The Rabbis got it right when they created the interactive, child-friendly, home-based Seder as the way to tell the Pesach story – our people’s master story. Despite what many may think, the Haggadah is not a rigid, unchanging canonized text. It has always been more of a road map or a template. Almost since its inception, Jews around the world have adapted the Seder to accommodate their current circumstances. We do not open the door for Elijah because we really expect to find him on our porch. We open the door because during most of our history we were afraid of who might be watching or listening. While the door is open, we recite, “Pour out your wrath . . .” We certainly don’t want anybody outside to hear that passage, which was was added during the Middle Ages in response to the Crusades and pogroms which typically occurred around Easter and Pesach. More recently, many have added symbolic foods and prayers to reflect the world in which WE live now. Over the years, we have used the flexible format of the Haggadah to talk about so many other issues. Sometimes we added a physical symbol to the table; other times a prayer or reading. We have talked about hunger, refugees, immigrants, race relations, and human trafficking. I also found readings about missing Israeli soldiers and Israeli victims of terrorism. And sadly, this year another new, heartbreaking addition will appear on our Seder table. We will eat dried dates and recite the Prayer for the State of Israel to represent our desperate hope and prayers for the return of our hostages and safety of our IDF soldiers. These are some of the other practices that we have included in our family Seders.
THIS YEAR – DATES
This year we add whole dates to our table to symbolize our heartbreak over the October 7 massacre in Israel, our desperation for the release of our hostages, and both our anguish and resolve about the current war. Click this link to get the reading that I created to go with the symbolic dates.seder_supplement_2024_-_reading_for_dates_and_israel.pdf The current rise in open and unapologetic Anti Semitism is terrifying. So, while we celebrate our freedom, at our Seder we will also offer our guests resources to help them deal with personal attacks, social media, and political action.
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Kugel Chronicles
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