This night is different

Happy Passover! Isn't it lovely that the Obamas are holding a seder tonight, the first ever in the White House, as far as we know. I'm not Jewish, but I've been lucky enough to attend many seders. Some years ago I decided to create a women's seder, for which I wrote a haggadah (the script that the ceremony follows). I cut bits and pieces from other haggadahs (none of which had any authors I could credit, alas) and added my own touches to make it a feminist, Goddess-oriented seder. It is not traditional, though it does hold deep respect for traditions, and if you would like a copy of it (in a Word file) for your own use, please email me and I will be happy to send it to you. Whether you are holding a seder of your own or not, please join with me tonight in the closing prayer from my women's haggadah:

Great Mother of the Desert: Lilith, Hochma, Erishkegal, Al Uzza, Eve, Mary, Hagar, Semiramis, Ashtoreth, Bast, Sekhmet, Isis, Hathor Ishtar, Inanna, Tiamat, Asherah! We call upon you in all your many names. We ask for peace to come to the peoples of the tribes. Let there be no more war! Let there be no more Pharaohs! We ask special blessings of peace for the troubled homelands of the children of Miriam and of Moses. Let the lands of Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Palestine, Iran, Lebanon, Syria, Kuwait, Iraq, Egypt, and Israel run no more with the blood of the Mother’s children. Guide their leaders to seek the path of wisdom and peace. Heal the battered lands, which have held misery and war for too long. Fill their hearts with trust and forgiveness. Let all the children of the deserts be set free from the bondage of the most evil Pharaoh of all: hatred. We light our candles for peace and healing for the Middle East, and for all the Earth. We remember all who have died in the pursuit of peace. Shalom.

Comments

[Bryn]

Shalom Havarim.

[JulieZS]

The women's seder you created is amazing, and I have enjoyed participating in celebrating it with you. As far as the closing prayer: So mote it be!

[Sulis]

Can you send me a copy! I'd love to read it. - Thanks, Sulis

[cris]

I would love a copy of your Haggadah.

crismoon at gmail.com

[Dawn Earth Daughter]

I was deeply moved reading this. The Seder night is one of the hardest times of the year for me. I have to sit with my Jewish family and read the traditional Hagadah, which is full of violence hatered and chauvinism (I won't get into that but as a hebrew speaker, understanding the meaning of the words, I am horrified by the concepts we sing so happily at the seder table and teach our childeren). I was close to tears to learn that you wrote a Haggada that is the healing of all this. Please Please send it to me:
cedar_windflute@yahoo.com

And thank you so much!

*
~)O(~
Dawn Earth Daughter

[Medusa]

Lunaea,
Was this the seder that was published in SageWoman a very long time ago? Also long ago, when I was active with a UU women's group, I used material from that (your?)haggadah along with other material, mostly my own, that I cut and pasted in. This was our women's seder for several years, until I moved. You know it is within Jewish tradition to change and insert material making the Haggadah more relevant to the times you are living in, so you could say that what we did was within that tradition (if that matters to anyone.)

Dawn,
It saddens me to hear that you must endure what might be considered (by me, anyway) an out of date seder. Today, even within the Jewish community, there are many updated Haggadahs, as well as many feminist seders. Jewish groups have held women's seders now for many years, and some symbolism used in them has come from the Jewish women's community itself--such as placing an orange on the seder plate (long story--google it)and adding Miriam's Cup. In fact there was an article recently about a group in NY that was suspending its women's seder now because they felt that the symbolism used in it --such as Miriam's Cup--had gone mainstream (iow, the Orange and Miriam's cup are now included in many family seders) and there was no longer a need for a separate women's seder. I don't know about that....

[Lunaea]

Medusa, the haggadah that was in SageWoman is the basis for the one I have now, but I've added things here and there over the years. As you say, it is the tradition to expand upon the telling! I don't consider this haggadah so much a feminist one, in the sense of righting patriarchal wrongs or being inclusive -- it is more a celebration of women's freedom and the gifts they give to their community, and allows for the blessings of several Goddesses along the way. I'm all for bringing more feminine influences into the standard seder and finding balance there -- but this seder is meant just for women to enjoy time together celebrating their power and their joy.