Liberating Your Passover Seder

In 1969, Arthur Waskow created the Freedom Seder to address America's racial issues a year after the assassination of Martin Luther King. It used the ancient Passover Seder ritual to tell a contemporary story of liberation. The Freedom Seder began a revolution in American Judaism, combining the ancient and the timely in a way that lay the path for subsequent repurposing of the Seder for other messages. This volume tells the story of those innovations while laying the groundwork for future religious creativity. Liberating Your Passover Seder tells the history of the Freedom Seder and includes material marking the Freedom Seder's 40th anniversary celebration in 2019. It retells the origin of subsequent new haggadahs, including those focusing on Jewish-Palestinian reconciliation, environmental concerns, feminist and LGBT struggles, and the Covid-19 pandemic of 2020. It includes Susannah Heschel's explanation of why she famously added an orange to the Seder plate. But more than looking back, Liberating Your Passover Seder is a challange to heed Arthur Waskow's renewed call to "Free your seder!"

For a religion that is hyper-focused on transmitting the Jewish tradition "from generation to generation," "l'dor v'dor" — the notion that Millennials just aren't interested in carrying on Jewish practices or embracing the Jewish commitments of those who came before them poses quite a challenge, both on interpersonal and organizational sustainability levels. As a result, it seems much of the Jewish organizational world is concerned with how to engage Millennials in their offerings. But, if the data collected from reliable sources such as The Pew Research Center are any indication, there is much more work to do. Just Jewish: How to Engage Millenials and Build a Vibrant Jewish Future shares proven techniques and models ready to be adopted by the Jewish world's myriad organizations, touching on everything from branding, to fundraising, to programmatic approaches, to relationship development, and more, extrapolating lessons from The Well so they can be applied to the Jewish community writ large. As more seasoned generations start to take steps back from Jewish communal leadership, the time to meaningfully engage Millennials to ensure future leadership pipelines (both professional and volunteer) and Jewish vibrancy is now, and this book exists to help make it happen! “Terrific and inspiring! I highly recommend you make this important book a must-read together with your professional and lay leadership team.” —Dr. Ron Wolfson, Fingerhut Professor of Education, Author, Relational Judaism “A must-read for Jewish professionals and for anyone who cares about the future of the American Jewish community.” —Sarah Hurwitz, Author, Here All Along “A worthy addition to the new Jewish bookshelf that is catalyzing new thinking and practices for the Jewish future we’re just beginning to build.” —Rabbi Rick Jacobs, President, Union for Reform Judaism

This is not your grandparent’s Haggadah. The Orange on the Plate: A Liberated Seder is a reinterpretation of the Haggadah, offering a service that is not too long, yet full of all the great stories of Passover. It provides an opportunity for everyone at the table to participate as much or as little as they wish. Woman-centered, the service can include men, too. It is very appropriate for secular, spiritual and non-traditional people. It is not a worship service, but a celebration of the story, told in a friendly and fresh way, complete with ritual and discussion. “A refreshing take on the traditional Passover Seder! This is a sensitively written, thoughtful Seder minus the dogma. It gets to the essence of what the Seder is all about - a celebration of those who have longed for and achieved liberation throughout the history of humankind.” - Andrea K. Ecke, Professor of World Religions, Misericordia University “A lucid, highly accessible, but also deeply feminist version of the Passover ritual. This progressive — even radical — reading of the holiday's history is wonderfully imaginative and critical at the same time. Heckman has given us all a hopeful, inclusive, and empowering vision of the Passover experience.” - Janet Gyatso, Harvard Divinity School

Presented in the form of letters from a rabbi to his sons, Why Israel (and its Future) Matters argues that young Jews need Israel as a source of pride, connection, and Jewish renewal, and Israel needs them for the liberal values that they can bring to the Zionist enterprise. Exploring the roots and the occasionally antisemitic branches of the campaign against Israel, Rabbi Rosove demonstrates why it’s wrong to characterize Israel as an “oppressor state” and damn it with blanket condemnations. A 15-page appendix features a timeline/mini-history of Zionism and Israel from the 19th century through October 2023. “A must-read!” —Isaac Herzog, President of Israel “This thoughtful and passionate book reminds us that commitment to Israel and to social justice are essential components of a healthy Jewish identity.” —Yossi Klein Halevi, author, Letters to My Palestinian Neighbor “In its call for ‘aspirational Zionism,’ the book is honest and tough about Israel’s flaws, but optimistic about the country’s direction and filled with practical strategies for promoting change. This is a no-nonsense, straight-talking work, intellectually rigorous but deeply personal.” —Rabbi Eric H. Yoffie, President Emeritus, Union for Reform Judaism “A moving love letter to Israel from a rabbinic leader who refuses to give into despair, but instead recommits to building a democratic Israel that lives up to the vision of its founders.” —Rabbi Jill Jacobs, Executive Director, T’ruah: The Rabbinic Call for Human Rights “Rabbi Rosove grapples with modern Israel, Jewish identity, relations between Israelis and Diaspora Jews, and perhaps most significantly whether ‘you can maintain your ethical and moral values while at the same time being supporters of the Jewish state despite its flaws and imperfections.’ It is a book that many of us wish we had written for our own children.” —Daniel Kurtzer, Former U.S. Ambassador to Egypt (1997-2001) and to Israel (2001-2005)

Tikkun means to repair and heal. With this book of new Jewish tales fashioned from ancient stories, Rabbis Berman and Waskow aim to repair our past, renew our future, and captivate our imaginations. The eleven stories in this volume draw from and expand the midrashic tradition of Jewish creativity. They include a a mythical quest by Noah and his wife Na'amah to save the world from modern-day rising oceans, retelling the Torah's most difficult stories in a way that makes them whole and healing, and even an imaginative yet shockingly plausible vision of the Messianic a

A treasury of Inspiration for Passover and the Seder.

Calling us to relearn and rethink the Passover story, Rabbi Arthur O. Waskow and Rabbi Phyllis O. Berman share the enduring spiritual resonance of the Hebrews' journey for our own time.

With diverse and robust voices, women are reclaiming their place at the seder table. This complete sourcebook and guide shows you how to do it, too. For the first time, contemporary Jewish women's writings on the Passover seder are gathered in one comprehensive and compelling sourcebook—an unprecedented and powerful resource for those planning a women’s seder and those seeking to infuse their Passover celebration with the creative and courageous voices of Jewish women. Arranged according to the order of the seder, this practical guide gathers the voices of more than one hundred women in readings, personal and creative reflections, commentaries, blessings and ritual suggestions that can be incorporated into your Passover celebration as supplements to or substitutes for traditional passages of the haggadah. It also includes a detailed guide to planning a women’s seder, based on information from successful seder organizers around the world. Whether you are organizing a women’s seder in your community or planning a family seder in your home, this inspiring and accessible resource will help you take an active role in re-creating the educational and spiritual experience of Passover—and in shaping Judaism’s future. Contributors include: Dr. Rachel Adler • Dr. Rebecca T. Alpert • Rabbi Renni S. Altman • Zoe Baird Dr. Evelyn Torton Beck • Susan Berrin • Senator Barbara Boxer • Dr. Esther Broner Rabbi Nina Beth Cardin • Tamara Cohen • Anita Diamant • Dr. Carol Diament Rabbi Sue Levi Elwell, PhD • Eve Ensler • Dr. Marcia Falk • Merle Feld Rabbi Susan P. Fendrick • Rabbi Tirzah Firestone • Dr. Ellen Frankel • Nan Fink Gefen Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg • Rabbi Lynn Gottlieb • Dr. Susannah Heschel Rabbi Karyn D. Kedar • Rabbi Naamah Kelman • Naomi Klein • Irena Klepfisz Maxine Kumin • Rabbi Noa Rachel Kushner • Rabbi Joy Levitt • Hadassah Lieberman Ruth W. Messinger • Dr. Faye Moskowitz • Joan Nathan • Dr. Alicia Suskin Ostriker Dr. Judith Plaskow • Marge Piercy • Dr. Rachel Naomi Remen • Anne Roiphe Danya Ruttenberg • Rabbi Sandy Eisenberg Sasso • The Honorable Jan Schakowsky Rabbi Susan Schnur • Rabbi Susan Silverman • Dr. Ellen M. Umansky Rabbi Sheila Peltz Weinberg • Dr. Chava Weissler • Cantor Lorel Zar-Kessler