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"Credo" (I believe) is a major part of every Church service in traditional Christianity. One of the first parts of the service is the recitation of one or more "creeds"; basic beliefs of the Church, formulated mostly in the fourth century. The...
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The custom of pouring out wine from the second cup is not mentioned in the Talmud nor other early sources until about 1200 ce. The custom arose in Franco-Germany, and spread to virtually the entire Jewish world. At the mention of each of the Ten...
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An amazing Midrash says as follows:"When the Sea covered Pharaoh's army, the Ministering Angels opened up with songs of praise to G-d. G-d said to them: The work of My hands is drowning in the Sea, and you are singing?". This is the part of the...
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Following the recitation of the plagues, there is an acknowledgement of G-d's many acts of kindness in connection with the Exodus, any one of which would have been by itself extraordinary and sufficient. We then have a short section which many...
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Rochtzah, Motzi, Matzah: We wash our hands as we normally do for a meal with bread. Before us, are, depending on custom, either two whole matzot plus a broken one (half of which we put away for Afikomen), or one whole matzah plus the broken one....
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After the eating of the Matzah, we now turn to the MARROR; the bitter herb. As I have indicated previously, this must be either lettuce, or a related green leafy herb such as endive. In my opinion, there is no basis for the use of horseradish,...
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The table is set, and we are ready to eat. The sources simply say "one eats whatever one wishes, and drinks whatever one wishes". There are no halachic requirements for the meal, nor even universally accepted customs. The only one that comes close...
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The meal has ended. It is time for TZAFUN, "the hidden". Near the beginning of the seder, we broke a matzah into two, and hid a piece away for the Afikoman. Afikoman is a Greek word, meaning "we go out"; that is essentially "dessert". But it is no...
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The meal has ended, with the Afikoman as its climax. The third cup of wine is poured. In most communities, each participant then washes his or her fingers (the Vilna Gaon requires washing of the whole hands), in preparation for BARECH, the...
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Our fourth cup is now filled. We are to recite over it the HALLEL. There are actually two Hallels. There is the familiar "Hallel Mitzrayim" (Hallel of Egypt; Psalms 113-118) so called because a large portion of it gives thanks for the Exodus. This...
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