RJ Blog

This post is part of our Passover series, in which we think about the application of our age-old Passover story and traditions to the crucial issues we face today. For ways to infuse your seder with social justice, see our holiday guide. When 30,000 Americans die each year due to gun violence, it is time to acknowledge that we are suffering from a modern plague. When schoolchildren are gunned down by single shooter with a high-capacity magazine, we suffer from a modern plague. And, when criminals can buy weapons without having their backgrounds checked, we suffer from a modern plague. As [...]

I’ve purposely waited until the Haggadot have been put away for the year to comment on issues that emerged in the discussion of the highly touted New American Haggadah (NEH) produced for Pesach 5772 by the wunderkinder editor Jonathan Safran Foer and translator Nathan Englander. I have seen NEH, which is not truly a new Haggadah, but a new presentation of the inherited liturgy; however, I haven’t actually studied it.  The blogosphere analyses and dissections were enough to put me back on my soapbox about translation of classic texts. Leaving aside some “notice me, notice me” eccentricities in Englander’s English [...]

by Yehudit Werchow “וַאֲפִילוּ כֻּלָּנוּ חֲכָמִים כֻּלָּנוּ נְבוֹנִים / כֻּלָּנוּ יוֹדְעִים אֶת הַתּוֹרָה / מִצְוָה עָלֵינוּ לְסַפֵּר בִּיצִיאַת מִצְרָיִם” Even though all of us are wise, understanding and knowing of the Torah, we  are still obligated to tell the story of our Exodus from Egypt. My Haggadah is a musical one. The themes of Pesach inspire so many of my favorite Israeli musicians, and every year another musical Midrash is added to my Pesach collection. This music is one of the most precious gifts that Israeli life and culture contribute to the Jewish tradition. Israeli rock guitarist, songwriter and singer [...]

…So I know the sea was not split in vain Deserts not crossed in vain – If at the end of the story stand Daddy and the kid Looking forward and knowing their turn will come. -from “The Kid of the Haggadah” by Nathan Alterman (trans. Arthur Waskow and Judy Spelman) It is interesting to consider the power of the seder. The Jewish people don’t agree on much – and the Jewish people here in the land of Israel seem constantly to be screaming at each other over issues of religion and ideology, even to the point of violence. But on seder [...]

By Barry Shainker What makes a Passover seder special? Maybe it’s the meal? Or is it the people we dine with? Perhaps it is the ancient songs that we join together in singing. Indeed all of these aspects of the evening contribute to the beauty of the event, but it is the haggadah that makes the Passover seder the most widely observed Jewish ritual around the world. The anchor of the evening, the haggadah, meaning “telling,” dictates the seder (order) of our night. It is in here that we read about the Passover story, are instructed to invite guests to [...]

by Rabbi Eric H. YoffieOriginally published on The Huffington Post On Monday evening (April 18), Jews around the world gathered in theirhomes for a Passover seder to tell the story of the Exodus from Egypt.The story that emerges from the traditional liturgy is a stunning andradical tale of revolution. It focuses not on personal salvation but oncollective redemption. And the hero of the story is none other than theGod of Israel. God intervenes actively in human affairs, instigates therevolution, demands freedom for the slaves and does not hesitate to useforce in order to promote the common good. The freedom that [...]

As the frigid temperatures that have gripped much of thecountry this winter ebb into the warmth of spring, it is finally time to getexcited about Passover. For me, every year Passover is about an Exodus: from my home to what my parents have long thought to be the Promised Land – LosAngeles. It is also about strict family tradition. For millions of Jews in North America, Passover is “the”home holiday.  We all eat the same foods, plus or minus something new fromsome magazine. We stuff our familyand friends into a space built for about a third of the people who [...]