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.

We See What You’re Doing, Chapter 5

Now it came to pass on the third day

Esther got all dolled up

Dressed like a queen

All for the king.

And she waited in the courtyard

To attact the king's attention

Knowing she is beautiful

Because everyone tells her so.

They tell her that's where her power lies

But she knows better.

Because Esther is used to being looked at

She knows what it's worth

That is, she knows about the people who only look

But cannot see.

But she looks at them, too.

And she can see.

They can look and look and never see the truth

The power that she has

That she has to have

When you have no power.

So she waits in the courtyard

Because if the king lets her touch his golden scepter

(Insert double entendre here),

She lives.

But if he is offended

That she came to him without permission

She dies.

But here she is

She has to be

Because Esther sees what the king is doing.

Now it came to pass

That Esther is beautiful

And so she found favor in the king's eyes

So she invites him to a party

And Haman, too.

Especially Haman,

Only Haman.

And Haman gets all puffed up

Full of his glory

He can only see himself

The Great Man

Going to the queens banquet

And he walks past Mordechai

At the King's Gate

And Mordechai looks at Haman

And thinks to himself,

Feh

What an asshole

So Mordechai refuses to stand up

Because Mordechai sees what Haman is doing.

And it came to pass

That this really freaks out Haman

Haman sees himself through Mordechai's eyes

And everything crumbles

Classic narcissism

On one hand

Oh the glory and the money

Haman the Big Man

The king's right hand

Invited to the Queen's banquet

And on the other hand

Mordechai, that Jew, said,

Feh.

It kills Haman inside

Getting dissed by Mordechai

And he goes home to complain to Zeresh, his wife.

How, Haman asks,

Can I have a good time knowing Mordechai doesn't respect me?

So Zeresh the loyal wife says,

Look, Haman, love of my life,

don't let the Jew ruin your fun,

The solution is simple!

Build a gallows

50 Cubits high

And in the morning

Tell the king to hang Mordechai from it

Until he's dead.

Then party with a happy heart!

So Haman builds the gallows

Oy, he's in such a good mood

But as we all know

God sees what Haman is doing.