A word of Torah:

                The seder mnemonic as a guide to the journey to freedom.
Kadesh—We begin by striving to uncover the sparks of holiness in the world. Too often in life they are obscured by our noisy frenetic pace. Now they are hidden by our fears amidst the quiet of social distance.
Urhatz—We cleanse our hands from the tum’ah, the impurity of the virus and the paralysis of fear.
Karpas—We hold the symbols of spring that remind us that the life of the universe continues its cycle of death and of rebirth. The new green sprouts break through the kittel, the lingering shroud of the snow of winter. Still, we dip the hopes of spring into the salt water of loss.
Yahatz—we take matzah and break it in half. We start the Seder with matzah as the bread of affliction. Even that symbol is broken and incomplete. We hide it away searching for answers during the night.
Maggid--In this time of isolation, we must remember that humans are defined by our ability to speak. We cry across the electronic void, hurling words of connection to those near and far. It is true: lo tov heyot adam livado—it is not good for people to be alone (Gen. 2:18).

We speak of the four expressions of redemption:
Freedom from fear
Freedom to hope
Freedom from inequality
Freedom to care

Rahtzah--We wash again. This second washing is different for we have added a letter “heh” (another name for God) to the end of the word. We feel more connected to the holiness of the universe, to each other and to the Holy One, the “heh.” We can now bless our hands by reaching out to help those in need and “with a strong hand and an outstretched arm” we will help lift others out of their Egypt.
Motzi Matzah--We need to find (motzi) the matzah. All the blows of the taskmasters can be seen on its pockmarked surface. Yet it has become the symbol of freedom. It reminds us that once upon a time we left Egypt. The only thing we carried with us into freedom was matzah. It was enough-dayenu.
Maror--We taste the bitterness of this very moment. For the reality is we never completely leave Egypt nor make it to the Promised Land. We are always on the way. It is in the seeking, not the finding, where life is lived. Yet, tasting matzah, we are better equipped to confront the bitterness that is our lot.
Korekh--The deeper truth is that slavery and freedom are not distinct from each other. They are not separate realms. Thus, we take matzah and maror and eat them together, no longer imagining that we can separate them. Korekh means to embrace---to embrace all of life.
Shulhan Orekh--The pedagogy of the Seder rests on our eating the experience, not just talking about it. We ingest the bitterness and the freedom. By the time we get to the meal itself, it is freedom we eat as we remember the key lesson of the story—having once experienced freedom, we know deeply it is possible to be free again.
Tzafun--We began with matzah as the bread of affliction. It then became the symbol of the Exodus and finally it is the afikomen. The hidden is revealed. The afikomen points to the messianic future waiting to be announced by Elijah standing at the door of humanity. If only we would fully realize the potential that is in the world and that lies in our hand, the door to freedom could be thrown wide open and kol ditzrikh yaitei ve-yifsakh—all in need would celebrate the great redemption of Pesah.
Barekh--we are grateful for the blessings of our lives and, even more, God’s call to Abraham to be a blessing, “heyeh berakhah,” and thereby live in such a way as to be a blessing to others.
Hallel—we join with Miriam as we open our hearts and lift our voices in song—it is the only way to cross the sea.
Nirtzah--The Psalmist says: “open your hand and satisfy every living thing be-ratzon with will.” It is a mistake to understand that verse as meaning God gives every living being what they desire. That is not our experience. What we are given is ratzon—a will to live, to love, and to give. Now we are ready for the journey to freedom that lies ahead.