The Seder begins. We are now reliving the actual events of 3,320² years ago....

Then it's time to do some serious relaxing — we recline to our left when drinking the four glasses to emphasize our freedom. It may seem strange in our modern world of La-Z-Boy recliners and couch potatoes, but in ancient days only free people were allowed to eat in this position.

America is the “land of the free”³. Why do we need a “Season of Freedom"?⁴ 

Man, no matter how free of external constraints, is a finite creature, ever subject to the limits of his own nature and character. To attain true freedom he must therefore transcend his humanity - his emotional, intellectual, even spiritual self - and access his spark of G-dliness, the infinite, supra-human self.

We wash our hands in the ritual manner (without reciting a blessing). This ritual, among other things, serves as an important role: it is meant to keep the children constantly active in the Seder experience by piquing their interest . . .

Are kids that important?

Well, yes. In fact, many interesting customs are scattered throughout the Seder to compel the child to ask questions. Indeed, the entire “retelling” is built around the concept of “When your child will ask . . . you shall tell your child.”⁵

We start our Seder as any other enjoyable evening begins - with a toast to Someone special

“And the Egyptians forced the children of Israel to do backbreaking labor.”⁶ What are we going to do about it?
After washing our hands (Urchatz), we dip a raw vegetable into salt water after reciting the appropriate blessing for eating vegetables. Karpas symbolizes the “crushing labor” our people endured in Egypt and the salt water represents their tears of anguish and despair.

"Crushing labor" is endless and purposeless work⁷. In our own lives, we often find a similar predicament when work spills out from the five-day, forty-hour week to invade our every private moment and thought. Ironically, it is our own inner spark of G-dliness that gives us the capacity for ‘endless labor.’ This inner spark, which yearns to reveal the Divine in the material aspects of our world, often suffers from watching its own potential for ‘endless labor’ for G-d distort into an endless quest for material gain. So tonight, we take a break from the material and make room for the spiritual.

“This is the bread of affliction that our forefathers ate in the land of Egypt".⁸ The Matzah is introduced. Simple and humble, what does this bread of affliction have to say?

The middle Matzah (of the three) is broken in two. The LARGER PIECE, designated as the Afikoman, is wrapped and hidden away. Both steps are important. The wrapping dramatizes the way we left Egypt with our food wrapped on our shoulders. What’s with the hiding? That helps keep the children alert, because traditionally they search for the Afikoman and are rewarded for finding it. (We hope they don't eat it first.) The story of the Exodus is told over the SMALLER PIECE, which, like the poor man’s bread, is never whole, symbolizing the “bread of poverty”⁹ that we ate while under Egyptian slavery.

“We were slaves to Pharaoh in Egypt, and the L-rd, our G-d, took us out from there with a strong hand and with an outstretched arm".¹⁰ So, what's the story?

The story of our Exodus now begins. The Seder plate is moved aside and the second glass of wine is filled. Children ask, “Why is this night different from all other nights?”— and ask the Four Questions. “Why are we dipping? Why only Matzah? Why the bitter herbs? Why are we relaxing, reclined as kings?”

“. . . Who has sanctified us with His commandments . . . concerning the washing of hands".¹³ We wash our hands before we eat bread--is this for cleanliness?

Yes, it is for cleanliness — spiritual cleanliness. We are ready to eat the Matzah, so, we wash our hands and recite the appropriate blessings.  As the sages knew, there can't be a separation between spiritual and material matters in Jewish life. This concern with the tiniest, most mundane detail of our material lives is one of the essential elements of the Jewish faith.

As in our personal lives, true unity and harmony can be achieved only by combining the two domains; by integrating the spiritual into the material, thereby elevating the material.

The child is the most important participant of the Seder

Get ready, Seder leader: technical Matzah instructions to follow. While holding the Matzot — the broken, middle half-Matzah and the two whole ones — recite the appropriate blessing before eating bread: “Hamotzie leh-chem min ha-aretz.” Return the bottom Matzah to the Seder plate. Now, holding the remainder,one and one-half Matzot, recite the appropriate blessing for the Mitzvah of eating Matzah: “ahl ah-chilat Matzah.” Then eat at least one ounce of the Matzot while reclining.

Why do we treat Matzah with such reverence?

Matzah connects us directly with our ancestors. This is not a mere symbol of our forefathers’ suffering, this strange bread, known as the ‘bread of faith’ and the ‘bread of affliction',¹⁵ is the exact same bread eaten when we fled from bondage in Egypt. By rejecting Chametz, leavened bread which indicates inflated egotism and arrogance, and embracing Matzah, the symbol of selflessness and humility, we make the same brave choices our forefathers made when leaving Egypt.

there can't be a separation between spiritual and material matters in Jewish life

Take at least three-quarters of an ounce of bitter herbs, dip it in charoset, shake off the excess Charoset and, before eating, say the appropriate blessing: “ahl ah-chilat Maror.”

They suffered enough. Why do we have to?

Bitterness of exile is the beginning of redemption. A slave tends to develop a “slave mentality” — he cannot become free for he has been robbed of the desire to become free. It is only when bitterness is aroused that slavery becomes intolerable. This is the beginning of freedom.

Every soul has an intrinsic bond with G-d that can not be shaken. The mind will never accept the necessity for evil and pain. But the heart and soul of the believer, unlike the mind, has the capacity to accept what they cannot understand.

“In the days of our Holy Temple, Rabbi Hillel would combine the Paschal offering, Matzah and Maror in a sandwich and eat them together to fulfill the instruction: ‘They shall eat it with Matzot and bitter herbs.’“¹⁷ What's the recipe again?

In keeping with the custom of Rabbi Hillel, break off two pieces of the bottom Matzah totalling at least one ounce. Take at least three-quarters of an ounce of Maror, dip it in Charoset, shake off the excess, place the Maror between the two pieces of Matzah and say, “Thus did Hillel do in the time of the Holy Temple . . . ”Recline while eating.

The Maror alludes to the wicked, while Matzah alludes to the righteous. Hillel, known for his compassion, would instruct the righteous to maintain contact with the wicked to draw them close to Torah.

In many traditions the meal begins by dipping the hard-boiled egg from the Seder plate in salt water to symbolize our constant mourning for the destruction of the Holy Temple, and as an allusion to G-d’s desire to redeem His people.  So, can we eat?

At the conclusion of the Passover meal, the Afikoman is returned by the children. We eat at least one ounce of this Matza. After eating this Matzah, nothing else is consumed except for the two remaining glasses of wine. Partaking of Tzafun gives us the potential to refine the hidden undesirable tendencies of which we are often unaware.

I just ate Matzah and I’m full already. Why do I have to eat Matzah again?

The appetite for food has its source in the soul’s desire to elevate the sparks of G-dliness hidden in the food’s material substance. Spiritual hunger means there is something hidden that needs to be revealed, refined and elevated. Eating the Afikoman when sated implies that there is no need to reveal the hidden, because the G-dly energies (which sustain the Afikoman) are openly revealed. Thus, its consumption expresses our essential relationship with G-d, which transcends even our spiritual hunger.

It is only when bitterness is aroused that slavery becomes intolerable. This is the beginning of freedom

Now we fill a special goblet, the Cup of Elijah, before filling the fourth glass of wine. Then the door to the house is opened and we recite the passage inviting the Prophet Elijah to appear, in anticipation of our imminent Redemption. In some traditions, the head of the household drinks this Cup of Elijah. In tradition with mystical sources, we do not drink from this Cup

What’s up with a cup that you don’t drink from?

It is within our power to actualize all that is represented by the four cups; to overcome all that limits us, both without and within; to develop our potential for freedom and to exercise this freedom to fulfill our G-dly mission. But the culminating level of our Redemption, represented by the fifth cup, will be fully realized in the imminent coming of Moshiach. Redemption transcends our human efforts. This is not a cup we can drink on our own.

the message of the Haggadah endures throughout the year

Why does G-d need us to praise Him? Doesn’t He know how good He is?

He doesn’t need it. We need it. We need to become more aware of G-d’s greatness. Also, when we praise G-d, it opens the channels of kindness through which we receive G-d’s beneficence for this occasion. This is mirrored in the human sphere: if you call somebody ‘kind’ or ‘smart,’ you bring out those qualities in him.

Having carried out the Seder properly, we experience — drum roll, please — acceptance by the Almighty! We wish each other the quest that our forefathers had when they toiled and labored in Egypt, when they left Egypt and when they wandered the desert: “L’shanah Ha-ba-ah Bi-Yerushalayim!” (“Next Year in the city of Jerusalem!”)

Should I make my plane reservations now to get the best fare?

Don’t bother — the ultimate Travel Agent is in charge. See, we’re hoping Moshiach comes long before next Passover, so that next Passover will be celebrated in Jerusalem.

Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi did not include the passage ‘The order of Pesach is concluded’ in his Haggadah for, indeed, the Seder never concludes. On the contrary, the message of the Haggadah endures throughout the year. This is because a Jew leaves Egypt every day by transcending his limitations and reaching higher levels of holiness.