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We observed seder night at home. The seder night begins with the well-laid table, everything is fixed there, because the word seder means order in Hebrew. Well, first they put a big plate on the table, the seder plate, on which was placed a roasted egg, a small piece of roast beef, bitter herbs called maror, parsley, then there is a mixture, it has grated apple and smashed walnut, mixed with wine, and they put a little horseradish [Editor’s note: Gabor Lazar refers here to the charoset, which doesn’t have any horseradish, that one being part of the maror symbolizing the bitter herbs], all these recall the exodus of Jews from Egypt.
At Pesach one of the traditional foods for Jews was also the egg; I think Christians took over the custom from them [Pesach falls around the same time of year as Easter]. The matzah is put on the table and it is covered, three matzot are separated by three white serviettes.
Everybody has their own glass, and there is a superfluous cup put on the table for Elijah the Prophet. We poured a glass of wine for him, and when my father reached a certain passage in the prayer, we opened the door so that Elijah the Prophet could come in.
Before they eat and drink, they say a prayer, called Kiddush. After that one has to wash hands. First one has to dip parsley into salt water, and recite a blessing. Then the head of the family breaks the matzah to put aside the afikoman as well, they hid it.
In our family my father put it under his pillow, the seder table is organized in such way that the head of the family has to sit leaning, pillows are put to support him, this is the ritual. And the youngest member of the family puts questions to the head of the family, four questions.
I was the youngest in our family, I had to ask: ‘Why is this night different from all other nights?’ That’s how it started. Then the whole ritual is built on this, that the head of the family has to answer the questions in order to explain to the participants why they are celebrating Pesach, and he relates how Jews fled from Egypt.
Then everybody who is sitting at the table has to wash hands, then a blessing is said over eating the matzah, and all those who sit at the seder table are given matzah. After that they eat the bitter herbs, this is a tradition for recalling the misery and exploitation our ancestors had suffered in Egypt. Then the dinner itself comes. We had a normal dinner, but without bread, we had matzah. We had everything, we had meat-soup, second dish, dessert.
After dinner they take out, distribute and eat the afikoman. Children have to find the afikoman, and whoever finds it is rewarded. At the end the prayer after dinner is recited, and seder night ends with the humorous story from the end of the Haggadah – which is the prayer book of the Pesach night service – the Chad Gadya, that is One Kid Goat.
[The Chad Gadya and the Echad Mi Yodea are songs formulated in children’s language, but which have a profound religious and historical significance, and bear moral teachings.] We didn’t sing, my father told the story, and then we went to bed.
Well, that’s how a seder night goes. It lasts three hours, and the second night the same service is repeated. This was a family tradition for us, unfortunately since I left the family house in 1947, I participated for the last time, then I started to study, and I didn’t have the chance for it.
At Pesach one of the traditional foods for Jews was also the egg; I think Christians took over the custom from them [Pesach falls around the same time of year as Easter]. The matzah is put on the table and it is covered, three matzot are separated by three white serviettes.
Everybody has their own glass, and there is a superfluous cup put on the table for Elijah the Prophet. We poured a glass of wine for him, and when my father reached a certain passage in the prayer, we opened the door so that Elijah the Prophet could come in.
Before they eat and drink, they say a prayer, called Kiddush. After that one has to wash hands. First one has to dip parsley into salt water, and recite a blessing. Then the head of the family breaks the matzah to put aside the afikoman as well, they hid it.
In our family my father put it under his pillow, the seder table is organized in such way that the head of the family has to sit leaning, pillows are put to support him, this is the ritual. And the youngest member of the family puts questions to the head of the family, four questions.
I was the youngest in our family, I had to ask: ‘Why is this night different from all other nights?’ That’s how it started. Then the whole ritual is built on this, that the head of the family has to answer the questions in order to explain to the participants why they are celebrating Pesach, and he relates how Jews fled from Egypt.
Then everybody who is sitting at the table has to wash hands, then a blessing is said over eating the matzah, and all those who sit at the seder table are given matzah. After that they eat the bitter herbs, this is a tradition for recalling the misery and exploitation our ancestors had suffered in Egypt. Then the dinner itself comes. We had a normal dinner, but without bread, we had matzah. We had everything, we had meat-soup, second dish, dessert.
After dinner they take out, distribute and eat the afikoman. Children have to find the afikoman, and whoever finds it is rewarded. At the end the prayer after dinner is recited, and seder night ends with the humorous story from the end of the Haggadah – which is the prayer book of the Pesach night service – the Chad Gadya, that is One Kid Goat.
[The Chad Gadya and the Echad Mi Yodea are songs formulated in children’s language, but which have a profound religious and historical significance, and bear moral teachings.] We didn’t sing, my father told the story, and then we went to bed.
Well, that’s how a seder night goes. It lasts three hours, and the second night the same service is repeated. This was a family tradition for us, unfortunately since I left the family house in 1947, I participated for the last time, then I started to study, and I didn’t have the chance for it.
Location
Satu Mare
Romania
Interview
Dr. Gabor Lazar
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