Edited and Presented by Dr. Neil Chadwick
PASSOVER SEDER
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Let us celebrate the Passover and the days of unleavened bread (Hamatzot), the festivals of redemption and liberty. Let us read from the Haggadah the story of our history; the story of enslavement in Egypt, freedom, the commitment on the holy mountain, and the return of God's people to the promised land. Preparation of the Home - Search for Leaven (Exodus 12;19-20) The traditional spring cleaning observed in many homes owes its origin to the preparation for this festival. The home is made spotlessly clean and the tables are set with the finest dishes and table ornaments. In Jewish homes all leaven (chemetz) must be searched for and either sold or burnt up. Ten pieces of leaven are placed on window sills and shelves by the mother and a special search by candlelight is acted out for the children the evening before the Seder is to be observed. The children watch carefully as father, using a quill feather and a wooden spoon, carefully dusts off these pieces to be burnt up in the morning, and listen carefully as he explains that the leaven is a symbol of the wrongs we must erase from our hearts and lives. By the hostess - Blessed are you, O Lord our God, king of the universe, who has sanctified us through your commandments and commanded us to kindle the flame of the (Sabbath and the) festival.
All together - May the light of the world that enlightens every man be in our hearts to bring spiritual joy and peace.
By the hostess - Blessed are you, O Lord our God, king of the universe, who has kept us alive, sustained us, and brought us to this joyous season.
All together - Blessed are you, O Lord our God, king of the universe, who creates the fruit of the vine.
All together - Blessed are you, O Lord our God, king of the universe, who creates the fruit of the earth. The leader of the Seder takes the middle matzah from between the top and bottom matzos and breaks the middle matzah in two. Replacing the smaller part between the two whole matzos, he wraps the larger part for use as the Afikoman. This he first briefly places on his shoulder as if carrying a heavy load, in accordance with the biblical verse recounting that Israel left Egypt carrying the matzos on their shoulders, and says: This is the bread of affliction which our fathers ate in the land of Egypt. Let all who are hungry come and eat; let all who are in need come and celebrate Pesach with us. The leader returns the matzoth plate. All together: Now we are here; next year may we be in the land of Israel. Now we are slaves; next year may we be free!
Leader: In what way do you find this night different? Youngest: In four ways do I find it different. Leader: What is the first difference? Youngest: It differs in that on all other nights we may eat chanetz (leaven) and matzah (unleavened), but on this night, only matzah. Why on this night do we eat only matzah? Leader: And what is the second difference? Youngest: It differs in that on all other nights we eat many vegetables, but on this night, we eat maror. Why on this night do we eat only bitter herbs? Leader: And what is the third difference between this night and all other nights? Youngest: It differs in that on all other nights we do not dip herbs even once, but on this night, we dip twice. Why do we dip herbs twice? (5) Leader: And what is the fourth difference of this night? Youngest: It differs in that on all other nights our ancestors ate either sitting or reclining, but on this night they all reclined at the table. Why on this night did they all recline? Turning to a Participant, the leader asks: Why do we eat only matzah tonight? Participant: When Pharaoh told our ancestors to leave Egypt, he drove them out in great haste. They had to leave in such a hurry that they had no time to bake their bread and could not wait for the yeast to rise. So they fled, carrying the bread on their shoulders and the hot sun baked it into the flat unleavened bread we call matzah. The leader to a Second Participant: Why on this night do we eat bitter herbs? Participant: We eat bitter herbs because when our ancestors were slaves in the land of Egypt their oppressors made their lives bitter. The leader to a Third Participant: Why do we dip herbs twice on this night? Participant: We dip the karpas into salt water as a reminder of the green new life of springtime and because our fathers dipped branches into the blood of the lamb that the Angel of Death might pass over us; we dip another herb called chazeres with maror into sweet charoses as a sign of hope because out ancestors were able to withstand the bitterness of slavery by sweetening it with the hope of freedom. The leader to a Fourth Participant: Why did our ancestors recline at table? Participant: Reclining at table was considered a sign of a free man in former times. Of Persian origin, Greek and Roman patricians continued the practice and the people of Israel adopted the practice as a symbol of a free, unharried life. A pillow has been placed at our table as we remember that our ancestors were liberated from their toil and made free men on this night. All together - We were slaves of Pharaoh in Egypt and the Lord our God brought us out with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, with mighty deeds of redemption. It is our responsibility to tell the story of our Exodus as a witness to all nations, all peoples, that God, even our God, is faithful to assist us whenever we have the courage to face oppression; he will help us in our difficulties as we continue in our religious commitment and live by faith. Our ancient rabbis once talked through the night about these things until their students found them in the morning, and one interrupted, saying: Child interrupts: My teachers! It is now time to recite the "Shema"! Baruch shem kavod malchuto leolam vaed! All together - Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God; the Lord is One! Blessed [is his] name whose glorious kingdom is forever and ever! You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all you soul, and with all your might. And these words which I command you this day shall be upon your heart; and when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. And you shall bind them as a sign upon your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. And you shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates. That you may remember and do all my commandments and be holy unto your God.
Participant: It is well for all of us, whether young or old, to consider how God has been our strength and our help through ages of trial and persecution. Ever since he called our father Abraham from the bondage of idolatry to his service of truth he has been our protector. For not in one country alone, nor in one age, have violent men risen up against us, but in every generation and in every land tyrants have sought to destroy us; and the Holy One, blessed is his name, has delivered us from their hands. Participant: The Law recounts the early history of our people. It describes how God commanded Abraham to leave his country and his father's house and to go to the land of Canaan where he would become the founder of "a great nation" and a blessing to "all nations". Abraham obeyed God's command and journeyed to Canaan. There God blessed him and his family. His son was Isaac (Yitz'chak) and his grandson was Jacob (Ya'akov); and it was Jacob who went down to Egypt. Participant: Why did Jacob journey to Egypt? Because of his sons; for the brothers of Joseph (Y'seph) sold him into slavery. They meant it for evil, but the Lord meant it for good for there was to be famine in the land, and he was sent ahead by the Lord our God to prepare the way. For Joseph became prime minister to Pharaoh, king of Egypt, and was used by the Lord to save that land. And the time came as it is written, "My father Jacob was a wandering Aramean, (the Afikoman is usually stolen here) and he went down to Egypt with his brethren, few in numbers, only seventy men, and sojourned there; and they became a great and important community. Participant: The Egyptians feared our numbers and dealt harshly with us and oppressed us; and they imposed heavy burdens and rigorous labor upon us. After Joseph died a new Pharaoh arose who knew not Joseph. This Pharaoh enslaved all Israel and condemned to death all the newborn males of the inheritance of Abraham. Participant: A son of Levi (L'vi) was drawn by Pharaoh's daughter out of the waters of the Nile, and she raised him as her own. Later, when he had come of age, Moses (Moshe) found out that he too was a son of Israel; and, faced with the oppression of his people, in anger he murdered an Egyptian and fled into the desert. There in Horeb, on the holy mount, God revealed Himself through the miracle of a bush that burned but was not consumed, saying: "I am the God of your ancestors, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob. I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt. I have heard their outcry against their slave masters. I have taken heed of their suffering and have come down to rescue them from the power of Egypt, and to bring them out of that country into a fine, broad land; it is a land flowing with milk and honey. The outcry of the Israelites has now reached me; yes, I have seen the brutality of the Egyptians towards them. Come now; I will send you to Pharaoh, that you may say to him: Wine is poured for the ten plagues. The participants place a drop of wine on a napkin with the little finger of the right hand which, like the bone (z'oah), represents the strong arm of the Lord. According to ancient Jewish tradition, we express our compassion for the suffering of the Egyptians. Although they were enemies and our tormentors, they were also children of God, and fellow human beings. We temper our joy, for the Talmud says, "When the Egyptians were drowning the angels wished to sing. But God said, 'My handiwork is drowning and you wish to sing!'". So we temper our joy by dipping drops of wine from our cup of joy as we recall that we are grateful for what the Lord did for us in making Pharaoh let the people go.
Participant - This is the symbol of what the Lord did for us, for this word "Pesach" means "He skipped over" as the scripture says: And when you come into the land that the Lord will give you, just as he promised, and when you are celebrating the Passover, and your children ask, "What does all this mean? What is this ceremony about?" You will reply, "It is the celebration of the Lord's passing over us, for he passed over the homes of the people of Israel; though he killed the Egyptians, he passed over our houses and did not come in to destroy us. "What is this matzah?" Participant - This is the symbol of haste with which our fathers left Egypt as the scripture says: When they stopped to eat, they baked bread from the yeastless dough they had brought along. It was yeastless because the people were pushed out of Egypt and didn't have time to wait for bread to rise to take with them on the trip. This is also the symbol of life: "I tell you the truth," Jesus (Y'shua) said, what Moses gave you was not the bread from heaven; it is my Father who gives you the real bread from heaven. For the bread that God gives is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world". And he said, "I am the bread of life; he who comes to me shall not hunger, and he who believes in me shall never thirst". "Why do we eat maror, bitter herbs?" Participant - This is the symbol of bitterness of the life of Israel when she was held captive in Egypt as the scripture says: So they made the people of Israel serve with rigor, and made their lives bitter with hard service, in mortar and brick, and in all kinds of work in the field, in all their work they made them serve with rigor.
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