Passover Seder is right around the corner (read: less than a month away!). There are many, many ways to conduct a Pesach seder, but I want to make sure you have three ways to elevate your seder this year.
First, bring new people to the seder; it’s a mitzvah!
If you’re hosting, invite a member of the Temple Emanu-El community through our Seder Shidduch service HERE. If you’re a guest at someone’s home this year, ask if you can bring a friend; or, spend one of the two seder nights with a new family. Temple Emanu-El’s Seder Shidduch service HERE is also matching folks who want to be guests at a home.
Second, share your bread with the poor.
Every year, before we begin the seder meal, we hold up the matzah and say, “this is the bread of affliction all who are hungry come and eat.” While it’s a little late in that point of the seder to invite new guests, you can fulfill this command for hospitality by making donations of food or money to the Community Assistance Center, Garden Isaiah, or Temple Emanu-El’s Caring Committee—all three provide food to folks who need it most.
Third, raise up the story of those who are still enslaved today.
We remind ourselves of our ancient slavery not to give ourselves a pat on the back; rather, we are commanded to remember our Exodus to lift others out of slavery and persecution as well. When you read the story of our Exodus during your Seder, talk about others in our world who are still oppressed, persecuted, or enslaved: children who are denied their dignity and potential, women who are prevented from pursuing higher education, careers, or bodily autonomy, or animals that are treated like machines and inanimate objects rather than creations of God.
There are many, many ways to celebrate Pesach. This year, make some additions to your seder that will elevate the experience of you and your guests. Whether you’re hosting or being hosted, you too are supposed to see yourself as having left Egypt. Help others to feel the same and transform the seder night(s) into a thought-provoking evening.
Shabbat shalom,
Rabbi Max
