Tag Archives: passover

Passover – The Seder Plate

On Passover, there are a lot of symbols used to remember the Exodus from Egypt. One is called a Seder plate. Below are the symbols and what each represents about the Passover holiday. Mortar or Charoset (in Hebrew): A mixture of apples, nuts, spices, and wine or grape juice. It symbolizes the mortar that the Jewish people used to build and keep the bricks together when they were slaves of Pharaoh in Egypt. During the Passover Seder, the Charoset is eaten with Matzah, Karpas, and the Bitter Herbs. Roasted Egg or Beitzah (in Hebrew): The egg symbolizes a few things. … Continue reading →

Passover – The Order

The Passover Seder consists of 15 parts. Each year Jews follow the order in their Haggadah in celebration of the freedom of the Jewish people. Some families will sing the order as a song before starting their Seder. The order of Seder is as follows: 1) Kaddesh – Blessing over the wine or the Kiddush 2) Urchatz – First time, washing of the hands 3) Karpas – Taking a green vegetable (parsley, celery) and dipping it into salt water 4) Yachatz – Breaking the middle matzah for half to be used as the Afikoman 5) Maggid – The telling of … Continue reading →

Passover – Seder and Haggadah

The main part to Passover is the Seder. The word Seder means order and if you have ever been to a Passover Seder, you have observed the order which is followed. It begins with speaking and teaching about the Seder plate and what each symbol means and ends with songs and praises about celebrating next Pesach in Jerusalem (for the Jews in America). In the US, Jews celebrate with a Passover Seder for the first two nights while in Israel, Jews only celebrate for one night. The Haggadah is the book which is read at the Seder table and explains … Continue reading →

Pre-Passover: The Spiritual Dimension of Cleaning

Cleaning is one of those activities we have to do at some time or another. It is not usually what we think of as a task that raises our consciousness or makes us more keenly aware of our souls. Although, for many of us, getting that unsightly stack of unsightly papers in order (finally!) may be kathartic, or at least, comforting, we don’t usually consider cleaning to be as enlightening as a meditation retreat in the woods. However, Passover cleaning is not your ordinary spring cleaning. In the Torah, Hashem commands the children of Israel to remove every trace of … Continue reading →

The Holiday of Passover – Part 1

Passover or Pesach (in Hebrew) is a celebration which lasts for 8 days. All Jewish holidays begin at sundown since Judaism follows the Lunar calendar. This year, Passover begin on April 12, 2006 or the 15th day of Nisan (Jewish month), 5766 (Jewish year). Passover symbolizes the Jews Exodus from Egypt and the freeing of slavery. The prophet Moses is a main character of the Passover story and thought to be G-d’s messenger. The most common tradition of Passover is the eating of Matzah or flat bread. The reason behind eating Matzah comes from when the fact there was not … Continue reading →