- Cleaning House.
- Creating Order.
3 THE SEDER
Preparations for the Seder have two distinct parts:I. CLEANING HOUSE
As with all the rituals of Pesach (Passover) and the Seder, every little detail can be examined and worked until it blossoms and sparkles. And so we will see, even the mundane task of ridding the house of Chometz (leavened food) brings us an acute awareness of the following shortcomings.- A. Our Denial of the prevalence of Chometz.
B. Our Procrastination over the jobs that need tackling.
C. Our powerlessness over the final outcome.
D. Our Perfectionism in setting standards we can't meet.
In order to Clean House properly for Pesach we have in some way to take the following steps.
A. Break through our denial and become aware.
B. Confront procrastination and take action.
C. Admit powerlessness and surrender.
D. Abandon perfectionism and humbly accept our limits.
II. CREATING ORDER
The Hebrew word "Seder" has only one translation. It means "ORDER". To celebrate the festival properly a good deal of attention must be paid to PEOPLE, PLACES AND THINGS and a definite framework built around them.A. PEOPLE - No one celebrates Seder on their own voluntarily. But the Seder is not an impromptu party. The Seder should be enjoyed with loved ones and shared with guests. In preparing for the Seder it is important to know who will be joining us.
B. PLACES - The Seder requires a table, chairs, kitchen, space. In short, we need a place to call home. For many of us, this Seder will be an opportunity to take a fresh look at our environment and its ambiance. Most of us have a comfortable dwelling place, perhaps even luxurious. The Seder, however, doesn't take place in a garden or a bedroom or a study. It is a place for the gathering of family and friends where other standards apply.
C. THINGS - The Seder is a pageant of music, stories and symbols. There are symbols of all descriptions from white linen and candles to books and pillowcases. The majority of "props" are the items of food eaten at the Seder. All this requires logistics that may take weeks of organizing. The Seder is lavish and rich in detail.
PREFACE AND ABOUT THIS ANONYMOUS HAGGADAH
Because the Right to a Higher Power of my own understanding is total and without any exceptions, I have not used the word "G-D" in this Haggadah. For me it carries baggage, has connotations and brings associations which would deny me the right of free association.
Instead I have used the Hebrew word (translit.) HASHEM which means "The Name". I know of no one who has written explaining its meaning. It is strangely, without millennia of Linguistic and Philosophical impedimenta. No one has written a scholarly treatise on the meaning of the word HASHEM. You may use whatever name you have for your Higher Power. For me the name changes as my knowledge changes, even as my mood changes.
"Hashem" seems the least tyrannical of all choices in the circumstances.
If I have referred to Hashem as "Him" it is only because I find "Her" equally arbitrary, "It" inappropriate, and I am still hopelessly bound by literary convention and too timid to invent something new.
It is interesting to note that the Haggadah does not mention Moshe (Moses) who was central in the dramatic events described in the Exodus from Egypt.
The reason is pointedly an application of the fundamental rule of "principles before personalities". Whilst Moshe may have been the most important person to carry the message to us, we slaves in Egypt were the real cause of events. We mattered in ways that Moshe didn't.
We were the people in trouble, enslaved and in need. The Haggadah reminds us that we did not embark upon the EXODUS brimming with goodwill and fellowship. We were physically, emotionally and spiritually bankrupt. All of us (excepting perhaps a few women), were totally enmeshed in the spiraling insanity of life in Egypt. This then is the story of our Recovery. The principles that become apparent through the story and rituals of Seder Night are germane to our life tonight.
Moshe our teacher,is not Author. Who then is the Author of the Haggadah?
There is another anonymous character whose presence pervades the Seder. If you both should chance to meet, consider yourself fortunate. But remember what was said: " You may say YOU were there, but you may not say whom you met there. You may repeat what you heard there without attaching names to it. "
Knowing our selves as well as we do, and our penchant for evading the obvious opportunity to self-examine. It is also fairly certain that any mention of Moshe would have been the launching point for innumerable anecdotes and commentaries about his role. We try and keep the focus on ourselves where it belongs.