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The Fourth Cup of Wine - The Cup of Elijah As we come to the end of the Seder, we drink one more glass of wine. With this final cup, we give thanks for the experience of celebrating Passover together, for the traditions that help inform our daily lives and guide our actions and aspirations. בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יְיָ, אֱלֹהֵינוּ מֶלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם, בּוֹרֵא פְּרִי הַגָּפֶן Baruch Atah Adonai, Eloheinu Melech ha-olam, borei p’ree hagafen. We now refill our wine glasses one last...

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Maggid - Storyteller [Take turns reading. Each person is invited to read a grouped set of lines - or to pass.] These questions are a central part of tonight's seder ceremony. Yet before we answer them, let us tell a story of Jewish hope. The tale of our people's first quest for freedom from slavery in Egypt was written so long ago that no one knows how much of it is fact and how much is fiction. Like all good stories,...

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THE FIRST CUP OF THE FRUIT OF THE VINE     Leader: Let us all fill our glasses with the fruit of the vine. [Resume taking turns reading. Each person is invited to read a grouped set of lines - or to pass.] Spring is the season of new growth and new life. Every living thing must either grow, or die; growth is a sign and a condition of life. Human beings are perhaps unique among the Earth's inhabitants. Our most significant growth...

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IT WOULD HAVE BEEN ENOUGH One of most beloved songs in the Passover Seder is "Dayeinu". Dayeinu commemorates a long list of miraculous things God did, any one of which would have been pretty amazing just by itself. For example, “Had God only taken us out of Egypt but not punished the Egyptians – it would have been enough.” Dayeinu, translated liberally, means, “Thank you, God, for overdoing it.” Dayeinu is a reminder to never forget all the miracles in our...

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Salt Water - Why do we dip our greens in salt water two times on this night? The first time, the salty taste reminds us of the tears we cried when we were slaves. The second time, the salt water and the green help us to remember the ocean and green plants from the Earth, from which we get air and water and food that enable us to live. 

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The blessing over the meal and matzah | motzi matzah | מוֹצִיא מַצָּה The familiar hamotzi blessing marks the formal start of the meal. Because we are using matzah instead of bread, we add a blessing celebrating this mitzvah. בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יְיָ, אֱלֹהֵֽינוּ מֶֽלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם, הַמּוֹצִיא לֶֽחֶם מִן הָאָֽרֶץ Baruch Atah Adonai, Eloheinu Melech ha-olam, hamotzi lechem min ha-aretz. We praise God, Ruler of Everything, who brings bread from the land. בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יְיָ, אֱלֹהֵֽינוּ מֶֽלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם, אֲשֶׁר קִדְּשָֽׁנוּ בְּמִצְוֹתַָיו וְצִוָּֽנוּ...

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Why do we eat maror? Tradition says that the root is to remind us of the time of our slavery. We force ourselves to taste pain so that we may more readily value pleasure. Let us all now take bitter herb and eat it.

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As we tell the story, we think about it from all angles. Our tradition speaks of four different types of children who might react differently to the Passover seder. It is our job to make our story accessible to all the members of our community, so we think about how we might best reach each type of child: What does the wise child say? The wise child asks, What are the testimonies and laws which God commanded you? You must teach...

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Now fill your glass for the third time for the blessing over the Passover meal. 

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We place a Seder Plate at our table as a reminder to discuss certain aspects of the Passover story. Each item has its own significance. Maror – The bitter herb Maror symbolizes the harshness of lives of the Jews in Egypt. Charoset A delicious mix of sweet wine, dates, cinnamon and nuts that resembles the mortar used as bricks of the many buildings the Jewish slaves built in Egypt. Karpas – Parsley Parsley is a reminder of the green sprouting up...

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The formal telling of the story of Passover is framed as a discussion with lots of questions and answers. The tradition that the youngest person asks the questions reflects the centrality of involving everyone in the seder. The rabbis who created the set format for the seder gave us the Four Questions to help break the ice in case no one had their own questions. Asking questions is a core tradition in Jewish life. If everyone at your seder is around...

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Why do we eat kharoset? Dates, orange, cinnamon, and wine combine to make this sweet dish. Traditionally, it was the color of clay or mortar. It reminds us of the bricks and mortar that the Israelites are said to have made when they built the Pharaohs' palaces and cities. At the same time, the taste of Kharoset is sweet, and it reminds us of the sweetness of freedom.

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MATZO SANDWICH OF BITTER HERB AND CHAROSET While the English Earl of Sandwich is generally credited for inventing the snack of his namesake, Hillel may have originated it two thousand years ago by combining matzo, a slice of paschal lamb, and a bitter herb. Jews no longer sacrifice and eat the lamb, so now the Passover sandwich is only matzah, charoset, and a bitter herb.

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The seder officially begins with a physical act: lighting the candles.  In Jewish tradition, lighting candles and saying a blessing over them marks a time of transition, from the day that is ending to the one that is beginning, from ordinary time to sacred time.  Lighting the candles is an important part of our Passover celebration because their flickering light reminds us of the importance of keeping the fragile flame of freedom alive in the world. Baruch Atah Adonai Eloheinu melech...

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MATSAH - UNLEAVENED BREAD [Matsah held up for all to see.] MATSAH - Why do we eat matsah? Matsah is the symbol of our affliction and our freedom. Legend has it that when Moses and his followers fled Egypt, they moved so quickly that the bread they baked did not have time to rise. However, scholars have noted that long before the Jews celebrated Passover, Middle Eastern farmers celebrated a spring festival of unleavened bread. This was a festival where unleavened...

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Leader: We have drunk the wine and tasted the special foods of the Passover celebration. They symbolize our attachment to the traditions of our culture, to freedom, and to life. To remind us of these values as we go back out into the world, at the end of our festival meal, we shall return to have a final taste of matsah - our symbol of suffering and liberation, of renewal in nature and humanity. I am breaking this matsah into two...

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As we rejoice at our deliverance from slavery, we acknowledge that our freedom was hard-earned. We regret that our freedom came at the cost of the Egyptians’ suffering, for we are all human beings made in the image of God. We pour out a drop of wine for each of the plagues as we recite them. Dip a finger or a spoon into your wine glass for a drop for each plague. These are the ten plagues which God brought down...

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Now fill your glass for the third time for the blessing over the Passover meal. 

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Why do we eat maror? Tradition says that the root is to remind us of the time of our slavery. We force ourselves to taste pain so that we may more readily value pleasure. Let us all now take bitter herb and eat it.