The Order of the Seder Trivia Quiz

Not to be confused with Kaddish, Kadeish is the opening part of the Seder. It means 'sanctify'. When we drink the first cup of wine, we say the Kiddush, the traditional blessing over wine, which we also say on Friday night when the Sabbath kicks in. We also put a cup of wine aside for the prophet Elijah.

On Friday nights, before eating the meal, it is customary to wash our hands, and we are not supposed to speak until the blessing for bread has been recited. There are two times when Jews wash our hands during the Seder, and Urchatz - which literally means 'and wash' - is the first. Unlike the hand washing before the Friday night dinner, we do not have to say a blessing beforehand.

Karpas is one of the traditional symbols on the Seder plate, and it means 'vegetable'. It is usually a green vegetable or herb of some sort; at Seders I've been to, parsley has been the vegetable of choice. The Karpas represents hope and rebirth, and it is dunked in salt water to represent the tears shed by the Hebrew slaves.

'Yachatz' means 'halving', and halving is what we do to the middle matzah. The matzah is a substitute for bread, as during Passover, we do not eat anything containing leaven, so normal bread is off the agenda. This is because when the Hebrews were fleeing from Egypt, they didn't have time to wait for their bread to rise. Matzot are more like big crackers and three of them are placed on a plate with a cover over the top.

The middle one is broken in two and the larger piece is the 'afikomen', or dessert, which is wrapped in a cloth and hidden.

Maggid ('telling') is the longest bit of the Seder and involves telling the Passover story, or Haggadah. The youngest child will ask the Four Questions about why the first night of Passover is different from all other nights. During the recital of the ten plagues, we spill a drop of wine for each plague. We also drink the second cup of wine and sing 'Dayenu', an ancient (and very catchy) song meaning 'it would have been enough', often while thumping the table.

'Rach'tzah' means 'washing', and unlike the first hand washing, we do say the traditional blessing said on the Sabbath. This is because the meal is coming up, although there are certain rituals that need to be done before the meal itself is eaten.

The Motzi ('who brings out') is traditionally said before breaking bread on the Sabbath. In this case, it's more like a blessing over matzah, and as well as the traditional blessing, an extra blessing is also recited for the matzah.

After saying the blessing for the matzah, we have a bite of our crackers. The piece of matzah should be the size of an olive. We do not eat the whole thing, however, for reasons that will become clear later in the quiz.

Maror is the Hebrew word for the bitter herbs, representing the bitterness of slavery. This is usually horseradish - and it's very pungent! Some Jews use bits of chopped-up horseradish, while others make a mixture called chrein, where grated horseradish is mixed with beetroot, giving it a purple colour. The horseradish or chrein is placed or spread on a piece of matzah and eaten.

Korech, or 'wraps', involves eating a Hillel sandwich. The Hillel sandwich consists of two pieces of matzah with maror in between. The maror is mixed with charoset, a sweet mixture representing the mortar used for building, to counteract the bitterness. Charoset recipes vary wildly; they will usually contain some sort of fruit, such as raisins or apples, kosher wine or grape juice, spices such as cinnamon, and nuts.

Shulchan orech is the big event - the Passover meal. Chametz, the five grains - rye, wheat, spelt, barley and oats - are all forbidden during the Passover period, the matzah excepted, so foods like pasta are out. Some Ashkenazi Jews also will not eat kitniyot, or things that can be made into flours, such as chickpeas, rice, peanuts or soya beans. (My synagogue was one place where it was customary to avoid kitniyot.) The meal traditionally starts with a boiled egg dipped in salt water; there is also a roasted egg on the Seder plate that represents the Temple sacrifice and in some traditions, the circle of life.

A fun game to play with the kids at the Seder is to get them to hunt the afikomen, which is usually hidden at some point before the meal. Some families will award prizes to whoever finds it! Once the afikomen is found, everyone takes a bite of it (although this does depend on the size of the seder) and the meal officially ends. 'Tzafun' means 'hidden'.

'Bareich' means 'bless' and after the meal has been finished and no more food is eaten, we recite the Birkat Ha'Mazon, or grace after meals. We also drink the third cup of wine and open the door to allow the prophet Elijah to enter. Some communities also put a glass of water out for Miriam, Moses' sister. Elijah is said to appear at the coming of the Moshiach, and will visit every Jewish home at the end of days.

'Hallel' means 'exalt', and it is also the name of a group of psalms sung at the Seder, mainly about the Exodus. Specifically, they are Psalms 115-118. (Psalm 118 was always one of my favourites to sing.) At this point, the door is closed. We also drink the fourth and final cup of wine, so the singing might get a bit rowdy at this point!

'Nirtzah' means 'desired'. At the end of the Seder, we say 'next year in Jerusalem' in the hope that we will still be around to celebrate in years to come, and that we will be able to return to a rebuilt Jerusalem. Some Jews believe that the Temple will be rebuilt for a third time, and that is when the Moshiach will come and Jews will return to Israel. For Jews living in Israel, the phrase is 'next year in the rebuilt Jerusalem'.