Menu   

Off the Pulpit

All In One Meal


You can find almost every important Jewish value in one ceremony, the Passover Seder: 

1. The story — The story of our people, biblical, rabbinic and beyond, retold through the generations, always with new interpretations. 

2. Food — When the prophet Elijah is stranded in the wilderness and an angel comes to comfort, what does the angel say? “Eat something!” (I Kings, 19:5). No Jew without food.

3. Children — The Seder is taken from the past and points toward the future. It is a clebration with children always in mind, from the opening words to the closing song. 

4. Prayer — Filled with prayer and praise of God, the “Seder” recalls the Siddur, the prayer book, which brings us to our next value:

5. Book — The meal is built around a book, because words, study, and learning are the bedrock of our tradition.

6. Questions — Filled with questions, the Seder reminds us how much there is to discover.

7. The Land and The Future — Always pointed toward Jerusalem and a better day, the Seder leaves us with hope, and reassures us with faith.