The Open Source Haggadah

Take the third Matza, and also a kezayit (the volume of one olive) of the Chazeret - which is to be dipped into Kharoset. Combine the two [like a sandwich], and say the following:

Thus did Hilel do at the time of the Bet HaMikdash: He would combine Passover - lamb, Matza and Maror and eat them together, as it said: "They shall eat it with Matza and bitter herbs."

Now eat them together - in the reclining position.

ALL:
Sing Dayenu: A Song of Joy and Thanksgiving

I-LU HO-TZI HOTZI-A-NU,
HO-TZI-A-NU-MITZ-RA-YIM,
HO-TZI-A-NU MITZ-RA-YIM
DAYENU

CHORUS:
DAY-DAY-A-NU, DAY-DAY-A-NU, DAY-DAY-A-NU,
DAY-A-NU, DAY-A-NU

I-LU-NATAN, NA-TAN LA-NU,
NA-TAN LA-NU ET HA-SHA-BAT,
NA-TAN LA-NU ET HA-SHA-BAT
DAYENU (CHORUS)

I-LU NA-TAN, NA-TAN LA-NU,
NA-TAN LA-NU ET HA-TO-RAH
NA-TAN LA-NU ET HA-TO-RAH
DAYENU (CHORUS)



SECOND WINE
(All raise glasses of wine and say:)

ALL:

We shall never forget the slavery of Egypt.
We shall never forget the cruelty of Pharaoh.
We shall be mindful always of the constant exodus to freedom, in the inner world and in the outer world.
We shall be mindful always of the evernew joy of liberation.

BORUCH ATTO ADONOI ELOHENU MELECH HO'OLOM BORE P'RI HAGGOFEN.
(All drink.)

HOST:
There are other symbols on the Seder plate which have meaning for our Passover celebration.

LAMB (Pesach)
(Host raises roasted lamb bone for all to see.)

ALL:
What is the meaning of PESACH?

READER:
PESACH is the Passover lamb and is represented by the shankbone. On the night of the Exodus our fleeing ancestors held the first Seder feast in honor of their freedom. In each home a roasted lamb was eaten as the meal of redemption. The lamb was a reminder of the shepherd days when they were free and happy. In succeeding years they relived the Passover supper in all the lands in which they found their homes. To emphasize the luxury of liberty they reclined while eating and relaxed in the luxurious manner of free people.

ROASTED EGG
(Host raises the roasted egg for all to see.)

ALL:
What is the meaning of the roasted egg?

READER:
The roasted egg was a traditional appetizer of the ancient world, but to us, as to peoples of many other faiths, it is a symbol of rebirth and spring.

WINE
(Host holds up cup of wine.)

ALL:
And why do we drink wine at the Seder?

READER:
Wine has traditionally been part of the Seder and was served even to those in attendance who were most poor. As in all Jewish ceremonies of rejoicing -- the Sabbath, marriage, holidays, Bar and Bas Mitzvahs, and honoring the newborn - at the Seder, too, wine is used as a symbol of festivity.

As we celebrate our Passover Seder tonight, we affirm the bond of family of all Jews throughout the world. Almost all of them in America, Israel, England, France, Italy, South Africa, Australia, South America, Japan, India - almost all will observe the Passover tonight in honor of the freedom gained by our ancestors in Egypt. But many of our brothers and sisters, like those in Russia and Poland, may have to observe their Seders with caution. For them the feast serves as a spur to continue seeking their freedom, to continue pressing for a new exodus.

READER:
This is a holiday of universal historical meaning to all Jews, and it bears a message of freedom for all people. Throughout countless generations, our people has endured the savagery of unbridled hatred. Our children have been murdered by the millions. Nation after nation has sought to destroy us. But we have survived. Pharaoh is gone. Nebuchadnezzar is gone. Caesar is gone. Haman and Hitler are gone. Their empires have succumbed to fire or have crumbled into dust. But we are alive, and new enemies seek our destruction. The terror of persecution has made us feel the pain of humanity more sharply, and thus has bound us together as one people. The unity of the Jewish people arises out of a sense of common suffering, of shared survival, and therefore of a fundamental understanding of the human condition. And so it is with all Jews.

READER:
Even as we remember tonight what it was like when we were slaves in the land of Egypt; even as we think of our Jewish brothers and sisters who are still enslaved in various lands and places, so do we tonight remember people (whether they are Jews or not) who still suffer from slavery, hunger, and/or repression.

Again this year, as during the Exodus, we unite with the oppressed of our time:
* The Palestinian people, whose destiny is so tragically intertwine with our own. And those Israeli people who are striving for peace amidst threats of destruction.
* The black population of South Africa.
* The people of China, Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam.
* American Indians and indigenous peoples of Central and South America.
* All those who are oppressed because of their gender or sexual preference.
* All refugees.
* All those who are imprisoned for belies or practices which do others no harm.

ALL:
Ever since we were slaves in Egypt, we have united with all those who strive TO BE, who seek liberation and freedom.


THIRD WINE
(All raise glasses of wine and say and sing:)

ALL:
We raise our third cup of wine and offer tribute to the universal
spirit within all that gives us life and strives for freedom.

(All sing)
HIN-NAY MATOV OO-MA-NA-EEM, SHEVET A-HEEM GAM YA-HAD.

(How good and pleasant it is to gather together as brothers and sisters.)

(All drink!)

ALL:
Let us eat.

SUPPER
(The Passover supper should begin with a hard-boiled egg and end with a sigh of contentment.)

The leader of the Seder makes a sandwich of bitter herbs between two pieces of the bottom matzoh. Before eating it, he says:
We remember from the time of Hillel, when the Temple still stood in Jerusalem, that that sage used to put the bitter herb between the matzoh, and eat them together, to fulfill the words: "They shall . . . eat it with unleavened bread and bitter herbs." (Numbers 9:11)