B"H
Monday, Adar2- 29, 5784 / April 8, 2024
Questions & Answers about the Pesach Seder
Q. On Shabbat and holidays, we eat the meal right after reciting the Kiddush. Yet, at the Seder after the Kiddush we recite the Haggadah before the meal. Why don't we eat the meal immediately after the Kiddush and then recite the Haggadah?
A. The rabbis instituted this order to make sure that the participants stay awake for the entire Seder. If we eat the meal first, there is a good chance that people will become drowsy and not perform the Seder properly. Performing the Seder and telling the story of Passover is a very important mitzvah, thus, we perform this important mitzvah first and then eat the meal. Many people make the mistake of emphasizing the Seder meal and making the religious part of the Seder secondary. The reverse is the proper way. While the delicious meal is important, the religious park of the Seder is most important.
Q. Why is it customary for the children to hide the Afikoman at the beginning of the Seder?
A. The children are a very important part of the Seder. We encourage the children to hide the Afikoman in order to keep them awake throughout the Seder. The excitement of receiving a reward for returning the Afikoman towards the end of the Seder, will keep them awake.
Q. Why is it important to eat the Afikoman before midnight?
A. The matzah eaten for the Afikoman represents the Passover sacrifice which we had at the time of the Temple. The meat of the Passover sacrifice had to be eaten before midnight.
Q. Why do we eat the Afikoman matzah after the meal?
A. As mentioned before, the Afikoman represents the Pesach sacrifice which was brought in the time of the Temple. It had to be eaten at the end of the meal, in order that the taste of the Pesach meat would remain in the person’s mouth. This is symbolic of the fact that the experience and message of the Seder should stay will us long after we have finished the Seder. For this we eat the Afikoman at the end, so that the taste of the Afikoman, which represents the Pesach sacrifice, stay with us.
Q. What is the significance of the hard-boiled egg on the Seder plate?
A. One reason is that the egg is a sign of mourning. It is the first meal that a mourner eats after a funeral. At the Passover Seder the egg reminds us that, although we are celebrating our freedom, we still mourn the loss of our Beth Hamikdash (Holy Temple). This is especially significant in light of the fact that the first Seder night is always on the same night of the week as Tisha B'Av (9th of Av) - the day of the destruction of the Holy Temples. May we merit the coming of Moshiach immediately. Amen.
HAVE A VERY GOOD, HAPPY, HEALTHY & SUCCESSFUL DAY
UNITED WE STAND IN PRAYER FOR OUR BROTHERS AND SISTERS IN ISRAEL
& FOR THE WELFARE OF THE CAPTIVES. MAY THEY BE RELEASED NOW.