Interactive Haggadah

2009 Art Exhibition Reinterprets the Seder Plate

"New Works, Old Story: 80 artists at the Passover Table," exhibited at the Jewish Contemporary Museum in San Francisco.

 

Read the article here and see more fantastic creations.

The Seder Tray

"A seder tray, which is available in many styles, must be prepared in advance, and is placed at the head of the table.  This tray usually has six circular indentations in which the most important Passover Seder food-symbols are placed.  These symbols are pointed to from time to time in the course of the Seder.  They are not to be consumed."

From The Family Seder. Prepared by Rabbi Alfred J. Kolatch. Copyright 1991.

[Editor's Note]: Check out these wonderful seder trays by artists who really "thought outside the box," even if one ended up looking like a Japanese Bento Box.

Why Is This Night Different From All Other Nights?

"On the first night of Passover, one should introduce some change at the table, so that the children who will notice it may ask, saying: 'Why is this night different from all other nights?' And he in turn will reply: 'This is what happened.' In what manner, for example, should he introduce a change? He may distribute parched grain or nuts to the children; remove the table from its usual place; snatch the unleavened bread from hand to hand, and so on.  If he has no son, his wife should ask the question; if he has no wife, they should ask one another: 'Why is this night different?' -- even if they are all scholars.  If one is alone, he should ask himself: 'Why is this night different?'"

-- Maimonides, Mishneh Torah 7:1-3

(Spotted in The Schoken Passover Haggadah Edited by Nahum N. Glatzer)

[Editor's Note]: Sometimes I just love Judaism. The elders thought of every scenario. What about the dog though? Can you ask him the question?

Jennifer

The Four Questions: Question 1

The Four Questions: Question 2

The Four Questions: Question 3

The Four Questions: Question 4

The Fifth Question

We ask guests to think of a fifth question to ask after the traditional four. Later, when it’s time to fill Elijah’s cup, we ask our guests to pour wine from their glasses into the cup and express a personal wish for the future.

Rabbi Philip Warmflash, Executive Director, Jewish Outreach Partnership of Greater Philadelphia

Definitions of the Passover Haggadah and the Seder

So what does Haggadah mean?  It translates to "telling."

Haggadah shel Pesah means the narration of the story of Exodus as recited at the Seder service.

The custom of recounting the story of the deliverance from Egypt derives from the scripture: "And thou shalt tell thy son in that day, saying: It is because of that which the Lord did to me when I came forth out of Egypt." (Exod. 13:8)

Find out how you can initiate the telling of the tale during the Seder service.

The word Seder (Aramaic for the Hebrew Erekh) means "order" of the (Passover) service.

So the Passover Haggadah functions as a guide for the Seder meal and its rituals.1

Extra songs, poetry, and elaborations have been added to the original Haggadah over the years and, since the time of Rashi, commentaries on the text have been produced. The progressive movements have produced their own versions, amending the text in accordance with their own theology, and there is also a Karaite version.2

1 The Schoken Passover Haggadah. Edited by Nahum N. Glatzer

2 Encyclopedia.com

The Seder Table

Holiday meals call for a festive table but Passover has special requirements. Here is the "recipe:"

1. Three matzot (often placed under the Seder tray) -- why three?
2. A Seder tray displaying the Passover food symbols (placed at the head of the table)
3. A decorative goblet, known as Elijah's Cup
4. Several saucers of salt water
5. A wine glass at each person's table setting and a decanter of wine at the table.
6. A Passover Haggadah by each setting
7. A reclining pillow (for at least the leader of the service and in some homes, for each participant)

How you decorate the tabletop is up to you. Here, you can see my family's "desert theme:"

We've also had great fun enlarging my Matzot Photographs as placemats and countertops.