There are fifteen symbols which help us conduct the Seder in it's proper order.

KADEISH or Kaddesh - Make Kiddush. Sanctification

The Kiddush cup must have a minimum of 90ml. All Kiddush cups are now filled with wine, grape juice or a mixture thereof for the first cup.

We begin the Seder with the reciting of the Kiddush which is sanctifying the Holy Day. After the Kiddush is recited everyone drinks the first of the four cups of wine and it is drunk in a reclining position. (We recline to the left - All lean to the left). A minimum of more than half of the cup must be drunk to fulfil one's obligation.

It is preferable to drink the whole cup, therefore it is better to use a smaller cup (that contains a minimum of 90ml) and drink the whole cup, than to have a larger cup.

URCHATZ or Urechatz - Ritual washing of hands

We ritually wash our hands similar to before the eating of bread, but we do not make the blessing of AL N'TILAT YADAYIM. We may talk between washing our hands and eating the vegetable.

KARPAS - Vegetables

Dip a small piece of the vegetable in salt water, recite the blessing ....BORAI P'RI HA'ADAMA (Haggadah) having in mind the Marror to be eaten later on in the Seder. The salt water reminds us of the tears of our en- slaved ancestors in Egypt.

YACHATZ - Breaking the middle Matzah

The one conducting the Seder breaks the middle Matzah and the larger half is hidden away for the Afikoman.

The smaller part remains between the top and bottom Matzot.

MAGGID or Magid - Reading the Haggadah

We begin relating the story in the Haggadah. It is preferable to be read in the original Hebrew and can then be translated and explained in any language. If one is unable to read Hebrew the Haggadah can be read in any language as long as the contents are being understood. Many people have the custom of all reading the Hebrew together. Before the four questions are recited, the second cup is filled. The Haggadot are well instructed of the various procedures of when to lift the cup of wine and when to pour wine from the cup etc.

The four questions(Mah Nishtanah - Why is it Different?)

Mah nishtanah ha-lahylah ha-zeh mi-kol ha-layloht, mi-kol ha-layloht?

Why is this night different from all other nights?

This is the most famous question which the youngest child asks at the Seder

1)She-b'khol ha-layloht anu okhlin chameytz u-matzah, chameytz u-matzah. Ha-lahylah ha-zeh, ha-lahylah ha-zeh, kooloh matzah?

On all other nights during the year we eat either bread or matzoh, but on this night we eat only matzah?

2)She-b'khol ha-layloht anu okhlin sh'ar y'rakot, sh'ar y'rakot. Ha-lahylah ha-zeh, ha-lahylah ha-zeh, maror?

On all other nights we eat all kinds of herbs, but on this night we eat only bitter herbs?

3)She-b'khol ha-layloht ayn anu mat'bilin afilu pa'am echat, afilu pa'am echat. Ha-lahylah ha-zeh, ha-lahylah ha-zeh, sh'tay p'amim?

On all other nights we do not dip our herbs even once, but on this night we dip them twice?

4)She-b'khol ha-layloht anu okhlin bayn yosh'bin u'vayn m'soobin, bayn yosh'bin u'vayn m'soobin. Ha-lahylah ha-zeh, ha-lahylah ha-zeh, koolanu m'soobin?

On all other nights we eat either sitting or reclining, but on this night we eat in a reclining position?

Source: kosher 4 passover

We eat only matzah because our ancestors could not wait for their breads to rise when they were fleeing slavery in Egypt, and so they were flat when they came out of the oven.

We eat only Maror, a bitter herb, to remind us of the bitterness of slavery that our ancestors endured while in Egypt.

The first dip, green vegetables in salt water, symbolizes the replacing of our tears with gratitude, and the second dip, Maror in Charoses, symbolizes the sweetening of our burden of bitterness and suffering.

We recline at the Seder table because in ancient times, a person who reclined at a meal was a free person, while slaves and servants stood.Source: Wikipedia.

Followed by:

The story of the Four Sons (four kinds of sons) - one who is wise, one who is wicked, one who is simple, and one who does not know to ask.

The story of the slavery in Egypt. Four verses in Deuteronomy (26:5–8) are set forth in careful and elaborate detail. The Haggadah explores the meaning of those verses, and embellishes the story. This telling describes the slavery of the Jewish people and their miraculous salvation by God.

ROCHTZAH or Rachtzah - Ritual of washing of hands

We ritually wash our hands as we will be eating Matzah which has the same law as bread and we recite the blessing ....AL N'TILAT YADAYIM (Haggadah). One may not talk between making the blessing and the completion of eating the Matzah.

MOTZI/ MATZAH - Blessing on the Matzah

The one with the Seder Plate takes hold of all three Matzot and recites the blessing ....HAMOTZI (Haggadah).

Then leave the bottom Matzah holding the whole one and the middle half and make the next blessing....

AL ACHHILAT MATZAH (Haggadah. From the top whole Matzah pieces should be given to each member of the family and they should add additional Matzah to that.

The minimum requirement of eating Matzah this first time is 29 grams, the equivalent of three-quarters of a square Matzah. It is preferable to eat 58 grams which is equavalent to one and a half Matzot. The Matzah should be eaten in a reclining position.

MARROR or Maror - Bitter Herbs

The one conducting the Seder takes the Marror from the Seder plate and everyone else takes Marror which is dipped into the Charoset and the following blessing is recited....AL ACHILAT MARROR (Haggadah). The Marror is not eaten in a reclining position.

The minimum amount of Marror to fulfil one's obligation is 29 grams. You may combine the various types of Marror e.g. romain lettuce and raw horseradish etc.

KOREICH or Korekh - Hillel Sandwich of Matzah and Marror

The one conducting the Seder takes the bottom Matzah, breaks off two pieces and places the Marror from the bottom of the Seder plate in between the two pieces of Matzah, dips into the Charoset, and says:

KAIN OSAH HILLEL found in the Haggadah. Everyone should also take two pieces of Matzah and place bitter herbs in between, dipping into the Charoset and saying KAIN OSAH HILLEL. The minimum amount of Matzah and Marror is the same as above. This too is eaten in a reclining position.

SHULCHAN ORECH - Eating the Festival Meal

Only during the meal may additional wine be drunk other than the four cups.

TZAFUN - The Afikoman

After the meal is completed the hidden Afikomen is taken out. Everyone takes a piece of Matzah and the Afikoman is eaten in a reclining position. The minimum amount is 29 grams, the equivalent of three-quarters of a square Matzah. On the first night the Afikoman should be eaten before 12.08 AM. After the Afikoman nothing else may be eaten.

BAREICH or Barekh - Grace after meals

The third of the four cups is filled and grace after meals is recited together. After grace, the third cup of wine is drunk in a reclining position (All lean to the left).

The fourth cup is filled and the balance of the Haggadah is recited commencing with the opening of the front door for Elijah the prophet.

[There is a fifth cup of wine, but it is not for us, it is for Elijah (Kos shel Eliyahu ha-Navi). We take a cup of wine, usually the most valuable cup we have, and fill it to the very brim. The youngest child is then asked to go and open the front door to let Elijah in, because in Jewish tradition when Elijah came he would herald the coming of the Messiah.]

At the end of the Haggadah we drink the fourth cup of wine in a reclining position (All lean to the left) and we then sing all the beautiful Passover Haggadah Songs.

NIRTZAH - Accepted

After having completed the whole Seder service accurately and conscientiously, we are assured that it has been accepted by the Alm'ty and next year in Jerusalem.

_____________________________________________________

Matzah - The food of Faith

Matzah! Some people love it, others hate it, but everyone has to eat it on Passover. In fact one of the reasons that we do not eat Matzah the day before Passover in order that we can look forward with anticipation to eating Matzah at the Seder.

Image: Matzah

The Torah refers to Matzah as LECHEM ONI, the "bread of affliction." Another meaning of LECHEM ONI is "bread of austerity" which is a very plain and simple food. The Matzah contains no enriched ingredients whatsoever, other than flour and water, not even salt is added. Consequently Matzah that is Kosher for Passover is plain and bland, containing no flavouring or seasoning etc. So that is why it is called "poor mans bread" which is not only flat in appearance, but also in taste.

Yet this simple bread is our staple food over Passover, so much so that the Holy Day is called CHAG HAMATZOT, the Festival of Unleavened Bread. Interestingly enough, our Holy Zohar calls Matzah the "Food of Faith." In what way is Matzah connected with faith? And how does it symbolize faith? One of the answers found in the Torah is that the children of Israel baked their dough as flat, round, unleavened cakes because they were driven out of Egypt and could'nt tarry. They took no other provisions with them (Exod 12: 39).

Our ancestors left Egypt in a great hurry to go into the wilderness, yet not one of them asked Moses "how are we and our children and our livestock going to survive in the desert?" They put their complete trust in G-d. The Matzah reminds us of this faith and inspires us with similar faith in G-d.

But this is only one side of our faith and our trust in G-d's ability to provide for our needs under any circumstances.

We may be sure that G-d will fulfil his obligations to us (although G-d does not really owe us anything).

We must also ensure that G-d will trust us that we will fulfil our obligations to Him. This we can do only if we recognise G-d as our King, our Creator and in His Torah and Mitzvot. This faith too is symbolished by Matzah. Faith is an inner feeling which in its pure form is very simple. It has no intellectual ingredients, it is not based on knowledge.

Faith begins where knowledge ends. In our relationship with G-d, faith is then beginning of knowledge. We begin with the realization that no human being, however wise, can fully understand the Creator. To be sure faith is sweet and pleasant, this is only because it satisfies our hungry soul. In itself faith is without any enriched ingredients, not even a grain of salt.

The basic ingredients of faith are humility and submission. Humility comes from the realization of our "nothingness". We ourselves are nothing and we have nothing of our own. All we are and all we have is from G-d. Submission comes from the realization of our intellectual poverty in the face of the infinite wisdom of our Creator. We can see how faith is the spiritual counterpart of Matzah. Whereas Matzah is a physical food, faith serves as the spiritual food.

The whole purpose of the liberation from Egypt and as our Torah tells us - was to receive the Torah at Mt.Sinai; that we may be free from our service to Pharoah in order to serve G-d. He made this clear to Moses when He spoke to Him from the burning bush, "when you will bring out my people from Egypt you will worship G-d at this mountain" (Exod 3:12)

This was the message that Moses brought to Pharoah again and again in the name of G-d "let my people go that they may serve me".

In order to set this in the minds of the children of Israel and to teach them the first step in divine service they were commanded to eat Matzah on the eve of their liberation from Egypt. Matzah, as explained above, is the symbol of faith (the bread of faith).

If we want to become true servants of G-d we must begin with faith, pure and simple faith in G-d and in His Torah and Mitzvot. Our own reasoning, understanding or will itself must be put aside in order to do the will of G-d. If one should say, "I want to know all about the Mitzvot before i practice them" - he is not likely ever to come to a point of fulfilling G-d's commandments. Even if he finally realises that he has taken the wrong path.
- The Counting of the Omer" What is its significance?

The Sfirah period connects the Festival of Passover with the Festival of Shavuot. We begin counting the days of the Omer from the second night of the Festival of Passover which commemorates the exodus from Egypt when we were liberated from slavery and continue to count for forty-nine days. The next night commences the Festival of Shavuot when we relive the giving and receiving of our Holy Torah.

The purpose of counting or measuring any quantity is to ascertain the exact number or measure of a certain thing. A cencus of the population for example is taken from time to time since the population can either increase or decrease and we want to ascertain its progress. Similarly statistics are kept for various reasons etc.

From this point of view the idea of Sfirah would seem incomprehensible, more-over even where things of variable quantity are concerned, the idea of counting or measuring signifies importance.

We have said that unlike most other things which are changeable in quantity time is unchangeable and beyond our control. But this is true only superficially, actually time holds out for uspossibilities which do not exist in other things, for while man's influence over things under his control is limited his influence over time is in a sense unlimited. Time is like a vessel which is highly elastic and with an infinite absorptive capasity. It has the power of expanding or contracting, depending on how much or little we put into it.

Herein lies the special significance of Sfirah - of counting the days to the time of receiving the Torah on Sinai.

For the Torah whose measure is longer than the earth and broader than the ocean containing the infinite wisdom of G-d was given to finite beings, men limited to a lifespan of short duration of "three-score years and ten, or if in strength, four score years" at most his days shall be hundred and twenty years. Can a being so limited in time do justice to such an unlimited gift? Can a finite being like man have any grasp of the infinite Torah?

That is why in preparation for the receiving the Torah we are commanded to count the days in order that we should be impressed with the significance of time. It is hereby emphasised that although we cannot alter the flow of time either by stretching it or by retracting it this is only superficial. In reality, each particle of time, even a day gives us almost infinite possibilities, therefore although human life is limited on this earth to a certain number of years, one is not limited in one's possibilities of using them to accomplish as much as it would take others many, many years.

Although formally time is fixed and can only be measured but not influenced, nevertheless if it be measured in terms of its content and our accomplishment in the sphere of our infinite and eternal Torah and Mitzvot we are able not only to stretch time but even to turn it into infinity and eternity. In other words we can transfer and elevate our own time beyond and above time. This in essence is the significance of Sfirah, the counting of the Days of the Festival of Shavuot as a preparation for receiving our Holy Torah.

It is a mitzvah to count the Sfirah each evening starting from the second night of Passover and culminating forty-nine days later. If you have missed out a twenty-four hour period without counting, you may continue to count but without the blessing. If you remembered before sunset the next day you count that day without a blessing and continue the following days with a blessing.