Comments on: Toward Freeing the Seder

By: A Few More Passover Resources « Thoughts from Rabbi Michael

A Few More Passover Resources « Thoughts from Rabbi Michael — Sun, 28 Mar 2010 18:50:00 +0000

[…] Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi – Thoughts on Passover […]

By: Malissa

Malissa — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 00:04:04 +0000

Thank you for your insightful post on the meaning of passover in our modern context — and how one way to honor our history is to think through the ethical dilemmas of our current life.

Many blessings on Pesach!

By: Rabbi T'mimah

Rabbi T'mimah — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 20:33:57 +0000

Wow! What delicious kavvanot for the seder! Thank you Reb Zalman and Seth for making it available for use this year.

I led a pre-seder at a senior center yesterday for 100 plus elders and used many of the focuses suggested. These kavvanot gently and easily helped bring the seder practice to new levels. People are hungry for this. The ideas are accessible and meaningful and invoke personal responses. Each response is a unique color flowing through the prism of the haggadah with guidance from our Reb Zalman.

A couple of specifics:

The “fast in the feast” deepened the Karpas experience beautifully. I really understand how in the early part of the seder - washing the hands w/no blessing followed by eating the Karpas - there is a “seudat oni” a minimal meal, impoverished meal, in a way similar to matzah being lechem oni - bread of poverty, and I was able to deepen the seder with this idea.

Also - thank you Reb Zalman for giving permission to speak about the Shoah at the seder and for modeling it. Both my parents of blessed memory were Shoah survivors. We never spoke of it at the seder. It was like not talking about the elephant in the living room as it were. It was always there and unsaid. Now at last, it has been freed.

A Zissen Pesah to all!

By: Eva Friedner

Eva Friedner — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 04:01:52 +0000

How nice to read that you are encouraging exactly what we have been doing for the past few years under the leadership of our daughter, Sharon.
One change she has made is, instead of sitting at the table, we all sit comfortably in the round on comfy chairs and floor cushions while we do the seder up till Shulchan Aruch.
Sharon is the facilitator, offering current ideas for the steps of the seder and opening them up for discussion or input. At Shulchan we go to the table to eat the meal, after which we return to the circle and continue (usually). The Shoah is always part of our seders, continuing the tradition of telling “Saba’s” (grandfather’s) personal Pesach story from the concentration camps. Thank you for your ideas which will continue to expand our experience of meaningful seders.

By: june power

june power — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 20:35:25 +0000

We are looking to embellish and grow our haggadah and seder experience as all our children grow, the youngest being 14. We seek relevance, engagement and Hebrew. Thank you for your ideas.

By: Gabbai Seth Fishman (Blog Editor)

Gabbai Seth Fishman (Blog Editor) — Sun, 06 Apr 2008 17:38:07 +0000

Shalom: Reb Zalman has always been ahead of his time. This piece was originally published as “Notes Toward Freeing the Seder” and it appeared in Menorah: A Center for Jewish Renewal, Nisan 5742, April 1982, Volume III, Number 4.

By: Micchael Gest

Micchael Gest — Sat, 05 Apr 2008 02:37:26 +0000

We are doing it without a haggadah, just taking the seder one step at a time without doing the prayer but with a group discussion of what each symbol is and means. We try to link it with a hebrew letter to determine what part of life it corresponds to.

By: shulamit sofia

shulamit sofia — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 23:33:18 +0000

Just as we are told to sing a new song to create a new reality so it is appropriate to create a new way to Seder. Thank you Reb Zalman for this new way to reconfigure our participation in this ancient ritual. Your creativity and ability to add boiling water to freeze dried coffee is awesome.

By: ketziarh calry

ketziarh calry — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 21:36:57 +0000

Thanks to Reb Zalman and Gabbai Seth for this post. Thanks especially for the section about baking your own matzah. It was tranformative the first time I did this and when I shared my experience I was shocked at the amount of criticism I received. last year I didn’t bake matzah - this year I will again!

By: Chanah Zimmermann

Chanah Zimmermann — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 15:23:59 +0000

Zaide Z, what deep, thought provoking questions. Our community doesn’t use the Maxwell Haggadah, but they do use something just as dull and instruction oriented.

I agree that it’s time to free up our seder. Insights from your teaching will appear at our community seder table this year.

Your analogy of the haggadah as a cookbook put my mind in the “cooking” mode.

blessings to you for all your work.