“If they cannot love and resist at the same time, they probably will not survive” – Audre Lorde 

This year we dedicate our seders to all of us, to our insistence on intersectionality and abolition, and to rooting out remnants of enslavement and colonization that manifest as gentrification, displacement, and racialized poverty at home and abroad. 

The story of Passover reminds us that oppression also hurts the oppressor, and that oppressed persons can, too, enact harm and violence. While we rejoice in the liberation of our ancestors from Egypt, we cannot truly celebrate freedom while our neighbors in Palestine, Ukraine, and here at home continue to live in bondage. We cannot ignore the role that we, as Jews and otherwise, have played in this continued oppression, and as we celebrate the miracle of Passover, we also commit to doing what we can to acknowledge, address, and undo the harms we have perpetrated in our own lives so that others may, too, feel the love and light of liberation. 

Tonight’s Seder is dedicated to our ancestors who sacrificed everything for their belief in a better future, and to the many whose hard- and long-fought battles have yet to materialize their freedom. May this next year give us all the strength to be better allies, comrades, and seekers of truth. 

Seders often include a rallying cry – “next year in Jerusalem” – as a means of looking to the future and hoping for Jewish resilience and prosperity. This year, we say “next year in Justice” as a means of separating geography from our conceptions of freedom and acknowledging the imperialism, racism, and discrimination that has underscored our people’s claims to ownership over particular lands.  As always, we look to the future with open minds and hearts, and hope that wherever we call home and wherever we may find ourselves, there will be justice. Next year in Justice!

L'Chayim, to our Liberation and the Liberation of all people. 


haggadah Section: Kadesh
Source: Lily Milwit