The Passover Seder Trivia Quiz

Answer: Drinking of a cup of wine

The candles for Passover have to be lit before the holiday begins. Once the holiday starts, no new fires may be lit or transferred. The beginning of the Seder, which literally means 'order', as in, the order of events that will happen as a part of the holiday, starts off with the drinking of the first cup of wine. There will be four throughout the ceremonious event, this is the first. Some have the tradition that this cup should be white wine. Of course, every cup of wine is accompanied by a blessing.

Let the festivities begin!

Answer: No

In the second part of the Seder, Urchatz, the hands are washed but no blessing is recited. This act is just symbolic, perhaps to make sure that we absolutely have no chametz left on our person, or maybe, in the craziness of cleaning, we forgot to wash our hands after handling the last of the chametz, the leavened bread and flour products. In Aramaic, the origin of the Hebrew language, the word 'urchatz' means 'to trust', so, we trust in each other to help us have a good holiday.

Usually, the washing of the hands with the blessing is done right before eating, and there's still a ways to go...

Answer: A green vegetable

The karpas is the green vegetable. The holiday of Passover is on the 15th of Nisan, the first month of the Jewish calendar and the beginning of Spring. The obvious meaning behind this step is the rebirth of the world as it transitions from Winter to Spring, the blooming of flowers, and the green of new leaves and plants.

More often than not, parsley is the vegetable of choice for karpas, but celery and lettuce are also pretty popular.

Answer: Hide it to be found later

Yachatz is the ritual breaking of the middle matzah. Three matzah pieces play a role in the Seder, and the first thing we do with them is break one of them. The act is done for all to see and without a prayer, silently. It is said to be a reflective practice so that everyone realizes that they are broken, not whole. The leader of the Seder takes one half, wraps it in something, and, at some point during the meal, hides it away. It becomes the Afikoman, the ritual dessert.

Children love looking for the Afikoman before they're supposed to. Make sure you hide it well!

Answer: Moses' birth - being sent down the river

The entire point of the Seder for Passover is the maggid. This is the retelling of the Passover story, year after year. The philosophy behind it is that every Jew needs to see themselves as though they too were slaves in Egypt and they, themselves, were delivered from slavery by God's "mighty hand".

The story of the maggid starts with the reminder that the Jews were slaves, and continues through the Exodus with a little bit of the Four Sons thrown in as an aside. There is a philosophical (and mathematical) break when the five Rabbis of Bnei Brak are spoken of, and the Ten Plagues are discussed. So are the Passover symbols.

Whew, if we weren't hungry before this, we sure are now!

Answer: Yes

This time around, when we reach the sixth part of the Passover Seder, everybody at the table goes to wash their hands, this time with the blessing. While the story in magid was the transcendence, the rachtzah is the purification of the body, and through the body, the soul as well. It also allows the people who have been at the table an opportunity to get up and move about. It's just a good practice.

Also, traditionally the blessing over the washing of the hands is done before eating, and there is eating on the horizon... isn't there?

Answer: Top

The motzi matzah part of the Seder combines two important blessings. The first is the "hamotzi" which is the blessing over the bread. Though there is no bread in the traditional sense of the word, matzah, the unleavened bread, takes the place of the challas.

The second part to this part of the Seder is the acknowledgement that matzah is an integral part of the whole Passover experience. The Jewish people, as they were leaving Egypt, were unable to spend enough time to let their bread rise. The result was matzah, a thin and crunchy substitute. It is a central part of the Passover festival which is why it has such an important role in the Seder.

At the Seder, the top matzah is distributed first, and the remainder of the middle matzah if more is needed.

Answer: Charoset

The maror are the bitter herbs, often raw horseradish, but also, occasionally, some lettuce or kale. They represent the affliction of the Jewish slaves in Egypt, and the bitter flavour is supposed to bring the eater tears to their eyes to remind them of the tears of the slaves as they toiled under the hot Egyptian sun.

When the maror is eaten, it is dipped in the charoset, a sweet mixture (whose recipe varies wildly from custom to custom) and is said to represent the mortar used to build the pyramids. One should not take too much charoset so to not mask the bitterness of the maror, but the sweetness of the freedom should be there so that the eater can reflect on the sweetness of their own personal freedom.

Answer: Rabbi Hillel

The term 'korech' means 'binding', referring to the two pieces of matzah binding the maror, or bitter herbs, between them. Here's where the bottom matzah comes into play. It is distributed, two pieces to each person, and a bit of maror as well, some even dip it in charoset. No blessing is said, however, a reminder that this is what the learned and wise Rabbi Hillel did in the time of the Temple is recited.

This, interestingly, predates the Earl of Sandwich's invention to hold his meat... so, should it be called a Hillel?

Answer: A second festival offering at the Temple

The roasted shankbone is symbolic of the 'korban pesach', the Passover offering. This represents the sacrifice that was made to mark the doors of the Jews in Egypt when God brought down the plague of the firstborn upon them. The houses that were marked by the lamb's blood God passed over, hence the name of the holiday.

The egg is symbolic of the festival offering that was made at the Temple. The three festivals, Sukkot, Shavuot, and Passover, were all celebrated by bringing an offering at the Holy Temple at Jerusalem, and the egg, in its roundness, represents that offering.

Finally... food!

Answer: Afikoman

What is hidden in plain sight is the hardest to find. What 'tzafun' means is 'hidden', and this refers to the Afikoman, the part of the middle matzah that was broken off and taken by an adult and hidden. This becomes a game for the younger children at the Seder, to go out and search for the Afikoman so that the Seder can proceed.

When it is found and redeemed from the children, a portion of it is distributed to every participant at the Seder. It is traditionally the last piece of food that one should consume at the Seder.

Answer: Elijah the Prophet

At bareich the traditional blessing after the meal is recited by everyone assembled. The Passover Seder is almost concluded but there are still two cups of wine left to be consumed, to make a total of four. The third cup is poured, but also a cup of wine is poured and left at the table while the entry door is opened to let in the the spirit of Elijah the Prophet.

There is a newer tradition of leaving a cup of water at the table as well for Miriam, Moses' sister.

Answer: Songs are sung

Hallel is literally the songs of praise that are sung by Jews traditionally at joyous occasions. One of the best known of these psalms is 'betzeit Israel', which was written about the occasion that the Children of Israel were leaving Egypt into their new life as a free people and all of nature was rejoicing along with them.

Also, if one thought that they couldn't hold more liquor, a fourth cup of wine is poured and consumed.

You're almost at the end...

Answer: Jerusalem (Israel)

The conclusion of the Seder is nirtzah, which comes from the same root as the Hebrew word for 'to want'. At the end of the Seder, the participants recite a passage that expresses hope that they will be able to celebrate next year's Seder in Jerusalem, the holy city of the Jews. When in Israel, the line is altered slightly and the hope is expressed that next year they will be able to celebrate the Seder in the rebuilt city of Jerusalem, the slight distinction that denotes that the Holy Temple is no more.

Finally, we made it... and next year, all over again!