Pesach Thoughts

Friday–1^st Seder- Meditation (perhaps during the Dayenu)

 Tonight we celebrate our liberation from bondage.

Slavery rendered our ancestors who were living as neighbors of the Egyptians into captives; freedom transformed us into a nation. As we descendants of Miryam and Moses and unnamed thousands of others eat matzah and bitter herbs and recite the sacred account of our Exodus we open our ears to the suffering of others. In the days of Torah, Egyptian firstborn children lost their lives and we today lessen our joy by diminishing wine from our cups.

 In these very hours Christians are being murdered by Boko Haram and Al-Shabaab. We diminish our joy and we remove an extra drop of wine from our cup of liberty. If others are still chained we are as well. Hear our prayers, o God, prayers for liberty for all who are oppressed and persecuted by religious extremists. Hear the prayer of all of your children, o God of our ancestors who delivered us.

 On this first night of Passover, a night of enduring  hope for freedom, a night during which we ONLY SAY THE FIRST PHRASE OF SH’MA AND NO OTHER  PARAGRAPH BECAUSE OF THIS NIGHT’S  PROTECTIVE POWER ,WATCH OVER ALL OF YOUR CHILDREN AND GRANT THEM  SAFETY!

  

Saturday -2^ndSeder-Meditation (after the meal is eaten)

What could be more important in our world than kindness. Kindness is so important that we mark a week long period of time named CHESED. From Saturday night April 4 to Saturday night April 11 we are seeking to instill ever increasing levels of CHESED within our minds and our hearts. Beginning with each of us is the hallowed goalof putting kindness into our world. God, be in front of us during the upcoming week. Usher into our own daily world the power to place Chesed in our communities. Establish each one of us as force for causing kindness to permeate the lives of others.

We begin the sacred act of counting the Omer with the following words:

 Blessed are you Lord, our god ruler of the universe who has made us holy with the mitzvah of counting the Omer. Tonight is the first day of the Omer.

 Baruch atahadonai eloheinu melech ha-olam asher kidshanu b’mitzvotavv’tzeevanu al s’feerat ha-omer.