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Ritually wash hands without reciting the blessing.

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Some parsley, lettuce or watercress is distributed to all present who dip it in salt water or in vinegar, and before partaking of it say in unison: BORUCH ATTO ADONOI ELOHENU MELECH HO‘OLOM BORE P’RI HO’ADOMO. Praised art Thou, O Lord our God, King of the universe, Creator of the fruit of the earth.

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Leader: Let us say grace. Company: Let us bless Him of whose bounty we have partaken and through whose goodness we live. Leader: Praised art Thou, O Lord our God, King of the universe, who sustainest the world with goodness, with grace, and with infinite mercy. Thou givest food unto every creature, for Thy mercy endureth for ever. Company: Through Thy great goodness, food has not failed us. May it never fail us at any time, for the sake of Thy...

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NIRTZAH ~Closing Reader: At the end of the seder, Jews have always vowed to one another:“L’shana haba-a bi-Y’rushalayim/ Next Year in Jerusalem!” Why does the seder end with this vow? Reader: For Jews, forced into diaspora two thousand years ago, wandering always in countries which were sometimes safe harbors and sometimes nightmares, the dream of Jerusalem was more than the city itself. Reader: To dream that next year we would be in Jerusalem is to dream of a land and a...

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Before the meal, unmarried young women would hide behind a door to eat a hard-boiled egg - a symbol of fertility suggesting that marriage was in the not-too-distant future.

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Not to us, L-rd, not to us, but to Your Name give glory, for the sake of Your kindness and Your truth. Why should the nations say, "Where, now, is their G-d?" Our G-d is in heaven, whatever He desires, He does. Their idols are of silver and gold, the product of human hands: they have a mouth, but cannot speak; they have eyes, but cannot see; they have ears, but cannot hear; they have a nose, but cannot smell; their...

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Why is this night of Passover different from all other nights of the year? On all other nights, we eat either leavened or unleavened bread, why on this night do we eat only matzah? On all other nights, we eat vegetables of all kinds, why on this night must we eat bitter herbs? On all other nights, we do not dip vegetables even once, why on this night do we dip greens into salt water and bitter herbs into sweet haroset?...

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Allegorical meanings have been sought in the Ḥad Gadyo, on the supposition that it illustrates the working of Divine justice in the history of mankind. In reality, it is a rhyme for children, to keep their interest to the end of the Seder. As in the preceding number so in this one, grown people become children. The company reads in unison (not racing as in "Who Knows One" but) with regular rhythm, as to the beat of music; or sings it...

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At the conclusion of the meal, the children are given an opportunity to find the Aphikomon. The reader redeems it and distributes pieces of it to all present. After partaking of the Aphikomon, it is customary to eat nothing else.

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Asking questions is an important part of the Seder. Encourage everyone at the table to ask not just the questions listed in the book, but whatever question comes to mind during the Seder. The Seder is designed for distraction, digression, and discussion. So, if you don’t finish the whole thing tonight...there’s always tomorrow, or next year! What would be your four questions?

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In the Torah, only the priests of the Temple are commanded to wash, and only before they partake of the sacrificial meal. Today, we have no Temple in Jerusalem, no altar, no priests and no sacrifices. Instead, every home can be a Temple, every table an altar, every meal a sanctified experience, and every Jew a priest. And eating, a mechanical biological function, can be transformed into a ritual filled with meaning. 

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Each person receives some bitter herbs and ḥaroses, which he places between two pieces of matzo. The leader then reads: This was the practice of Hillel, at the time the Temple was still in existence. He combined the unleavened bread and the bitter herbs and ate them together, to carry out the injunction concerning the Passover sacrifice: "With unleavened bread and with bitter herbs, they shall eat it." All read in unison: BORUCH ATTO ADONOI ELOHENU MELECH HO‘OLOM ASHER KIDD’SHONU B’MITZVOSOV...

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The leader breaks the middle Matzo, leaving one half on the Seder-dish, and hiding the other half as the Aphikomon to be eaten at the end of the meal.

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To symbolize the joy which the festival brings into the Jewish home, the mistress kindles the lights and recites the following blessing: ‏בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יְיָ אֱלֹהֵֽינוּ מֶֽלֶךְ הָֽעוֹלָֽם אֲשֶׁר קִדְּשָֽׁנוּ בְּמִצְוֹתָיו וְצִוָּֽנוּ לְהַדְלִיק נֵר שֶׁל-(שַׁבָּת וְשֶׁל)-יוֹם טוֹב.‎ BORUCH ATTO ADONOI ELOHENU MELECH HO‘OLOM ASHER KIDD’SHONU B’MITZVOSOV V’TZIVONU L’HADLIK NER SHEL (on Sabbath add: SHABBOS V’SHEL) YOM TOV. ‏בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יְיָ אֱלֹהֵֽינוּ מֶֽלֶךְ הָֽעוֹלָֽם. שֶׁהֶֽחֱיָֽנוּ וְקִיְּמָֽנוּ וְהִגִּיעָֽנוּ לַזְּמַן הַזְּה׃‎ BORUCH ATTO ADONOI ELOHENU MELECH HO‘OLOM SHEHEḤEYONU V’KIY’MONU V’HIGIONU LAZMAN HAZZEH. Praised art...

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The company repeats the refrain "Dayenu" which is equivalent to "It would have satisfied us". How manifold are the favors which God has conferred upon us! HAD HE brought us out of Egypt, and not divided the sea for us, Dayenu! HAD HE divided the sea, and not permitted us to cross on dry land, Dayenu! HAD HE permitted us to cross the sea on dry land, and not sustained us for forty years in the desert, Dayenu!    HAD HE sustained...

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By a fitting answer to the questions of each of the four types of the sons of Israel, does the Torah explain the meaning of this night's celebration.The wise son eager to learn asks earnestly: "What mean the testimonies and the statutes and the ordinances, which the Lord our God hath commanded us?" To him thou shalt say: "This service is held in order to worship the Lord our God, that it may be well with us all the days of...

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Our haroset is based on dates, not apples. You use what's plentiful in your country: In the Middle East, it's dates! The dates are crushed, boiled and pureed, then sprinkled with crushed dried nuts. The result look exactly like mortar, as it is supposed to!

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Leader: HALLELUJAH. Praise, O ye servants of the Lord, Praise the name of the Lord. Company: Blessed be the name of the LordFrom this time forth and for ever. Leader: From the rising of the sun unto the going down thereof The Lord's name is to be praised. Company: The Lord is high above all nations, His glory is above the heavens. Leader: Who is like unto the Lord our God, That is enthroned on high, Company: That looketh down low...

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Praised are you, Adonai, our God, sovereign of the universe, who has redeemed us and our fathers from Egypt and enabled us to reach this night that we may eat matzo and marror. Lord our God and God of our fathers, enable us to reach also the forthcoming holidays and festivals in peace, rejoicing in the rebuilding of Zion your city, and joyful at your service. There we shall eat of the offerings and Passover sacrifices which will be acceptably placed...

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We were slaves to Pharoh in Egypt and the Lord freed us from Egypt with a mighty hand and outstretched arm. Had not the holy One liberated our people from Egypt, then we, our children and our children’s children would still be enslaved to Pharoah in Egypt. And even if we were all wise, all men of understanding, all old and learned in the Torah, it is a positive commandment upon us to tell of the story of the Exodus from...