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Pesachim 10:3-4

Pesachim 10:3

The vegetables are brought. The Seder leader dips the chazeres (lettuce) before getting to the matzah. They bring matzah, lettuce, charoses, and two cooked items (representing the Passover offering and the Festival offering; our practice is to use a shankbone and a roasted egg). Charoses is not an obligation, though Rabbi Eliezer bar Tzadok says that it is an obligation. In the Temple, they used to bring the Passover offering to be eaten.

Pesachim 10:4

The second cup of wine is poured and the son asks questions of his father. If the son doesn’t know what to ask, the father prompts him: Why is this night different from all other nights? On all other nights, we eat both chometz and matzah; tonight we eat only matzah. On all other nights, we eat various kinds vegetables; tonight we specifically eat bitter herbs (maror). On all other nights, we eat meat roasted, stewed or boiled; tonight, we specifically eat roasted meat. On all other nights, we dip vegetables once; tonight, we dip them twice. The father replies according to the son’s capacity. He starts with Israel’s shame and concludes with Israel’s glory, expounding the section of “My father was a wandering Aramean” (Deut. 26:5) until the end of the passage.

Author: Rabbi Jack Abramowitz