Passover Seder Prayers

The Night You Relive the Exodus

There is one night each year when the whole family sits together and tells the same story their grandparents told, and their grandparents before them. The Seder night. The table is set, the matzah is covered, and the youngest child opens their mouth to ask why this night is different. That question has been asked for thousands of years, and it still carries the same weight it always did.

Maybe you are preparing for your first Seder. Maybe you have sat at this table dozens of times. Either way, something about Pesach pulls at the heart. The longing for freedom. The gratitude for being taken out. The quiet recognition that we are still asking Hashem to redeem us from whatever holds us back.

The passover seder prayers at the center of the Haggadah are not just a retelling. They are a tefillah. The Mah Nishtanah (Four Questions), the declaration of Avadim Hayinu (We Were Slaves), Rabban Gamliel’s three essentials (Pesach, Matzah, and Maror), and the powerful words of B’chol Dor Vador (In Every Generation) carry the whole arc of yetzias Mitzrayim. Below you will find each of these texts in full Hebrew, transliteration, and English, with their deeper meanings explained, so you can say them with understanding at your Seder table.

Before You Say This Tefillah

Before the Seder begins, take a quiet moment. The table is ready. The family is gathering. But before you open the Haggadah, open your heart. Speak to Hashem simply, in your own words. He already knows what this night means to you.

Ribono Shel Olam, tonight I sit at the Seder table to remember what You did for our fathers and mothers in Mitzrayim. You heard their cry. You brought them out with a mighty hand. I am asking You tonight, please hear my cry too. Whatever weighs on my heart, whatever keeps me or my family in our own Mitzrayim, bring us out. Give me the words to tell this story with feeling, and let the kedushah of this night reach into every corner of my home. In the zechus of Rabbi Meir Baal Haness, Elokah d’Meir aneni.

If giving tzedakah, add:

In the zechus of the tzedakah I am giving for Rabbi Meir Baal Haness, please let this Seder night bring true geulah to my family. Ribono Shel Olam, I am helping Your children in Eretz Yisrael. Please help mine find freedom from every hardship we carry.

The Order of the Seder: Fifteen Steps from Kadesh to Nirtzah

The Seder follows fifteen steps, each one a deliberate movement from slavery toward freedom. Knowing the order helps you see where each tefillah fits and what you are building toward as the night unfolds.

1. Kadesh קַדֵּשׁ — Recite Kiddush over the first cup of wine. The night begins with sanctifying the moment.
2. Urchatz וּרְחַץ — Wash your hands without a berachah. A preparation for what comes next.
3. Karpas כַּרְפַּס — Dip a vegetable in salt water and eat it. The salt water recalls the tears of slavery.
4. Yachatz יַחַץ — Break the middle matzah in two. The larger piece is set aside for the afikoman.
5. Maggid מַגִּיד — Tell the story of the Exodus. This is the heart of the Seder, where the Mah Nishtanah, Avadim Hayinu, Rabban Gamliel, and B’chol Dor Vador are said.
6. Rachtzah רָחְצָה — Wash your hands with a berachah, preparing to eat matzah.
7. Motzi מוֹצִיא — Say the berachah of HaMotzi over the matzah.
8. Matzah מַצָּה — Say the special berachah for the mitzvah of eating matzah, and eat it while reclining to the left.
9. Maror מָרוֹר — Eat the bitter herbs dipped in charoses, remembering the bitterness of slavery.
10. Korech כּוֹרֵךְ — Make a sandwich of matzah and maror together, following the practice of Hillel in the time of the Beis HaMikdash.
11. Shulchan Orech שֻׁלְחָן עוֹרֵךְ — Eat the festive Yom Tov meal.
12. Tzafun צָפוּן — Eat the afikoman, the hidden piece of matzah. Nothing is eaten after this.
13. Barech בָּרֵךְ — Say Birkas HaMazon (Grace After Meals) and drink the third cup of wine.
14. Hallel הַלֵּל — Complete the Hallel psalms and drink the fourth cup of wine. Pure praise to Hashem.
15. Nirtzah נִרְצָה — The Seder is accepted. We sing “L’Shanah HaBa’ah BiYerushalayim,” next year in Yerushalayim.

Each of these fifteen steps takes you deeper into the experience of yetzias Mitzrayim. The passover seder prayers below all belong to step five, Maggid, the telling of the story, which is the longest and most spiritually charged part of the night.

Rabban Gamliel’s Three Essentials: Pesach, Matzah, and Maror

The Mishnah in Pesachim (10:5) records a halachah that shapes the entire Seder: Rabban Gamliel used to say: Whoever does not explain these three things on Pesach has not fulfilled their obligation, and these are they: Pesach, Matzah, and Maror.

This is not simply a nice custom. It is a halachic requirement. The Rambam (Hilchos Chametz u’Matzah 7:5) rules that a person who did not say these three explanations on the night of the fifteenth of Nissan has not fulfilled the mitzvah of telling the story. Each item on the Seder plate carries a reason, and that reason must be spoken aloud. Here is what each one means and why it matters.

Pesach — The Korban Pesach

פֶּסַח

The Pesach offering was a lamb that each family brought on the fourteenth of Nissan and ate together on Seder night when the Beis HaMikdash stood. The reason we discuss it: because Hashem passed over the houses of Bnei Yisrael in Mitzrayim on the night He struck the Egyptian firstborn. The word “Pesach” itself means “He passed over” or “He skipped.” While the makkah struck every Egyptian home, Hashem protected every Jewish doorpost marked with the blood of the korban.

Today we do not have the korban Pesach because there is no Beis HaMikdash. But we still explain its meaning at the Seder. The Shulchan Aruch (Orach Chaim 473:7) notes that when we discuss the Pesach, we do not lift the zeroa (shankbone) on the Seder plate, so it should not appear as though we consecrated meat as an offering outside the Mikdash. We point to it or gesture toward it instead.

The deeper message: Hashem does not strike blindly. He distinguishes. He knows exactly who is calling out to Him, and He protects them. On this night, when you tell the story of how He passed over, you are asking Him to pass over your home as well, to shield your family from whatever threatens it.

Source: Shemos 12:27 — “And you shall say: It is the Pesach offering to Hashem, Who passed over the houses of the Children of Israel in Egypt when He struck the Egyptians and saved our houses.”

Matzah — The Bread of Freedom

מַצָּה

Matzah is the unleavened bread we eat on Pesach. The reason: when Hashem came to redeem Bnei Yisrael from Mitzrayim, the geulah came so swiftly that the dough our ancestors were carrying did not have time to rise. They were driven out of Egypt in haste, and the dough baked in the sun as flat matzah cakes.

When we say this explanation at the Seder, we lift the matzah and show it to everyone at the table (Shulchan Aruch, Orach Chaim 473:7). This is the one item Rabban Gamliel says we hold up when we explain it.

The matzah teaches something about how Hashem redeems. Sometimes geulah comes so fast there is no time to prepare. The dough did not rise because Hashem did not wait. When He decides it is time, nothing delays Him. If you are sitting at the Seder feeling like redemption is far away, the matzah in your hand says otherwise. It can come in an instant.

Source: Shemos 12:39 — “And they baked the dough that they brought out of Egypt into matzah cakes, for it had not become leavened, because they were driven out of Egypt and could not delay, and they had not prepared any provisions for themselves.”

Maror — The Bitter Herbs

מָרוֹר

Maror is the bitter herb we eat at the Seder. The reason: because the Egyptians embittered the lives of our ancestors in Mitzrayim. They worked them with crushing harshness, with mortar and bricks, in the fields and in every kind of hard labor.

When we say this explanation, we lift the maror and show it to the table (Shulchan Aruch, Orach Chaim 473:7). We want everyone to see what bitterness looks like, and then to taste it.

The maror is not there to make us sad. It is there to make freedom real. You cannot fully appreciate being taken out if you do not remember what you were taken out of. The bitterness of the maror sharpens the sweetness of the matzah. Together they tell the full story: there was suffering, and Hashem ended it. Whatever bitterness you are carrying into this Pesach, the maror reminds you that bitterness is never the final chapter. After the maror comes the meal, the Hallel, and the songs of praise.

Source: Shemos 1:14 — “And they embittered their lives with hard labor, with mortar and with bricks, and with all manner of labor in the field; all their labor that they worked with them was with crushing harshness.”

These three explanations are the halachic backbone of Maggid. Everything else in the Haggadah builds around them. When you say them at your Seder, you are not just reading text. You are fulfilling a Torah obligation that connects you directly to the night of the Exodus itself.

Key Seder Texts: The Full Prayers

Pronunciation guide: ch — a soft guttural sound from the throat, as in “Bach.” ei as in “hey.” ai as in “eye.” oi (Ashkenazi) rhymes with “boy.” a (Sephardi) as in “father.”

These four texts form the emotional and halachic spine of the Haggadah. The Mah Nishtanah opens the door to the story. Avadim Hayinu tells us who we were. Rabban Gamliel grounds us in the three concrete symbols sitting on the table before us. And B’chol Dor Vador tells us who we still are: a people being redeemed, tonight, by the same Hashem who split the sea.

The Seder is structured so that the questions come first, because Chazal understood that a person learns best when they are asking. Then the answers unfold, layer by layer, until we arrive at the recognition that this is not ancient history. This is happening to us, right now, at this table.

What These Words Mean for You

Mah nishtanah halailah hazeh “Why is this night different from all other nights?”

The Haggadah does not begin with an answer. It begins with a question. And not just any question, but one asked by a child. The Gemara in Pesachim (116a) teaches that the Seder is built around questions because a child’s curiosity opens the door to telling the story. There is something deep here for you, too. Whatever you are carrying into this Pesach, the first step is not to have all the answers. The first step is to sit down, look at what is in front of you, and ask: what is different? What has changed? What do I need from Hashem tonight? The Seder gives you permission to not know, and to ask anyway.

Avadim hayinu l’Faroh b’Mitzrayim “We were slaves to Pharaoh in Egypt.”

Four words that hold all of Jewish history. We were slaves. Not our ancestors in some far-off story, but we. The Haggadah uses the word hayinu, “we were,” to place each of us inside the experience. Whatever is holding you back right now, whatever feels heavy or impossible to escape, the Seder reminds you that Hashem specializes in exactly this. He took an entire nation out of the most powerful empire on earth. He can take you out of yours. Avadim hayinu. We were slaves. But we are not slaves anymore.

B’yad chazakah uvizroa netuyah “With a strong hand and an outstretched arm.”

Hashem did not send a message. He did not delegate. The Haggadah says He brought us out Himself, b’yad chazakah, with a strong hand. The Rambam (Hilchos Chametz u’Matzah 7:1) writes that the mitzvah of telling the story on Seder night comes from the Torah itself. And the story we tell is not of a quiet rescue. It was unmistakable, and with Hashem’s own hand. When you feel like your situation is too stuck, too deep, too far gone, remember this phrase. Hashem’s arm is outstretched. He reaches into the places no one else can reach.

Kol shelo amar sheloshah devarim eilu baPesach, lo yatza yedei chovato “Whoever does not explain these three things on Pesach has not fulfilled their obligation.”

Rabban Gamliel does not say it is nice to discuss the Pesach, Matzah, and Maror. He says it is required. If you skip these three explanations, you have not fulfilled the mitzvah of the Seder. Why is this so important? Because the Seder is not just about telling a story. It is about understanding what the items on the table mean and why they are there. The Pesach, the Matzah, and the Maror are not decorations. They are physical reminders of what happened, and speaking about each one turns the retelling into a lived experience. When you hold up the matzah and say, “This is because the dough did not have time to rise,” you are not reading history. You are standing in it.

Chayav adam lir’os es atzmoi k’illu hu yatza miMitzrayim “A person is obligated to see themselves as though they personally came out of Egypt.”

This is not a suggestion. The Haggadah says chayav, obligated. The Mishnah in Pesachim (10:5) makes this the culminating point of the Maggid section. You are not just remembering something that happened to someone else. You are reliving it. The passover seder prayers are built around this idea: that Hashem’s redemption is not locked in the past. It is alive, it is personal, and it is happening at your table tonight. Close your eyes for a moment at the Seder. See yourself walking out. Feel the weight lifting. That is what this night is for.

How to Say These Tefillot at the Seder

The Seder has its own order, its own rhythm. Each of the texts above falls within Maggid, the fifth of the fifteen steps, and they build on one another in a deliberate sequence.

Mah Nishtanah is traditionally said or sung by the youngest child at the table, right after the second cup of wine is poured and the Seder plate is moved aside. If there is no child present, an adult asks the questions. Even a person sitting alone at a Seder says the Mah Nishtanah to themselves. The whole point is that the story begins with a question.

Avadim Hayinu follows immediately as the beginning of the answer. It is read aloud, often by the one leading the Seder, though many families have everyone read together. This is where the telling begins in earnest.

Rabban Gamliel’s three explanations come later in Maggid, after the discussion of the Ten Makkos. When you reach this point, the Seder plate should be in front of you. Point to the zeroa (shankbone) when you discuss the Pesach, but do not lift it. Lift the matzah when you explain it. Lift the maror when you explain it. The Shulchan Aruch (Orach Chaim 473:7) is clear about these practices. Take your time with each one. This is the section where many people rush, but it is precisely the section Rabban Gamliel says you must not skip.

B’chol Dor Vador comes just before the second cup is raised. These texts are said sitting, often reclining to the left as a sign of freedom.

Before you begin Maggid, set your kavanah. You might say quietly in your heart: “Hashem, I am about to tell the story of how You took us out of Mitzrayim. Let me feel it tonight. Let it be real for me and for everyone at this table.”

There is a deep connection between the Seder and tzedakah. The Haggadah itself opens Maggid with the words “Kol dichfin yesei v’yeichol,” all who are hungry, come and eat. Pesach is a night of sharing, of caring for others. When you give tzedakah in the zechus of Rabbi Meir Baal Haness on this night, you are joining your tefillah with an act of chesed. Your words and your actions, rising together.

Give Tzedakah for Your Pesach Freedom

The Gemara (Avodah Zarah 18b) tells the story of Rabbi Meir Baal Haness. His sister-in-law was held captive by the Romans, trapped in a place no one could reach her. Rabbi Meir called out to Hashem with the words “Elokah d’Meir aneni,” and she was brought to safety. A person trapped in darkness was led out to freedom.

That is the story of Pesach itself. An entire nation, trapped, with no way out. And Hashem reached in and brought them out. When you give tzedakah in the zechus of Rabbi Meir on Seder night, you are not davening to Rabbi Meir. You are asking Hashem to hear your tefillah in the combined zechus of this great tzaddik and your own act of chesed.

Rabbi Meir Baal Haness Charities was founded in 1799. For over two centuries it has sustained Torah scholars and families in Eretz Yisrael. The talmidei chachamim in Tiberias daven for those who reach out to them. On this night of geulah, let your tzedakah carry your tefillos straight to Shamayim.

Give Tzedakah in the Zechus of Rabbi Meir Baal Haness

Prayer and Practical Steps Together

The Seder is itself an act of hishtadlus. You are doing something, not just feeling something. You eat the matzah, taste the maror, drink the four cups. Every action at the table is a step in reliving the Exodus. That is tefillah and hishtadlus woven together.

Prepare your Seder table with care. Go over the Haggadah beforehand so the words are not strangers to you when the night arrives. If Hebrew is hard, read the English. If you are leading, prepare a few thoughts to share, especially on Rabban Gamliel’s three explanations. Even a brief comment on why we eat matzah or why we eat maror can bring the table to life. The Rambam writes that telling the story at length is praiseworthy, and even small divrei Torah make a difference.

If this Pesach finds you in a hard place, whether it is health, parnassah, shalom bayis, or something else, use the Seder as a time to speak to Hashem directly. Between the formal texts, in the quiet moments, pour out your heart. The Seder night is called a leil shimurim, a night of guarding (Shemos 12:42). Hashem is especially close on this night. Take advantage of it.

For families with young children, keep things engaging. Let the children ask, let them search for the afikoman, let them stay up as long as they can. The mitzvah of the Seder is to transmit this story to the next generation. That is the deepest hishtadlus of all.

A Blessing for Your Seder Night

You came here to prepare your heart for the Seder. That is already a beautiful thing. You want this night to mean something. You want to feel it, not just go through the motions.

May Hashem open your heart on this Seder night. May the words of the Haggadah come alive at your table, and may every person sitting with you feel the kedushah of this evening. May whatever is weighing on you, whatever Mitzrayim you are carrying, begin to lift. May you taste freedom in the matzah, feel redemption in the story, and know deep in your neshamah that the same Hashem who brought us out then is bringing you out now. May these passover seder prayers carry your heart all the way to geulah.

You can submit a prayer request to the talmidei chachamim in Tiberias at no cost. They will daven for you and your family by name through Rabbi Meir Baal Haness Charities. And if you would like to give tzedakah in Rabbi Meir’s zechus as well, your kindness will rise together with your tefillah.

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