Editorial note: Seder is pronounced “SAY-der.” It rhymes with Vader.
In 2027, Passover begins at sunset on Wednesday, April 21st, making this an appropriate resource for Sunday, April 18, 2027.

“Let all who are hungry come and eat, let all who are needy come and celebrate Passover.” 
–The Passover Haggadah

Passover begins soon. 
The first Passover, when God’s proverbial hand
moved across Egypt and delivered ten plagues,
ultimately allowing the Israelites to flee their oppressors,
was not an invitation to hospitality. 
It was an invitation to a better life,
one that was free, but also began with mostly empty hands.
I suspect not many would have wanted to join
those home-less former slaves,
feasting, we might generously say,
on unleavened bread.
Strangers, they had been in the land of Egypt.

But the Seder is an occasion for hospitality,
one borne of having found one’s way 
through the wilderness, through the difficulties. 
It’s a celebration of all things:
the Good and the Bad, because
we have to honor all of it 
to understand the miracle 
of this moment.

The Seder calls Jews to remember
that it has not always been this way,
that oppression has held them captive.
But not only Jews, for we have 
all, at times, been held captive
by oppressions, even those 
of our own making.

The Seder honors the past
and the future,
names the terrors 
and the blessings,
reminds all that 
the pendulum swings
both ways, 
so to celebrate 
freedom
by welcoming 
all to the table, 
because none of us is truly free
until we are all free.