A Guide to a Meaningful and Enriching Pesach Page: 15 of 24
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TANIT B'CHORIM - THE FAST OF THE FIRST BORN
THE SEDER
The three matzoh on the Seder table are generally known as Cohen, Levi, Israel, representing
the three bodies of the Jewish people. Two of these matzoh are "Lechem Mishnah" (twin
challahs) which grace every Shabbos and festival table, and the third matzoh on the Passover
Because the Jewish firstborn were spared when the Angel of Death passed over Egypt slaying
the Egyptian firstborn, all Jewish firstborn are obligated to fast on Erev Passover until the
Seder. If, however, the firstborn participates in a "Seudas Mitzvah", a feast which celebrates
the performance of religious duty, he is no longer obligated to fast. Completing a Talmudic
tractate is always followed by a "Seudas Mitzvah", an occasion for great rejoicing. This
concluding of a Talmudic tractate is called a Siyum. Firstborn who participate in it are
absolved from fasting. This year the Siyum will take place at 6:45 a.m. on Friday, April 10.
The Seder does not consist of "customs and ceremonies" to be performed perfunctorily, but
presents an opportunity for all participants and enables all men, women, and children, old
and young alike, to understand and experience the full meaning of Yetziath Mitzrayim, the
Exodus, each according to his own capacity, as we are commanded.
"Remember this day in which you went out of Egypt... And thou shalt tell thy child in that
day, saying, it is because of that which the Lord did to me, that I sent you forth from
Egypt." Through these and many other exhortations, we are bidden to devote the first two
nights of Pesach to an intensive program (Seder) or commemoration and narration. We are
(1) to relate our miraculous redemption from Egyptian bondage; and (2) to attain a personal
identification with the great historic event, so that; (3) each of us feels his unbounded
indebtedness towards G-d, and is prompted to express gratitude and praise to our Divine
Liberator. The Torah emphasizes repeatedly the objective of this Commandment, to serve as
a source of information and inspiration for our children.
HAGGADAH is the special prayer book which guides us in carrying out a Seder Service. It
means "telling" and it contains a "telling" of that portion of Biblical history which comprises
the background of Passover, as well as explanations of appropriate verses from the Torah by
our Sages, stories, prayers, hymns of praise, folk songs, and instructions on how to conduct
the particular stages of the Seder in their proper sequence and full beauty. After we read a
portion of the Haggadah in Hebrew, we should translate it and discuss it in English.
SEDER means "order", referring to the evenings’ meals, recitations, benedictions, and songs
on the first two nights of Passover. It is obligatory to recount on these evenings the story of
our deliverance and exodus from Egypt, as instructed by the Torah: "And thou shalt tell thy
son on that day, saying: ’It is because of that which the Lord did for us when I came forth
out of Egypt’." (Exodus 13:3) The family TOGETHER follows the order of readings and
practices prescribed by the Haggadah.
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United Orthodox Synagogues of Houston. A Guide to a Meaningful and Enriching Pesach, pamphlet, Date Unknown; Houston, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1417199/m1/15/: accessed July 8, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Rice University Woodson Research Center.