seder supplement

8/12/2019 Seder Supplement

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SEDER SUPPLEMEN

VEAHAVTA

!"#$%And you shall love

With love from:

CREATING TABLES OF

JUSTICE

200 Bridgeland Ave., Unit D P:416.964.7698Toronto, Ontario M6A 1Z4 Twitter: @VeahavtaNewswww.veahavta.o
http://www.veahavta.org/http://www.veahavta.org/http://www.veahavta.org/http://www.veahavta.org/


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How do I use this sedersupplement?

We wanted to bring a social justice perspective to thetraditional seder. We wanted to explore how the beautiful

words and traditions of the seder live out in our modern pursuitof 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 (without creating broigges)

To exchange ideasTo ask questions and be questioned

To look at things a little differentlyTo take action to create a more free world

Items highlighted in yellow represent areas for discussion.

We want to know how this supplement provoked thought anddiscussion at your table! Let us know on facebook.com/Veahavta


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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,


If everyone had a good education, dayenu; it would be enough.

If everyone had dignified health care, dayenu; it would be enough.

If everyone lived a life free of prejudice,


If everyone had the love of mishpacha (family) and the care of close friends,


If everyone had faith in themselves and their abilities,


If everyone had __________, dayenu; it would be enough.What would you put in the blank?

At Veahavta, this is the vision that drives our work everyday -join us.


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Consider these thoughts on FREEDOM from thegreat leaders and thinkers of our time.

Which resonate most strongly with your passover experience?

For to be free is not merely to cast off one's chains, but to live in a way that respects andenhances the freedom of others. - Nelson MandelaHow 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, andmost people are frightened of responsibility. - Sigmund FreudDo 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 ourheart, we still cling to anything - anger, anxiety, or possessions - we cannot be free.- Thch Nh & t H' nhWhat 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 FrankWhat types of thoughts and beliefs make you feel free?


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55th

QUESTION THE

A letter from Avrum Rosensweig, President and CEO of Veahavta Unlike the Jews who left Mitzrayim (Egypt) - 600,000 strangers headingsomewhere but not quite sure where - we have settled into a land that offers usunparalleled comfort and the freedom to create an even stronger and emancipated

society.Tonight, however, on Pesach, we ask you to unsettle yourself, and ask the FIFTHquestion - where do the borders of our Jewish obligation end? In other words; whatIS a Jewish cause?

How about the 1.4 million First Nations, Mtis and Inuit people? Do they have theblessings I have; the ability to actualize their lives in the way I do? What aboutthose experiencing homelessness? Do they have what they need to emancipatethemselves from poverty? And what about the Roma and other refugees, thoseindividuals who have arrived at our shores to make a life that our grandparentssought? Are they welcomed from the Atlantic to the Pacic with the same

opportunities our family had?

Please consider strongly the message of this booklet and the meaning of Pesachwhich is to recognize the stranger - the man, woman and child unable to reclinelike royalty tonight.

Chag Samayach, and thank you for bringing us to your seder table. Remember -this night is different from all other nights, because tonight we recall our powerand obligation to bring change to the world.


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W e a sk e d 1 0 To r o n t o r a b b i s W h at i s y o u r

i d e a o f a m o d e r n p l a g u e?

Here are their answers: G o a r o u n d t h e t a b l e a n d a

s k e v e r y o n e w h a t

t h e i r c o n t e m p o r a r y p

l a g u e w o u l d b e .

1 Apathy: We could x the world, but we x our cars instead.Rabbi Michael Dolgin, Temple Sinai Congregation2 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 theoriginal Plagues, who croaked day and night and gave us no down time.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 ourconvictions. Rabbi Yael Splansky, Holy Blossom Temple 4 Trafcking in women and children: It is hard to believe that almost 30 millionpeople are still sold as slaves (for sex or labour) in the 21st century.Rabbi Baruch Frydman-Kohl, Beth Tzedec Congregation5 l'After - instead of l'Chaim, living here and now, we delay our embrace oflifes freedom until....after.....? Rabbi Yossi Saperman, Beth Torah Congregation

8 Spiritual Impatience: People often forget that Jewish growth is a process andexploration, not a one-time destination. Rabbi Ra Lipner, Shaarei Tellah

7 Entitlement: taking things for granted - taking things without gratitude - takingthings without acknowledging the consequences of one's taking. Rabbi Chaim Strauchler, Shaarei Shomayim

6 Victimhood: our problems are worse than yours; our suffering and oppressionwas worse than yours. Is this a competition? Rabbi Elyse Goldstein, City Shul

9 Economic Inequality: The past centurys growing gap between those who livecomfortable lives and those who struggle daily just to survive (or not) is animmoral backdrop to all our lives that we must not accept as a given, as it deniesthe equal worth and dignity of all humans created in Gods image.Rabbi Aaron Levy, Makom: Creative Downtown Judaism10 Cowardice: only the brave can defeat tyrants and oppressors; we mustrealize the power that we do have, politically and personally .Rabbi Debra Landsberg, Temple Emanu-El


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CHAMETZZFEED VE AHAVTA S GUIDE TO THE 4 SOCIAL ACTIVIST CHILDREN

THE REFORMERS | Working within the system is the only way to makeeffective change. To them, we say - keep a memento of your initial

desire to make a change. It will help remind you of your passionwhen the days get long.

THE REBELS | Change requires dramatic changes. The time forjustice is now! To them, we say - a candle, like passion, can burnbright - its important not to burn others with it or burn out.

THE REVOLUTIONARIES | The system is broken - time to shake things

up! Status quo just wont do. To them, we say - a revolutionrequires more than an army of one. Your revolution might throw outthe old ways, but needs to be inclusive of those who practiced

them.

THE APATHETICS | Nothing changes ever - I dont care! To them, wesay get off your tuchus ! Never doubt that a small group of

thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it isthe only thing that ever has. (M. Mead)

Which one are you?


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MAROR | THE BITTER REALITY OF HUMAN TRAFFICKINGSymbolically and viscerally evocative, the maror occupies a potentplace on our seder plates one which for generations has demandedthat those gathered around the table ma intain a connection with theembittered.As we tell and retell our ancestral stories of slavery and liberation, weare required not only to consider but to taste bitterness, with the herbsoften positioned as a bridge back in time. And yet, we exist in a realitywhere people all over the world continue to be bought and sold, tradedand trafcked within and across national borders, dismissed as yetanother resource to be extracted and exploited for prot.Human trafcking is the second largest international criminal industryin the world. And it is the fastest growing too. This Passover, let themaror connect us in deep solidarity with our foremothers andforefathers, as well as all those who continue to be enslaved.

To learn more about human trafcking visit www.enditmovement.comand nd out how you can make a difference.

matzah | THE BREAD OF AFFLICTION & FAIR TRADEWe have our deliverance from slavery, but not ev eryone has gained that right.

Just as we toiled to build Pharaohs pyramids, today hundreds of thousands of

children and adults receive unfair wage s and work for organizati ons with unjustlabour practices and unethical environmental and safety regulations. Theyharvest our chocolate and coffee, as well as our sugar cane and cotton. The FairTrade movement strives to correct these poor working conditions for our farmersthat produce raw goods. They guarantee improvement in working conditions andwages and assist in community building initiatives. The bread of afictionreminds us that we cannot forget what it is like to live in servitude.

Lets work to improve the lives of those still held in bondage.Find out more: http://bit.ly/1gSrazv or http://bit.ly/1cCSJu7
http://bit.ly/1gSrazvhttp://bit.ly/1cCSJu7http://bit.ly/1gSrazvhttp://bit.ly/1cCSJu7http://bit.ly/1cCSJu7http://bit.ly/1cCSJu7http://bit.ly/1gSrazvhttp://bit.ly/1gSrazv


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And you shall not mistreat a stranger,nor shall you oppress him, for youwere strangers in the land of Egypt.Exodus 22:20

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Let ALL

THOSE WHO AREHUNGRY

COME &

EAT

Join over 25,000 people around the world and the Ve ahavta

family, to confront the modern

day plague of extreme povertyby living on $1.75 a day for 5

days, April 28 - MAY 2

Sign up and more info: www. live below veahavta .ca

Get in touch and lead the change:

live below @ veahavta.org

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