Passover on the Net - The Passover (Pesach) Seder 2

The Passover Seder

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With its Passover dishware and silverware, the Seder table is different than the regular dinner table. The centerpiece of which is the Seder plate, a special plate containing the 5 foods that remind us of the struggle of the Israelites in their quest and journey to freedom.

Three pieces of matzoh are placed in a Matzoh Cover (a cloth sleeve or envelope) and placed in the center of the Seder table. Before the meal begins the middle matzoh is removed and broken in half.

One half is returned to the Matzoh Cover, the other - the Afikomen - is hidden, to be hunted by the children at the end of the Seder meal. The child who finds the Afikomen wins a special prize. Some homes break the Afikomen in to many pieces assuring that each child present can find a piece and receive a prize.

The Seder plate contains foods that have special meaning for this holiday.

Haroseth
Parsley (dipped in salt water)
Roasted egg
Shank Bone
Bitter herbs

Haroseth
A mixture of chopped walnuts, wine, cinnamon and apples that represents the mortar the Jewish slaves used to assemble the Pharaoh's bricks.

Parsley
Symbolizing Springtime, it is dipped in salt water to remind us of for the tears of the Jewish slaves.

Egg
Another symbol of Spring.

Shank Bone
Symbolic of the sacrificial lamb offering, the bone can come from whatever the family is eating, such as the leg bone of a roasted turkey.

Bitter Herb
Freshly grated horseradish reflects the bitter affliction of slavery.

During the Seder 4 glasses of wine are poured to represent the 4 stages of the exodus.

Freedom
Deliverance
Redemption
Release

A fifth cup of wine is poured and placed on the Seder table. This is the Cup of Elijah, an offering for the Prophet Elijah. During the Seder the door to the home is opened to invite the prophet Elijah in.

After the meal is eaten, the children search for the Afikomen. The Seder is finished when the children have found the Afikomen and everyone has eaten a piece.

...continue

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Comments

Your mom from United Kingdom (Great Britain)

11:48 11/14/2011

I say, this some interesting facts, here. ;p

Paulina J from Illinois, US

23:00 03/23/2011

thank you so much for explaining this. I am 13 and atend a Catholic school we are having a history fair and since we are studying the Holocaust we each got a topic we have to write a research paper on in the begining of the book i had to read the girl is at a Passover Seder with her family my topic was Passover Seder and this website helped so much!:)

Natasha from Egypt

20:02 04/30/2010

nice!!....

Alma W

13:03 03/31/2010

Jewish Seder

crystal rodriguez from New Jersey, US

18:28 03/30/2010

This is awonderful explanation. I am 13 years old andi never newthat jewish people had a speacial event called thepassover. It is interestingto know that this all started back when moses was told by God to free the israelites.They had no time to bake there dough and so they baked in the sun. This is how it came to be Motzah

Sharon Bosworth from Ohio, US

11:38 03/29/2010

Thank You for the 'history' lesson.

breebabe from Australia

02:22 09/04/2009

cool helped heaps with assignment xoxo:p

Kerryn Crossan from United Kingdom (Great Britain)

04:15 08/27/2009

As and Religous Studies class we are going to try the seder plate food :D

Gedah from Ghana

04:03 04/08/2009

Yes history may be funny yet for some of us it is our way of life. it also very difficult to be consitent when everyone else around you thinks you are ..... for practicing the Hebrew tradition or better still obeying the commandments of the Most High

chy cute from Pennsylvania, US

10:14 12/05/2008

this holiday is cool history is fun and i just learned something new so thank for teaching jewish tradition

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