The Seder (Order) of the
Night
The Haggadah and
the Four Questions
Taking
place the first two nights of the eight day holiday, the Seder – which means “order”
in Hebrew – is the most important event in the Pesach celebration. Usually
gathering the whole family and friends together, the Seder is steeped in long
held traditions and customs. With its Pesach
dishware and silverware, the Seder table is different than the regular dinner
table. The centerpiece of which is the Seder plate, a special plate containing
the 5 foods that remind us of the struggle of the Jewish people in their quest
and journey to freedom. Around the Seder table pillows are prepared for the
participants to recline on. During the Seder when drinking the four cups and
eating the matzah we lean on our left side to stress that we are free people.
In ancient times only free people were allowed to recline while eating.
The main
commandments that need to be observed during the Seder are:
1. To
eat matzah.
2. To
tell the story of the Exodus (from the Haggadah).
3. To
drink four cups of wine or grape juice.
4. To
eat morror – bitter herbs.
5. To
say Hallel – song of praise to G-d.
Three
pieces of matzah – unleavened, flat, cracker bread – symbolizing the three divisions of the Jewish nation: kohen,
levi, and Israel are placed in a matzah cover (a cloth sleeve or envelope) and
placed in the center of the Seder table. During the Seder the middle matzah is removed and broken in
half. One half is
returned to the matzah cover, the other - the “Afikoman” - is hidden, to be hunted by the children at the
end of the Seder meal. The child who finds the Afikoman usually receives a special prize. Some homes break the
Afikoman in to many pieces assuring that each child present can find a piece
and receive a prize.
The
Seder plate is placed on top of the three matzahs. This plate contains foods that have special meaning for this
holiday
1. Haroseth
2. A Vegetable: parsley, onion, or cooked potato to dip in
salt water
3. Roasted Egg
4. Shank Bone
5. Bitter Herbs
A mixture of chopped walnuts, wine,
cinnamon and apples that represents the mortar the Jewish slaves used to
assemble the Pharaoh's bricks. The Maror – bitter herb is dipped into it during
the Seder.
It
(or another vegetable) is dipped into salt water to remind us of the tears of
the Jewish slaves in Egypt.
The egg commemorates the Korban Chagiga – the festive
offering in the time of the temple.
Symbolic of the Korban Pesach, the special sacrificial lamb
offering, the bone can come from whatever the family is eating, such as the leg
bone of a roasted turkey.
Freshly grated horseradish reflects the bitter affliction of
slavery.
During
the Seder 4 glasses of wine or grape juice are poured and drank to represent
the 4 stages of the exodus
1. freedom
2. deliverance
3. redemption
4. release
A fifth cup of wine is poured and placed on the Seder table.
This is the Cup of Eliyahu the prophet, who is the announcer of the coming of
Mashiach. This cup symbolizes the awaiting of the ultimate redemption and the
readiness of the people for the coming of the Mashiach. During the Seder the
door to the home is opened to welcome the prophet Eliyahu who visits every
Jewish home on this night.
The
Seder (Order) of the Night:
The Seder night
progresses according to a specific order.
·
Kadesh – The
Benediction: The Seder service begins with the recitation of Kiddush,
stating the holiness of the holiday. This is done over a cup of wine or grape
juice, and on this evening it is the first of four cups which everyone drinks,
reclining, at the Seder
·
Urchatz – Washing hands:
We wash our hands in the usual way of washing before a meal, but without the
regular blessing.
·
Karpas – The
‘Appetizer’: A small piece of parsley, onion, or boiled potato is dipped into
salt water and eaten. Before eating the blessing on vegetables is said. This
action is to arouse the curiosity of the children.
·
Yachatz – Breaking the
Matzah: The middle matzah of the three placed on the Seder plate is broken in
two. The larger part is put aside for use later as the Afikoman. It is
customary that the father hides the Afikoman and the children ‘hunt’ for it, find
it, and later redeem it from their father for a special gift. The smaller part
is returned to the Seder plate. This action reminds us of the splitting of the
Red Sea to make a path for the Children of Israel to cross on dry land.
·
Maggid – The Haggadah: At
this point the poor are invited to join the Seder; the Seder tray is moved
aside; a second cup of wine or grape juice is poured; and the child, by now
bursting with curiosity, asks the time-honored Four
Questions. To answer the child’s question, we begin to read the Haggadah,
the telling of the story of the exodus from Egypt. The reading of the Haggadah
is one of the most important parts of the holiday of Pesach.
·
Rachtzah – Washing hands
before the meal: After concluding the first part of the Haggadah with the
drinking of the second cup of wine, the hands are washed for eating the matzah,
this time with the customary blessings.
·
Motzie Matzah – Eating
Matzah: The blessing for bread HaMotzie Lechem Min Ha’aretz, and the
special blessing for matzah Al Achilat Matzah are recited and the matzah
is eaten.
·
Marror – The bitter
herbs: The bitter herbs are dipped into the charoset, the special blessing for
marror, Al Achilas Marror, is said, and the marror is eaten without reclinig.
·
Korech – The ‘Sandwich’:
In keeping with the custom instituted by Hillel, a great Talmudic rabbi, a
sandwich of matzah and marror is eaten.
·
Shulchan Orech – The
Feast: The holiday meal is now served. We begin the meal with the hard-boiled
egg dipped into salt water.
·
Tzafun – ‘Out of
Hiding’: After the meal, the half matzah which had been ‘hidden’ – set aside
for the Afikoman – ‘dessert’, is taken out and eaten. Often the father redeems
it from his children for a special gift. It symbolizes the Pesach lamb which
was eaten at the end of the meal. After the Afikoman, we do not eat or drink
anything except for the two remaining cups of wine or grape juice.
·
Beirach – Blessing After
the Meal: A third cup is filled and grace is recited. After grace we recite the
blessing on wine and drink the third
cup. Now the cup of Eliyahu the prophet is filled and placed in the middle of
the table. All cups are filled for the drinking of the fourth cup. We open the
door and invite the prophet Eliyahu to join us at our Seder.
·
Hallel – Song of Praise:
At this points, having recognized the Al-mighty, and His unique guidance of the
Jewish people, we sing a song of praise to Him. Afterwards we recite the
blessing for wine and drink the fourth cup of wine or grape juice.
·
Nirtzah – Acceptance:
Having carried out the Seder service properly, we are sure that it has been
well received by the Al-mighty. Then we say: ’Leshana Haba’a Birushalayim’,
Next year in Jerusalem!
The Reading of the
Haggadah and the Four Questions:
The Seder is celebrated especially for the
education of the children. It is important for Jewish children to be and feel
involved in the celebration of Pesach. Much of the ceremony is based on the
commandment in the Torah that says, "And you shall tell your son."
The
Haggadah itself stresses the importance of the Seder as "a ritual meant to
excite the interest and the curiosity of the children." Everything in the
Seder is meant to make the children curious and to ask questions, in order for
the story of the exodus to be told as an answer.
At the Seder the Haggadah, which relates
the history, laws, and meaning of Pesach, is read and recited with songs and
prayers.
The children are encouraged to ask
questions in order to learn about the significance of the holiday. These
questions are:
·
Why is this night
different ?
·
Why do we eat such
unusual foods as Matzah, the unleavened bread, and Marror, the bitter herbs?
·
Why do we dip green
herbs in salt water?
·
Why do we open doors?
·
Why do we hide and then eat
the Afikoman?
At the Seder it is
the youngest child at the table that asks the “Arba Kushiyot” main four
questions answered at the Seder table:
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Question # 1: On all
other nights we eat all kinds of breads and crackers. Why do we eat only matzah on Pesach ? Answer: Matzah reminds us that when the
Jews left the slavery of Egypt they had no time to bake their bread. They
took the raw dough on their journey and baked it in the hot desert sun into
hard crackers called matzah. |
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Question # 2: On all
other nights we eat many kinds of vegetables and herbs. Why do we eat bitter herbs, marror, at
our Seder? Answer: Marror reminds us of the bitter and
cruel way the Pharaoh treated the Jewish people when they were slaves in Egypt.
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Question # 3: On all other nights we don't usually
dip one food into another. Why at our Seder do we dip a vegetable into salt
water and the bitter herbs in Charoset? Why
do we dip our foods twice tonight?
Answer: We dip bitter herbs into Charoset
to remind us how hard the Jewish slaves worked in Egypt. The chopped apples
and nuts look like the clay used to make the bricks used in building the
Pharaoh's buildings. We dip a
vegetable into salt water because the salt water reminds us of the tears of
the Jewish slaves. |
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Question # 4: On all
other nights we eat sitting up straight, Why
do we lean on a pillow tonight? Answer: We lean on a pillow to remind us that
once we were slaves, but now we are free.
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