Each year around Easter, Derek likes to do the Passover meal as a family. Mostly, he wants to teach our children about other religions and to be respectful, but there is so much symbolism and history in this meal that it is really an interesting experience.
I'll outline the meal here in as basic a form as possible. My reference source is Judaism 101
To start, the Jewish people rid their homes of anything Chametz.
"Chametz includes anything made from the five major grains (wheat, rye, barley, oats and spelt) that has not been completely cooked within 18 minutes after first coming into contact with water. Orthodox Jews of Ashkenazic background also avoid rice, corn, peanuts, legumes (beans) and some other foods as if they were chametz. All of these items are commonly used to make bread, or are grown and processed near chametz, thus use of them was prohibited to avoid any confusion or cross-contamination.
The process of cleaning the home of all chametz in preparation for Pesach is an enormous task. To do it right, you must prepare for several weeks and spend several days scrubbing everything down, going over the edges of your stove and fridge with a toothpick and a Q-Tip, covering all surfaces that come in contact with food with foil or shelf-liner, etc., etc., etc. After the cleaning is completed, the morning before the seder, a formal search of the house for chametz is undertaken, and any remaining chametz is burned."
While I LOVE the idea of "spring cleaning", sometimes it just doesn't happen! It did happen this year since we had already done a big number on it for selling purposes. Though, I don't think I rid our home of everything Chametz!
"Pesach lasts for eight days (seven days in Israel). The first two days and last two days of the holiday (first and last in Israel) are days on which no work is permitted."
On the first night of Pesach (first two nights for traditional Jews outside Israel), we have a special family meal filled with ritual to remind us of the significance of the holiday. This meal is called a seder, from a Hebrew root word meaning "order," because there is a specific set of information that must be discussed in a specific order."
Since we had little ones at the table, we didn't follow this meal exactly. It would have taken too long. We also made some alterations, like the wine we did a berry juice instead, etc. I was extreemly nervous we were going to loose the attention spans of our little ones while Derek was in the heart of his special dinner. The meal is broken up into so many parts and pieces and there is a little game (see below) that the kids were well entertained. We had a fun time with it!
Here's the order of the Seder:
- 1. Kaddesh: Sanctification
- A blessing over wine in honor of the holiday. The wine is drunk, and a second cup is poured.
- 2. Urechatz: Washing
- A washing of the hands without a blessing, in preparation for eating the Karpas.
- 3. Karpas: Vegetable
- A vegetable (usually parsley) is dipped in salt water and eaten. The vegetable symbolizes the lowly origins of the Jewish people; the salt water symbolizes the tears shed as a result of our slavery. Parsley is a good vegetable to use for this purpose, because when you shake off the salt water, it looks like tears.
- 4. Yachatz: Breaking
- One of the three matzahs on the table is broken. Part is returned to the pile, the other part is set aside for the afikomen (see below).
- 5. Maggid: The Story
- A retelling of the story of the Exodus from Egypt and the first Pesach. This begins with the youngest person asking The Four Questions, a set of questions about the proceedings designed to encourage participation in the seder. The Four Questions are also known as Mah Nishtanah (Why is it different?), which are the first words of the Four Questions. This is often sung.
- The maggid is designed to satisfy the needs of four different types of people: the wise one, who wants to know the technical details; the wicked one, who excludes himself (and learns the penalty for doing so); the simple one, who needs to know the basics; and the one who is unable to ask, who doesn't even know enough to know what he needs to know.
- At the end of the maggid, a blessing is recited over the second cup of wine and it is drunk.
- 6. Rachtzah: Washing
- A second washing of the hands, this time with a blessing, in preparation for eating the matzah
- 7. Motzi: Blessing over Grain Products
- The ha-motzi blessing, a generic blessing for bread or grain products used as a meal, is recited over the matzah.
- 8. Matzah: Blessing over Matzah
- A blessing specific to matzah is recited, and a bit of matzah is eaten.
- 9. Maror: Bitter Herbs
- A blessing is recited over a bitter vegetable (usually raw horseradish; sometimes romaine lettuce), and it is eaten. This symbolizes the bitterness of slavery. The maror is dipped in charoset, a mixture of apples, nuts, cinnamon and wine, which symbolizes the mortar used by the Jews in building during their slavery. (I highly recommend it -- it's the best tasting thing on the holiday, and goes surprisingly well with horseradish! My recipe is included below.)
- Note that there are two bitter herbs on the seder plate: one labeled Maror and one labeled Chazeret. The one labeled Maror should be used for Maror and the one labeled Chazeret should be used in the Korekh, below.
- 10. Korekh: The Sandwich
- Rabbi Hillel was of the opinion that the maror should be eaten together with matzah and the paschal offering in a sandwich. In his honor, we eat some maror on a piece of matzah, with some charoset (we don't do animal sacrifice anymore, so there is no paschal offering to eat).
- 11. Shulchan Orekh: Dinner
- A festive meal is eaten. There is no particular requirement regarding what to eat at this meal (except, of course, that chametz cannot be eaten). Among Ashkenazic Jews, gefilte fish and matzah ball soup are traditionally eaten at the beginning of the meal. Roast chicken or turkey are common as a main course, as is beef brisket.
- 12. Tzafun: The Afikomen
- The piece of matzah set aside earlier is eaten as "dessert," the last food of the meal. Different families have different traditions relating to the afikomen. Some have the children hide it, while the parents have to either find it or ransom it back. Others have the parents hide it. The idea is to keep the children awake and attentive throughout the pre-meal proceedings, waiting for this part.
- ( This was fun for us! We passed some matzah under the table back and forth and tried to keep it away from dad.)
- 13. Barekh: Grace after Meals
- The third cup of wine is poured, and birkat ha-mazon (grace after meals) is recited. This is similar to the grace that would be said on any Shabbat. At the end, a blessing is said over the third cup and it is drunk. The fourth cup is poured, including a cup set aside for the prophet Elijah, who is supposed to herald the Messiah, and is supposed to come on Pesach to do this. The door is opened for a while at this point (supposedly for Elijah, but historically because Jews were accused of nonsense like putting the blood of Christian babies in matzah, and we wanted to show our Christian neighbors that we weren't doing anything unseemly).
- 14. Hallel: Praises
- Several psalms are recited. A blessing is recited over the last cup of wine and it is drunk.
- 15. Nirtzah: Closing
- A simple statement that the seder has been completed, with a wish that next year, we may celebrate Pesach in Jerusalem (i.e., that the Messiah will come within the next year). This is followed by various hymns and stories.
(Jello with quinoa and fruit.)
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