2. רחץ “Wash,” scil., your hands.—Only the head of the family does so
at this part of the Service. [106]
3. כרפס “Vegetables.” A piece of parsley or salad or bitter herb is
dipped in salt water, and eaten after the recitation of the blessing:
ברוך … בורא פרי האדמה “Blessed art thou ... who hast created the
fruit of the ground.” [107]
4. יחץ “He divides.” Of the three matsoth before him, the head of the
family breaks the middle one, part of which is laid aside, to be eaten
at the end of the meal. [108]
5. מגיד “Relating,” [109] scil., the history of the departure from
Egypt. The reader, pointing to the broken מצה before him, exclaims,
“Such was the bread of poverty which our forefathers ate in the land of
Egypt;” as if to say, “We are all alike descendants of those who ate
the bread of poverty in Egypt.” In the same sense, the reader
continues, “We all alike should rejoice in the kindnesses shown by the
Almighty to our nation, and all alike should seek and find true comfort
in the hope of the Messianic blessing promised by Him for the future.”
[110] One of the company, usually the youngest, puts to the reader four
questions, as formulated in the paragraph beginning מה נשתנה “Why is
different?” [111] Additions and alterations may, of course, be made by
the inquirer according to his knowledge and intellect. The object of
these questions is to obtain an explanation of the rites that
distinguish this evening from others. In answer to these questions, the
reader refers to the past history of Israel in three different forms,
[112] viz.:—
(1.) The first answer begins, עבדים היינו, “We were slaves;” and
ends, בשעה שיש מצה ומרור מונחים לפניך “When unleavened bread and
bitter herbs lie before thee.” Here the reader restricts himself,
without any comment, to the one fact that our forefathers were at first
slaves in Egypt, and were then delivered, and illustrates the duty of
speaking that night more fully concerning the departure from Egypt, by
precedent, by the authority of the Mishnah, and by the Midrashic
interpretation of the law commanding us to tell our children this
event.
(2.) The second form of the answer begins, מתחלה עבדי עבודה זרה היו
אבתינו “Our forefathers were at first worshippers of idols,” and ends,
מצילנו מידם “delivers us out of their hand.” Here the exodus from
Egypt is described as the fulfilment of the promise made by God to
Abraham, that his descendants would be delivered out of the hands of
their oppressors.
(3.) The passage from Deut. xxvi. 5–8 is recited with its Midrashic
interpretations, [113] and in conclusion all the benefits received by
the Israelites from the departure from Egypt till the building of the
Temple are enumerated, and our duty of gratitude is shown.
In all these three forms no notice has been taken of the particular
questions. Rabban Gamaliel insists that this should be done, and a
section is therefore added, containing the explanation why the
Passover-offering, the unleavened bread, and the bitter herbs were to
be eaten; this, like the three other sections, concludes with the
emphatic declaration that we—after so many generations—are still bound
to praise and to thank God for the benefits bestowed upon our nation so
long ago. Hereupon follows the Hallel, of which the first two
paragraphs, containing special reference to the departure from Egypt,
are sung before supper; the first part of the Seder-Service concludes
with a blessing, in which we praise God for our past deliverance and
pray for the approach of our future redemption.
6. רחץ “Washing.” All those who partake of the meal wash their hands,
as is ordinarily done before meals.
7. מוציא מצה. Two pieces of מצה are taken; one piece, broken off
the whole cake, representing the bread eaten at ordinary meals for
מוציא, and the other piece taken from the broken one, representing
the מצה we are commanded to eat on the Seder-night. Before eating the
two pieces two blessings are recited ברוך … המוציא לחם מן הארץ
“Blessed art thou ... who bringest forth bread from the earth,” and
ברוך … אשר קדשנו ּּּ על אכילת מצה “Blessed art thou ... who hast
sanctified us by Thy commandments and hast commanded us to eat מצה.”
[114]
8. מרור “Bitter herb.” Bitter herbs dipped in charoseth are eaten,
after the following blessing has been recited ברוך … אשר קדשנו … על
אכילת מרור “Blessed art thou ... who hast sanctified us by thy
commandments and hast commanded us to eat bitter herbs.”
9. כורך “Combining;” scil., unleavened bread and bitter herbs; these
are eaten together, just as formerly, in the time of the Temple, Hillel
used to eat together meat of the Passover-offering, unleavened bread,
and bitter herbs (Exod. xii. 8; Num. ix. 11).