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Making Your Seder and Freedom Meaningful - Passover 2022

What is the first story you think about when you think about Pesach (Passover)? Is it the story of baby Moses and his survival and growth as the leader of the Jewish nation? Is it the story of the plagues and everything the Egyptians and the Israelites had to endure before the Israelites were finally set free? Or, is it the story of how we became a free nation; a nation that has endured for thousands of years? Haggadah actually means “the telling.” We tell the story of our freedom from Egypt, under G-d’s guidance and protection, over and over again, year after year. It is our annual reminder that finding freedom is not something to be forgotten. The Haggadah is the story we tell at the Pesach seder.This year, Passover starts with the first Seder on Friday night, April 15 and the holiday lasts until Saturday night, April 23. This age-old story, written in the Haggadah, told in our own homes as we engage in the Passover seder, opens the door for us to discuss the question of “what does it mean to be free, both physically and spiritually?” While we have been freed from slavery in Egypt for all these years, are we truly free? These past few months, the news has reminded us daily that not everyone is free (physically and spiritually). The war in Ukraine has demonstrated that not all people are permitted to live freely. In addition, four recent terrorist attacks in Israel and an increase in anti-semitism in the United States, reminds us that Jews are not able to live freely without fear from harm. Are we Jews really free if we live in a world where there are people who hate us and want to harm us? And, it bodes the bigger question…is anyone really free?These are heavy topics to think about this year. But, really, these issues have been a constant presence in all our lives since anyone can remember. Yet, the beauty of the holiday of Pesach is that it gives us an opportunity to stop and talk with our family and friends about this idea of freedom. We are often so busy with our daily lives that we don’t take the time to talk about some of the deeper meanings of life. The Pesach seder stops us and makes us take some time to think about the theme of freedom.This year, take the opportunity to talk about freedom at the Seder table. What does it mean to be free and what is our obligation to pursue freedom for everyone? What is the difference between physical freedom and spiritual freedom? There are no right or wrong answers.The seder gives us the opportunity to start a conversation, to start thinking about what it means to be truly free. And, it’s an opportunity for us to listen to the next generation, to engage them in this discussion because they will be the ones who lead the next generation in future discussions. This theme of freedom reminds us of the song, Olam Chesed Yibaneh (We will build the world with lovingkindness). We sing it every Shabbat at camp. The lyrics are:Olam Chesed YibanehI will build this world from love And you must build this world from loveAnd if we build this world from loveThen God will build this world from love [button url="https://bebercamp.box.com/s/9ds9mfmkc5nxzkf88ptxa3elsqkohe6q" target="_blank"]Olam Chesed Yibaneh Recording, Lyrics, & Chords[/button]As we move from talking about spiritual and physical freedom to what we can do to help make freedom a reality for others, this song reminds us that in order to be truly free, we need to learn how to love others. For many of us, this will be the first year we are having seders with family and friends in person, instead of on zoom. We can be grateful for the opportunity to have some in-depth conversations about freedom.As you gather for the seders, consider including some of these things in your seder:

  1. Talk about the war in Ukraine. See this article for information about how to talk about the war with children. Focus on ways in which we can help others. And, learn more about Jewish history in the Ukraine and read about famous Jews from Ukraine who changed the world. Finding personal connections to Ukraine is important to helping us understand our obligation to help.
  2. Discuss the lyrics of Olam Chesed Yibaneh. How can this song help us understand freedom? What can we do to make our world a better place? And, why is G-d mentioned last to build this world with love?
  3. Encourage questions and discussion in your seder by giving “shekels” (you can cut and paste this image onto a word document and then cut them up to give away during the seder). For each question asked or comment made, give the speaking participant one of these shekels. Give a reward to the person who receives the most “shekels” or collect them all, tally up the number of “shekels” spent and make a donation to a Jewish organization that helps those in Ukraine, like your local Jewish Federation or Chabad organization. Sometimes just rewarding the person who collects the most with the opportunity to choose a charitable organization gets everyone excited about participating. And, remember to save the shekels to use again next year.
  4. Use Beber Camp’s values to start a discussion. “Where can you find these values in the Passover story?” As you get to each part of the Haggadah, ask which value fits that section best.
  5. Follow the order of the Seder - looking for a way to remember the order of the seder? This A Cappella group (Y-Studs) performance is entertaining and educating! And there are so many other A Cappella Passover performances by the Maccabeats, Six13, theMix and more. Watch a different one each night of Passover! This week, the group Six13 released their new Billy Joel Passover medley, check it out here!
  6. Add some new songs to your Seder. This compilation of seder parodies will be entertaining for all!
  1. Explore the cultural diversity in traditional recipes for Charoset. Did you know that there are so many different ways to make Charoset?
  2. Since many of us may still be having small seders, look at these ideas for having a small seder.
  3. Add a new Haggadah to brighten your seder. Check these Haggadot out.
  4. Last, focus on a meaningful and deeper reflection on Passover and the theme of liberation by reading this blog. It answers the question of why so many Jews are drawn to participating in a Seder. (It also has a delicious recipe at the end of the article).

Chag Pesach Sameach (as our Israeli staff taught us to say) from the Beber Camp team!