Bedikat Chametz
Prior to the Passover, it is customary that
all leavened items be removed from one’s
home. These leavened items notably include
things that have yeast in them. The lesson
we learn from removing all
chametz
from the house is that we are to search our
hearts and remove the sin from our lives. In
many homes, it is customary to take the
leaven outside and burn it.
The Sedar Plate
The traditional
sedar
plate holds the ceremonial items of
Passover. These include the bitter herbs,
roasted egg, the
charoset
apple mix, parsley, and lamb shankbone. Each
one has a symbolic importance regarding the
Passover story.
Lighting the
Candles
The Passover
sedar
begins with the lighting of the holiday
candles by the mother or woman of the house.
She then recites the following blessing:
Baruch atah
Adonai,
Elohenu melech ha olum, asher keedshanu
b’mitzvohtav l’hayot or l’goyeem
v’natan-lanu Yeshua M’sheekhaynu ha-or la-olum.
Blessed are
You, O
Lord our God, King of the Universe, who has sanctified us by
Your commandments and has commanded us to be
a light unto the nations, and has given us
Yeshua, the Light of the World.
Blessed are
You, O
Lord our God, King of the Universe, who has kept us alive,
sustained us and brought us to this season.
Amein.
The Cup of
Sanctification
The first cup
of wine drunk at Passover is the Cup of
Sanctification. Before drinking it, we all
say the following blessing:
Baruch atah
Adonai,
Eloheinu melech ha olum,
boray p’ree hagafen. Amein.
Blessed are You,
O
Lord
our God, King of the
Universe, who creates the fruit of the vine.
All
then drink the Cup of Sanctification.
Urchatz
Now
all assembled take a basin of water and wash
their hands. This is a symbolic act as we
remember the holy nature of this appointed
time. It was at this time in the
sedar
that Yeshua washed the feet of His Disciples
(John 13:5, 12-14).
Karpas
We
now dip the parsley in salt water, being
reminded how Israel is as a green plant, but
was birthed out of tears. We dip the parsley
in the salt water twice because it reminds
us that we must be born again. As we eat the
karpas,
we recite the following blessing:
Baruch atah
Adonai,
Eloheinu melech ha olum,
boray p’ree ha’adamah.
Blessed are
You, O
Lord our God, King of the Universe, who creates the fruit of
the Earth.
Yachatz
Three
pieces of
matzah
or unleavened bread are taken. The middle of
the three pieces is broken in two. The best
part of the two broken pieces, called the
afikomen,
is taken and wrapped in a linen cloth. It is
taken to a place to be buried, covered with
a pillow called the stone. Near the end of
our meal, we will call for the
afikomen
to come forth.
The Cup of
Instruction
The Cup of
Instruction is the second cup of Passover.
Prior to drinking this cup, it is customary
for us to recall the story of the Passover
from the Book of Exodus. At this time, the
small children ask the following four
questions:
1.
On all other
nights we eat bread or
matzah.
On this night why do we only eat
matzah?
2.
On all other
nights we eat all kinds of vegetables.
On this night why do we eat only bitter
herbs?
3.
On all other
nights we do not dip our vegetables even
once. On this night why do we dip them
twice?
4.
On all other
nights we eat our meals sitting or
reclining. On this night why do we eat
only reclining?
We
then go through and remember the Ten Plagues
that befell the Egyptians:
blood, frogs, gnats, flies, murrain, boils,
hail, locusts, darkness, death of the
firstborn.
After this, we
go through the various elements on the
Passover plate and what they represent.
We then recite
the blessing over the Cup of Instruction and
drink it.
Motzee
Matzah
After
drinking the Cup of Instruction, we now take
a small piece of
matzah
and eat it. Before eating it we recite the
following blessing:
Baruch atah
Adonai,
Eloheinu melech ha olum,
hamotzee lechem meen ha aretz. Amein.
Blessed are You,
O
Lord
our God, King of the Universe, who brings
forth bread from the Earth.
Following this, we now take a piece of
matzah
and eat it with the bitter herbs. It was
likely at this time that during the
sedar
meal Yeshua announced to His Disciples that
the one who would betray Him would dip with
Him in the dish. Before eating the bitter
herbs, we recite the following blessing:
Baruch atah
Adonai,
Eloheinu melech ha olum,
asher kidshanu b’mitzvotuv v’tzivanu al
achilat maror. Amein.
Blessed are You,
O
Lord
our God, King of the Unvese,
who has sanctified us by Your commandments
and has commanded us to eat bitter herbs.
Amein.
It
is now customary to eat what has become
known as the “Hillel sandwhich,” where we
take two pieces of
matzah,
adding bitter herbs and
charoset.
Eating this reminds us of the bitterness of
slavery with the sweetness of the Lord.
DINNER IS
SERVED
Tzafun
After our dinner, we commemorate Yeshua as
the firstfruits by calling the
afikomen
forth. The children go to where the
afikomen was placed, covered with the
pillow/stone. When the children go to the
afikomen, they discover that it is
missing. The children are sent to find the
afikomen and a ransom is paid for it.
We remember
first that it was during the sedar
that Yeshua took the afikomen and
said “This is My body, broken for you.”
Finding the
afikomen,
we then say the traditional blessing over
the bread and eat it, remembering Yeshua’s
death, burial, and resurrection.
The Cup of
Redemption
The
Cup of Redemption is the third cup of the
Passover
sedar.
This is the cup that Yeshua took and said
that “This cup is the new covenant in My
blood shed for you.” After reciting the
traditional blessing over the cup, we drink
it.
Baruch atah
Adonai,
Eloheinu melech ha olum,
boray p’ree hagafen. Amein.
Blessed are You,
O
Lord
our God, King of the
Universe, who creates the fruit of the vine.
The Cup of
Elijah
A special cup
that was added over the centuries has been
the Cup of Elijah. The coming of Elijah
signals the coming of Messiah. This cup is
filled to the brim so that it will be
irresistible for Elijah to come to our
table.
The Cup of
Praise
The
fourth cup of the
sedar
is the Cup of Praise. Yeshua said of this
cup that He would not drink of it until He
was in the Kingdom. As we drink it, we look
forward to His coming Kingdom. We recite the
customary blessing over the cup as we drink
it.
Baruch atah
Adonai,
Eloheinu melech ha olum,
boray p’ree hagafen. Amein.
Blessed are You,
O
Lord
our God, King of the
Universe, who creates the fruit of the vine.
Next Year in
Jerusalem
As
the
sedar
is complete, we remember the Passover Lamb,
Messiah Yeshua, and His work for us. We look
forward to the day when we can keep the
Passover fully in Jerusalem.
La’shanah
haba’ah b’Yerushalaim!
Next year in
Jerusalem!
