CHECKLIST FOR YOUR PASSOVER
HAMETZ
Make sure you have sold your Hametz through your local Rabbi before Passover
Don’t forget to give a contribution to"Matzah Fund" ("Maot Hittim") providing for the needy.
Search at the correct time in the evening, involve the child(ren) and reciting the appropriate texts.
Remember to burn the hametz the next morning or discard it as your Rabbi has taught.
SIYYUM FOR THE FIRST-BORN
Attend the synagogue and the special study session and breakfast with your first-born (and all your children) the "siyyum" freeing you from fasting during the day before the Seder.
FOR THE TABLE(S):
Set out at least one Seder plate with:
| Karpas – celery sticks, potato pieces, cucumber |
| Marror – grated horseradish |
| Hazeret – bitter lettuce, Romaine |
| Haroset – use a different recipe each Seder and for each Seder plate |
| Zeroah – roasted bone or a roasted beet for vegetarians |
| Beitzah – hard-boiled egg which is a little browned |
Small bowl(s) of saltwater should be conveniently placed near each Seder plate
Set out a plate with a Matzah cover and three matzot – try and get hand-made matzot. Some add a fourth matzah under the matzah cover for oppressed Jews. Don’t forget to put out plates of regular matzah.
Try using a different bottle of Israeli wine for each of the four cups, perhaps beginning with dry wine and concluding with sweet. For children and others make sure to have grape juice and there are Israeli grape juices as well.
Don’t forget to provide a Cup for Elijah – which some fill with wine from each participant
FOR EACH PARTICIPANT:
Provide the same Haggadah for all in order to follow conveniently.Provide an additional Haggadah, each with a different commentary at each place.
Each one to have their own kiddush cup
A pillow for each participant who wishes to really recline
LEADER’S PREPARATION:
A Haggadah marked with notes, pages from other sources, songs, comments, etc.Prizes for the various contests and quizzes for the children, especially the Afikoman
Props for various ways to involve the children and the adults throughout
*Think about who will be present and how to involve them meaningfully and respectfully.
HOW "LONG" IS A "GOOD" SEDER?
A "good" Seder is not measured by the amount of time spent reading the Haggadah and discussing the Exodus or the length of the meal. A "great" Seder is one in which everyone has a chance to participate, and using a good Haggadah will facilitate each member of your family and friends to take parts in the Seder appropriate to their age, Hebrew and English facility, special interests, etc.
It is also much easier to have "participatory" Seder when the Haggadah is more than just a text, even with an English translation. Select a Haggadah for the Seder that has a variety of options for participation, and then select additional materials from the many different Haggadot, which are being published with special themes, from a vegetarian Haggadah, a feminist Haggadah or a kibbutz Haggadah. Don’t forget that there are magnificent art Haggadot that have illustrations and reproductions of great Passover art from the last 1000 years.
For those who would prefer "a Bare Bones Basic Seder" we can thank Noam Zion for the following suggestion built into The Shalom Hartman Institute Haggadah A Different Night. He suggests that sections 1-17 which take place before the meal should take about an hour. However, it often occurs that once people "get into" a Seder, it can take longer; don’t cut off the discussion and readings too early!
After the Meal
TRADITIONAL JEWISH LAW: Legal Minimums of the Seder
The following is taken from A Different Night, pp. 22-23 written by Noam Zion and David Dishon and published by The Shalom Hartman Institute: "Reading every paragraph of the traditional Haggadah is not legally obligatory. . . . The halachic minimum suggested below is an invitation to add more, not to shorten the Seder. . . . In case of doubt consult your rabbi. As we all know there are many views in Jewish law. . . . We are grateful to Rabbi Yaacov Warhaftig, director of the Ariel Institute, Orthodox Rabbinical Seminary in Jerusalem, who gave us his advice and approval for this section."