CREATING TABLES OF

JUSTICE SEDER SUPPLEMENT With love from:

VE'AHAVTA

tbhav

And you shall love

200 Bridgeland Ave., Unit D Toronto, Ontario M6A 1Z4 416.964.7698

www.veahavta.org




DAYENU; IT WOULD BE ENOUGH 


If everyone had enough to eat, dayenu; it would be enough. If everyone had a warm place to call home in the winter, dayenu; it would be enough. If everyone had a good education, dayenu; it would be enough. If everyone had digni!ed health care, dayenu; it would be enough. If everyone lived a life free of predjudice, dayenu; it would be enough. If everyone had the love of mishpacha (family) and the care of close friends, dayenu; it would be enough. If everyone had faith in themselves and their abilities, dayenu; it would be enough. If everyone had __________, dayenu; it would be enough. What would you put in the blank?

AT VE'AHAVTA, THIS IS THE VISION THAT DRIVES OUR WORK EVERYDAY - JOIN US.




Consider these thoughts on FREEDOM from the great leaders and thinkers of our time. Which resonate most strongly with your passover experience?


 For to be free is not merely to cast o! one's chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others. | Nelson Mandela How are you "ghting for others to be free? Freedom is not a gift from heaven; you have to "ght for it every day of your life. | Simon Wiesenthal What is a daily act you do to maintain freedom in your life? Most people do not really want freedom, because freedom involves responsibility, and most people are frightened of responsibility. | Sigmund Freud Do you agree or disagree? Better to die "ghting for freedom then be a prisoner all the days of your life. | Bob Marley How are you "ghting to be free? Letting go gives us freedom, and freedom is the only condition for happiness. If, in our heart, we still cling to anything - anger, anxiety, or possessions - we cannot be free. | Thích Nhất Hạnh What do you need to let go of to be free? In spite of everything I still believe that people are really good at heart. I simply can't build up my hopes on a foundation consisting of confusion, misery and death. | Anne Frank What types of thoughts and beliefs make you feel free? Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. | Martin Luther King, Jr. Where in the haggadah do you see these ideas?

VE'AHAVTAFEED | OUR GUIDE TO THE FOUR SOCIAL ACTIVISTS THE REFORMERS | Working within the system is the only way to make 
 e"ective change. To them, we say - keep a memento of your initial desire to make a change. It will help remind you of your passion when the days get long. THE REBELS | Change requires dramatic changes. The time for justice is now! To them, we say - a candle, like passion, can burn bright - it's important not to burn others with it or burn out. THE REVOLUTIONARIES | The system is broken - time to shake things up! Status quo just won't do. To them, we say - a revolution requires more than an army of one. Your revolution might throw out the old ways, but needs to be inclusive of those who practiced them. THE RESIGNED | Nothing changes ever - I don't care! To them, we say get o! your tuchus! Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it is the only thing that ever has. (M. Mead)

WHICH ONE ARE YOU?




5 ? QUESTION THE

TH




[Posed by Avrum Rosensweig, President & CEO,Ve'ahavta]

Why is this night di!erent than all other nights?  

On Passover, we are commanded to love the stranger. We are commanded to recall the experience of being a stranger in Egypt, and to use that collective experience toward empathizing with someone else - another stranger.    Ask yourself this night, "What does it mean to love the stranger?" In our society today, we may tolerate the stranger, and we may even sympathize with the stranger, but what does it mean to go beyond tolerance and beyond sympathy? to truly love the stranger?    We ask you, this Pesach 5775, to call on our collective Jewish experience of being strangers - to imagine what it must feel like for those who feel themselves to be strangers in our communities today. We furthermore ask you to think about how we can begin to repair their lives; how can we eradicate the strangers' darkness, and how might we embrace them.    Why is this night di"erent than all others? Tonight we concentrate on those who are without community or family, and we ask ourselves, how we can play a role in changing such a hardship using our own resources.    We were once a strangers in the land of Egypt. Tonight, let us consider what we can do to embrace the strangers around us today. Happy Passover.  Chag Sameach.  

- Avrum

Around the seder plate are symbols to remind us of the passover story. What new symbols would represent the ideas below?




EDUCATION

COMPASSION

DIGNITY

xcp

COMMUNITY

PASSOVER THE STRANGER

EQUAL OPPORTUNITY

We Are All Treaty People On Passover we are reminded, "You shall not oppress a stranger, since you yourselves know the feelings of a stranger, for you also were strangers in the land of Egypt." [Exodus 23:9]




The two row wampum belt, also known as the covenant chain, is one of the oldest treaties between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people. The two rows represent two vessels moving down a river, each on their own course. Given by #rst peoples to European settlers, the wampum belt signi#es a mutual agreement to live in friendship, peaceful coexistence, and in parallel forever. This Passover let us ask ourselves: Are we strangers on Aboriginal land? Have Aboriginal communities become strangers oppressed in their own land? How can we repair the treaty relationship? We invite you to add the wampum belt to your seder plate to honour the treaty and our responsibility as Jews to pursue justice and equality for all.  For more information or to get involved, visit: www.veahavta.org

MAROR | THE BITTER REALITY OF HUMAN TRAFFICKING Symbolically and viscerally evocative, the maror occupies a potent place on our seder plates, one which for generations has demanded that those gathered around the table maintain a connection with the embittered. As we tell 
 and retell our ancestral stories of slavery and liberation, we are required not only to consider but to taste bitterness, with the herbs often positioned as a bridge back in time. And yet, we exist in a reality where people all over the world continue to be bought and sold, traded and tra$cked within and across national borders, dismissed as yet another resource to be extracted and exploited for pro#t. Human tra$cking is the second largest international criminal industry in the world and it is the fastest growing, too. This Passover, let the maror connect us in deep solidarity with our foremothers and forefathers, as well as all those who continue to be enslaved. To learn more about human tra$cking visit 'www.enditmovment.com' and #nd out how you can make a di"erence. by: Amy Soberano

MATZAH | THE BREAD OF AFFLICTION & FAIR TRADE We have our deliverance from slavery, but not everyone has gained that right. Just as we toiled to build Pharaoh's pyramids, today hundreds of thousands of children and adults receive unfair wages and work for organizations with unjust labour practices and unethical environmental and safety regulations. They harvest our chocolate and co"ee, as well as our sugar cane and cotton. The Fair Trade movement strives to correct these poor working conditions for our farmers that produce raw goods. They guarantee improvement in working conditions and wages and assist in community building initiatives. The bread of a%iction reminds us that we cannot forget what it is like to live in servitude. Let's work to improve the lives of those still held in bondage. Find out more: http://bit.ly/1gSrazv or http://bit.ly/1cCSJu7

We asked 10 Toronto rabbis “What is your t eryone wha idea of a modern plague?” and ask ev e bl ta . e be th d d ul ague wo Go aroun emporary pl their cont

1.

Apathy: We could #x the world, but we #x our cars instead.

2.


 Electronic Media Pestilence: This pestilence is destroying our ability to emote, to empathize, and to get in touch with our deeper selves. Just like the frogs of the original Plagues, who croaked day and night and gave us no 'down time.'

Rabbi Michael Dolgin, Temple Sinai Congregation

Rabbi N. Daniel Korobkin, Beth Avraham Yoseph of Toronto Congregation (&The BAYT')

3.

Cynicism which constricts our capacity to be hopeful and to act upon our convictions. Rabbi Yael Splansky, Holy Blossom Temple

4.

Tra$cking in women and children: It is hard to believe that almost 30 million people are still sold as slaves (for sex or labour) in the 21st century.

5.

l'After - instead of l'Chaim, living here and now, we delay our embrace of life's freedom until....after.....?

6.

Victimhood: our problems are worse than yours; our su"ering and oppression was worse than yours. Is this a competition?

Rabbi Baruch Frydman-Kohl, Beth Tzedec Congregation

Rabbi Yossi Saperman, Beth Torah Congregation

Rabbi Elyse Goldstein, City Shul

7.

Entitlement: taking things for granted - taking things without gratitude - taking things without acknowledging the consequences of one's taking.

8.

Spiritual Impatience: People often forget that Jewish growth is a process and exploration, not a one-time destination.

9.

Economic Inequality: The past century's growing gap between those who live comfortable lives and those who struggle daily just to survive (or not) is an immoral backdrop to all our lives denying the equal worth and dignity of all humans created in G-d's image.

Rabbi Chaim Strauchler, Shaarei Shomayim

Rabbi Ra# Lipner, Shaarei Te#llah

Rabbi Aaron Levy, Makom: Creative Downtown Judaism

10. Cowardice:  only the brave can defeat tyrants and oppressors; we must realize the power that we do have, politically and personally. Rabbi Debra Landsberg, Temple Emanu-El

Let

ALL

THOSE WHO ARE HUNGRY COME &

EAT

HOW DO I USE THIS SEDER SUPPLEMENT? Using this supplement will bring a social justice perspective to the traditional Seder. It explores how the beautiful words and traditions of the seder live out in our modern pursuit of tikun olam, repairing the world. Each square will match to a key component of the Seder. Use this supplement: • To facilitate discussion around your seder table • To learn (do some extra research before the seder) • To provoke • To exchange ideas • To ask questions and be questioned • To look at things a little di"erently • To take action to create a more free world Items highlighted in yellow represent areas for discussion or action. Let us know how this supplement provoked thought and discussion at your table! Go to: facebook.com/Veahavta