Each year we begin our Passover seder with an ancient Aramaic entreaty, Ha Lachma Anya as we break one of the three ritual matzot (plural of “matzah”) in half. We hold up one-half of the middle piece of matza as we recite: “This is the bread of affliction which our ancestors ate in the land of Egypt. All who are hungry, come and eat. All who are needy, come and celebrate Passover with us. The hour has come, now we are here. Next year, may we be in the land of Israel. Now we are slaves. Next year, may we be truly free.”
We then open our front door and invite into our home all who are in need of a place to celebrate Passover, all who need a place to eat, all who are alone, or lonely, or are lost, or wandering. Usually, we do this as a ritual act: we break the middle matzah, (put away one half for the afikomen), recite the ancient words by rote, and open the door. We peer into the darkness and then hastily close the door again and continue with the rest of the seder rituals.
This ritual of opening our doors at the beginning of our seder forms a frame with another ritual door-opening towards the end of the seder. After we finish our Passover meal, and thank God for the food with which we have been blessed, find and eat the afikomen, we then open our door a second time to welcome in Eliyahu Ha-navi, Elijah the Prophet. It is said that Elijah will announce the arrival of the messianic age, that time when we have worked to help bring our world to a state of perfection. No more war, no more poverty, no more hunger, no more hatred, no more violence. This will be that perfect time where all shall live in peace and harmony with each other and the earth.
When we open the door at the beginning of our seder to invite in all who are in need, we are acknowledging the world as it is today – with all its harshness, imperfections, inequalities, and injustices. When we open the door for Elijah, we are acknowledging that despite our current reality, there is always hope for the future. This reality can be ritualized even further by starting our seder with an empty Elijah’s cup on the table (symbolizing the world as it is currently). Immediately prior to opening the door for Elijah, we can go around the seder table and invite every participant to pour a small bit of their own wine into Elijah’s cup. While they pour this wine from their cup into Elijah’s, each person can share one action they will take to make our world a better place over the coming year. By the time Elijah’s cup has gone around the table, it will now be filled with to the brim with wine: representing a cup overflowing with hope, overflowing with potential for the year, and filled with the symbolic dreams and actions of all who are present. Once our communal actions have been expressed, our hearts, minds, spirit, and doors are ready to open for the concept of receiving Elijah in our midst. In fact, we are the ones who bring Elijah and the messianic age into our lives.
These door openings are good in theory. How do we make the ideas behind them a living reality? I write this on the day that Israel is bombing Iran, in retaliation for Iran’s overwhelming missile attack against Israel earlier this week. It has been more than six months since Hamas brutally attacked Israel on October 7th, and we still have so many hostages remaining in Gaza.
When we open our doors for Ha Lachma Anya on Monday evening at our seders, our reality is one of war in the Middle East, increased antisemitism here in North America, great uncertainty, discomfort, and unease. At times, it is difficult to metaphorically “open the doors” of our hearts, minds, and spirits for fear that others will not agree with us, or won’t want to listen to what is in our hearts, or they will hurt us with their words and actions. This year, the doors seems very heavy.
Yet we won’t be able to move to an envisioned future of hope and promise unless we figure out how to keep the doors of the present open and welcoming. We need to figure out how to break bread, listen with curiosity, as well as share our own truths, with those who may think and act differently from us. This is not always an easy task.
We have so many doors that are either closed or being threatened with closing. This Passover — this Pesach — our Ha Lachma Anya prayer takes on especially significant meaning. I invite you to open your door. Open it wide! As you break the middle matzah, think about how you can find ways to symbolically open other doors throughout the coming year, how we can break down barriers, open doors to peace and understanding, justice and freedom for all.
One of my favorite quotes this time of year is from Morris Joseph. He said: “Passover affirms the great truth that liberty is the inalienable right of every human being.” Let’s knock down the closed doors of injustice, hatred, racism, xenophobia, poverty, war, mistruths, and so much more. This year, not all are free. Next year, may we open the doors so that all may join us in freedom at our Pesach tables, no matter where we celebrate, and when we open the door for Elijah, our cups will truly be overflowing with love, joy, peace, safety, security, and harmony for all.
Chag Pesach Sameach – Wishing you and your loved ones a healthy and joyous Passover!
Passover Resources/Seder Supplements for Post-October 7th and In General:
CCAR:
The Central Conference of American Rabbis has provided a selection of poems, prayers, songs, and meditations in response to October 7th. They are divided by section of the seder, and you can select any or all of them to share.
CCAR Passover Haggadah Supplement
ARZA:
ARZA, the Association of Reform Zionists of Americas, provides supplementary materials to help you have the hard conversations with children, and family, at this challenging time.
Mah Nishtanah? – A Different Seder in a Post-October 7th World
The Shalom Hartman Institute
The Shalom Hartman Institute has provided a Haggadah Supplement which takes the same thoughtful, text-based, lens of their other learning opportunities and applies it to the Seder. Inside you’ll find essays, liturgy and conversation starters from Israelis, poets and rabbis, the families of the hostages and leading thinkers.
In Every Generation: A Haggadah Supplement for 5784
The iCenter Passover Companion
The iCenter, a thinktank for Israel Education, has provided a Passover Companion that explicitly highlights the Israeli view for this Passover. Ranging from secular to religious, the iCenter Companion is put together by master educators and brings a unique voice to this moment in our history.
Passover Educational Companion
Kveller
Kveller is an on-line family-friendly Jewish publication geared to families of all different constellations. The editors have compiled a wonderful 2-page “ 7 Ways to Address October 7th at Your Family Seder. ”
The Israeli Reform Movement
The Israeli Reform Movement (IMPJ) has been at the forefront of the war in Gaza, the attacks from Hezbollah and Iran, and providing support to their communities and those who are affected directly by the war. They suggest the moving idea of putting a yellow ribbon on the Seder plate to symbolize the hostages who are still in captivity along with some other moving rituals and readings.
IMPJ: A Haggadah – in English – For This Time
The URJ
The Union for Reform Judaism (the Reform Movement’s parent body in North America). Has many wonderful resources for Passover this year:
1. A one page document: “How is This Passover Different From All Other Passovers?”
2. A whole array of basic and other information (including melodies, recipes, how to lead a seder): https://reformjudaism.org/jewish-holidays/passover
Alden Solovy
Alden is the “poet laureate” and liturgist of the Reform Movement. (You can learn more about him on his website: www.tobendlight.com. Alden lives in Israel, and was born in the United States. He composed two new poems for the seder this year:
Elijah and Miriam: Two Prayer-Poems for Passover 2024.
