Topic: Pesach Questions

by Rabbi Yehudah Prero

Pesach (Passover), which begins this year at sunset, April 21, 1997 and lasts for eight days (outside Israel), is the holiday on which we commemorate the redemption of the Jewish people from slavery in Egypt. One of the highlights of Pesach is the Seder. The Seder is a unique service performed on the first two nights of Pesach (outside Israel). At the Seder, we eat different special foods, we tell the story of our departure from Egypt, we sing songs and praises, and say special prayers. Being that we want to keep the children involved throughout the Seder, we have various customs that serve to pique the curiosity of the children so that they ask questions. This asking of questions is a very important part of the Seder. Because come Pesach, I as well get many questions, here is a list of questions and where in past YomTov issues the answers can be found. In addition, I would like to focus this year's posts on your questions and requests, so get them in right away!

You can find all of the previous issues at: http://www.torah.org/learning/yomtov/pesach/.

1. What is Maos Chittim and why do we make this contribution before Pesach? (II:3)
2. What is Chametz? Why can I not eat Chametz on Pesach? (II:2)
3. When should I search for and burn the Chametz? (I:15)
4. Can I eat corn or beans on Pesach? (II: 5)
5. What is needed for a traditional Seder? (II:5)
6. What are the 15 steps in the Seder? (I:1)
7. Are there differences between Sefardi and Ashkenazi customs for the Seder? (I:12)
8. How can I get kids to participate at the Seder? (I:7, I:15)
9. Who composed the Hagadah? (I:15)
10. Why do we perform so many actions on Pesach to commemorate our departure from Egypt? (II:1)
11. What is Kadesh (the first step)? (I: 1)
12. What are Karpas and Yachatz (the third and fourth steps)? (I:2)
13. What is Maggid and why does it play such a central role on the Seder night? (I:3)
14. How is Maggid structured? (I:3)
15. Why do we start Maggid by talking about Matza? (I:4)
16. What is Mah Nishnatah? (I:5)
17. What should be our focus for discussion at the Seder? (I:6)
18. What makes the Wicked Son wicked? (II:4)
19. How did the nation of Israel end up in Egypt? (I:9)
20. What does Matza signify? (I:11)
21. Why do we need to eat Matza for all of Pesach? (II:8)
22. What does Maror signify? (I:11)
23. What do we do after we have eaten the Seder meal? (I:14)
24. What is special about the seventh day of Pesach? (II:6, II:8)

Check out all of the posts on Pesach and the Hagadah! Head over to http://www.torah.org/learning/yomtov to find the newly redesigned YomTov Home Page, and click on the holiday you are interested in to find all of the archived posts on that topic.