The Seder
On the first night of Passover (first two
nights outside of Israel), Jews are commanded to have a special
family meal filled with ritual to remind us of the significance of
the holiday. This meal is called the Seder, which is a Hebrew root word
meaning “order.” It is the same root from which we derive
the word “siddur” (prayer book).
The Seder, however, is no ordinary holiday meal - there is a specific set of tasks that must be completed and
information that must be covered in a specific order. To correctly follow the process, the text of the Passover seder is written in a
book called the Haggadah.
The content of the seder is summed up in fourteen parts:
Kaddesh (Sancitifcation), Urechatz (Washing), Karpas (Vegetable), Yachatz (Breaking),
Maggid (The Story), Rachtzah (Washing), Motzi Matzah (Blessings),
Maror (Bitter Herbs), Korech (Sandwich), Shulchan Orech (Dinner),
Tzafun (Dessert), Barech (Grace), Hallel (Song), Nirtzah (Closing)
Now, what does that mean?
1. Kaddesh: Sanctification
The word is derived from the Hebrew root Qof-Dalet-Shin,
meaning holy. This is a blessing over wine in honor of the
holiday. The wine is drunk, and a second cup is poured.
2. Urechatz: Washing
A washing of the hands without a blessing, in preparation for
eating the Karpas.
3. Karpas: Vegetable
A vegetable (usually parsley) is dipped in salt water and
eaten. The vegetable symbolizes the lowly origins of the Jewish
people; the salt water symbolizes the tears shed as a result of
our slavery. Parsley is a good vegetable to use for this purpose,
because when you shake off the salt water, it looks like tears.
4. Yachatz: Breaking
One of the three matzahs on the table is broken. Part is
returned to the pile, the other part is set aside for the afikomen (see below).
5. Maggid: The Story
A retelling of the story of the Exodus from Egypt
and the first Passover. This begins with the youngest person asking
The Four Questions, a set of questions about the proceedings designed
to encourage participation in the seder. The Four Questions are
also known as Mah Nishtanah (Why is it different?), which
are the first words of the Four Questions.
The maggid is designed to satisfy the needs
of four different types of people: the wise son, who wants to know
the technical details; the wicked son, who excludes himself (and
learns the penalty for doing so); the simple son, who needs to know
the basics; and the son who is unable to ask, the one who doesn’t
even know enough to know what he needs to know.
At the end of the maggid, a blessing is
recited over the second cup of wine and it is drunk.
6. Rachtzah: Washing
A second washing of the hands, this time with a blessing, in
preparation for eating the matzah.
7. Motzi Matzah: Blessings over Grain Products and Matzah
The ha-motzi blessing, a generic blessing for bread or
grain products used as a meal, is recited over the matzah. A blessing specific to matzah is recited, and a bit of matzah
is eaten.
8. Maror: Bitter Herbs
A blessing is recited over a bitter vegetable (usually raw
horseradish; sometimes romaine lettuce), and it is eaten. This
symbolizes the bitterness of slavery. The maror is eaten with
charoses, a mixture of apples, nuts, cinnamon and wine, which
symbolizes the mortar used by the Jews in building during their
slavery.
9. Korech: The Sandwich
Rabbi Hillel was of the opinion that the maror should be
eaten together with matzah and the paschal offering in a
sandwich. In his honor, we eat some maror on a piece of matzah,
with some charoses (we don’t do animal sacrifice anymore, so
there is no paschal offering).
10. Shulchan Orech: Dinner
A festive meal is eaten. There is no particular requirement
regarding what to eat at this meal (except, of course, that
chametz cannot be eaten). Among Ashkenazic Jews, gefilte fish and
matzah ball soup are traditionally eaten at the beginning of the
meal.
11. Tzafun: The Afikomen
The piece of matzah set aside earlier is eaten
as “dessert,” the last food of the meal. Different families
have different traditions relating to the afikomen. Some
have the children hide it, while the parents have to either find
it or ransom it back. Others have the parents hide it. The idea
is to keep the children awake and attentive throughout the pre-meal
proceedings, waiting for this part.
12. Barech: Grace after Meals
The third cup of wine is poured, and grace after
meals is recited. This is similar to the grace that would be said
on any Sabbath. At
the end, a blessing is said over the third cup and it is drunk.
The fourth cup is poured, including a cup set aside for the prophet Elijah, who is supposed to herald the Messiah, and is supposed to
come on Passover to do this. The door is opened for a while at this
point (supposedly for Elijah, but historically because Jews were
accused of nonsense like putting the blood of Christian babies in
matzah, and we wanted to show our Christian neighbors that we weren’t
doing anything unseemly).
13. Hallel: Praises
Several psalms are recited. A blessing is recited
over the last cup of wine and it is drunk.
14. Nirtzah: Closing
A simple statement that the seder has been completed,
with a wish that next year, we may celebrate Passover in Jerusalem (i.e., that the Messiah will come within the next year). This is
followed by various hymns and stories.
Sources: Encyclopaedia
Judaica. © 2008 The Gale Group.
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