Other diarists have covered earlier steps in the Passover seder. I'm not going to spend too much time on them, except to point out that seder literally means "order" - the nature of this dinner gathering is that it is ordered and structured and scheduled in a particular way, never mind the ordinary chaos that comes from planning such an event with human beings involved.
Anyway, I am here to describe the parts of the Passover feast that actually relate to, you know, food. It starts with Rochtzah, the second washing of hands - this time with a blessing.
A note on transliteration: it's idiosyncratic and I apologize if there are inconsistencies or it gives you a headache.
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Before I go explaining that, I want to explain the deal with washing one's hands to begin with.
Remember Urchatz, the previous washing? Well, it keeps in tune with the idea of water being a purifying agent - not only physically removing dirt, but as a form of Divinely-sponsored rebirth. There is another connection to a bit of the mysticism in the Jewish religion, in which aspects of our universe are represented by the four cardinal elements (earth, water, wind, fire): water symbolizes the divine aspects of mercy and kindness, along with a ton of other things.
Now, normally one would wash his or her hands, or even his whole body, to remove a spiritual impurity, whether or not he also needed to physically clean up - which he would have to do first, in any case. Foods which are wet can acquire this impurity (I know it's a gross oversimplification but I'm not confident in my ability to describe it). Where there is a commandment to specifically do something or other in a state of spiritual purity (like eating bread, or sex), the use of water for washing is accompanied by a blessing. However, in Urchatz, where the vegetables could previously have come in contact with water and therefore become susceptible to contamination, it was the custom in Talmudic times to wash one's hands before touching them. As this was merely a custom among the pious and not a commandment, though, there was no blessing associated with it.
Another version of the explanation says that, the first time, we don't use a blessing in order to puzzle children and make them ask questions. You pick the one you prefer.
In any case... in Rochtzah, there is a blessing. Why? This immediately precedes the revealing and breaking of the bread, Matza, which is then eaten... and there's a commandment both to eat a proper meal, which isn't considered such unless you ate bread, and also to eat Matza specifically. Hence, the hands are washed with a blessing, this time.
How is the washing done? It's pretty simple. The washer's hands should be clean, and all the skin exposed; there are reasonable exceptions, such as bandages or jewelry that cannot be removed without great difficulty. The washer should then fill a container with water and pour it over his hands, or if he cannot do this on his own, someone should do it for him. Then the hands are brought together (or clasped, or rubbed, or etc.), and the blessing is pronounced: "Blessed art thou etc... who commanded us to lift up our hands." I admit to ignorance why washing our hands counts as lifting them up, while dipping one's whole body in a suitable body of water is referred to as "dipping".
Anyway, once all members of the seder have washed their hands and said the appropriate blessing, they proceed back to the table for the bit with the bread-that-isn't-really-bread: Motzi matza.
There are two parts to this stage. First, the leader of the seder (typically the head of household) picks up at least the two intact matzot, and recites the blessing over bread: "Blessed art thou etc... who brings bread from the earth." Then he recites the second blessing, which references the commandment specifically to eat matza.
The next two parts involve a bitter-tasting plant of some kind - maror, in the two stages of the seder called "Maror" and "Korech".
In Maror, the titular bitter herb is eaten (along with a sweet ground-up fruit dish called haroset) with a blessing specifically on the eating of this bitter stuff. This is an explicit commandment, after all, and many of the explicit positive commandments ("Do this") are associated with blessings of some kind. Generally a piece of raw, freshly-cut horseradish (entertainingly bitter) is dipped into the haroset, and then it's given a bit of a shake so not too much sweet stuff adheres to the horseradish. The bitterness symbolizes the bitterness of exile and servitude.
The nature of the haroset is also interesting. Among Ashkenazi traditions, the stuff is usually made with nuts, apples, and red wine, among other ingredients; the nuts and apples (which are ground up, remember) symbolize mortar. The wine both plays its part in the mortar mixture and also symbolizes the blood shed, along with the sweat and tears, by the Israelites.
So, fine. We eat this bitter stuff, after a blessing, and then... Korech. Directly drawn from the Hebrew word for "sandwich", this part basically involves making a... sandwich. A piece or two of matza, some of the bitter plant of choice (I like horseradish and romaine lettuce, personally), and a bit of the haroset. A little paragraph is recited here, that says, "Thus did [the legendary Talmudic rabbi] Hillel in the time of the Temple: he would combine the Passover offering, matza and maror, as it says: 'They shall eat it with matza and maror.'"
At this point comes the second of the two best-known parts of the seder: the former was Maggid, the storytelling. This part, Shulchan oreich, is... the food. Generally a fair variety of food. Often a lot of food. Literally, the name of this part means "set table", which is appropriate, because this is where you actually need that fork and that plate.
During dinner, wine may be drunk freely, although of course one should try not to drink so much that he becomes drunk, or unable to stomach the remaining two cups...
Tzafun: literally, "hidden". Each member of the seder gets his dessert: a piece of matza. After this, one should not eat or drink anything but the remaining two cups of wine (and water, if necessary). The reason it's called "hidden" is that the matza people are fed from is the piece broken off earlier in the seder, that was hidden by some mischievious person or other in order to play games (and get kids asking questions).
At this point the third cup of wine is poured, and everyone recites the usual grace after meals, with the added addition of a paragraph devoted to holidays. This part is called Barech, which means "bless". At the end of this grace, which is a prayer of modest length, the members of the seder recite the blessing over wine again, and all drink.
The fourth cup is then poured, and the dinner part of the seder ends with a somewhat disturbing short prayer. Entitled "Pour out your vengeance", it asks God to... you know what, I'll quote Chabad (chabad.org):
Pour out Your wrath upon the nations that do not acknowledge You, and upon the kingdoms that do not call upon Your Name. For they have devoured Jacob and laid waste his home. Pour out Your indignation upon them, and let the wrath of Your anger overtake them. Pursue them with anger, and destroy them from beneath the heavens of the L0rd.
Thousands upon thousands of paragraphs of commentary have been written about this one, somewhat out-of-place paragraph.
I have been trying to understand the religion I grew up with for about seventeen years now, since the time I was able to clearly articulate my doubts. I have read a lot of what has been said about this paragraph - by no means all, not even most, but still much.
Not one explanation has satisfied me; even the most benign - which claims that this only calls for vengeance against those who actively seek to destroy Jews and Judaism - leaves me cold. And even though I've grown up in a temperate climate where Passover nights are typically a bit frigid, and this passage is typically recited with the door of the house open, it's not just the weather that gives me that chill, pulls my ears back and raises the hair on my neck.
In any case... after this there is an invocation to Elijah, the prophet who ascended living into Heaven. Legend has it that he will herald the appearance of the anointed king, scion of the Davidic line, whose arrival on the world stage will spell the end of history as we know it. (As in: an end to warfare as a political tool.) Specifically, Elijah is called upon to "swiftly, within our days, come to us with the anointed scion of David".
The door is then closed, and everyone feels a little bit warmer. Whether or not the level of the wine in Elijah's cup decreases is a subject of much debate among the easily entertained.
That about sums it up for the dinner portion. All that's left is Hallel and Nirtzah. And someone else will be writing about those. Look out for it tomorrow.