Tonight we come together to celebrate Passover, the holiday of freedom.  We will eat a great meal together, enjoy (at least) four glasses of wine, and tell the story of our ancestors’ liberation from slavery in Egypt.

The name Passover comes from the final plague, which was the killing of the firstborn sons. Moses told the Jews to sacrifice a lamb for each family and spread its blood on the doorposts of their house. (As lambs were considered sacred by Egyptians, this was a public test of faith). God passed over the marked Jewish houses, and killed the firstborn male child in every Egyptian household.

The Seder is the central observance of Passover. Seder means “order”, because we go through 14 steps as we retell the Exodus story. Those steps are:

קַדֵּשׁKiddush (the blessing over wine) | kadeish |

וּרְחַץRitual hand-washing in preparation for the seder | urchatz |

כַּרְפַּסDipping a green vegetable in salt water| karpas |

יַחַץBreaking the middle matzah | yachatz |

מַגִּידTelling the story of Passover | magid |

רָחְצָהRitual hand-washing in preparation for the meal | rachtza |

מוֹצִיא מַצָּהThe blessing over the meal and matzah | motzi matzah |

מָרוֹרDipping the bitter herb in sweet charoset | maror |

כּוֹרֵךְEating a sandwich of matzah and bitter herb | koreich |

שֻׁלְחָן עוֹרֵךְEating the meal! | shulchan oreich |

צָפוּןFinding and eating the Afikomen | tzafoon |

בָּרֵךְSaying grace after the meal and inviting Elijah the Prophet | bareich |

הַלֵּלSinging songs that praise God | hallel |

נִרְצָהEnding the seder and thinking about the future | nirtzah |

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The Seder is designed to give each of us the experience of going from slavery to freedom. So as well tell the Exodus story, reflect on the meaning of freedom. Think about how Jews and others before us have suffered and triumphed over oppression and persecution; how slavery exists around the world even today; about how we can free ourselves of the things in our own lives that oppress us. Most importantly, reflect on how much we have to be grateful for tonight as we sit around the table together as free people.


haggadah Section: Cover
Source: Original