It's delightful, it's delicious, it's dlevy!
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…but last night, when it was approaching midnight and we were all full of a delicious meal and pretty sloshed thanks to several bottles of wine and scream-singing Psalm 136, in Hebrew, to the tune of the Bannana Boat Song, I remembered everything I like about this whole nonsense we call religion.
From ASK A RABBI: Every year one of my cousins tries to derail the seder by insisting that the story of the Exodus never happened so we shouldn’t talk about it like history. How can I turn this into a productive discussion at the seder?
(Answered by Rabbi Carl Perkins of Temple Aliyah, Needham, MA… and his answer might surprise you…)
The month leading up to Passover is my busiest time at work. I run a website, JewishBoston.com, which exists to make it easier for anyone in the greater Boston to take part in Jewish life. Passover is the number one time during the year when Jewish people, regardless of what they do during the rest of the year, feel the pull to do something Jewish.
I’m really proud of the resources we’re offering this year, so please excuse me while kvell about them for a moment. (There are more coming, so expect a couple more posts like this.)
- The Wandering Is Over Haggadah - a free, downloadable, customizable Haggadah, written by yours truly. It’s a no-nonsense approach to the seder for grown-ups who want something that is authentic, meaningful, and accessible.
- If you’ll have kids at your seder, enhance the experience with our Guide to Engaging Kids And Adults Together, written by my colleague Jodi Jarvis.
- You can theme your seder with the Including Women’s Voices Haggadah from Jewish Women’s Archive or by adding any number of supplements currently available on our site. Coming soon: a Volunteering-theme Haggadah from ReachOut! (the young adult social justice program of the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Boston) and the Election 2012 Haggadah Supplement by my friend Kate Bigam.
- If you live in the greater Boston area and need a little more help putting together your seder, we offer a totally free kit called Seder in a Box that includes a seder plate, kiddush cup, some goodies, plus the materials listed above and more. Request yours today!
- Finally, if you’re looking to enhance your eating over Passover, we’ve got tons of recipes, including vegetarian, gluten-free, and kid-friendly options.
I hope some of this is useful to my friends out there in Tumblr-land. And if you do use any of these resources during the holiday, let me know!
Just before we drink the second cup of wine in the Passover seder, we speak of three symbols considered indispensible to the holiday’s meaning: the shank bone, the matzah, and the bitter herbs. However, in many homes, other symbols are added to this section, from the egg (which sits on the seder place but has no formal mention in traditional Haggadahs) to olives (signs of peace) to oranges and cups of water.
Last year, JewishBoston.com collaborated with Jewish Women’s Archive on a special edition of our Haggadah called “Including Women’s Voices.” Here’s the section I wrote for that Haggadah on the customs and significance of the orange and Miriam’s Cup. [READ MORE]
![Guess what the next two months of work look like for me? [See more]](http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lz6k5exk2d1qg25kno1_500.jpg)
Guess what the next two months of work look like for me? [See more]
JewishBoston.com is offering its first do-it-yourself Seder kit. Free to Boston-area residents, ages 18 to 40, who sign up by April 8, ‘Seder in a Box’ includes: a Seder plate, a basic Haggadah, a leader’s guide, recipes, a shopping list, instructions for setting the table, and a matzo cover. Oh, and some green plastic frogs, representing one of the 10 plagues.
The Seder in a Box program has been much more successful than we ever dreamed it might be! If you’re between 18 and 40 and live in the greater Boston area, order your Seder in a Box today!
