Haggadah Introduction

            We have a seder every year around the time of Pesach. We have this seder each year because it is a mitzvah to tell the story of the miracles and wonders that happened to our ancestors in Egypt. We know this is a holiday because the same language used to describe Shabbat, the most important holiday of the year, is used to describe Pesach. In order to have this seder, we need to get rid of all of the chametz in the house and go through a ritual chametz burning ceremony to rid the possibility of any possible sins. These sins include eating chametz, eating a mixture of chametz, looking for chametz, and finding chametz.

            At your seder, you should have your spouse and your children present to have someone to tell the story to and to drink with. If you do not have either a wife or a child, you must tell the story to yourself and drink by yourself. In order to have your seder, you need pesach, matzah, marror, wine and charoset.

The pesach used to be the remnants of the sacrifice, but now that we don’t sacrifice anymore, a shank bone or an egg can be used to represent the sacrafice. In order to have the proper amount of Matzah, you need an olives size for each person at the seder. The matzah represents redemption. Raw lettuce and horse raddish can be used as marror. The marror represents the bitterness and tears of the Jewish people as they went through hard labor in Israel. At least four cups of wine are needed at your seder, but you may not drink between the third and fourth cup.  Though eating the charoset is not a commandment, we still do it. The ingredients needed to make charoset are dates, dried figs, raisins and stuff like that. You mix all these ingredients with spices and vinegar and bring it all to the seder.


haggadah Section: Introduction
Source: Original