Thought that I'd finally finish my Hagaddah bit. I finally looked up the Mishna and Gemara this weekend. Plus, Rabbi Leiman gave a good shiur on it, but that has little to do with my point.

For context, I'll repeat my previous posting here. Damn, a lot's happened since then...ah, to Torah!

"So let's talk about the Haggaddah. Why not? We got a small one from some institution (one of those) in Israel yesterday, and, as keeper of the family's many haggados (I wish my Hebrew capitalization was consistent), I suppose, it was handed off to me.

So there are 15 steps in the Seder, 14 if you combine motzi-matzah. I recall a classmate back in high school, a religious Christian (he was Yugoslavian, if I recall correctly) pointing out a passage in a religious book he had that was trying to make a point about ordering religious ceremonies. For example, they said, anyone who's been to a Seder will notice how everything happens at the right time. He asked me to explain that a bit, and I tried (I tend to be shy about these things). Anyway, back to the steps.

My point- and this appeals to my neurotic mind- is that there are very few actual steps, or actual steps out of the ordinary. Consider:

Kaddesh: Kiddush, same as we make any Shabbos or Yom Tov. Same, in fact, as we'll make on Day Seven. Cup of wine, as always.

Urchatz: Attached to Karpas, below. Should be done whenever eating veggies, but only comes up when we schedule it- i.e., here. This idea will come up again later.

Karpas: A "Keep the kids interested" minhag, as are many of the Seder. Note that the Vilna Gaon didn't even have it on his ke'arah. The Ramah, on the other hand (who I follow) even has salt water on his. Of course, once I'm done, I remove them. The Ramah sets the ke'arah up in the order everything'll be used. No one makes Ramah plates. I also use celery, because it's green (which is the point, Pesach being a spring holiday) and yummy.

Yachatz: Another minhag, also to keep the kids interested. One wonders how people who use two matzos can do this, if motzi must be made on whole "loaves." [Note: I've since found out it's not an issue.]

Maggid: Aha! Mitzvah #1. Sippur Yetzias Mitzraim. L'halacha (as per the Mishna), it would involve Mah Nishtana, Mitechila, repeating the Parshas HaBikkurim with explanation (standardized today by saying the Midrash Halakha on it), the three points of the seder, and the beginning of Hallel. To an extent, we also repeat the mishnah itself as long as we're at it."

Thus far the previous posting. Let's give a bit more about Maggid:

The Mishna lays down most of the text- I'm not sure about Ha Lachma Anya, but there's Ma Nishtana, Avadim, M'tchila, sources on the mitzvah of Sippur Yetzias Mitzraim itself (the Bnei Brak story, etc.), the Parshas Bikkurim with the Sifrei, leading to counting plagues, Dayennu, Rabban Gamliel, B'Chol Dor VaDor, the start of Hallel, and brachot. In fact, it follows naturally point to point. The one point I used to get stuck on was "Barukh HaMakom...Keneged Arba'a Banim," but I've found sources and reasons for that too, and that was the point of Rabbi Leiman's shiur, in fact.

Anyway, we finish with another cup, so that we've performed the mitzvah of Maggid over a cup. So that's cup two, but the first specific to the night.

So...moving right along. Rachtza, Motzi, Matza, Marror, Korech, Shulchan Orech, Tzafun, Barech- are all, basically, the meal. We wash for bread, as always, and say the bracha, as always, adding a bracha for the mitzva of matza. Ditto for the mitzva of marror, with a bracha. Korech simply combines the two (or three, as it was originally), followed by the meal itself. This was the Chagiga in the time of the Beis Hamikdash, followed by one more piece of the Pesach, symbolized here by the afikoman (Tzafun). Finally, we bentsch. That's over a cup, too- I suppose we're supposed to always do it over a cup, but we only do so (like Urchatz) in formalized situations like this. Although there is an opinion in the Gemara that the four cups came first, and they were fit into the seder, which sort of ruins my whole theory.

Finally, we finish up Hallel, again over a cup (or two, over the two types of Hallel), as it's another mitzvah. Nirtzah is all relatively recent additions.

So: Kiddush as always, some minhagim for the kids, Maggid, the meal, and Hallel. Not so complicated, eh?