Seder Means “Order”
Reader:
The holiday of Passover tells
the
ancient story of the Jewish
people’s liberation from
slavery in Egypt.
This Passover, we will tell
the
modern-day story of
liberating American people
from the
hardship of hunger.
Hunger Seder 5771 – 2011
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Freedom from Oppression
Reader:
Though Passover celebrates the
Jewish people’s freedom from
slavery in Egypt, it is truly a
celebration of freedom from all
slavery, all oppression, and all
hardship. Yet in our world
today, there is still oppression,
hardship, and slavery. Many of
us, even in the United States,
the freest country in the world,
do not have all the freedoms we
celebrate.
And so for those among us who feel
the oppression of hunger, today’s
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Hunger Seder is a chance
to
Freedom from Oppression
Leader:
As we learn in Pirke Avot, the
teachings of our fathers,
‫ ולא אתה בן חורין‬,‫לא עליך המלאכה לגמור‬
‫להבטל ממנה‬
Lo alecha ham’lacha ligmore, v’lo
ata ben chorin l’hibatil memena.
You are not obligated to
finish the work [of
perfecting the world] but
neither are you allowed to
desist from it.
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Kadesh: The Wine
Reader:
During the
traditional Seder,
we join together
and drink 4 cups
of wine, a cup for
each of the
promises of
freedom G-d made
to the Israelites
as G-d led them
out from slavery
in Egypt.
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The Four Cups
Reader:
Today, we join together and make 4
new promises; promises not about
breaking the shackles of
Egyptian slavery but about
breaking the bonds of hunger.
Let us read together these 4
promises that we make to one
another:
All:
1. We will feed our communities today.
2. We will seek out those in need and act to
nourish ourselves and our neighbors.
3. We will use our power to persuade our
leaders to act to abolish hunger in our
communities.
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The First Cup: We will
feed our communities
today
Leader:
We lift our glasses and read the blessing
over the wine together (drink wine after
the blessing):
Baruch ata,
adonai Eloheinu
melech haolam
borei pri hagafen
‫ברוך אתה יי‬
‫אלהינו מלך‬
‫העולם‬
‫בורא פרי הגפן‬
Blessed are You, Adonai our G-d, ruler of
the universe, who creates the fruit of the
vine.
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The First Cup: We will
feed our communities
today
Reader:
Each time we volunteer at a soup kitchen,
spend a day sorting boxes at the food
bank, or donate extra food from our
cupboards, our actions are priceless –
we easily see how they help others in
that moment. The Talmud, the writings of
Judaism’s oral law and commentary, holds
up
this action
declares,
Whoever
saves aand
life,
it is as if
(s)he saved the entire world.
This is one important way we fulfill
our promise to feed our communities
today.
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The First Cup: We will
feed our communities
today
Leader:
Last year, at Seders like this one, Jews,
Christians, Muslims, Hindus, elected
leaders, advocates for social justice,
champions for feeding the hungry,
students and families came together to
learn about childhood hunger to urge
Congress to pass the Healthy, HungerFree Kids Act.
Reader:
On December 13, 2010 President Obama
signed this important piece of
legislation. This legislation reaches
more than 31 million children who
receive school lunches, helping to put
an end to childhood hunger.
Reader:
Hunger Seder 5771 – 2011
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seek out those in need
and act to nourish
ourselves and our
Leader:
neighbors
We lift our glasses and read the blessing
over the wine together (drink wine after
the blessing):
Baruch ata,
adonai
Eloheinu
melech
haolam
borei
priYou,
Blessed are
of
the universe,
hagafen
‫ברוך אתה יי‬
‫אלהינו מלך‬
‫העולם‬
‫בורא פרי הגפן‬
Adonai our G-d, ruler
who creates the fruit
of the vine.
Hunger Seder 5771 – 2011
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seek out those in need
and act to nourish
ourselves and our
Leader:
neighbors
We were slaves in Egypt and G-d brought us
out from there with a strong hand and an
outstretched arm. If G-d had not brought
us out from Egypt, then we, our children,
and our children’s children might still
have been slaves in Egypt. Even though we
have told the story and know it well, it
is still our duty to tell it. And the
more we tell it, the more we are to be
praised. (Avadim Hayinu – We were Slaves)
Reader:
The Second Cup is our promise to see those
in need and act to nourish ourselves and
our neighbors. We drink this cup to share
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the story of the oppression of hunger,
Maggid : The Story of
the Exodus from Egypt
Reader:
In a traditional
Passover Seder,
the second cup
precedes
“Maggid,” the
telling of the
story of the
exodus from
Egypt. Rabbi
Gamliel taught
that when we
tell the story
of the Exodus,
we must also
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The Roasted Shank Bone:
A symbol of sacrifice
Reader:
The Passover sacrifice, a roasted shank
bone, is a reminder that during the 10th
plague, G-d “passed over” the homes of
the Israelites, sparing the first born.
When we were slaves in Egypt, G-d told
us to put lamb’s blood on our door to
escape the slaying of the first born.
Today, there is no lamb’s blood that can
insulate members of any tribe, race,
ethnicity, or religion from hunger.
All:
G-d led the Israelites out of Egypt with a
strong hand and an outstretched arm. May
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5771– 2011
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we contribute strong hands
and
Matzah: the bread of
affliction and of
freedom
Reader:
We eat this matzah and say Ha Lachmah Anya – this is
the bread of affliction, baked on the backs of the
Israelites as they fled from Egyptian slavery.
All:
Matzah is a symbol of not being ‘ready,’ but of
having to do something anyway.
Leader:
We join together in the blessing over the matzah
‫אתה יי‬after
‫ ברוך‬the
ata and eat‫אלהינו‬
(liftBaruch
up the matzah
a piece
‫מלך העולם אשר‬
blessing):
Adonai
‫קדשנו במצותיו וצונו‬
Elohenu,
‫על אכילת מצה‬
melech
ha’olam,
asher
ked’shanu
b’mitzvotav
Blessed are
You, Adonai our G-d, ruler of the universe,
v’tze’vanu
who has made
us holy with G-d’s commandments and
commandedalusachelat
to eat matzah.
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Maror: the bitterness
of servitude and
oppression
Leader:
Another important Passover symbol is maror, bitter herbs. The
Israelites called Pharaoh ‘maror’ because he embittered
their lives. When we eat these herbs we partake in the
bitterness of servitude and oppression.
All:
It is our obligation, as people and as members of this
community, to go what we can to lighten the load of those
less fortunate. May this maror awaken us to the bitterness
of hunger that continues to exist in our world today.
Leader:
We join together in the blessing over
the‫אתה יי‬
maror‫ברוך‬
(lift up
‫אלהינו‬
Baruch
ata
Adonai
maror and eat a piece after blessing):
Elohenu, melech
ha’olam, asher
ked’shanu
b’mitzvatav
Blessed
are You, Adonai our
has made
us holy with
v’tze’vanu
alG-d’s
eat bitter herbs.
achelat maror.
‫מלך העולם אשר‬
‫קדשנו במצותיו וצונו‬
‫על אכילת מרור‬
G-d, ruler of the universe, who
commandments and commanded us to
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Charoset: a symbol of
mortar and oppression
Reader:
On Passover, we also eat charoset, a sweet
mix of apples, nuts and cinnamon.
Although charoset tastes sweet, it
symbolizes the mortar the Jewish people
used to build and keep the bricks
together when they were slaves to
Pharaoh in Egypt. During the Passover
Seder, we eat a sandwich of maror and
charoset. Today, this sandwich
represents the sweetness of the passage
of the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act
mixed with the bitterness of hunger that
continues to exist, all sandwiched
between matzah – the bread of affliction
and of freedom.
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The Face of Hunger
Today
All:
So where is the hunger that continues to exist
in our country today and how can we come to
understand how each of our stories fit into
the vast and complex reality of hunger in
the United States?
Reader:
If we could reduce the population of the United
States to a town of 100 people, it would
look like this:






17 people struggle with hunger and undernourishment
12 people must turn to food banks or soup kitchens for
food
8 people do not have a grocery store or fresh market
within 1 mile of their home
Approximately 326 pounds of food per person are uneaten
and go to waste each year
68 people are overweight or obese, and each of these 68
people are more likely than not to be struggling with
hunger
14 people receive SNAP (food stamp) benefits to buy
Hunger Seder 5771 – 2011
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groceries, and would likely be unable to adequately feed
Making the Story of
Passover Relevant to
our World Today
Reader:
Seeing the faces of hunger in our midst
helps us glimpse the oppression of
hunger surrounding us. But alone, these
numbers do not tell us the full story of
hunger. The Passover Seder teaches of
the Exodus from Egypt, where we are
challenged to be a part of that story.
We personally engage with the text to
ask the Four Questions, learn of the
Four Children, and say aloud together
the Ten Plagues, to make the pain of
slavery relevant to our world today.
This is the challenge of the Passover
Seder, and the challenge we now begin in
today’s Hunger Seder.
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Ma Nishtana – The Four
Questions
Leader:
The Four Questions we ask at our Hunger
Seder challenge us to consider – “Ma
Nishtana” – what is different about this
night, about this moment in time. When
we all can ask these four questions,
only then can we understand the real
meaning of hunger.
1) All: Why is this year different from
all other years?
Reader: This year we celebrate the success
of passing the Healthy Hunger-Free Kids
Act, a law that allows millions of
children to access healthy, nutritious
meals through school and summer
programs. While we celebrate this
success, we also have to be concerned
5771 – 2011
Page to
19
about the possibility Hunger
of Seder
funding
cuts
Ma Nishtana – The Four
Questions
2) All: Why a Hunger Seder?
Reader: Last year, after two successive
years of the Child Nutrition Seder
mobilization and other efforts to raise
awareness about and advocate for the
reduction of childhood hunger through
school feeding programs, we achieved
success with the passage of the Health,
Hunger-Free Kids Act. But this law only
covers one dimension of hunger in
America. More than 50 million people in
the United States still do not receive
the food they need for a minimally
healthy life. Funding for the
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance
Program (SNAP, aka food stamps) was
partially cut in order to pay for the
child nutrition bill. Hunger
President
Obama
Seder 5771 – 2011
Page 20
has taken the first step by reinstating
Ma Nishtana – The Four
Questions
3) All: Why are so many people hungry when
there are government programs to support
them?
Reader: While government programs like SNAP and
school lunches are important, they can only
help those who are enrolled. Sometimes
people are not aware the programs exist or
that they qualify. Other times the process
to enroll is so complicated that people just
give up. And for some, especially older
Americans, the stigma attached to asking for
assistance is so great, they choose to
suffer in silence. This is why it is of
utmost importance to expand access to these
programs and streamline the process to make
it easier for people to participate.
4) All: How can we talk about hunger and ignore
the obesity epidemic in the United States?
Reader: In many cases, obesity
is 5771
a – result
of
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2011
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The Four
Children
Leader: The four children have four different
perspectives on hunger and have all
experienced hunger differently. Each has a
particular reaction to what (s)he is
learning, based on past experiences and
opinions. None are right, none are wrong,
but helping each of them understand hunger
is critical to overcoming hunger in the
United States.
(The First Child, read together): I want to
help. Teach me about hunger, and how I can
help.
Reader: To this person, reply that the most
important thing to know is hunger does not
need to exist. Hunger is not a problem of
enough food, but of creating ways for people
to access and afford food that is healthy
Seder 5771 – 2011
Page 22
and sustaining. Provide herHunger
with
information
The Four Children
(The Second Child, read together): But I’m not
hungry. What does this have to do with me?
Reader: To this person, reply that although he does
not experience the oppression of hunger daily, it
is only when none are hungry that we are truly
free, only when none are oppressed that we can
truly live in a sake, stable, and just country.
Remind him that protecting others now ensures we
will all be protected if we are ever in need.
(The Third Child, read together): My family is hungry
but we’ve never needed help to buy food before.
This is embarrassing.
Reader: To this person, reply that it is okay to need
help. When she asks for help and when she receives
it, she is making the world more whole by feeding
her children. There is no shame in asking for help
and, in truth, it is those among us who refuse to
lend a helping hand to those who have fallen who
should be ashamed.
(The Fourth Child, read together): I have experienced
hunger but I need extra help to overcome it. Why
is learning about hunger important to me when what
I really need is food?
Hunger Seder 5771 – 2011
Page 23
Reader: To this person reply that, too often, in the
The Ten Plagues
Leader:
On Passover, we read about the 10 plagues G-d unleashed
on the Egyptians. But the plagues we see today are
not punishment from G-d – they are punishments of
our own making. As we read each of these plagues
aloud, we dip a finger into the wine and touch a
drop onto our plate. This reminds us that, even as
we celebrate freedom, our freedom is not complete
now is our happiness overflowing.
All:
We dip our finger into the wine for the plague of
1. The single mother who gives
7.A father who does not
hunger, which is centuries old but exists in our
the last bits of food in the
apply for food stamps
time
and
has
become
our
responsibility.
Each drop of
house to her child, while she
because he cannot
wine hungry.
represents our humanity diminished
by the
goes
understand the
of hunger.
2. presence
The grandfather
who must
application.
choose between paying for
medicine and paying for his
lunch.
3. A neighbor who never invites
you over because she can’t
offer you food.
4. An unemployed mom who is
embarrassed to apply for food
stamps.
5. A friend who feels alienated
because he cannot join in on
8.The tons of edible food
gone to waste.
9.The young couple who
live in an urban
neighborhood where
there is no fullservice grocery store.
10.Apathy – the greatest
plague of all, the
failure to make ending
Hunger Seder 5771 – 2011
Page 24
hunger a national
Dayenu – for this we
are grateful
Leader:
In today’s Hunger Seder, we take a moment to
the blessings we, as participants in this
Americans, enjoy. After each blessing, we
to say together “Dayenu – for this we are
recite aloud
Seder and as
take a moment
grateful.”
Reader: We are grateful that so many among us do not suffer
from the oppression and hardship of daily hunger.
All: Dayenu
Reader: We are grateful for living in a democracy in which
we are able to influence our government’s priorities.
All: Dayenu
Reader: We are grateful for the opportunity to direct
national attention to hunger issues.
All: Dayenu
Reader: We are grateful for this opportunity to direct our
community’s attention to the issue of hunger.
All: Dayenu
Reader: We are grateful to those who use their hands to
stock a food bank, their feet to march to Capitol Hill,
and their voices to demand justice.
All: Dayenu.
Reader: We are grateful we made the time to be present for
this Hunger Seder to educate ourselves and be inspired to
act.
Hunger Seder 5771 – 2011
Page 25
All: Dayenu.
The Third Cup: We will use
our power to persuade our
leaders to act to abolish
hunger in our communities.
Leader:
We lift our glasses and read the blessing over
the wine together (drink wine after the
blessing):
Baruch
‫ברוך אתה יי‬
‫אלהינו מלך‬
ata,
‫העולם‬
adonai
‫בורא פרי הגפן‬
Eloheinu
melech
Blessed are You, Adonai our G-d, ruler of the
haolam
universe, who creates the fruit of the vine.
borei pri
hagafen
Hunger Seder 5771 – 2011
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The Third Cup: We will use
our power to persuade our
leaders to act to abolish
hunger in our communities.
Reader: In a traditional Seder, the Third
Cup is Birkat Ha’Mazon, the grace after
the meal. In Birkat Ha’Mazon, we thank
G-d for providing us with wheat to make
bread. G-d does not provide us with
bread to eat but instead gives us the
tools we need to create food for
ourselves and our communities. Freedom
is being able to choose healthy,
sustainable food – an important step
towards ending hunger in the United
States.
All: We have the tools in place to create
a world free from hunger and it is our
responsibility to use these tools to
Hunger Seder
5771 –society’s
2011
Page 27
influence our government
and
The Third Cup: We will use
our power to persuade our
leaders to act to abolish
hunger in our communities.
Leader: By taking action together with those
gathered at the Hunger Seder and other
Hunger Seder events being held across the
country, we have a special opportunity to
make a difference in impacting critical
legislation for programs that touch the
lives of millions of Americans.
Please take a moment to write personal letters
to your Representative and Senators on the
paper
plates or •Request
stationary
provided
for you.
•To offset the
that
•Ask Congress to
In
own words,
helpprovide
to put provide
a human
costyour
of
Congress
fullface
legislation
support
funding
the
on
the crisis ofstrong
hunger
and tie
this for
human
passed at the
the FY 2012
WIC program to
face
to federal inprograms
in jeopardy
of
end of 2010,
budget for the
reach all women,
reduced
(key points listed
below).
cuts were funding
made
federal
children
and
to future
funding of the
SNAP program.
Ask your Member
of Congress to
nutrition
families who need
programs and the
this vital
anticipated
assistance.
growth in these
Hunger Seder 5771 – 2011
Page 28
programs to keep
The Fourth Cup: We will
create a world where all
Americans, and all people,
are free from hunger
Leader: For the fourth cup, please leave
some wine in your glass to share with
the prophet Elijah. We lift our glasses
and read the blessing over the wine
together:
‫ברוך אתה יי‬
Baruch ata,
‫אלהינו מלך‬
adonai
Eloheinu
‫העולם‬
melech haolam
‫בורא פרי הגפן‬
borei pri
hagafen
Blessed
are You, Adonai our G-d, ruler of
the universe, who creates the fruit of the
vine.
Hunger Seder 5771 – 2011
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The Fourth Cup: We will
create a world where all
Americans, and all people,
are free from hunger
Reader:
For our fourth cup, we promise to create a
world where all Americans, and all
people, are free from hunger. This world
we are building together will be a world
free of oppression from hunger, free of
pain of malnutrition, and free of
individuals and families forced to
suffer alone; this world will truly be a
world redeemed.
All:
We stand together today, eyes never
wavering from the hope on the horizon,
and begin walking, together, towards the
Page 30
world as it should be. Hunger Seder 5771 – 2011
Elijah’s Cup
Reader:
There is a Passover tradition that
Elijah’s cup which has been empty
for the entire Seder, be filled
now by a little wine from each
person’s glass. In our Hunger
Seder, this is the promise we
make to each other, to our
children, and to our children’s
children. This is our promise to
work together to create a world
free from hunger. It is not a
task we have the power to finish
alone, just as no single
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– 2011
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Closing Prayer
Leader:
Our Hunger Seder is now coming to a close. We
celebrated our successes, learned about the
hunger that still plagues our communities,
and affirmed our commitment to work together
to create a world free of hunger. We pray
that at this time next year, our world will
be a better place and all people will be
free from the oppression from hunger. Let us
join together in prayer.
All:
One day, G-d, may it be Your will that we
live in a world perfected, in which food
comes to the hungry as from heaven and
water will flow to the thirsty as a
stream.
But in the meantime, while the world is
filled with hunger, empower us to stand
on Your behalf and fulfill the words of
5771 – 2011
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your prophet: “to all Hunger
whoSederare
thirsty