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7 Biblical Goals of the Seder

The Passover seder developed naturally as a way to accomplish certain tasks set forth in the Torah. Let's look at the different goals that the seder seeks to accomplish and how they arise from the text of the Torah itself. This will help you to make sure that your seder fulfills its divinely ordained purpose.

(The quotes below are from the new Vine of David Passover Haggadah, with emphasis added for this post.)

1. To remember and relate the story of redemption

At the seder, each person follows along in the Haggadah, a booklet that guides the participants through the evening. Haggadah means "a telling," and it is so named due to its central feature, the story of the exodus from Egypt. This step in the seder is called Maggid, which comes from the same root as Haggadah and means "one who tells."

The commandment to tell the story on Passover night is learned from the book of Exodus:

You shall tell your son on that day, saying, "On account of this that the LORD did for me, taking me out of Egypt." (Exodus 13:8)

The Haggadah senses some objections to this interpretation. How do we know that this commandment really applies only on the first night of Passover? After all, the previous four verses (4-7) refer to all seven days of Chag HaMatzot and the entire month of Passover. Thus, the Haggadah raises the objection and then provides the answer:

One might think that all this would apply even at the beginning of the month. But it specifically says, "You shall tell your son on that day."

The verse alludes to the language used just a few verses earlier:

• Remember this day when you went out from Egypt, from a house of slaves. (Exodus 13:3)
• It was on this very day that the LORD took the children of Israel out of Egypt by their legions. (Exodus 12:51).

But how do we know that this commandment should be fulfilled on Passover night, if the verse says "day"? The Haggadah formulates the objection and its answer like this:

Since it says "on that day," one might think it should be done while it is still daytime. But it specifically says, "On account of this [that the LORD did for me]."

Notice that it does not say "On account of what the LORD did for me," as many translations smooth it over. As the sages read this verse in Hebrew without a translation obscuring this detail, they got the distinct impression that using the word zeh ("this") suggests that one would be pointing to a present visual aid. This could not mean anything but the Passover sacrifice, the matzah, and bitter herbs (maror), which are consumed on Passover night:

Because it says, "on account of this," it only makes sense to tell about it at a time when matzah and maror are set before you.

2. To eat the ceremonial foods.

This brings us to the second important goal of the Passover seder: to eat the foods commanded by the Torah for that night.

The Torah instructs that three foods are eaten: the roasted Passover lamb, bitter herbs (maror), and matzah. Matzah is instructed elsewhere in the laws of Chag HaMatzot, but the bitter herbs are merely a topping for the lamb.

Without the Temple and altar, it is not possible to fulfill the commandment of eating the lamb sacrifice. Nor is it possible to fulfill the commandment of eating the bitter herbs as a topping for the lamb. The only food that we eat that fulfills a biblical commandment at the seder is matzah. However, the sages instructed that bitter herbs should be eaten as well in remembrance of Temple times. This helps to explain the steps of Motzi, Matzah, and Maror in the seder.

The famous first-century rabbi Hillel noted that the Torah seems to imply that the Passover lamb, bitter herbs, and matzah should be eaten together at the same time. We first eat the matzah and maror separately in order to fulfill each separate commandment. But he insisted that we should also eat them together in accordance with the verse,

You shall eat it upon unleavened bread and bitter herbs. (Numbers 9:11)

This is performed in the section called Korech.

Once we identify "this" in Exodus 13:8 with the ceremonial foods, it implies that the Passover lamb, matzah, and bitter herbs must be used as an aid in telling about Passover. Thus, the statement of Rabban Gamliel (teacher of the Apostle Paul) is included in the Maggid section:

Rabban Gamliel used to say, whoever does not mention these three things has not fulfilled his obligation: Pesach (the Passover offering), Matzah (unleavened bread), and Maror (bitter herbs).

It continues with an explanation of the significance of each of those three items.

3. To provoke questions from our children

But although the symbols of the pesach, matzah, and maror are clearly explained, others are given no mention. Why is that?

The Haggadah picks up on a subtle pattern in the Torah regarding Passover:

• When your son asks you in the future, saying, "What are the testimonies and the statutes and the judgments that the LORD, our God, has commanded you?"... (Deuteronony 6:20)
• And when your children say to you, "What is this service to you?"...(Exodus 12:26)
• And it will be that when your son asks you in the future, "What is this?"... (Exodus 13:14)

By bringing up these questions, the Torah implies that the seder should arouse children's curiosity. That is why although some of the seder is explicitly explained, there are numerous features that have no explanation. For example, the Haggadah instructs the participants to dip parsley in saltwater and eat it before the meal in the step called Karpas, and then moves on silently. An egg appears on the seder plate, but it is never mentioned once. This also explains Mah Nishtanah, the section where the youngest child is instructed to ask about the unusual features of Passover night.

By provoking questions, the answer is much more likely to take up permanent residence in the student's brain than if the same point were merely dictated. Furthermore, the student will take personal interest and identify with the problem and its solution. This personal investment in the exodus story proves to be important.

4. To relive and personally identify with the exodus

One of the goals of the seder is to recreate the experience of the exodus so that each person feels personally redeemed from Egypt.

In every single generation, a person is obligated to see himself as if he had gone out from Egypt.

That is a strong statement, but like before, it is rooted in the peculiar wording of the Torah. First of all, in all the generations, we're supposed to tell our children,

You shall tell your son on that day, saying, "On account of this that the LORD did for me, taking me out of Egypt." (Exodus 13:8)

This becomes even more explicit in the other example cited by the Haggadah:

And he brought us out from there, in order to bring us in and give to us the land that he swore to our fathers. (Deuteronomy 6:23)

The generation that stood at the bank of the Jordan river that Moses addressed in Deuteronomy was not the same group of individuals that went out from the land of Egypt, and yet they are referred to as "us." Thus we see the importance of identifying both as a redeemed individual and as a member of a unified, redeemed nation. This requirement is underscored in the Haggadah with the description of the wicked son:

Since he has excluded himself from the people as a whole, he has denied one of our most basic principles.

5. To express gratitude for the redemption

Given that we see ourselves as personally redeemed from Egypt, it is appropriate that we recognize how great that is and verbalize our thankfulness to God. The Maggid thus transitions from telling about the plagues to recognizing the immense scale and number of miracles that God performed (where we recite Dayenu), and finally concludes with a section of praise, explaining,

For these reasons, we are obligated to give thanks, to praise, to acclaim, to glorify, to uplift, to honor, to bless, to elevate, and to applaud the one that did all of these miracles for our fathers and for us: bringing us out from slavery to freedom, from sorrow to joy, from mourning to festivity, from gloom to bright light, from subservience to redemption. And let us offer to him a new song—Hallelujah!

The section of Psalms of praise from 113 to 118 is known in Judaism as the Hallel, and it is recited during prayer services on many holidays. We also recite it at the seder, but we recite the first part before the meal and save the rest for the end.

6. To acknowledge the holiday's holiness

Passover is one of the holy appointed times listed in the calendar of Leviticus 23. Both the first and last (seventh) day are called mikra'ei kodesh (often translated "holy convocations"). Like all of these special seasons, Passover's holiness is acknowledged formally through a blessing over a cup of wine (Kiddush). This is accomplished in the first step of the seder, called Kaddesh. The blessing that is recited declares,

You have given to us, O LORD, our God, with love, appointed times for joy, festivals and seasons for gladness, this day of the Festival of Matzot, the season of our freedom, a holy convocation, a remembrance of the exodus from Egypt. For you chose us and sanctified us from all of the peoples, and you caused us to inherit the appointed times of your holiness, with joy and with gladness.

7. To rejoice on the holiday

Passover is one of three pilgrimage festivals described in Deuteronomy 16. One of the commandments found there is that "you shall rejoice on your festival" (Deuteronomy 16:14), which is stated in the context of Sukkot, but it is generally understood to apply to all of the festivals. Although it is not characterized by joy to the degree of Sukkot (which the sages actually call "the season of our joy"), yet it is a time to rejoice in freedom.

Rejoicing in Jewish practice primarily consists of eating delicious foods and drinking wine or grape juice, as well as singing songs (such as the Hallel). If it was not for this aspect of the holiday, the seder may not have consisted of any meal beyond the ceremonial foods. Thus we can understand the step of Shulchan Orech (where the meal is served) as well as Barech (the recital of Grace After Meals) as relating to this idea.

The Season of our Redemption

We can see from this that the traditional seder is a fine-tuned and optimized method for accomplishing all of the goals set forth by the Torah itself for Passover night.

As followers of our master Yeshua, we have one more goal to accomplish at the seder, however. He instructed us to "Do this for my remembrance" (Luke 22:19, 1 Corinthians 11:23-24). In addition to the list above, we must accomplish the task of making Passover a memorial of him. This does not supplant or nullify the other tasks, just as he does not supplant or nullify the Torah. Nonetheless, we must infuse our seder with his memory and his words.

This was a serious motivation behind the development of the Vine of David Passover Haggadah. We wanted a seder that would not diminish the wisdom and knowledge of generations past, but respectfully build upon them. This ultimately makes for a more meaningful seder, which in turn brings more honor to our Master. We look forward to the moment when we will share the cup with him again in the Father's kingdom. Next year in Jerusalem!

About the Author: Aaron Eby writes for messiah magazine and other FFOZ publications. He is also the author of the forthcoming Siddur, as well as the recently published Hebrew lesson DVD.