BLESSING FOR KARPAS

The karpas is the green growing life all around, while the salt water is the ocean from which all life comes.  With the blessing of the karpas, we welcome the Chei ha’Olamim, the Life of all the Worlds.  We honor haMakom, the place from which life comes, from which hope comes.

Baruch ata yah, eloheinu ruach ha’olam, borei peri ha’adamah.

BLESSING FOR CHAROSET

One name for Shekhinah is the Holy Apple Orchard.  The charoset reminds us of the mortar the slaves used in Egypt, yet it is also an embodiment of Shekhinah, the Tree of Life.  Legend tells that even after the Hebrew women were threatened with the death of their children, they used the orchards as a secret birthplace.  The “secret orchard” of the Divine Presence, embodied in these fruits, is ready for us to birth new things. 

Bruchah at shekhinah eloteinu ruach ha’olam borei peri ha’etz.

Kiddush / First Cup: To Honor the Earth

Rabbi Jill Hammer and Kohenet Ketzirah Lesser

Ritual for the Night Before Pesach

Rabbi Jill Hammer