How To Talk Politics at Your Family Seder Without Killing Each Other
Should we avoid prickly subjects at the seder? Steer clear of talk about candidates, platforms, policies and anything potentially objectionable for the sake of a happy holiday?
What Haggadot Can Teach Us about Audacious Hospitality
“We’re all so unique. How do we bring our full personalities to the table? Wouldn’t it be great if we could embrace tradition and start a conversation that reflects our interesting, hilarious, modern, multi-cultural thought-provoking lives?”
US and Canadian Synagogues Partner to Help Refugees
Imagine you are running for your life. Your survival depends on the mercy of strangers. Your home is in ruins and your neighbors have fled. There is no turning back. When you reach the crowded camp, you join thousands who ache for a life they will never know again.
For Those Whose Exodus Continues Today
For more than 3,000 years, Jews have gathered to retell the story of Passover and celebrate our deliverance from slavery in Egypt. In the Book of Exodus, we are not only told to observe Passover (Exodus 12: 17); we also are taught that, “In every generation all of us are obliged to regard ourselves as if we ourselves went forth from the land of Egypt” (Exodus 13:8). We must not only gather for seder and replace chametz with matzah, but we also must take ownership of the Passover narrative and experience it anew each year.
Asking God to "Pass Over" a Special House in New Orleans
We enjoyed the music we heard and the good food we ate in New Orleans, but the real highlight was meeting our host, Calvin, and learning about his life and work. We returned home with more insight, more hope and more inspiration – and we are so glad we stayed at 1317 Feliciana Street.
Parenting at Passover: How Do We Share this Story with Our Kids?
Reflecting on Racial Justice during Passover
On Passover, we confront a central, inextricable tension: we must simultaneously hold the joy of our exodus from slavery in Egypt with the persecution we see all around us in the world. For many centuries, that persecution was directly experienced by Jews themselves.
Why is this Anti-Poverty Program Different From All Other Programs?
On Passover, as we sit around the seder table with family and friends, we pause so the youngest person can recite the Four Questions.
Economic Justice at Your Seder
The haggadah teaches that we should read the story of Passover feeling as if we were personally freed from Egypt. To do this, we must visualize ourselves in the story, but we should also be aware of the injustice that currently exists in our world.
What You Can Learn from a Chocolate Seder
The aroma of chocolate eggs (beitzah), chocolate covered matzah, green-colored chocolate (karpas) a solid chocolate seder plate, several chocolate nut clusters (charoset), and a 100% cacao bar (maror) wafted our friends into our home. Three of the five rabbis at the table had never been to a seder – a chocolate seder that is.