Kitchen Passover
Rabbi Mishael Zion’s trip and visit to The Kitchen has been postponed due to the war. Please continue to check out calendar to find out when he will be visiting us next!
Learn with Rabbi & Haggdah Author, Mishael Zion
Join us March 13th & 14th, where we will be joined by Rabbi & Haggadah author, Mishael Zion, who will share ideas for making our Seder the memorable event we always hoped it would become. Prepare yourself for a weekend of art, good stories and poignant questions
Kabbalat Shabbat / Frid, March 13th
Four Questions to Ask at this Year’s Seder
Each year, the Haggadah teaches us to ask new questions at the table. What should be on our mind this year, as we sit with family and loved ones for this meal of freedom and resistance?
Shabbat Morning Derasha / Sat, March 14th
Openness of the Heart — Seeking the Cloud of Inspiration
Learn what the founding of the Tabernacle/Mishkan teaches us about attention, presence and inspiration.
Havdalah / Sat, March 14th — Members Only
How Jewish Food (and Stories) Saved the Jewish People
In preparation for Passover, we’ll take a fresh look at the Jewish table and its power to build stories of resilience, from the Talmud to the current challenges we face as Jews.
Rabbi Mishael Zion comes from a Haggadah-filled home: he is co-author of A Night to Remember: The Haggadah of Contemporary Voices and The Israeli Haggadah, together with his father Noam Zion, who is the author of A Different Night: The Family Participation Haggadah.
Mishael was ordained by Yeshivat Chovevei Torah in New York, has served as co-Director and rabbi of the Bronfman Fellowships, and founded the Mandel Program for Leadership in Jewish Culture for Israeli Arts, Culture and Media leaders. He is also leader of the Klausner Minyan in Talpiot, Jerusalem, the neighborhood he was born in and in where his wife Elana, and their four daughters, live.
Since October 7th, Mishael has been writing and teaching about the meaning of Jewish memory and resilience during these turbulent times, in both Israel and North America. He produced a special edition Seder Supplement for families in conjunction with the Shalom Hartman Institute which was used by over 40,000 families last year.
Seder Run of Show
Rabbi Noa Kushner &
Hazzan Asher Shasho Levy
Wednesday, March 25th
7:00 – 8:30 PM
Included in Kitchen Membership | $36 for non-members
Have you ever just wanted someone to stop the seder so you could ask any question at all (we mean, beyond the traditional four questions!)? Want to understand more of what's going on in real-time?
Well, now you can. Rabbi Noa Kushner and Hazzan Asher Shasho Levy are opening up their weekly class for a special session on newly inaugurated Kitchen Seder Run of Show. It will be a teaching seder, run in real-time with all questions encouraged, so you will be ready to host your own.
Kitchen Social Club
2nd Night Seder
Led by Rabba Mor Shimonie
Greens
Thursday, April 2nd
6:00 PM Arrival | 6:30 PM Seder Begins
$80 per person*
For Kitchen members & up to 1 non-member guest
Exclusively for Kitchen members and up to 1 guest in their 20s & 30s. If you aren’t a member yet, check out our membership options here or email us hello@thekitchensf.org with questions.
*As always, we want The Kitchen to be a place for everyone. If cost is a barrier, let us know — we’ll make sure you have a seat at the table. Additionally, there is an option for those who can, to donate more to cover the cost of this event, including discounted tickets for those that need it.
Crossing the Sea: Between What Was and What’s Next
Passover is a story of movement - of stepping into the unknown, of leaving behind what was, and of standing on the edge of something new.
At our 5th annual Kitchen Social Club 2nd Night Seder, we’ll reflect on that moment of in-between.
What do we carry forward? What do we leave behind? Where do we find the courage to take the next step? Through ritual, conversation, and songs, we’ll explore how this ancient journey mirrors our own personally, communally, and as a Jewish people.
The sea is before us. What will we do next? Let’s step in together.
Dinner will be kosher for Passover & vegetarian, and all are welcome at the table.
Need a home for the 1st night of Passover and need help? Reach out to us here and we’ll see what we can do to help find you a seder.
Gan Or + Pre-K/TK
Passover Celebrations
Prepare for Passover – Sat, March 21st
9:30 AM – 12:00 PM
Potrero Hill Neighborhood House
Spring Passover Festival – Sat, April 4th
9:30 AM – 12:00 PM
SF Friends School
Join us on Saturday, March 21st & April 4th for our Passover Shabbat Open Sessios, a joyful Shabbat morning experience designed especially for kids ages 0–5 and their grown-ups. Together, we’ll celebrate the season of freedom with songs, movement, sensory play, and storytelling that brings Yetziat Mitzrayim — Exodus — to life, all in the playful, soulful spirit of The Kitchen.
We’ll sing our favorite seder songs, taste a little matzah, wonder about big (and little!) questions, and step into spring feeling connected and uplifted!
What to expect
Saturday, March 21st — get into the Passover spirit and ready for your seder
Saturday, April 4th — join us for the official Spring Passover Festival
A playful morning with stories, craft and song to celebrate Passover and Shabbat
Crafts, games, snacks (kosher for Passover), and lots of ways to play with friends
And the icing on the cake (or matzah, for this one) – our wonderful teen Kitchen-ites will be on hand for childcare if you want to take a moment for a cup of coffee with the other parents
Family Kiddush
If you have questions, email our Director of Family Education, Mor Shimonie, here.
Passover Resources
Hazzan Asher Shasho Levy’s Passover Playlists
Prepare for Passover with two playlists curated by Asher – one to immerse oneself in the text & music of Passover, and another that’s pure vibes to set the mood for the seder prep.
Passover Wine Flight
Need suggestions for the perfect cup (or 4) of wine to pair with your seder? We’ve got you — check out our Passover wine flight with options for each of the 4 cups of wine, plus a bottle for after the seder. The entire flight can be purchased at Flatiron Wines & Spirits, either via their website or in-person at their retail shop at 2 New Montgomery St in Downtown San Francisco.
Cup 1
Mas de Daumas Gassac Rose Frizant 2021
Region – Languedoc, France
$23.99
If you know anything about our wine flights - always start with sparkling wine! Aimé Guibert starred as one of the heroes of the anti-globalization wine documentary Mondovino. Guibert helped revolutionize Languedoc wine, producing exceptional wines that changed the way that many viewed the region and its potential for fine wine. This lively, fresh yet fruity wine should be served well-chilled to quench thirst, indulge the tastebuds and banish gloom!
Cup 2
Ulacia Getariako Txakolina Blanco 2023
Region – Getaria, Basque Region, Spain
$21.99
If you’ve never had Txakoli - it may be the world’s most fun wine to drink. Julian and Maia Ulacia’s small winery near the small fishing village of Getaria makes such small quantities that most of it gets consumed locally. The grapes are grown on the coast and have a sharp, zippy saline quality from the ocean with a carbonic zing. They go perfectly with the local seafood and even your gefilte fish!
Cup 3
Andrea Occhipinti Lazio Alkes Rosato 2022
Region – Lazio, Italy
$29.99
Andrea Occhipinti is based in the Lazio region of Italy and has made it his mission to preserve the local grape varieties, which is why he consistently only works with the native varieties like Ciliegiolo (used in this rosé), aiming to prove that their preservation is worthwhile. Aromas of fresh cherries and mountain fruit. A medium-bodied rosé that drinks like a light red, fresh and easy - like springtime in a bottle.
Cup 4
Domaine Philippe Tessier Cheverny Rouge 2023
Region – Loire Valley, France
$29.99
Philippe and Simon Tessier are making soulful wines, true to their terroir. Located in the heart of Cheverny. They believe that a wine should reflect an expression of place and should reflect the climatic conditions of the year, as well as the winemaker that produces it, while also respecting the life of the soil and the environment. This wine made with gamay, pinot noir, and côt (what they call malbec in The Loire) is both complex and easy to drink, which is not easy to achieve.
After-Seder Wine
Chavost Champagne Solera Ratafia Champenois
Region – Champagne, France
$37.99
NOT a sparkling Champagne! A vin de liqueur made from Chardonnay and Meunier grape-must fortified with grape brandy. Champagne is a huge influence for this wine, hence the acidity in this wine is unmatched. Ratafia's history goes back hundreds of years, and this special bottling from the coop of Chavost shows its magic. Hazelnut, dried cashews, and hints of maple boom out of the glass.
Kids + Family
Recommendations
Check out the curated list of music, videos, virtual retelling, and haggadot recommendations.
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The downloadable PDF version of the PJ Library Family Haggadah is interactive, filled with videos of songs, blessings & explanations.
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A downloadable PDF coloring book from Haggadot.com, perfect for the 4 children who need to keep their hands busy.
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The Kveller Haggadah is for curious kids (and their grown-ups). This is a phyiscal book you can purchase direct from Kveller.
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A classic haggadah full of commentaries, art, and ideas for bringing people into the discussion.
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A contemporary version of A Different Night with current voices and new commentary, same interactive storytelling.
Israeli Black Panthers Haggadah
The Israeli Black Panthers Haggadah was first written in 1971, at the beginning of their movement. It was written in a dark tin shack in Jerusalem on a stolen typewriter. In the introduction to this 50th Anniversary Edition, Reuven Abergel, one of the founders of the movement, writes that the Haggadah talks "about the pain, discrimination, and oppression that we were subjected to as part of Israel's policy of separation between Jews from Muslim countries and Jews from Eastern Europe."
A year later, a fire destroyed most of the Israeli Black Panthers' archives, including the Haggadah. It was thought lost for some 40 years until a rabbi who collected Haggadot reached out to Abergel with a copy.
In 2019, a second edition of the Haggadah was published in Hebrew as a pamphlet, an effort initiated through The Civil Archive of Social Struggles in Israel, led by Sapir Sluzker Amran. After that, groups came together with the purpose of making the Israeli Black Panthers struggle and the Haggadah story accessible in both Hebrew and English as a way of promoting dialogue about the potential of Mizrahi struggle in Israel/Palestine.
Translator Itamar Haritan worked closely with Abergel to translate the Haggadah into English starting in 2017 and has updated parts of it since then with his help. The Israeli Black Panthers Haggadah is a completely bilingual (Hebrew-English) book and in addition to the new translation from Haritan and introduction from Abergel, there are other new essays that reflect on the Israeli Black Panthers and the Haggadah text. It also includes powerful archival images of the Panthers and their activism.
