1 - Why is it that on all other nights during the year we eat either bread or matzah, but on this night we eat only matzah?
Answer: We eat only matzah because our ancestors could not wait for their breads to rise when they were fleeing slavery in Egypt, and so they took the breads out of their ovens while they were still flat, which was matzah.
2 - Why is it that on all other nights we eat all kinds of herbs, but on this night we eat only bitter herbs?
Answer: We eat only Moror, a bitter herb, to remind us of the bitterness of slavery that our ancestors endured while in Egypt.
3 - Why is it that on all other nights we do not dip our herbs even once, but on this night we dip them twice?
Answer: We dip twice - 1- green vegetables in salt water, and - 2- Moror in Charoses, a sweet mixture of nuts and wine. The first dip, green vegetables in salt water, symbolizes the replacing of tears with gratefulness, and the second dip, Moror in Charoses, symbolizes sweetening the burden of bitterness and suffering to lessen its pain.
4 - Why is it that on all other nights we eat either sitting or reclining, but on this night we eat in a reclining position?
Answer: We recline at the seder table because in ancient times, a person who reclined at a meal symbolized a free person, free from slavery, and so we recline in our chairs at the Passover seder table to remind ourselves of the glory of freedom.
The four questions asked at a Jewish Seder are as follows:
They eat matzoh because they aren't supposed to have any yeast during Passover. They eat bitter herbs to remind them of the bitterness of slavery in Egypt. Salt water is a reminder of the tears that slavery caused. And reclining was a sign of freedom, since slaves weren't able to relax that way.
More info:
The third question is Why do we dip twice: parsley in salt water, and maror (bitter herbs) in charoseth.
Why is this night different from all other nights?
1. On all other nights, we eat leavened bread and matza, on this night only matza
2. On all other nights, we eat all kinds of herbs, on this night - Marror (bitter herb)
3. On all other nights, we don't dip even once, on this night, we dip twice
4. On all other nights, we eat either sitting straight or reclining, on this night we all recline
1. Why do we eat matzah on this night?
2. Why do we eat bitter herbs on this night?
3. Why do we dip vegetables twice in salt water on this night?
4. Why do we recline on this night?
1. On all other nights we may eat bread or matzah, while on this night we eat only matzah.
2. On all other nights we may eat all kinds of vegetables, but on this night we eat bitter herbs.
3. On all other nights we don't need to dip our foods, but on this night we dip them twice.
4. On all other nights we eat while sitting (upright), but on this night we eat while reclining.
During the Passover seder, which is a special dinner held on the first night (or two nights) of Passover, the 5th out of 15 parts is the Maggid ()מגיד section, the retelling of the Passover story and asking of questions by children. These questions are the Ma Nishtana (מה נשתנה), meaning "what has changed" in Hebrew (it is the first line of the song).
Traditionally, the ma nishtana are sung by the youngest child at the table who is able to do so. The traditional questions go:
EnglishTransliterationHebrew
What has changed, this night,
from all the other nights?
Mah nishtanah, ha-laylah ha-zeh,
mi-kal ha-leylot-
מה נשתנה, הלילה הזה
מכל הלילות
That in all other nights we eat both
chametz and matzah,
on this night, we eat only matzah.
She-b'khal ha-leylot 'anu 'okhlin
chameytz u-matzah,
ha-laylah ha-zeh, kulo matzah?
שבכל הלילות אנו אוכלין
חמץ ומצה
הלילה הזה, כלו מצה
That in all other nights we eat
many vegetables,
on this night, only maror.
She-b'khal ha-leylot 'anu 'okhlin
sh'ar y'raqot,
ha-laylah ha-zeh, maror.
שבכל הלילות אנו אוכלין
שאר ירקות
הלילה הזה, מרור
That in all other nights we do not
dip vegetables even once,
on this night, we dip twice.
She-b'khal ha-leylot 'eyn 'anu
matbilin 'afilu pa'am 'achat,
ha-laylah ha-zeh, shtey f'amim?
שבכל הלילות אין אנו
מטבילין אפילו פעם אחת
הלילה הזה, שתי פעמים
That in all other nights
some eat sitting and others reclining,
on this night, we are all reclining.
She-b'khal ha-leylot 'anu 'okhlin
beyn yoshvin u-veyn m'subin,
ha-laylah ha-zeh, kulanu m'subin?
שבכל הלילות אנו אוכלין
בין יושבין ובין מסובין
הלילה הזה, כולנו מסובין
(cited from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_four_questions)
1. On all other nights we may eat bread or matzah, while on this night we eat only matzah.
2. On all other nights we may eat all kinds of vegetables, but on this night we eat bitter herbs.
3. On all other nights we don't need to dip our foods, but on this night we dip them twice.
4. On all other nights we eat while sitting (upright), but on this night we eat while reclining. See also the Related Link.
While the questions supplied by my colleague Dan Galilee are the official questions that are ritually asked at the Passover Seder, in addition any appropriate question can freely be asked at the Seder table in order to better learn about the experience of leaving Egypt and how we as Jews currently celebrate that momentous event.
Such questions may include:
Why do we eat matza and avoid leavened bread? Why do we dip our food twice? Why do we eat bitter herbs? Why do we lean/recline at the Seder (festive meal)?
It is one answer to all four. Since "we were slaves in Egypt and Hashem (God) took us out with a strong hand..."
meaning: the entire contents of the Hagadah is the answer.
To express how different this night is.
To symbolically express how different this night is.
Passover is pesach, spelled פסח in both biblical and modern Hebrew.
Passover = Pesach (פסח)
Passover is called "Pessa'h" in French. This is not a French word, but comes from Hebrew.
In Hebrew it is: Chag Pesach sameach In English it is: Happy Passover
Passover always starts on the 15th of Nisan on the Hebrew calendar. It's the same date every year on the Hebrew calendar.
If you are asking what the Hebrew word for "Passover" is, it's pesakh (פסח). If you are asking for the meaning of the holiday, it is a celebration of freedom, commemorating the exodus from Egypt.
Passover always begins on the same date on the Hebrew calendar: the 14th of Nissan.
My favourite parts are hearing the youngest ask the four questions and the negotiation to ransom back the afikomen from the children.
Passover is always celebrated at the same time on the Hebrew calendar, the 15th of Nisan. However, the Hebrew and Western calendars are not the same so Passover falls on different dates on the Western calendar.
Passover already is an English word. The Hebrew word is Pesach.