Preparing for Passover! The Origins of Customs and Rituals

(14) This day shall be to you one of remembrance: you shall celebrate it as a festival to Adonai throughout the ages; you shall celebrate it as an institution for all time. (15) Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread; on the very first day you shall remove leaven from your houses, for whoever eats leavened bread from the first day to the seventh day, that person shall be cut off from Israel. (16) You shall celebrate a sacred occasion on the first day, and a sacred occasion on the seventh day; no work at all shall be done on them; only what every person is to eat, that alone may be prepared for you. (17) You shall observe the [Feast of] Unleavened Bread, for on this very day I brought your ranks out of the land of Egypt; you shall observe this day throughout the ages as an institution for all time. (18) In the first month, from the fourteenth day of the month at evening, you shall eat unleavened bread until the twenty-first day of the month at evening. (19) No leaven shall be found in your houses for seven days. For whoever eats what is leavened, that person shall be cut off from the community of Israel, whether he is a stranger or a citizen of the country. (20) You shall eat nothing leavened; in all your settlements you shall eat unleavened bread.

(3) And Moses said to the people, “Remember this day, on which you went free from Egypt, the house of bondage, how the LORD freed you from it with a mighty hand: no leavened bread shall be eaten. (4) You go free on this day, in the month of Aviv. (5) So, when Adonai has brought you into the land of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, which God swore to your fathers to give you, a land flowing with milk and honey, you shall observe in this month the following practice: (6) “Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread, and on the seventh day there shall be a festival of Adonai. (7) Throughout the seven days unleavened bread shall be eaten; no leavened bread shall be found with you, and no leaven shall be found in all your territory.

(1) Observe the month of Aviv and offer a passover sacrifice to Adonai your God, for it was in the month of Aviv, at night, that the LORD your God freed you from Egypt. (2) You shall slaughter the passover sacrifice for Adonai your God, from the flock and the herd, in the place where Adonai will choose to establish God's name. (3) You shall not eat anything leavened with it; for seven days thereafter you shall eat unleavened bread, bread of distress—for you departed from the land of Egypt hurriedly—so that you may remember the day of your departure from the land of Egypt as long as you live. (4) For seven days no leaven shall be found with you in all your territory, and none of the flesh of what you slaughter on the evening of the first day shall be left until morning.

From where [do we know the requirement to drink] four cups? Rabbi Yochanan [said] in the name of Rav, "Rabbi Banniah said, 'Corresponding to the four [expressions of] redemption: "G-d spoke to Moses and said to him: ... Say to the people of Israel: “I am G-d! I will free you from the burdens of the Egyptians and I will save you from their bondage. I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and great acts of judgment. And I will take you to Me as a nation; I will be your G-d.”' (Exodus 6: 6-7)

Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi said, 'Corresponding to the four cups of Pharaoh [from Pharaoh's cupbearer's dream]: "'Pharaoh’s cup was in my hand, and I took the grapes, pressed them into Pharaoh’s cup, and placed the cup in Pharaoh’s hand.' Joseph said to him, 'This is its interpretation: The three branches are three days. In three days Pharaoh will pardon you and restore you to your post; you will place Pharaoh’s cup in his hand, as was your custom formerly when you were his cupbearer.'" (Genesis 40:11-13)

...and the rabbis said, 'Corresponding to the four punishments that the Holy One, blessed be G-d, will pour upon the nations of the world in the future:

"G-d said to me: 'Take this wine cup of anger from my hand, and make all the nations to whom I send you drink from it.'" (Jeremiah 25:15)

"Babylon was a golden cup in G-d's hand, making the whole earth drunk. From Babylon's wine the nations drank, and that is why they are mad." (Jeremiah 51:7)

"There is a cup in G-d's hand with foaming wine. G-d pours from it, draining it to the bottom-- all the wicked of the earth drink it." (Psalms 75:9)

"G-d will rain down blazing coals and sulfur on the wicked. A scorching wind will be the portion of their cup." (Psalms 11:6).'"

A person may not eat until it gets dark on the eve of Pesach [from] close to [the time of] the afternoon offering. Even the poorest person in Israel may not eat [on the eve of Pesach] until reclining [at the night's Seder]. And [the communal officers] must give him no fewer than four cups of wine, and [they must do so] even [if he receives funds] from the charity plate.

Everyone agrees that matza requires reclining, i.e., one must recline when eating matza, and bitter herbs do not require reclining. With regard to wine, it was stated in the name of Rav Naḥman that wine requires reclining, and it was also stated in the name of Rav Naḥman that wine does not require reclining. The Gemara explains: And these two statements do not disagree with each other: This statement is referring to the first two cups, and that statement is referring to the last two cups. However, it was not clear which two cups require reclining according to Rav Naḥman. Some say the explanation in this manner and some say it in that manner. The Gemara elaborates: Some say it in this manner, that the first two cups require reclining, as it is now that freedom begins. Since reclining is a sign of freedom, while discussing the exodus from Egypt it is appropriate to drink while reclining. By contrast, the last two cups do not require reclining, because what was already was. In other words, by this point one has completed the discussion of the Exodus and has reached the latter stages of the seder. And some say it in that manner and claim that on the contrary, the last two cups require reclining, as it is at that time that there is freedom. However, the first two cups do not require reclining, as one still says: We were slaves. The Gemara concludes: Now that it was stated so, and it was stated so, i.e., there are two conflicting opinions and it cannot be proven which two cups require reclining, both these sets of cups and those require reclining.

Lying on one’s back is not called reclining. Reclining to the right is not called reclining, as free people do not recline in this manner. People prefer to recline on their left and use their right hand to eat, whereas they find it more difficult to eat the other way. And not only that, but if one reclines to the right, perhaps the windpipe will precede the esophagus. The food will enter the windpipe, and one will come into danger of choking.

(5) So, when the LORD has brought you into the land of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, which He swore to your fathers to give you, a land flowing with milk and honey, you shall observe in this month the following practice: (6) “Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread, and on the seventh day there shall be a festival of the LORD. (7) Throughout the seven days unleavened bread shall be eaten; no leavened bread shall be found with you, and no leaven shall be found in all your territory. (8) And you shall explain to your son on that day, ‘It is because of what the LORD did for me when I went free from Egypt.’ (9) “And this shall serve you as a sign on your hand and as a reminder on your forehead—in order that the Teaching of the LORD may be in your mouth—that with a mighty hand the LORD freed you from Egypt. (10) You shall keep this institution at its set time from year to year. (11) “And when the LORD has brought you into the land of the Canaanites, as He swore to you and to your fathers, and has given it to you, (12) you shall set apart for the LORD every first issue of the womb: every male firstling that your cattle drop shall be the LORD’s. (13) But every firstling ass you shall redeem with a sheep; if you do not redeem it, you must break its neck. And you must redeem every first-born male among your children. (14) And when, in time to come, your son asks you, saying, ‘What does this mean?’ you shall say to him, ‘It was with a mighty hand that the LORD brought us out from Egypt, the house of bondage. (15) When Pharaoh stubbornly refused to let us go, the LORD slew every first-born in the land of Egypt, the first-born of both man and beast. Therefore I sacrifice to the LORD every first male issue of the womb, but redeem every first-born among my sons.’ (16) “And so it shall be as a sign upon your hand and as a symbol on your forehead that with a mighty hand the LORD freed us from Egypt.”

(4) A second cup [of wine] would be mixed for him. And here the son asks [questions to] his father. And if the son has no understanding [in order to ask questions], his father teaches him [to ask]: "Why is this night different from all [other] nights? On all [other] nights, we eat chamets (leavened grain products) and matsa, [but] on this night, it is all matsa. On all [other] nights, we eat other vegetables, [but] on this night, it is all bitter herbs. On all [other] nights, we eat meat roasted, stewed or boiled, [but] on this night, it is all roasted. On all [other] nights, we dip [vegetables] once, [but] on this night, we dip [vegetables] twice." And according to the son's understanding, his father instructs him. He begins [instructing him about the Exodus story] with [the account of Israel’s] shame and concludes with [Israel’s] praise (glory); and expounds from “My father was a wandering Aramean” (Deuteronomy 26:5) until he completes the whole entire passage.

The Sages taught: If his son is wise and knows how to inquire, his son asks him. And if he is not wise, his wife asks him. And if even his wife is not capable of asking or if he has no wife, he asks himself. And even if two Torah scholars who know the laws of Passover are sitting together and there is no one else present to pose the questions, they ask each other.

The Gemara asks: Why does one remove the table? The school of Rabbi Yannai say: So that the children will notice that something is unusual and they will ask: Why is this night different from all other nights? The Gemara relates: Abaye was sitting before Rabba when he was still a child. He saw that they were removing the table from before him, and he said to those removing it: We have not yet eaten, and you are taking the table away from us? Rabba said to him: You have exempted us from reciting the questions of: Why is this night different [ma nishtana], as you have already asked what is special about the seder night.

(5) Rabban Gamliel used to say, "Anyone who has not mentioned these three things on Pesach has not discharged his obligation, and these are [the items that he must mention]: the Pesach sacrifice, matsa and bitter herbs. [The] Pesach [Passover] sacrifice [is offered] - because the Omnipresent passed over the homes of our ancestors in Egypt. Matsa [is eaten] - because our ancestors were redeemed in Egypt. Bitter herbs [are eaten] - because the Egyptians embittered the lives of our ancestors in Egypt." In every generation a person must see himself as though he [personally] had gone out of Egypt, as it is stated, “And you shall tell your son on that day, saying, ‘It is because of what the Lord did for me when I came forth out of Egypt’” (Exodus 13:8). Therefore we are obligated to thank, praise, laud, glorify, exalt, lavish, bless, extol, and adore He Who made all these miracles for our ancestors and for us: He brought us out from slavery to freedom, from sorrow to joy, from mourning to [celebration of] a festival, from darkness to great light, and from servitude to redemption. [Therefore,] let us say before Him, Halleluyah!

In every generation a person must show himself as though he [personally] had gone out of Egypt now, as it is stated, "And [God] took us out from there" (Deuteronomy 6:23). And on this God commanded in the Torah, "You shall remember that you were a slave," as if to say "like you yourself were a slave and left for freedom and were redeemed."