JBFCS: Rita J. Kaplan Jewish Connections Programs

Rita J. Kaplan Jewish Connections Programs of the Jewish Board of Family and Children's Services

April 2005

By Rabbi Stephanie Dickstein, LMSW

Second Half of the Seder — Healing, Hope and Redemption

Every year, many of us linger over the first half of the Seder and rush through the second half. This is unfortunate, because the second half of the Seder is also ripe for interpretation. The Seder is structured so that the first half fulfills our obligation to retell and to symbolically re-experience the bitterness of slavery and the wonder of God taking us out of Egypt. The second half is when we remind ourselves, and God, that redemption is not yet complete. The first half is both our national story and a metaphor for our individual stories. So, too, the second half is not just a national expression of longing, but it is also a promise of hope for each of our individual journeys through life.

The meal concludes as the hidden afikomen is revealed. The afikomen is at once the memory of the Passover sacrifice and a game to keep the children involved. It also offers powerful teaching about life. Each of us has times when we feel broken, yet without the broken matza, our Seder is incomplete. Each of us experiences God’s hidden face, but only in the searching can we have the possibility of finding God present in our lives again.

We follow the feast, as we do every meal, by thanking God for the food we have eaten. Birkat hamazon includes personal and communal requests for spiritual and physical nurturing. Sometimes we feel physically and emotionally nurtured and it is easy to sing Birkat Hamazon. Other times, we are so overwhelmed with suffering that we can not see beyond our distress. The discipline of a regular expression of gratitude can allow us to acknowledge that there are always blessings in our lives. This recognition can be critical as we struggle to climb out of the depths.

Hallel is thought to be one of the oldest parts of the Passover evening ritual. The first two psalms are a poetic description and celebration of the past redemption from slavery in Egypt. The remaining psalms look forward to future redemption, but tell a more personal story. We often think of Hallel as a cycle of joyful songs, but it is much deeper than that. The joy of Hallel is the joy that comes after we face the void, after we are bereaved, when we return to the fullness of life, well aware of its fragility and preciousness.

The Seder service approaches its conclusion with a collection of praises. We express our gratitude to God for the many national and personal acts of redemption we have experienced. It is these past acts which God has performed that gives us reason to hope for a better future.

The songs which end the Seder envision a world which has order; a world which despite its chaos and pain, will once again be the peaceful, merciful and just garden of God’s original creation. The ancient rabbis created a Seder service in which looking forward to the future is as essential as retelling the story of the past. Perhaps this year, we will be able to devote ourselves to exploring the meanings of these texts and rituals of healing, hope and redemption for us as individuals, as people and for all of God’s creation.

These "Spirituality Notes" are excerpts from our monthly E-newsletter. Articles are © JBFCS Rita J. Kaplan Jewish Connections Programs and may be reprinted free of charge as long as this credit line is included.

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