Bedikat Chametz
The night before the Passover Seder, we search the
house for any leavened grain products. Whatever we find is burned the
next morning. Bidikat Chametz means "Search for Leaven" in Hebrew.
Chametz
Chametz is leavened grain products. It is written
in the Torah that during the week of Passover, "neither chametz (the
result of grain that ferments) nor se'or (highly fermented sourdough
that is used to make another dough ferment) shall be visible to you in
all your boundaries."
Charoset
Charoset is a mixture of apples, nuts, wine and
spices. It is put on the seder plate to remind us of the mortar the
Jewish slaves used in their building for the Egyptians.
Chazeret
Chazeret is a bitter vegetable, like lettuce or
celery, which is sometimes placed on the seder plate to remind us of the
bitter lives of the Israelites as slaves.
Exodus
An exodus is a leaving of a great number of people.
Exodus in the Passover story refers to the Jewish People coming out of
Egypt.
Haggadah
The word 'Haggadah' means 'telling'. The Passover
Haggadah is a book which guides us through the Seder service. It
contains blessings, questions and answers, the story of the exodus, and
songs.
Karpas
Karpas is a vegetable, like parsley or a potato,
which is placed on the seder plate. Karpas is dipped in salt water to
represent tears. The custom of serving karpas dates back to Jerusalem of
the 1st and 2nd centuries when it was common to begin a formal meal by
passing around vegetables as hors d’oeuvres.
Kiddush
Kiddush is the special blessing over wine which is
recited on Shabbat and Jewish holidays. Kiddush means "sanctification"
in Hebrew.
Maror
Maror is bitter herbs, such as horseradish root or
prepared horseradish, which is placed on the seder plate to remind us of
the bitterness in the lives of the Israelites during the time of their
enslavement in Egypt.
Matzoh
Matzoh is flat, dry, unleavened bread. When the
Israelites left Egypt, they did not have time to wait for their dough to
rise. The unleavened bread they made and ate instead is called matzah.
We eat matzah, rather than bread, during the week of Passover to
remember the exodus of the Jewish slaves from Egypt.
Seder
The word "Seder" means order (as in organization). During the Passover Seder, we recite blessings, tell of the story of the exodus, eat, and sing songs - all in a particular order. By participating in a Passover Seder service, we fulfill the commandment to retell the story of the exodus (Exod. 13:8).