I r)s PASSOVER IN HISTORY Passover is a very ancient festi- val, celebrating the freedom won by the early Hebrew slaves from the Egyptian Pharoah. Historical records indicate, however, that an important feature in the Passover observance dates back even earlier !o lhe misty dawn of history. Long before the Exodus, the pastoral tribes of Israel observed a festival of the shepherds, called \Iag Hapo- saft.. Moses pleaded with Pharoah in behalf of the Israelites: "Let us go, we pray thee, three days jour- ney in the wilderness, and sacriffce sacrifice of the firstlings of the flocks and herds, a thanksgiving offering to the Lord for His goodness to mankind. The departure of the Israelites from Egypt during the spring festi- val vested this earlier rite with a new historical significance. The name Pesah now assumed the meaning of 'passing over," of spar- ing and delivering. Tradition has described it as "the sacriffce of the Lord's passover, for that He passed over the houses of the children of Israel, when He smote the Egyp- tians, and delivered our houses " (Exodus L2:27).So the ancient holi- day of Pesah was combined with the newer feast of Matzot or "un- leavened bread" commemorating the emancipation from slavery. The unto the Lord our God " (Exodus 5:3). When they were refused, the Israelite families offered the Pas- chal sacrifice in their homes in Egypt. Its celebration in the early spring was associated with the eating of Matzot was interpreted as a reminder of the hurried flight of the Israelites from Egypt. "And they baked unleavened cakes of the dough which they brought forth out of Egypt, for it was not leav- ened; because they were thrust out 6f Egypt, and could not tarry, neither had they prepared for themselves any victual " (Exodus 12:39). As the feast of Israel's independ- ence, the Passover was held dear in the hearts of the people. It gained new power when, under King Josi- ah (L62 B.C.E.), the Passover sacri- fices, like all other offerings, had to be brought to the national sanctu- ary at |erusalem. The present Hag- gadah includes much of the pomp and ceremony of the temPle ritual' The destruction of the Temple in the year 70 led to the cessation of annual sacrifices and the replace- ment of the altar by the home as the center of the proceedings. Dur- ing the centuries of Roman oppres- sion, when the fews groaned under the crushing burden of the Caesars, the ancient Feast of Freedom was charged with rew vitality. Al- though the Seder service recalled the picturesque rites at the Temple, the ritual nevertheless served to stimulate the people with hope of new life and liberty. Celebrating it, the Jewish people declared prayer- fully: "This year we are slaves; next year rrray we be free." This dream of a world in which all men will be free and live in peace inspires the Seder ceremony. At the beginning of the Seder everyone sits down to a beautifully set table, bedecked with flowers and candles, and at the head of which is a special platter. On the platter in specified order are: 1) Three matzot, in memory of the unleavened bread which the Jews ate when they were freed from Egypt. THE SEDER SYMBOLS CUSTOMS AND 5) Haroset, a food made of ap- ples, nuts, cinnamon and wine, mixed together to look like the mortar which the Hebrew slaves used in their servitude. 3) The shank reminder of the of a lamb, as Paschal lamb. 2) Bitter herbs, for the bitterness of slavery. 6) Parsley or uatercress, sugges- tive of the ancient customary hors d'ouevres. It is now used as a token of gratitude to God for the products of the earth. 7) L dish of salt water into which the parsley will be dipped. A cup of wi.ne is set at the place- setting of each celebrant. As in all Jewish ceremonials of reioicing, wine is used as a token of festivity. If desired, unfermented raisin wine may be substituted. 4) A roasted egg, symbolic of the free-will festival offering which accompanied the sacriffce of the Paschal lamb in the Temple. =.r l Each participant in the service is expected to partake of four cuPs of wine. This number was selected as symbolic of the four divine prom- ises of redemption made to Israel in Exodus 6:6-7. An empty wine cuP in the center of the tabla. This cup is filled as part of the Seder ceremonY. It is known as Eliiah's cup. It sym- bolizes the hope of man for the quick coming of God's kingdom upon earth. Early in the Seder service one of the three matzot on the ceremonial platter is divided in half. The half which is put away to be eaten at the close of the meal is called Aphikomon, which is derived from the Greek, meaning after-meal or dessert. The Aphl,kon"Lon, hidden earlY in the Seder, is left to the end of the meal. In connection with this, a sort of game of paying forfeits origi- nated. The head of the familY good- naturedly takes no note of the spir- iting away of the Aphi,komon, bY the children, who return it onlY when the master of the house redeems it with a gift, so that the meal maY be concluded. In ancient Palestine, the laborer or slave ate his meals hurriedly, squatting down upon the ground as best he could. The free man, on the other hand, especially when there was a feast, reclined on cushions by the side of the table. So it is that in many homes at the Seder the leader is seated at the head of the table in an armchair provided with pillows to symbolize the freedom achieved by the ancient Israelites on Pass- over. __-= THE ROLE The Seder service is marked with special concern for children. A striking contrast is offered between the ceremonies of this service of Passover Eve and the conduct of the usual meal, so that the child is sure to ask for an explanation; thus it gives the coveted opportunity to tell the story of Israel's deliverance and to impress the lesson of faith in God. The children question and the father answers. The assignment to the child of a OF CHILDREN prominent part in the Sed,er service is in consonance with the biblical ordinance "And thou shalt tell thv son in that day" (Exodus 13:8). ' In order to maintain the interest of young children and to excite their imagination, the devotional Seder service is mingled with bursts of good humor, serious ob- servations on Jewish life and com- ments in a lighter vein, Iofty poetry and playful ditties. 10 The Seder is the joyful family dinner and worship service which is held in Jewish homes on Pass- over. It is a time when all members of the family gather together. There is always a guest or two at the Seder, for this Festival of Free- dom is a time of hospitality. In many contemporary synagogues, a community Seder for the entire congregation is also conducted dur- ing the Passover week. THE SEDER THE HAGGADAH Seder means "order." The reai title then is "The Order (of service) for the Night of Passover," or some- thing similar. The Seder consists of a number of ceremonies of extreme antiquity. Through these cere- monies and symbols, we are put in sympathy with the generation of the Exodus; we are led to feel the trials of their embittered life of bondage and the joy of their subse- quent triumph of freedom. The Haggadah, which tells the story, is a very ancient tert. The oldest portions are at least twenty- five hundred years o1d; and by the time of the Christian era, the text had already received much of its present form. The whole service is based upon one single Biblical in- junction in connection with the ob- servance of Passover: 'And thou shalt tell thy son in that day saying it is because of that which the Lord did for me when I came forth out of Egypt " (Exodus 13:8). The word "tell" in Hebrew is haggad, and haggadah means "telling." This an- cient ritual, therefore, is simply the recounting of the Exodus to the as- sembled household in literal obedi- ence to the biblical precept. The Haggadah, however, includes not only the order of ancient cere- monial events and the story of the Exodus, but a running commentary of prayer, legend and exposition. = - .- 11 LIGHTING OF THE HOLIDAY CANDLES As a symbol of the uarnt, glou of happiness uhlch this festioal brings into the lewish home, a giil lights two holiday candles. Hold- ing her hands ooer the candles she recites the foll.oui,ing blessings: Praised art Thou, O Lord our God, Ruler of the universe, Who hast sanctiffed us by Thy commandments and commanded us to kindle the light of the holiday. Boruch otoh odonoy elo- hey-nu melech ho-o-lom osher kid-sho-nu b'mits-vo-tov v'tsi- vo-nu l'hod-lik ner shel yom tov. I?F u'i:b$ ,?? ;rF|-( Tr? r0rTD? ,BPIP lryt| ,E?D,l .fit, Eri' bqr .rl P'?la? TIsr Light is the symbol of the divine. As it is written, the Lord is my light and salvation. Light is the symbol of the divine in man. As it is written, the spirit of man is the light of the Lord. Light is the symbol of the divine law. As it is written, the Commandment is a lamp and the law is a light. Light is the symbol of Israel's mission. As it it written, I the Lord have set thee for a covenant of the people, for a light unto the nations. r3 THE ORDER .NDE .v1-?- .1 THE SANCTIFICATION .DP']P.s EATING OF THE GREENS RECITATION SERVICE 14 .'ItlD .5 OF THE OF THE PASSOVER SERVICE lut t'lcb ln'D fn.ll e cLEANSTNG rHE riaxbs- .FD,: .4 BREAKING OF THE MATZAH .;rT[J .6 ALL WASH HANDS EATING THE MATZAH .b!; .rs PRAISE THE LORD .-tiih .s t TASTING THE BITTER HERB .'1.:!1y Itr?U.ro THE PASSOVER MEAL .:l'l!? .rz THE GRACE AFTER MEAL .;lI-lt .14 CLOSE THE SERVICE A REMINDER OF TEMPLE .?lDI r r , r .rr EATING THE AFIKOMEN t5 Eaeryone at the table has a glass of ui,ne set before him. FILL THE FIRST CUP WITH WINE THE SANCTIFICATION .u-lP- .1 lf the festirsal i,s on Friday ni,ght, the followi,ng is added: And it was eaeni,ng and it uas morning, The sixth day, the heavens, the earth, and all their hosts were finished. God finished on the seventh day the work which He had rnade, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had made. And God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it He rested from all His work which He created and made (Gen. 1:31-2:3 ). lR? 'il?l l.:!Y ,il?l E?pry,1 rb)?t ,,vv;l lt Tfrt :DNf ts'7f 'l Dit tr-lN;'11 I Tt? T: in)Nip ,ryrJtrpit pi'rp nr;riN - : '. , E,PI n!q/?l ,;tt?Y lrlrlf tq$ in;x!4':pn,'YrJtpil ., E}'nN Er;'l7N:l-]}] :;luy rr ,; ,inN iroti'' ,0,=r, N'l?-]q}|, in:x?n')?n nlrf :nltt yb Er;'rlN 16 - Holding the wine cup aloft q,ll recite in unison the blessing oxer the oine. )4i!.11 ll?-ll n-l? ,1?P Praised art Thou, O Lord our God, Ruler of the universe, Creator of the fruit of the vine. Boruch oroh odonoy eto_ I?n Wilb$ ,?? ;ffll_t ._lll? hey-nu melech ho-o_lom bo_ rey p'ree ho_go-fen. Praised art Thou, O Lord our God, Ruler of the uni_ verse, Who hast chosen us from among all peoples. Thou hast sanctified and ex- alted us with Thy command_ ments. In love Thou hast given us days of joy and seasons of gladness, even this Feast of unleavened bread, a memorial of the de- parture from Egypt. Thou hast chosen us for Thy serv- ice and made us sharers in the blessings of Thy holy festivals. Praised art Thou, O Lord, Who sanctiffed Is_ rael, and the festive seasons. :I?tx ,lP !t-].i! ,E?ryit 1Ip u7)1; ,?? ;r0l_r !n? 'bln ilp r[p ]ry11 ,E?ly4l ,7ira!'bpn 1:PAi'r1 nin?l? nrub) ;r?i!t_t? 'll'il7N ,r44V? E'.I!tia(! il[t:D? Ei''n$ NY? ErlDIt E'l[ :D (aiTsl ,ilp n+u,l nlub) ,l]n1-'ln 7DT .;.I:I;t niB?!,-1 - , -: ... --=-_. ;vi1?, x'li?D (,;r?ilN? nrub) il? '! .E?JTp nNrl'b 'DJ bpa $|,T-P tflix:r D'lF? 'lYiDI (n+Ul nlub) .E'Ay,? Qirlrl ;r?,IN? nluS) ryIR :rflbB$r lit ?lt ;rFFiP? ,11V?'7?D lrPD'l-'t1,Ey ?? rh0nl ,rf]$a? il!?-lPl n:irb) :d,7.Pq ,l? ;rFN :ln? :E'lDI,lJ bXlP:rt n?ua 17 -All recite together- Praised art Thou, O Lord our God, Ruler of the universe, Who hast given us life, kept us safely and brought us to this holy season. Boruch otoh odonoy elo- hey-nu melech ho-o-lom sh'heh-chi-yo-nu v'ki-mq-nu v'hi-gi-yo-nu lo-z'mohn ho-zeh. 1!p r:,pil! ,l? ;rDN ''l'r.t? 'tlytl;tl ll t? "3 tl T , n?P] ul[ilN? , E?iy .;rlil ]47 - !E- - r-- r-1 - - -= -- = 1- J- t, - - € 18 Here the celebrants drink the fast cup of wine. The first cere- monial uashing of the hands follows. CLEANSTNG rHE HANDS Ip'Jl .e The leader cleanses his hands, but he does not recite a blessing. EATING OF THE GREENS .E E.l! .3 This ceremoru,1 matks tha green that comes to life in the spring- time. some parsle{, lettuce or ioatercrass is distribut'eil to all piruruit who di,p it in salt rDater, and before partaking of it, sag in unison: Praised art Thou, O Lord our God, Ruler of the universe, Creator of the fruit of the earth. Boruch otoh odonoy hey-nu melech ho-o-lom rey p'ree ho-o-do-mo. elo- bo- 1!p w;!1,r ,:? i4lj In? :;rFl}!ir ''lP x'li! ,E?]y,? rg BREAKING oF THE MATZAH .YD? .+ The leader breaks the middre matzah, learsing one half on the seder-ilish; the other \atf is hidden as the Aphi,kofr.on to be eaten at the end' of the meal. The leader rifts up the matzah and, says: Behold, the matzah, the bread of affiiction our fathers ate whel they wer-e slaves in the Land of Egypt. r* ir r"*ind us of people everywhere -who are poor a"d hii.rgry. Let it cal to our minds_men_loday who are stiir ensraved ani without freedom. - M*/ all in need come and cerebrate passover with us. Mav God redeem us from all servitude and trouble. fV"*t v"*;,^ahi, season may the whole house of Israel be free. r And may all mankind enjoy liberty, justice and peace. THE RECITATION OF THE SERVICE .'T,IA .5 20 THE FOUR QUESTIONS (A child asks) Why is this night different from all other nights? 1) On all other nights weeat leavened or unleavened bread. Why on this night do we eat, only matzah, the unleavened bread? 2) On all other nights we eat all kinds of herbs, Why on this night do we eat especially maror, the bitter herb? 3 ) On all other nights we do not dip herbs even once. Why on this night do we dip twice, first the green into salt water and then the bitter herb into haroset? 4 ) On all other nights we may eat at the table either sittins up erect or reclining. Why on this night do we recline? Mo nish-to-noh ho-loi-loh ho-zeh mi-kol ho-loy-lot? She-b'chol ho-loy-lot o-nu och-leen cho-moytz u-motzoh, ho-loi-loh ho-zeh ku-lo motzoh. She-b'chol ho-loy-lot o-nu och-leen sh'or y'ro-koi, ho-loi- loh ho-zeh mo-ror. She-b'chol ho-loy-lot oyn o- nu mot-bee-leen o-fee-loo po- om e-chot, ho-loi-loh hq-zeh sh'toy f'oh-meem. She-b'chol ho-loy-lot o-nu och-leen boyn yosh-veen u- voyn m'su-been, ho-loi-loh ho- zeh ku-lo-nu m'su-been. ;ri,l n}l?_a ilFq,t ;rD tntb'b;r'bla u$ ntbr);ti;1, o ;r?:?ir .;rTH fnry p!;N :;.IBD ]?D ;'I:III i T- ul$ nib;)d-)?+q, Q ;r?:?a niP'l? .rt{q, plpiN :1i1? ;ri,l ill$ I,!t 311)'l;'b;lra (3 .nrlN tryP th'Ps Ir?rlPa ' " .or;y? ,nq rF ;r???ir 'rr5 nibrl;l')??ry @ .?'tPD I'll Plq'l' I'I Pl;rx :l't?4 u?P ;ril r?:?a 2r (The leader replies to the child,:) I am glad you asked thesequestions, for the story of this night is iust what I wanted you to know. Indeed, this night is dif- ferent from all other nights, for on this night we celebrate a most important event in the history of man. On this night we celebrate the going forth of the Hebrew people from slavery into freedom. WHY do we eat only Matzah tonight? WHEN Pharaoh let our forefathers go from Egrct they were forced to flee in great haste. They had no time to bake their bread. They could not wait for the yeast to rise. So the sun beating down on the dough as they carried it along baked it into a fat un- leavened bread called Matzah. WHY do we eat bitter herbs tonight? BECAUSE our fathers were slaves in Egypt and their lives were made bitter. WHY do we dip the herbs twice tonight? WE dip the parsley into salt water because it reminds us of the green that comes to life in the springtime. We dip the bitter herbs into the sweet haroset as a sign of hope; our fathers were able to withstand the bitterness of slavery, because it was sweetened by the hope of freedom. WHY do we recline at the table? BECAUSE reclining at the table was a sign of a free man in olden times; and since our fathers were freed on this night, we recline at the table. \, i\ 22 , Performing these rituals, we ourserves taste the bitterness of t'1y9ry and experience the joy of freedom. Thus God makes Him- self known to us,again, in oui day, as the Author of history, assur_ ing us that the liberty to pursue happiness, to create beauty, to perform deeds of kindness-to ffnd fuifillment in life *r" ,h" .ijht, and privileges of all men-and that the task of achieving a society where these goals may be rearized is our speciar responsibirity. 21 (Now the leader ioined by all the company reci,tes:) wE celebrate tonight because we were slaves to pharaoh in Egy_pt, and the Lord our God delivered us with a mighty hand. Had not the_ Holy One redeemed our fathers from Egyft, we, our children and our children's children would have remiiired slaves. Therefore, even if we were all wise men, it would still be our d,utv from year to year to tell_the story of the deliverance from Egypi. In truth, the more we dwell upon the story of the Exodui-ti" deeper our understanding of the meaning of freedom and the stronger our determination to win it for ourselves and for others. ,EryD ilril :? ils'I?l .E??TAT ily'19? !pl,l E'l?It Nilr In? uili?,I x'3il x) lbu ,;.rlrfl vllEt ;ri7_ln l:I EoltYPa ,'llt_l.J tlf'l 'llr_lJl llN t-l;'t ,ErJB7!D ilrni:x-nx .T : ': : r-r r-i- --t?- ..-.i , -. F;.-.; '- i., _ T ,Errtlf: ilh ,ErD?! rb'p$l .E??TD? ;ty'lp? il?,7 lpg? uo?y ;rlTn ,il'JlR,l-nry p:y'1tr rlp ,E':RI ilh ":l,I ,E?JTA nS'TE tpg? ;1+18,1'b?l .E?JTD 1S'T'I )x ubl F.: 24