B'riah is the world of creation. As we move towards physical manifestation and come out of Atzilut, you recognize yourself as a "creative impulse. Perform and channel as Divine Artist. You are always conceiving, visions and synthesis, and manifesting our imagination of what never has been, but what could be. You are self-conscious that you exist as an archetype of creative energy; you craft new understandings, opening dimensions, previously unconceived of or thought possible. Enjoy Creating!" -Rabbi David Wolfe-Blank
Now we are an archetype, and we create a blueprint for what is possible now that we have just witnessed, in the 1st cup, the all-pervasive oneness of divinity. This is the world of the intellect, more dense than the world of light. We think, and we do mental exercises, and we discern wisdom.
In sacred activist spaces, we can get stuck here, in the idealistic phase of a movement. We look for the wisdom in peace movements and we study great changemakers and spiritual traditions, but we too often do not apply these to our lives. As we drink this cup, let us revel in the brilliancy of our intellect, the wisdom that we have access to, and vow to bring it with us into the next cup of wine as well.
KIDDUSH
בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יְיָ, אֱלֹהֵינוּ מֶלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם, בּוֹרֵא פְּרִי הַגָּפֶן
Baruch Atah Adonai, Eloheinu Melech ha-olam, borei p’ree hagafen.
We praise God, Spirit of Everything, who creates the fruit of the vine.
It is true that the Egyptians placed back-breaking labor upon us, but our tradition reveals that there is more to the story. Our Sages tell us that originally Pharaoh made a call for volunteers to join in a public project of city building. In other words, the Jewish people were not forced to show up at first. They responded voluntarily. However, when they wanted to leave, the taskmaster suddenly appeared and told them that they could not. This pattern is not unfamiliar to us. Many of us can recall a time when our drug of choice was something we could "take or leave" as we pleased. Or that the pain of the world just "isn't a big deal." However, there came a day when we wanted to stop using recreational substances, or wanted to end the pain of the world, and realized that there was so little that our hands could do alone. At this point, only dedication to ourselves in our community could restore the power of transformation.
What was, if any, the moment that you realized you were a slave to something? That your participation was no longer voluntary?
The Haggadah tells us that the Egyptians enslaved the Jews “with crushing labor.” What was uniquely crushing about the labor the Jews were forced to engage in? Our tradition tells us that the cities the Jewish people were forced to build were built upon swampland. Every day they would toil their utmost, and the next morning they would return to the worksite only to find that everything that they had built the previous had sunk into the ground. Therefore, what was so crushing was not the degree of hard work but its inherent pointlessness. No matter how hard they worked, their work was ultimately unproductive. For many, who work towards social change, progress can feel like this. We make strides, and then we have a new president and all of the work that we've done is immediately erased. It can feel pointless. Main lament that nothing has happened and nothing can change. But is that because that statement is true, or is that because we need a new home for the work? The Hebrews were trying to build within a crumbling system, and their work was futile. But when they escaped from Egypt, they built a nation, divinely lead.
The Splitting of the Sea is one of the most emblematic miracles in Jewish history; yet, it is also one of the most misunderstood. If the purpose of splitting the sea was merely so the Jewish people could escape the oncoming Egyptian armies, there are so many other ways that God could have saved them. Why did God specifically choose to split the sea? (God doesn't do a miracle for naught.) Kabbalistic teachings explain that the dry land and the sea are symbolic of the material world and the spiritual world, respectively. Everything on dry land is readily apparent to us—just as the material world is easy to see. That which is submerged beneath the water is hidden from our view—just as spiritual reality cannot be seen with our physical eyes. The Splitting of the Sea, therefore, represents removing the cover that obscures our view of spirituality, allowing us to see the hidden spiritual truths as clearly as we are normally able to see the material. It's important for us to realize that the Exodus was not merely a process by which we gained freedom from our oppressors. It was also, and perhaps even more so, a process through which we uncovered our true potential and finally encountered our true selves. Each of us experiences "sea-splitting moments," where the spirituality that was concealed deeply within is suddenly revealed and is as plain to see as the physical. Indeed, we might say that this revelation of our deepest self is the entire point of the enslavement and ensuing Exodus. If we would have merely left our taskmasters and gained freedom without uncovering the deepest spiritual truths within ourselves, our exodus would be profoundly lacking. In simple terms that we can relate to, this means that recovery is about so much more than just the freedom from drugs, alcohol, and other destructive behaviors, and sacred activism is more than just the steps we take towards a brighter future in the name of the divine. This work is about revealing inner spiritual powers that had been hidden within and would otherwise have never become known to us. It is from that place of renewed experiential, doughy knowing of the self that we can be effective in transformation.
There are those of us who are upset by the reading of the plagues. We are aware of the cruelty of the Egyptians. At the same time, it is difficult for us to read about such calamities as the plagues befalling any people. But there is a reason why these details were included in the Haggadah. Up to this point, we've been speaking about the story of our slavery in Egypt from our own perspective. We've discussed our powerlessness as slaves and what God did for us when we surrendered to him. But there is a parallel "story within the story"-the Egyptian perspective. Pharaoh and his people also experienced a story of slavery. However, their story does not end well for them. Pharaoh, in his arrogance, refused to ever acknowledge the pain of his people. He brought himself and his entire nation to the point of devastation to stay in power.
Ramon Parrish at a Naropa University teach-in said about imminent fascism in the United States, "sis white men, they're recruiting you." When you were in a position of privilege, it may feel like you are untouchable, that because the demands in needs of your tribe are being fulfilled, it doesn't matter if it is not happening for other tribes around you. Though you may not be able to see it, this will cause your destruction.
The United States will start screening immigrants phones for potentially antisemitic remarks. This is not a win for Jewish people. Do the Jewish people really want to be responsible for the pain and suffering of immigrants who need asylum in the United States? And, how blind are we to not see that we are being recruited as a people into active whiteness, into oppression, into apathy about the pain of our neighbors in our name?
There is no freedom until we are all free. When we neglect to stand against any and all oppression, we are complicit in the lack of freedom worldwide, including decades of relentless oppression, ethnic cleansing, and displacement of Palestinians, the rising antisemitism at our doorstep, and the displacement and ethnic cleansing of hundreds and thousands of native people from their native lands, including what we have allowed to happen on American soil. And we will also hurt. There is no liberation without collective liberation.
Seder night is a journey into another time and place. It is a swift glance at the darkest night of the human soul and a lingering dance with liberty and freedom. It is a long play with family and food and a short sharp reminder of the depths to which we may plummet when the framework and fabric of our life decays. There are washing of hands and breaking of bread. There are stories and unfamiliar foods. There are roles for children and playful songs for adults. There is wonder and enchantment, heroes and wicked adversaries, stories of Revelation and Retribution. There is even time to partake in a full Festival meal.
If the Seder is an adventure, the Haggadah is a Map, Guide, Directory, and Vehicle.
The main event of Passover and Seder night is the Exodus from Egypt, the miraculous birth and redemption of the Jewish People. One cannot be long on the spiritual path without becoming increasingly aware of how close the ideas of Exodus and Recovery are. But the Seder is not simply a description of the Exodus. It is an opportunity to scrutinize the real issue: OUR slavery. We were slaves and now we are free. So what then is freedom? Does it mean we may now do whatever we want?
If we try that route, we will soon find ourselves back on the road into Egypt. Freedom is not license. It is the absence of constraint and an awesome lifelong struggle. We have learned this lesson, painfully, again and again. For when we became habituated to any self-destructive behavior, we were no longer free. Whether the behavior is substance use, gambling, or fixing people's lives. Whether it is self-denial, fasting, smoking, or co-dependent relationships. And when we take our freedom for granted, we become Egypt. The word for Egypt in the Torah is Mitzrayim, which does not translate to Egypt at all, but rather the narrow place. We encase ourselves in the narrow place of self-righteousness and an inability to take accountability, creating our own slavery even if we are the one's calling the shots from a place of privilege.
This then is what the Haggadah is about. Long before the 12 Steps were formalized, before therapy, before restorative justice and dialogues in collective liberation, people knew a way. The Haggadah describes the Recovery process of an entire people, hundreds of thousands, adults and children.
This year, we need to be liberated from something, and Passover comes to teach us that now is the time. We need a new beginning. So, what is our new beginning this year? What is the transformation we need to make in the rhythm of our lives that will allow us to be liberated from the enslavements that we are currently in?
These questions are hard ones to ask, as they require us to be radically honest with ourselves about what we are addicted to, how we are keeping ourselves enslaved, and how the way we keep ourselves enslaved creates oppression. Now is the opportunity to leave behind the safety of Egypt, the illusory safety of denial, and name your addiction/enslavement so that you can be free.
To open up this seder, let us go around and each answer this question: I am most enslaved when I...
Our first cup of "wine" will be in the world of Atzilut. This is the world of emanation. What is emanating? The light of the infinite/without end- ha'or ein sof. It is the nothingness and everythingness of everything that ever is, was, or will be, all existing simultaneously. This is where we identify as divine energy, and the ego is completely dissolved; the "you" that you think you are disappears completely, and our self-identity vanishes. Rabbi David Wolfe-Blank describes Atzilut as "beyond identifying as a separate self, perform and channel as the light of God would. You are being completely your own Being, spontaneous and daring, but without self-consciousness; without comparing; and without neediness."
In spiritual circles, this state of being has been used to erase the pain of diverse groups. We will not do that tonight. We need to experience this state so that we can feel the truth of the all-pervasiveness of divinity. In the words of the Ba'al Shem Tov, "God's glory fills the whole Earth." When we sit mindfully in that truth of divinity being in every place, as we travel down thought each world into the kingdom, we can better see the divinity in diversity and care more authentically about collective liberation.
KIDDUSH
בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יְיָ, אֱלֹהֵינוּ מֶלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם, בּוֹרֵא פְּרִי הַגָּפֶן
Baruch Atah Adonai, Eloheinu Melech ha-olam, borei p’ree hagafen.
We praise God, Spirit of Everything, who creates the fruit of the vine.
SHEHECHEYANU
The shehecheyanu is the blessing whenever doing something for the first time that year. Shehecheyanu means "we are alive". It is a statement of recognizing time and appreciating the current moment, expressing gratitude to a higher power for new and unusual experiences or possessions.
בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יְיָ, אֱלֹהֵינוּ מֶלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם, שֶׁהֶחֱיָנוּ וְקִיְּמָנוּ וְהִגִּיעָנוּ לַזְּמַן הַזֶּה
Baruch Atah Adonai, Eloheinu Melech ha-olam,
she-hechiyanu v’key’manu v’higiyanu lazman hazeh.
We praise God, Spirit of Everything, who has kept us alive,
raised us up, and brought us to this happy moment.
DRINK THE FIRST GLASS
14 Parts: Narrator 1, Narrator 2, Pharaoh, Advisor, Yocheved, Aaron, Miriam, Princess, Moses, Hebrew 1, Hebrew 2, Boss, Burning Bush, Zipporah.
NARRATOR 1: Welcome to Egypt! Last episode, Joseph, a Hebrew, became the Egyptian Pharaoh's chief advisor for saving everyone after a famin yada yada yada. As a result, Egypt became a hotspot for the Hebrews, and the Hebrew population skyrocketed.
NARRATOR 2: The Hebrew’s success in Egypt was short lasted though. The Pharaoh eventually passed away and a new Pharaoh rose to power…
(PHARAOH and ADVISOR enter)
PHARAOH: Advisor! Bring me the latest census report. I want to know who I rule over.
ADVISOR: Yes, your Higness. I’ll grab them right now.
(runs to the other side of the room and back)
Okay! Here they are!
PHARAOH: Oohhh gimme! (snatches it from ADVISOR) Let’s see here. Egyptians, Nubians, Midians, all good…… are there really THAT many Hebrews?
ADVISOR: Oh yes. They are growing in number and have large families. Also, they are very strong workers. (winks at PHARAOH)
PHARAOH: Do you think that we might be in danger? They might use their growing numbers to make demands and challenge my rule. They sure do complain an awful lot about the size of the rocks for the new Pyramids. No no no, I cannot have that. Who will handfeed me grapes every day and fan me with those huge leaves?
ADVISOR: I agree your highness. Might we do something to break their spirits? (winks twice)
PHARAOH: Yes! Great idea! Let’s double their daily workload and pay them only one coin a day.
ADVISOR: Brilliant idea my Pharaoh! But we still have the issue of the rapidly growing population. What might we do about that?
PHARAOH: Oh, that’s simple. Let’s just kill all their newborn sons from here on out.
ADVISOR: Oh wow ummm, do you think that is extreme at all?
PHARAOH: No and I will personally banish you if you challenge me again.
ADVISOR: Yes sir sorry sir!
(both exit)
NARRATOR 2: And there you have it folks. A historically accurate depiction and proper timeline of the enslavement of the Jewish People.
NARRATOR 1: Except the killing of the newborns was likely a couple hundred years and a few Pharaoh’s after the enslavement of the Hebrews.
NARRATOR 2: Irrelevant.
NARRATOR 1: Anyway, a woman named Yocheved had just given birth to a baby boy when this decree came out. She knew she had to do something.
(enter YOCHEVED, MIRIAM, and AARON)
YOCHEVED: I have to do something!
AARON: Mom? What if we put him in a basket and floated him down the river to the palace and hope they take him in?
YOCHEVED: No Aaron that’s a terrible plan.
MIRIAM: Wait, I have an idea! What if we put him in a basket and floated him down the river to the palace and hope they take him in?
YOCHEVED: Brilliant idea, Miriam!
(AARON sighs and throws his hands up, dramatically leaves the stage)
YOCHEVED: Can you follow him down the river to make sure he’s safe?
MIRIAM: Sure thing, mom!
(YOCHEVED exits. PRINCESS enters. MIRIAM dramatically carries the basket to PRINCESSE’S feet and then hides behind the nearest table)
PRINCESS: The power of Rah, the sun god! It’s a baby! I’m gonna keep it! I have no idea how to take care of a baby.
MIRIAM: (stands up and runs back to PRINCESS) I can help, your highness!
PRINCESS: Who are you? You know what, I don’t care. You can be his nurse. And I will name the baby Moses!
(PRINCESS and MIRIAM exit)
NARRATOR 1: So Moses grew up in the palace, never knowing he was born Jewish.
NARRATOR 2: Meanwhile, the demands of slavery were weighing on the Hebrews more and more each day. Moses would watch from the palace, and his heart would go out to the Hebrews.
(MOSES and PRINCESS enter)
MOSES: Mom, where are my shoes? I’m going out to see how the construction is going on the new Sphinx of Dad.
PRINCESS: I put them away in your room for you, Moses. You’ve been so busy since your father named you Chief Architect, I thought I’d help you out.
MOSES: Thanks, Mom! I’ll see you soon!
PRINCESS: Oh before you go, you should know that I found you in the river so you’re very likely a Hebrew okay bye!
MOSES: What?!
(Exit PRINCESS. Enter HEBREW 1, HEBREW 2, who start digging, and BOSS. MOSES is on the side, watching the interaction)
HEBREW 1: This is hard today, with the paid workers at home and everything.
HEBREW 2: Yeah, this isn’t fair I’m going to say something! Hey, Boss! Where are all the paid workers?
BOSS: They’re in quarantine. There’s this nasty virus going around. You know, Covid 2.
HEBREW 2: Okay… then why are WE here?
BOSS: Y’all are “essential workers.”
HEBREW 1: That makes no sense. We’re going home!
(HEBREWS start to walk away)
BOSS: (stands in front of HEBREWS) You aren’t going anywhere!
MOSES: (to BOSS) Hey you, stop that! (shoves BOSS)
(BOSS falls to the ground)
HEBREW 1: He’s dead!
HEBREW 2: Moses, you killed him!
MOSES: Uhhhhh, gotta go BYE! (runs away, exits)
(HEBREWS and BOSS exit)
NARRATOR 2: Moses, having committed a crime, ran away from Egypt. He ended up in a small Hebrew village in the desert. Having accepted that he is a Hebrew, he married a woman, Zipporah (enter ZIPPORAH, wave, and exit), and became a shepherd.
NARRAROR 1: One day, one of his sheep ran off into the mountains. He followed it, and stumbled upon a cave with a bush that was burning, but not being consumed.
(MOSES enters, BURNING BUSH does lines from off stage)
MOSES: Hello?
BURNING BUSH: Hello! I am g-d!
MOSES: Oh dip! That’s crazy!
BURNING BUSH: You have to free the Jews from Egypt. Go back and face your past. Be the leader this community needs.
MOSES: But why me? Will they even believe me? How will I explain who you are to them? What will I say?
BURNING BUSH: I am that I am! You can literally talk to g-d so just do it okay?
MOSES: Well um I’m kinda shy.
BURNING BUSH: Find your brother, Aaron, and your sister, Miriam. They’re slaves in Egypt right now. They will help you.
MOSES: Kay cool!
(MOSES exits)
NARRATOR 2: So moses takes Zipporah (enter ZIPPORAH, wave, and exit) and goes back to Egypt. He finds his long lost family, and he goes to the Pharaoh.
(Enter Moses, Aaron, Miriam, and PHARAOH)
MOSES: Hey Dad!
PHARAOH: Moses! I’ve missed you so much! Why are those slaves with you?
MOSES: Ummm. Aaron, tell him!
AARON: Well, y’all actually found him in a river and our mom did that to save his life because you kill all the newborn sons. We’ve come here today to demand that you release the Hebrews from slavery.
PHARAOH: No way.
MOSES: Dad. listen to Aaron. If you don’t, g-d is going to release 10 plagues on egypt. Let my people go!
PHARAOH: Who is this g-d you’re talking about? There are multiple gods. I don’t believe in crystals or astology.
MIRIAM: Actually, your highness, for historical accuracy, you do.
PHARAOH: Fine. But I still won’t let your people go.
AARON: Fine have it your way, sir. Don’t say we didn’t warn you.
(MOSES, AARON, MIRIAM, AND PHARAOH exit)
NARRATOR 1: And so the plagues released on Egypt were: Water turned to blood.
NARRATOR 2: Frogs
NARRATOR 1: Lice
NARRATOR 2: Flies
NARRATOR 1: Livestock pestulance
NARRATOR 2: Boils
NARRATOR 1: Hail
NARRATOR 2: Locusts
NARRATOR 1: Darkness
NARRATOR 2: And finally, the death of the firstborn son. To avoid this, the Jewish people spread lambs blood on their doorposts to signal to g-d that they were Jewish. So g-d PASSED OVER them! The next day, Moses and his squad go pay the Pharaoh another visit.
(Enter Moses, Aaron, Miriam, and PHARAOH)
PHARAOH: Not cool guys.
AARON: Pharaoh, we must again demand that you let our people go.
PHARAOH: Fine. Go. I cannot take this anymore.
MOSES: Woohooo! Thanks Dad!
MIRIAM: You do know that he’s not your real dad, correct?
MOSES: Oh yeah. Habit I guess.
(PHARAOH exits)
MOSES: Okay! Miriam, you tell all the women to make bread for the journey out of Egypt. Aaron, tell the men to pack up all their valuables. We leave tonight.
AARON: Isn’t that a little sexist, Moses?
MIRIAM: We’re not at that point in history yet.
AARON: Got it.
MIRIAM: Moses, the bread won’t have time to rise.
MOSES: Fine, then call it Matzah instead.
(EVERYONE except PHARAOH and BURNING BUSH enters, as HEBREWS, escaping)
NARRATOR 1: So the Hebrews started out of Egypt, but there was a small problem…
ZIPPORAH: Babe, we’re at the Red Sea we can’t get through.
MIRIAM: Moses! What should we do?
MOSES: Ummm…
BURNING BUSH: Moses, plunge your staff into Red Sea. It will part and allow safe passage.
MOSES: (stabs staff into the sea) FFFSHHHHH! YOU SHALL PASS!
HEBREWS: Wow! The sea opened!
(PHARAOH enters)
PHARAOH: Hold on! I changed my mind! Come back!
MOSES: Nope. Sorry Dad!
(MOSES waves his hands to close the sea behind the Hebrews)
PHARAOH: Ahh I can’t swim! (drowns)
BOTH NARRATORS: The end!
B'riah is the world of creation. As we move towards physical manifestation and come out of Atzilut, you recognize yourself as a "creative impulse. Perform and channel as Divine Artist. You are always conceiving, visions and synthesis, and manifesting our imagination of what never has been, but what could be. You are self-conscious that you exist as an archetype of creative energy; you craft new understandings, opening dimensions, previously unconceived of or thought possible. Enjoy Creating!" -Rabbi David Wolfe-Blank
Now we are an archetype, and we create a blueprint for what is possible now that we have just witnessed, in the 1st cup, the all-pervasive oneness of divinity. This is the world of the intellect, more dense than the world of light. We think, and we do mental exercises, and we discern wisdom.
In sacred activist spaces, we can get stuck here, in the idealistic phase of a movement. We look for the wisdom in peace movements and we study great changemakers and spiritual traditions, but we too often do not apply these to our lives. As we drink this cup, let us revel in the brilliancy of our intellect, the wisdom that we have access to, and vow to bring it with us into the next cup of wine as well.
KIDDUSH
בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יְיָ, אֱלֹהֵינוּ מֶלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם, בּוֹרֵא פְּרִי הַגָּפֶן
Baruch Atah Adonai, Eloheinu Melech ha-olam, borei p’ree hagafen.
We praise God, Spirit of Everything, who creates the fruit of the vine.
It is true that the Egyptians placed back-breaking labor upon us, but our tradition reveals that there is more to the story. Our Sages tell us that originally Pharaoh made a call for volunteers to join in a public project of city building. In other words, the Jewish people were not forced to show up at first. They responded voluntarily. However, when they wanted to leave, the taskmaster suddenly appeared and told them that they could not. This pattern is not unfamiliar to us. Many of us can recall a time when our drug of choice was something we could "take or leave" as we pleased. Or that the pain of the world just "isn't a big deal." However, there came a day when we wanted to stop using recreational substances, or wanted to end the pain of the world, and realized that there was so little that our hands could do alone. At this point, only dedication to ourselves in our community could restore the power of transformation.
What was, if any, the moment that you realized you were a slave to something? That your participation was no longer voluntary?
The Haggadah tells us that the Egyptians enslaved the Jews “with crushing labor.” What was uniquely crushing about the labor the Jews were forced to engage in? Our tradition tells us that the cities the Jewish people were forced to build were built upon swampland. Every day they would toil their utmost, and the next morning they would return to the worksite only to find that everything that they had built the previous had sunk into the ground. Therefore, what was so crushing was not the degree of hard work but its inherent pointlessness. No matter how hard they worked, their work was ultimately unproductive. For many, who work towards social change, progress can feel like this. We make strides, and then we have a new president and all of the work that we've done is immediately erased. It can feel pointless. Main lament that nothing has happened and nothing can change. But is that because that statement is true, or is that because we need a new home for the work? The Hebrews were trying to build within a crumbling system, and their work was futile. But when they escaped from Egypt, they built a nation, divinely lead.
The Splitting of the Sea is one of the most emblematic miracles in Jewish history; yet, it is also one of the most misunderstood. If the purpose of splitting the sea was merely so the Jewish people could escape the oncoming Egyptian armies, there are so many other ways that God could have saved them. Why did God specifically choose to split the sea? (God doesn't do a miracle for naught.) Kabbalistic teachings explain that the dry land and the sea are symbolic of the material world and the spiritual world, respectively. Everything on dry land is readily apparent to us—just as the material world is easy to see. That which is submerged beneath the water is hidden from our view—just as spiritual reality cannot be seen with our physical eyes. The Splitting of the Sea, therefore, represents removing the cover that obscures our view of spirituality, allowing us to see the hidden spiritual truths as clearly as we are normally able to see the material. It's important for us to realize that the Exodus was not merely a process by which we gained freedom from our oppressors. It was also, and perhaps even more so, a process through which we uncovered our true potential and finally encountered our true selves. Each of us experiences "sea-splitting moments," where the spirituality that was concealed deeply within is suddenly revealed and is as plain to see as the physical. Indeed, we might say that this revelation of our deepest self is the entire point of the enslavement and ensuing Exodus. If we would have merely left our taskmasters and gained freedom without uncovering the deepest spiritual truths within ourselves, our exodus would be profoundly lacking. In simple terms that we can relate to, this means that recovery is about so much more than just the freedom from drugs, alcohol, and other destructive behaviors, and sacred activism is more than just the steps we take towards a brighter future in the name of the divine. This work is about revealing inner spiritual powers that had been hidden within and would otherwise have never become known to us. It is from that place of renewed experiential, doughy knowing of the self that we can be effective in transformation.
There are those of us who are upset by the reading of the plagues. We are aware of the cruelty of the Egyptians. At the same time, it is difficult for us to read about such calamities as the plagues befalling any people. But there is a reason why these details were included in the Haggadah. Up to this point, we've been speaking about the story of our slavery in Egypt from our own perspective. We've discussed our powerlessness as slaves and what God did for us when we surrendered to him. But there is a parallel "story within the story"-the Egyptian perspective. Pharaoh and his people also experienced a story of slavery. However, their story does not end well for them. Pharaoh, in his arrogance, refused to ever acknowledge the pain of his people. He brought himself and his entire nation to the point of devastation to stay in power.
Ramon Parrish at a Naropa University teach-in said about imminent fascism in the United States, "sis white men, they're recruiting you." When you were in a position of privilege, it may feel like you are untouchable, that because the demands in needs of your tribe are being fulfilled, it doesn't matter if it is not happening for other tribes around you. Though you may not be able to see it, this will cause your destruction.
The United States will start screening immigrants phones for potentially antisemitic remarks. This is not a win for Jewish people. Do the Jewish people really want to be responsible for the pain and suffering of immigrants who need asylum in the United States? And, how blind are we to not see that we are being recruited as a people into active whiteness, into oppression, into apathy about the pain of our neighbors in our name?
There is no freedom until we are all free. When we neglect to stand against any and all oppression, we are complicit in the lack of freedom worldwide, including decades of relentless oppression, ethnic cleansing, and displacement of Palestinians, the rising antisemitism at our doorstep, and the displacement and ethnic cleansing of hundreds and thousands of native people from their native lands, including what we have allowed to happen on American soil. And we will also hurt. There is no liberation without collective liberation.
Seder night is a journey into another time and place. It is a swift glance at the darkest night of the human soul and a lingering dance with liberty and freedom. It is a long play with family and food and a short sharp reminder of the depths to which we may plummet when the framework and fabric of our life decays. There are washing of hands and breaking of bread. There are stories and unfamiliar foods. There are roles for children and playful songs for adults. There is wonder and enchantment, heroes and wicked adversaries, stories of Revelation and Retribution. There is even time to partake in a full Festival meal.
If the Seder is an adventure, the Haggadah is a Map, Guide, Directory, and Vehicle.
The main event of Passover and Seder night is the Exodus from Egypt, the miraculous birth and redemption of the Jewish People. One cannot be long on the spiritual path without becoming increasingly aware of how close the ideas of Exodus and Recovery are. But the Seder is not simply a description of the Exodus. It is an opportunity to scrutinize the real issue: OUR slavery. We were slaves and now we are free. So what then is freedom? Does it mean we may now do whatever we want?
If we try that route, we will soon find ourselves back on the road into Egypt. Freedom is not license. It is the absence of constraint and an awesome lifelong struggle. We have learned this lesson, painfully, again and again. For when we became habituated to any self-destructive behavior, we were no longer free. Whether the behavior is substance use, gambling, or fixing people's lives. Whether it is self-denial, fasting, smoking, or co-dependent relationships. And when we take our freedom for granted, we become Egypt. The word for Egypt in the Torah is Mitzrayim, which does not translate to Egypt at all, but rather the narrow place. We encase ourselves in the narrow place of self-righteousness and an inability to take accountability, creating our own slavery even if we are the one's calling the shots from a place of privilege.
This then is what the Haggadah is about. Long before the 12 Steps were formalized, before therapy, before restorative justice and dialogues in collective liberation, people knew a way. The Haggadah describes the Recovery process of an entire people, hundreds of thousands, adults and children.
This year, we need to be liberated from something, and Passover comes to teach us that now is the time. We need a new beginning. So, what is our new beginning this year? What is the transformation we need to make in the rhythm of our lives that will allow us to be liberated from the enslavements that we are currently in?
These questions are hard ones to ask, as they require us to be radically honest with ourselves about what we are addicted to, how we are keeping ourselves enslaved, and how the way we keep ourselves enslaved creates oppression. Now is the opportunity to leave behind the safety of Egypt, the illusory safety of denial, and name your addiction/enslavement so that you can be free.
To open up this seder, let us go around and each answer this question: I am most enslaved when I...
Our first cup of "wine" will be in the world of Atzilut. This is the world of emanation. What is emanating? The light of the infinite/without end- ha'or ein sof. It is the nothingness and everythingness of everything that ever is, was, or will be, all existing simultaneously. This is where we identify as divine energy, and the ego is completely dissolved; the "you" that you think you are disappears completely, and our self-identity vanishes. Rabbi David Wolfe-Blank describes Atzilut as "beyond identifying as a separate self, perform and channel as the light of God would. You are being completely your own Being, spontaneous and daring, but without self-consciousness; without comparing; and without neediness."
In spiritual circles, this state of being has been used to erase the pain of diverse groups. We will not do that tonight. We need to experience this state so that we can feel the truth of the all-pervasiveness of divinity. In the words of the Ba'al Shem Tov, "God's glory fills the whole Earth." When we sit mindfully in that truth of divinity being in every place, as we travel down thought each world into the kingdom, we can better see the divinity in diversity and care more authentically about collective liberation.
KIDDUSH
בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יְיָ, אֱלֹהֵינוּ מֶלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם, בּוֹרֵא פְּרִי הַגָּפֶן
Baruch Atah Adonai, Eloheinu Melech ha-olam, borei p’ree hagafen.
We praise God, Spirit of Everything, who creates the fruit of the vine.
SHEHECHEYANU
The shehecheyanu is the blessing whenever doing something for the first time that year. Shehecheyanu means "we are alive". It is a statement of recognizing time and appreciating the current moment, expressing gratitude to a higher power for new and unusual experiences or possessions.
בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יְיָ, אֱלֹהֵינוּ מֶלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם, שֶׁהֶחֱיָנוּ וְקִיְּמָנוּ וְהִגִּיעָנוּ לַזְּמַן הַזֶּה
Baruch Atah Adonai, Eloheinu Melech ha-olam,
she-hechiyanu v’key’manu v’higiyanu lazman hazeh.
We praise God, Spirit of Everything, who has kept us alive,
raised us up, and brought us to this happy moment.
DRINK THE FIRST GLASS
14 Parts: Narrator 1, Narrator 2, Pharaoh, Advisor, Yocheved, Aaron, Miriam, Princess, Moses, Hebrew 1, Hebrew 2, Boss, Burning Bush, Zipporah.
NARRATOR 1: Welcome to Egypt! Last episode, Joseph, a Hebrew, became the Egyptian Pharaoh's chief advisor for saving everyone after a famin yada yada yada. As a result, Egypt became a hotspot for the Hebrews, and the Hebrew population skyrocketed.
NARRATOR 2: The Hebrew’s success in Egypt was short lasted though. The Pharaoh eventually passed away and a new Pharaoh rose to power…
(PHARAOH and ADVISOR enter)
PHARAOH: Advisor! Bring me the latest census report. I want to know who I rule over.
ADVISOR: Yes, your Higness. I’ll grab them right now.
(runs to the other side of the room and back)
Okay! Here they are!
PHARAOH: Oohhh gimme! (snatches it from ADVISOR) Let’s see here. Egyptians, Nubians, Midians, all good…… are there really THAT many Hebrews?
ADVISOR: Oh yes. They are growing in number and have large families. Also, they are very strong workers. (winks at PHARAOH)
PHARAOH: Do you think that we might be in danger? They might use their growing numbers to make demands and challenge my rule. They sure do complain an awful lot about the size of the rocks for the new Pyramids. No no no, I cannot have that. Who will handfeed me grapes every day and fan me with those huge leaves?
ADVISOR: I agree your highness. Might we do something to break their spirits? (winks twice)
PHARAOH: Yes! Great idea! Let’s double their daily workload and pay them only one coin a day.
ADVISOR: Brilliant idea my Pharaoh! But we still have the issue of the rapidly growing population. What might we do about that?
PHARAOH: Oh, that’s simple. Let’s just kill all their newborn sons from here on out.
ADVISOR: Oh wow ummm, do you think that is extreme at all?
PHARAOH: No and I will personally banish you if you challenge me again.
ADVISOR: Yes sir sorry sir!
(both exit)
NARRATOR 2: And there you have it folks. A historically accurate depiction and proper timeline of the enslavement of the Jewish People.
NARRATOR 1: Except the killing of the newborns was likely a couple hundred years and a few Pharaoh’s after the enslavement of the Hebrews.
NARRATOR 2: Irrelevant.
NARRATOR 1: Anyway, a woman named Yocheved had just given birth to a baby boy when this decree came out. She knew she had to do something.
(enter YOCHEVED, MIRIAM, and AARON)
YOCHEVED: I have to do something!
AARON: Mom? What if we put him in a basket and floated him down the river to the palace and hope they take him in?
YOCHEVED: No Aaron that’s a terrible plan.
MIRIAM: Wait, I have an idea! What if we put him in a basket and floated him down the river to the palace and hope they take him in?
YOCHEVED: Brilliant idea, Miriam!
(AARON sighs and throws his hands up, dramatically leaves the stage)
YOCHEVED: Can you follow him down the river to make sure he’s safe?
MIRIAM: Sure thing, mom!
(YOCHEVED exits. PRINCESS enters. MIRIAM dramatically carries the basket to PRINCESSE’S feet and then hides behind the nearest table)
PRINCESS: The power of Rah, the sun god! It’s a baby! I’m gonna keep it! I have no idea how to take care of a baby.
MIRIAM: (stands up and runs back to PRINCESS) I can help, your highness!
PRINCESS: Who are you? You know what, I don’t care. You can be his nurse. And I will name the baby Moses!
(PRINCESS and MIRIAM exit)
NARRATOR 1: So Moses grew up in the palace, never knowing he was born Jewish.
NARRATOR 2: Meanwhile, the demands of slavery were weighing on the Hebrews more and more each day. Moses would watch from the palace, and his heart would go out to the Hebrews.
(MOSES and PRINCESS enter)
MOSES: Mom, where are my shoes? I’m going out to see how the construction is going on the new Sphinx of Dad.
PRINCESS: I put them away in your room for you, Moses. You’ve been so busy since your father named you Chief Architect, I thought I’d help you out.
MOSES: Thanks, Mom! I’ll see you soon!
PRINCESS: Oh before you go, you should know that I found you in the river so you’re very likely a Hebrew okay bye!
MOSES: What?!
(Exit PRINCESS. Enter HEBREW 1, HEBREW 2, who start digging, and BOSS. MOSES is on the side, watching the interaction)
HEBREW 1: This is hard today, with the paid workers at home and everything.
HEBREW 2: Yeah, this isn’t fair I’m going to say something! Hey, Boss! Where are all the paid workers?
BOSS: They’re in quarantine. There’s this nasty virus going around. You know, Covid 2.
HEBREW 2: Okay… then why are WE here?
BOSS: Y’all are “essential workers.”
HEBREW 1: That makes no sense. We’re going home!
(HEBREWS start to walk away)
BOSS: (stands in front of HEBREWS) You aren’t going anywhere!
MOSES: (to BOSS) Hey you, stop that! (shoves BOSS)
(BOSS falls to the ground)
HEBREW 1: He’s dead!
HEBREW 2: Moses, you killed him!
MOSES: Uhhhhh, gotta go BYE! (runs away, exits)
(HEBREWS and BOSS exit)
NARRATOR 2: Moses, having committed a crime, ran away from Egypt. He ended up in a small Hebrew village in the desert. Having accepted that he is a Hebrew, he married a woman, Zipporah (enter ZIPPORAH, wave, and exit), and became a shepherd.
NARRAROR 1: One day, one of his sheep ran off into the mountains. He followed it, and stumbled upon a cave with a bush that was burning, but not being consumed.
(MOSES enters, BURNING BUSH does lines from off stage)
MOSES: Hello?
BURNING BUSH: Hello! I am g-d!
MOSES: Oh dip! That’s crazy!
BURNING BUSH: You have to free the Jews from Egypt. Go back and face your past. Be the leader this community needs.
MOSES: But why me? Will they even believe me? How will I explain who you are to them? What will I say?
BURNING BUSH: I am that I am! You can literally talk to g-d so just do it okay?
MOSES: Well um I’m kinda shy.
BURNING BUSH: Find your brother, Aaron, and your sister, Miriam. They’re slaves in Egypt right now. They will help you.
MOSES: Kay cool!
(MOSES exits)
NARRATOR 2: So moses takes Zipporah (enter ZIPPORAH, wave, and exit) and goes back to Egypt. He finds his long lost family, and he goes to the Pharaoh.
(Enter Moses, Aaron, Miriam, and PHARAOH)
MOSES: Hey Dad!
PHARAOH: Moses! I’ve missed you so much! Why are those slaves with you?
MOSES: Ummm. Aaron, tell him!
AARON: Well, y’all actually found him in a river and our mom did that to save his life because you kill all the newborn sons. We’ve come here today to demand that you release the Hebrews from slavery.
PHARAOH: No way.
MOSES: Dad. listen to Aaron. If you don’t, g-d is going to release 10 plagues on egypt. Let my people go!
PHARAOH: Who is this g-d you’re talking about? There are multiple gods. I don’t believe in crystals or astology.
MIRIAM: Actually, your highness, for historical accuracy, you do.
PHARAOH: Fine. But I still won’t let your people go.
AARON: Fine have it your way, sir. Don’t say we didn’t warn you.
(MOSES, AARON, MIRIAM, AND PHARAOH exit)
NARRATOR 1: And so the plagues released on Egypt were: Water turned to blood.
NARRATOR 2: Frogs
NARRATOR 1: Lice
NARRATOR 2: Flies
NARRATOR 1: Livestock pestulance
NARRATOR 2: Boils
NARRATOR 1: Hail
NARRATOR 2: Locusts
NARRATOR 1: Darkness
NARRATOR 2: And finally, the death of the firstborn son. To avoid this, the Jewish people spread lambs blood on their doorposts to signal to g-d that they were Jewish. So g-d PASSED OVER them! The next day, Moses and his squad go pay the Pharaoh another visit.
(Enter Moses, Aaron, Miriam, and PHARAOH)
PHARAOH: Not cool guys.
AARON: Pharaoh, we must again demand that you let our people go.
PHARAOH: Fine. Go. I cannot take this anymore.
MOSES: Woohooo! Thanks Dad!
MIRIAM: You do know that he’s not your real dad, correct?
MOSES: Oh yeah. Habit I guess.
(PHARAOH exits)
MOSES: Okay! Miriam, you tell all the women to make bread for the journey out of Egypt. Aaron, tell the men to pack up all their valuables. We leave tonight.
AARON: Isn’t that a little sexist, Moses?
MIRIAM: We’re not at that point in history yet.
AARON: Got it.
MIRIAM: Moses, the bread won’t have time to rise.
MOSES: Fine, then call it Matzah instead.
(EVERYONE except PHARAOH and BURNING BUSH enters, as HEBREWS, escaping)
NARRATOR 1: So the Hebrews started out of Egypt, but there was a small problem…
ZIPPORAH: Babe, we’re at the Red Sea we can’t get through.
MIRIAM: Moses! What should we do?
MOSES: Ummm…
BURNING BUSH: Moses, plunge your staff into Red Sea. It will part and allow safe passage.
MOSES: (stabs staff into the sea) FFFSHHHHH! YOU SHALL PASS!
HEBREWS: Wow! The sea opened!
(PHARAOH enters)
PHARAOH: Hold on! I changed my mind! Come back!
MOSES: Nope. Sorry Dad!
(MOSES waves his hands to close the sea behind the Hebrews)
PHARAOH: Ahh I can’t swim! (drowns)
BOTH NARRATORS: The end!
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