Water is refreshing, cleansing, and clear, so it’s easy to understand why so many cultures and religions use water for symbolic purification. We will wash our hands twice during our seder: now, with no blessing, to get us ready for the rituals to come; and then again later, we’ll wash again with a blessing, preparing us for the meal, which Judaism thinks of as a ritual in itself. (The Jewish obsession with food is older than you thought!)

Washing our hands is a way to get ready to do something important and so often during our daily lives we don’t stop and take a moment to prepare for whatever it is we’re about to do.


haggadah Section: Urchatz