Ma nishtanah is a question, inviting us to tell stories about what was and reflect on what we have been through. A year ago, everything changed. To acknowledge the changes we experienced, as well as those yet to unknown, we changed the name of our temple newsletter to Ma nishtanah last March and reformatted the information we provide every week.

Ma nishtanah is also an exclamation. Look how everything has changed! And it invites us to imagine a future that returns us to some of what we long for from the past and creates new possibilities that we had not imagined before.

Today, we are still undergoing changes, even as we imagine returning to the temple sometime this year. And we ask, what changes are still to come?

This year, as most of us are preparing a second Zoom seder experience, we offer some of the familiar aspects of the holiday as well as new resources. I urge you to acknowledge this past year as you open your seder. You may have participants share the name of someone you are mourning who died this past year. You could also go around and share what has changed in your life. Or tell a story from a favorite seder in the past.

Below you will find an array of links and documents to help you add to your experience of Pesach as a time for contemplating the slavery we still experience, the liberation that we dream of, and the joy of this Shehecheyanu moment. This is truly a time to give thanks, a time to celebrate our resilience and a time for renewal.

For the HBT Second Night Community Seder: A Night of Questions Reconstructionist Haggadah. Rabbi Barbara will be sharing her screen, but you may want your own copy.

For families and children of all ages

From kveller.com: Kids’ crafts (the two short videos are in Hebrew, but they are simple to understand in any language) and a downloadable kid-friendly Haggadah.

https://www.kveller.com/passover-crafts-for-kids-that-are-easy-and-actually-fun/

https://www.kveller.com/haggadah/

From Storahtelling: One Giant Leap has trivia, activities (magic trick: see the Red Sea part) and games (Jump for Freedom). Note that the url on the page no longer works.

Pdf (attached)

Seder readings

From Reconstructing Judaism: Readings and family activities for your seder.

https://www.reconstructingjudaism.org/passover-box

From Ritualwell.org: Three seder traditions of Mizrahi Jews you might not know about.

https://www.ritualwell.org/ritual/three-mizrahi-seder-traditions-my-home-yours

New this year: translation of the original Hebrew 1971 Israeli Black Panthers’ Haggadah, a text documenting the oppression and struggle of Moroccan Jews in Israel. Soon to be published, here is a translation and annotated transcript. I recommend looking at their satirical version of Ha lachma anya (let all who are hungry come and eat).

http://jocsm.org/the-israeli-black-panthers-haggadah/

Menus and recipes

Menus for all kinds of tastes, some especially tailored to smaller gatherings.

https://jamiegeller.com/holidays/sensational-seder-menus-to-satisfy-everyone/