Passover Guide and Seder Supplement

Responsum From the Vaad Halakha of The Masorti Movement

(OH 444:1)

Rabbi Ovadiah Yosef has suggested a third approach - to use matzah, which has been recooked in soup. After the soup cools off, one removes it in whole pieces and dries it out. It can then be used for the second and third Shabbat meals while regular matzah can be used on Friday night because the prohibition in the Yerushalmi does not pertain to the night before Pesach. This method is halakhically valid, but it is difficult to adopt for practical reasons because most Jews will not have the time or patience to follow this complicated procedure.

Approved Unanimously

Rabbi Eric A. Silver

Temple Beth David, Cheshire, CT
Pesach is a joyous time of year, with friends and family gathered around the table, singing songs, sharing food, recounting our experiences in leaving the slavery of Egypt behind us. Pesach is supposed to stimulate memory, and so we all have our remembrances of Seders past. We remember sitting together with those whom we loved, usually a grandparent seated at the head of the table, leading the family in worship on this solemn/joyous/sacred night.
For many of us, the sight of Grandfather seated there at the head of the table remains our most vivid memory. Imagine my delight, then, when a congregant once told me that my seder reminded him of his grandfather's, and that he hadn't had a seder like that in many years. What he was trying to say was that I had evoked some of those early childhood memories, waiting to sing Dayenu, watching to see if the wine level in Elijah's cup would really drop as they said it would, searching for the Afikoman, and falling asleep with Grandfather's face the last thing before our sleep-blurred eyes. I was humbled and honored, and at the same time, I felt a nostalgic twinge, recalling Seders of my youth, and I tried to remember what it was about those Seders that I most remembered.
Like them, I remembered my grandfather, the smells of cooking, the delicious foods, the matzah, and everything else. But with the passage of years, my grandfather's Seder became a thing of the past. It was my father, now become the family patriarch, sitting at the head of the table. Yet the Seder was the same, the foods, the singing, the feeling of joy, and the sense of recapturing those moments of so long ago when we relived the experience of going out of Egypt.
In time, I grew up, and feeling somewhat strange, slid into the place at the head of the table. Looking around, I see my wife and children, my mother occasionally attending, telling me that my Seder is like my father's. Friends and family take their seats around the table where once the grownups sat, and I realize that we are now the grownups. And the crowd of children where once I and my friends and my cousins played has picked up the tradition and is raucously enjoying the same Seder that I loved when I was their age. And I remember.
I remember my father's Seder, though he's been gone over twenty-five years. I remember my grandfather's Seder, half a century ago. And the memories of their Seders mingle with mine and I remember what it is that I remember. I remember that I am a Jew who left Egypt, and who promised God

that every year, I would celebrate this event, precisely so that I might remember. I remember that my grandfather and my father brought their joy and their spirit to the Seder. I remember so that I might relive the experience each year, and pass the memories on to my children, as did my father before me, and his father before him. It is in this fashion that my Grandfather's Seder remains intact today, as vibrant as it was when he sat at the head of the table. Some day, if it pleases God, I will be the grandfather who sits there, and my grandchildren will remember that it was I who gave them that.

And now, as the Talmud so often asks, mai nafka minei--what is the point of all this? The point is that you don't have to come to my house to see your grandfather's Seder. You can do it at your home just as well as I do it at mine. You can take your memories of Passover and make them come alive around your table, providing your children and your grandchildren something of Jewish value that will stay with them through the years. You can make your grandfather's Seder your own, and with it, succeed in transmitting your

Jewish faith through the ages.

Miriam's Cup Ritual in the Family Seder

bravery and devotion to the Jewish people. Both Miriam and her well were spiritual oases in the desert,

sources of sustenance and healing. Her words of comfort gave the Hebrews the faith and confidence to

overcome the hardships of the Exodus. We fill Miriam's cup with water to honor her role in ensuring the

survival of the Jewish people. Like Miriam, Jewish women in all generations have been essential for the

continuity of our people. As keepers of traditions in the home, women passed down songs and stories,

rituals and recipes, from mother to daughter, from generation to generation. Let us each fill the cup of

Miriam with water from our own glasses, so that our daughters may continue to draw from the strength

and wisdom of our heritage.
When Miriam's cup is filled, raise the goblet and say: We place Miriam's cup on our seder table to honor the important role of Jewish women in our tradition and history, whose stories have been too sparingly told.
Continue by reciting this prayer: "You abound in blessings, G-d, creator of the universe, Who sustains us with living water. May we, like the children of Israel leaving Egypt, be guarded and nurtured and kept alive in the wilderness, and may You give us wisdom to understand that the journey itself holds the promise of redemption. AMEN." (from Susan Schnur)
Next, tell the story of a Jewish woman you admire. Begin by saying: Each Passover, we dedicate Miriam's cup to a Jewish woman who has made important contributions in achieving equality and freedom for others. This year, we honor….(see "Biography").

Dancing in honor of the prophetess Miriam follows the rituals for the prophet Elijah after the meal. Lift Miriam's cup and say: Miriam's life is a contrast to the life of Elijah, and both teach us important lessons. Elijah was a hermit, who spent part of his life alone in the desert. He was a visionary and prophet, often very critical of the Jewish people, and focused on the messianic era. On the other hand, Miriam lived among her people in the desert, following the path of hesed, or loving-kindness. She constantly comforted the Israelites throughout their long journey, encouraging them when they lost faith. Therefore, Elijah's cup is a symbol of future messianic redemption, while Miriam's cup is a symbol of hope and renewal in the present life. We must achieve balance in our own lives, not only preparing our souls for redemption, but rejuvenating our souls in the present. Thus, we need both Elijah's cup and Miriam's cup at our seder table.

Sing and dance with tambourines. First hold up a tambourine and say (from Exodus

dance to praise G-d for the miracle of splitting the Red Sea, so we now rejoice and celebrate the freedom

of the Jewish people today. (http://www.miriamscup.com/RitualPrint.htm)