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Seder Supplements

Joint Distribution Committee (JDC)

Jewish Council for Public Affairs

ADL

HIAS

Shalom Hartman Institute

Dayenu: A Call to Action

The Ten Modern Day Plagues

1. Discrimination

While we celebrate our liberation from bondage in Egypt, many people are still the targets of discrimination and hatred today. Fear of “the other” produces and reinforces racism, xenophobia, anti-immigrant sentiment, antisemitism, homophobia and transphobia. As quintessential victims of discrimination and prejudice, on Passover, the Jewish people affirm our identity as the once oppressed; we refuse to stand idly by amid discrimination and hatred which still plagues communities across our country and around the world.
2. Inequality and Inequity

Access to affordable housing, quality physical and mental health care, nutritious food, and quality education is far from equal and the disparity between the privileged and the poor is growing. The Torah’s social ethics point to many causes of inequality; whether episodic, such as illness or natural disasters, or systemic, such as discrimination or legal favoritism, Jewish values inspire us to deepen our empathy, resist greed, and pursue visionary change through personal or social action.
3. Stigma to Mental Illness

One in five Americans experiences mental illness in a given year; even more alarming, according to NAMI (the National Alliance on Mental Illness), nearly two-thirds of people with a diagnosable mental illness do not seek treatment, and minority communities are the least likely to search for or have access to mental health resources. Social stigma surrounding mental illness is a widespread plague; people have suffered from discrimination and shaming, but our society is increasingly equipped with knowledge and resources to eliminate this stigma. Reach out to your loved ones, ask for help if you need it and offer your support in return – no one should be left to wander their deserts alone.
4. Homelessness

According to the national Law Center on Homelessness & Poverty, an estimated 3.5 million people are likely to experience homelessness each year. In Delaware, on any given night, 1,000 people are sleeping on streets, in cars, or at emergency shelters; one of every four of them is a minor. Passover is a story of a wandering people on a journey to find their homeland; as we gather for the Seder and meal in our homes, let us not forget those who still do not have this comfort.
5. Refugee Rejection

We are living through the worst refugee crisis since the Holocaust. Every Passover we remember, “once we were foreigners in the land of Egypt, and now we are free.” Generations later, this liberation teaches us to love the stranger as ourselves. With the memory of generations of our own ancestors living in fear or fleeing their homes, we must commit to opening our hearts and doors to those seeking safety and comfort…because our people were refugees too.
6. Hunger

About 49 million Americans experience food insecurity. While resource exist for low-income families, many still struggle with barriers to access these assistance programs. As part of the Passover Seder, we declare, “Let all who are hungry come and eat!” Let these not be empty words, but a heartfelt invitation and plea to end hunger and food insecurity.
7. Environmental Destruction

Forgetful of its gifts, humans actively and passively destroy the environment through pollution, wastefulness, deforestation, and widespread apathy toward improving our behaviors and policies. One of the strongest tenets of Judaism is tikkun olam, repairing the world, and with small actions, we can achieve just that; instead of weighing down the seas with trash, let’s eliminate their burden so they may part for us, providing a path to a cleaner future.
8. Distraction

Information is moving faster, louder, and brighter than ever before; entertainment, social media, and the barrage of meaningless information beg for our attention. Overwhelmed by it all, people develop a selective attention, paying mind only to matters close to them and distancing themselves from the world around them. Distracted, we are losing the ability to connect in meaningful ways; these days, personal connection is a double- tap on a screen rather than a handshake or pat on the back. As we take a holiday break from the motions of day-to-day life, let us take stock in all we have overlooked and express gratitude for the people, memories, and traditions that surround us.
9. Silence and Violence

As a society, we do not adequately address violence – including rape, sex trafficking, child abuse, domestic violence, and elder abuse – even though incidents happen and reports are made every day. Who is speaking up about the injustices that affect us, our friends, our communities? In ancient Egypt, Moses knew better; if he had not advocated against the injustices he witnessed against the Jews, they probably would never have fled, and the Jewish people and our communities around the world would not be what they are today. Remembering his courage and demand for justice, may we remember to be better.
10. Powerlessness

When faced with these modern plagues, how often do we doubt or question our own ability to make a difference? How often do we feel paralyzed because we do not know how to bring about the desired change? We cannot stand idly by waiting for deliverance. Together, we can find our own redemption and make our visions of stronger and inclusive communities, a healthier and better world, a reality.

Alternative Readings for the Seder

Yachatz

Karpas

Dayeinu

Music

L’Shanah HaBa’ah | Nirtzah: Closing

We state that our seder has concluded, and we sing L’Shana HaBa’ah B’Y’rushalayim.

When we sing “next year in Jerusalem,” we dream of a time of peace, prosperity, and togetherness. What dreams do you have for the year ahead? When we gather at next year’s seder, what do we hope will have changed for ourselves, and for our world.

Traditional Melody for L’Shana HaBa’ah

Cantor Becky Mann’s Melody for L’Shana HaBa’ah

Lyrics
English

Miriam’s Song | Cos Miriam: Miriam’s Cup

Miriam’s Cup is a new ritual object that is placed on the seder table beside the Cup of Elijah. Miriam’s Cup is filled with water. It serves as a symbol of Miriam’s Well, which was the source of water for the Israelites in the desert. Putting a Miriam’s Cup on your table is a way of making your seder more inclusive.

Miriam’s Song by Debbie Friedman

Debbie Friedman Lyrics

And the women dancing with their timbrels Followed Miriam as she sang her song Sing a song to the One whom we’ve exalted Miriam and the women danced and danced the whole night long

And Miriam was a weaver of unique variety The tapestry she wove was one which sang our history With every strand and every thread she crafted her delight A woman touched with spirit, she dances toward the light

When Miriam stood upon the shores and gazed across the sea The wonder of this miracle she soon came to believe Whoever thought the sea would part with an outstretched hand And we would pass to freedom and march to the promised land

And Miriam the prophet took her timbrel in her hand And all the women followed her just as she had planned And Miriam raised her voice in song She sang with praise and might We’ve just lived through a miracle We’re going to dance tonight!

Miriam’s Song by Deborah Sacks Mintz

Deborah Sacks Mintz Lyrics

Miriam the prophet, strength and song in her hand Miriam dance with us to increase the song of the world. Miriam dance with us to repair the world. Soon she will bring us to the waters of redemption.

מִרְיָם הַנְּבִיאָה עֹז וְזִמְרָה בְּיָדָהּ

מִרְיָם תִּרְקֹד אִתָּנוּ לְהַגְדִּיל זִמְרַת עוֹלָם

:מִרְיָם תִּרְקֹד אִתָּנוּ לְתַקֵּן אֶת-הָעוֹלָם

בִּמְהֵרָה בְיָמֵינוּ הִיא תְּבִיאֵנוּ

אֶל מֵי הַיְשׁוּעָה

Miriam ha-n’vi’ah oz v’zimrah b’yadah. Miriam tirkod itanu l’hagdil zimrat olam. Miriam tirkod itanu l’taken et ha-olam. Bimheyrah v’yameynu hi t’vi’einu el mey ha-y’shuah.

Hallel | Praises

Hallel invites us to make a joyful noise together. We offer traditional Hallel psalms of praise as well as opportunities to honor the psalmist’s commandment to “sing a new song to God.” Choose your favorite songs – ones that cultivate within you a sense of freedom and joy, Jewish or secular – and sing them together.

Psalms of Praise

1. Ozi ViZimrat Yah | Psalm 118

Cantor Becky Mann’s Melody for
Ozi ViZimrat Yah

Shefa Gold’s Melody for
Ozi ViZimrat Yah

Lyrics
English

2. B’tseit Yisrael | Psalm 114

Traditional Melody for B’tseit Yisrael

Lyrics

בְּצֵאת יִשְׂרָאֵל מִמִּצְרָיִםבֵּית יַעֲקֹב מֵעַם לֹעֵז

הָיְתָה יְהוּדָה לְקָדְשׁוֹ

יִשְׂרָאֵל מַמְשְׁלוֹתָיו.

הַיָּם רָאָה וַיָּנֹס

הַיַּרְדֵּן יִסֹּב לְאָחוֹר.

הֶהָרִים רָקְדוּ כְאֵילִים

גְּבָעוֹת כִּבְנֵי צֹאן.

מַה לְּךָ הַיָּם כִּי תָנוּס

הַיַּרְדֵּן תִּסֹּב לְאָחוֹר.

הֶהָרִים תִּרְקְדוּ כְאֵילִים

גְּבָעוֹת כִּבְנֵי צֹאן.

B’tzeit yisrael mimitzrayim, beit Ya’akov meam loez. Haytah yehudah lekodsho Yisrael mamshelotav.

Hayam ra’ah vayanos, hayarden yisov leachor. Heharim rakedu cheilim, gevaot kivnei tzon.

Mah lecha hayam ki tanus, hayarden tisov leachor. Heharim tirkedu cheilim, gevaot kivnei tzon.
English Translation

When Israel came forth out of Egypt, the house of Jacob from a people of strange language;

Judah became His sanctuary, Israel His dominion.

The sea saw it, and fled; the Jordan turned backward.

The mountains skipped like rams, the hills like young sheep.

What is has come upon you, the sea, that you flee? The Jordan, that you turn backward?

The mountains, that you skip like rams; the hills, like young sheep?

Tremble, earth, at the presence of the Master, at the presence of the God of Jacob;

Who turned the rock into a pool of water, the flint into a fountain of waters.

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