This year’s Passover sermon seminar began with a fascinating presentation by Dr. Elana Stein Hain entitled, “On Rights and Responsibilities: The Framing of the Pesach Story.” Dr Hain is the Director of Leadership Education at the Shalom Hartman Institute of North America, where she serves as a lead faculty member and oversees the content of the Institute’s lay and professional leadership programs. Her presentation discussed sources from Exodus, Mishnah and Tosefta Pesachim, the Haggadah and contemporary writers about the dual focuses on the laws and story of Passover.

For the source packet click here.

For the video click here.

After this keynote presentation, breakout sessions were led by:

Rabbi Hillary Chorny, Cantor of Temple Beth Am. Her presentation was entitled, “Beyond the Haggadah: Sparking Song, Conversation and Joy at the Seder Table.”

Rabbi Deborah Schuldenfrei, of Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, led a session entitled, “Serving Food, Congregants, and God: Spiritual Dimensions in Seder Leadership.”

Rabbi Aaron Lerner, Executive Director of UCLA Hillel, taught a session entitled “Debate, Dialogue, and Despair: How Rabbis Can Model and Encourage Deep Listening and Learning in a Politically Fractured [Jewish] America.

The presentations offered many sources and much inspiration in preparation for Passover.