Wednesday, March 27, 2002 Passover begins at sundown & the first seder is observed Thursday, March 28, 2002 First Day of Passover & Second Seder Wednesday, April 3, 2002 Last day of Passover. Yizkor as celebrated in Reform and Israeli tradition

In the Haggadah we read, "…He [Jacob] went down to Egypt with meager numbers and sojourned there; but there he became a great and very populous nation. The Egyptians dealt harshly with us and oppressed us; they imposed heavy labor upon us. We cried to Adonai, the God of our ancestors, and Adonai heard our plea and saw our plight, our misery, and our oppression. Adonai freed us from Egypt by a mighty hand, by an outstretched arm and awesome power, and by signs and portents." (Deuteronomy 26:5-8)

The celebration of the Passover Seder recreates that Israelite experience for us in our own time. We endure Egyptian bondage, the harshness of slavery and we become part of the redemption and the flight into freedom that our ancestors experienced so long ago. Their lives become our lives, their experiences our experiences, and their memories our memories.

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