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The following Seder is for a weeknight. (On Shabbat we add the words in parentheses) רָיְהִי עֶרֶב וַיְהִי בֹקֶר יוֹם הַשִּׁשִּׁי. וַיְכֻלּוּ הַשָׁמַיִם וְהָאָרֶץ וְכָל צְבָאַָם. וַיְכַל אֱלֹקִים בַּיוֹם הַשְּׁבִיעִי מְלַאכְתּוֹ אֲשֶׁר עָשָׂה וַיִּשְׁבֹּת בַּיוֹם הַשְּׁבִיעִי מִכָּל מְלַאכְתּוֹ אֲשֶׁר עָשָׂה. וַיְבָרֶךְ אֱלֹהִים אֶת יוֹם הַשְּׁבִיעִי וַיְקַדֵּשׁ אוֹתוֹ כִּי בוֹ שָׁבַת מִכָּל מְלַאכְתּוֹ אֲשֶׁר בֶָּרָא אֱלֹהִים לַעֲשׂוֹת (Vay'hi erev vay'hi voker yom hashi-shi. Vay'chulu hashamayim v'ha-aretz v’choltzva’am. Vay’chal Elohim bayom hashvi’i, m'lachto asher asah, vayishbot bayom hashvi-i, mikol-mlachto asher asah. Vay'vareich Elohim,...

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Symbolic food on the seder plate are as follows: Maror: Bitter herbs symbolizing the bitterness and harshness of the slavery the Hebrews endured in Egypt. Charoset: A sweet mixture representing the mortar used by the Hebrew slaves to build the storehouses or pyramids of Egypt. Karpas: A symbol of the Hebrew people, who were vibrant and grew in great number while in Egypt. We dip this into the salt water, representative of tears, to mirror the pain they felt as slaves....

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Psalm 126 When the Lord restored the fortunes of Zion, we were like those who dreamed. Our mouths were filled with laughter, our tongues with songs of joy. Then it was said among the nations, “The Lord has done great things for them.” The Lord has done great things for us, and we are filled with joy. Restore our fortunes,Lord, like streams in the Neg ev. Those who sow with tears will reap with songs of joy. Those who go out...

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Our story starts in ancient times, with Abraham, the first person to have the idea that maybe all those little statues his contemporaries worshiped as gods were just statues. The idea of one God, invisible and all-powerful, inspired him to leave his family and begin a new people in Canaan, the land that would one day bear his grandson Jacob’s adopted name, Israel. God had made a promise to Abraham that his family would become a great nation, but this promise...

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Leader: Searching and finding the matzah is a symbol of a child growing up. It is tradition for the children to search for and find the afikomen, and when they do, they are given a reward by the adults. The act of leaving the table and searching for the matzah represents the Israelites coming out of Egypt, and the finding of the afikomen represents giving of the Torah at Mount Sinai. Searching for the afikomen is also a very spiritual part...

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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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As we eat the karpas, which means "green vegetable," we are confronted with the growthand enslavement we've had as a people. The parsley represents the Israelites and how they initially flourished in Egypt under the influence of Joseph at the end of Genesis. The saltwater we dip it into represents the tears the Israelites wept bitterly as they cried out to God when a new Pharaoh enslaved and subjugated them. Eating them together, we pause and thank God that we are...

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Psalm 136 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good.His love endures forever. Give thanks to the God of gods.His love endures forever. Give thanks to the Lord of lords:His love endures forever. to him who alone does great wonders,His love endures forever. who by his understanding made the heavens,His love endures forever. who spread out the earth upon the waters,His love endures forever. who made the great lights—His love endures forever. the sun to govern the day,His love endures...

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1) On all nights we need not dip even once, on this night we do so twice! Slavery : The salt water into which we dip the  karpas  (potato, onion, or other vegetable) represents the tears we cried while in Egypt. Similarly, the  charoset  (fruit-nut paste) into which the bitter herbs are dipped reminds us of the cement we used to create the bricks in Egypt. Freedom : Dipping food is considered a luxury; a sign of freedom -- as opposed...

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בְּכָל־דּוֹר וָדוֹר חַיָּב אָדָם לִרְאוֹת אֶת־עַצְמוֹ, כְּאִלּוּ הוּא יָצָא מִמִּצְרָֽיִם B’chol dor vador chayav adam lirot et-atzmo, k’ilu hu yatzav mimitzrayim. In every generation, everyone is obligated to see themselves as though they personally left Egypt. The seder reminds us that it was not only our ancestors whom God redeemed; God redeemed us too along with them. That’s why the Torah says “God brought us out from there in order to lead us to and give us the land promised to...

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Fourth Glass of Wine 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. While we revel in celebration of our community, this cup reminds us that The Redemption is not yet complete. The fourth cup recalls us to our covenant  with the Eternal One, to the tasks that still await us as a people called to holy service, to a...

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Eating the meal! | shulchan oreich | שֻׁלְחָן עוֹרֵךְ Enjoy! But don’t forget when you’re done we’ve got a little more seder to go, including the final two cups of wine!

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There are three pieces of matzah stacked on the table. We now break the middle matzah into two pieces. The host should wrap up the larger of the pieces and, at some point between now and the end of dinner, hide it. This piece is called the afikomen, literally “dessert” in Greek. After dinner, the guests will have to hunt for the afikomen in order to wrap up the meal… and win a prize. We eat matzah in memory of the...

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Wine is a drink of luxury, and drinking it is an example of our freedom. We drink 4 glasses tonight, each symbolizing a promise God gave the Israelites in Exodus 6:6-8: 1. I will bring you out from the yoke of the Egyptians. (The cup of Sanctification) 2. I will rescue you, and set you free from slavery to them. (The cup of Deliverance) 3. I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and mighty acts of judgement. (The cup of...

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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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Why do we eat maror? Tradition says that this bitter herb is to remind us of the bitterness of our slavery. We force ourselves to taste pain so that we may more readily value pleasure. All take a taste of maror on a piece of matzah. ברוּךְ אַתָּה יְיַָ אֱלֹהֵֽינוּ מֶֽלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם, אֲשֶׁר קִדְּשָֽׁנוּ בְּמִצְוֹתָיו וְצִוָּֽנוּ עַל אֲכִילַת מרוֹר: Baruch Atah Adonai, Eloheinu Melech ha-olam, asher kid’shanu b’mitzvotav v’tzivanu al achilat maror. Blessed are you, LORD our God, King of the...

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Deuteronomy 6: 20-23 says, "And it shall come to pass that your child will ask you, “What do you mean by this service?” And you shall tell him: “With a mighty hand, God took us out of Egypt...” We are now ready to retell the story of our great redemption from slavery in Egypt. We cannot eat our Seder meal until the story of how we obtained our freedom is retold to our children with joy and gratitude. 

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Psalm 136 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good.His love endures forever. Give thanks to the God of gods.His love endures forever. Give thanks to the Lord of lords:His love endures forever. to him who alone does great wonders,His love endures forever. who by his understanding made the heavens,His love endures forever. who spread out the earth upon the waters,His love endures forever. who made the great lights—His love endures forever. the sun to govern the day,His love endures...

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Deuteronomy 6: 20-23 says, "And it shall come to pass that your child will ask you, “What do you mean by this service?” And you shall tell him: “With a mighty hand, God took us out of Egypt...” We are now ready to retell the story of our great redemption from slavery in Egypt. We cannot eat our Seder meal until the story of how we obtained our freedom is retold to our children with joy and gratitude.