"In every generation each of us must see ourselves as if we had personally gone out of Egypt."
The aim of the seder is to tell the story of the
Israelite delivery from slavery, and to make the story as relevant and
meaningful for us today as it was for our ancestors. The Haggadah is in
fact an anthology which has evolved over time, encorporating sacred
texts, ritual and song, as a means of guiding us to achieve the
optimal emotional, spirituality and intellectual meaning. An important
element of the seder is tradition. Performing the rituals and telling
the story in the manner of our ancestors honours them and helps us to
connect to past generations and to the people of Israel as a whole. And
so each generation is given the task of balancing ancient traditions and
modern sensibilities in order to maximize relevance and participation.
With these aspects in mind I suggest that each part of the family be asked to be a stakeholder by actively taking on the task of performing a section of the seder. The seder leader may be responsible for performing certain critical functions ie. the saying of the blessings in Hebrew, and for making sure that the chronology is properly followed and time limits are respected. But aside from that, the sky's the limit, the seder is, in fact a dramatic performance, and I think that as much leeway as possible should be given to participants to interpret the important themes as they choose ie. in song, poetry, movement, readings from various sources etc. whether following closely to traditional texts or not. Still, it's important that decorum of the event is respected and the principle aim be maintained.
The process would begin with the circulation of a document which lays out the essential order of the evening (called signs) and includes possible (but not exclusive) themes developed in each section. Hopefully, every family within our family will choose to actively participate. Family members would be asked to voluntarily perform each required sign, and should sign-up beforehand, so we know in advance who is doing what. In most cases the signs do not take much time, are easy to do, and should be performed by all of us together ie. the eating of the various foods, and drinking of wine etc. The leader would serve certain necessary functions like performing the Yachatz. But each ritual also has additional meanings which can be explored by family members. For example, at Yachatz, (breaking of the middle matzah for the afikoman) it could be mentioned that in order for one to move forward in his personal life something must be broken, old bonds, old habits, old ways of thinking, and in this way we necessarily must live with a sense of our own brokenness. Someone can share a personal story when they felt 'broken' and how it led to personal renewal. Other parts of the seder, ie. the Maggid, naturally take longer. Still, we should try to outline a certain time limit that each participant can work with.
With these aspects in mind I suggest that each part of the family be asked to be a stakeholder by actively taking on the task of performing a section of the seder. The seder leader may be responsible for performing certain critical functions ie. the saying of the blessings in Hebrew, and for making sure that the chronology is properly followed and time limits are respected. But aside from that, the sky's the limit, the seder is, in fact a dramatic performance, and I think that as much leeway as possible should be given to participants to interpret the important themes as they choose ie. in song, poetry, movement, readings from various sources etc. whether following closely to traditional texts or not. Still, it's important that decorum of the event is respected and the principle aim be maintained.
The process would begin with the circulation of a document which lays out the essential order of the evening (called signs) and includes possible (but not exclusive) themes developed in each section. Hopefully, every family within our family will choose to actively participate. Family members would be asked to voluntarily perform each required sign, and should sign-up beforehand, so we know in advance who is doing what. In most cases the signs do not take much time, are easy to do, and should be performed by all of us together ie. the eating of the various foods, and drinking of wine etc. The leader would serve certain necessary functions like performing the Yachatz. But each ritual also has additional meanings which can be explored by family members. For example, at Yachatz, (breaking of the middle matzah for the afikoman) it could be mentioned that in order for one to move forward in his personal life something must be broken, old bonds, old habits, old ways of thinking, and in this way we necessarily must live with a sense of our own brokenness. Someone can share a personal story when they felt 'broken' and how it led to personal renewal. Other parts of the seder, ie. the Maggid, naturally take longer. Still, we should try to outline a certain time limit that each participant can work with.
The Signs of the Seder
1. Kadesh -the recitation of Kiddush. Possible themes: How we use our time, the importance of dedicating time for special occasions.
2. Urchatz -washing the hands. Possible themes: How we use water, how it relates to the essentials of life, responsibility.
3. Karpas -eating a vegetable dipped in salt-water. Possible themes: Our reliance on nature and responsibility for it.
4. Yachatz -breaking of the middle matzo. Possible themes: Brokenness, how something must be destroyed in us in order to be able to move on.
5. Maggid -the recitation of the story. Possible themes: What slavery means today, bad habits, closemindedness, ignorance, how we are constantly fighting a sort of enslavement.
a. The four questions
b. The response
6. Rachtzah - washing of the hands a second time. Possible themes: The work of our hands, the importance of action not just words.
7. Motze - the recitation of the blessing hamotzi. Possible themes: Where we find nourishment and inspiration in our daily lives.
8. Matzah - the recitation of the blessing, eating the matzo. Possible themes: The meaning of the matzah, the bread of affliction, the bread of humility.
9. Morror - eating the bitter herbs. Possible themes: What it means to experience and live with bitterness, how we overcome it in order to move on.
10. Korech - eating a sandwich of matzo and bitter herbs. Possible themes: Literal mindedness versus interpretation (which is why we eat the sandwich).
11. Shulchan Oruch - eating the festive meal. Possible themes: Hunger, the fight against global poverty, and the interconnectedness of everyone.
12. Tzafun - eating the afikomen. Possible themes: The nature of the divine as hiddeness, and our role as partners in creation and improving the world.
13. Bayrech - the recitation of grace. Possible themes: Arriving at gratitude, what we are grateful for, how do we develop and maintain a sense of gratitiude.
14. Hallel - the recitation of Hallel psalms of praise. Possible themes: Joy, how to live joyously, finding joy when there is pain and suffering all around us.
15. Nirtzah - our prayer that G-d accepts our service. Possible themes: The vision of an ideal world, what does it mean to us today? Have we lost our ideals?I know this is a lot to chew on. But if there is a will, there is a way to get more involvement in this central event of our family. Renewing the seder is a great opportunity to renew our family bonds. What better way to honour our beloved parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles?
Bravo, Glen! Thank you for these inspiring ideas and suggestions. I would love to prepare Bayrech #13 for Seder 2014. much love, Marilyn
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteAll great ideas, Glen!
ReplyDeleteTo add, I think we can also do a smarter job of making the Afikomen hunt more adventerous, more challenging and more Amazing-Race/scavenger-hunt like.
Marilyn's printout had some great ideas (ex: cue-cards with clues leading to the next cue-card leading to the next leading, eventually, to the Afikoman) This will make it much more memorable for the younger kids and they will have to work as a team to earn the prize. We can plant cards with certain family members so that the kids get to know each "operative." Example: "The first clue could read: Seek out the family member who lives in Toronto, is bald and has a beard. If you don't know who this might be, ask anyone at the seder for help!"
The kids would have to run around and collaborate to figure out who it is... The holder of the 1st clue would then give them the 2nd clue-card and etc....
I also think sitting the kids at their own separate table is worth consideration but need to think about that b/c sometimes kids can get pretty loud when they're together and prone to not listening...
Marilyn: Can you post the link to the site where you printed out your Seder Ideas from?