Most years, I am drawn to the theme of liberation—the story of our ancestors’ escape from bondage to freedom—as the central Passover message I emphasize at my seder. Indeed, the Biblical Exodus narrative has inspired countless freedom struggles throughout human history, from Harriet Tubman, as an antebellum Moses leading her people out of bondage, to Susannah Heschel’s addition of an orange on the Seder plate as a call for LGBTQ+ inclusion in the Jewish community.
This year, however, a quirk of the Passover calendar has captured my attention.
Passover this year begins on a Saturday night, the least common day of the week for the first Seder, due to the intricate system Jews have used since the 4th century to synchronize the lunar and solar calendars. When the Seder falls on a Saturday night, we must incorporate an additional element into the already structured evening. The Hebrew word “seder” translates to “order,” and we follow a precise sequence of actions during our seders: from drinking wine, to washing hands, breaking matzahs, reciting “the Four Questions,” and eating maror, the bitter herbs.
However, when the Seder coincides with the end of Shabbat, on a Saturday night, we must add Havdalah—the ritual marking the transition from Shabbat to a weekday—to our Seder’s program.
The complex order of blessings that begins the Seder on a Saturday night is traditionally remembered by the acronym YaKeNHaZ: Yayin (wine blessing), Kiddush (Kiddush blessing), Ner (blessing on the holiday candles), Havdalah (Havdalah blessing), Zman (festival blessing).
As the esteemed 20th century Jewish historian Yosef Hayyim Yerushalmi z”l notes, “To Ashkenazi Jews, YaKeNHaZ sounded like the German Jagen-has, ‘hare hunt,’ which subsequently became illustrated as such in the Haggadah.”*
We, as NIF supporters, are acutely aware that rules can be used to oppress and restrict the rights of marginalized groups. However, laws, when applied justly, can also protect the most vulnerable among us. This year, I am drawn to recognizing the safety and protective power of justly applied rules as I look at the hare hunting illustration in my Haggadah and recite the opening blessings of my Seder with meticulous care.
With the institutions of liberal democracy in Israel (and here at home) more fragile than ever, I am reminded of the crucial role that rules and order play in safeguarding society’s most vulnerable. As Israel’s government seeks to undermine the independence of the country’s judiciary, we are reminded of the importance of independent judges. With so many of Israel’s Palestinian citizens having lost faith in a police force led by a Minister of Public Security who unapologetically expresses racist views we are reminded of the need to strengthen the bonds between the state’s citizens and those who are meant to keep them safe through deep reparative work in communities. And after witnessing settler vigilantes attacking Hamdan Ballal, the Oscar winning co-director of No Other Land in his village of Susya, we have relearned the importance of ending the cruel lawlessness of the occupation and of rebuilding the democratic institutions that should and can protect all of Israel’s citizens and residents.
May tonight’s Seder—and the order and rules we use to navigate our evening of study, good food, and camaraderie with family and friends—strengthen us to continue advocating for the institutions of liberal democracy and an end to the oppressive lawlessness of the occupation in what will surely be very challenging years ahead for us. And, may we remain steadfast in our dedication to freedom for all who are still oppressed.
Rabbi Ephraim Pelcovits
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* Haggadah and History, Yosef Hayim Yerushalmi, Plate 15