Video:How to Host a Passover Seder

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Transcript:How to Host a Passover Seder

Hi! I’m Arlene Kashkin for About.com. We’re here at Kash in the Kitchen in Port Washington, New York, and today I’m going to show you how to host a Passover Seder. Passover is a joyous holiday that celebrates the Jewish exodus from slavery in Egypt.

The Passover Ceremony Follows the Prayer Book Chosen

The word Seder means “order” and your Seder will have to follow a specific order, outlined in the haggadah, which is the prayer book. You can choose any haggadah you like, depending on how long and traditional you’d like your Seder to be. Some versions of the haggadah can take as little as 30 minutes and some could take hours. You can find haggadah’s online and at your local grocery stores around Passover. If you are going to have children at the Seder, it may be best to go with a shorter ceremony.

Children are Included in Passover Ceremonies

You will need a Seder plate, Kosher wine, plates and tableware that are different from your everyday tableware, 3 pieces of matzoh on a plate, cup for Elijah, a dinner without leavened bread and a haggadah for each place setting. The Seder opens up with the Kiddush prayer and then everyone drinks one glass of wine. Now, you will break middle piece of matzoh in half. The bigger piece of matzoh is the afikomen. The afikomen is placed in a bag and hidden by the leader of the Seder. The children will search for the afikomen later and exchange it for a prize.

You will continue to read from the haggadah and each person around the table will re-tell a piece of the story of Passover. Then the youngest child must chant or sing the four questions, also called the Ma Nishtanah, after each question the group can chant back the answers. After the re-telling is finished, all the adults drink another glass of wine. Next, depending on your haggadah, you will say various blessings over the different components of the Seder plate.

No Yeast is Consumed at the Passover Meal

Now, it is time for the celebratory meal. This part of the Seder is not subject to any rituals, however no bread with yeast or any products with yeast may be consumed. Once the meal is complete, the children go off in search of the afikomen. The child that finds the afikomen usually receives a prize, or ransom.Now, we are ready to conclude the Seder ceremony. The afikomen is broken into pieces and each person at the table eats a piece. Another glass of wine is consumed.

Dayenu is a Hebrew song traditionally sung at the end of the Seder. It is 15 verses long and recounts each divine intervention by God in the story of exodus.If you follow these steps, hosting a Passover Seder should be enjoyable and easy. For more information on Passover and other holidays, please visit About.com. Thank you so much for watching.