Kadesh means “special” or “unique.” We begin the seder with Kadesh to symbolize that the first night is unique and special. We begin the seder with multiple blessings. We start with the blessing of the wine then the blessing over the day. The leader, who may be wearing a kittle, stands to signal the begging of the seder. For this part of the seder we follow the reasoning of Beit Hillel, as opposed to Beit Shammai. Shammai says the blessing of the holiday is first, then the wine. Shammai reasons the blessing of the day goes first because the holiday gives us the reason to drink the wine. Also the day is already holy, the wine only becomes holy after blessing it. Beit Hillel says bless the wine first, then the holiday. Hillel says the wine provides the means for the sanctification of the holiday. Besides, there is an obligation to bless the wine whenever we drink it. We don’t bless all the holy days. We then recite the blessing of the people of Israel, to commemorate our exodus from Egypt. After this we recite the blessing of shecheyanu to celebrate the creation of the people of Israel and to celebrate the first night of the holiday. All of these blessing are said standing up but once finished we sit down and lean to the left to drink the first cup of wine. The custom dates back to Egyptian royalty and we actually do it to prevent choking during our meal. While the first cup of wine is being drunk, nuts may be passed out as a custom to prompt the children to ask questions about why the first night of passover is different from all other nights.

            The first cup of wine is the most filled cup of the night. If the seder falls on a Friday night, the first cup has to at least have 5.1 ounces of wine (according to Chazon Ish). Rabbi Moshe Feintsien argues that the first cup needs at least 4.5 ounces to meet the obligation. The other three cups of wine drunk throughout the seder can be about 3.3 ounces. If a child wants to drink wine a “cheek full” is permitted.

            Throughout the seder we drink four cups of wine. There are many reasons and explanations as to why there are specifically four cups. “First Cup — God chose us to be His holy (separated) people. To accomplish this He promised to unburden us from our enemy’s entanglements. Second Cup — God teaches us that we cannot effect our own release, and that in our helpless state we must trust in Him and in Him alone for our salvation.

Third Cup — God further reveals to us that His sovereign work of salvation necessitates both divine power and payment. Our salvation would cost Him dearly, even the life of the Lamb.

Fourth Cup — God lets us know that the redemption which is ours is still not fully complete. We must await the future with hope of Messiah’s coming, for He alone can transform us fully into the holy people He has ordained us to be. (torahsource.com)” The more common approach to why we have the four cups is because of the four promises G-d made the Jewish people. He promised to “take you out, rescue you, redeem you and bring you.”

            After Kadesh, the blessings and the first cup, we move on to hand washing. By this point in the seder we have thanked G-d for our exodus from Egypt and declared that day holy. It is throughout the rest of the seder that we truly learn about the miracles that took place in order for us to have a holy day. 

Sources:

chabad.org

myjewishlearning.com

aish.com

torahsource.com

youtube.com

“Haggadah with Answers”

“The Art of Jewish Learning”


haggadah Section: Kadesh