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05. Is it Proper to Eat Shemura Matza All Pesaḥ?

The mitzva of safeguarding the matzot was stated with respect to the matzat mitzva we are commanded to eat on the night of the 15th of Nisan. The idea is to honor the mitzva by guarding them especially carefully. In other words, it is permitted to eat matzot that were not guarded if there is no concern that they may have become ḥametz, but they are not fit for use as matzot mitzva since they were not safeguarded especially carefully for sake of matzat mitzva. Accordingly, throughout Pesaḥ, one may eat non-shemura matza that is kosher for Pesaḥ.

Nevertheless, some are meticulous about eating shemura matza throughout Pesaḥ. There are two reasons for this: One is that some poskim maintain that while there is no duty to eat matzot throughout Pesaḥ, one who does so fulfills a mitzva; therefore, one should eat shemura matza (as explained in section 1). It follows that one who wishes to fulfill a mitzva by eating matza must eat shemura matza. However, according to this view, it is sufficient to eat a kezayit of shemura matza at each meal. Similarly, it is enough to use our regular matzot (not labeled as shemura), which have been safeguarded from the time of milling, because, as we have learned (section 2), one technically fulfills the requirement for matzat mitzva with matza that has been guarded from the time of milling.

The second reason is concern about ḥametz. Out of all the foods we eat on Pesaḥ, matza is the likeliest to become ḥametz. Therefore, if the wheat grains are not guarded from harvest time, there is concern that some wheat kernels may have become ḥametz. Thus, there are grounds for the scrupulous practice of eating matza that has been safeguarded from harvest time throughout Pesaḥ.

Today, the advantage of matzot that have been guarded from harvest time is not only in their having been protected from contact with water since the grain was harvested. In general, much more care is taken throughout their entire manufacturing process. For example, the baking machines are stopped every 18 minutes for a thorough cleaning. Thus these matzot benefit from a whole series of enhancements.

In sum, regular matzot, which have been guarded from the time of the milling, are kosher for all of Pesaḥ, le-khatḥila. Even those who maintain that there is a mitzva to eat matza throughout the seven days of Pesaḥ agree that one fulfills the mitzva with such matzot. Those who are more scrupulous eat matzot that have been guarded from harvest time, because these matzot are more carefully safeguarded from becoming ḥametz.^[5]

[5]. The custom of the Vilna Gaon was to eat shemura matza the entire Pesaḥ for two reasons. Firstly, he maintained that there is a mitzva to eat shemura matza all seven days, but in this respect it only needs to be supervised from the time of kneading. Secondly, he was concerned about ḥametz, and, accordingly, supervision would be necessary from the time of harvesting. This is quoted in BHL 453:4. AHS 453:20-23 states that according to Rif and Rambam, there is a rabbinic mitzva to guard the matza from the time of harvesting to prevent it from becoming ḥametz; accordingly, this applies to all matza that one eats over Pesaḥ. However, according to most poskim one need not eat matza that was supervised from the time of harvesting, and this is the implication of SA 453:4 and MB ad loc.

It thus emerges that the primary enhancement of the mitzva is to guard the wheat against becoming ḥametz from the time of harvesting. Thus, the kernels are harvested before they dry out to prevent any concerns of rainwater potentially making them ḥametz. The kernels are then stored in a dry place, preventing any kernels from puffing up or splitting, which would indicate that they have started to become ḥametz. On the other hand, wheat imported from abroad, from which all other matza is made, sometimes contains kernels that have already become ḥametz. Even though matza bakers are careful to purchase clean shipments, there is still a concern that some ḥametz kernels mixed in. And even though these kernels are batel be-shishim (because the matza is baked before Pesaḥ, according to most poskim the ḥametz is not ḥozer ve-ne’or on Pesaḥ, as explained above, 7:3-4), this matza is not as optimal. Since matza that was guarded from the time of harvesting is more optimal, bakers are careful to perform all of the other steps in the most meticulous way possible: during baking, they stop the machines every 18 minutes and clean them thoroughly; they constantly declare that they are working le-shem matzat mitzva; and they are more careful to supervise the entire process. Conversely, the trend with regard to non-shemura matza is to produce and sell it as cheaply as possible, so that the general public will be able to afford it. Therefore, only the mixers used for kneading are changed every 18 minutes, but the rollers are cleaned while they are running. Although they are cleaned in a way that ensures that every part is cleaned every 18 minutes, since the cleaning is done while the machines are running, it is more difficult to clean the machines thoroughly.

Yet shemura matza is far more expensive than the regular matza (even if it is only guarded from the time of milling the wheat and can thus be used to fulfill the mitzva of eating matza according to those who maintain that there is a mitzva for the entire holiday). Some say that it is preferable to give charity to the poor or to support Torah study than to buy shemura matza. On the other hand, why shouldn’t one who spends lavishly on furniture, clothing, and other luxuries spend extra money to fulfill mitzvot in the best possible way? Ultimately, in practice, regular matza is kosher le-khatḥila, and one may rely on the fact that the kashrut supervisors do their jobs properly. When it comes to fulfilling higher standards of mitzvot, one must decide if and how he wishes to go beyond the letter of the law.

06. Water That Has Stayed Overnight (“Mayim She-lanu”)

The Sages prohibited kneading dough for Pesaḥ matzot with lukewarm water, as warmth accelerates the leavening process. Unless workers are especially quick to knead and bake it, there is concern that it will become ḥametz. The Sages forbade kneading the dough even with regular cold water found in cisterns and in springs, lest the surrounding ground, which had absorbed the heat of the sun, in turn warmed the water. Therefore, they required that the water be drawn before nightfall and kept overnight in a cool place. Such water is called mayim she-lanu. This water is used to prepare matzot for Pesaḥ (SA 495:1 and 3).^[6]

However, a problem arose in countries with warm climates. No matter where the water was kept overnight, it would warm up a bit. On the contrary, had the water been left in the springs, it would have stayed cooler! Nevertheless, the halakha is that the water must be left out, as the Sages enacted. If, as a result, the water warms up a bit, it must be refrigerated (Mikra’ei Kodesh 2:7).

Some maintain that one should leave tap water overnight for baking the matzot, since the water might be from an open reservoir and may have been warmed by the sun. Furthermore, there is concern that the chlorine mixed into the water will accelerate the leavening process (She’arim Metzuyanim Be-halakha 109:3). In practice, this possibility is of no concern, and only a few meticulous people who make handmade matzot are scrupulous about drawing the water from wells or springs. In machine-matza factories, they take regular tap water from the municipal system, filter it thoroughly, and leave it in a cool place all night (R. Tzvi Yehuda Kook similarly would prepare mayim she-lanu from tap water).

[6]. One who did not prepare mayim she-lanu should not bake matza using regular water. Rather, he should suffice with fruits, vegetables, and other foods for the rest of the holiday. However, if he otherwise will not have a kezayit of matza with which to fulfill the Torah commandment on the Seder night, he may bake matza using regular cold water, so that he does not neglect this mitzva (MB 455:36).

07. Preventing Leavening during Kneading

The flour for matzot is milled at least one day before it is kneaded into dough, since milling heats the flour slightly, and if they do not wait, there is greater concern that the dough will become ḥametz (SA 453:9). No salt or pepper is added to the dough, since they might warm the dough, increasing the risk that it will become ḥametz (SA 455:5-6).

Le-khatḥila, one should not make matza dough with more than c. 1.5kg (c. 3.3 lbs.) of flour (the shi’ur for having to separate ḥalla from the dough with a berakha), as it is hard for one person to knead such a large piece of dough thoroughly and quickly, and there is concern that parts of the dough may become ḥametz. Be-di’avad, if one kneaded a larger quantity, the matza is kosher as long as the dough did not rest for 18 minutes and no signs of leavening appeared (SA 456:1-2).

When there are several people engaged in kneading, flattening, and rolling out the dough, some poskim maintain that it is permissible to knead larger quantities, and indeed many do so. Even so, initially it is proper to be stringent and not to knead more than the measure that the Sages fixed (MB 456:7). When the kneading is done by machine, it is customary, even le-khatḥila, to knead large volumes of dough.

One may not knead the dough in a hot place, since heat accelerates the leavening process. Therefore, one should not knead in a sunny place, and during a sharav (ḥamsin; a heat wave during which the sun is obscured by clouds and sand), one should not knead the dough outside or inside near to windows, because even though most of the sun’s rays are obscured by clouds, the whole sky radiates intense heat. Obviously, one should not knead in a place warmed by an oven (SA 459:1). Be-di’avad, if dough was kneaded in a hot place but no signs of leavening were seen in the dough or the matza, the matza is kosher for Pesaḥ (ibid. 5).

Le-khatḥila, one may not stop working the dough for even a moment (SA 459:2). If the hands of the person kneading the dough heat up, he should cool them in cold water. Some are careful to cool their hands in water occasionally while they are kneading (MB 459:27).

08. More Laws about Matza

The oven should be heated thoroughly, so that the dough begins to bake immediately. If the heat is low, the dough might begin to become ḥametz before it bakes. Clearly one may not bake matza in the heat of the sun, and if he did so, then even if the heat was very strong and it is obvious that the dough did not leaven, one does not fulfill the mitzva of eating matza with it, as the Torah calls matza the “bread of affliction,” and something sun-baked is not properly called bread (SAH 461:6).

It is not necessary, however, to bake the bread specifically in the flames of the fire. Rather, even if filaments burn under a metal or earthenware plate, as long as the plate is burning hot, one may bake on it (SA 461:2). Similarly, one may bake in an electric oven whose heating elements glow hot, for that is considered like fire. However, there is uncertainty regarding matza baked in a microwave oven, as some maintain that it is unfit for the mitzva of eating matza since it was not baked by fire. (R. Shlomo Zalman Auerbach disqualified such matzot, and R. Shaul Yisraeli held them to be kosher; see R. Harari’s Mikra’ei Kodesh, p. 335.)

One may not decorate matza with pictures, lest it become ḥametz during the delay caused by decorating. One may not make a thick matza (thicker than 7.6 cm) on Pesaḥ, out of concern that the fire will not reach the center and it will become ḥametz (SA 460:4-5). However, one may bake a matza that is a bit thinner than a tefaḥ. Ashkenazic custom is to make thin, hard matzot, as this way the fire reaches them thoroughly and there is hardly any concern that the matza will contain ḥametz (Rema 460:4). Some Sephardim bake matza that is about as thick as a finger, while others make them thin like wafers, as Ashkenazim do, since they usually bake them well before Pesaḥ, and if they are not wafer-like, they will not last long (Kaf Ha-ḥayim 460:44).^[7]

One does not fulfill his obligation with a stolen matza (SA 454:4). Sometimes a purchaser takes the matzot into his possession without paying immediately. If the seller indicates that he wants to receive payment immediately, the purchaser must be careful to pay as the seller requested. If the seller seeks the buyer out, demanding payment for the matzot, and the purchaser dismisses him by saying “come back later,” then the purchaser does not fulfill his obligation with those matzot, because they do not belong to him (MB 454:15).

[7]. Ashkenazim customarily prepare hard matza as it retains its freshness longer, and thus they were able to prepare enough matza to last all of Pesaḥ before the holiday. There is a halakhic advantage to preparing the matza before Pesaḥ, as then any ḥametz is batel be-shishim, and when Pesaḥ arrives, the halakha is that it is not ḥozer ve-ne’or (above, 7:3-4). Thin matza has another halakhic advantage: since they are thin, the fire of the furnace reaches them thoroughly, and there is no concern that any leavening occurred. In addition, the hardness of the matza is halakhically advantageous, as the ability to discern whether the matza started leavening depends on the presence of threads of dough that extend from the baked matza. With hard matzot, this is easily discernible, whereas greater expertise is required for soft matza. Since this custom also has halakhic advantages, it should not be dismissed for no reason. However, in times of need, such as for someone who is sick, it is possible to be lenient, since this was not established as an obligatory custom.

01. The Prohibition against Work (Melakha) on Erev Pesaḥ

When the Temple stood, one who offered a sacrifice was prohibited from performing melakha (productive work) that day, as it was like a holiday for him, and it is inappropriate to perform melakha while one’s sacrifice is being offered up on the altar. The same applies to Erev Pesaḥ, a day on which Israel is obligated to offer the korban Pesaḥ (Paschal sacrifice), and which is consequently like a holiday for everyone. But since the time for offering the korban Pesaḥ does not begin until midday, the prohibition against melakha also does not begin until midday. Even after the destruction of the Temple, this enactment remained in effect, and it is forbidden do perform significant melakha after midday on the 14th of Nisan. Another reason for this custom is to prevent one from becoming preoccupied with work and forgetting to destroy his ḥametz and prepare matza, wine, and other necessities for the Seder night.

In some places, people adopted the stringent practice of refraining from melakha from the morning of the 14th of Nisan, and in such places this custom was binding. In practice, however, the prevailing practice everywhere is to do melakha until midday.

Indeed, the Sages instituted a ban on significant melakha every Erev Shabbat so that people would be free to prepare for Shabbat. However, the prohibition on Erev Pesaḥ is more severe, for while the Sages taught that whoever performs melakha on Erev Shabbat will see no sign of blessing from it, those who performed melakha on Erev Pesaḥ were actually excommunicated. In practice, the halakha is that melakha is forbidden on Erev Shabbat from the time of minḥa ketana (two and a half seasonal hours before sunset), while the prohibition on Erev Pesaḥ begins at midday.^[1]

[1]. The “korban” reason is explained in y. Pesaḥim 4:1 and is the opinion of Tosafot, Rambam, and most poskim. Tosafot imply that this is a Torah prohibition, but according to Rambam and many other poskim, the prohibition is rabbinic. All agree that after the destruction of the Temple the prohibition is only rabbinic. The first reason is the primary one; therefore, if the first night of Pesaḥ coincides with Motza’ei Shabbat, one may work until minḥa ketana on Friday just like on a regular week, even though he burns the ḥametz and takes care of other Pesaḥ preparations on Friday (BHL 468:1; see also Ḥazon Ovadia vol. 2 p. 82 and Hilkhot Ḥag Be-ḥag 14:8). The prohibition against work on Friday afternoon is explained in Pesaḥim 50b, and the Rishonim are divided as to whether the prohibition refers to minḥa gedola (5.5 seasonal hours before sunset) or minḥa ketana (2.5 seasonal hours before sunset). Because this constitutes a doubt about a rabbinic law, halakha follows the lenient opinion (see SA 251:1 and MB ad loc.; Peninei Halakha: Shabbat 2:8).

See MB 468:12 and Kaf Ha-ḥayim 32 ad loc. regarding the modern-day custom regarding Erev Pesaḥ before midday. The fact that they wonder about the custom in Jerusalem makes it clear that there is no fixed custom to prohibit work, since where work is prohibited, it is also prohibited for guests, and certainly for the residents of the community. There are no communities nowadays that prohibit work on Erev Pesaḥ before midday.

However, according to SA 468:5 in the name of Rambam, even where there is no custom to prohibit work, only three types of craftsmen are permitted to begin working before midday: tailors, barbers, and launderers, since their work is done expressly for the holiday. For everyone else, if one began a task before the morning of the 14th and the work is necessary for Pesaḥ, he may work until midday, but if he did not begin before the morning of the 14th, he may not start. According to Rema, based on the opinion of most Rishonim, including Rashi, Raavad, Rosh, Ran, and others, the aforementioned distinction only applies where the custom is to refrain from work (like in Rema’s community), but where the custom is to permit work until midday (like in our communities), everything is permissible. This is the custom of the Ashkenazic communities. Even some Sephardic communities follow Rema; see Kaf Ha-ḥayim ad loc. 32. In any event, we follow the lenient view when there is uncertainty regarding a rabbinic law.

2. Which Melakhot Are Forbidden?

The ban on melakha after midday on Erev Pesaḥ applies to full-fledged work that people typically do for a living, such as sewing, building furniture, and planting saplings. However, one may cook, clean the house, or travel before the holiday. As a rule, the ban on melakha on Erev Pesaḥ is similar to the ban on melakha during Ḥol Ha-mo’ed, and in certain cases is even slightly more lenient. Therefore, everything the Sages permit on Ḥol Ha-mo’ed is also permitted on Erev Pesaḥ.

There are three types of melakha: melakha gemura (full-fledged melakha), professional repair work, and the simple work of a non-professional. Melakha gemura like sewing garments, building furniture, and cutting hair, is always forbidden, even if it is done for free. However, mending clothes, even if it demands professional expertise, is not considered melakha gemura. Therefore, if the mender receives payment, it is forbidden, but if he works for free and the mending is needed for the festival, it is permitted. Simple work like sewing a button, if needed for the festival, is permitted even for pay on a temporary basis. It is likewise permissible for one to summarize his ideas in writing as he studies, but if he earns a living from typing or copying, it is a melakha gemura and thus forbidden (SA 468:1, 2).^[2]

Though it is forbidden to have one’s hair cut after midday on Erev Pesaḥ, it is permitted to shave with one’s own shaver, because this is non-professional work. It is likewise permitted to iron clothes, shine shoes, and cut fingernails after midday in preparation for the festival. However, some are stringent to shave and cut fingernails before midday.^[3]

As noted, all melakhot permitted by the Sages on Ḥol Ha-mo’ed are also permitted after midday on Erev Pesaḥ. These are the five instances in which melakha is permitted on Ḥol Ha-mo’ed: 1) skilled labor, for pay, to address personal needs, primarily the preparation of food for the festival; 2) non-professional work for pay or skilled labor for free, for other festival needs; 3) melakha for something fleeting, to prevent substantial loss, even by a craftsman for pay; 4) melakha done for public benefit or for the sake of a mitzva; 5) melakha performed by a poor person who lacks the money to buy festival necessities (Peninei Halakha: Festivals, chapters 11-12).

[2]. SHT 468:10 and Kaf Ha-ḥayim ad loc. 24 explain that a non-professional may accept temporary work and even receive payment for it. In this regard, Erev Pesaḥ is less strict than Ḥol Ha-mo’ed, since according to SHT 541:21 this type of work is prohibited on Ḥol Ha-mo’ed but permitted on Erev Pesaḥ as it is on Friday after minḥa ketana. However, SAH rules stringently on this matter vis-à-vis Erev Pesaḥ as well.

I did not mention laundering even though it is listed as a melakha gemura in SA, since nowadays laundry is done by machine and might be considered non-professional work done for the sake of the holiday, as stated in SSK ch. 42 n. 139. Laundering is permitted on Friday after minḥa.

[3]. MB 468:5 states that preferably one should cut his nails before midday, although many permit one to cut his nails even on Ḥol Ha-mo’ed (SA §532 and Ḥazon Ovadia vol. 2 pp. 89-91). She’arim Metzuyanim Be-halakha 113:6 also permits polishing shoes. According to R. Mordechai Eliyahu (Kitzur SA 113:5), one may shave even after midday, although it is better to shave before midday.

If one forgot to get a haircut before midday and his appearance is not appropriate for the holiday, he may get his hair cut by a gentile, since the ban on work applies only to Jews. Even though the Jew getting his hair cut helps the gentile do his job, it is permissible so that he will have his hair cut for the festival.

03. Ta’anit Bekhorot – the Fast of the Firstborns

Firstborn males have a custom to fast on Erev Pesaḥ to commemorate the miracle performed for them: all Egyptian firstborn males died while firstborn Israelites were saved.

In order to give some sense of the significance of Makat Bekhorot (the Plague of the Firstborn), we must first note that besides being the eldest male child, the firstborn embodies something primal, for with his birth the new life of the next generation begins to unfold. The firstborn thus bears great responsibility. If he chooses the path of virtue, he will express that primal root – faith in the Creator of the universe – and the rest of the children in the family will follow in his path. But if he chooses the path of evil, denying God, becoming boastful, and deeming himself great and important, he will always be striving to enhance his own glory and satisfy his appetites. This was the sin of the Egyptians, who considered themselves the lords of the earth and denied God’s existence. When they were commanded to send Israel away to worship God, they stubbornly refused to let them go. Pharaoh, himself a firstborn, led them in their pride and heresy.

The first day of Pesaḥ is itself a kind of “firstborn”: it is the first day on which God began to reveal Himself in the world. Until this time, individual miracles were performed for special people, but not on a national level, via an entire people, the people of Israel. When the great day arrived, the day designated for the revelation of the root of faith in the world, a severe accusation against the firstborns of Egypt, who denied God’s existence, was aroused. They were stubborn and prevented the revelation of His light through the people of Israel. Upon God’s revelation at midnight, they were all broken and slain. In contrast, the bekhorim of Israel, who expressed their faith in God by obeying His commandment, on the eve of the Exodus, to slaughter a lamb, which was an Egyptian god, risking their lives by smearing its blood on the doorposts, were saved and sanctified.

Each year, we relive the special time of Seder night, when the source of our faith was revealed. However, as this holy night approaches, the accusation against the bekhorim is reawakened: Are they as committed to the Torah and the mitzvot as they should be? Are they expressing God’s name in the world as they should? Firstborns therefore have a custom to fast and repent on Erev Pesaḥ.

This fast is less strict than other fasts. All of the other fasts were instituted by the Sages, but Ta’anit Bekhorot, a custom adopted by many bekhorim, was never instituted as a binding obligation by the Sages. It is therefore customary to be lenient. For example, if one suffers from a headache, or from a pain in his eye, he is exempt from Ta’anit Bekhorot, even though he is not considered sick and would not be exempt from other fasts. Likewise, if one thinks that by fasting he will not be able to fulfill the mitzva of eating matza and recount the story of the Exodus, it is better that he not fast. Furthermore, the custom is that whoever participates in a se’udat mitzva is exempt from Ta’anit Bekhorot (Birkei Yosef §470; MB 470:2, 10).^[4]

[4]. Y. Pesaḥim 10:1 has two versions of this. According to one version, the custom of the firstborns is to fast on Erev Pesaḥ; this also appears in Sofrim 21:3 (compiled at the end of the savoraic period in Eretz Yisrael). This is also the version quoted by Ramban and Ran. According to the second version of the Yerushalmi, they did not have the custom to fast; this is the version quoted by Raavyah and is also the opinion of the Vilna Gaon. Me’iri states that the custom in Germany and France was to fast, although the fast was not mandatory, and Birkei Yosef quotes Rishonim who echo this idea. Therefore, one may be lenient about this fast and rely on a siyum in order to eat. Mordechai states in the name of Rabbeinu Yeḥiel that the custom of the firstborns is only to refrain from eating bread and other baked goods, but meat, fish, fruits, vegetables, and the like are permissible. Practically, SA 470:1 states that the custom is to fast. However, MB 2, SHT 6 ad loc. state that when necessary, such as if the firstborn has great difficulty fasting, one may rely on Rabbeinu Yeḥiel.

04. Who Is Included in the Custom to Fast?

There are two types of bekhorim, and both are included in this custom, because both types of bekhorim died in Egypt. The first type is a bekhor to one’s father, the bekhor who inherits a double portion of his father’s estate. Even if his mother bore children from a previous husband, or had an earlier miscarriage (and he is therefore not considered his mother’s firstborn and need not be redeemed by pidyon ha-ben), the custom of fasting applies to him, because he is a bekhor to his father with regard to the law of inheritance.

The second type is a bekhor to one’s mother, the bekhor to whom pidyon ha-ben applies. Customarily, he too observes Ta’anit Bekhorot, even if his father already had children with another woman and he will not inherit the double portion. He has the status of “petter reḥem” (the first to emerge from his mother’s womb). The firstborn to a mother who was born via Caesarean section lacks the status of bekhor both with regard to inheritance and with regard to pidyon ha-ben, and therefore need not fast on Erev Pesaḥ (Kaf Ha-ḥayim 470:3; however, some are scrupulous about participating in a siyum).

Firstborn kohanim and Levi’im also observe the custom of fasting. Although the Torah exempts them from pidyon ha-ben, they are nonetheless bekhorim (MB 470:2). A firstborn female need not fast. While it is true that some authorities maintain that female bekhorot also died in Egypt, the prevailing custom is that they do not fast (Rema 470:1, Ḥida, and Ben Ish Ḥai).

Customarily the father of a bekhor, even if he himself is not a bekhor, fasts instead of his son until the boy grows up (Rema 470:2). If the father is also a bekhor, his own fast counts for his son, and if he participates in a se’udat mitzva, he is exempt from fasting for his son as well.

When Pesaḥ falls on Shabbat, the custom is to move Ta’anit Bekhorot up two days, to Thursday.

05. The Custom to Rely on a Siyum Masekhet

Most bekhorim customarily participate in a siyum masekhet (a festive ceremonial meal occasioned by the completion of a tractate of the Talmud) on Erev Pesaḥ after Shaḥarit. Afterward, refreshments are served to everyone in attendance, and the bekhorim present are permitted to partake, sharing in the joy of a se’udat mitzva and celebrating the mitzva of Torah study and the completion of the tractate. Since they break their fast with the se’udat mitzva, bekhorim are no longer obligated to fast.

However, poskim of past generations were divided over this custom. Some took a stringent position, ruling that only a bekhor who himself completed a tractate may partake of the se’udat mitzva, while other firstborns, who are not so connected to the joy of the siyum, may not break the fast by partaking in someone else’s se’uda. This is especially true when those completing the tractate do not hold a se’udat mitzva on such occasions during the course of the year, and the bekhorim as well do not generally attend their friends’ siyumim. By arranging a siyum for firstborns once a year on Erev Pesaḥ, it appears as though they are coming not to celebrate the mitzva, but to exempt themselves from the fast. Moreover, often the person making the siyum completed the tractate a week or two earlier and postponed the siyum until Erev Pesaḥ in order to exempt himself from fasting. According to the stringent opinion, it is improper to act in this manner, because the real joy is felt when one completes his study, not when he recites the last few lines so that he can make a siyum on Erev Pesaḥ (Teshuva Me-ahava 2:262; Noda Bi-Yehuda).

Nevertheless, the custom is to rely on the lenient poskim who rule that anyone who participates in the se’udat mitzva is exempt from fasting, even if he does not usually make or attend siyumim during the course of the year, and even if the siyum was delayed until Erev Pesaḥ. The simple reason for this is that when a masekhet is completed, it is fitting to celebrate, and this is therefore a se’udat mitzva. Moreover, Ta’anit Bekhorot is predicated entirely on custom, not on a binding enactment, and is not mentioned at all in the Bavli or by Rambam. Furthermore, some leading Rishonim were of the opinion that bekhorim are not obligated to fast on Erev Pesaḥ. This being the case, whenever there is a halakhic disagreement, the lenient poskim have the upper hand. What is more, in recent generations we no longer fast often, and if the bekhorim fast, their preparations for Pesaḥ will most likely suffer from the weakness it induces; they will even want to rush through the Hagada in order to get to the meal. Therefore, many leading rabbis would exempt themselves from the fast via a siyum. Only one who knows that the fast will not impair his preparations for Pesaḥ or his fulfillment of the mitzvot of Seder night may act stringently and fast on Erev Pesaḥ. Indeed, Rav Kook and his son R. Tzvi Yehuda, both of whom were firstborns, customarily fasted on Erev Pesaḥ.

The type of siyum that exempts its participants from fasting is one that marks the completion of a tractate of the Bavli or Yerushalmi, an entire seder of Mishna, or a significant Torah work. The study must involve real understanding.^[5]

[5]. As mentioned in the previous note, this custom is universally accepted. Even according to the opinions that this is a binding custom, it is still of rabbinic origin, so one may be lenient. This is especially true since there are authorities, Gra among them, who maintain that this custom is not binding at all. And it is especially true nowadays, when most people are not accustomed to fasting, and fasting will impair the fulfillment of the mitzvot of the Seder (Responsa Olat Shmuel §58). Therefore, our custom is to rely on a siyum, which in turn reminds firstborns that they are inherently holy and have great responsibilities. Arugat Ha-bosem 2:139 has a similar opinion.

Completing the intensive study of a book of Nevi’im is also a se’udat mitzva (Igrot Moshe OḤ 1:157). It seems that anyone who finishes one of the four sections of Shulḥan Arukh or a significant Torah work can also make a se’udat mitzva, since making a siyum was never essentially limited just to a tractate of the Bavli; see Ḥavot Ya’ir §70. A siyum on a Torah work that learned society deems significant exempts all participants in the siyum from fasting. But when the siyum is on a work that is significant to the one who studied it but not so significant in the general eye, only the one who makes the siyum can make a se’udat mitzva and exempt himself from fasting. Thus, one who is just beginning to study Torah and has difficulty learning a tractate of Mishna in depth may make a siyum on completing a superficial study of a tractate of Mishna or a book from Tanakh, but others are not exempted from fasting by his siyum. See Yabi’a Omer OḤ 26, Piskei Teshuvot 470:9.

06. The Prohibition on Eating Matza on Erev Pesaḥ

The Sages forbade eating matza on Erev Pesaḥ, so that it is beloved to us when we eat it at night and to distinguish between matza eaten before Pesaḥ and the matza eaten as a mitzva during the Seder. This prohibition applies even to children who understand the meaning of the matza, which commemorates the Exodus from Egypt. It is permissible to feed matza on Erev Pesaḥ to small children who do not understand this.

The prohibition begins at dawn on the 14th of Nisan, though some choose to be stringent and refrain from eating matza from the beginning of Nisan. Others refrain from eating matza thirty days before Pesaḥ. However, the letter of the law only requires one to refrain from eating matza on the 14th of Nisan (MB 471:12).^[6]

Israeli hospitals and army bases ordinarily destroy ḥametz several days before Pesaḥ, because otherwise there is concern that ḥametz will remain in the kitchens and camps during Pesaḥ. Matza is served on the days leading up to Pesaḥ, so that the soldiers and patients have what to eat, but they must refrain from eating such matzot on Erev Pesaḥ.

The prohibition against eating matza on Erev Pesaḥ includes even small pieces of matza that have been kneaded with wine or oil. Even if such a mixture is baked, as long as the pieces are identifiable as matza, the blessing before eating them is “ha-motzi” and it is forbidden to eat them on Erev Pesaḥ. However, if after being kneaded and baked the pieces are no longer identifiable as matza, their berakha is “mezonot” and they may be eaten on Erev Pesaḥ (implied in Rema 461:2 and MB ad loc. 19-20). Some poskim are more stringent, maintaining that even if the matza is crumbled like matza meal, kneaded with oil or wine, and baked into cake or cookies so that they are no longer identifiable as matza, it is forbidden to eat them. This is because one who eats enough of them to constitute a meal (“kevi’at se’uda”) still must recite the berakha of “ha-motzi.” Thus, it is apparent that they have not yet lost the status of matza, and consequently the prohibition applies to pastries made of matza meal (Gra, Rav Kook, and Ḥazon Ish).

However, all poskim agree that it is permissible to eat matza balls on Erev Pesaḥ, because after being cooked they no longer carry the status of matza. Even if one eats enough of them to constitute a meal, their berakha is “mezonot,” because they are a cooked food, not a baked good (MB ad loc. 20). Moreover, even if one cooks a whole piece of matza the size of a kezayit or more, most poskim maintain that although its berakha is “ha-motzi,” one may eat it on Erev Pesaḥ (as explained below 14:1).^[7]

[6]. According to Rosh and Ha-ma’or, the prohibition begins at midday. According to Maharam Ḥalawa, Tashbetz, and Rambam in Magid Mishneh’s reading, the prohibition begins at dawn. According to Orḥot Ḥayim, the prohibition begins from the time of bedikat ḥametz on the night of the 14th. Rema rules that the prohibition begins at dawn, and this is the opinion of most Aḥaronim. However, Ben Ish Ḥai (Tzav 26) states that the prohibition begins on the night of the 14th.

[7]. Some authorities maintain that any matza that is not fit for the mitzva is permissible on Erev Pesaḥ; this is the opinion of Me’iri, R. Yeshaya di Trani (Rid), and Rivash §402. Others maintain that anything that has the taste of matza is forbidden on Erev Pesaḥ, even if it is unfit for the mitzva. This position can be imputed to several Rishonim who permitted only egg matza (Rabbeinu Tam in Tosafot on Pesaḥim 99b, Rosh, Mordechai, Tashbetz, and Maharsha; see above, 8:1). If one crumbles the matza and kneads it with oil or something sweet, whether he bakes it or not, there are some who maintain that as long as the berakha is “ha-motzi,” the mixture is forbidden, but if the berakha becomes “mezonot” it is permissible (SA 168:10). According to the stringent opinions, including Olat Re’iyah (vol. 2 p. 243 §22), any baked matza meal is forbidden on Erev Pesaḥ, since any products made from matza meal would still require the berakha of “ha-motzi” if eaten in the requisite quantities (they have the status of “pat ha-ba’ah be-kisnin”). If one cooked the matza meal, even if the cooked dish still requires berakha of “ha-motzi” if eaten in the requisite quantities, he may eat in on Erev Pesaḥ since its taste has changed. This is the opinion of MB 471:20 and SHT 19 ad loc. Some authorities are stringent; see below 14:1 and Yeḥaveh Da’at 1:91, n. 10. Nonetheless, all agree that one may eat less than a kezayit of cooked matza, as I wrote above.

07. Summary: What May Be Eaten on Erev Pesaḥ

As we have learned, the Torah prohibits eating ḥametz after midday on the 14th of Nisan, and the Sages extended the prohibition by two hours as a safeguard. Hence, one may eat ḥametz on Erev Pesaḥ until the end of the fourth seasonal hour (i.e., the first third of the day). There are, as is evident from Jewish calendars, two approaches to calculating these hours. According to Magen Avraham, we begin calculating them from dawn; according to the Vilna Gaon, from sunrise. Ideally, one should be stringent and calculate the onset of the prohibition according to Magen Avraham. However, when necessary, since the prohibition against eating ḥametz after the fourth hour is rabbinic, one may be lenient and eat ḥametz until the end of the fourth hour according to Gra’s calculation (above, 3:6).^[8]

After four hours, a problem arises for those who customarily refrain from eating kitniyot on Pesaḥ: What can one eat to satisfy his hunger? Ḥametz and kitniyot are forbidden, and even matza is rabbinically forbidden on the 14th of Nisan. We have seen that even matza meal-based cakes and cookies are subject to dispute among poskim. In practice, since this disagreement pertains to a rabbinic prohibition, one may be lenient, though stringency is commendable. According to all opinions, one may eat cooked matza balls.

Egg matza (matza ashira, which includes matza kneaded with oil, wine, or any other fruit juice) may be eaten on Erev Pesaḥ and Pesaḥ according to Sephardic custom, but according to Ashkenazic custom it is forbidden (SA 462:1-4). Nowadays, serious concerns have arisen about the way matza ashira is produced, and according to most poskim, even Sephardic Jews must refrain from matza ashira, even on Erev Pesaḥ after midday (above, 8:1).

Even those whose custom is to eat matza ashira (when produced properly, without any problems) may eat it only until the end of the ninth seasonal hour of the day. With the onset of the tenth hour, three hours before the beginning of the holiday, the Sages forbid eating any sort of baked goods, so that one’s appetite is whet for the matza and festive meal of the Seder. If one is hungry during these hours, he may eat fruit, vegetables, meat, or fish, as long as he is careful to eat a small amount so that he will be hungry in the evening. If one is so sensitive that if he eats meat or some other food in the afternoon he will not be hungry at night, he must plan his meals on Erev Pesaḥ so that he has an appetite when he eats the matza that evening (SA 471:1-2).

[8]. The end of the fourth hour according to MA’s calculation is c. 24 minutes before that of Gra. See Peninei Halakha: Prayer 11:14. Many people make mistakes in this area.

08. Baking Matza and Reciting Seder Korban Pesaḥ

Some beautify the mitzva by baking the matzot to be used for the Seder after midday on the 14th, when the Paschal sacrifice would be offered (SA 458:1). Many do not do so because it is labor intensive, and this is the time when people are usually busy preparing the house for the Seder. Some poskim say that the possibility of the dough becoming ḥametz also makes it preferable to bake the matza beforehand, because some authorities are of the opinion that, at this time of day, even a drop of ḥametz renders everything forbidden, whereas if a drop of dough becomes ḥametz before midday, it is batel be-shishim and it will not “reawaken” later with the onset of Pesaḥ (MB 458:3; see above ch. 7 n. 1). Indeed, Rav Kook’s custom was not to bake matza on Erev Pesaḥ after midday (Mo’adei Ha-Re’aya p. 284).

After the minḥa prayer on Erev Pesaḥ, people customarily recite the seder korban Pesaḥ, a description of the procedure of offering the Paschal sacrifice, including relevant biblical verses. The Sages teach (Megilla 31b) that after the destruction of the Temple, reciting and studying the sacrificial procedures are considered a substitute for the korban itself.

Maharal of Prague (Gevurot Hashem chs. 36, 37) explains that the significance of the Paschal sacrifice lies in the expression it gives to the unity of the Creator, and consequently the unity of Israel, whose purpose it is to reveal His name in the world. It is therefore eaten in groups, whose membership is predetermined, so that the korban is offered by a group of people who have united for this purpose. It is also forbidden to go from one group to another during the Seder, because this would disrupt the unity of the group. The offering is eaten with matza and maror in order to express the inner unity of all of the values alluded to by Paschal sacrifice, matza, and maror. We are commanded to roast the Paschal sacrifice because roasting solidifies and unifies the meat. It is forbidden to break any of its bones, because breaking is an expression of division.

When the Paschal sacrifice cannot be offered, the unity of the Creator is not revealed in the world, and the people of Israel are scattered and divided. May it be God’s will that the Temple be rebuilt speedily in our days, so we may all offer the Paschal sacrifice together, as in the days of yore.

O Purest One, Who dwells on high:

Raise up the uncountable assembly of Your community

Soon guide the saplings You planted

Redeemed, to Zion in joy!

01. Bi’ur Ḥametz and Shabbat Meals

When the 14th of Nisan coincides with Shabbat, bedikat ḥametz is performed with a berakha on the night of the 13th, Thursday night, because it is impossible to seek and eliminate ḥametz on Shabbat. After the search, the ḥametz is nullified like in any other year, and on the following day, Friday, it is burned. It is best to burn it by the sixth seasonal hour of the day so that no one gets mixed up on other years (SA 444:1-2). Ḥametz that will be eaten during the first two Shabbat meals is carefully set aside.

If it were permissible to eat matza on Erev Pesaḥ, we would presumably use matza at our Shabbat meals in order to avoid the problem of ḥametz. However, since it is forbidden to eat matza on Erev Pesaḥ so that it is appetizing to us at the Seder (see above, 13:6), we must save ḥametz for the first two Shabbat meals. In order to avoid problems with ḥametz foods, many people cook kosher-for-Pesaḥ foods for that Shabbat. They make kiddush and eat bread with spreads or salads in a room where people will not eat during Pesaḥ. After eating bread, they clean their hands and brush off their clothes, then eat the rest of the meal in the kosher-for-Pesaḥ dining room.

The first Shabbat meal is eaten on Friday night, and the second on Shabbat morning. It must be completed by the end of the fourth seasonal hour, at which time ḥametz becomes forbidden (as printed in many calendars; see above, 3:6). Shabbat morning prayers must begin and end early so that the meal can be completed in time.

After the second meal, all remaining ḥametz must be gathered from the plates and tablecloth. Since it may not be burned on Shabbat, it is a good idea to flush it down the toilet and thus completely destroy it. People generally plan their Shabbat meals wisely, so that it will be easy to gather up the leftover ḥametz and dispose of it. After this, the ḥametz must be nullified; the bitul must be recited by the end of the fifth hour of the day. After the meal, one should brush his teeth well (above, 11:12).

Se’uda shlishit, the third Shabbat meal, presents a problem: It is forbidden to eat ḥametz after the fourth hour of the day, and matza is forbidden the entire day. As a result, the obligation to eat a third meal is met by eating meat and fish or various fruits (SA 444:1). One may also eat matza balls, and according to many authorities, one may eat whole matzot that have been thoroughly cooked. One must avoid eating excessively during the third meal so that the matza of Seder night remains appetizing. There are other suggestions for those who wish to destroy all of their ḥametz before Shabbat, as explained in the notes.^[1]

[1]. Egg matza or matza ashira is made out of flour that was kneaded with fruit juice, which does not become ḥametz. The Sephardic custom is to permit eating it on Pesaḥ, while the Ashkenazic custom is to forbid (see above, 8:1). According to all customs, matza ashira may be used for the first two Shabbat meals, before the end of the fourth hour, although to fulfill the requirements of the Shabbat meal, one must be kovei’a se’uda (“establish a meal”). That is, one must eat the volume of four eggs (ke-beitzim) of egg matza and, with the rest of the meal, become fully satisfied. This will change the berakhot on egg matza from “mezonot” and “Al Ha-miḥya” to “ha-motzi” and “Birkat Ha-mazon” (see Peninei Halakha: Berakhot 6:4). If matza ashira was baked with a reliable process (see above, 13:7), Sephardim may use it for se’uda shlishit, but it should be eaten by the end of the ninth seasonal hour of the day, about three hours before sunset. According to Ashkenazic custom, matza ashira may not be eaten after the fourth hour of the day (SHT and Igrot Moshe, in contrast to AHS, which permits eating it on Erev Pesaḥ, until the beginning of the holiday).

Cooked matza: Another option is to cook a whole matza. According to most opinions, one may eat cooked matza on Erev Pesaḥ, since it has been fundamentally altered and one would not fulfill the mitzva of eating matza on Seder night with such matza. Because it constitutes at least a kezayit, its berakhot are still “ha-motzi” and “Birkat Ha-mazon” and consequently one may use it to fulfill the obligation to eat three Shabbat meals. This is the ruling of MB 471:20 and SHT 19 ad loc., AHS 444:5, and Yeḥaveh Da’at 1:91 n. 10. SHT 471:20 mentions in the name of SAH and Ḥayei Adam that frying is the same as cooking, and that Pri Megadim equivocates. On the other hand, MA 444:2 says in Maharil’s name that he never saw anyone adopt the practice of eating cooked matza at se’uda shlishit, and Gra implies that it may not be eaten on Erev Pesaḥ. Those who wish to follow the majority ruling and fulfill their obligation with cooked matza may do so (see SHT 444:1 and above 13:7). MB 444:8 raises the idea of splitting the second meal into two, but this is not ideal, as se’uda shlishit should be eaten after midday (SA 291:2; Peninei Halakha: Shabbat 7:2).

02. Additional Laws

Ta’anit Bekhorot is moved forward to Thursday, the twelfth of Nisan (SA and Rema 470:2). As mentioned (above, 13:5), the custom nowadays is to arrange a siyum instead of fasting.

So as not to delay the start of the Seder, one should prepare the needs of the Seder on Friday: cooking the meal, preparing the ḥaroset, maror, and shank bone, and then freezing or refrigerating them. They should not be taken out of the refrigerator until after Shabbat, as it is forbidden to prepare on Shabbat for Yom Tov. Likewise, one may not set the Seder table on Shabbat. Rather, it should be set immediately upon the conclusion of Shabbat. If Seder dishes and foods were not prepared before Shabbat, they must be prepared after Shabbat.

Two sets of candles should be set up before Shabbat: one for Shabbat and one for Yom Tov, as it is forbidden to stick candles on candlesticks with melted wax on Yom Tov. If one did not prepare them in advance, he may wedge them into the candlesticks without melting them in place (Peninei Halakha: Festivals 2:2).

01. “Tell Your Child”

There is a positive mitzva to tell the story of the Exodus from Egypt on the night of the 15th of Nisan. The more one embellishes the telling, elucidates the great kindness God showed us by saving us from the Egyptians and avenging us upon them, interprets the signs and wonders that God performed at that time and place for our sake, delves into the laws of Pesaḥ, and gives expansive gratitude to God – the more commendable it is. The essence of the mitzva is to tell the children, as it is stated: “Tell your child on that day: ‘It is because of this that God did for me when I left Egypt’” (Shemot 13:8). Even one who is childless is commanded by the Torah to recall the Exodus on Pesaḥ night, as it states: “Remember this day on which you came out of Egypt, of the house of bondage; how, with a mighty hand, God took you out of there” (ibid. 3).

Two mitzvot in the Torah require us to educate our children: the first is to teach them the written and oral Torah, so they understand the world properly and may live their lives according to divine guidance. Part of this mitzva is to habituate and familiarize children with the observance of mitzvot, as it is impossible to teach about Shabbat, kashrut, and the like without training for their observance (Peninei Halakha: Shabbat 24:1). The second mitzva is to tell our children about the Exodus from Egypt on the Seder night.

At first glance, this is puzzling. Is narrating the Exodus not part of the general mitzva of teaching Torah? In that case, what is different about the Seder night? The purpose of the stories told to the children on Seder night is to convey the fundamentals of faith that logically precede Torah study: they must know how the nation of Israel was formed, that God chose Israel to be His special nation, and that He gave them a special duty to receive the Torah and rectify the world. Parents, of course, do not live forever. The next generation will have to bear the torch of tradition, the great and awesome task that God intended for Israel, until the world has been fully repaired. This is the lesson of the Seder night. All of its mitzvot lead to that end.

Note that the obligation to study Torah is derived from the verse: “Teach them to your children, to speak of them” (Devarim 11:19). The Sages explain that one who must teach his son Torah must himself study Torah (Kiddushin 29b). It is only through the personal example of parents studying Torah with love and diligence that the value of Torah study is imbued within the children. The mitzva to instruct the children teaches us that the fundamental goal of the Torah is to positively influence others and add life to the world, not just to elevate the individual who studies Torah. Therefore, the Torah emphasizes in this commandment the obligation to teach the children, for the essential goal of the Torah is to influence the entire people of Israel in every generation. What is more, when one studies in order to teach others, his study is more thorough and profound. Likewise, the purpose of the mitzva to tell the story of the Exodus is that the memory of the Exodus and the great destiny of the Jewish people will be so deeply and palpably alive in the hearts of the parents that they will be able to pass it on to their children. To that end, parents must delve into the meaning of the Exodus and the mitzvot of the holiday and serve as personal examples for their children of how to say the Hagada and fulfill the mitzvot of Pesaḥ. Thus, they will be able to tell them the story of the Exodus and guide them toward fulfillment of the mitzvot of the Seder night.

02. The Mitzva to Tell the Exodus Story on Pesaḥ Night

The Torah commands us to tell the story of the Exodus from Egypt on the very night we left Egypt for freedom. Actually, we are commanded to remember the Exodus every day of the year, as it states: “So that you remember the day you left Egypt every day of your life” (Devarim 16:3). Ben Zoma infers from an apparent superfluity in this verse (“kol yemei” instead of “yemei”) that we must invoke the Exodus not only every day, but also even every night (Berakhot 12b). To fulfill the obligation to invoke the Exodus every day and night, we recite the third paragraph of Shema each morning and evening, as this paragraph states: “I am the Lord your God Who has taken you out of Egypt to be your God: I am the Lord your God” (Bamidbar 15:41).

Yet there are several important differences between the daily mitzva and the mitzva on the Seder night. A) To fulfill the daily mitzva, it is sufficient to mention the Exodus, whereas the mitzva on Pesaḥ night is to narrate broadly the events of the Exodus from Egypt. B) The mitzva of the Seder night is to relate the story to the children. C) On the Seder night, the mitzva is to tell the story while the matza and maror are set out in front of us. D) On the Seder night, we tell the story by way of questions and answers. E) Women are exempt from the daily mitzva to commemorate the Exodus but are obligated to tell the story of the Exodus from Egypt on the Seder night.^[1]

The Exodus from Egypt is the basis of Jewish faith, for it was the first time that God’s providence was revealed in the world to an entire nation with great signs and wonders. With the Exodus, it became clear that God had chosen Israel to be His nation and to reveal His word in the world. For this reason, every Shabbat and Yom Tov commemorates the Exodus from Egypt, especially in prayers and kiddush. By virtue of the unique mitzva to tell the story of the Exodus in depth on the Seder night, our faith becomes more firmly established, and added meaning is given to all the brief remembrances of the Exodus throughout the year.

[1]. SA 472:14. The poskim disagree whether women are obligated in the mitzva of telling the story on a Torah level or a rabbinic level. Sefer Ha-ḥinukh §21 infers from the fact that women are obligated in matza and the Paschal offering on the Torah level that they are obligated by the Torah to tell the Exodus story, which was stated alongside the matza, maror, and Paschal offering. Other poskim maintain that since the mitzva of telling the story is a time-bound positive mitzva, women are exempt according to the Torah, but the Sages obligated them in the mitzvot of the Seder night, since women also experienced the miracles of the Exodus. This is the view implied by Tosafot on Pesaḥim 108b.

03. The Mitzva to Begin the Seder with a Question

There is a mitzva to tell the story of the Exodus by way of question and answer, as it is stated: “When in the future your child asks you…say to your child, ‘We were slaves to Pharaoh in Egypt…’” (Devarim 6:20-22). It is likewise stated: “When your children ask you, ‘What is this service to you?’ say, ‘It is a Paschal sacrifice to God’” (Shemot 12:26-27). And: “When in the future your child asks: ‘What is this?’ Say to him, ‘With a mighty hand God took us out of Egypt’” (ibid. 13:14).

Questions open the heart and mind to accept answers. The message we need to convey on the Seder night is so important and fundamental that we are commanded transmit it in the most effective way – by way of question and answer.

This is the main reason for the unique mitzvot of the Seder night: eating matza, the Paschal sacrifice, and maror. They cause the children to ask “Ma nishtana?” “Why is this night different?” and helps them understand that this is a special night whose essence must be understood. As a result, the Sages instituted several unusual practices in order to inspire children to wonder and enquire further. We begin by giving the children nuts and roasted grain, through which they realize that this is a special, festive night. The Sages instituted washing hands and eating karpas dipped in a liquid after kiddush, something we never do throughout the year. Furthermore, instead of starting the meal at this point, we pour the second cup of wine and remove the Seder plate and the matzot from the table, all to cause the children to realize that this is a very special night. They will thus truly be interested in its meaning, and they will sincerely ask: “Why is this night different?”

Perhaps it can be said that this question, “Ma nishtana?” embodies a bigger and deeper question about the Jewish people: Why are we different from all other nations – in our faith, in our mitzvot, in our suffering, in our spiritual achievements, in our exile, and in our redemption? There is no complete answer to this question. Only by contemplating the Exodus from Egypt and the election of Israel can we understand that this is a divine matter; we are capable of understanding part of it, but we will never understand it all. This same question spurs us on, toward infinitely deeper and more sublime understanding. Perhaps this is why the Torah instructs us to tell the story of the Exodus and of Israel’s singularity using questions and answers: the ideological basis of Jewish peoplehood lies in a question that opens us to an endless profusion of ideas. If we do not impart the Torah and the story of the Exodus to the children, no new questions would be asked and we would be unable to continue rising higher.

04. The Text of “Ma Nishtana”

In order to give this seminal question a structured framework, the Sages formulated the “Ma nishtana” text, through which the children express their surprise at how different this night is, paving the way for the telling of the Exodus story. In the text of “Ma nishtana,” the Sages included questions about all of the Seder night mitzvot related to eating: matza, maror, the Paschal sacrifice, and the two dippings. After the destruction of the Temple, we no longer ask about the Paschal sacrifice and instead ask about reclining at the Seder.

If there are no children present to ask “Ma nishtana?” the youngest participant asks. Even if all the participants are Torah scholars well versed in the story of the Exodus, one of them must ask “Ma nishtana?” Even an individual performing the Seder alone must begin with “Ma nishtana?” This is how the Seder is arranged; we begin with a question because it makes the explanation more complete. Once a child or someone else has asked “Ma nishtana?” the other participants need not repeat the question and may proceed immediately to “Avadim Hayinu” (SA and Rema 473:7).^[2]

[2]. According to several Rishonim, including Roke’aḥ and Maharil, if a child asks any question about the Seder, the obligation to ask questions has been fulfilled, and there is no need to recite the “Ma nishtana” formula specifically. However, according to most Rishonim, including Tosafot and Rambam, even if a child autonomously asks a question relating to the Seder, the entire “Ma nishtana” formula must be recited. The halakha follows this opinion. See Berur Halakha on Pesaḥim 115b (p. 134) for a summary of opinions. This ruling notwithstanding, one should encourage his children to ask their own questions, to fulfill the verse “when your child asks…”

One authority writes that the mitzva de-Oraita to tell the Exodus story only applies when a child actually asks a question, but if the child does not inquire, the mitzva of the Torah is only to commemorate the Exodus from Egypt, though one is still rabbinically required to tell the story. This is the implication of Responsa Rosh 24:2, but this is not the view of most poskim. Rather, they maintain that there is a mitzva to recount the Exodus in all cases, and one who has a child is obligated to tell him the story, as the Torah states regarding the son who does not know how to ask, “Tell your child on this day: ‘It is because of this that God did for me when I left Egypt’” (Shemot 13:8). (R. Yeruḥam Fishel Perla, in his commentary on R. Saadia Gaon’s Sefer Ha-mitzvot §32, states that according to Ramban and other Rishonim, one who does not have matza is exempt from the mitzva of telling the story of the Exodus, based on the phrase “because of this” [“ba-avur zeh” – the Hebrew uses the demonstrative pronoun “zeh” instead of the expected indefinite relative pronoun, indicating that it refers to an object that is present, i.e., the matza]. Additionally, see Sidur Pesaḥ Ke-hilkhato ch. 6 n. 2 which mentions a distinction between a child who asks his father a question, which obligates his father to tell the story in detail, and a child who does not ask, which only obligates the father to tell the story briefly. We can explain that if the son asks, the father must embellish his response based on the question, but if the child does not ask, the father need only tell the story briefly. Embellishment depends on the child’s desire to listen and obtain answers. See SAH 473:42.) In any event, it is clear that at least on the rabbinic level one must recite the entire Hagada as formulated. Even if he is alone, he asks himself the questions (Pesaḥim 116a) and thus extends to himself the obligation to answer.

05. The Torah Speaks of Four Children

On four occasions the Torah states that one must tell his child about the Exodus from Egypt, and each time it uses a different formulation. This teaches us that one must tailor his storytelling to the abilities and personality of each child.

In one place it states: “When in the future your child asks you, ‘What are these testimonies, laws, and principles that the Lord our God commanded you?’” (Devarim 6:20). The fact that he asks in a detailed manner – “What are these testimonies, laws, and principles” – implies that we are dealing with a wise child, and the verses that follow teach us that in the answer we give to the wise child we must explain at length the whole matter of the Exodus from Egypt, the mitzvot of Pesaḥ, and the destiny of the Jewish people. Therefore, the answer for the wise child is the longest and most detailed (as shown in the next section).

Elsewhere it states: “When your children ask you, ‘What is this service to you?,’ say, ‘It is a Paschal sacrifice to God, Who passed over (‘pasaḥ’) the houses of the Israelites in Egypt, when He smote Egypt and spared our homes’” (Shemot 12:26-27). This refers to the wicked son, who calls the mitzvot “work” (“avoda”), as it is difficult for him to observe them, and who says, “What is this service to you?,” as he does not feel like a participant in the mitzvot. Nevertheless, the Torah commands us to address him and explain to him Israel’s uniqueness, as expressed in the Paschal sacrifice, because we must always believe that the words may penetrate his heart and that he will gird himself with strength and faith, sanctify God’s name, and carry the torch of tradition forward.

It also states: “When in the future your child asks: ‘What is this?,’ say to him, ‘With a mighty hand God took us out of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. When Pharaoh refused to free us, God killed every firstborn in Egypt, human and beast alike’” (Shemot 13:14-15). The question “What is this?” indicates that the asker is simple and does not know how to sharpen his question. The Torah commands us to explain to him, according to his abilities, the impressive events that took place during the Exodus from Egypt, the mighty plagues that struck the Egyptians, and the hardening of Pharaoh’s heart, which was ultimately broken by the Plague of the Firstborn. These are things the simple child absorbs and finds most impressive.

Even if the child is not moved to ask at all, one must tell him about the Exodus, as it states: ““Matzot are to be eaten…. Tell your child on that day: ‘It is because of this that God did for me when I left Egypt’” (Shemot 13:7-8). Since he does not ask any questions, his interest must be aroused with tangible objects. We therefore say to him, “It is because of this” – by virtue of the matzot, maror, and Paschal sacrifice God performed miracles for us and took us out of Egypt. Thus, we put the Seder plate on the table so that each food on it can illustrate one of the meanings of the Seder night.^[3]

[3]. It is worth noting that the answer given to the wicked child was spoken in context of the mitzva to bring the Pesaḥ offering in Egypt and in future generations (Shemot 12), for sacrificing an animal and sprinkling its blood raise the biggest questions for him. Nevertheless, the answer to his question is not evasive. It addresses the uniqueness of the Jewish people, a topic whose roots are beyond human comprehension and whose branches appear throughout the course of history. The response to the child who does not know how to ask comes from Shemot 13:8 following the commandment to eat matza on Pesaḥ. Apparently, it is through the concrete act of eating matza that we can explain the ideas of the Exodus to him, until he reaches a good understanding. (The child who does not know how to ask is not stupid, merely uninterested). The response to the simple son is written in the context of the sanctity of firstborns. Because he is not very intelligent, his father must teach him fear of heaven and respect for sanctity. This is accomplished by contemplating God’s power and the Plague of the Firstborn. As a result, this child will accept the mitzvot, whose goal is to sanctify us and distinguish us from all other nations. The question of the wise son is not mentioned specifically in the context of Pesaḥ; rather, it is mentioned in Devarim 6 regarding the foundations of belief and the destiny of the Jewish people. Since everything stems from the Exodus, the Sages understood that the wise child’s question is related to the mitzvot of Pesaḥ. Through that we explain to the wise son all the basic principles of faith.

06. The Main Message of the Hagada

In order to understand fully the goal of the Hagada and the story of the Exodus from Egypt, we must consider the question of the wise child and the answer he receives, for he is the preferred child, and we pray that all our children develop and succeed in becoming wise.

As befits him, the wise child poses a detailed question, as it is stated: “When in the future your child asks you, ‘What are these testimonies, laws, and principles that the Lord our God commanded you?’” (Devarim 6:20). The answer initially addresses the Exodus from Egypt but then broadens to include the overall purpose of the Jewish people: to come to Eretz Yisrael, to adhere to God, to fulfill all of His mitzvot, and to earn His benevolence:

Say to your child, “We were slaves to Pharaoh in Egypt, but God took us out of Egypt with a mighty hand. God brought great and terrible miracles and demonstrations upon Egypt, Pharaoh, and his entire household before our very eyes. He brought us out of there in order to bring us to, and give us, the land He promised to our forebears. God commanded us to keep all of these laws, to fear the Lord our God, for the sake of our everlasting benefit, so that He might sustains us as we are today. And it shall be considered our virtue to observe and perform all these commandments before the Lord our God, as He commanded us. (ibid. 6:21-25)

We see, then, that the aim of the Seder is to impart to our children, by telling the story of the Exodus, the desire to belong to the people of Israel, to inherit the Promised Land, to adhere to God, and to perform all of His mitzvot.

To enable us to tell the story of the Exodus to the wise child without leaving out any of its essential components, the Men of the Great Assembly, who lived at the beginning of the Second Temple period, composed the text of the Hagada. Over time, the leading Tanna’im, Amora’im, and Ge’onim added passages containing important elements related to the mitzvot of the Hagada. Finally, about 800 years ago, a consensus version was accepted by all Jewish communities, based on the text of R. Amram Gaon.

The text of the Hagada is thus the complete story, and whoever recites it covers all aspects of the Exodus from Egypt. Nonetheless, the more one explains the Hagada and expands upon it with illuminating ideas, stories, and laws related to Pesaḥ and the Exodus, the more commendable it is.^[4]

[4]. The text of the Hagada is the complete answer to the wise child. However, the Hagada itself states that the answer to the wise child is: “after the Paschal sacrifice, we do not conclude with dessert (afikoman).” The Hagada means to say that we teach the wise son all of the laws of Pesaḥ until the very last one, namely, that we do not eat anything after the consumption of the afikoman. (Originally, the sacrifice was the last thing eaten at the Seder; we now eat matza – the afikoman – instead.) This law highlights how beloved the mitzvot of the Seder are: we do not want to eat anything after the afikoman, so that the taste of the matza remains in our mouths. It also seems that the wise child has a tendency to discuss and attend to peripheral issues. On the Seder night, the goal is to understand the larger principles in all their profound simplicity. Thus, we say to him: “Do not go for dessert after eating the Paschal sacrifice. Focus on the main thing without getting sidetracked.”

Some had the custom of reciting the berakha “al sipur yetzi’at Mitzrayim” (“regarding the telling of the Exodus from Egypt”) before reciting the Hagada. This is not our practice, for several possible reasons: According to Me’iri, the berakha of “emet ve-emuna,” recited following the recitation of the nighttime Shema, counts as the berakha on the Hagada. According to Rabbeinu Yeruḥam, kiddush at the beginning of the Seder counts as the berakha on the Hagada. According to Responsa Rosh 24:2, it is not necessary to recite a berakha on the Hagada, since the main aspect of the mitzva is to eat the matza and maror while also telling the story. Berakhot are in fact recited on the matza and maror. According to Maharal (Gevurot Hashem 5:62), the key aspect of the mitzva is to understand, and we do not recite berakhot on thoughts. According to Shibolei Ha-leket, the berakha recited at the end, “asher ga’alanu” (“Who has redeemed us”), is a berakha on the Hagada. Ma’aseh Nisim adds that since we recite “asher ga’alanu” as part of the Hagada, we should not recite a berakha beforehand just as one does not recite a berakha on the mitzva of reciting Birkat Ha-mazon.

07. From Indignity to Praise

The Sages state that one must begin the story of the Exodus with indignity (“genut”) and end it with praise (“shevaḥ”). To what sort of “indignity” does this refer? Some say it refers to physical indignity – the fact that we were slaves to Pharaoh in Egypt, that the Egyptians embittered our lives with all manner of hard labor, until God redeemed us from them (the view of Shmuel). Others say that it refers to spiritual indignity – the fact that our distant ancestors, Teraḥ and Lavan, were pagans, and through a long process of refinement we became an entire nation of monotheists (the view of Rav). In practice, we follow both approaches, recounting in the Hagada the process of our emergence from enslavement to freedom as well as the process that took us from idolatry to the point when God revealed Himself to us, and we achieved complete faith (Pesaḥim 116a).

At first glance, it might seem preferable to tell only the pleasant and agreeable stories. A deeper second glance, however, makes it clear that the more we contemplate the hardships of the enslavement and the ignominy of the paganism practiced by our forefathers, the better we can grasp the enormity of our redemption. Light is more discernible in the midst of darkness.

In addition, discussing our undignified beginnings allows us to better understand that Israel’s uniqueness is not contingent upon our success or good deeds, but is rooted in divine election that lies beyond all human comprehension. f Though we lacked all dignity as contemptible slaves, God chose us from all other nations and took us out of Egypt with signs and demonstrations. Despite the fact that our forefathers were idolaters, God chose to reveal Himself to us and give us the Torah. Thus, Israel’s special status is not contingent on anything of this world, but on Divine fiat.

This can also teach us about Israel’s unique ability to turn darkness into light and evil into good, and to bring redemption to the world. We therefore start the story by emphasizing our former indignity, to show that from the ignorance of paganism and servitude we rose up and achieved great things. This is an encouraging and comforting message: As then, so too now – our redemption will emerge from the suffering and travails of recent generations.

Additionally, discussing the fact that we were ignoble slaves awakens our sensitivity and consideration for strangers and for the unfortunate who suffer and need help, as it is stated: “Do not oppress the stranger, for you know how it feels to be a stranger, since you were strangers in the land of Egypt” (Shemot 23:9).

08. The Meaning of the Ten Plagues

The Torah describes the ten plagues at length, without omitting a single plague. There are many things we can learn from this. The most obvious is that there is a Judge and there is justice, and the wicked eventually will be punished. Those who are especially wicked, like the Egyptians, who enslaved an entire nation, imposed backbreaking labor, and drowned their male children in the Nile, deserved to receive their full punishment, so that all generations might learn this lesson.

There is also a profound allusion here. As we know, the world was created with ten divine utterances (Rosh Hashana 32a). Kabbala interprets these as ten sefirot, or “emanations,” with which God created the world and continues to maintain and sustain it. However, until the nation of Israel emerged, these sefirot were concealed and hidden. Just as these ten spiritual elements were hidden, so too the Israelites, before they matured enough to emerge as a nation, were enslaved in Egypt.

When Israel finally reached maturity, numbering 600,000 (see above 1:4), the time had come for them to go free. It was then that God commanded Moshe to go to Pharaoh and order him to “free My people so they may make a pilgrimage to Me in the wilderness.” Moshe did so, but Pharaoh refused to free them, saying, “Who is God that I should heed His call to free Israel. I do not know God and I will not free Israel” (Shemot 5:1-2). Pharaoh stubbornly refused God’s command many times. But God’s will prevails. No human being can stand against God’s command, not even the leader of the strongest empire in the world. Using the same ten elements He used to create the world, God rocked the Egyptian empire with plague after plague, so that the ten utterances of Creation took the form of ten plagues, until the Egyptians were completely broken, and Israel went free.

When we arrived at Mount Sinai, God revealed the meaning of those same ten utterances in the Ten Commandments, the Torah’s foundation.

09. Pesaḥ, Matza, and Maror

The Mishna teaches: “Rabban Gamliel would say: ‘Whoever does not say these three things on Pesaḥ has not fulfilled his obligation, and they are: Pesaḥ, matza, and maror‘” (Pesaḥim 126a).

This means that even one who cannot recite the entire Hagada must at least delve into the three food-related mitzvot of the Seder night. The Torah thus states regarding the mitzva to teach the child who does not know how to ask: “Tell your child on that day: ‘It is because of this that God did for me when I left Egypt’” (Shemot 13:8), and the Sages teach: “‘because of this’ means when matza and maror are before you on your table” (Mekhilta Bo 17). This teaches that one must at least reflect upon the reasons for the three foods we have been commanded to eat on the Seder night. Even though we are unable to offer the Paschal sacrifice nowadays, we are nonetheless commanded to recall its meaning.^[5]

Because, as we have seen, the Seder is conducted in question-and-answer form, we recite: “The Pesaḥ [sacrifice] that our ancestors would eat when the Temple still stood, what is it for?”; “This matza that we eat, what is it for?”; and “This maror that we eat, what is it for?”

The Paschal offering expresses Israel’s special relationship with God, matza expresses freedom, and maror expresses the significance of the enslavement.

The Paschal offering expresses Israel’s special relationship with God because it recalls God’s miraculous differentiation between Israel and other nations, slaying the Egyptian firstborn while “passing over” the homes of the Israelites. One might say that Israel’s special status is not obvious to all as long as the Temple lies in ruins, and so we cannot offer the Paschal sacrifice nowadays.

The matza, though, which expresses our redemption from Egypt, is a perpetual mitzva, as we have never lost the freedom we obtained when we left Egypt and became wholly attached to God. This is true freedom, because only one who occupies himself with Torah is truly free. Even when we are enslaved among the nations, our spirit remains free, for the Torah allows us to transcend material enslavement.

Maror is a mitzva of rabbinic origin during periods when the Paschal sacrifice cannot be offered. Maror alludes to the pain and bitterness of the enslavement, and perhaps it is only when we are able to offer the Paschal sacrifice that we can grasp the full meaning of our suffering, which refines and purifies us, and understand how our salvation sprouted from all of our travails. Then, the mitzva to eat maror becomes de-Oraita. But when the Temple is in ruins and we do not have the privilege to bring the Paschal offering, we must still believe that all our suffering is for the good. Nevertheless, it is hard for us to understand the full meaning of our suffering and see how our salvation arises directly from them. Therefore, the mitzva of maror is de-rabanan.

[5]. According to Ran and Ramban, one who recites the entire Hagada except for the sections about Pesaḥ, matza, and maror fulfills his obligation, albeit not in the optimal fashion. Some explain that according to Rambam (MT Laws of Ḥametz and Matza 8:4) and Tosafot, if one neglects to invoke Pesaḥ, matza, and maror he does not fulfill his obligation to tell the story of the Exodus. However, a literal reading of their words is not compelling, for it is possible they referred to one who did not tell the story of the Exodus at all. If such a person mentions Pesaḥ, matza, and maror he fulfills his obligation, and if not, he does not. See Berur Halakha on Pesaḥim 116b which explains that the poskim debate the reason for mentioning Pesaḥ, matza, and maror. Some maintain that invoking them is necessary for the proper fulfillment of eating Pesaḥ, matza, and maror. Without explaining their meanings, one does not properly fulfill the mitzvot of eating them. Others maintain that invoking Pesaḥ, matza, and maror is needed to properly perform the telling of the Exodus. Binyan Tziyon §30 suggests that Pesaḥ Sheni, the make-up date for those who were unable to offer the Paschal sacrifice at its proper time, constitutes a practical difference between these two approaches: if invoking these elements is connected to the eating, one would still need to invoke them, but if it is connected to the telling of the story, one need not invoke them.

01. Introduction

Before detailing the laws of the Seder, let us briefly survey the mitzvot we fulfill on the Seder night.

Two elements constitute the foci of the Seder: The first is commemoration of our Exodus from Egypt and emancipation from slavery and reflection on the significance of Israel’s freedom. The second is to transmit our tradition to the next generation. Both of these are included in the Torah’s commandment to tell the story of the Exodus on the night of the 15th of Nisan.

In order to make this commemoration tangible, the Torah commands us to eat the korban Pesaḥ (Paschal sacrifice), matza, and maror on this night. The Paschal sacrifice recalls God’s miraculous slaying of the Egyptian firstborn while “passing over” the houses of the Israelites, sparing their firstborns. The matza recalls the matzot our forefathers ate when they left Egypt for freedom. And the maror recalls the hard labor and bitter enslavement our forefathers experienced at the hands of the Egyptians.

Because the Temple is now in ruins, we are unable to offer the Paschal sacrifice; we eat the afikoman in its stead. On the Torah level, the mitzva to eat maror is contingent on eating the Paschal sacrifice; when the Pesaḥ sacrifice is not offered, there is no mitzva to eat maror. However, the Sages instituted eating maror even after the destruction of the Temple.

No change has taken place regarding the mitzva to eat matza. Thus, even after the destruction of the Temple there is a Torah commandment to eat an olive’s bulk (kezayit) of matza.

The Sages also instituted the integration into the recitation of the Hagada of four cups of wine, which we drink as an expression of joy and freedom.

They also instituted that we eat matzot and drink wine while reclining, as a demonstration of freedom.

02. Preparing for the Seder

As noted, one of the two key objectives of the Seder is to transmit the tradition of the Exodus to our children. In order to keep younger children alert, we do many unusual things at the Seder: we dip vegetables in liquid twice, wash our hands twice, and give the appearance of beginning the meal before suddenly starting to recite the Hagada. In addition, the mitzvot of eating matza, drinking four cups of wine, and reclining also prompt the children to ask: “Why is this night different from all other nights?”

The Sages also instruct one to give nuts and candy to small children at the beginning of the Seder, so they see yet another change and ask: “Why is this night different?” (SA 472:16). It is good to give them small candies throughout the recitation of the Hagada, keeping them alert and happy.

An effort is made to buy new clothes for the children and the entire household before Pesaḥ, in order to make everybody happy. Indeed, the mitzva to be joyful applies to each of the three pilgrimage festivals (Pesaḥ, Shavu’ot, and Sukkot), and it is therefore a mitzva to buy clothes and jewelry for the women and girls, give young children candy and nuts, and serve meat and wine to men at each festival (SA 528:2-3). However, we are even more careful about buying new clothes for Pesaḥ, because wearing them for the Seder evokes a special sense of excitement for this exalted night.

It is proper to set the table and arrange the Seder plate before evening, so that kiddush can be recited as soon as possible after the Ma’ariv prayer. In this way, there is no wasting of the precious time when the children are still alert and can still participate in reciting the Hagada, eating the matza, and drinking the wine. However, kiddush should not be recited before tzeit ha-kokhavim (the appearance of three distinct stars), because kiddush must be recited at a time when matza can be eaten, i.e., the night of the 15th of Nisan. Moreover, the kiddush wine is the first of the four cups, and one must drink all four cups at night (ibid. 472:1; MB ad loc. 4).

When setting the table, one should put out comfortable chairs so that participants will be able to recline. Le-khatḥila, the table should be set with the finest silverware and dishes. During the course of the year, we refrain from setting the table with overly attractive kelim, in remembrance of the Temple’s destruction, but on Shabbat and holidays we do everything we can to enhance the table’s beauty (SA 560:2; MB ad loc. 5). On the Seder night, it is a mitzva to beautify the table with the absolute best kelim, and this, too, is an expression of freedom and joy (SA 472:2; MB ad loc. 6).

03. The Seder Plate

Before the Seder, one must prepare the Seder plate, on which all of the special Seder foods are arranged. Setting the Seder plate is not merely to keep the foods close by and at the ready, but also because each food commemorates and emphasizes a particular idea, and we must keep all the foods in front of us to express the uniqueness of the Seder. These foods are placed on the Seder plate:

Three matzot with which we fulfill the Torah’s commandment to eat matza. We place them on the Seder plate so we can recite the Hagada in the presence of matza and maror, fulfilling the verse, “Tell your child on that day: ‘It is because of this that God did for me when I left Egypt’” (Shemot 13:8), which the Sages interpret: “‘because of this’ means when matza and maror are before you” (Mekhilta Bo 17). Additionally, matza is called “leḥem oni” – “poor man’s bread” (Devarim 16:3) – which the Sages interpret to mean “bread over which we ‘onim’ – answer or say – many things.” The matza must therefore be uncovered while we recite the Hagada. However, out of respect for the matza, which is the most important food on the table and over which we recite the “ha-motzi” blessing, we do not recite kiddush while the matza is uncovered. Therefore, we cover the matzot during kiddush and when we lift our wine glasses, but otherwise they remain exposed while we recite the Hagada.

Maror is lettuce or horseradish. When the Temple stood, there was a Torah commandment to eat maror with the korban Pesaḥ, but since the destruction of the Temple, the mitzva to eat maror is rabbinic.

In Temple times, the meat of the korban Pesaḥ was also put on the Seder table, but with the Temple’s destruction, the Sages enacted that two cooked foods be placed on the table: one to commemorate Paschal sacrifice, and the other to commemorate the korban ḥagiga (pilgrimage sacrifice), offered on every pilgrimage festival (Pesaḥim 114a-b). Customarily, the Paschal sacrifice is commemorated with a zero’a, alluding to the fact that God redeemed us with an “outstretched arm” (“zero’a netuya”). We roast the zero’a, just as the Paschal sacrifice was roasted. Sephardic Jews customarily use the foreleg of a lamb or goat, whereas Ashkenazim use the wing of a fowl. The korban ḥagiga is customarily commemorated with a roasted or boiled egg. Eggs are customarily served to mourners, as their round shape consolingly reminds them of life’s cyclical nature. At the Seder, the egg similarly reminds us that the Temple will be speedily rebuilt and we will again be able to offer the Paschal and ḥagiga sacrifices. Additionally, the Aramaic word for egg, “bei’a,” means “supplication,” alluding to our request of God to redeem us once again (SA 473:4). The custom in most communities is not to eat the zero’a on the Seder night (see below, section 32).

We also place karpas and either vinegar or salt water on the Seder plate. Karpas is the vegetable that we eat before reciting the Hagada. It is dipped in vinegar or salt water both to make it tastier and to create the need for an additional hand-washing, which causes the children to ask more questions.

We place ḥaroset on the Seder plate as well. Ḥaroset alludes to the clay mortar our forefathers made when they were enslaved in Egypt. Before eating the maror, we dip it in the ḥaroset.

Wine is not placed on the Seder plate because it is a drink, not a food.

04. Arranging the Seder Plate

The Talmud does not mention the Seder plate, but it does say that “matza, lettuce, ḥaroset, and two cooked foods” are served to the person leading the Seder (Pesaḥim 114a). The Rishonim state that all of these foods should be placed on a plate. So is written in SA 473:4 as well. However, this is not obligatory. The main thing is that these foods be placed before the Seder leader. It is not necessary to place a Seder plate before each participant or even before each married participant. Rather, it is enough to place the plate before the Seder leader (MB 473:17). Nevertheless, some have a custom to place matzot before the head of every household and the complete Seder plate in front of the Seder leader only.

Since a number of foods must be placed on the plate, the question arises: what is the best way to arrange them? There are several opinions on this matter.

According to Rema, the principle is that the earlier a food appears in the Seder, the closer to the Seder leader it should be placed. This is done in order to avoid “passing over the mitzvot.” For example, if the matzot were closer to the leader than the karpas, he would have to pass over the matzot when reaching for the karpas, and this would be somewhat disrespectful to the matzot. Therefore, according to Rema, one should place the karpas and salt water closest to the leader, because these are eaten at the beginning, even before reciting the Hagada. Next come the matzot, which are eaten at the start of the meal. Then come the maror and the ḥaroset, because after eating matza we eat maror dipped in the ḥaroset. Furthest away on the plate are the zero’a and egg, which commemorate the Paschal and ḥagiga offerings.

Some say that there is no need to be particular about arranging the Seder plate in a manner that will prevent “passing over mitzvot,” because such behavior is only improper when one is presented with the simultaneous opportunity to perform two mitzvot. However, on the Seder night, each mitzva has a specific time of its own, and there is no problem in passing over a mitzva whose time for fulfillment has not yet arrived, in order to get to a food that must be eaten now.

The Seder plate arrangement based on Arizal’s teaching alludes to the ten kabbalistic sefirot.^[1] This arrangement is practiced today by most Sephardic, Ḥasidic, and even some non-Ḥasidic Ashkenazim. Other Ashkenazim follow Rema, while still others follow the Vilna Gaon. Many Hagadot contain diagrams of the Seder plate arrangement, and each of these varying customs has a place in Jewish law.

[1]. Arizal’s arrangement is as follows: The three matzot are on top, corresponding to the sefirot of ḥokhma, bina, and da’at. Under the matzot on the right is the zero’a, corresponding to the sefira of ḥesed, and the egg on the left corresponding to gevura. Underneath them in the middle is the maror, which corresponds to tiferet. Below the maror on the right is the ḥaroset, corresponding to netzaḥ, and on the left is the karpas, corresponding to hod. Underneath them in the center is the maror used for the korekh sandwich, corresponding to the sefira of yesod. The plate itself corresponds to the sefira of malkhut (Kaf Ha-ḥayim 473:58). Based on the teachings of Arizal, some have a custom to separate the three matzot with cloth, as each matza alludes to a different sefira. Others have no such custom (Ḥayei Adam).

05. Kadesh – Kiddush

The Seder begins with kiddush, which expresses the sanctity of the Jewish people and of the Pesaḥ holiday. The kiddush of Shabbat and other holidays contains the phrase “in commemoration of the Exodus from Egypt,” for the source of Israel’s sanctity began to reveal itself with the Exodus from Egypt, when it was made known that God chose Israel to be His special nation. At the Seder, on the night we left Egypt and are commanded to tell the Exodus story, the importance of kiddush is thus compounded. It is therefore fitting to begin the Seder with it.^[2]

Thus, unlike other kiddushim where only one person recites kiddush and drinks the majority of a cup of wine, on the Seder night each participant is poured a cup of wine, and after kiddush everyone reclines and drinks most of the wine in his cup. This is the first of the four cups of wine.

The rabbinic enactment to recite kiddush over wine expresses an important principle in Judaism. People tend to think that sanctity manifests itself in the spiritual realm alone, through prayer and Torah study, assuming that the more one denies the body, the more sanctity he attains. Yet, the fact that the Sages instituted kiddush over wine teaches us that sanctity can infuse and find expression even through physical food. This is true not only of the staple foods necessary for human sustenance, but even of wine, which brings people joy. Israel’s sanctity can be revealed in its totality specifically through the fullness of life, which combines the truth of Torah and faith with happiness and joy. We therefore recite kiddush over wine.

As on every Yom Tov, we recite the berakha of “she-heḥeyanu,” blessing God “Who has given us life, sustained us, and guided us to reach this season,” because Yom Tov is a mitzva that is celebrated anew during a specific season. The Sages inserted she-heḥeyanu at the end of kiddush; after declaring the day’s sanctity, it is only fitting to bless and thank God for having guided us to this sacred time. If one neglects to recite the she-heḥeyanu after kiddush, he must recite it whenever he remembers, as long as Pesaḥ has not ended.

Many people say a preliminary statement of intention (“hineni mukhan” or “le-shem yiḥud”) before each of the four cups of wine. One should not do so between the berakha and drinking, as this constitutes an interruption. Rather, the formula should be recited before kiddush, and in the case of the other three cups, before the berakha on the wine (MB 473:1).

If the first day of Pesaḥ coincides with Shabbat, we invoke Shabbat in the kiddush. If it begins on Saturday night, two berakhot are added: on the creation of fire (“borei me’orei ha-esh”) and on the separation of different forms of sanctity (“Ha-mavdil bein kodesh le-kodesh”) (SA 473:2).

[2]. Kiddush on Shabbat is clearly a Torah precept, as it states: “Remember the Sabbath day to sanctify it.” According to Rambam and the majority of poskim, one fulfills his Torah obligation to remember Shabbat by reciting the Friday night prayers. The Sages, however, instituted that kiddush be recited over wine. According to some Rishonim, the mitzva of the Torah is to sanctify the Shabbat over a cup of wine (Peninei Halakha: Shabbat 6:1). However, with regard to kiddush on Yom Tov, the poskim disagree. Magid Mishneh on MT Laws of Shabbat 29:18 states that kiddush on Yom Tov is rabbinic, and this is also the opinion of MA 271:1 and most Aḥaronim. Conversely, many Rishonim – She’iltot, Behag, Raavyah, and Maharam of Rothenburg – maintain that kiddush on Yom Tov is from the Torah, as it states: “These are the festivals of God, that you shall call holy.” (See Peninei Halakha: Festivals 2:4; Responsa Ḥazon Ovadia §2.)

06. The Four Cups

The Sages instituted drinking four cups of wine on the Seder night in order to increase the joy of redemption and give expression to our freedom. On every Yom Tov there is a mitzva to rejoice by drinking wine, but for Pesaḥ the Sages further integrated four cups of wine into the Seder, so that our joy finds expression in each of its phases. Kiddush is recited over the first cup, and thus everyone’s cup is filled prior to kiddush. The story of the Exodus and the first part of Hallel are recited over the second cup, which is therefore filled just before the telling of the story is begun. Birkat Ha-mazon is recited over the third cup; we refill our glasses prior to its recitation and drink the wine right after. Finally, we pour the fourth cup, recite the second part of Hallel and “the Great Hallel” (see below, section 35). Thus, every recitation at the Seder is over wine.

If one drinks the four cups of wine one after another, it is as if he drank only one cup (SA 472:8). Even if one waited between cups, if he did not recite any of the Hagada during these pauses, he has not fulfilled this obligation according to several poskim (Rashbam, Ran, Pri Ḥadash). This is because one must drink while discussing the Exodus. According to Beit Yosef, however, if one pauses between cups he fulfills his obligation be-di’avad (BHL ad loc. s.v. “she-lo”).

The Sages explain that the four cups allude to several things: the four expressions of redemption used in the Torah’s account of the Exodus; the four kingdoms that subjugated Israel after it became a nation (Babylon, Persia, Greece, and Rome), and from which the Almighty saved us; the four cups of calamity that God will serve to the wicked among the nations of the world; and the corresponding four cups of consolation that God will pour out to Israel (y. Pesaḥim 10:1).

As a rule, the number four alludes to the manifestation of an idea in its completeness throughout the world, for everything in the world has four sides, corresponding to the four points of the compass. Since the Exodus brought about a complete upheaval in the world, the Torah uses four expressions of redemption in relation to it:

Therefore, say to the Israelites: “I am the Lord. I will rescue you from beneath the burden of Egypt; I will save you from their enslavement; I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and great acts of judgment; and I will take you for Myself as a people and be your God. Thus you will know that I am the Lord your God, Who is taking you out from beneath the burden of Egypt.” (Shemot 6:6-7)

Israel’s bondage in Egypt was more than just the enslavement of the Israelites of that generation. Rather, it manifested the subjugation of the spirit to the material, because the possibility of expressing spirituality in the world depends on the people of Israel, who were enslaved by the most materialistic of kingdoms, Egypt. In order to free Israel so that they could receive the Torah and illuminate and rectify the world, it was necessary to break all barriers of oppression, from each direction. The four expressions of redemption correspond to these.

In fact, a fifth expression of redemption appears in the very next verse: “I will bring you to the land that I swore to give to Avraham, Yitzḥak, and Yaakov. I will give it to you as an inheritance; I am the Lord” (ibid. 8). Since this verse does not address the Exodus itself, the Sages did not institute a corresponding fifth cup. Nonetheless, it is customary to pour a fifth cup, known as Eliyahu’s Cup (“Kos shel Eliyahu”), which alludes to the complete redemption that begins with entry into the Promised Land (see section 36 below).

07. The Wine

The Sages stated (Pesaḥim 108b) that in order to fulfill the mitzva of the four cups properly, one must dilute the wine with water, because otherwise it will be too strong and heavy and will cause intoxication. Though the alcohol in such wine gives one pleasure, the mitzva is to drink the wine in the manner of free people, that is, like wealthy people who have control of their own time and permit themselves to drink the best wine, making sure it is diluted properly so that one can enjoy it without getting drunk. Today’s wine is not as hard and strong, and there is no obligation to dilute it. Only one for whom diluting the wine improves its taste and effects has a mitzva to dilute it. (See MB 472:29; some have the custom of diluting the wine to enhance the mitzva.)

Instead, nowadays we enhance the expression of our freedom by purchasing fine wine that is strong enough to intoxicate, because such wine causes a sense of joy, liberation, and freedom. However, one must be careful not to use a wine so strong that it disrupts one’s ability to concentrate on the Hagada and to fulfill the mitzvot of the Seder night. One must therefore drink four cups of wine in a manner that brings joy and does not cause drowsiness or intoxication. A person for whom drinking a full cup of wine is hard or might hinder him from fulfilling the mitzvot of the Seder properly should mix his wine with water, grape juice, or both, as long as water is not the majority. This will allow him to drink wine that intoxicates, on one hand, but on the other hand, will bring him to a state of joy in which he can properly fulfill all the mitzvot of the Seder night. One may also use wine with very low alcohol content.

Even though, be-di’avad, one can fulfill the obligation with grape juice, one must know that when the Sages instituted the four cups, they did not imagine that one would fulfill this mitzva with grape juice, as in their day there was no way to preserve the juice without it turning into vinegar. Even one who did not enjoy the taste of wine or who got a headache from drinking wine was obligated to drink four cups. In fact, the Gemara recounts that R. Yehuda b. Ilai had to wrap his head in a kerchief from Pesaḥ until Shavu’ot due to a headache caused by drinking four cups of wine. Only one who wine caused to become ill and bedridden was exempt from the mitzva (Nedarim 49b; SA 472:10; MB ad loc. 35). The Sages intended for us to recite the Hagada and tell the Exodus story while drinking wine that enhances enjoyment. One who uses grape juice does not fulfill the mitzva in the way the Sages enacted it. However, now that grape juice is available, one who suffers from the effects of wine – for example, it gives him a headache – may fulfill his obligation using grape juice.

Women are also commanded to drink four cups of wine, just as they are commanded to fulfill all of the mitzvot of the Seder night (SA 472:14). The mitzva is to drink wine that enhances joy.^[3]

There is a mitzva to embellish this obligation and choose a fine wine that brings joy to use for the four cups. In addition, red wine is considered preferable. However, fine white wine is preferred over red wine that is not as fine. Be-di’avad, any wine is adequate, even cheap white wine (SA 472:11).

[3]. In the past, it was only possible to obtain grape juice during the grape harvest. Since last season’s wine would have already been used up and it would take another forty days to prepare wine from the new crop, the Sages permitted making kiddush on grape juice (Bava Batra 97b; SA 272:2). This is be-di’avad, especially when it comes to the Seder, where reciting the Hagada joyfully is an integral part of the institution. So states Mikra’ei Kodesh 2:35, although in the notes on p. 130 (of Harerei Kodesh) the author defends the practice of many women to use grape juice. He argues that the reason for using intoxicating wine is to fulfill the mitzva of rejoicing on Yom Tov, and Pesaḥim 109a states: “Every person must rejoice during the festival…men with what is appropriate for them – with wine, and women…in Babylonia with dyed clothing and in Eretz Yisrael with pressed linen clothing.” SA 529:2 and BHL ad loc. rule that, indeed, the joy of wine relates primarily to men. Nevertheless, it is clear that women, too, have a mitzva to rejoice on the festivals with wine, in accordance with the view of the tanna kama (Pesaḥim, ibid.), as explained in Peninei Halakha: Festivals (1:9-10, n. 5). Moreover, women are obligated to drink four cups of wine just like men, as “they too participated in that miracle” (Pesaḥim 108b). Until recent generations, this was the common practice of women. Nevertheless, intoxication is more disgraceful for women than for men (Ketubot 65a), so women concerned about intoxication may mix more grape juice into their wine.

08. The Amount of Wine and Cup Size

In order to fulfill the mitzva of the four cups, or any other mitzva that involves drinking wine (such as kiddush, havdala, Birkat Ha-mazon, and wedding ceremonies), there must be a significant amount of wine in the cup. The Sages determined that the cup must contain at least a quarter of a log (a “revi’it”) of wine. Less than this is not a significant amount of wine and does not suffice to fulfill the obligation (Pesaḥim 108b).

A revi’it is equal in volume to an egg and a half. According to the calculation of Rambam and other Rishonim, this works out to c. 75 milliliters (Peninei Halakha: Berakhot 10:11; according to R. Ḥayim Naeh, the quantity is 86 ml). This quantity, however, is not agreed upon by everyone. The exiles gave rise to uncertainties regarding the size of eggs, and some later Ashkenazic poskim (Noda Bi-Yehuda, Ḥazon Ish) stringently rule that today’s eggs are only about half the size of eggs in the time of the Sages. If a revi’it was the same volume as 1.5 eggs, it is now almost three eggs, or c. 150 ml. This stringent measure is known today as a “Ḥazon Ish shi’ur.”

In practice, the lenient opinion is the standard, and this is the practice of Sephardim. However, MB 271:68 and 486:1 states regarding the practice of Ashkenazim that it is best to take the stringent opinion into account with regard to mitzvot of Torah origin like kiddush and havdala. However, when it comes to rabbinic mitzvot like the four cups at the Seder or the minimum amount that must be drunk in order to recite a berakha aḥarona, one may fulfill the mitzva using the smaller measure, in keeping with the view of the vast majority of poskim. Nevertheless, le-khatḥila it is not proper to fulfill the mitzva using the smaller amount. Rather, one should fill a nice goblet that contains much more.

One must also take care to meet the Sages’ requirements for a kos shel berakha (a cup of wine linked to the performance of a mitzva). A broken cup must not be used. The cup, however large, must be filled; even if the cup contains much more than the amount with which one fulfills his obligation (a revi’it, or 75 ml), it must be filled, so that one does not appear miserly. This does not mean that the cup must be filled to the brim, to the point that there is concern that the wine will spill. Rather, it should be filled generously, almost to the brim (c. half a centimeter below the brim).

The cup must be clean, thoroughly rinsed inside and out, before the first cup. However, as long as it has not become dirtied, it is unnecessary to wash it again for subsequent cups, since all four cups are considered one continuum (MB 473:68). Nonetheless, some take care to wash the cup before drinking each time (Kaf Ha-ḥayim 473:1).^[4]

[4]. Kaf Ha-ḥayim 472:1 states, based on Zohar, that one should rinse the cup again before Birkat Ha-mazon. Some had the custom of preparing a basin of water and immersing the cups in it between each drinking. Nowadays, this practice is not as nice, since the water in the bowl becomes dirty; we would not consider such cups clean. One who wants to be strict should rinse his glass in the sink. Most poskim maintain that one need not rinse out the cups in the middle of the Seder.

09. How Much Wine Must Be Drunk?

Le-khatḥila, it is best to enhance the mitzva by drinking all the wine in the cup. Even if the cup is large and contains much more than a revi’it (75 ml), he should, le-khatḥila, drink all of the wine in the cup. If he does not want to, he should at least try to drink most of the wine in the cup. At the very least, one must drink most of a revi’it and a “melo lugmav.” In other words, there are two conditions: he must drink most of the wine that is required to be in the cup, i.e., most of a revi’it (38 ml), and this amount must be at least melo lugmav – enough wine to fill the drinker’s mouth with one cheek inflated. This is the amount of wine that settles one’s mind. For someone with a normal size mouth, melo lugmav a bit more than most of a revi’it. For one with a large mouth, melo lugmav is closer to a revi’it. A thirteen-year-old, whose mouth is small and whose melo lugmav is less than half a revi’it must drink most of a revi’it in order to fulfill the first condition (SA 472:9; MB ad loc. 30; BHL ad loc. s.v. “ve-yishteh”).^[5]

Children who have reached the age of mitzva education are given four cups of wine (SA 472:15). The age of education for this mitzva is when the child understands the meaning of the things that are said while the cups are filled – kiddush, the Hagada, Birkat Ha-mazon, and Hallel (SAH 472:25) – generally around age five or six. There is no need for them to drink most of a revi’it; melo lugmav suffices (MB 472:47).

One must drink most of the wine in the cup “at once.” If one drinks half of the necessary amount, and then, after a long pause, drinks the second half, this is not considered a single “drinking,” and thus he did not drink the necessary amount of wine to fulfill drinking one of the four cups. However, leading Rishonim and Aḥaronim are divided over precisely how quickly one must drink the requisite amount of wine in order for it to be considered “at once.” According to Rambam, since people are accustomed to drink continuously, albeit with short breaks to breathe or swallow, one is only considered to have drunk “at once” if he drank continuously, as one would normally drink a revi’it. In other words, the amount of time it takes to drink the quantity of wine that one must drink from every cup is the amount of time it normally takes to drink an entire revi’it. If it takes one longer to drink most of a revi’it than it normally takes people to drink a revi’it, he has not fulfilled the mitzva. Raavad, on the other hand, maintains that as one managed to drink the requisite amount of wine within the time it takes to eat a half a loaf of bread (“shi’ur akhilat pras”; c. seven minutes), it is still considered one “drinking”.

To summarize, le-khatḥila one should follow the stringent ruling of Rambam and drink the quantity of wine within which one fulfills his obligation continuously, taking short breaks to breathe and swallow. Be-di’avad, if one drinks it within a shi’ur akhilat pras (c. seven minutes), he fulfilled his obligation, since the rule of four cups is of rabbinic origin, and the halakha therefore follows the lenient position. Nonetheless, some practice stringency.^[6]

[5]. According to Ramban, cited as an alternative opinion (“yesh omrim”) in SA 472:9, one must drink most of the cup, no matter how large. However, according to most poskim, one fulfills the obligation without meeting that condition, though le-khatḥila one should show concern for Ramban’s view, as explained in MB ad loc. 33.

Although halakha follows the widely accepted opinion, in this context I stressed that following the Ḥazon Ish shi’ur enhances the mitzva, since more wine enhances the mitzva of rejoicing, and a revi’it is a minimum. Those who enhance the mitzva always drank more. Thus, to satisfy unquestionably all opinions one should le-khatḥila use a cup that contains 150 ml and drink most of it. This satisfies the higher melo lugmav requirement, and since he drank most of the cup, he fulfilled his obligation according to Ramban as well. However, if it is difficult for him to drink an entire 150 ml “Ḥazon Ish shi’ur” cup, he ends up losing the enhancement of drinking an entire cup. Although we have stated that one may fulfill his obligation le-khatḥila by using the standard shi’ur, one who wishes to enhance the mitzva should first satisfy all opinions, including the Ḥazon Ish shi’ur, and only then undertake to drink an entire cup. If he enjoys drinking wine, the greatest enhancement is to drink a full 150 ml cup; if he is worried that he might become intoxicated, he may mix grape juice into the wine.

[6]. More broadly, “shi’ur akhilat pras” is a unit of time within which all eating is treated as a single act. There is a dispute as to whether or not this time period applies to drinking as well. According to Rambam, since one drinks faster than he eats, the measurement of time for drinking is different than that of eating, and only uninterrupted drinking is considered as one unit. According to Raavad, the measurement of time for drinking is the same as for eating, and as long as one drank within a “shi’ur akhilat pras,” it is considered a single “drinking.”

Le-khatḥila, one must drink uninterruptedly, as per Rambam, and if he drank the minimum amount within the time of akhilat pras, he has not fulfilled his obligation according to Rambam, only according to Raavad. But since we rule leniently when there is uncertainty pertaining to rabbinic law, one would not have to drink again. This is what AHS 472:13 and Ḥazon Ovadia §12 state. Moreover, according to some, Rambam only stated his opinion with regard to a forbidden drink, where one incurs lashes if he drinks continuously. But regarding berakhot over consumption of food or drink, Rambam would concur that anything drunk within a shi’ur akhilat pras is combined together, since one derives pleasure from drinking even at this slower pace (Knesset Ha-gedola, SAH, and Ḥatam Sofer). Perhaps according to these authorities, Rambam would concur that one who drinks a cup of wine within a shi’ur akhilat pras would fulfill his obligation. Nevertheless, we find in several places that where it is easy to fulfill one’s obligation according to all opinions, one should be stringent even with regard to a disputed rabbinic law. Therefore, MA and SAH 472:20 and MB 472:34 state that if one drank the second cup only within the time of akhilat pras, he should drink it again. If it was the third or fourth cup, though, he should not drink again, since it would look like he was adding to the four cups. Rather, in this case he should rely on the opinion of Raavad that he has fulfilled his obligation even if he interrupted his drinking, as long as he finished drinking within a shi’ur akhilat pras. (Regarding the first cup, see MB 472:21.) According to those who follow SA that one may drink after the third and fourth cups, one should re-drink any of the four cups in question, as Ben Ish Ḥai (Tzav 29) states. This is why I wrote that some are stringent in this matter, despite the fact that this is a double uncertainty about a rabbinic law: according to Raavad, the obligation has certainly been fulfilled, and possibly even according to Rambam as well. (Perhaps there is a tendency toward stringency, beyond what is required by halakhic principles, with respect to the mitzva of rejoicing.)

See section 25 below and note 22 ad loc. for the differing opinions regarding the length of shi’ur akhilat pras. The average time is around six to seven minutes, but le-khatḥila it is best to adopt the more stringent amount of four minutes, and under extenuating circumstances one may be lenient and count up to nine minutes.

10. The Mitzva of Reclining

The Sages ordained that one recline while eating matza and drinking wine at the Seder, because in every generation one must give the appearance of having just been freed from Egyptian bondage, as it is stated: “He rescued us from there” (Devarim 6:23). This reclining is called “hasava,” and it was instituted so that a sense of liberation would be apparent in one’s behavior (MT, Laws of Ḥametz and Matza 7:6-7).

One who is burdened with a task usually sits upright so that he will be able to rise at once when the time comes for him to carry out his work. Even though sitting upright requires effort on the part of the back muscles and creates a state of constant tension, the need to be ready for action requires this state of alertness. However, one who has no burdens can lean back and lie on his side restfully, allowing all of his back muscles to relax. This is how we eat on the Seder night, in the manner of the liberated.

In the past, people would sit on pillows and cushions, which meant that sitting erect indeed required discernible effort. In such circumstances, hasava – the position between sitting and lying down, where the entire body reclines on a couch or on pillows and cushions – was very comfortable and demonstrated a sense of freedom. But today, people sit on chairs and are not accustomed to reclining on couches or eating while reclining to the side. In fact, if one were to eat while reclining on a couch these days, it would be more burdensome than comfortable. Therefore, according to Raavyah and Raavan, two leading Rishonim, there is no mitzva to practice hasava nowadays. However, most Rishonim maintain that since the Sages mandated reclining at the Seder, their ordinance stands firm, and there continues to be a mitzva to eat matza and drink the four cups of wine while reclining (Rambam, Rosh, Tur, SA 472:2). Today we recline by leaning against the back left of our chairs.

The requirement of hasava applies when eating a kezayit of matza, a kezayit of korekh, a kezayit of afikoman, and while drinking the four cups of wine. It is commendable to recline during the rest of the meal as well, but if one finds this uncomfortable, there is no obligation (MT, Laws of Ḥametz and Matza 7:8). One need not recline while eating the maror (Beit Yosef and MB 475:14). One should not recline while reciting Birkat Ha-mazon, which must be recited with awe and reverence (SA 183:9). Likewise, it is customary to refrain from hasava while reading the Hagada, so that it is recited with full concentration and seriousness (Shlah, MB 473:81).

11. How to Recline

Nowadays, people are not used to reclining on couches while eating, and it is therefore necessary to explain how to perform hasava in a chair on the Seder night. Instead of sitting erect with one’s back against the seat back, one slides his bottom forward to the middle of the seat so that he may lean back against the chair back, and tilts to the left. Le-khatḥila, it is best to recline on an upholstered chair with armrests or to use a pillow to make sitting more comfortable. Regardless, anyone who uses a chair with a backrest fulfills his obligation by reclining against the back of the chair and tilting to the left, for this is an expression of freedom. After all, a receptionist, for example, must sit erect in his chair in order to be ready to do his work, but one who has no burdens can stretch out, lean back, and rest freely.

The reason for reclining to the left is that it is easier to eat this way; with the left hand and back reclining against the chair, the right hand, which we generally use, remains free to hold the matza or wine. Additionally, some say that one who reclines to the right runs the risk of choking on his food and suffocating. Because of this risk, it was ruled that even a left-handed person must recline to the left and use his right hand on the Seder night. Be-di’avad, a right-handed person who mistakenly reclines to his right does not fulfill his obligation, but a left-handed person who reclines to the right does (SA 472:3, MB ad loc. 10-11).

If one is sitting in the company of his rabbi or a leading Torah sage, he must ask his permission before reclining, because hasava contains an expression of disrespect and irreverence toward the rabbi, and the mitzva to honor the Torah takes precedence over the mitzva of hasava. But if one receives permission from his rabbi, then hasava no longer constitutes a display of disrespect (SA 472: 5).

12. If One Forgets to Recline

If one eats a kezayit of matza without reclining, he does not fulfill his obligation, as he has not performed the mitzva as the Sages ordained it, and he must eat another kezayit while reclining. Even if one has already recited Birkat Ha-mazon, he must wash his hands again, recite “ha-motzi,” and eat a second kezayit while reclining. In this case, however, one does not recite the “al akhilat matza” blessing a second time, because, according to Raavyah and Raavan, he already fulfilled the mitzva of eating matza with the kezayit he ate without hasava (SA 472:7, MB ad loc. 22).

If one forgets to recline for korekh, he need not eat it a second time, since some poskim rule that korekh does not require hasava because it contains maror. Le-khatḥila, we customarily recline for korekh, but if one forgets to do so, he may rely upon those who maintain that hasava is not necessary. If one eats the afikoman without reclining and he can easily eat another kezayit of afikoman while reclining, he should do so; but if eating another kezayit will be difficult for him, he may rely on Raavyah and Raavan, who maintain that hasava is not necessary nowadays.^[7]

If one drinks one of the four cups without reclining, the poskim are divided about what he must do. According to Shulḥan Arukh, he should le-khatḥila drink the cup again, this time reclining. According to Rema, though, this creates a problem, because by drinking again one appears to be adding to the number of cups ordained by the Sages. Therefore, if one drinks the second of the four cups without reclining, he must drink it again with hasava, because the second cup precedes the meal, and since it is permissible to drink wine during the meal, one who drinks at this point does not appear to be adding to the required four cups. But if one forgot to recline while drinking the first, third, or fourth cup, he may not go back and drink it a second time, because by doing so he would appear to be adding to the mitzva. He may rely on Raavyah and Raavan who maintain that nowadays one need not perform hasava on the Seder night (SA 472:7, MB 21 ad loc.).

Shulḥan Arukh’s ruling that one must go back and drink any of the four cups again with hasava, and Rema’s similar ruling about only the second cup, are le-khatḥila. If drinking again is difficult, one may rely on what he drank without hasava and need not drink again.^[8]

Le-khatḥila, women should recline while eating matza and drinking the four cups of wine, but if they forgot, they need not eat or drink again. Important women who accidentally eat matza without reclining should eat it again while reclining.^[9]

[7]. The principle is that when in doubt about a Torah commandment one must be stringent, but when in doubt about a rabbinic enactment one may be lenient. Eating a kezayit of matza is a Torah obligation, and although reclining while eating is a rabbinic obligation, since it is the manner instituted by the Sages to fulfill the Torah’s commandment, we are stringent, and if one ate without reclining he must eat again and recline. Eating korekh and afikoman are entirely rabbinic enactments, on the other hand, and since according to Raavyah and Raavan reclining while eating them is unnecessary, if one ate them without reclining, he would not have to eat again. However, since according to the overwhelming majority of poskim reclining is required when eating korekh and afikoman (and this is the halakha), and sometimes even in the case of a rabbinic enactment, if it is easy to redo, one should redo it.

Regarding korekh, although the halakha s that one must recline, in accordance with the view of Manhig and most Rishonim (SA 475:1), since some maintain that it is not necessary to recline for korekh because it contains maror (Roke’aḥ, Shibolei Ha-leket), and some are uncertain (R. Yeḥiel, cited by Tur), if one did not recline, it is not necessary to go back and do it again (Pri Ḥadash, SAH, Kaf Ha-ḥayim 475:36).

Regarding the afikoman, SA 477:1 states that one must recline while eating the it. Pri Ḥadash, on the other hand, notes that Rambam and the Yerushalmi imply that reclining while eating the afikoman is unnecessary. Based on this, MB 477:4 states that if one forgot to recline and eating another kezayit of afikoman would be difficult for him, he need not eat another afikoman. This is also the opinion of Kaf Ha-ḥayim 472:45 and 477:7. According to Ḥayei Adam 130:13, though, even if one was able to eat another afikoman, it is forbidden to eat the afikoman twice. MB 472:22 quotes this, which seemingly contradicts what he states in 477:4. Perhaps this can be reconciled: if one remembered immediately that he neglected to recline, he should continue eating another kezayit while reclining, but if he already finished eating, he should not go back and eat more, since this would be considered eating the afikoman twice. So states Hilkhot Ḥag Be-ḥag 22:5.

[8]. Pesaḥim 108a expresses uncertainty about which of the four cups require reclining – the first two or the last two – and concludes that one must recline while drinking all four cups. Some Rishonim ask why the Gemara rules stringently, to recline during all cups, if the mitzva to drink the four cups is only rabbinic in origin, which should indicate a lenient ruling. Maharam Ḥalawa, Tashbetz, and others answer that indeed the Gemara should have been lenient, but since there is no difficulty involved in reclining, it is best to recline while drinking all four cups. Their view implies that if one drank the cups without reclining, he need not drink again, since this is an uncertainty about a rabbinic enactment, and we thus rule leniently, and there is no need to drink the cup again. In contrast, Rosh says that if one drank any of the cups without reclining, he must drink again. This leads us to the conclusion that the reason we recline during all four cups is not because we are in doubt, but because the Sages in fact decreed that this should be so. This is the opinion of SA 742:7. In practice, since Raavyah and Raavan maintain that there is no need to recline nowadays, this introduces another uncertainty, and according to halakhic principles, in cases of uncertainty about rabbinic law, we are lenient. This is the opinion of Birkei Yosef 472:8 and Kaf Ha-ḥayim 472:42. Ḥazon Ovadia (§13), however, rules in accordance with SA that the leniency to not have to drink again only applies to someone who has difficulty doing so. In sum, Sephardim follow SA and re-drink any cups that one initially drank without reclining. Ashkenazim follow Rema and only re-drink the second cup. However, if someone, whether Sephardic or Ashkenazic, wishes to be lenient, he may do so, since this is an uncertainty – and possibly a double uncertainty (sfek sfeika) regarding a rabbinic law.

[9]. Pesaḥim 108a states that a woman need not recline if she is in her husband’s presence, with the exception of an important woman (“isha ḥashuva”). SA 472:4 rules accordingly. (The rationale is that if reclining in the manner of free people does not reflect an inner sense of freedom, it has no purpose. This is similar to the logic behind a disciple not reclining in the presence of his rabbi.) There are different opinions about what defines an isha ḥashuva – that she is not subservient to her husband, that she is wealthy, that she is pedigreed, or that her husband does not mind if she reclines. Rema states that all women nowadays are considered ḥashuvot, but the common practice among women is nevertheless that they do not recline, based on the view of Raavyah that there is no longer a mitzva to recline. In practice, all women from all communities should try to recline, as Knesset Ha-gedola and Kaf Ha-ḥayim (ad loc. 28) state. Many Ashkenazic women in fact do so. But if a woman forgot to recline, she need not eat or drink again, since the mitzva of reclining is rabbinic, and there are several poskim who maintain that women are exempt, either because they are not ḥashuvot or because the view of Raavyah is correct. Nonetheless, it seems that women who see themselves as important should recline while eating the Torah-mandated kezayit of matza and refrain from relying on the opinion of Raavyah.

13. May One Drink after the First Cup?

Technically, one who wishes to drink after the first of the four cups may do so, but le-khatḥila it is best not to drink between the first and second cups, lest one become intoxicated to the point of being unable to read the Hagada with proper focus. However, it is permissible to drink non-alcoholic beverages such as grape juice or any other juice (SA 473:3, MB 16 ad loc.).

If, while reciting the blessing over the wine, one had in mind to drink other beverages, he need not recite a berakha over them, because the berakha over wine covers all beverages. Even if he did not intend to drink other beverages, but they were on the table and there was a chance that he might want to drink them, he need not recite a berakha before drinking them, because the blessing over wine covers these too.^[10]

A firstborn who fasted on Erev Pesaḥ, or someone so hungry that he finds it difficult to concentrate on reciting the Hagada, may eat foods such as eggs, fruits, potatoes, and kitniyot (for those who eat kitniyot on Pesaḥ) after kiddush. However, he should not eat too much, so that he saves his appetite for the matza. Furthermore, this is only permitted when there is great need. If one can restrain himself, it is best not to eat anything before the meal, because when one eats after kiddush, he runs into the uncertainty of whether he has to recite a berakha aḥarona (and if one eats, he must recite a berakha aḥarona).^[11]

This eating and drinking is only permissible before one pours the second cup and begins reciting the Hagada. However, after beginning the Hagada, it is forbidden to interrupt by eating or drinking (BHL 473:3, based on Ramban and Ran; however, it notes that Ha-ma’or and Tosafot permit).

[10]. See SHT 473:18. According to SAH 473:13 and MB 479:5, if one wants to drink “ḥamar medina” (the alcoholic non-wine beverage locally considered significant) and did not initially have it in mind, in which case it requires a new berakha, the beverage is prohibited, as it looks like he is adding to the four cups since be-di’avad one can fulfill the mitzva by drinking ḥamar medina for all four cups. This is the proper custom. (Ḥemed Moshe forbids even other drinks if one must make a berakha on them. See Kaf Ha-ḥayim 473:40. It remains unclear whether this stringency applies to the Sephardic custom, according to which a berakha is not recited before every cup.)

[11]. One would presumably need to recite a berakha aḥarona. Since the food one eats before a meal is not considered part of the meal, he must recite a berakha after finishing the food before beginning the meal. This is the opinion of Ben Ish Ḥai (Naso 4), Kaf Ha-ḥayim 177:7, and Or Le-Tziyon 12:7. In principle, MB 176:2 also rules this way, but states that according to several poskim, if the food is of a type that is not covered by the berakha of “ha-motzi,” such as fruit, and the person intends to continue eating fruit during the meal, he should not make a berakha aḥarona, since the berakha that he made on the fruit will include the fruit he eats during the meal. Also, since Birkat Ha-mazon covers the fruit that he ate during the meal, it will also cover the fruit he ate before the meal. Consequently, an uncertain situation arises, since according to Rashbam the berakha on the karpas is also supposed to cover the maror. Therefore, SA states that one should specifically eat less than a kezayit of karpas so that he will not have to recite a berakha aḥarona. If one recited a berakha aḥarona over the food he ate after kiddush, that berakha would cover the karpas, and the berakha he made on the karpas would no longer cover the maror. Nevertheless, in practice, one should recite the berakha aḥarona of Borei Nefashot and not make another berakha on maror, for in cases of uncertainty regarding berakhot, we are lenient.

14. Raḥatz – Washing Hands before Eating Karpas

After kiddush we eat the karpas, a vegetable. The Sages ordained eating karpas to create a change that will cause the children to ask why it is that tonight, unlike all other nights, we are eating a vegetable before the meal (Rashi and Rashbam on Pesaḥim 114a). Another reason given for this is that free people generally begin their meals with a vegetable appetizer, and so we do the same at the beginning of the Seder (Maharil).

The Sages ordained dipping the vegetable in a liquid, because this necessitates washing the hands before eating it, which is also a departure from the usual order of things. Ordinarily, the hands are washed only once at the beginning of the meal before eating bread. Thereafter, a variety of other foods are eaten. However, even if we dip these other foods in liquids, it is not necessary to wash our hands a second time, because hand-washing for bread covers the whole meal. At the Seder, though, we wash once before eating the karpas and a second time after reciting the Hagada, before eating the matza. The children therefore ask: “Why is this night different that, unlike all other nights, on this night we wash our hands twice?” (Tur and Beit Yosef 473:6). In addition, dipping the vegetable in liquid gives expression to our freedom, because this is the best way to eat it: not only does it serve as an appetizer, we even pamper ourselves by dipping it in salt water or vinegar, which enhances flavor and stimulates the appetite.

A full explanation of this law lies beyond the scope of this book, but suffice it to say that liquids conduct impurity (“tum’a”) more effectively than solid foods. The Sages therefore ordained the washing of hands before eating a food that has been dipped in liquid. According to most Rishonim, this hand-washing has the same status as hand-washing before eating bread: both were instituted to avoid tum’a. Even though nowadays we do not observe the laws of ritual purity and impurity, the institution remains in force. Thus, just as one must recite the berakha of “al netilat yadayim” over the hand-washing before bread, so must one recite this blessing before eating a food dipped in liquid. However, according to R. Meir of Rothenburg (Maharam), Itur, and Tosafot (Pesaḥim 115a), there is a difference between these two types of hand-washing: netilat yadayim before bread was instituted for purposes of sanctity and cleanliness, and thus even today hands should be washed for cleanliness before a meal. Consequently, this hand-washing requires a berakha. However, netilat yadayim before eating a food dipped in liquid is only due to tum’a, and since these laws are not practiced nowadays, there is no need to wash hands before eating a food dipped in liquid.^[12]

In practice, we wash our hands before eating karpas, but do not recite a blessing, in order to fulfill all opinions: on the one hand, we wash our hands in accordance with the poskim who require it, but on the other hand, we do not recite a berakha because there are those who maintain that nowadays there is no need to wash hands before eating food dipped in liquid (SA 473:6).

If one mistakenly recites a blessing over this hand-washing, he is not guilty of a berakha le-vatala (a blessing in vain), since he has acted in accordance with the majority of poskim, including Levush and Gra, who require a berakha when washing hands for a food dipped in liquid. However, the le-khatḥila ruling is not to recite a berakha, because we rule leniently in cases of uncertainty about berakhot.

Furthermore, if one mistakenly recites a berakha over the first hand-washing, this does not exempt him from the second hand-washing, and he must recite a blessing over it as well. This is because people are not meticulous about keeping their hands clean between the two washings. In addition, the time spent reciting the Hagada constitutes an interruption between the two hand-washings, and therefore the Sages ordained two hand-washings at the Seder.^[13]

[12]. According to Rif, Rambam, and most Rishonim, throughout the year one must wash his hands with a berakha before eating something dipped in liquid. However, since some Rishonim are lenient, SA 158:4 rules that one must wash his hands without a berakha. MA cites Leḥem Ḥamudot that many do not wash their hands before eating foods dipped in liquid, and that they may rely on the minority of Rishonim who maintain that this law does not apply nowadays. SAH 158:3 states that we do not reprimand people who act this way, though it is better to wash one’s hands. So states MB 158:20 in the name of many Aḥaronim. However, in practice, many people are lenient, including many Torah scholars, based on the principle that when there is an uncertainty regarding a rabbinic law, we are lenient, and washing hands before eating is a rabbinic enactment (Peninei Halakha: Berakhot 2:5). If so, however, why do we deviate from the standard practice on Pesaḥ night and wash our hands before eating karpas? See Taz 473:6, which uses this question to prove that we should be careful to wash our hands all year round. Netziv states in his Hagada, Imrei Shefer, that this is not a valid question, since during the Seder we do many things that used to be done during Temple times, including this hand-washing.

[13]. If he mistakenly recited a berakha on washing hands for karpas, he should make sure to eat an egg’s bulk (kebeitza) of the vegetable, since one is only required to wash with a berakha on a piece of food this size, as explained in SA 158:2 and Peninei Halakha: Berakhot 2:6. See Kaf Ha-ḥayim 158:20 and the opinion of Rashbatz quoted there. Regarding whether to make another berakha on the second hand-washing, see Kaf Ha-ḥayim 473:107; BHL 475:1; Mikra’ei Kodesh ch. 7 n. 8.

15. Karpas

As noted, the Sages ordained eating a vegetable dipped in liquid between kiddush and the recitation of the Hagada in order to change routine; all year long, we eat vegetables during the meal, after washing hands over bread, but at the Seder we eat a bit of vegetable before reciting the Hagada and before washing hands for the meal. Two things are unusual about this: first, we eat a vegetable before the meal, and second, we wash our hands twice instead of once (Rashi and Rashbam on Pesaḥim 114a; Tur §473). In addition, because we eat a vegetable before reciting the Hagada, our Seder meal is imbued with added importance, because the finest banquets generally begin with appetizers and hors d’oeuvres, followed by a pause for a different part of the program, after which the main meal begins (based on Baḥ).

The word “karpas” appears neither in the Mishna nor in the Talmud; we are only told that a vegetable is eaten before the Hagada is recited (Pesaḥim 114-115). But a few Rishonim (Maharil, Raavan) write that karpas should be used, because its Hebrew name alludes to the 600,000 men put to hard labor in Egypt (the Hebrew letters of the word karpas can be rearranged to spell “samekh parekh”; the letter samekh has a numerical value of sixty or 600,000, and parekh means hard labor). Though not mandatory, the Aḥaronim say that it is good to use karpas (SA 473:6, MB 19 and Kaf Ha-ḥayim 49 ad loc.). However, there are differing opinions about what karpas is. Some say it is celery, and this is the widespread custom among Sephardim. Others say it is parsley, which is the custom of some Ashkenazim. Most Ashkenazim, however, use neither celery nor parsley, because according to Ashkenazic custom, there is uncertainty about what blessing to recite over them. They instead use boiled potatoes. Each family should continue its own tradition.^[14]

We dip the karpas in salt water or vinegar and recite the berakha of “borei pri ha-adama” (Who creates the food of the soil) with the intention that it also apply to the maror that will be eaten later in the meal. It is not necessary to recline while eating karpas because some poskim say it alludes to the suffering of enslavement in Egypt, and therefore need not be eaten as a demonstration of freedom.

It is proper to eat less than a kezayit of karpas. Though some Rishonim (Rambam) say that more than a kezayit of karpas should be eaten, it is best to avoid this. Eating more than a kezayit invites uncertainty about making a berakha aḥarona, since according to Ri, a berakha aḥarona is necessary, but according to Rashbam, one should not recite a berakha aḥarona, because the blessing over the karpas covers the maror we eat during the meal. Therefore, as said, it is best not to eat a kezayit of karpas. If one eats more than a kezayit of karpas, he should not recite a berakha aḥarona, because we rule leniently whenever there is uncertainty about reciting a berakha (Maharil; SA 473:6).^[15]

[14]. The advantage of eating celery or parsley, in addition to the fact that they are actually karpas, is that they are eaten raw and stimulate the appetite. Moreover, they are usually eaten in small amounts, which makes it easier to eat less than a kezayit, as will be explained below. In Ashkenazic lands, they were not usually eaten raw, so one who ate them raw would have to recite she-hakol. But the berakha on karpas must be “ha-adama,” so the custom in Ashkenazic communities is to eat cooked potatoes for karpas, on which the berakha is undoubtedly “ha-adama.” In Middle Eastern and North African communities, where celery and parsley were eaten raw, one recites “ha-adama” over them.

[15]. This dispute hinges on whether one must recite the berakha of “ha-adama” on maror. According to Rashbam, a berakha is necessary, since the berakha of “ha-motzi” over the matza covers everything that will be eaten as part of the meal, meaning anything that is eaten with matza to provide satisfaction. But maror is not eaten for this purpose, so it is not covered by “ha-motzi.” Therefore, one must have in mind when making “ha-adama” on the karpas to cover the maror as well. By doing this, he exempts himself from making a “ha-adama” on the maror. However, according to Ri, one need not make a “ha-adama” on maror at all, since it is considered a food that is eaten in the context of the meal and hence is covered by the “ha-motzi” on the matza. Accordingly, if one eats more than a kezayit of karpas, he must recite a berakha aḥarona. He should not wait until Birkat Ha-mazon, since it only covers food that was eaten during the meal, not before it. So if one eats a kezayit of karpas and does not recite a berakha aḥarona right away, he misses his opportunity to make the berakha.

Nevertheless, be-di’avad, if one ate more than a kezayit of karpas, he should not recite a berakha aḥarona. This is because we are lenient in laws of berakhot in cases of uncertainty. On the one hand, perhaps Rashbam is correct that the berakha on the karpas covers the maror, and since Birkat Ha-mazon covers the maror, it also covers the karpas, which is connected to the maror. (See BHL 473:6, which cites Gra that one must make a berakha and concludes that the matter must be explored further. Nevertheless, practically speaking, one should not recite a berakha about which there is doubt.) On the other hand, if one ate a kezayit and recited a berakha aḥarona afterward, he should not recite a berakha on the maror, since perhaps Ri is correct that the berakha on the matza covers the maror.

The halakha that one must eat less than a kezayit of karpas raises a problem: Why is one required to wash his hands? We learned (SA 158:3; Peninei Halakha: Berakhot 2:6) that if one eats less than a kezayit, even of bread, then according to many poskim one need not wash his hands – so certainly one need not wash for a food dipped in liquid. Indeed, according to Rambam (MT Laws of Ḥametz and Matza 8:2) and many other Rishonim, one should specifically eat a kezayit of karpas (in a responsum he instructed his correspondent to recite a berakha aḥarona afterward). The Vilna Gaon and several other Aḥaronim had the custom to eat a kezayit of karpas (although it is uncertain whether they recited a berakha aḥarona afterward). BHL 473:6 leaves this issue unresolved. Perhaps according to Netziv (cited above in n. 12), who says that we wash our hands before karpas to remember what used to be done in the Temple, we can suggest that in the times of the Temple people would eat pieces larger than a kezayit, and they knew whether or not to recite a berakha aḥarona. Nowadays, however, since we do not know whether to recite a berakha aḥarona, we eat less than a kezayit to avoid uncertainty, and although technically we need not wash our hands to eat less than a kezayit, we do so anyway to commemorate what was done in the Temple. (Some say that for foods dipped in liquids one washes on even less than a kezayit, citing the law of karpas as proof. See Kaf Ha-ḥayim 158:20.)

16. Yaḥatz – Breaking the Middle Matza

Three matzot are arranged on the Seder plate. After eating karpas, before reciting the Hagada, the Seder leader (and whoever else has three matzot in front of him) breaks the middle matza in half. The larger piece is saved for the afikoman, and the other is left between the two whole matzot (SA 463:6).

The reason for this is to invoke our impoverishment in Egypt, for one of the meanings to which the matza alludes is our poverty and subjugation in Egypt. For this reason, matza is called “leḥem oni” – “poor man’s bread” (Devarim 16:3). Paupers often eat partial loaves of bread because they are unable to buy whole loaves. We break the matza before beginning the Hagada since the Hagada should be recited in the presence of the matza, as another meaning of “leḥem oni” is “bread over which we ‘onim’ – answer or say – many things,” and this means that the Hagada must be recited while the matza, in the form it will be eaten, is before us. This is why it must be broken in half before we begin the Hagada.

Nevertheless, on the Seder night, just like on every Shabbat and Yom Tov, there is a mitzva to recite “ha-motzi” over two whole loaves of bread/matza (“leḥem mishneh”). Therefore, we set the table with three matzot: the middle one is broken in half to give expression to leḥem oni, while the top and bottom matzot remain whole and serve as leḥem mishneh. (Later, when reciting “ha-motzi,” one should hold all three matzot so that there is leḥem mishneh, and before reciting the berakha of “al akhilat matza,” we put down the bottom matza and recite the blessing over the top and middle matzot, in order to highlight the broken matza to a greater degree.)^[16]

The larger piece of the broken matza is designated as the afikoman, and the custom is to wrap it in a napkin, in recollection of the verse, “The people took their dough before it was leavened; their kneading leftover dough was wrapped in their robes” (Shemot 12:34). Some people have a custom to place the afikoman on their shoulder for a moment, in commemoration of the Exodus, when people carried matzot on their shoulders (MB 473:59).

Afterward, we hide the afikoman and save it until the end of the Seder, when it is eaten in commemoration of the Paschal sacrifice (see sections 33 and 34 below).

In some families, the children customarily “steal” the afikoman and hide it until the end of the meal, when they give it back in return for a gift. This helps them stay awake for the entire Seder. In our family, we give gifts to all children who stay awake until the afikoman is eaten.

[16]. According to Rambam, one sets the table with only two matzot and breaks the bottom one. There is no need for two whole matzot, because at the Seder one is supposed to eat leḥem oni, and so one matza is broken This is the custom of the Yemenite community, who follow Rambam.

17. Magid – Beginning the Hagada

After breaking the middle matza, the leader of the Seder removes the cloth covering the upper matza and lifts the matzot and, if possible, the entire Seder plate with the matzot. While showing the matzot to the participants he recites the paragraph “Ha Laḥma Anya” and explains the meaning of the words. Upon completing Ha Laḥma Anya, the Seder leader places the Seder plate or matzot back on the table (SA 473:6).

At this point, the Seder plate is removed, making it appear as if the Seder is over. We do this so the children become surprised and ask why the matzot and Seder plate are being taken away before we have even begun eating. Consequently, they ask “Ma nishtana?” (SA 473:6). Some have the custom that if the children ask no questions after the Seder plate is removed, they continue to remove dishes until the children start asking.

After removing the Seder plate, and even before reciting “Ma nishtana,” we pour the second cup, so that the entire Hagada, even its preliminary questions, is recited over a cup of wine. Additionally, pouring the second cup also surprises the children, because we do not usually pour two cups of wine before a meal.

It is best to delay filling the cups of young children until just before it is time to drink the second cup, because they will have a hard time making it through the long Hagada without spilling the cup, and wine spilled on the table can aggravate participants and impair the honor of Yom Tov, which should be honored with a clean tablecloth and a beautifully set table.

After the second cup has been poured, the children ask “Ma nishtana?” Following this, the Seder plate is returned so that the Hagada can be recited in the presence of matza and maror, and we begin answering the children with the story of the Exodus. We have already seen (ch. 15) that the purpose of the Seder night is to fulfill the mitzva of narrating the Exodus, and that the essence of this mitzva is to tell this story to the children. We also saw that there is a Torah commandment to tell the story of the Exodus even when no children are present (above 15:1) and that there is a mitzva to begin the story with a question (ibid. 3-4). We also learned that the story must be tailored to the ability and understanding of each child (ibid. 5) and that when telling the story, one must begin with indignity and end with praise (ibid. 7). The general purpose of the Seder is that through the retelling of the Exodus story, the children learn about the mission of the Jewish people in this world: to adhere to God, uphold His mitzvot, live in the land that He swore to give to our ancestors and to us, to enumerate His praises among the nations, and to earn divine blessing and goodness (ibid. 6).

The Sages introduced the perfect text, the text of the Hagada, so people would relate the story of the Exodus precisely, without omitting any important elements. It is commendable to continue telling the story after the Seder ends. However, during the recitation of the Hagada one must take care not to make things too tiresome and long-winded for the children and other participants. Reciting the text is sufficient to fulfill the mitzva in the optimal manner.

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