F8: Pesach

Issue Navigation:

The Wine

Everything has its meaning. As always, wine is used to sanctify the occasion. Wine is a symbol of joy. On seder night, four cups are drunk. These remind us of four different feelings of happiness which relate to four different verbs used in the Torah to describe God's saving acts. Each expression has a different nuance like the verses of a song with one theme. Like each cup of wine, each has a cumulative effect, heightening and increasing the enjoyment.

The Seder Plate

If you think about it, each item has significance:

ROASTED BOILED EGG (beitzah) - Eggs are a sign of spring; a symbol of rebirth and renewal of life.

ROASTED SHANK BONE (zeroah) - The Jews ate this that night in Egypt. Being part of the arm, the shank bone is sign of God's 'outstretched arm' with which He took our people to freedom.

BITTER HERBS (maror) - To taste the bitterness of slavery.

MIXTURE OF GRATED APPLES, WALNUTS & WINE (haroset) - Looks a bit like mortar though it takes great. Remember that when we were slaves in Egypt our people built pyramids!

CELERY OR PARSLEY (karpas) - Signs of spring, vegetation, new growth and new hope. We dip it in salt-water which represents the tears of life - happy and sad.

On seder night all we have to do is look at or eat each item and remember what it reminds us of. That's all we have to do. Understand the symbol and continue the seder.

The Four Surprises

Mah Nishtana the famous song that the youngest child says - or nervously mumbles - has been mistranslated. It is not 'Why is this night different?' but 'What makes it no distinctive?' It is the awareness of 'What a difference the Exodus makes!' that is all-important. There are no 'four questions' - there are four surprises, four demonstrations of somethign special. Believe it or not, any surprise would do...

Abaye was sitting as a child at Rabba's Seder table. The food was removed before they began in order to encourage the child to ask why. Said Abaye, 'Hey, we haven't eaten yet and you're taking the food away!' Answered Rabba, 'You did it, you were surprised - we can skip the Mah Nishtana now!' ( Talmud Pesachim 115b)

This is why the Haggadah makes no attempt whatsoever to answer these four questions! In fact, the questions do not necessarily even have meaningful answers: What would we tell a young child if they were genuinely asking why we 'dip twice'? The only reason that we dip twice is so that they should ask Mah Nishtana in the first place! No, the only object of these questions is to heighten awareness. Why indeed is this night, after thirty-three hundred years, still so fascinating to us, still so real? That is the question around which the Hagadah works.

Next Page