkowitz will be traveling from Israel to work with our communities at Temple Beth Sholom and Kellman Brown Academy on March 14-March 18 to explore the power of Jewish art through the study of Passover. In addition, the following programs are open to the community: Thursday March 15, 1pm Hazak Program Seventy Years of Israel Through Contemporary Israeli Art Friday Evening, March 16, 6:15pm Shabbat services followed by dinner with a discussion of: From Samuel the Prophet to Herzl the Visionary: The Roots of Modern Zionism $36 per person Saturday, March 17, 9:30am Torah Discussion at Shabbat Morning Services Parashat Vayikra: From Sacrifice to Seder, Understanding a Rabbinic Revolution Sunday, March 18 Passover University ElEctivE session: Imaging and Imagining the Four Children 9am KEynotE address: Creative Ideas to Enrich Your Family Seder 10am project yahad, program for individuals with special needs and their families 11:30am Funding for this program has been received through a grant from the Jewish Federation of Southern NJ For more information, or to RSVP for the March 16 Shabbat Dinner please contact: Jill Hammel, jillh@tbsonline.org 1901 Kresson Road TBSONLINE.ORG See page 7 for additional RSVP information. 2 Passover Guide

3 Order up! Questions for some of the steps of the seder Kadesh When does the year begin? Between Rosh Hashanah and December 31 st, there are certainly enough new years on our calendar! The rabbis of the Talmud taught that that there were four new years throughout our year the first of Elul, Tishre, 15 th of Shevat and the first of Nissan. The first of Nissan is the holiday of Passover. Passover is a celebration of the moment when we became a people free to determine our destiny and partnership with God. It is also time when we renew our connection and commitment to our community and family. As we raise our glass for Kiddush, what new beginnings are you celebrating this year? Yahatz breaking the matzah In every generation there are broken pieces in our world that we are responsible to try to fix. There are a number of traditions as to which matzah to break, but most of us today break the middle matzah, saving the bigger piece for dessert (the afikoman). Matzah is described in our tradition as lehem oni poor person s bread. It is a reminder of the hardships we faced in Egypt as well as our responsibility to help those in need. As you break the middle matzah, share with your seder which tzedakot, charities, you are supporting this year that you hope will fix some of the brokenness in the world and why. Rahtzah As the Seder continues we remember the story of Passover (Maggid) followed by experiencing some of the ritual items from the Exodus (matzah, maror, haroset). However, before we taste the matzah or maror, we must prepare. Our hands represent the tools that we use to make the world a little more complete. When we do Rahtzah, the ritual washing of our hands, we symbolically refocus ourselves and prepare for what is ahead. After washing we share the two blessings of matzah and it is (almost) time for our Passover meal. Before you wash your hands, share a renewed focus for the upcoming year. Korekh A central theme of Passover is teaching and learning, sharing stories and creating ritual. Korekh, Hillel s sandwich, is a reminder of the importance of teachers in our lives as well as our continual challenge to keep learning and growing. Who was your favorite teacher this year? Why? What lesson did he or she teach you? Barekh As the seder begins to conclude, we are again reminded of our challenge to live lives of gratitude. Barekh, Birkat Hamazon, the Grace After Meals, focuses on our thanks for food, the land and our partnership with God. What do you give thanks for this year? TBS is holding a Passover Food Drive through Monday, March 26. Donations of ready-to-serve kosher for Passover food, scrip or gift cards are greatly appreciated. Collection bins are located in the TBS Main Lobby and Education Center Lobby. TBS has an ongoing food collection throughout the year, and items received are donated to the JFCS Betsy and Peter Fischer Food Pantries. Purchase Gift Cards for your Passover shopping and support TBS! Passover is fast approaching, and we are all starting to think about what we need to buy at the supermarket. ShopRite has a wonderful selection of everything you ll need for your Passover shopping. What better way to support TBS than to buy ShopRite scrip (gift cards)! If 100 families purchased $100 of gift cards each week for 50 weeks of the year (i.e. ShopRite) we would sell $500,000 and make $25,000 for TBS. We earn 5% on the sale of ShopRite scrip. ShopRite gift cards, as well as many other gift cards, are available during normal Gift Shop business hours: Monday 10-1, Wednesday 10-8, Friday and Sunday They are also available at the TBS office Monday through Thursday 9-5 and Friday 9-3. Please support this easy fundraising project!! Stop by the Gift Shop for all your Passover needs! Come to the Gift Shop and take a look at the beautiful new items for your Passover table. There are also some wonderful hostess gifts to take to family and friends for the holidays. Passover Sedarim TBS will be helping to provide home hospitality for those who would like to attend a Passover seder. This project is known as Kol Dikhfin (All who are hungry ) from the verse we recite at the beginning of the seder inviting all who are hungry to join us. We are particularly reaching out to college students who attend local schools, but whose families are not from this area. We ll try to make matches that result in compatibility between host and guests in terms of kashrut, style of seder, etc. Think of how welcome a student far from home will feel when invited to your seder table! If you d be willing to host some guests, please contact the synagogue office or Rabbi Peltz at ravmicah@tbsonline.org. Passover Guide 3

4 The Seder Leader calls out: "Karpas" By Rabbi Steven Lindemann, Karpas is usually a spring, green vegetable. In our house, we always use parsley (which Jane, when she was a child, once told her mother was her favorite part of a meal!). Spring is, of course, associated with new birth and growth, and the parsley represents a fresh taste of new-found freedom. It is dipped in salt water -- a memory of the tears shed in slavery or perhaps tears of joy! Which interpretation do you prefer? A clever cartoon from the Haggadah titled A Night To Remember graphically illustrates the fact that Karpas may be associated with an ancient practice of eating extensive appetizers before the meal, each with its own particular dip. Continuing to dip and eat a variety of fresh vegetables and other treats throughout the seder may sustain the participants through the lengthy Maggid (Telling) section of the Haggadah. (Just make sure that you re not too full to appreciate the taste of the matzah or the meal which somebody surely worked hard to prepare.) Notice the variety of foods in the Carpas-O'Mat. Remember, all of the items have to be kosher for Passover, and you may use rice in the sushi if you are Sephardic or follow the majority opinion of the Conservative Movement s Law Committee. (The minority opinion, authored by Rabbi Peltz, and which received only one vote, says no rice.) Some Haggadahs suggest a reading from Shir HaShirim (Song of Songs) at this point in the seder. Song of Songs is traditionally read at services on Passover because it contains imagery associated with spring and it is love poetry allegorically expressing the relationship of God and B nai Yisraeyl: For now the winter is past, The rains are over and gone. The blossoms have appeared in the land. Arise, my darling, My fair one, come away. (Song of Songs, 2: 11-13) You might encourage somebody to bring poetry reflecting the theme of spring, new growth, or freedom. Karpas is an opportunity for creativity. Pre-Seder Homework You might try inviting some of your guests to bring their own symbols of spring to present at this point in the seder. Some will almost certainly bring flowers, but if you encourage them to think creatively you may get some fascinating items. Over the years, we have had toy lawnmowers, baseball gloves, spring cleaning supplies, and allergy medications. A bit of levity is always a welcome addition to the seder. (But don t dip any of these in salt water. 4 Passover Guide Activities for Children Karpas can be more than parsley. Any spring, green vegetable will do. Create a healthy and tasty vegetable bar! For a different twist, consider adding fruits to dip in chocolate! Salt water tasting game: Create several bowls of salt water that are more and less salty. Have children dip their karpas in the various bowls and determine which ones are least to most salty. Questions for Discussion Which interpretation of the salt water do you prefer? Does it represent the tears of slavery or the tears of the joy of freedom? Since karpas represents birth and growth, how have you grown this year? In what ways do you hope to grow in the coming year? Have a discussion about the importance of freedom. What role does it play in your life? In what ways are we free and in what ways are we enslaved in our lives today?

5 מגיד Maggid Telling the Story of the Exodus By Rabbi Micah Peltz, Maggid is the core section of the Passover seder. It is where we tell the story of the Exodus and seek to find ways to apply its lessons and themes to our world and our lives. We tell the story through song, symbols, and actions. At the very end of Maggid, just when we think we have covered it all, we find this statement: אל חספב ולארבן םירבד גמליאל השלשהיה רמאאומר אלשכל לכשלא רמוא היה אמרלאילמג ןבר ותבוח ידי אצי ר שלשה שלא דבריםאמר אלו בפסח שלשהלא דברים יצא ידי ואלו הן פ חובתו פסח מצה ואלו ומרור רורמוהןהצמ פסחספ מצה ןה ולאו ומרור Rabban Gamliel would say: Anyone who does not explain the significance of three things during the Passover seder has not fulfilled their duty. They are: The Passover sacrifice, the Matzah and the Maror (bitter herbs). Rabban Gamliel lived in the land of Israel in the late first century of the common era. He was the main architect of the ancient seder, which grew into the seder we celebrate today. Though we have already mentioned the Passover sacrifice, the Matzah and the Maror while we told the Passover story, Rabban Gamliel insists that we also explain their significance. This is quite unique, as nowhere else does our liturgy insist that we explain mitzvot in addition to actually doing them. So why does Rabban Gamliel require explanation here? Some scholars see it as a polemic against early Christians, who lived at the same time as Rabban Gamliel, and who interpreted these symbols differently. Rabban Gamliel required explanations because he wanted to make sure that the Jewish understanding of their meaning was clear. Others think that Rabban Gamliel simply wanted to emphasize the three items that constituted the original seder as found in the Torah: They shall eat the meat [of the lamb] roasted over the fire, with Matzah and with Maror. (Exodus 12:8). Others see this as good pedagogy. At the end of telling the Passover story, Rabban Gamliel wants to drive home its essential lessons, all of which stem from these edible symbols. As Rabbi Jonathan Sacks writes: The story explains the food; the food allows us to relive the story The Passover lamb symbolizes freedom. The Maror represents slavery. Matzah combines both. It was the bread the Israelites ate in Egypt as slaves. It was also the bread they ate when leaving Egypt as free people. All of this leads to the final statement of the Maggid section, which challenges us each year: In every generation one is obligated to see oneself as one who personally went out from Egypt. Pre-Seder Homework (from A Different Night Haggadah) Rabban Gamliel identifies the Passover sacrifice, Matzah and Maror as the three essential mementos from the Exodus to be revisited annually on seder night. Similarly, each of us keeps heirlooms of our personal past that we pass on to our children. Ask people coming to your seder to bring one item that represents their personal Jewish identity, or that preserves some pivotal memory. At the seder explain their choices, and display the mementos. Activity for Children (from A Different Night Haggadah) Keeping with the idea that these three items represent the most important symbols of the seder, go around the table asking everyone to fill in the blank: When I left Egypt, I took with me my most treasured possession. The participants in turn must repeat the objects mentioned and add their own. Questions for Discussion What are the three essential things needed to live a Jewish life today? What does it mean to be free today? What does it mean to be enslaved? 36 times the Torah says that we should not oppress a stranger for we were strangers in Egypt. How does this mitzvah (commandment) speak to our world and our responsibilities today? Challenge Question! Some commentaries point out that the order of the Passover sacrifice, Matzah and Maror in Rabban Gamliel s statement doesn t fit with the story. First the lives of the Israelites were embittered by slavery (maror), then they used the lamb to put blood on their doorposts, and finally they took their matzah and left. Why does Rabban Gamliel list these items in this order? Passover Guide 5

6 Hallel It s What s Before and After Dinner By Cantor Jen Cohen, cantorcohen@tbsonline.org After all the matzah, maror, storytelling, and a delicious Pesah dinner oh, and three out of the four cups of Manischewitz it can be difficult to remember that there s anything left in our seder, but I m here to say, Halleluyah! There s more! Hallel means praise Hallelu-Yah is to praise God and what better time to sing songs of praise than the night we devote our time to remembering God bringing us out of Egypt? As David Moss writes in his stunning Moss Haggadah, On this night, more than at any other time during the year, redemption and joy unite, and we Jews love to sing to express our joy. Continuing the imperative of the seder to make this night different from all other nights, this is an unusual Hallel service. First, it s the only time we ever sing Hallel after dark all other nights we sing it in the morning! Second, we sing it sitting down, while in shul we always stand for Hallel. And it s the only time we split it in two, starting it before dinner with Psalms 113 and 114, and completing it over the fourth cup of wine after our meal. Enhancing your seder with these songs of praise can also get your family out of their seats. When you sing Psalm 114, you re celebrating the crossing of the Red Sea and b tzeit Yisrael the exodus from Egypt. Go to tbsonline.org/passover and choose from two different tunes for this one. You can learn it while preparing your home for Pesah, then, at your seder, you can reenact how the Israelites must have felt pretty happy, for sure! by marching together around your table. You can ask the question at your seder: when did you overcome a major challenge? How did you feel? What did you do to celebrate? Adding some of the psalms of Hallel will add a great deal of joy to your family s Pesah celebration. We ll have some tracks up on our TBS website to help you learn these songs of praise to sing at your table. Hag Sameah and Halleluyah! Pre-Seder Homework In addition to going to the TBS website and learning some new tunes for your seder, ask people coming to your seder to write a new song for Hallel. Invite them to try using the traditional Hallel songs and put them to a new tune or to write their own lyrics of praise to a traditional Hallel melody. 6 Passover Guide Activities for Children Have children put the words to one of the Psalms of Hallel to their favorite pop music. Hallel Dance Party! Have children make up dance moves to the Hallel tunes. Once the children have created the dance moves, have all participants cross the Red Sea while singing Hallel and dancing. Then discuss how it felt and how the Israelites must have felt when they crossed the Red Sea. Questions for Discussion What role does music and song play in prayer and expressing praise? When did you overcome a major challenge in your life? How did you feel? What did you do to celebrate? Go around the table and offer words of praise for one another. What is a special quality about the person sitting to your right or to your left?

7 Flowers for Passover Order your flowers to benefit TBS Sisterhood. Dress up your holiday table with beautiful flowers that will be delivered to your home or send flowers to family and friends. This year s flowers will be ordered through Mums the Word, a florist with creative design, located in Marlton. Flowers will be delivered on Thursday, March 29 and Friday, March 30. Orders must be received by Wednesday, March 21. Free delivery to local towns. For selection, pricing and to order contact Debbie Swerdlow at debswerd@comcast.net, or go to tbsonline.org/flowersale. TBS Passover Wine Sale Fill out your order form and join us at our wine tastings! Proceeds support our student education programs. Cash, check, credit cards accepted. For more information contact the Education Department at Wine Tastings: Sunday, March 4, 11, :30 am Pick Up: Sunday, March 25 9 am 12 pm Passover Kiddushim As our TBS family prepares to celebrate Passover as a community, kindly consider making a contribution that will help to beautify our Passover Kiddushim following services. Contributions may be made in honor of our community or a loved one, or in memory of a loved one, and will be recognized in our Passover and Shabbat Announcements and in Temple Talk. $36 Karpas $72 Maror $180 Matzah $360 Shulhan Orekh (Festive Meal) Other Selling the Hametz Any hametz owned by a Jew during the week of Passover is forbidden for actual use forever. If, therefore, one cannot dispose of all hametz before Passover, he must arrange for a formal mechirat hametz or sale of that hametz to a non-jew. All hametz in your possession should be collected and locked in a spare room, closet or trunk. All hametz dishes and utensils should also be placed in a special room or closet until after Pesah, after having been thoroughly scoured and cleansed. See the Rabbi personally to authorize a bill of sale. If that s not possible, mail this form to the Rabbi before March 27. It is customary to make a donation for tzedakah as part of this transaction. Name Address Phone Amount enclosed: $ In honor of In memory of For more information about sponsoring our Passover Kiddushim, please contact Jill Hammel at (856) x204 or jillh@tbsonline.org. Rabbi Berkowitz Shabbat Dinner Friday, March 16 Please return to the TBS office with a check payable to TBS. Name Adults at $36/person Hametz Sale I,, hereby authorize Rabbi Lindemann to dispose of all my hametz wherever it may be stored. This I do in accordance with the requirements and provisions of Jewish Law. Name Hebrew Name Address Phone number address Vegetarian meals Dietary restrictions Amount enclosed Passover Guide 7

8 1901 Kresson Road Cherry Hill, NJ NON PROFIT ORGANIZATION U.S. POSTAGE PAID PERMIT NO. 910 BELLMAWR, NJ The TBS Officers, Board of Directors, Clergy and Staff wish you all a happy and kosher Passover. The Rabbinical Assembly Pesah Guide is available by going to rabbinicalassembly.org/pesah-guide R&B Guys Night Out and Seder Summit Sunday, March 18 6:30-8 pm Cost: $40 Ribs, Bourbon and Passover Learning with Rabbi Peltz and Rabbi Wexler Must be at least 21 years old to attend. RSVP to Seth Mirowitz at smirowitz@gmail.com SERVICE SCHEDULE In observance of Passover, the TBS office will be closed on Friday, March 30 (at 1 pm) and Friday, April 6. Friday, March 30 7 am, Siyum for First Born Erev Pesah no evening services Saturday, March 31 9:30 am, 1st day of Passover Minha following Kiddush No late services Sunday, April 1 9:30 am, 2nd day of Passover 7:30 pm, Minha Ma ariv Thursday, April 5 6:15 pm, Minha Ma ariv Friday, April 6 9:30 am, 7th day of Passover 6:15 pm, Minha Ma ariv Saturday, April 7 9:30 am, 8th day of Passover; Yizkor 7:15 pm, Minha Ma ariv