The Four Cups of Wine

We will drink the first of four cups of wine

And give up control

To the wine, to the story, to God.

We are in Mitzrayim, the narrow place, 
And God says to us:

I Shall Take You Out,

I Shall Rescue You,

I Shall Redeem You,

I Shall Take You to Me.

Sanctify the day with the First Cup.

I Shall Take You Out, sez God,

From the burdens of Egypt.

That's nice.  But what about 

The burdens of now?

War, sex slavery, exploitation, inequality,

Not much changes.

We better get out from under,

Resist the oppressor

And make our own places free.

So drink from the Cup of Sanctification.
The fruit of our hopes and prayers.

Tell the Story of a People's Creation with the Second Cup.

I Shall Rescue You, sez God,

From someone else's definition 

Of you are, of what you can be.

Inspired by God, we free ourselves.

Moses or Abraham Lincoln or Betty Friedan

Freedom is not something we can be given

Freedom is something we must create.

So drink from the Cup of Deliverance

The fruit of our arduous journey.

Thank the chain of work that created the Seder meal with the Third Cup.

I Shall Redeem You, sez God

With an outstretched arm

Scattering the seeds

To the earth to the vineyard to the farmworker  to the winemaker to the bottle to the grocer,

All for this glass of wine.

Redemption is hard work,

Forgivenss requires self awareness,

Teshuvah ain't for babies.

So drink from the Cup of Redemption

The fruit of our many labors.

Praise God's Awesome Glory with the Fourth Cup.

I Shall Take You to Me, sez God

For a people

And be your God
In eternal covenant.

Gosh, can I get a job description first?

Commitment to obligation

Requires freedom to choose

And freedom to disobey.

So drink from the Cup of Restoration

The fruit of our Holy Connection

God says to us:

I Shall Take You Out.

I Shall Rescue You.

I Shall Redeem You.

I Shall Take You to Me.
Drink.

Amen

Blessing After Eating the Seder Meal

All who sit around this table:

Friends and Strangers,

Those who remember and those who are remembered

On this Pesakh,

Who have shared such a fine meal

And such a fine story,

We take this moment to acknowledge

How blessed we are

And in our turn, we bless:

Blessed be the eaters and the eaten,

Blessed be the feeders and the fed.

Blessed be the cooks and the meal,

Blessed be the drinkers and the winemakers..

Blessed be the vegetables and the farmers,

Blessed be the matzah and the baker.

Blessed be them all.

Blessed be the questioners and the questioned,
Blessed be the musicians and the songs.

Blessed the comics and the jokes,

Blessed be the artists and the illustrations.

Blessed be the maggid and the stories,
Blessed be the rabbis and the learning.

Blessed be them all.

Blessed be the doers and the done upon,

Blessed be the freers and the freed.

Blessed be the leaders and the led,

Blessed be the tellers and the told,

Blessed be the prayers and the prayed for,

Blessed be the servers and the served.

Blessed be them alll.

Blessing us,  One-ness

With the biggest and the smallest of blessings

And

Blessing the One-ness

With the biggest and smallest of our gratitudes,

All who sit around this table,
All who ate this wonderful meal,

Friends and Strangers,

Those who remember and those who are remembered,

On this Pesakh

We give thanks.

Amen 

If I Let It: A Kavanah for Kabbalat Shabbat

It grows dark.

I light two candles and drink a sip of wine

And the world changes for one day,

If I let it.

There will be music

And friendship

And food,

If I allow it.

There will be Torah

And wisdom

And God-ness,

If I permit it.

There will be quiet

And napping

And deep rest,

If I open up to it

There will be study

And expansion

And new ideas,

If I consent to it.

There will prayer

And blessings

And meditation,

If I give in to it.

There will be hope

And renewal

And clarity,

If I walk toward it.

If I let it

If I allow it

If I permit it

If I open up to it

If I consent to it.

If I give in to it.

If I walk toward it

The world changes for one day.

Shabbat happens,

If I let it.