Instruct: Given a question, retrieve passages that answer the question.
Query: What is a seder?
The Passover Seder /ˈseɪdər/ (Hebrew: סֵדֶר [ˈsedeʁ] 'order, arrangement'; Yiddish: סדר‎ seyder) is a Jewish ritual feast that marks the beginning of the Jewish holiday of Passover. It is conducted throughout the world on the evening of the 15th day of Nisan in the Hebrew calendar (with a calendar day reckoned to start at sunset). The day falls in late March or in April of the Gregorian calendar and the Passover lasts for 7 days in Israel and 8 days outside Israel. Jews generally observe one or two seders: in Israel, one seder is observed on the first night of Passover; many Diaspora communities hold a seder also on the second night. The Seder is a ritual performed by a community or by multiple generations of a family, involving a retelling of the story of the liberation of the Israelites from slavery in ancient Egypt. This story is in the Book of Exodus (Shemot) in The Hebrew Bible. The Seder itself is based on the Biblical verse commanding Jews to retell the story of the Exodus from Egypt: "You shall tell your child on that day, saying, 'It is because of what the LORD did for me when I came out of Egypt.'" (Exodus 13:8) Traditionally, families and friends gather in the evening to read the text of the Haggadah, an ancient work derived from the Mishnah (Pesahim 10).[1][2] The Haggadah contains the narrative of the Israelite exodus from Egypt, special blessings and rituals, commentaries from the Talmud, and special Passover songs.
In 1976, the first women-only Passover seder was held in Esther M. Broner's New York City apartment and led by her, with 13 women attending, including Gloria Steinem, Letty Cottin Pogrebin, and Phyllis Chesler.[32] Esther Broner and Naomi Nimrod created a women's haggadah for use at this seder.[33] In the spring of 1976 Esther Broner published this "Women's Haggadah" in Ms. Magazine, later publishing it as a book in 1994; this haggadah is meant to include women where only men had been mentioned in traditional haggadahs, and it features the Wise Women, the Four Daughters, the Women's Questions, the Women's Plagues, and a women-centric "Dayenu".[34][35] The original Women's Seder has been held with the Women's Haggadah every year since 1976, and women-only seders are now held by some congregations as well.[36][37][38] Some seders (including the original Women's Seder, but not limited to women-only seders) now set out a cup for the prophet Miriam as well as the traditional cup for the prophet Elijah, accompanied by a ritual to honor Miriam.[27] Miriam's cup originated in the 1980s in a Boston Rosh Chodesh group; it was invented by Stephanie Loo, who filled it with mayim hayim (living waters) and used it in a feminist ceremony of guided meditation.[28] Miriam's cup is linked to the midrash of Miriam's well, which "is a rabbinic legend that tells of a miraculous well that accompanied the Israelites during their 40 years in the desert at the Exodus from Egypt".[29][30] Furthermore, some Jews include an orange on the seder plate. The orange represents the fruitfulness for all Jews when all marginalized peoples are included, particularly women and gay people.[39] An incorrect but common rumor says that this tradition began when a man told Susannah Heschel that a woman belongs on the bimah as an orange on the seder plate; however, it actually began when in the early 1980s, while when speaking at Oberlin College Hillel, Susannah Heschel was introduced to an early feminist Haggadah that suggested adding a crust of bread on the seder plate, as a sign of solidarity with Jewish lesbians (as some would say there's as much room for a lesbian in Judaism as there is for a crust of bread on the seder plate).[40] Heschel felt that to put bread on the seder plate would be to accept that Jewish lesbians and gay men violate Judaism like chametz violates Passover.[40] So, at her next seder, she chose an orange as a symbol of inclusion of gays and lesbians and others who are marginalized within the Jewish community.[40] In addition, each orange segment had a few seeds that had to be spit out – a gesture of spitting out and repudiating the homophobia of traditional Judaism.[40]
National Department Stores acquired the Frank & Seder group of stores in 1923, including Frank & Seder, Inc. (Pittsburgh); Lewin-Nieman Co. (Pittsburgh); Fink Co. (Philadelphia); Frank A Seder Co. of Philadelphia and Frank & Seder Co. of Detroit.
Seder also occasionally substituted for Randi Rhodes when Rhodes was on Air America (becoming the number one sub after KLSD morning host Stacy Taylor lost his job when the station changed its format), as well as Mike Malloy on "The Mike Malloy Show" on the Nova M Radio network. In 2008 he also began a collaboration with Marc Maron on "Maron v. Seder", an hour-long video webcast. In January 2009, "Maron v. Seder" was renamed "Breakroom Live with Maron & Seder" and aired live from the kitchen in the Air America offices weekdays at 3PM Eastern. Seder and Maron also hosted a post-show chat with viewers after each episode. Air America Media cancelled "Breakroom Live with Maron & Seder" in July 2009.
According to Seder in an interview for Gothamist in late August 2004, the inspiration for the radio program occurred on election night 2000, when Seder witnessed via the television media what he perceived to be the theft of the presidency by George W. Bush. In February 2003, Garofalo (a longtime friend of Seder and a fellow comedian) appeared as a guest with Seder on "The Best Show on WFMU with Tom Scharpling", a comedy/talk radio program on the New Jersey station WFMU. In the summer of 2003, Garofalo was approached by representatives of Air America Radio to be a radio personality for their programming. She insisted that they hire Seder and that he share the hosting responsibilities. Less than one year later, "The Majority Report" was born.
In September 2006, the show ended its run. Seder, hosting by himself, then began a new mid-morning program on Air America Radio, The Sam Seder Show, in the time slot previously occupied by Jerry Springer (which was also the lead-in to "The Al Franken Show"). The show retained many of the elements of "The Majority Report".
In 1976, the first women-only Passover seder was held in Esther M. Broner's New York City apartment and led by her, with 13 women attending, including Gloria Steinem, Letty Cottin Pogrebin, and Phyllis Chesler. Esther Broner and Naomi Nimrod created a women's haggadah for use at this seder. In the spring of 1976 Esther Broner published this "Women's Haggadah" in Ms. magazine, later publishing it as a book in 1994; this haggadah is meant to include women where only men had been mentioned in traditional haggadahs, and it features the Wise Women, the Four Daughters, the Women's Questions, the Women's Plagues, and a women-centric "Dayenu". The original Women's Seder has been held with the Women's Haggadah every year since 1976, and women-only seders are now held by some congregations as well. Some seders (including the original Women's Seder, but not limited to women-only seders) now set out a cup for the prophet Miriam as well as the traditional cup for the prophet Elijah, sometimes accompanied by a ritual to honor Miriam. Miriam's cup originated in the 1980s in a Boston Rosh Chodesh group; it was invented by Stephanie Loo, who filled it with mayim hayim (living waters) and used it in a feminist ceremony of guided meditation. Miriam's cup is linked to the "midrash" of Miriam's well, which "is a rabbinic legend that tells of a miraculous well that accompanied the Israelites during their 40 years in the desert at the Exodus from Egypt". Furthermore, some Jews include an orange on the seder plate. The orange represents the fruitfulness for all Jews when all marginalized peoples are included, particularly women and gay people. An incorrect but common rumor says that this tradition began when a man told Susannah Heschel that a woman belongs on the bimah as an orange on the seder plate; however, it actually began when in the early 1980s, while when speaking at Oberlin College Hillel, Susannah Heschel was introduced to an early feminist Haggadah that suggested adding a crust of bread on the seder plate, as a sign of solidarity with Jewish lesbians (as some would say there's as much room for a lesbian in Judaism as there is for a crust of bread on the seder plate). Heschel felt that to put bread on the seder plate would be to accept that Jewish lesbians and gay men violate Judaism like chametz violates Passover. So, at her next seder, she chose an orange as a symbol of inclusion of gays and lesbians and others who are marginalized within the Jewish community. In addition, each orange segment had a few seeds that had to be spit out—a gesture of spitting out and repudiating the homophobia of traditional Judaism.
The next day, on November 29, 2017, Seder received a voicemail from Cockfield indicating MSNBC's upper management was seriously considering cutting ties with him. Seder responded that MSNBC was making a mistake and that, "there's no story here." Seder further warned Cockfield that if they moved forward with the termination, "You guys are going to be the story." Seder also requested a formal termination email. Seder never received the email, leading him to believe that this employment status was still undecided.
The "Columbia Journalism Review" cited the incident as an example of a broader pattern of far-right media personalities using online smear campaigns to get mainstream journalists fired. Cernovich, for his part, acknowledged that "some are saying Seder was making a joke or being sarcastic." However, he still insisted he didn't misrepresent the tweet. He later admitted that the whole incident was a stunt while claiming victory explaining, retroactively, it was meant to bring attention to what he perceived was a double standard and a lack of "diversity of viewpoint" in the media, He also tweeted that he was "thrilled" MSNBC offered Seder his job back while threatening to "bring Sam Seder's Tweet out every time the media goes after someone else for a Tweet." On December 9, 2017, having failed to get Seder fired, Cernovich claimed that his wife was being stalked at the behest of the media.
Lesser is one of the chief organizers of an annual White House Passover Seder attended by President Barack Obama, First Lady Michelle Obama, and their daughters – the first presidential Seder in American history. The seder is a reunion of the original group who met in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania during the 2008 campaign. Lesser brings handmade shmurah matzah from the Chabad-Lubavitch center in Springfield, MA. Over the years the Seder has grown in prominence. President Obama has discussed the Seder with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and Sara Netanyahu gave the President a silver Seder plate to use in subsequent White House Seders. President Obama has spoken of the Seder in a speech before the American Israel Public Affairs Committee and in an address before the Israeli people.
Assuming that this "Seder Olam" is the same as the "Seder Olam" mentioned in the Talmud, Jewish authorities generally ascribe its authorship to the well-known Talmudist Jose b. Halafta, on the strength of R. Johanan's statement, "The tanna of the 'Seder 'Olam' was R. Jose" (Yeb. 82b; Niddah 46b). Johanan's comment is supported by the fact that Jose was known as one who occupied himself with Jewish chronology; further, many sayings of R. Jose's quoted in the Talmud are paralleled in the "Seder Olam.'
Objecting, however, that the "Seder Olam" often conflicts with opinions of Jose's expressed in the Talmud, that Jose is referred to in it in the third person ("R. Jose said"), and finally that mention is made in it of Talmudists that lived later than Jose, Ratner ("Mabo leha-Seder 'Olam Rabbah," Wilna, 1894) concludes that Jose was not its author; he thinks that Jose was only the principal authority of the "Seder 'Olam," and that Johanan's statement, mentioned above, is similar to another statement made by him—"Any anonymous opinion in the Mishnah belongs to R. Meïr" (Sanh. 86a), although the redactor of the Mishnah was Judah I. Ratner further supposes that R. Johanan himself compiled the work, following generally the opinion of R. Jose. He endeavors to prove this view by showing that many utterances of R. Johanan are taken from the "Seder Olam."
As part of Air America President Mark J. Green's restructuring plan to transform Air America into a profitable leader in progressive talk radio, called "Air America 2.0", "The Sam Seder Show" was cancelled on April 13, 2007 and replaced by WOR Radio Network late night radio show host Lionel. Seder was relegated to a Sunday show entitled "Seder on Sunday". The plan immediately backfired. Lionel lost two-thirds of Seder's live affiliates, live streaming and most of the audience within a year of assuming the timeslot. The final "Seder on Sunday" was broadcast on June 1, 2008.
Seder customs include telling the story, discussing the story, drinking four cups of wine, eating matza, partaking of symbolic foods placed on the Passover Seder Plate, and reclining in celebration of freedom.[3] The Seder is performed in much the same way by Jews all over the world. The Seder is the most commonly celebrated of Jewish rituals.[4]
The group of people who hold a Passover Seder together is referred to in the Talmud (tractate Pesachim) as a chavurah (group). In the Far East, for example, Chabad-Lubavitch emissaries regularly conduct Seders for hundreds of visiting students, businesspeople and Jewish travelers. The Chabad Seder in Kathmandu regularly attracts more than 1,200 participants.[42] In 2006, the Federation of Jewish Communities of the CIS and Baltic Countries organized over 500 public Seders throughout the Former Soviet Union, led by local rabbis and Chabad rabbinical students, drawing more than 150,000 attendees in total.[43]
The most famous question which the youngest child asks at the Seder is the "Ma Nishtana"—'Why is this night different from all other nights?' After the asking of this questions, the main portion of the Seder, Magid, discusses the answers in the form of a historical review. Also, at different points in the Seder, the leader of the Seder will cover the matzot and lift their cup of wine; then put down the cup of wine and uncover the matzot—all to elicit questions from the children.[13]
There was considerable dissent within MSNBC over the termination. Employees worried firing Seder incented other far-right personalities to launch similar smear campaigns. A senior MSNBC employee characterized the capitulation as "really weak" and "pathetic." MSNBC's management itself was unsettled by the celebratory reaction from the far-right. On December 7, 2017, MSNBC decided to reverse their decision to terminate Seder's employment. MSNBC President Phil Griffin said in a statement, "Sometimes you just get one wrong, and that's what happened here. We made our initial decision for the right reasons—because we don't consider rape to be a funny topic to be joked about. But we've heard the feedback, and we understand the point Sam was trying to make in that tweet was actually in line with our values, even though the language was not. Sam will be welcome on our air going forward." In response, Seder issued a statement while accepting his job back:
The following year, with Obama elected president and his junior staffers working in the White House, Obama encouraged the group to hold the Seder again. The 2009 event was the first time that a sitting U.S. president conducted a Passover Seder in the White House. The White House switchboard was reportedly swamped with callers seeking a dinner invitation. The White House Seder was scheduled for the second night of Passover to allow Jewish staffers to spend the first Seder on the first night of Passover with their families. About 20 guests sat around a table in the Old Family Dining Room reading the Haggadah and sampling the traditional Seder foods. Malia and Sasha Obama, being the youngest in attendance, recited the Four Questions and engaged in the search for the afikoman.
While many Jewish holidays revolve around the synagogue, the Seder is conducted in the family home, although communal Seders are also organized by synagogues, schools and community centers, some open to the general public. It is customary to invite guests, especially strangers and the needy. The Seder is integral to Jewish faith and identity: as explained in the Haggadah, if not for divine intervention and the Exodus, the Jewish people would still be slaves in Egypt. Therefore, the Seder is an occasion for praise and thanksgiving and for re-dedication to the idea of liberation. Furthermore, the words and rituals of the Seder are a primary vehicle for the transmission of the Jewish faith from grandparent to child, and from one generation to the next. Attending a Seder and eating matza on Passover is a widespread custom in the Jewish community, even among those who are not religiously observant.
In the closing minutes of their Wednesday, March 9, 2005 show, Garofalo announced that Seder and his wife Nikki were expecting a daughter. This event in his life slightly colored and affected Seder's commentary. On more than one occasion he has voiced concerns about just how he was going to explain elements of this world to his daughter as she grows up, after witnessing actions by the Republican Party that Seder felt might adversely affect her future. On August 9, 2005, Nikki Seder gave birth to a daughter, Myla Rae Seder.
Seder Olam Rabbah (, "The Great Order of the World") is a 2nd-century CE Hebrew language chronology detailing the dates of biblical events from the Creation to Alexander the Great's conquest of Persia. It adds no stories beyond what is in the biblical text, and addresses such questions as the age of Isaac at the binding and the number of years that Joshua led the Israelites. Tradition considers it to have been written about 160 CE by Yose ben Halafta, which is not unreasonable, but it was probably also supplemented and edited at a later period . In the Babylonian Talmud this chronicle is several times referred to simply as the "Seder Olam" (Shab. 88a; Yeb. 82b; Nazir 5a; Meg. 11b; Ab. Zarah 8b; Niddah 46b), and it is quoted as such by the more ancient Biblical commentators, including Rashi. But with the 12th century it began to be designated as "Seder Olam Rabbah," to distinguish it from a later, smaller chronicle, "Seder Olam Zuṭa"; it was first so designated by Abraham ben Nathan - also known as Ha-Yarhi ("Ha-Manhig," p. 2a, Berlin, 1855).
While the Tu BiShvat seder started as a kabbalistic way to celebrate the holiday, some ecologically-minded Jews have decided to resurrect the custom of having a Tu BiShvat seder (or "sedarim") to reflect issues and themes related to ecological or Zionist interpretations of the day. In the style of a Passover seder, some friends might be invited to the house, where various symbolic fruits and other foods are eaten, along with wine or grape juice. Many seders follow the Kabbalistic framework of the Four Worlds as well, often giving them a contemporary spin in terms of (physical, emotional, intellectual and spiritual) meaning, or reinterpreting them culturally (social, cosmic, national, ecological). Seders might also concentrate on one aspect of one theme.
In a fragment of a chronicle published by A. Neubauer ("M. J. C." i. 197) there is a sentence, regarding the reign of John Hyrcanus, which is found in the "Seder 'Olam Zuṭa" but is referred to the "Seder 'Olam de-Rabbanan." Lazarus (Brüll's "Jahrb." x. 8) supposes that after "de-Rabbanan" the word "Sabura'e" should be inserted, as a chronicle under the title "Seder 'Olam de-Rabbanan Sabura'e" is mentioned by Baruch b. Isaac of Worms ("Sefer ha-Terumah," Hilkot "Abodah Zarah," § 135) and by Moses of Coucy ("Sefer Miẓwot Gadol," ii. 866), in connection with the statement that the year 4564 (= 804 C.E.) was a Sabbatical year. This induced many modern scholars, as H. Grätz, Steinschneider, and Zunz, to identify the "Seder 'Olam Zuṭa" with the "Seder 'Olam de Rabbanan Sabura'e."
By then, Seder noted that advertisers on "The Majority Report with Sam Seder" podcast were also being contacted and pressured by Cernovich and his team to cut ties with the show over the tweet. In response, Seder launched a GoFundMe campaign to help maintain funding for the show in the face of potential loss of advertising revenue. In an episode of the podcast titled, "I'm Under Attack By the Nazi Alt-Right", Seder said, "this smear involves the willful misinterpretation of a tweet that I posted in 2009" and that he will "never be ashamed of criticizing those who would excuse the predation of women or girls."
The Seder table is traditionally set with the finest place settings and silverware, and family members come to the table dressed in their holiday clothes. There is a tradition for the person leading the Seder to wear a white robe called a kittel.[5][6] For the first half of the Seder, each participant will only need a plate and a wine glass. At the head of the table is a Seder plate containing various symbolic foods that will be eaten or pointed out during the course of the Seder. Placed nearby is a plate with three matzot and dishes of salt water for dipping.
Garofalo gave positive comments about working with Seder after she departed the show on July 2006. Air America later renewed Seder's contract, giving him top billing and retooling the program as "The Sam Seder Show". The show was also moved to a time slot with higher viewership traffic.
"Columbia Journalism Review" cited the incident as an example of a broader pattern of far-right media personalities using online smear campaigns to get mainstream journalists fired. Cernovich, who also promoted the Pizzagate conspiracy theory, insisted "date rape doesn't exist" and was himself arrested for rape (though subsequently pleading guilty to battery), acknowledged that "some are saying Seder was making a joke or being sarcastic." However, he still insisted he didn't misrepresent the tweet and that he simply "reported on what [Seder] said." He later admitted that the whole incident was a stunt while claiming victory explaining, retroactively, it was meant to bring attention to what he perceived was a double standard and a lack of "diversity of viewpoint" in the media. He also sarcastically tweeted that he was "thrilled" MSNBC offered Seder his job back while threatening to "bring Sam Seder's Tweet out every time the media goes after someone else for a Tweet." On December 9, 2017, having failed to get Seder fired, Cernovich claimed that his wife was being stalked at the behest of the media.