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What You Need for Passover at Home

Published April 7, 2020 | Updated December 29, 2024

by Yehuda Bachana

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    Netivyah wishes you a happy and meaningful Pesach! The Passover Seder opens the biblical new year and includes reading from the Hagada, wine (or grapejuice), eating special foods, singing, and other Passover traditions.

    The Seder is held after nightfall on the first night of Passover (and the second night if you live outside of Israel), and marks the anniversary of Israel’s miraculous exodus from Egyptian slavery over 3000 years ago.

    A Passover painting by the artist Martha Stern.
    A Passover painting by the artist Martha Stern.

    We’ve put together a list of things necessary for the Passover Seder, along with some highlights (“Seder” means order, as in the order of things at the Passover table).

    For Passover, your table should include:

    • Seder plate (6 little bowls will do, as an alternative) which has a spot for each of the 6 traditional ingredients that are necessary for the Passover meal:
      • Maror: bitter herbs. Most people use lettuce.
      • Chazeret: another type of “bitter herbs”. We use fresh and thinly sliced horseradish. It is optional to grind the horseradish in ground beets. Bitter herbs remind of the tears of hard labor.
      • Karpas: parsley or celery (will be dipped in salt water to remind us of the bitter tears due to slavery).
      • Zeroah: in Temple times the Passover lamb was roasted, and eaten at the Seder meal. We eat lamb to commemorate this offering, and 1 roasted lamb bone on the Seder plate. However, it is common to eat chicken and use a chicken bone, instead.
      • Charoset: a sweet salad to remind us of the mortar used in the bricks made by the Israelites in Egypt.

    Ingredients for Charoset:

    • 1 cup chopped apples
    • 1 cup chopped walnuts
    • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
    • ¼ cup raisins (optional)
    • 1 tablespoon sweet red wine

    Mix well and refrigerate.

      • Beitza: hard-boiled egg (to commemorate the mourning for the destruction of the Temple).

    Besides the Seder plate, you will need:

    • Wine or grape juice: 4 cups per participant.
    • Matzah cover with 3 matzot (optional: extra matzah for the meal).
    • Haggadah: the Jewish traditional text according to which Israel has celebrated the Passover Seder for generations. It literally means “telling”, and reminds us of the commandment to “tell thy son in that day, saying: It is because of that which the Lord did for me when I came forth out of Egypt.” (Exodus 13:8).
    • Wine cup for Elijah, and a seat for Elijah.
    • Salt water in a bowl, to dip the Karpas (parsley or celery) in.
    • Afikomen prize: a prize for the child that finds the afikomen (a half-piece of matzah that is set aside as a dessert) that we hide during Passover Seder. Some people give all kids a small gift.

    May we all clean our heart and homes from leaven and be joyous.

    Have a happy and kosher Passover!

    With love from the Netivyah staff.

    Published April 7, 2020 | Updated December 29, 2024

    About Yehuda Bachana

    Born and raised in Jerusalem, Yehuda serves as the Director of Netivyah and one of the elders of the “Ro'eh Israel” congregation. He is married to Lydia, and they have three children.

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    21 thoughts on “What You Need for Passover at Home”

    1. Que bom! Esta desejando uma orientação de como participar/preparar da Páscoa Bíblica e aqui achei! Deus é bom! Grata!

    2. Thank you. We also include the “washing of the hands”. From there we bring in John 13:1-17, where Jesus washes the feet of the Disciples. Our eyes are open when Jesus says to Peter, “Unless I wash you, you have no part of Me.” So often I said, “Then Lord, not just my feet but my hands and head as well.”

      1. Shalom Gatbel. I am not sure if I understand your question correctly. The most important things that you need are mentioned in the list above. If you’re not really sure what to do with all of that, no problem. That is where the Passover Haggadah comes in action. There are many different kinds of Haggadot that will walk you through every detail of the telling of the story including how to do what and when.
        Hope this was helpful.
        Blessings

    3. mugalyamedad@gmail.com

      Shalom and Happy and a healthier Pesach from Lwatama Messianic Synagogue Uganda.
      Thanks so much for sharing Dear brother but one thing still miss, so without the temple but with Synagogues, no actual rosted lamb on Pesach now days?
      Please anyone help me out either by Whats app
      +256772255664
      Pr. Mugalya,
      Lwatama, Uganda.

      1. Shalom Mugalya,
        As mentioned above, customs differ nowadays. It is very common to have a chicken bone and to eat chicken, but there are those that eat lamb and use a lamb bone as well. If your question is regarding the sacrifice of the paschal lamb and the different institutions (Temple vs. Synagogue), then the answer is, that the synagogue and the Temple are two distinct institutions with different purposes and functions. The synagogue could be seen as a supplement to the temple but not as replacing it or copying it’s purpose/ function. After the destruction of the second Temple the function of the synagogue slightly changed/ developed further. Even while the Temple in Jerusalem still stood and functioned, there were plenty of synagogues. That is to say, yes, we do have synagogues today, but they have not and do not substitute for the Temple and it’s functions regarding the Paschal lamb etc. If that did not answer your question, please feel free to respond here and to rephrase it.

        Blessings.

    4. I enjoy every article from Netivyah. When you say next week is the Passover, may I ask what the exact date? I would like to celebrate it too. Thank you so much!

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