The seder (ceremonial meal of the first night or two of Passover) and the haggadah (text used at that meal).
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Can a gentile celebrate the holidays like Rosh Hashanah or Pesshach with jews?
we have gentile friends that would like to celebrate the Chagim with us.
Can they do it? Also on Yom Kippur?
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Why is the seder “beseder” (in order)?
Is there any halachic reason why we do the seder in the order that we do? It seems that many of the components of the seder are halachically mandated, but is there any halachic mandate that we do them ...
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Chametz u'matza?
The first of four questions specifically says, "On all other nights we eat chametz or matza, why on this night only matza?"
While I understand that it's halakhically acceptable to eat matzah when it ...
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1answer
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Must one be able to taste the matzah?
It says in the Gemorah Pesachim Daf 115a:
אמר רבינא אמר לי רב משרשיא בריה דרב נתן הכי אמר הלל משמיה דגמרא לא
ניכרוך איניש מצה ומרור בהדי הדדי וניכול משום דסבירא לן מצה בזמן הזה
דאורייתא ומרור ...
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Why is the Haggadah written in Hebrew?
The Haggadah was written during the Talmudic period, so I would expect it to be written in Aramaic. Especially since the entire purpose of the Haggadah is the telling over of the story of ...
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How large is a typical contemporary hagada commentary?
In a contemporary published hagada with commentary, how many total words does the commentary typically comprise? (For comparison, "Hagada - Mi Yodeya?", in its current form, weighs in at about 14,000 ...
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3answers
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How much is 2 Zuz worth in current USD?
As mentioned in the Passover Hagaddah, how much is "2 Zuz" worth in March 2013 US Dollars?
Please note there may be different types of Zuz: "זוזי פשיטי" and "זוזי ממש" (Gemara Ketuvot 67a). This may ...
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Why is Moshe (mostly) absent from the haggadah?
Somebody asked at my seder this year why Moshe is largely absent from the magid. I have heard that the reason is because we're supposed to focus on God, and also that Moshe was very humble and there ...
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Shir Hama'alos in “Barech”?
Among the many hagada versions in use at the seder I attended this year, some of them included Shir Hama'alos before birkas hamazon in the "Barech" section and others did not. Is there any reason to ...
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Four cups of wine by the Pesach Seder — From the Torah?
I've heard there is an opinion that the daled cosos by the Pesach Seder are m'doraisa. What is the source for this (if there is one? I vaguely remember a source being in the Yerushalmi?)
What Seforim ...
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1answer
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Why are some sons' answers different from what's written in the Torah?
In the Hagada, the 4 sons ask questions (except, of course, for the son who doesn't know how to ask…), and they get answers.
In most cases, both the questions and the answers are put in the form of ...
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1answer
60 views
Why are the Egyptians more concerned with the Exodus of the Jews than their own defeat?
In the Haggada we read the following verse (Shemos 1:10 from Chabad.org):
הָבָה נִתְחַכְּמָה לוֹ פֶּן יִרְבֶּה וְהָיָה כִּי תִקְרֶאנָה מִלְחָמָה וְנוֹסַף גַּם הוּא עַל שׂנְאֵינוּ וְנִלְחַם בָּנוּ ...
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1answer
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Why do we say we don't dip food on other days?
In the four questions, we ask "on all other nights, we don't dip, even once, but on this night, we dip twice"
How can we ask this if we dip challah in salt on Shabbat (and other days)?
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What does the word “Karpas” mean?
That which by the Seder on Pesach we eat "karpas", what does this word actually mean and where does it come from?
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1answer
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Are you permitted to weigh Maror on Pesach night?
Are you permitted to use a mechanical scale to weigh the correct Shiur of Maror on Seder night?
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Why does the Haggadah tell us that “Even if they are all Chachmim” they are obligated in Sippur?
Why does the Haggadah tell us that "Even if they are all Chachmim..." they are obligated in Sippur? Are ChaChamim excluded from any other Mitzvot? Do they not have to pick up a Lulav because they are ...
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2answers
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If Hashem brought about Macos Bechoros by himself, with out any angel, then what is the משחית?
If Hashem brought about Macos Bechoros by himself, with out any angel, then what is the משחית that would not harm the Bnei Yisroel mentioned in Shemot Chapter 12, Verse 23?
Premises based on the ...
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1answer
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Daled cosos m'akev each other?
Are the four cups of wine that we drink at the Pesach Seder m'akev (bar) each other. That is to say, without all four cups, do the cups a person does drink count for anything?
However one will ask, ...
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1answer
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Who dropped Moses from the Hagaddah?
Moses is not mentioned in the Hagaddah (with one minor exception), presumably to show that the exodus happened entirely by G-d's power and to not deify Moses.
Presumably, though, the maggid during ...
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2answers
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The 4 sons - the evil son
Why on the seder are we excluding the evil son. In the Hagada it says "break his teeth,etc", "tell him if you were in Egypt you would not have been redeemed".
Yet on Yom Kipur we say on kol nidrei we ...
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1answer
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Starting the Seder after Sheki'ah (sunset)?
In my experience, there is a lot of emphasis on waiting until after Tzeith HaKochavim (the stars come out), which is seen as definitely after nightfall, to start the Seder. The reason is that we want ...
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1answer
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Starting the Seder quickly
It says in SA OC Siman 472 that one should hurry to start the Seder in order that the children shouldn't fall asleep. If the person doesn't have any children is there still a reason to hurry to start ...
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4answers
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What's the best way to dip maror into charoset if you're using horseradish?
Every seder I've ever been to has used ground horseradish for maror, and "dipping" it in the charoset ends up being implemented as putting both maror and charoset on a piece of matzah and eating that. ...
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1answer
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Why do Ashkenazim say a b'racha for each of the four cups?
Normally if you have wine and refill your glass during the meal you don't make a new borei p'ri hagafen. Why do we (at least Ashkenazim) say a new b'racha for each cup at the seder? I think I've ...
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2answers
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Why does the haggadah say to lean specifically to the left?
The haggadah (several copies that I've looked at, so I'm assuming this is universal?) tells us when eating certain foods at the seder to recline or lean to the left. I understand why we lean (the ...
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1answer
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What are the ways our Balei Mesorah suggest to engage children in the Seder?
What do our Baalei Mesorah suggest we do to engage the children in the Seder night?
Furthermore, how effective do you think those methods would be with children of today?
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2answers
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What constitutes roasting with regard to Minhagim?
Roasting in Halachah generally refers to dry heat, such as broiling and barbequing. But with respect to Minhagim, such as not eating roasted meat (or poultry) at the Seder, do we follow the same ...
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Is it appropriate for a Gentile to attend and/or participate in a Seder?
The context: last year, I saw this sign that announced the time and place that a Jewish Seder (probably Yom Kippur) would happen. I was definitely curious and considered going and at least observing ...
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Is there a custom not to eat roasted chicken at the Seder?
Does the custom to refrain from eating roasted meat at the Seder extend to chicken, turkey, and any other fowl one might serve roasted?
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What can I feed a vegetarian at my Pesach seder?
Wait wait, it's not a question for Seasoned Advice. :-)
I have a vegetarian (not vegan) coming to my seder this year. Most of the vegetarian staples (as far as I know) are chametz or kitniyot. For ...
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2answers
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Why do we quote the pasuk from Pesach Sheni for Korech?
At the seder, by Korech (the sandwich) we state
So did Hillel do. When the Temple was standing he would bind [meat from the} Pesach [offering] Matzah and Marror and eat them as one. As the verse ...
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Why is it necessary to make a HaAdamah on Karpas?
Why is it necessary to eat a vegetable that requires HaAdamah for Karpas? Why not an onion, parsley, or other herb that might require SheHaKol (for not being normally eaten that way), or a fruit that ...
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2answers
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Is the wine spilled at the Seder “cursed”?
If I'm not mistaken, my mother usually discards the wine that is spilled at the Seder during the listing of the plagues. But I think she does this because, well, just because it's spilled wine and it ...
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Why doesn't “This is the bread of our affliction” answer one of the Mah Nishtana?
One of the questions (examples?) in the Mah Nishtana is why on all other nights we eat leavened bread or matzah and tonight (Passover) we only eat matzah. However in the introduction to the seder we ...
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How can I make sure my kids get the most out of the Pesach seder [duplicate]
I believe the Pesach seder is an opportune time to educate my children about Judaism and their heritage. What are some of the methods including games, props etc. that are useful to ensure my kids will ...
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Who was worse Lavan, Pharoah or Haman?
In the hagadah we seem to indicate that Lavan was a worse enemy of the Jewish people because Pharoah only decreed against the males while Lavan sought to uproot all. Based on this logic it would seem ...
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3answers
254 views
Why is the wicked son sanctioned for doing what the wise son does?
In the Passover Hagada we're told about the four sons.
The second one is called wicked because he asks, "What is this service to you?!" ("מה העבודה הזאת לכם?") (emphasis mine), while the first one is ...
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Chad Gadya: The price of a kid goat
Was the fair market value of a kid goat really two zuzim? This piyyut is of course allegorical, but, if the value given is highly inaccurate, is the discrepancy in value symbolic beyond the symbolism ...
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2answers
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Who reads the Haggadah?
In my family's Seder, and in one of the two others I've been to, the reading is done by taking turns going around the table. Mostly it is read in the language of one's preference, but some (myself ...
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The, um, Seder of the Seder [closed]
Since I have only experienced a handful of families' traditions of how they conduct their Sedarim, I thought I'd ask what others do.
What are some of the widely practiced customs for how to actually ...
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2answers
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Hardboiled eggs and salt water at the Seder
I've participated in only 3 different families' Passover Seders, so my experience is limited in terms of different families' traditions.
How widespread is the custom of eating a hardboiled egg in ...
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Why a Beitzah on the Seder Plate?
Why do we use a roasted (maybe?) egg on the Seder Plate to represent the Festival offering?
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Preparing the Beitzah for the Seder Plate
What is the appropriate way to prepare the Beitzah for the Seder Plate?
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1answer
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Why do we sing Chad Gadya and Echad Mi Yodea at the seder?
Some of the songs at the end of the seder have an obvious connection to what has come before. Adir Hu is about praising God, which we've been doing all night; Eliyahu HaNavi makes sense because ...
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1answer
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“Motzi Matzah” or “Motzi and Matzah” (separately)? Passover Seder
In some haggadot, I have seen the numbers of sections as being 14, with Motzi Matzah being combined, and in other haggadot, I have seen 15 with them separated. What is the reason behind each side?
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1answer
80 views
At the seder, does everybody make kiddush?
Every year at the seder, we are not sure if everybody makes their own kiddush, or if the leader makes kiddush and everybody says Amen.
I was recently told by a friend that the custom at his seder is ...
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1answer
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Origin of Spilling Wine by 10 Plagues
The custom among all Jews (as far as I know) is to spill a drip of wine for each of the plagues as they are mentioned in a list in the haggadah. This custom is not mentioned anywhere in the Talmud (as ...
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Abraham and Matzah [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
Avot keeping Mitzvot
According to some traditions, Abraham was completely Torah observant. Would this include the mitzvah of eating matzah? Or participating in the ...
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2answers
253 views
How can we drink wine after the Afikomen?
Mishna Berura 478:1:2 says that you should not drink anything other than water after the Afikomen in order not to lose the flavor of the Matza. How then can we drink cup 3 and cup 4 of wine after the ...
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1answer
110 views
Adir Hu - mi yodeya?
A popular song sung at the seder is Adir Hu. The song contains many phrases of the pattern:
[Adjective] is He.
that are grouped together alphabetically with a refrain asking for the speedy ...
