The Seder is a dinner on the eve of Passover that encourages children to ask questions about their Jewish tradition. Here, Larry Huch practices a Seder in with Matthew Cionea, the youngest child at the gathering, whose job it was to search for the hidden piece of matzah during a Seder dinner. Jews have been practicing the Passover Seder for thousands of years. The ceremonial dinner is observed among families and Jewish communities on the eve of Passover. This year, that's Friday night.
The Seder involves dipping a vegetable in salt water, eating unleavened bread and -- for adults -- drinking four glasses of wine. Other steps include hand washing and reciting blessings.
One purpose of the dinner is to encourage inquisitiveness in Jewish children, Levy said. Children play a key role in the ceremony by asking four scripted questions during the dinner. Those four questions are central to understanding the purpose of the Passover celebration, Levy said. Each centers around why the Seder dinner is different from other meals. Here, Levy answers each of the four questions. His responses have been edited for brevity. Why is it that on all other nights we need not dip even once, and on this night we dip twice?
We take a vegetable and we dip in in salt water. The vegetable is to remind us of simplicity. No matter how high we climb in our own life, we need to maintain some sense of simplicity. It's a fundamental in life not to get caught up in oneself when God blesses you with wealth. We dip twice for the injustices that threaten democracy. The Voting Rights Act overturned a gaping flaw, opening the polls for African Americans and initiating liberation from the vestiges of slavery.
For, hidden in the sweetness of liberation, covert disenfranchisement. New voter laws stealthily target people of color, immigrants and seniors. We dip twice lest we forget that obligation to root out the bitter, the threat to our democracy, which overtly or covertly jeopardizes freedom. Why not times? We dream of a world in which all people may go Tonight Jews recline to acknowledge the freedoms and prosperity we currently enjoy, far-removed from the slavery of our biblical ancestors.
The Atlantic Ocean did not part to make a path to the Promised Land for formerly enslaved African Americans like my great grandparents. Instead, Egypt became our home. As a predominantly white community that, collectively, has succeeded in North America, we are called to leverage our power and influence in the pursuit of racial justice.
So, while the mitzvah is to recline during Passover, we must stand as allies to all people of color who are subject to institutionalized oppression and violence. This is the agitation of the ritual: we have become a community in which most of us have the privilege of reclining anytime we want. There are exceptions of course, but for the most part, the North American Jewish community is as affluent and privileged as at any time in history. Many of us are far removed from a direct experience of oppression.
And yet many souls are crushed by the persistent plague of racism. Let reclining not make us complacent. Rather, let this symbolic action agitate us to work tirelessly to create a world in which all people, especially those who struggle because of racial injustice, can live in peace.
I am young, white, Jewish, male, born in North America. I see but do not suffer the discrimination so many encounter because of the color of their skin.
NFTY recognizes racial justice is a crucial issue. What will your contribution be? Affiliate Hat ReformJudaism.
Eating matzah is obligatory only at the seder. During the rest of Pesach, one may abstain from matzah as long as all chametz is avoided; plural: matzot as a symbol of the urgency of redemption. The Israelites did not have time to wait for their bread to rise; the moment to act was upon them. Bondage was not their destiny. If we are not prepared to move, urgently, tomorrow may be too late. Louis, MO We baked our bread in haste. Rabbi Richard N. It is as essential to a just society as bread and water, and still hard to get right.
Mah nishtanah halailah hazeh mikol haleilot? How is this night different from all other nights? Sheb'chol haleilot anu ochlin chametz umatzah, halailah hazeh, kuloh matzah. On all other nights, we eat chametz leavened foods and matzah. Why on this night, only matzah? Sheb'chol haleilot anu ochlin sh'ar y'rakot, halailah hazeh, maror.
On all other nights, we eat all vegetables. Why, on this night, maror bitter herbs? Sheb'chol haleilot ein anu matbilin afilu pa'am echat; halailah hazeh, sh'tei f'amim. On all other nights, we don't dip even once.
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