Dear Friends,

This year's Downtown Seder will be done virtually with a "best of" Haggadah featuring video clips, writings, music and pictures from the past few years. Next Year will not be in Jerusalem physically, but will be held again at either Ellis Island or my new facility called City Winery opening this fall on Varick & Spring Street. I apologize, but have been too busy to put a proper Seder together this year. To the many people (over 100 requests for tickets) whom reached out, we are very excited to have you enjoy our this, our virtual seder.

Spend some time to get a fresh look at the Exodus as your prepare your thoughts for your family's Seder this weekend. The issues of freedom and personal enslavement have never been more important for our world to consider this season. Hear Al Frankin sing "Go Down Moses." Listen to our prophet Harvey Fierstein. Enjoy Lewis Black give his discourse on the Bitter Herbs. Dr. Ruth always has important things to say about the Hillel Sandwich. Judy Gold is bitter too. Dan Zanes & kids on the 4 questions; Neil Sedaka, Hadassah Gross, Lou Reed, and many more all offer their thoughts on Pesach for you.

Thanks, enjoy our Seder materials, and I look forward to seeing you all next year.

Warmly,
Michael Dorf

Letter to the President

Welcome! The following letter, which was sent as an op-ed to The New York Times (possibly to no avail, although our Haggadah is going to print before I submit this) served as the introduction to the 6th Annual Downtown Seder in 2006. The letter’s message is tonight’s message, which we renew every year. The President chose not to accept this invitation, but then again, neither did Mel Brooks or Jon Stewart.

President George W. Bush
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20050

Dear President Bush,

I would like to invite you and anyone else from your administration (well, why not open it to all members of Congress), to my Passover Seder at the Museum of Jewish Heritage in Lower Manhattan. Every year, we affirm our continuity with generations of Jews who have kept alive the vision of Freedom by retelling the story of how the ancient Egyptians oppressed a small tribe of slaves who did not share their ideological beliefs. We recount with symbols of bitterness how even with superior technology, a dominant ruling class cannot always squash a rebellion against another nation. Around the world, Passover participants are “obligated to feel as if we ourselves have come out of Egypt,” reminding us to appreciate the civil liberties we now enjoy. The Seder is an annual opportunity to make a historical connection to other civilizations, to other religions, and to the lessons of modernization, which provide us insight into our own behavior. Jewish people like to utilize the lessons of the past as a way to repair and transform the world of tomorrow. In fact, the Dali Lama said in 1990 of his exile from Tibet, “Now I understand the secret of Jewish survival in exile. In everything you do, always remind.” The Passover story transcends Judaism and has countless lessons for mankind. This is why I want you to join us on Sunday, April 9th.

I believe you will gain valuable insight of America’s core attributes of decency, democracy, and civil rights. I am also confident you will gain an education about the people you represent, people with hundreds of different opinions and eclectic positions; many of whom will sit together at the Seder table and recount the exodus story one more time. Like others at Passover, our Seder incorporates not just difficult periods from 3000 years ago, but also examines the inquisition of the Middle Ages, the Holocaust, and the oppression of Native America Indians and African Americans in this country. We try to encompass all human suffering around the globe - the poor and oppressed, non-Jews and Jews, and anyone desirous of peace. We relate to the injustices and inequalities afflicting all people, including gays, lesbians, those lacking medicine or proper nourishment, and any unfortunate soul who cannot even afford the symbol of matzah. We try hard to look within ourselves about hypocritical attitudes and policies, questioning the occupation of the Palestinian people in our homeland, Israel. The Seder helps us, even for only one evening, to introspectively examine the racist, prejudice, or ethnocentric attitudes that enslave us, often without our even knowing it.

Yet, at our Seder, just talking about democracy and freedom is not an acceptable solution to the world’s problems. These ideals need to be put into context and then called to action. How can we sit and complain that America should have done something to stop the Nazi extermination of 6 million Jews, if we don’t do anything about the genocide in Darfur? Several hundred thousand people have already been murdered in the Sudan and Chad. Two million are homeless and living in shantytowns. Is this not enough to send in a couple of troops to stop the Jangaweed? And what of the lack of coverage from the media? The New York Times published the Tyndall Report in early February, which analyzes the content of evening newscasts from the Networks. The coverage of Darfur from all three networks was a total of 26 minutes compared to 84 minutes of coverage on Michael Jackson’s trial. Cable networks pretty much ignored the catastrophe. What will it take to get the Sudanese genocide on the American radar, and not just discussed at Passover tables? Will the discussion at our Seder be meaningful enough for you, Mr. President, to take decisive action?

We ask hard questions at Passover, training the youngest at the table to ask questions, such as the classic, “why is this night different from all other nights?” This year at our Seder, we will remember Coretta Scott King who died a few months ago. She turned a life shattered by her husband’s assassination into one devoted to enshrining his legacy of human rights and equality for all. Ms. King stated in 1998,”Homophobia is like racism and anti-Semitism and other forms of bigotry in that it seeks to dehumanize a large group of people, to deny their humanity, their dignity and personhood. This sets the stage for further repression and violence that spread all too easily to victimize the next minority group.” I know you attended her funeral, and so I ask what you think the Kings would have thought about the treatment of prisoners at Abugarub or Guantanamo? Or our own government’s use of white phoshorus chemical weapons in Fallujah this past year?

Please don’t consider this an attack against you, Mr. President, but rather a difficult examination of the realities of our current struggles. Seders around the world recount the historical ten plagues that hit the Pharaoh Administration. It is almost impossible not to make comparisons to the recent hurricanes, floods, mudslides, droughts, violent upheavals, growing religious fundamentalism, Abramoffitis, bird-flu, mad-cow, and infectious budget deficits, which you have had to deal with in your term. Has hyped-up intelligence to justify war on foreign soil, or warrantless spying on citizens of this soil deterred or brought on more plagues? Passover is the perfect opportunity for self-examination and careful consideration of actions and policies. Move our country toward a dedication to religious and ethnic pluralism, justice, civil rights, and equality for all, so that we may again be a leader among nations.

I hope that you will join us for Passover Mr. President. History lessons can be a tremendous source of guidance for all of us, but this year could be especially valuable for you. I guarantee that you will take home meaning from our Seder. In the words of Maya Angelou, “History, despite its wrenching pain, cannot be unlived, but if faced with courage, need not be lived again.” Anyway, if it proves to be a bit uncomfortable for you, at the very least, I can promise you some great matzah-ball soup and four delicious glasses of kosher wine.

- Michael Dorf, Downtown Seder Producer, April 7, 2006