Overview
# Kadeish קדש ''Bless!'' – recital of Kiddush blessing and drinking of the first cup of wine # Urchatz ורחץ ''and Wash!'' – the washing of the hands # Karpas כרפס ''Vegetable'' – dipping of the ''Themes of the Seder
Slavery and freedom
The rituals and symbolic foods evoke the twin themes of the evening: slavery and freedom. It is stated in the Haggadah that "In every generation everyone is obligated to see themselves as if they themselves came out of Egypt" – i.e., out of slavery. The rendering of time for Jews is that a day began at sunset and ended at sunset. According to the Exodus narrative, at the beginning of the 15th ofThe Four Cups
There is an obligation to drink four cups of wine during the Seder. The Mishnah says (Pesachim, Pes. 10:1) that even the poor are obliged to drink the four cups. Each cup is imbibed at a specific point in the Seder. The first is for Kiddush (קידוש), the second is for 'Seder plate
The special Passover Seder plate (''ke'arah'') is the special plate containing symbolic foods used during the Passover Seder. Each of the six items arranged on the plate has special significance to the retelling of the story of the Exodus from Egypt. The seventh symbolic item used during the meal – a stack of three matzot – is placed on its own plate on the Seder table. The six items on the Seder plate are: * ''Focus on the children
Since the retelling of the Exodus to one's child is the object of the Seder experience, much effort is made to arouse the interest and curiosity of the children and keep them awake during the meal. To that end, questions and answers are a central device in the Seder ritual. By encouraging children to ask questions, they will be more open to hearing the answers. The most famous question which the youngest child asks at the Seder is the "''Order of the Seder
The order and procedures of the Seder are stated and printed in the text of the Passover''Kadeish'' (blessings and the first cup of wine)
''Kadeish'' קדש is Hebrew Imperative for '' Kiddush''. It should be recited as soon as the synagogue services are over but not before nightfall. This ''Kiddush'' is similar to that which is recited on all of the''Urchatz'' (wash hands)
Technically, according to''Karpas'' (appetizer)
Each participant dips a vegetable into either ''salt water'' (Ashkenazi custom; said to serve as a reminder of the tears shed by their enslaved ancestors), ''vinegar'' (Sephardi custom) or ''''Yachatz'' (breaking of the middle matzah)
Three''Magid'' (relating the Exodus)
The story of Passover, and the change from slavery to freedom is told. At this point in the Seder, Moroccan Jews have a custom of raising the Seder plate over the heads of all those present while chanting "Bivhilu yatzanu mimitzrayim, halahma anya b'nei horin" (In haste we went out of Egypt''Ha Lachma Anya'' (invitation to the Seder)
The''Mah Nishtanah'' (The Four Questions)
TheThe Four Sons
The traditional Haggadah speaks of "four sons" – one who is wise, one who is wicked, one who is simple, and one who does not know to ask. This is based upon the rabbis of the"Go and learn"
Four verses in''Rohtzah'' (ritual washing of hands)
The ritual hand-washing is repeated, this time with all customs including a blessing.''Motzi'' (blessings over the Matzah)
Two blessings are recited. First one recites the standard blessing before eating bread, which includes the words "who brings forth" (motzi in Hebrew).''Matzah''
Then one recites the blessing regarding the commandment to eat Matzah. An olive-size piece (some say two) is then eaten while reclining to the left.''Maror'' (bitter herbs)
The blessing for the eating of the maror (bitter herbs) is recited and then it is to be eaten.''Korech'' (sandwich)
The maror (bitter herb) is placed between two small pieces of matzo, similarly to how the contents of a sandwich are placed between two slices of bread, and eaten. This follows the tradition of Hillel, who did the same at his Seder table 2000 years ago (except that in Hillel's day the Paschal sacrifice, matzo, and maror were eaten together.)''Shulchan Orech'' (the meal)
The festive meal is eaten. Traditionally it begins with a hard boiled egg dipped in salt water, referencing the charred egg on the Seder plate. In Yiddish, there is a saying: , which means "We set the table and eat the fish".''Tzafun'' (eating of the ''afikoman'')
The ''afikoman'', which was hidden earlier in the Seder, is traditionally the last morsel of food eaten by participants in the Seder. Each participant receives an olive-sized portion of matzo to be eaten as ''afikoman''. After the consumption of the ''afikoman'', traditionally, no other food may be eaten for the rest of the night. Additionally, no intoxicating beverages may be consumed, with the exception of the remaining two cups of wine.''Bareich'' (Grace after Meals)
The recital of''Kos Shlishi'' (the Third Cup of Wine)
The drinking of the Third Cup of Wine. Note: The Third Cup is customarily poured before the''Kos shel Eliyahu ha-Navi'' (cup of Elijah the Prophet); Miriam's cup
In many traditions, the front door of the house is opened at this point.''Hallel'' (songs of praise)
The entire order of Hallel which is usually recited in the synagogue on Jewish holidays is also recited at the Seder table, albeit sitting down. The first two psalms,''Nirtzah''
The Seder concludes with a prayer that the night's service be accepted. A hope for the Messiah is expressed: "'' L'shanah haba'ah b'Yerushalayim!'' –Non-traditional Seders
Feminist Seders
In 1976, the first of a series of women-only Passover seders was held in Esther M. Broner's New York City apartment and led by her, with 13 women attending, includingPublic Seders
The group of people who hold a Passover Seder together is referred to in theChristian Seders
SomeInterfaith Seders
A number of churches hold interfaith Seders where Jews and non-Jews alike are invited to share in the story and discuss common themes of peace, freedom, and religious tolerance. During the American civil rights movement of the 1960s, interfaith Seders energized and inspired leaders from various communities who came together to march for equal protection for all. The first of these, the ''Freedom Seder,'' was written by Arthur Waskow, published in ''Ramparts'' magazine and in a small booklet by the Micah Press and in a later edition (1970) by Holt-Rinehart-Winston, and was actually performed on April 4, 1969, the first anniversary of the death of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.and the third night of Passover, at Lincoln Memorial Temple in Washington, DC. It celebrated the liberation struggle of Black America alongside that of ancient Israel from Pharaoh, and was the first Haggadah to go beyond the original Biblical story. It sparked a large number of Haggadahs celebrating various other forms of liberation – feminism, vegetarianism, the liberation movements in Latin America in the 1970s, ecological healing, etc.. Today, many Unitarian Universalist congregations hold annual interfaith community Seders. A number of Interfaith Passover SederWhite House Passover Seder
In 2009 President Barack Obama began conducting an annual Passover seder in the Family Dining Room#2015 Obama redecoration, Old Family Dining Room of the White House, marking the first time that a sitting US president hosted a Seder in the White House. The private dinner for about 20 guests, both Jewish and non-Jewish – including the President and his family, members of the President's and First Lady's staffs, and friends and their families – features the reading of the Haggadah, traditional rituals such as the hiding of the afikoman and the cup of Elijah, and the reading of the Emancipation Proclamation.Virtual Seders
When people wish to participate in a shared Seder but are unable to be physically together, technology such as Videotelephony, videoconferencing software can be used to facilitate a "virtual" Seder. In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in a surge of virtual Seders, as many Jews sought to practice social distancing during the holiday, or lived in jurisdictions where they were legally required to do so, and thus could not visit the homes of friends and family who were hosting Seders. The website OneTable saw a fourfold increase in the number of virtual seders it hosted from 2019 to 2020, and Zoom (software), Zoom was widely used to host virtual Seders. Virtual seders were endorsed by Progressive Judaism, Progressive rabbis but eschewed by Orthodox Judaism, Orthodox rabbis. The Rabbinical Assembly of Conservative Judaism issued guidance (though not an official Conservative halakha, Conservative responsum) specific to 2020 on using videoconferencing to facilitate Seders while avoiding or minimizing violations of Jewish holidays, Yom Tov restrictions that limit the use of electronic devices on holidays.Seder in space
In 2022, the Israeli astronaut, Eytan Stibbe, participating in the first privately sponsored trip to the International Space Station as part of the "Rakia" mission to conduct Science and technology in Israel, science and technology experiments for a number of universities and startups in Israel, as part of the “Rakia” mission, held the first Seder in space on the first night of the holiday, reciting kiddush and drinking grape juice, eating matzah, and relating to his fellow astronauts about the values that the Seder tradition and the reading of the Haggadah can teach, noting that the story of the exodus from Egypt of the people of Israel "from slavery into freedom" shows that "no dream is beyond reach".See also
* Jewish holidays *AshuraReferences
Bibliography
*External links