“If the olive tree remembered its planter, its oil would become tears.”

Mahmoud Darwish


Blessed are You, Eternal, our G–d, sovereign of the universe, who creates the fruit of the earth. 


Tonight, we dip food in salt water not once, but twice. This is meant to represent the tears of the enslaved—then and now—\

and this is meant to transport us to times and places when we could taste the salt of those tears on our own lips.


Indeed, there is much to weep about.


In our shared salt water, we think of the tears of generations of Palestinians whose hopes and dreams have been crushed by the Occupation.


We think of the tears of the hundreds of thousands who lost relatives in the Israeli assault on Gaza.

We imagine the tears that were not: of whole families that died together under a single bomb, with no one to mourn them.


And we taste the tears of the Israeli hostages and their families who have been torn apart.


When we dip, may we call to mind our hopes and our aspirations for this planet and for ourselves. 


We dip a green vegetable in salt water, lemon juice, or vinegar and say:

ּבְּרוּךְ ַאֲ ּתָּהַ יי ֱאֲלֹ ֵהַינֵוּ ׁמִ ׁלךְ ּהַעוֹ ּלם, בְּוֵֹראֲ ְפְִּרי ּהַ ֲאֲּדְ ּמִהַ

Baruch Atah Adonai Eloheinu melech ha’olam, borei p’ri ha’adamah.



haggadah Section: Karpas
Source: https://mcusercontent.com/f76879bdadf833f44f1fed24e/files/12d67967-9b22-3de3-e89a-99cc0de5fae9/Freedom_For_All_Seder_Haggadah___.pdf