Seder

Jewish Calendar

The seder is a ritual dinner and discussion held on the first or first two nights of Passover. Attendees retell the story of the exodus from Egypt and eat special foods to mark the occasion.

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And you shall explain to your child on that day, ‘It is because of what יהוה did for me when I went free from Egypt.’

Exodus 13:8

Until where does one recite hallel? Beit Shammai say: Until “Who makes the barren woman dwell in her house as a joyful mother of children, halleluya” (Psalms 113:9). And Beit Hillel say: Until “Who turned the rock into a pool of water, the flint into a fountain of waters” (Psalms 114:8). And one concludes this section of hallel with a blessing that refers to redemption. Rabbi Tarfon says that although one should recite: Who redeemed us and redeemed our forefathers from Egypt…

Mishnah Pesachim 10:6-9

When, in time to come, your children ask you, “What mean the decrees, laws, and rules that our God יהוה has enjoined upon you?” you shall say to your children, “We were slaves to Pharaoh in Egypt and יהוה freed us from Egypt with a mighty hand.

Deuteronomy 6:20-21

the various labors that they made them perform. Ruthlessly they made life bitter for them with harsh labor at mortar and bricks and with all sorts of tasks in the field.

Exodus 1:14

The attendants poured the second cup for the leader of the seder, and here the son asks his father the questions about the differences between Passover night and a regular night. And if the son does not have the intelligence to ask questions on his own, his father teaches him the questions. The mishna lists the questions: Why is this night different from all other nights? As on all other nights we eat leavened bread and matza as preferred; on this night all our bread is matza…

Mishnah Pesachim 10:4-5

And when your children ask you, ‘What do you mean by this rite?’ you shall say, ‘It is the passover sacrifice to יהוה, who passed over the houses of the Israelites in Egypt when smiting the Egyptians, but saved our houses.’ Those assembled then bowed low in homage.

Exodus 12:26-27

You shall then recite as follows before your God יהוה: “My father was a fugitive Aramean. He went down to Egypt with meager numbers and sojourned there; but there he became a great and very populous nation. The Egyptians dealt harshly with us and oppressed us; they imposed heavy labor upon us. We cried to יהוה, the God of our ancestors, and יהוה heard our plea and saw our plight, our misery, and our oppression. יהוה freed us from Egypt by a mighty hand, by an outstretched arm and awesome power, and by signs and portents,…

Deuteronomy 26:5-9

You shall not eat anything leavened with it; for seven days thereafter you shall eat unleavened bread, bread of distress—for you departed from the land of Egypt hurriedly—so that you may remember the day of your departure from the land of Egypt as long as you live. For seven days no leaven shall be found with you in all your territory, and none of the flesh of what you slaughter on the evening of the first day shall be left until morning. You are not permitted to slaughter the passover sacrifice in any of the settlements that your God יהוה is giving you;…

Deuteronomy 16:3-7

And when, in time to come, a child of yours asks you, saying, ‘What does this mean?’ you shall reply, ‘It was with a mighty hand that יהוה brought us out from Egypt, the house of bondage.

Exodus 13:14

(Exodus 13:14) "And it shall be if your son asks you tomorrow": "tomorrow" may indicate" in the present," and it may indicate "in time to come." (Exodus 17:9) "Tomorrow I will stand on top of the hill" — in the present. (Joshua 22:24) "Tomorrow your children might say to our children" — in time to come. (It is written, Devarim 6:20) "If your son asks you tomorrow (i.e., in the time to come): What are the testimonies and the statutes, etc.": There are four sons: a wise son, a wicked son, a simple son, and one who does not know how to ask…

Mekhilta DeRabbi Yishmael, Tractate Pischa 18:23-25

The Gemara asks: Why does one remove the table? The school of Rabbi Yannai say: So that the children will notice that something is unusual and they will ask: Why is this night different from all other nights? The Gemara relates: Abaye was sitting before Rabba when he was still a child. He saw that they were removing the table from before him, and he said to those removing it: We have not yet eaten, and you are taking the table away from us? Rabba said to him: You have exempted us from reciting the questions of: Why is this night different [ma…

Pesachim 115b:9-116a:10

MISHNA: On the eve of Passover, adjacent to minḥa time, a person may not eat until dark, so that he will be able to eat matza that night with a hearty appetite. Even the poorest of Jews should not eat the meal on Passover night until he reclines on his left side, as free and wealthy people recline when they eat. And the distributors of charity should not give a poor person less than four cups of wine for the Festival meal of Passover night…

Pesachim 99b:1

Say, therefore, to the Israelite people: I am יהוה. I will free you from the labors of the Egyptians and deliver you from their bondage. I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and through extraordinary chastisements. And I will take you to be My people, and I will be your God. And you shall know that I, יהוה, am your God who freed you from the labors of the Egyptians.

Exodus 6:6-7

From where the Four Cups? Rebbi Joḥanan in the name of Rebbi Benaiah: Corresponding to the four deliveries: Therefore, say to the Children of Israel, I am the Eternal, and I shall take you out, etc. And I shall take you as My people, etc. I shall take you, I shall save you, I shall free you, I shall take you. Rebbi Joshua ben Levi said, corresponding to the four cups of Pharao: The cup of Pharao was in my hand; I took the grapes and squeezed them into Pharao ’s cup, and gave the cup in Pharao ’s hand. You will give the cup in the hand of Pharao…

Jerusalem Talmud Pesachim 10:1:7

מַה נִּשְׁתַּנָּה WHAT MAKES
THIS NIGHT UNLIKE ALL OTHER NIGHTS,
so that every other night we eat either bread or matza,
but tonight there is only matza?
And that every other night we eat many different greens,
but tonight we will eat bitter herbs?
And that every other night we do not dip [our food] at all,
but tonight we will dip it twice?
And that every other night some sit to eat and some recline,
but tonight we are all reclining?

Pesach Haggadah, Magid, Four Questions 2

יהוה wrought before our eyes marvelous and destructive signs and portents in Egypt, against Pharaoh and all his household; and us [God] freed from there, in order to take us and give us the land promised on oath to our fathers.

Deuteronomy 6:22-23

They shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and the lintel of the houses in which they are to eat it. They shall eat the flesh that same night; they shall eat it roasted over the fire, with unleavened bread and with bitter herbs. Do not eat any of it raw, or cooked in any way with water, but roasted—head, legs, and entrails—over the fire. You shall not leave any of it over until morning; if any of it is left until morning, you shall burn it. This is how you shall eat it: your loins girded, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand…

Exodus 12:7-20

בָּרוּךְ הַמָּקוֹם Blessed is the Omnipresent –
blessed is He.
Blessed is the One
who gave His people Israel, the Torah –
blessed is He.
כְּנֶגֶד אַרְבָּעָה בָּנִים The Torah relates
to four types of sons –
one who is wise,
one who is wicked,
one with a simple nature,
and one who does not know how to ask. The
WISE SON
what does he say?
“What are the testimonies, the statutes and laws,
that the LORD our God commanded you?”
And you must tell him the laws of Pesaḥ:
“After eating the Pesaḥ offering
one does not…

Pesach Haggadah, Magid, The Four Sons 1-2

...One washes their hands for the first dipping but does not recite a blessing over the washing. Then, they take a piece of karpas (less than the size of an olive), dip it in vinegar, recite the blessing Borei Peri Ha’adama (Who creates the fruit of the earth), and eat it without reciting a blessing afterward.

Shulchan Arukh, Orach Chayim 473:6

We learned in the mishna that even with regard to the poorest of Jews, the charity distributors should not give him less than four cups of wine. The Gemara asks: How could the Sages establish a matter through which one will come to expose himself to danger? But wasn’t it taught in a baraita: A person should not eat pairs, i.e., an even number of food items; and he should not drink pairs of cups; and he should not wipe himself with pairs; and he should not attend to his sexual needs in pairs…

Pesachim 109b:4-110a:1

Passover, Mathilde Hahn Meyer. Germany, late 19th to early 20th century. CJH Museum Collections. PD

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