Passover Song: Sounds of Seder

New SOUNDS OF SEDER (to the tune of Sounds of Silence) to sing during Maror, addressing some of our current social/political concerns with heart, strength, and a shtikele humor. 

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The Sounds of Seder
by Rabbi Goldie Milgram, ReclaimingJudaism.org
 

Melody: Sounds of Silence

Hello maror my old friend
Immigrants seek our shores again
Help me remember what I must do
To be a truly mitzvah-centered Jew
"Because the signs of the prophets
are written on the subway walls
And tenement halls" (pause)
We were once strangers, too.

Maror's bitterness reminds
Us of those whom slavery still binds
Workers, many children, so impoverished
They need more help than just gefilte fish
We will rise up as one -
to stare their pharaohs in the face
Stop this cruel disgrace! (pause)
We hear those suffering in silence.

Streets will not run red like maror
From coat-hanger
abortions by the poor
Our bodies are our own sacred space
Inclusive benefits must be offered every place
A nation under God cares for all without prejudice
Or religious duress (pause)
We pledge to stop - legislative violence.

In the fire of this taste
Maror reminds us to make haste
Leaving Egypt is more than metaphor
Tikkun olam is what we're placed here for
We recall family & friends
who wish to marry and cannot
This is no Camelot (pause)
We will face the tyrants.

This bitterness is nothing new
Why is it hard to be a Jew
All we want is freedom to live our own ways
To ensure freedom for all on earth every day
And the vision Torah planted in our brains
still remains (pause)
In the sounds of Seder.
 

*  A mitzvah, (mitzvot, pl) are life-changing behaviors; some to engage in, others to refrain from. 
   Maror, bitter herbs used symbolically during Passover ritual to represent the bitterness of slavery..
  Tikkun Olam, means "repairing the world."
  Torah means the scriptures of the Jewish people.