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Maggid Commentary
Contributed by Michael Greenberg

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In this Haggadah we are reordering the positions of the Motzi-Matzah, Maror, and Korech to be just prior to the Four Questions along with the dipping of the hard boiled egg in salt water.  This is the order suggested by the New Union Haggadah published by the Central Conference of American Rabbis.

The perspective of the Seder in this ordering is that the Four Questions are asked by an individual who has never been to a Seder before or a child who was too young to remember the last Seder.  In the traditional ordering we would not partake of the Matzah and Maror until these symbols were explained by the telling of the Passover story.  However, this does not make sense from the perspective of the individual asking the Four Questions.  In the traditional order of the Seder we have not yet eaten the Matzah, Bitter Herbs, or Charoseth and we have only dipped the parsley in salt water consituting one dipping.  So how does the individual asking the Four Questions know to ask about eating the Matzah, Maror, or that we dip twice?

In the arrangment in this Haggadah, we have now done all these things prior to the Four Questions being asked.  We have tasted the Matzah, we have eaten the Bitter Herbs and Charoseth for the Maror, and we have dipped the parsley and egg in salt water and consumed them.  The Bitter Herbs and Charoseth are consumed separately so as to get the individual taste of both of them.  They are put together in the Korech so by tasting each one separately we get the invidiual taste of each.  The two dippings are for the parsely and egg.  The instructions also tell us when and which way to recline during each of these activities which prompts the asking of the fourth question.

So on the first night of the Seder we use this revised order and then revert to the traditional order on the second night.
haggadah Section: Maggid - Beginning

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