Also like the blessing before eating, if bread was a significant component of the meal, there is a blessing that takes precedence and covers everything else. This blessing after a bread meal is called Birkat ha-Mazon usually translated as "Grace After Meals," although it literally means "blessing of the food".
Reciting this blessing is referred to as bentsching Yiddish for "blessing". Birkat ha-Mazon is a lengthy blessing; in fact, it is so long that some observant Jews, when pressed for time, will go out of their way to avoid eating bread at a meal to avoid triggering the need to bentsch!
On Shabbat or a holiday, a meal is more festive and more elaborate, and so are the prayers that go along with it. The Shabbat or festival meal begins with a special blessing over wine called kiddush, which recognizes the holiness of the day and the reason that the day is special.
This blessing includes within it the normal blessing over wine as a beverage called ha-gafen. At the end of the blessing, we drink the wine. See the Shabbat Kiddush or the Sukkot Kiddush. Motzi is also somewhat more elaborate on Shabbat and holidays. On an ordinary day, motzi would simply be recited over the bread we're about to eat, but on Shabbat or a holiday, we have special loaves of fancy bread set aside for this blessing.
We say motzi over the bread, then tear apart one of the fancy loaves and give a piece to everyone at the table to begin the meal. In addition, bentsching is more elaborate. On an ordinary weekday, birkat ha-mazon might be recited quickly in an undertone, or with only the first and last paragraphs read aloud as a group. On Shabbat or a holiday, birkat ha-mazon is sung by the group to festive tunes.
A traditional child raised in an observant household would know that Pesach is a holiday, and would expect the sabbath or festival procedure laid out above, but Pesach has a distinctly different set of observances. I can't correct my mistakes or add new material if it's on your site. We are not where we would like to be as a nation. We never allow ourselves to over celebrate.
Why is it that on all other nights we eat leavened bread or matzah, and on this night only matzah? Matzah is made out of plain flour and water in a short period of time. The maximum amount of time that we allow the dough to be out of the oven is 18 minutes, so we do not allow it to rise. Leavened bread is is like the ego. Ego is to puff ones self up with hot air. Matzah unleavened bread a symbol of humility. The more basic reason is that when the Jewish nation left Egypt they left in such a rush that they didn't have time to let the dough rise.
They ate matzah because that was the bread available for them. We remember that. Why is it that on all nights we eat various vegetables, and on this night, bitter herbs? The bitter herbs are to remind us of the bitterness of the slavery in Egypt. Even though we celebrate freedom, we never forget where we came from. Why is it that on all nights we eat sitting upright or reclining, and on this night we all recline?
We lean to the side as if we are very comfortable. Reclining represents this idea of freedom. It is an expression of being free. Many answers are given to explain the specific symbolic importance of each item dipped, and the two dips themselves.
However, the very practice of dipping at all, and especially twice, is meant to reflect freedom. Dipping food was a luxury reserved only for the aristocracy and upperclass in ancient times. Reclining while dining was also a luxurious behavior historically, and its inclusion at the Seder further helps us embody and actualize a robust sense of freedom throughout the night.
There is no shortage at the Passover seder of confusing, bewildering or thought provoking rituals. Why does eating matza and bitter herbs, the number of times we dip our food and the way we sit deserve the honor of being included in Ma Nishtana? You may have noticed, two out of four questions in Ma Nishtana bring our attention to the suffering of slavery, while two out of four questions bring our attention to the freedom and privilege of redemption.
Passover is equally about slavery and about freedom, so Ma Nishtana purposefully includes questions that provoke us to think about both. Ultimately, this adds up to reinforcing that first, original question itself: Ma Nishtana?
Why is this night different? Why is Passover so special? The answer to this larger question is the one the Haggadah actually gives. Ma Nishtana is followed by the passage Avadim Hayinu:. In other words, all these rituals, strange as they may seem, add up to one thing: remembering the Exodus from Egypt and re-experiencing our transition from slavery to freedom, some of the most well-known themes of Passover. Rabbi Fohrman takes this explanation further to argue that there's an even deeper meaning behind Passover: Becoming God's chosen people.
Shebb'khol hallelot anu okh'lin sh'ar y'rakot, vehallayla hazze maror. Even with a basic understanding of Passover , some difficult questions arise. And why was the Exodus so complicated? Why were there 10 plagues? Doesn't that seem counteractive? When you're ready to dive deeper into Pesach, Rabbi Fohrman reveals a side of the Exodus story that illuminates not just our past, but also our destiny. This book will uncover secrets that lay hidden in this ancient and sacred saga; it tells the tale of the Exodus you thought you knew.
Start reading Chapter 1 free. Get the book. What's the point of all the other sections at the beginning of the Seder? How do the four questions and the four sons help us tell the Exodus story? And what about the big questions: why are we thanking God for taking the Israelites out of Egypt, if He allowed slavery in the first place?
Explore these questions in our printable Passover Seder Guide , or check our online Pesach guide. Ma Nishtana The Passover Seder is full of unique and memorable rituals and traditions. What Are the Four Questions of Passover? According to the Ashkenazi tradition, the order of the Four Questions is as followed: Question 1: Why on all other nights do we eat either leavened bread or matza, but on this night only matza?
Question 2: Why on all other nights do we eat different types of vegetables, but on this night only bitter herbs?
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