• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
Ann Arbor Reconstructionist Congregation

Ann Arbor Reconstructionist Congregation

  • Home
  • Who We Are
    • Overview
    • Our History
    • Our Values and Vision
    • LGBTQ Inclusive
    • Our Board
    • Our Sacred Objects
    • About Reconstructionist Judaism
    • Jewish Ann Arbor
  • What We Do
    • Shabbat and Holidays
    • Learning
    • B’nei Mitzvah
    • Tikkun Olam
    • Join our Mailing List
    • In the (Washtenaw Jewish) News
  • Religious School
    • Beit Sefer (Religious School) Overview
    • Beit Sefer Staff
    • Enroll your child in Beit Sefer
  • Blog
  • Membership
    • Overview
    • Thinking about joining?
    • Renew your membership
    • Member Area
      • Overview
      • Get involved!
  • Calendar
  • Contact Us
  • Donate

Passover

Passover 2022 Resources

April 2, 2022 by Gillian Jackson

Please enjoy this list of resources for your Passover holiday this year!

Restaurants Catering Passover Meals: 

Plum Market: Visit plummarket.com/springcatering to see their Passover Menu. 

Zola Bistro: Visit https://www.bistrozola.com/family-passover-celebration-menu/ to see their catered meal and seder plate. 

Zingermans Deli: Visit https://www.zingermanscatering.com/passover/#Passover-Menu to see Zingerman’s catered seder plate, seder meal for one, and seder meal for the family. 

Grocery Stores with Passover Supplies: 

Plum Market North and West has your regular Passover fare including matzoh, gefilte fish, and Manischewitz cookies in a can!

Kroger on Washtenaw has an online Passover selection you can find here.

Meijer locations in Ann Arbor are currently having a sale on many Kosher for Passover items. You can order these items online and pickup curbside!

Online Haggadah Resources: 

If you’re looking for something simple and ready-made, download this Zoom-gaddah, a ready-to-use Powerpoint Haggadah!

Clare Kinberg compiled an excellent list of creative themed Haggadot in 2018, and Avodah put together an extensive list of Haggadot and seder supplements for adults and kids; the list includes rituals and readings for COVID, immigrant rights, food justice, racial justice, gender justice, and more.

And of course we would be remiss to discuss Haggadot without mentioning our own Carol Levin’s beautiful family Haggadah. 

Go to Haggadot.com to customize your haggadah with meditations, skits, coloring pages and more! 

Or download one of their ready-to-print favorites 
Comedy Seder
Haggadah for Justice
Heroes Haggadah (NEW!)
Women’s Seder
Minimalist Haggadah

If you have some resources you would like to add to the list, please comment below!

Filed Under: Upcoming Activities Tagged With: hagaddah, Passover

Passover Plans 2022

March 31, 2022 by Gillian Jackson

Passover Seder Sign Up

One of the things that I love about our congregation is the way that opportunities are built in to be a part of a tight-knit community and make personal connections with people. One of the really special ways that we do this is to make sure that every member has a Seder table to join for the Passover holiday. Being invited to someone’s Seder table is a really meaningful opportunity to experience the Passover Seder through the perspective of another family. The way that everyone approaches the Seder is always different, getting to experience this can provide new insights and ways of looking at the Passover story.

How the process works is that two sign ups are created for people to offer seats at their Seder table and request seats at a seder table. Once that we have all of the information about available and needed seats, we will match families to each other and exchange contact information. If you are interested in participating, sign up here!

Serenity Shabbat

Fourth Friday Shabbat will fall during Passover this year. We will be having a Shabbat service and potluck that is focused on addiction awareness and the wisdom of Jewish tradition as it relates to the spiritual practice of recovery. Everyone is welcome, including members of the recovery community, friends and family who have been affected by a loved one’s addiction, and anyone interested in a meaningful spiritual experience. 

Mimouna Pizza Party Bonfire

We will also be hosting a Mimouna Pizza Party Bonfire at Jeff and Rena Basch’s house at the end of Passover. Mimouna is a Sephardic tradition that celebrates the end of Passover as well as the harvest. Learn more about Mimouna here. Its a really fun way to mark the end of the Passover holiday. Come enjoy pizza, donuts and other chametz at the end of Passover at Rena and Jeff Basch’s house. More details to come!

We hope that you will find an opportunity to connect with each other during the passover holiday this year. As always, let us know if you have any questions!

Filed Under: Upcoming Activities Tagged With: Mimouna, Passover

Passover Recap 5781!

April 5, 2021 by Gillian Jackson

A Month of Passover Workshops

By Gillian Jackson

Our congregation came prepared this year to make the best of the second Passover holiday during the pandemic. It was a true community effort, with a month of member-led enlightening workshops scheduled in an effort to support a meaningful holiday.

The month started off with a create-your-own-Haggadah workshop with Debbie Zivan and Deb Kraus. Once everyone had a chance to start building their own Haggadah, Sharon Haar and Patti Smith led a class that provided useful tips for navigating Zoom seders. Leading up to Passover, Idelle Hammond-Sass and Carol Levin led congregants in a reflection on the idea of dayenu, or ‘enoughness,’ using art-making as a tool of exploration. Days before Passover, Rabbi Ora taught participants about the meaning and ritual for getting rid of chametz, with a special pizza-making workshop following the lesson. The holiday wrapped up with a ‘Songs of Freedom’ musical hour with Laurie White and Paul Resnick.

It is a blessing that our congregation was able to make use of the myriad talents that our membership embodies. Thank you so much to all of our Passover volunteer workshop leaders. Our community is grateful to you!

Beit Sefer’s Locally Sourced Seder Plate Symbol Search

By Clare Kinberg, director of the Beit Sefer
Photo of locally-sourced seder plate items: Photo Credit Clare Kinberg

Our AARC Beit Sefer students learned this year that the symbols on a seder plate, plus the matzah and grape juice/wine, are not only props to assist the drama of telling the story of the Exodus. Like everything we eat and use, the seder plate symbols come from somewhere and are made by someone. They symbols themselves can express our values such as regard for the environment. Combining this value with the school’s effort to get the kids outside, I devised a “Locally-Sourced Seder Symbol Search.” The requirement was for each seder plate symbol to be made in Michigan, and we succeeded: 

  • Matzah: Homemade by Rosh Clare from whole wheat flour grown in Grand Traverse and milled at Zingerman’s Bakehouse
  • Horseradish: Grown at The Farm on Jennings and dug by the Ullmann/McLane family.
  • Apples for Charoset: Grown organically in Michigan contributed by Moreh Mirel.
  • Eggs: Lain in Ann Arbor on the Brenden and Diana Hayden Farms, and picked up by Brenna and Jack.
  • Sparkling White Grape Juice: Produced and bottled in Paw Paw, and contributed by the Spindler/Nelson family.
  • Greens and Parsley: Grown in Michigan and contributed by the Ball, Dieve, and Levin/Passey families.
  • For the shankbone, I introduced my own tradition of using a Hamsa, the Jewish and Muslim hand of protection.

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: community, covid-19, Passover

Take Part in a Socially Distanced or Virtual Afikomen Hunt This Weekend!

March 23, 2021 by Gillian Jackson Leave a Comment

There are two opportunities for a fun addition to the Afikomen Hunt portion of your Seder this weekend! If you are having a virtual Seder and would like to engage your guests with a ‘virtual’ Afikomen hunt, we have a hid an Afikomen on our website!

The Afikomen hidden on the website will look like the image below. Comment at the bottom of the blog if you found it!

If you would like to get outside with your guests this weekend, AARC has partnered with other area congregations to host a geo-cache outdoor Afikomen Hunt.

If you take part in either Afikomen Hunt, tell us how it went in the comments below!

Filed Under: Upcoming Activities Tagged With: afikomen, community, Passover

Local and Online Resources for Passover

March 15, 2021 by Gillian Jackson 3 Comments

A Photo from Leora Druckman’s Virtual Seder Last Year.

This time around for our ‘virtual’ seders, we have compiled a list of COVID-safe options for catered meals, curbside pickup grocery, and online haggadot. Enjoy the list and if you have any suggestions, please add them in the comments!

Restaurants Catering Passover Meals:

Plum Market: Visit plummarket.com/springcatering to see their Passover Menu.

Zola Bistro: Visit https://www.bistrozola.com/family-passover-celebration-menu/ to see their catered meal and seder plate.

Zingermans Deli: Visit https://www.zingermanscatering.com/passover/#Passover-Menu to see Zingerman’s catered seder plate, seder meal for one, and seder meal for the family.

Cornman Farms: Visit https://shop.zingermanscornmanfarms.com to see their catered meal for two.

Grocery Stores with Passover Supplies:

Plum Market North and West has your regular Passover fare including matzoh, gefilte fish, and Manischewitz cookies in a can!

Kroger on Washtenaw has an online Passover selection you can find here.

Meijer locations in Ann Arbor are currently having a sale on many Kosher for Passover items. You can order these items online and pickup curbside!

Online Haggadah Resources:

If you’re looking for something simple and ready-made, download this Zoom-gaddah, a ready-to-use Powerpoint Haggadah!

Haggadot.com has an online tutorial and many resources for creating your own Haggadah online.

Clare Kinberg compiled an excellent list of creative themed Haggadot in 2018, and Avodah put together an extensive list of Haggadot and seder supplements for adults and kids; the list includes rituals and readings for COVID, immigrant rights, food justice, racial justice, gender justice, and more.

And of course we would be remiss to discuss Haggadot without mentioning our own Carol Levin’s beautiful family Haggadah.

If you have some resources you would like to add to the list, please comment below!

Filed Under: Upcoming Activities Tagged With: haggadah, kosher, Passover, Seder

AARC Resilience Apparent in Virtual Seders!

April 12, 2020 by Gillian Jackson Leave a Comment

Jews have a long history of taking rough stones and polishing them into jewels. At one of our recent virtual check-ins, Rabbi Ora mentioned our collective tendency to manifest reliance, selected for by generations of adversity. This trait is much in evidence this Passover!

Leora Druckman’s virtual seder table

The weeks leading up to Passover were marked with not-so-subtle correlations: the scarcity of wheat, the presence of plague, etc. … But in true Reconstructionist style, we used what we had and produced seders that were gems of both levity and gratitude – and virtual ingenuity! Please enjoy these AARC members’ reflections on their seders:

“For what it’s worth, I actually quite liked it a lot. It should’ve felt cold, I suppose, but for some reason it felt extra special to see everyone do extra work to still make it happen, but also by making sure to connect with each other online against the quarantining in these times. That meant a lot for so many and was not taken for granted. It felt like it reaffirmed relationships, values, our holiday … It felt like that extra special desire to still connect and meet anyway we could, was also in our kids. This Pesach really held extra special meaning none of us could’ve ever appreciated on such a level before.”

– Mark Dieve

“It was nice to talk with family we don’t normally get to see this time of year. I took a pic of our table from the angle of the camera before we sat down.”

– Amie Ritchie

“I shared flowers (via Carole Caplan) and food with several people who usually attend our seder. Two of the three chose to attend other seders – so it was just my brother’s family and my mother sharing ours. That’s good because it took us 20 minutes to connect via Google Meet – chosen because it gave my 85 year old mother closed captions.

“Food deliveries included flowers, matzah ball soup, salads, charoset, chicken dinner ready for the oven, and all the fixings for my mother’s seder plate. She made us brisket. We did a physical distanced food exchange and visited in the sunshine with her for a bit. She was very grateful to have a seder with us.

“The computer was placed at the far end of the Seder Table.”

– Carol Lessure
Carol Lessure’s seder plate delivery package!
Carol Lessure’s seder table
Carol Lessure’s flower delivery via Carole Caplan

“The Eisbruch family enjoyed being able to join with family members and friends in time zones from Israel to California. That was a very special treat.”

– Emily Eisbruch
Deb Kraus’s cat drinking from Miriam’s cup (on cue)

So many members were able to make the most of the day and find ways to share in the depth and joy of the seder in unique and meaningful ways. How was your virtual Passover? Please share in the comments!

Filed Under: Event writeups Tagged With: covid-19, Passover, Seder

Passover and Counting the Omer

April 17, 2019 by Gillian Jackson

By: Rabbi Ora Nitkin-Kaner

Beginning the second night of Passover, Jews around the world will begin counting the omer. The omer is counted every day for 7 weeks, ending with the holiday of Shavuot.

The 49 day-period between Passover and Shavuot marks two kinds of movement through time: the period of time between the first barley offering and the first wheat offering during the Temple era, and the transition from slavery to spiritual liberation.

During the Passover seder we recall the moment when our ancestors took their freedom. Although the Exodus happened in a matter of hours (hence the under-cooked matzah), Jewish tradition teaches that it took considerably longer for the Israelites to truly feel free; only once they received the Torah on Shavuot were the Israelites able to conceive of their role in redemption.

In Michigan, we’re far away from the wheat and barley harvests of Israel, as well as far from the experience of being enslaved. But as spring unfolds for us, counting the omer can help us shake off the stiffness of winter and recommit to the work of tikkun hanefesh (healing the soul) and tikkun olam (healing the world).

Some resources for counting the omer this year:

A brief meditation and exercise for each day from Rabbi Simon Jacobson

Daily themes from a variety of writers on RitualWell

More apps, books, and websites to help you count the omer

Filed Under: Rabbi's Posts Tagged With: counting the omer, Omer, Passover

Not Your Grandma’s Haggadah

April 8, 2019 by Gillian Jackson

You may feel it’s time to retire your Grandma’s old Haggadah. Or perhaps you’re considering putting it in a drawer and trying something new, just this once. If so, this Passover you can celebrate with Haggadot ranging from one based on Hamilton, The Musical to another in the form of a graphic novel. You can even make your own on www.haggadot.com!

It seems fitting that we increasingly move beyond simple readings of the traditional story to more actively engage with our heritage. When Clare was practicing the Four Questions with Beit Sefer students last Sunday, she remarked, “Not only is Passover a holiday for asking questions, asking questions is what Judaism is all about!” Clare was of course correct that Judaism, and in particular Reconstructionism, begs us to interact with the material in order to ask questions, to learn, and to incorporate new ways of thinking into our lives. What better time to do this than at the Seder table with our friends and family?

In this week’s blog I have selected some new and interesting Haggadot for you to explore and potentially make use of this Passover. Enjoy!

Rabbi Ora has recommended Velveteen Rabbi, the website of Rabbi Rachel Barenblat. There you will find a Haggadah that focuses on poetry, mindfulness, systems of oppression, and a theology of liberation.

The Reconstructionist movement’s Haggadah features recommended outlines according to your demographic (younger children, older children, women, and interfaith families).

The American Jewish World Service’s Haggadah focuses on global justice.

Last but definitely not least, I couldn’t fail to celebrate the newly published work of AARC’s very own Carol Levin! Haggadah Reggata! is written especially for children and features beautiful, fanciful watercolor illustrations.

Whether these creative Haggadot inspire you to try something new this year or you decide to stick with Grandma’s old faithful, I wish you a peaceful and thought-provoking Passover!

Filed Under: Posts by Members Tagged With: haggadah, Passover

Resources for Passover 2018

March 22, 2018 by Clare Kinberg

A contemporary illustrated haggadah by the Israeli artist Avner Moriah in the Jewish Museum (NY) collection

If every year we used the Haggadah from last year, Dayenu, it would be enough.

But given our creative, ever seeking natures, we also like to embellish the Haggadah (and our seders) each year with something new. The history of adding to the Haggadah with additional readings, illustrations, and songs is explained in this Jewish Virtual Library entry.

At Haggadot.com, you can create your own Haggadah using clips that others have contributed. The site has some great examples of Haggadot that you can use, too!

 

Below are some resources for celebrating Passover this year:

The Hadar Institute, whose mission is to empower Jews to create and sustain vibrant, practicing, egalitarian communities of Torah, Avodah, and Hesed, is the only full-time, gender-egalitarian yeshiva in North America. Here are Passover resources from Hadar.

Jacob Richman’s (a Jewish librarian colleague) Passover Spotify Playlist (over 100 songs).

From Jews for Justice (Baltimore): A Seder for Migrant Justice

From the 1969 Freedom Seder

The Shalom Center has put together a new “MLK + 50 Interfaith Freedom Seder” commemorating 50 years since Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr was assassinated.  And here is a link to the original, 1969 Freedom Seder.

Repair the World and Be’chol Lashon have partnered to create two resources for your Passover Seder: Avadim Hayenu is a one page Haggadah insert and Trivia Place-Cards for your seder table  highlight multi-ethnic and multiracial Jewish Passover traditions from around the world. You can download the insert and the Trivia Place-Cards here.

Just a really nice interview with Marquis Hollie from Reform Judaism, At the Intersection of Passover and Shared Otherness: The Making of “Go Down Moshe”

American Jewish World Service has a full Haggadah, an insert about the Rohingya Crisis, “An Exodus in Our Time,” and several different readings all downloadable here.

Refugee Haggadah: This 2017 supplement, created by the refugee resettlement group formerly known as the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society, ties the Jewish refugee experience to that of modern-day refugees.

T’ruah Rabbis for Human Rights is distributing stickers that say “Resisting tyrants since Pharaoh” here.

 

 

Filed Under: Tikkun Olam Tagged With: Passover

AARC Mimouna 2018: Abandon Bitterness, Celebrate Blessing

March 15, 2018 by Clare Kinberg

Photo of Mimouna foods from an article in The Nosher, includes recipes.

This year, AARC will be celebrating Mimouna on Saturday April 7, 5:30-7:30pm at the JCC. We’ll have lots of food, music, and a short ‘seder’ to learn about the symbols and traditions of Mimouna. We will also begin a conversation about things our congregation can do to form relationships with other faith communities in the coming year.

Mimouna, the traditional Moroccan Jewish celebration held the day after Passover, marks the start of spring and the return to eating chametz, i.e., leavened bread and bread by-products, which are forbidden throughout Passover. In centuries past, Muslim neighbors would bring gifts of flour, honey, milk, butter and green beans to their Jewish neighbors to help them prepare delicious, chametz-rich recipes. More recently, Moroccan Jews brought the holiday to Israel where it is now widely celebrated with picnics and visiting with friends and neighbors. Recently, an organization of Moroccan Muslim students was founded which preserves and promotes the history of Morocco’s ancient Jewish community and seeks to educate about Jewish culture to encourage harmony between Jews and Muslims.

“Unlike Passover, which is charged with religious meaning, this is a festival devoted to the celebration of community, friendship, togetherness and hospitality. Mimouna is celebrated by throwing one’s home open to friends, neighbors and even strangers, with public parties, and by sharing – a large portion of that sharing involving food. Mimouna is thus clearly all about encouraging peace, kindness and human warmth. It also centers around making music, singing and dancing,” explains an article in Haaretz which includes a recipe for the traditional crepe, mofleta.

The piyyut (ligurgical poetry) below, “Atem Yotzei Maarav ,”composed by Rabbi David Bouzaglo (1903-1975), to commemorate the Mimouna holiday tells–in Hebrew with some Judeo-Arabic interspersed–the various aspects of the holiday including the foods eaten, the friendly atmosphere, and the significance of the holiday. It tells a story of strife and its resolution, and in conclusion calls for the abandonment of bitterness between Muslims and Jews.

 

Atem Yotzei Maarav

A Moroccan Jewish Piyyut:

You, who come from the Maghreb, from Morocco, men of faith –
praise G-d in assembly, this day of the Mimouna.

Yesterday the Red Sea opened its gaping mouth before Pharaoh,
it moved over all their wagons and swallowed them.

Israel, the flock, his servants crossed through passages,
as the waves of the sea were piled up by the hand of Moses, the faithful father.

The wealth of their enemies and tormentors Israel collected,
between the waves of the sea, they received it as a gift.

On every doorstep, all congratulated each other:
“Be blessed, friend, all the months of the year.”

And in Morocco, for many generations, the Hebrews say,
in blessing their friends, “good luck, brother, good fortune!”

The strangers, their waters were spilled on them;
the fear of G-d, in Heaven poured down on them.

Loads and loads of wealth and grains
were delivered from all comers of the world to the people G-d has chosen.

And it is the way of the sons of Arabia, in Morocco,
each according to his means brings the Jews an offering of value.

Yeast, honey and flour, the milk of a healthy cow,
fish, mint, and butter with wild flowers and flowers from the garden.

This night, Hebrews and Arabs are all seated together –
they rejoice with musical instruments and singing.

The Hebrew woman wears the clothes of an Arab,
the man wears an Arab vest, and the scent of incense and perfume.

One can no longer distinguish between a Hebrew and his Arab brother,
or if they are city dwellers or villagers: the good spirit overtakes them all.

The borders between Israel and the nations are blurred
If it wasn’t for the bloodthirsty who run the states.

It is these evil kings who deliver their people to catastrophe –
They are concerned only with their thrones, not the soul who suffers.

Abandon for all time conflict and bitterness!
Stop the bitter cries! Stop in the name of peace and freedom!

(Translation – Ruben Namdar and Joshua Levitt)

Filed Under: Food, Poems and Blessings, Upcoming Activities Tagged With: Mimouna, Passover

  • Go to page 1
  • Go to page 2
  • Go to Next Page »

Primary Sidebar

Join Our Mailing List

Sign up for our twice a week newsletter to get details on upcoming events and catch up on our latest news.

Check your inbox or spam folder to confirm your subscription.

Follow AARC

  • facebook
  • youtube

Upcoming Events

  • 6:30 pm – 8:30 pm, March 24, 2023 – Fourth Friday Kabbalat Shabbat Service
  • 10:30 am – 12:00 pm, April 8, 2023 – Second Saturday Shabbat Morning Service
  • 6:30 pm – 8:30 pm, April 28, 2023 – Fourth Friday Kabbalat Shabbat Service
  • 10:30 am – 12:00 pm, May 13, 2023 – Second Saturday Shabbat Morning Service
  • 6:30 pm – 8:30 pm, May 26, 2023 – Fourth Friday Kabbalat Shabbat Service

Latest News

  • Shabbaton With Rabbinic Candidate, Gabrielle Pescador 3/17-3/19! March 8, 2023
  • Purim 2023: Join Us For Purim Fun! March 2, 2023
  • From Treetown to Ethiopia, in the March 2023 Washtenaw Jewish News March 2, 2023
  • Refusing to Be Enemies Film Event and Panel February 21, 2023
  • AARC Member, Idelle Hammond-Sass, Included In Recently Published Book On Modern Judaica! February 16, 2023

Search

Tags

Adult Learning Bar mitzvah bat mitzvah Beit Sefer Challah community community learning covid-19 Elul food/land/justice Hanukkah high-holidays-2020 High Holidays High Holidays 2021 High Holidays 2022 Human rights immigrants interfaith jewish learning Michael Strassfeld Mimouna mitzvah new members Omer Passover Psalm 27 Psalms Purim Rabbi Alana Rabbi Debra Rappaport Rabbi Ora recipes Reconstructionism refugees Rosh Hashanah Shavuot Shmita Sukkot Sukkot Retreat Tikkun Olam Torah tu b'shevat upcoming events Washtenaw Jewish News Yom Kippur

Categories

  • Articles/Ads
  • Beit Sefer (Religious School)
  • Books
  • Community Learning
  • Divrei Torah
  • Event writeups
  • Food
  • Mail Bag
  • Member Profiles
  • Poems and Blessings
  • Posts by Members
  • Rabbi's Posts
  • Reconstructionist Movement
  • Sacred Objects
  • Simchas
  • Tikkun Olam
  • Uncategorized
  • Upcoming Activities

Footer

Affiliated with

Register/Login

  • Log in
  • Register (for members only)

Copyright © 2023 Ann Arbor Reconstructionist Congregation