Step / The Meal or Activity / Brief Description of the Seder or Passover Activity / Bible Passage or Reference
1 / Nerot: Lighting the candles / The Passover Seder is begun by lighting of candles, as they proclaim that they strike the match but God brings forth the light (The light of the World: Jesus, The Passover Lamb, around whom the Passover centers). This act is done by the eldest woman in the household to begin the festival, and by it also honor women, and they drink a cup of water, and read relevant Bible passages. / 1 Corinthians 1 - 4
2 / Kadesh: Sanctifying the wine (1st Cup) / With lighting of the candles and all seated, the first of 4 cups of wine, each representing a special promise of God to His people will be drank. The first Promise was that “I will bring you out” from Egypt: Cup of Sanctification and read relevant Bible passages and are blessed. / Exodus 6: 6 – 7, 1 Corinthians 1: 30
3 / Urchatz: Ceremonial Washing of the Hands / The gathering washes their hands ceremonially before eating any of the Passover meals. The gathering assists each other by pouring water for the other person to wash his/her hands and a child may carry a towel for the participants to dry their hands. It is believed that it is at this point that Jesus washed the feet of His disciples. / John 13: 4 - 12
4 / Karpas: Dipping the vegetables in salt water. / The fourth activity of the Seder is to taste some vegetables (Karpas) dipped in salt water or vinegar. The “Karpas” symbolizes the growth and fertility of the Jewish people in Egypt but also remembers their great suffering. The salt water represents the tears they shed during their slavery. When they dip the vegetables in the salt water or vinegar they were to shake it so it resembles tears, and at this time they also remember people in bondage. / Jewish Tradition BC
5 / Yachatz: Breaking the “Matzah” or Unleavened Bread / Yachatz (divide) is the fifth step of the Passover Seder when the unleavened bread is broken. Three pieces of the Unleavened bread are placed in a special bag called the “Matzah tosh” and they break the middle piece. The three pieces of bread represent: Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. The middle “mtzah” representing Isaac is broken to symbolize how Isaac offered himself in obedience to his father to be sacrificed. The binding of Isaac also reflects how Jesus also yielded Himself to His father God to be sacrificed. In Hebrew the middle of something represent its “heart”, and breaking the middle “matzah” also represents how Gods Heart was broken for the pain Jesus went through by taking our sins on the cross. After breaking the unleavened bread, the Seder leader takes the larger piece (called Afikomen) and carefully wraps it in linen cover symbolizing a burial shroud. The Afikomen is then hidden to be recovered later at step 12. At this stage the 2nd Cup of wine is filled. / John 3: 16, 2 Corinthians 5: 21, John 1: 29, Genesis 22: 5, Hebrews 11: 17 - 19
6 / Maggid: Telling the Story (2nd Cup) / At this stage they tell the story of the great redemption of their forefathers from slavery in Egypt. The Seder meal cannot be eaten until the redemption story is told to their children with joy and gratitude. This step is comprised of five subsections of:
- Four questions, (Why is it that on all other nights we eat other breads but on this night we eat only “Matzah”/Why is it that on all other nights we eat other herbs but on this night we eat only bitter herbs/Why is it that on all other nights we do not dip our herbs even once but on this night we dip our herbs twice/why is it that on all other nights we eat either sitting or reclining but on this night we eat only reclining),
- Four Answers, (To remember the bread of affliction we had to eat when slaves, and second how our ancestors fled from Egypt and did not have time to allow the bread to be leavened/We eat bitter herbs to remember how bitter the lives of our ancestors were as slaves/We dip Karpas in salt water to remember the tears of our ancestors as slaves and also how we crossed the salty waters of the sea. The maror and charoset are also dipped to remember how the bitterness of slavery was made sweet by the hope of freedom/And we recline in comfort to symbolize our freedom),
- Four Sons, (The wise son/The defiant son/the simple son/ and the son who does not know enough to ask),
- The story of the redemption, With God’s help the story of the journey from slavery to freedom, from sadness to joy and from death to life; and
- The Cup of Deliverance: The wine in the 2nd cup is poured out in bits, as the story of the redemption is told, especially at each stage of the plagues that helped redeem the Israelites from bondage, when the redemption story is completed, the gathering look at the shank bone, representing the mighty hand of God and drink the rest of the cup of deliverance wine, and are blessed.
7 / Rachtzah: “Netilat Yadayim”: Second washing of the hands before eating some of the “Matzah” / Step seven represents the second washing of the hands before partaking in the Passover meal, this time after washing of the hands three times the gathering recite the traditional blessing. / Jewish Tradition BC
8 / Motzi Matzah: Eating of “Matzah” or the Unleavened Bread. / Step eight represents the eating of the “Matzah”, that is the top two “Matzah”, representing Abraham and Isaac, after the gathering recite two traditional Hebrew blessings over the Matzah marking the beginning of the seven day festival of unleavened bread. This step representsthe beginning of the first week of the deliverance from Egypt. The unleavened bread is also referred to as the bread of affliction. It also represents the affliction on Christ (i.e. the bread of His affliction). Also the use of the unleavened bread signifies the humble nature with which mankind can merit the grace of God. Knowledge is said to puff us up in that it is “spiritual leaven”. It is when the ego is deflated (unleavened) that we can discern the truth of our inward condition and thereby merit God’s Grace which is another significance of the use of the unleavened bread. / Exodus 12: 33 – 34, Exodus 13: 3, 6, 1 Peter 1: 19, Hebrews 9: 26, 1 Corinthians5: 7 -8, Isaiah 53: 4 – 5, 1 Corinthians 6: 11, Titus 3: 5 – 6, etc
9 / Maror(Bitterness): Eating the Bitter Herbs / Step nine, eating the bitter herbs (Maror, which means Bitterness), in remembrance of the bitter affliction of the Israelites in Egypt. Blessings are again recited over the bitter herbs before eating. The Bitter herbs are eaten to remember the sorrow, trouble, and suffering of our life in bondage to sin. As the bitter herbs bringtears to our eyes, may we remember those who still suffer in bondage. / Exodus 1: 14
10 / Korekh: Eating the Hillel Sandwich, named after the sage Hillel. / Step ten, is the eating of the Hillel sandwich, made up of Matzah, maror, and lamb, in fulfillment of the torah law that says: “You shall eat the Passover with Matzah, and maror”. In eating the sandwich, some advise one to start with the bitter and move to the sweet, to remind one of the redemption after the slavery. Others also eat the sandwich together. / Jewish Tradition BC
11 / Shulchan Orekh: Eating the Meal / Step 11, eating the Seder meal. The custom is to start the Seder meal with a hardboiled egg (beitzah) dipped in salt water. Some symbolize this act with the crossing of the red sea to freedom, while others symbolize the egg to a festival offering that pilgrims were required to make during the Passover. Before the family gathering will eat the main Seder meal of lamb with Matzah all recite a special blessing. / Jewish Tradition BC
12 / Tzafun (Hidden): Eating the Afikomen (Greek: Meaning he will come). Represents part of the “Matzah” or Unleavened Bread broken earlier and hidden sought for at this stage and broken and shared. / Step 12, eating the Afkomen. The Matzah broken during step 5 and hidden is now sought after usually by a child, and when it is found a reward is given to the child. The Seder leader then breaks it into pieces and shares it among the family or gathering for everyone to partake of it. This step represents the sharing of the body of the Messiah. Jesus also took bread on the Passover and shared it with His disciples. This step of eating the broken Matzah is done by closing their eyes and holding the Matzah in their hands, whiles the Holy Communion recital is given. The broken piece of bread also symbolizes the broken heart of Jesus as He suffered and died as our sin offering. / Matthew 26: 26.
13 / Barekh: Blessing after the meal (3rd Cup) / Step thirteen, blessing after the meal as they drink the 3rd cup of wine (The redemption cup), after giving thanks to God for the meal shared, and remember that food is a gift from God’s alter of which we partake. This also symbolizes the act of Jesus on the Passover by giving wine to His disciples. Again this act is undertaken with closed eyes while they recite the communion liturgy for taking the wine. / Matthew 26: 27 – 28, 1 Corinthians 11: 26
14 / Hallel (Praise): Song of Praise: (4th Cup) / Step 14, Offering of Praise and thanks to God for His gift of deliverance given to mankind in Jesus, the Great lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. The 4th cup is now drunk representing the 4th promise of “I will acquire you as a nation” or cup of restoration. / Philippians 2: 7 – 11, Revelations 5: 12, Romans 11: 26
15 / Nirtzah: Conclusion of the Seder. / Step 15, Conclusion of the Passover, with the closing Blessing of: Now to the one who is able to keep you from falling, and cause you to stand, rejoicing, without blemish before His glorious presence, to the only one God our Savior through Jesus the Messiah, our Lord and great Lamb of God, be glory, majesty, power, and authority, before all time, and now, and for all eternity. Amen / Jewish Tradition BC
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