From The Interactive Haggadah CD-ROM published by JeMM Productions

Kadesh
We begin the Seder the way we begin Shabbat and every other Jewish holiday, by saying Kiddush. Kiddush is a special prayer we say over wine to make it and the holiday holy.







U'rchatz
Ritual handwashing is very old - it goes back to the days of King Solomon! It reminds us that we should approach eating a meal with respect. Ritual hand-washing with a bracha is done before eating bread (or matza), since bread is a sign that a meal is going to be eaten. But some rabbis taught that it is also done before eating food dipped in liquid, which is what comes next in the Seder. Since customs vary here, the custom at the Seder is to do the hand-washing without the bracha.




Karpas
Karpas is a green vegetable, to remind us of spring. We dip it in salt water so we remember the tears that we cried when we were slaves in Egypt. We also dip because it's something we don't always do, and that will keep the children curious at the Seder!







Yachatz
The afikoman is hidden for the children to find so that they will stay awake until the end of the Seder! Since it is needed to complete the Seder, the children who find it can offer to trade it for a present or reward.






Magid
This is what the Seder is all about: We were slaves and God gave us our freedom. This is the story that inspired the whole world, and can still inspire each one of us. Even when life is hard, and we see suffering all around us, we can dream of freedom because of this story. We will never tire of talking about the glory of being free. There are lots of other questions children and adults can and should ask at the Seder. The act of questioning is also an act of freedom. Slaves cannot question anything. They must do what they are told. People who are free can question everything. They have the right to know why, and to understand their lives and their world.





Rachatz
This is the beginning of the meal, so we do the traditional ritual hand-washing, with a blessing.








Motzi Matza
This blessing is always said over bread or matza. On Shabbat and holidays, we say it over two whole loaves (or two whole matzot), to remind us that in the wilderness the Children of Israel received a double portion of manna for those days. That's why we hold all three matzot while we say this blessing (we broke the middle one during "Yachatz," remember?)

The holding of the broken matza emphasizes that we are making a blessing for Seder night, since it symbolizes "poor bread" or "poor people's bread." But we eat from both - the "poor bread" that reminds us of our slavery in Egypt, and the whole matza that reminds us of our celebration tonight of freedom.

Maror
This is the second "dipping" at the Seder. Why do we dip the maror into the haroset? Some of our teachers taught that the haroset is meant to make the bitter herb a little less bitter. Others taught that, since the haroset looks like the mortar we were forced to make when we were slaves, it is part of the reminder of our memories of slavery.

Korekh
A special sandwich in memory of Hillel. Today we have no Pesach lamb offering, so we cannot eat Pesach Matza and Maror together. But, in Hillel's memory, we eat the two things we do have in the way he did. Some people think that this was the real invention of the sandwich! Hillel was one of the greatest teachers and scholars of the time of the Mishnah. He was born in Babylon to a family who was descended from King David. He came to the land of Israel to study, and eventually became the president of the Sanhedrin. His way of interpreting halakhah became the accepted way for all Jews. Hillel was known for his patience, his wisdom and his love of all humanity.

Shulchan Orech
Finally, we eat the festive meal; it seems like we've been waiting for it for hours! Askhenazic Jews start the meal with hard-boiled eggs dipped in salt water, either as a symbol of mourning or as a symbol of birth and life. Sephardic Jews have a custom of serving roast lamb as part of the meal, to remind them of the Pesach offering, but they don't bring a whole roast lamb to the table, so no one will think they tried to bring an actual sacrifice when there is no longer a Temple. .

Tzafun
Whoever has stolen the afikoman (usually the children) brings it to the leader of the Seder and bargains for its return. Since the afikoman is needed to complete the Seder, the children can usually get a pretty good deal! When the bargaining is over, the leader gives some of the afikoman (which is the first half of the matza that was divided during "Yahatz") to all the participants at the Seder, who eat it. .

Barech
The first blessing of Birkat Hamazon praises God for providing food for all living things. The Talmud teaches that the origin of this blessing is from Moshe. Moshe taught the Children of Israel to say it in the desert, where their food was truly given to them by God every day, in the form of manna.

Hallel
We continue singing the songs of the Hallel (which we started earlier in the Seder). These are all psalms that praise God.These psalms were sung by the members of the tribe of Levi in the Temple when the Pesach offering was brought, and while it was being eaten.

Nirtza
As a formal end to the Seder, we express the hope that we will be able to celebrate next year in the Jerusalem of the Messianic Era. Jews living in Israel, especially in Jerusalem, and even some Jews who live outside of Israel but wish to acknowledge that there are Jews celebrating the Seder in Jerusalem today, have the custom of concluding the Seder with the words "Next year in rebuilt Jerusalem."