Order of the Seder

The word "Seder" translates from Hebrew into "Order". Historically, the order of the meal has been broken into 15 parts; while it is important to observe the basic elements of the Seder, it is meritorious to elaborate on the explanation of concepts of freedom. It says in the beginning of the Haggadah, "each of us is obligated to feel as if they themselves have come out of Egypt." To ensure that the meaning and messages are understood by all attending, the original written Haggadahs began, not in Hebrew, but in Aramaic, the everyday language of our ancestors. Later, our medieval sages urged that that the Seder be conducted in the language of the participants, since comprehension of the text is vital. Even in the great Kabbalistic text--the Zohar, it provides an additional reason for the Haggadah to begin in Aramaic: It tells us that God himself likes to hear his children recount the story of the Exodus from Egypt. This is why our telling of the story will be in the language which we all understand, not Aramaic, not even Hebrew, but in the language of the arts which can communicate emotionally and intellectually the symbolism of the Seder.

These are the traditional 15 signposts of the Seder. In the days of the temple the spiritual pilgrimage reached its climax at the 15 stairs leading up to the pinnacle. On these steps the musicians of the tribe of Levi played and sang Shir Hama'alot, the "Song of the Steps." Reaching a spiritually worthwhile destination requires a process – an effort to achieve these new levels of harmony. One cannot expect to sense the power of the Seder without the arduous preparations required in advance. May our intensive cleaning, preparing, and focusing prepare us for a personal journey down into Egypt and back up to Freedom.