Passover Torah Readings
Shabbat Hol Ha-Mo’ed Pesach:
Exodus 33:12-34:26
Seventh Day of Pesach:
Exodus 13:17-15:26

Most of us look forward (albeit with some trepidation or anxiety) to the start of our Passover holiday. The Seder(s) are anticipated for weeks before; many of us are excited to begin our festival of freedom when the holiday finally arrives. But we often forget that Passover lasts a full week (seven or eight days depending on your tradition). Sure, we continue to eat matzah, but how many of us are still enjoying the “bread of affliction” at this point?

Last year, President Barack Obama concluded his Passover Seder with an interesting addition.  After the singing of Had Gadya (traditionally the final song in the Seder service),  participants in the White House Seder took turns reciting sections of the Emancipation Proclamation, thus creating a bridge between the core message of Passover, a distant and remote cultic festival of an ancient people, the Israelites, and the powerful modern outgrowth of the same concept of racial equality. President Obama’s serving as the Seder leader further reinforced this message.