Passover Seder

A Passover seder is the feast held by Jewish families during the annual observance of the Passover holiday. The seder is a ceremony with specific rituals and readings throughout the dinner. Most modern Jews hold seders on the first night and second nights of Passover, however multiple seders are not uncommon in some traditions.

The ceremonial seder dinner includes 15 steps and commemorates the freedom of the Jews from slavery and their flight from Egypt. Each of the foods on a seder plate is symbolic. During a seder meal families and friends gather around the table and listen to a reading of the Haggadah or the story of Exodus.Passover Seder DinnerAish.com: Seder Plate and the 15 Steps

This page includes information on Seder plates, the symbolism behind the items on the plate and the 15 steps. You'll also find links to online sources about Seder plates and Passover traditions in general.

The seder plate has six circles around its circumference with a different item in each section.

The six foods on the seder plate are bitter herbs, charoset, a vegetable, a lamb shankbone, an egg, and lettuce.

The herbs represent the bitterness of slavery, the charoset is a sweet paste meant to resemble the bricks and mortar used ceaselessly in Egypt, and the root vegetable represents the physically tiring work of slave labor. To complete the plate, the shank bone represents the lamb sacrificed upon Exodus, the egg symbolizes the Passover holiday offerings, and the lettuce, particularly the bitter stem, is a further representation of the harshness of slavery.

The 15 steps of the Seder are as follows:http://www.aish.com/passinsight/passinsightdefault/Seder_Plate_-_15_Steps.asp

1. Sanctify
2. Clense
3. Appetizer
4. Break
5. Tell
6. Wash
7. Bread
8. Matzah
9. Bitter
10. Wrap
11. Set the Table
12. Hidden
13. Bless
14. Praise
15. Accepted

1. Kadeish - The seder attendees recite the Kiddush, declaring the day of Passover to be holy.
2. Urchatz - The customary washing of the hands (you should probably do this before you eat anyway.)
3. Karpas - A vegetable such as potatoes or celery is eaten and a prayer said to celebrate rebirth and new life that comes with spring.
4. Yachatz - The matzah is split to commemorate the parting of the Red Sea in the story of the ten commandments.
5. Maggid - The central feature of the seder, the story of Passover is read aloud at the table, usually in Hebrew. The youngest person at the table recites the Four Questions.
   • The Four Questions:
     • Why is it that on all other nights during the year we eat either bread or matzoh, but on this night we eat only matzoh?
     • Why is it that on all other nights we eat all kinds of herbs, but on this night we eat only bitter herbs?
     • Why is it that on all other nights we do not dip our herbs even once, but on this night we dip them twice?
     • Why is it that on all other nights we eat either sitting or reclining, but on this night we eat in a reclining position?
6. Rachtzah - Another hand-washing before eating the matzah.
7. Motzi-Matzo - The several split matzo are held, the Hamotzi is recited, and then another portion of the matzah is eaten.
8. Maror - The bitter herbs symbolize the hard labor that befell the Jews in Egypt. The maror is dipped into the charoset, shaken off, and then the maror is eaten.
9. Koreich - A "bricks-and-mortar" sandwich is created using the matzah, herbs, and charoset. This symbolizes the unification of the Jews to fight injustice.
10. Shulchan Oreich - You've been sitting at the table for over an hour. Now, you finally get to eat. Enjoy the meal.
11. Tzafun - A prayer is said before another piece of matzah is eaten.
12. Bareich - The Bareich is a prayer said before drinking the third cup of wine. This drink is redemptive, to alleviate the guilt of Jews who did not speak up sooner or act with more diligence at the atrocities committed in Egypt.
13. Hallel - A reading of Psalms 113-118, this is a prayer of thanks said before the fourth cup of wine is consumed.
14. Nirtzah - The conclusion of the seder is the reading of a final prayer. Jews give thanks and pay respect to their origins in Jerusalem.

• An further overview of the above steps can be found at Aish.com or the The Orthodox Union.

• Every year, an adult member of the seder hides one of the three broken pieces of matzah, called the afikoman. All the children scatter to find it at the end of the meal, with the winner getting a small prize.