(Steve)

I know why the caged bird sings, ah me,

When his wing is bruised and his bosom sore,—

When he beats his bars and he would be free;

It is not a carol of joy or glee,

But a prayer that he sends from his heart’s deep core,

But a plea, that upward to Heaven he flings —

I know why the caged bird sings!

-Paul Lawrence Dunbar

Tonight, as we taste the bitter herbs, we share in the bitterness and disappointment of the lives of our forebears. We recognize the bitter consequences of exploitation and repression - the loss of lives and the waste of human potential.

ָבּרוּךְ ַאָתּהְיַָי ֱאלֵֹהינוּ ֶמֶלךְ ָהעוָֹלם, ֲאֶשׁר ִקְדָּשׁנוּ ְבִּמְצוָֹתיוְוִצָוּנוּ ַעל ֲאִכיַלת ָמרוֹר:

Baruch atah, Adonai, eloheinu melech ha’olam, asher kidshanu b’mitzvotav v’tzivanu al achilat maror.

Blessed are you, Adonai, Sovereign of all worlds, who sanctifies us with the commandment to eat the bitter herb.


 


haggadah Section: Maror