Haggadah:Simanei HaSeder – Components and Mnemonics/0

The Seder's Components and Their Mnemonics

Introduction

We open our Seders with a table of contents for the evening in the form of "סימני הסדר".   The most familiar version lists fourteen-fifteen¹ sections:
 
קַדֵשׁ | וּרְחַץ | כַּרְפַּס | יַחַץ | מַגִּיד | רָחְצָה | מוֹצִיא-מַצָּה | מָרוֹר | כּוֹרֵךְ | שֻׁלְחָן עוֹרֵךְ | צָפוּן | בָּרֵךְ | הַלֵּל | נִרְצָה
 
There are many variations of this list.  Some are quite verbose, containing explicit directions and halakhot for each component,² while others are concise mnemonics,³ enigmatic to those unfamiliar with the rites.  The differences between the lists often reflect varying customs of the Seder.  Some examples follow.

The Signs of R. Meir of Rothenburg

R. Meir's list varies is several aspects from the above:

• Legal directions and stage directions
• As opposed to the above, R. Meir's signs incorporate legal rulings.  Thus, for example, he explains the order of blessings when one must incorporate the havdalah service into the Kiddush, directs one when to say certain blessings, and includes the obligatory measurements for matzah and maror.
• R. Meir also adds more explicit directions such as when to the lift the Seder plate or pour the wine.  He spells out that one must break the matzah, keeping part of it for later.
• Varying customs
• Final Blessing after Kiddush – The Maharam directs one to say a blessing (ברכה אחרונה) after Kiddush.  This reflects an understanding that each of the four cups of wine constitutes its own individual obligation, requiring its own blessing both before and after.⁴  For elaboration, see Four Cups.
• Blessing after first hand-washing – Today most people⁵ do not make a blessing over the washing of hands before the dipping of karpas, but the earlier practice, attested to by the Gemara, Geonim and early Rishonim, was to make one. It is first in the twelfth century that authorities raise the idea that the blessing should be eliminated since the laws of impurities are no longer kept.⁶
• Pouring of Second Cup - R. Meir notes that one pours the second cup after saying "הָא לַחְמָא עַנְיָא" (rather than beforehand).  This might reflect an understanding that the passage is connected to Yachatz rather than to Maggid. See Ha Lachma Anya for more.
• Nirzah - There is no mention of these added praises at all, reflecting their status as an appendix to the main rituals.

The Signs of the Maharshal

• Legal instructions and stage directions - Like R. Meir, the Maharshal also adds directions, mentioning the blessings to be recited, assorted measurements, and when to recline, pour the wine or lift the seder plate.  He also reminds the participants what they should be thinking about when eating matzah or maror, and mentions that one should drink the wine, "דרך חירות".
• Varying customs
  
• Washing before Kiddush – Like other Ashkenazic authorities, Maharshal generally washed for bread before Kiddush; here he similarly directs to wash for karpas at this point.
•  Final Blessing for Karpas – Maharshal states that one should make a final blessing over karpas, assuming that people would have eaten an olive's worth of vegetables.  Though today many eat only a small portion, eliminating the obligation for a final blessing,originally many ate a significant amount. See Karpas for a discussion of the evolution of the custom.
• Pouring the Second Cup – Like R. Meir above, Maharshal also mentions pouring the second cup only after "הָא לַחְמָא עַנְיָא".
• Removing and replacing the Matzot – The Maharshal speaks of "distancing" the matzot and then returning them to the table, a reference to the idea of "עקירת השולחן" mentioned in the gemara.  Today this is replaced by covering or uncovering the matzot.
  
  

¹ This depends on whether one counts "מוֹצִיא-מַצָּה " as one or two components.

² See, for instance, the signs of the Terumat HaDashen brought in Leket Yosher which consist of several full paragraphs.

³ See, for example, the list of R. Ovranik brought in Leket Yosher: קר"י חכמ"ה ב"ן המל"ך אמ"ן. The letters of the acronym are then explained: ק' קידוש, ר' רחיצה, י' ירקות, ח' חולק, כ' כהא, מ' מוזג, ה' הגדה, ב' ברכת יין, נ' נטילה, ה' המוציא, מ' מצה, ל' לטיך, כ' כריכה, א' אפיקומן, מ' מים אח', נ' נברך.

⁴ He notes that after the second cup one does not say a final blessing, but this is only because he maintains that ברכת המזון (the final blessing after bread) also includes any wine that is drunk immediately before a meal.

⁵ The Yemenite community is an exception.

⁶ Interestingly, though R. Meir of Rothenburg directs one to say a blessing here, he himself was not accustomed to doing so, and explained that that the law was no longer applicable.