Concerning Darfur
Fair Trade Coffee
Recognizing Abused Women
More Resources
When we celebrate Passover we remember in the Seder that "in every generation, we are commanded to view ourselves as if each one of us was personally brought forth out of Egypt." The oppression we have historically experienced reminds us how important it is to rise up against tyranny and injustice in our own time. This year, use your Passover Seder as an opportunity to discuss the current genocide in Darfur. Include a fourth matzah in your Seder, along with this reading based on a prayer written by Rabbi Joel Soffin of Temple Shalom in Succasunna, New Jersey, to bring the plight of the Darfurians to your Passover table.
"We raise this fourth matzah to remind ourselves that oppression still exists, that people are still being persecuted, that the Divine image within them is being denied. We make room at our seder table and in our hearts for those in Sudan who are now where we have been. We have known such treatment in our own history. Like the women and children facing hardships in Darfur today, we have suffered while others stood by and pretended not to see, not to know. We have eaten the bitter herb; we have been taken from our families and brutalized. We have experienced the horror of being forced from our homes. In the end, we have come to know in our very being that none can be free until all are free.And so, we commit and recommit ourselves to work for the freedom of these people. May the taste of this 'bread of affliction' remain in our mouths until they can eat in peace and security. Knowing that all people are Yours, O God, we will urge our government and all governments to do as You once commanded Pharaoh on our behalf: 'Shalach et Ami! Let MY People Go!'"
Fair Trade Coffee (and Chocolate too!)
A message from Rabbi Shapiro
Who would have thought that drinking a cup of coffee involved making an ethical decision? Who would have imagined that coffee had anything to do with justice?
Suddenly, in the last several months, it seems as if Dunkin’ Donuts, Starbucks, and other purveyors of coffee have woken up to “smell the coffee.”
DD and StarB are both advertising that they sell “fair trade coffee,” and they want us to know all about it.
It means so much to them and it should mean something to us because “fair trade coffee” is a special kind of coffee that is more “just” than regular coffee.
Here’s the story: Most of the coffee we drink is grown on small farms in Latin America by farmers who sell their coffee to middlemen who in turn pass the coffee on through a long chain of hands until it reaches our kitchens. During the process, the price is inflated substantially even though the farmer himself may see little or no profit.
“Fair trade” coffee is different. It is a term that describes coffee grown on small farmer cooperatives which sell their coffee to a single organization in the USA that then processes the coffee for sale here. Middlemen are removed. The “fair trade” organization guarantees a fair price to the farmer and often helps nurture the coffee cooperative so that the farming community can be stronger and healthier.
“Fair trade” coffee is therefore honest, fair, “ethical” coffee.
And how does this matter to you and me as the month of April arrives? First, there is no time like the present to do the right thing. If you’re interested in learning more about “fair trade” coffee, check out the following website – www.equalexchange.com.
Finally, Passover is coming. It’s a perfect time to clear out your old foodstuff and buy fresh packages. It’s a perfect time to go “fair.” At your Seder, don’t just talk about justice and slavery. Buy “fair trade” coffee. Serve “fair trade” coffee. (AND, guess what? Equal Exchange even sells “fair trade” chocolate. Why not send everyone home from your Seder with a “fair trade” chocolate bar as the perfect complement to matza and maror.)
Reader:
To remind us
that until all of us are free, none of us are truly free. Battered women
and their children live under a domestic reign of terror, and can
only dream of the promised land of freedom. Even for those who dare
to flee, with pharaoh right behind them, the dessert is wide and dangerous.
All:
Let us recite together these plagues that women
and children have experienced:
- Disbelief
- Shame
- Incest
- Humiliation
- Stalking
- Nightmares
- Threats
- Rape
- Isolation
- Beatings
All:
We say tonight to battered women: We hear you,
we believe you, and we will walk beside you through the desert. Together
we can make the road less desolate so that those bound by domestic
abuse will come to know the taste of liberation, the meaning of redemption
and the experience of shalom.
From Dancing in Miriam's Footsteps: Women's Seder, Broward County, Florida, 2000. Used with permission.
More Resources: Pesach: A Season for Justice
"Pesach: A Season for Justice" is a social action guide to assist families, individuals and congregations highlight social justice themes during their Passover celebrations. You can find the guide online at www.rac.org/pesach.