Another kind of enslavement plagues abused women

Stalking. Shame. Nightmares. Threats.

Battered women face these and other modern-day plagues daily. In recognition of their plight, Bay Area Jews will recite 10 domestic violence-related scourges alongside the traditional Ten Plagues at seders this year.

Disbelief. Shame. Rape.

Shalom Bayit, the Bay Area Jewish Women's Task Force on Domestic Violence, compiled the list of plagues as part of a new Haggadah supplement recognizing battered Jewish women. As with the traditional plagues, a drop of wine will be removed for each plague recited.

Incest. Isolation. Humiliation.

"All these dwell in the desert in which she must wander, often alone, for years," the seder leader recites. "Only the lucky ones arrive safely in the Promised Land of a new life."

At Passover, a festival of liberation, Shalom Bayit is seeking to call attention to those experiencing domestic bondage.

"We want to acknowledge that people are still enslaved in their own homes with the idea that none of us are free until we are all free," said Naomi Tucker, a founder of Shalom Bayit, which offers healing rituals and support groups to battered women and their allies.

In recent years, more and more Jews have incorporated modern plagues into their seders, including AIDS, cancer and homelessness. In some homes, these and others get mentioned alongside frogs, locusts, boils and slaying of the first born.

Increasingly, Jews have also become aware of domestic abuse within their own ranks. Based on a few small studies throughout the nation, Shalom Bayit estimates that about 20 to 30 percent of Jewish families experience abuse, the same percentage as the general population. That figure includes emotional and verbal assault as well as physical and sexual violence.

The S.F.-based support and resource organization created the supplement with Jewish Family and Children's Services' Domestic Violence Task Force, which includes representatives from various segments of the Jewish community.

The task force has distributed some 300 copies to area rabbis, congregations and Jewish organizations. Included in the mailing is a lengthy list of domestic violence resources, from battered women's shelters to legal services.

First and foremost, Tucker hopes the supplement will provide healing for abuse victims. But she believes it is appropriate for all seders, regardless of whether those attending have a personal connection to domestic violence.

"I really think it makes the issue of freedom relevant to what's happening in our modern-day lives," she said. "When you sit at a seder table and talk about freedom from slavery without talking about the way women are enslaved today, it's a huge omission."

The one-page supplement -- which can be obtained by e-mailing .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) -- includes 10 plagues in English and Hebrew as well as brief recitations by both the seder leader and those attending.

"Thousands strong the Israelites left Egypt and marched as one toward freedom," the group says together. "We say tonight to every battered woman: We hear you, we believe you, and we will walk beside you in the desert."

The liturgy draws a parallel between the fear and uncertainty faced by Jewish slaves after fleeing Pharaoh and the unsure future greeting women and children who leave abusive situations.

"Even for those who dare to flee, with pharaoh right behind them," the seder leader says, "the desert is wide and often dangerous."