May the festival lights we now kindle
Inspire us to use our power
To heal and not to hurt,
To help and not to hinder,
To bless and not to curse,
To serve you, O God of freedom.
The candles are lit, reminding us to the light of God's truth.
The bowl of water is brought for the leader,
reminding us that we should approach this meal
with both our hands and our hearts clean.
Each person now takes a piece of green herb and eats it.
The greens remind us of life.
The green herb is dipped (twice) in salt water,
which reminds us of the tears the Hebrew people shed
while they were slaves in Egypt.
The Lord says to us:
[Joshua 24]
Long ago, your ancestors lived on the other side
of the Euphrates River and worshipped other Gods.
One of those ancestors was Terah, the father
of Abraham and Nahor.
Then I took Abraham, your ancestor, and led him
through the whole land of Canaan.
I gave him many descendents. I gave him Isaac
and to Isaac I gave Jacob and Esau.
I gave the hill country of Edom to Esau
but your ancestor Jacob went down to Egypt
with his children.
[Genesis 41]
Joseph, one of Jacob's sons, was 30 years old
when he began to serve the king of Egypt.
When the seven years of famine came,
there was food in Egypt.
People came to Egypt from all over the world
to buy grain from Joseph,
because the famine was severe everywhere.
[Genesis 42]
The sons of Jacob came with others to buy grain,
because there was famine in the land of Canaan.
[Exodus 1]
In the course of time, Joseph, his brothers,
and all the rest of that generation died,
but their descendents had many children.
Then a new king came to power in Egypt,
one who knew nothing about Joseph.
He said to his people, These Israelites
are so numerous and strong that they are a threat to us.
In case of war, they might join our enemies.
So the Egyptians oppressed the Israelites.
They made them work on their building projects
and in the fields, and they had no pity on them.
[Deuteronomy 26]
The Egyptians treated us harshly
and forced us to work as slaves.
Then we cried for help to God, the God of our ancestors.
God heard us and saw our hardship.
Today, also, wherever slavery remains, we remember.
The mixture of fruit and nuts reminds us of the mortar
used in building the cities of Pithom and Rameses
in Egypt.
Each person should eat some of it,
between pieces of bread, like mortar between bricks.
The questions should be asked by the youngest child or children and the answer given by the father or leader.
[Deuteronomy 6]
It is because we were slaves under Pharaoh in Egypt
and God brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand,
sending great signs and disasters against the Egyptians
– as we saw ourselves.
But God led us out from there to bring us
into the land promised to our ancestors.
God sent Moses to Pharaoh, to ask for our freedom.
But Pharaoh refused.
[Exodus 6]
Moses complained to God: Why, O Lord,
have you brought misfortune on this people?
And why did you ever send me?
Then God promised deliverance for us, saying:
I will release you from your labor
in Egypt.
Let every cup be filled to the top and let everyone drink.
Then God said to Moses and his brother Aaron in Egypt:
[Exodus 12]
This month for you is the first of months;
you shall make it the first month of the year.
On the tenth day of this month let each man take
a lamb or a kid for his family,
one for each household, except if a household
is too small for one lamb or one kid
they may share with their nearest neighbor.
You must have it in safe keeping until the fourteenth
day of this month,
and then all the community of Israel shall kill
the victim between dusk and dark.
They must smear some of the blood on the doorposts
and on the lintel of the door of every house
where they eat the lamb.
That night they shall eat the flesh, roast on a fire;
they shall eat it with unleavened bread
and bitter herbs.
You are not to eat any of it raw or even boiled in water,
but roasted: Head, shins, and entrails.
You shall not leave any of it until morning;
if any is left, it must be burned.
This is the way in which you must eat it:
You shall have your belt fastened, your sandals
on your feet, and your staff in your hand,
and you must eat in urgent haste.
It is the Lord's Passover.
On the night, I will pass through Egypt and kill
every first-born of every man and beast.
And as for you, the blood will be a sign on your houses:
when I see the blood I will pass over your house.
[Exodus 6]
God promised deliverance a second time, saying:
I will rescue you
from slavery in Egypt.
Let every cup be filled again and let everyone drink
and let everyone take a piece of lamb and eat it.
[Exodus 12]
You shall keep this day as a day of remembrance,
you shall keep it generation after generation
as a rule for all time.
For seven days you shall eat unleavened bread.
On the very first day you shall rid your house of yeast;
from the first day to the last anyone who eats
leavened bread shall be outlawed from Israel.
You shall observe these commandments
because this was the very day
on which I brought you out of Egypt in your tribal hosts.
You shall observe this day forever.
You shall eat enleavened bread in the first month
from the evening which begins the fourteenth day
until he evening which begins the twenty-first day.
For seven days no yeast may be found in your houses.
You must eat nothing fermented.
Each person should take a piece of the bread and eat it.
[Exodus 6]
God's third promise for us was this:
I will redeem you with mighty acts.
Let every cup be filled a third time and let everyone drink.
[Exodus 12]
The Israelties did all that God commanded
and by midnight the Lord had struck down
every first-born
from the first-born of Pharaoh
to the first-born of the prisoner in the dungeon,
and the first-born cattle.
Before night was over, Pharaoh rose,
and a great cry of anguish went up
because no house in Egypt was spared.
Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron while it was still dark
and said, Be off! Leave my people,
you and your Israelites.
The Egyptians urged them on and hurried them
out of the country
or else,
they said, we shall all be dead.
The Israelites set out from Rameses by way of Succoth,
about six hundred thousand men on foot,
not couting dependents.
With them went animals in great numbers,
both flocks and herds.
The dough which they had brought with them from Egypt
they baked into unleavened bread,
because there was no yeast.
They had been driven out of Egypt and had been allowed
no time even to get food ready for themselves.
The Israelites had been settled in Egypt 430 years.
At the end of 430 years,
on this very day,
all the tribes of the Lord came out of Egypt.
This was the night of watching as the Lord waited
to bring them out of Egypt.
God promised deliverance for us four times. God said:
I will release you from your labor in Egypt.
I will rescue you from slavery in Egypt.
I will redeem you with mighty acts.
And when our ancestors had departed from Egypt,
God said,
[Leviticus 26]
I will adopt you as my people,
and I will become your God.
Let every glass be filled the fourth time, and let everyone drink.
Dayenu
How much more, then are we to be grateful to God! For
May the One who blessed Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob,
May the One who blessed Sarah, Rebeccah, and Rachel,
Bless this house, this table, and all assembled here,
and so may all our loved ones share our blessing.
May the One who brings harmony
into the workings of the stars
bring peace to earth for all humanity.
God will give strength to our people.
GOD WILL BLESS ALL PEOPLE WITH PEACE.
January, 1983
October, 1997
March/April, 1999
(March, 2012)