What differentiates this night from all other nights?

1. On all other nights we eat leavened and unleavened bread; this night, only unleavened.

2. On all other nights we eat other vegetables; tonight only bitter herbs.

3. On all other nights we don't dip our food even one time; tonight we dip it twice.

4. On all other nights we eat either sitting or reclining; tonight we all recline.

(26) And when your children ask you, ‘What do you mean by this rite?’(27) you shall say, ‘It is the passover sacrifice to the LORD, because G-d passed over the houses of the Israelites in Egypt when G-d smote the Egyptians, but saved our houses.’” The people then bowed low in homage.

(8) And you shall explain to your child on that day, ‘It is because of what the LORD did for me when I went free from Egypt.’

(14) And when, in time to come, your child asks you, saying, ‘What does this mean?’ you shall say to them, ‘It was with a mighty hand that the LORD brought us out from Egypt, the house of bondage.

(20) When, in time to come, your children ask you, “What mean the decrees, laws, and rules that the LORD our God has enjoined upon you?”(21) you shall say to your children, “We were slaves to Pharaoh in Egypt and the LORD freed us from Egypt with a mighty hand.(22) The LORD wrought before our eyes marvelous and destructive signs and portents in Egypt, against Pharaoh and all his household;(23) and us G-d freed from there, that G-d might take us and give us the land that G-d had promised on oath to our ancestors.

(2) It's a mitzvah to make it known to children, even if they didn't ask, as it is said (Exodus 13:8) "and you shall tell your child." The father should teach according to the understanding of his child. How? If the child is young or foolish, he should say to them, 'My child, we were all slaves like that handmaid, or like that servant, in Egypt, and on this night, the Holy One, blessed be G-d, redeemed us and brought us out to freedom.' And if the child is older and wise, he should teach them what happened in Egypt and about the miracles that were done for us through Moses--all is according to the understanding of his child.

The Sages taught in a baraita: All are obligated in these four cups, including men, women, and children. Rabbi Yehuda said: What benefit do children receive from wine? They do not enjoy it. Rather, one distributes to themroasted grains and nuts on Passover eve, so that they will not sleep and also so they will ask the four questions at night. They said about Rabbi Akiva that he would distribute roasted grains and nuts to children on Passover eve, so that they would not sleep and so they would ask. It was taught in a baraita that Rabbi Eliezer says: One grabs the matzot on the nights of Passoveron account of the children, sothey will not sleep and they will inquire into the meaning of this unusual practice.

Rav Shimi bar Ashi said: Matza must be placed before each and every participant at the seder. Each participant in a seder would recline on a couch at his own personal table. Likewise, bitter herbs must be placed before each and every participant, and ḥaroset must be placed before each and every participant. And during the seder, before the meal, one shall remove the table only from before the one reciting the Haggadah. The other tables, which correspond to the seder plates used nowadays, are left in their place.

The Gemara asks: Why does one remove the table? The school of Rabbi Yannai say: So that the children will notice that something is unusual and they will ask: Why is this night different from all other nights? The Gemara relates: Abaye was sitting before Rabba when he was still a child. He saw that they were removing the table from before him, and he said to those removing it: We have not yet eaten, and you are taking the table away from us? Rabba said to him: You have exempted us from reciting the questions of: Why is this night different [ma nishtana], as you have already asked what is special about the seder night.

GEMARA:The Sages taught: If his son is wise and knows how to inquire, his son asks him. And if he is not wise, his wife asks him. And if even his wife is not capable of asking or if he has no wife, he asks himself. And even if two Torah scholars who know the halakhot of Passover are sitting together and there is no one else present to pose the questions, they ask each other [this leads into the Ma Nishtana]

(4) The attendants poured (literally: mixed) the second cup for the leader of the seder, and here the child asks their father the questions about the differences between Passover night and a regular night. And if the child does not have the intelligence to ask questions on their own, their father teaches them the questions. The mishna lists the questions: Why is this night different from all other nights? As on all other nights we eat leavened bread and matza as preferred; on this night all our bread is matza. As on all other nights we eat other vegetables; on this night we eat bitter herbs. The mishna continues its list of the questions. When the Temple was standing one would ask: As on all other nights we eat either roasted, stewed, or cooked meat, but on this night all the meat is the roasted meat of the Paschal lamb. The final question was asked even after the destruction of the Temple: As on all other nights we dip the vegetables in a liquid during the meal only once; however, on this night we dip twice.And according to the intelligence and the ability of the child, his father teaches them about the Exodus. When teaching his child about the Exodus he begins with the Jewish people’s disgrace and concludes with their glory. And he expounds from the passage: “An Aramean tried to destroy my father” (Deuteronomy 26:5), the declaration one recites when presenting his first fruits at the Temple, until he concludes explaining the entire section.

(11) And this is the law of the sacrifice of peace-offerings, which one may offer unto the LORD.(12) If he offer it for a thanksgiving, then he shall offer with the sacrifice of thanksgiving unleavened cakes mingled with oil, and unleavened wafers spread with oil, and (leavened) cakes mingled with oil, of fine flour soaked.

The mishna states that one of the questions is: Why is this night different from all other nights? As on all other nights we dip once; however, on this night we dip twice. Rava strongly objects to this statement of the mishna: Is that to say that on every other day there is no alternative but to dip once? Is there an obligation to dip at all on other days, as indicated by the wording of the mishna? Rather, Rava said that this is what the mishna is teaching: As on all other nights we are not obligated to dip even once; however, on this night we are obligated to dip twice.

Rav Safra strongly objects to this explanation: Is it obligatory for the children? As previously mentioned, the reason one dips twice is to encourage the children to ask questions. How can this be called an obligation? Rather, Rav Safra said that this is what the mishna is teaching: We do not normally dip even once; however, on this night we dip twice. This wording is preferable, as it indicates the performance of an optional act.

Therefore, the mishna teaches us that regardless [of the vegetable used] one requires two dippings, so that there be a conspicuous distinction for the children.

(5)Rabban Gamliel would say: Anyone who did not saythese three matters on Passover has not fulfilled his obligation: The Paschal lamb, matza, and bitter herbs. When one mentions these matters, he must elaborate and explain them: The Paschal lamb is brought because the Omnipresent passed over [pasaḥ] the houses of our forefathers in Egypt, as it is stated: “That you shall say: It is the sacrifice of the Lord’s Paschal offering for the Lord passed over the houses of the children of Israel in Egypt, when God smote the Egyptians, and delivered our houses” (Exodus 12:27). Rabban Gamliel continues to explain: The reason for matza is because our forefathers were redeemed from Egypt, as it is stated: “And they baked the dough that they took out of Egypt as cakes of matzot, for it was not leavened, as they were thrust out of Egypt and could not tarry, neither had they prepared for themselves any victual” (Exodus 12:39). The reason for bitter herbs is because the Egyptians embittered our forefathers’ lives in Egypt, as it is stated: “And they embittered their lives with hard service, in mortar and in brick; in all manner of service in the field, all the service that they made them serve was with rigor” (Exodus 1:14). The tanna of the mishna further states: In each and every generation a person must view themselves as though they personally left Egypt, as it is stated: “And you shall tell your child on that day, saying: It is because of this which the Lord did for me when I came forth out of Egypt” (Exodus 13:8). In every generation, each person must say: “This which the Lord did for me,” and not: This which the Lord did for my ancestors. The mishna continues with the text of the Haggadah. Therefore we are obligated to thank, praise, glorify, extol, exalt, honor, bless, revere, and laud [lekales] the One who performed for our forefathers and for us all these miracles: God took us out from slavery to freedom, from sorrow to joy, from mourning to a Festival, from darkness to a great light, and from enslavement to redemption. And we will say before God: Halleluya. At this point one recites the hallel that is said on all joyous days. Since one does not complete hallel at this point in the seder, the mishna asks:

(3) Speak to all the congregation of Israel, saying: In the tenth day of this month every man shall take a lamb, according to their fathers’ houses, a lamb for a household;... (8) They shall eat the flesh that night, roast with fire and matzah; with bitter herbs they shall eat it.(9) Don't eat it raw, nor at all sodden with water, but roast with fire...

(7) You shall cook and eat it at the place that the LORD your God will choose; and in the morning you may start back on your journey home.

The attendants brought vegetables before the leader of the seder prior to the meal, if there were no other vegetables on the table. He dips the ḥazeret into water or vinegar, to taste some food before he reaches the dessert of the bread, i.e., the bitter herbs, which were eaten after the matza. They brought before him matza andḥazeretand ḥaroset, and at least two cooked dishes in honor of the Festival. The tanna comments that this was the practice, although eating ḥaroset is not a mitzva but merely a custom. Rabbi Eliezer ben Tzadok says: Actually, it is a mitzva to eat ḥaroset. And in the period when the Temple stood and they offered the Paschal lamb, they brought before him the body of the Paschal lamb.

GEMARA:Rava said: When mentioning the exodus from Egypt one must say: And G-d took us out from there. Furthermore, Rava said: When one mentions matza in the list of the three matters one must recall during the seder, one must lift it for display before the assembled company. Likewise, when discussing bitter herbs, one must raise them. However, nowadays one need not raise the meat. And not only that, but it is prohibited to do so, for if one lifts the meat it appears as though they are eating sacrificial meat outside the Temple. An observer might think they are presenting it as the meat of a Paschal lamb, and it is prohibited by Torah law to slaughter a sheep as a Paschal lamb outside the Temple.

(2) ... We [then] pour the second cup; and here the child asks. And [then] the reader says, "What differentiates this night from all [other] nights? On all other nights we don't dip even once; but tonight twice. On all other nights we eat chametz and matzah; but tonight it is all matzah. On all other nights we eat meat roasted, boiled, or cooked; but tonight it is all roasted. On all other nights we eat other vegetables; but tonight it is all bitter herbs. On all other nights we eat whether sitting or reclining; but tonight we are all reclining."

(3) At this time, one does not say "tonight it is all roasted" - since we do not have a sacrifice.

This night, we only eat roasted meat. While the Second Temple stood, this is how the child was instructed to ask.

A person may not eat until it gets dark on the eve of Pesach [from] close to [the time of] the afternoon offering. Even the poorest person in Israel may not eat [on the eve of Pesach] until reclining [at the night's Seder]. And [the communal officers] must give them no fewer than four cups of wine, and [they must do so] even [if they receive funds] from the charity plate.

We learned in the mishna that even the poorest of Jews should not eat until they recline. It was stated that amora’im discussed the requirement to recline. Everyone agrees that matza requires reclining, i.e., one must recline when eating matza, and bitter herbs do not require reclining. With regard to wine, it was stated in the name of Rav Naḥman that wine requires reclining, and it was also stated in the name of Rav Naḥman that wine does not require reclining.The Gemara explains: And these two statements do not disagree with each other: This statement is referring to the first two cups, and that statement is referring to the last two cups. However, it was not clear which two cups require reclining according to Rav Naḥman. Some say the explanation in this manner and some say it in that manner. The Gemara elaborates: Some say it in this manner, that the first two cups require reclining, as it is now that freedom begins. Since reclining is a sign of freedom, while discussing the exodus from Egypt it is appropriate to drink while reclining. By contrast, the last two cups do not require reclining, because what was already was. In other words, by this point one has completed the discussion of the Exodus and has reached the latter stages of the seder.And some say it in that manner and claim that on the contrary, the last two cups require reclining, as it is at that time that there is freedom. However, the first two cups do not require reclining, as one still says: We were slaves. The Gemara concludes: Now that it was stated so, and it was stated so, i.e., there are two conflicting opinions and it cannot be proven which two cups require reclining, both these sets of cups and those require reclining.The Gemara continues to discuss the halakha of reclining. Lying on one’s back is not called reclining. Reclining to the right is not called reclining, as free men do not recline in this manner. People prefer to recline on their left and use their right hand to eat, whereas they find it more difficult to eat the other way. And not only that, but if one reclines to the right, perhaps the windpipe will precede the esophagus. The food will enter the windpipe, and one will come into danger of choking.

One's father teaches them [to ask]: "Why is this night different from all [other] nights? On all [other] nights, we dip [vegetables] once, [but] on this night, we dip [vegetables] twice.

On all [other] nights, we eat chametz (leavened grain products) and matzah, [but] on this night, it is all matzah.

On all [other] nights, we eat meat roasted, stewed or boiled, [but] on this night, it is all roasted. "...

(1) We pour the second cup and remove the Seder plate as if we have finished the Seder so the children will wonder and ask.

(2) Why is this night different from all other nights?

On all other nights we don’t even dip once, and on this night, twice.

On all other nights we eat chametz and matzah, and on this night, only matzah.

On all other nights we eat many vegetables, and on this night, maror.

On all other nights we eat and drink sitting and reclining, and on this night we all recline.