Third Session
In 1968 Arthur Waskow opened up the Seder experience for his generation and beyond
by celebrating the first Freedom Seder. The Freedom Seder spread across the world. Its
Haggadah was built on the traditional rubric which you will recognize from our previous
sessions, but updated to reflect the liberation issues of these times. This was followed
by Feminist Haggadot, including one edited by our own Rabbi Sue Elwell for the Reform
Movement. The creators of the Reconstructing Judaism Haggadah that we use in our
Leyv Ha-Ir Seders followed the time-honored process of knowledgeably building on
tradition while integrating contemporary innovations. For this session you will need any
relatively new Haggadah such as The Open Door (Reform movement), A Night of
Questions (Reconstructing Judaism) -- we own many copies -- or any creative
Haggadah that you have used with family or friends. We will examine how these
post-1968 Haggadot meet the requirements of a traditional Haggadah and how they
offer meaningful changes.
You can access a PDF version of the Reconstructionist Haggadah "A Night of Questions" here.
Assignments
Using a post-1968 Haggadah, see if you can track some of the key features of all
Haggadot that we have discussed in this series. How true is your version of the
Haggadah to the “seder” or order of the service? What does your Haggadah add to speak to this moment? If you want a creative deep dive, work with a partner to design a Haggadah for this year that follows the required stages of the Haggadah but adds resources for today. This renewal is a tried and true Jewish tradition.
