If Spring is coming, can Pesach be far behind? It is almost twenty years since I created my feminist haggadah, Towards Freedom: a feminist haggadah for men and women. A spiral bound book of 6o pages that features my own artwork and calligraphy. Each page is enhanced with a springtime flowering vine. It offers a mystical interpretation of an ancient ritual that has great significance and meaning, even twenty years later, for all who are not fully empowered to be who they are. It is a mystical retelling of the archetypal hero’s journey towards conscious evolution.
Beneath the surface of its literal meaning, we find the classic archetypal odyssey of spiritual beings on a human adventure. Using the feminine voice here is a kabbalistic interpretation of the ancient exodus from Egypt (mitzraim) which in Hebrew means ‘constriction.’ This is a mystical map we all undertake when ready to leave the restrictions of total reliance on the material world. Like Moses and Miriam, we wander through the wilderness of our inner landscape to find connection, community and consciousness. Introducing readers to the Four Worlds of Kabbalah, we explore the mythic symbols of our tradition as we honor the Sacred or Divine energy that is rising from the depths, as we evolve our consciousness to become all that we may be.
Designed for easy use at a seder table, each page, as well as the cover, offer nourishment for the soul, delight to the eye and the promise and possibility of freedom to all who are constricted or limited in any way. This haggadah has been used for women’s or feminist seders all over the world since 1995 and is a favorite story that is read not just at Passover (Pesach) but all through the year
