The 1st day of the Festival of Matzos1

לְמָרוֹר וַחֲזֶרֶת - הֵן חְרֵיין וְהֵן סאַלאַט. קִדּוּשׁ בַּעֲמִידָה. הֵא לַחְמָא - הַהֵא בְּצֵירֵי. בְּבִרְכַּת אֲכִילַת מָרוֹר מְכַוְנִים גַּם עַל מָרוֹר שֶׁבַּכּוֹרֵךְ.

Horseradish and romaine lettuce are both used for both the maror and the chazeres.

Kiddush is recited while standing.2

The first word in the phrase Hei lachma anya is vocalized with a tzeirei [rather than a kamatz].3

When reciting the blessing al achilas maror, one should also have in mind the maror in the korech.

בַּסֵּדֶר הָרִאשׁוֹן הָיָה אַאַמוּ"ר מְקַצֵר בִּכְדֵי לֶאֱכוֹל הָאֲפִיקוֹמָן לִפְנֵי חֲצוֹת, אֲבָל בַּשֵּׁנִי הָיָה מַאֲרִיךְ. מַתְחִיל לִפְנֵי שָׁעָה ט וְגוֹמְרוֹ בְּשָׁעָה ג-ד אַחַר חֲצוֹת, וְהָיָה מַאֲרִיךְ בְּבֵיאוּר הַהַגָּדָה.

אַדְמוּ"ר הַזָּקֵן אָמַר: מֵיכְלָא דִמְהֵימְנוּתָא — לַיְלָה הָרִאשׁוֹן. מֵיכְלָא דְאַסְוָתָא — לַיְלָה הַשֵּׁנִי. אַז דִי רְפוּאָה בְּרֵיינְגט דִי אֱמוּנָה, וואָס עֶר זאָגט אַ דאַנק דִיר ג-ט פאַר מַיין רְפוּאָה, אִיז עֶר דאָך געֶוועֶן קראַנק. אָבּעֶר אַז דִי אֱמוּנָה בְּרֵיינְגט דִי רְפוּאָה, אִיז מעֶן לְכַתְּחִלָּה נִיט קְראַנק.

During the first Seder, my revered father, the Rebbe [Rashab], would limit [his oral commentary on the Haggadah], so that the Afikoman could be eaten before midnight.4

On the second night, by contrast, he would elaborate. [The second Seder] would begin before 9 p.m. and conclude between 3 and 4 a.m. He would explain the Haggadah at length.

The Alter Rebbe once said: “On the first night, matzah is ‘the bread of faith.’ On the second night, it is ‘the bread of healing.’5 When healing leads to faith, in that a person says, ‘I thank You, G‑d, for my recovery,’ he was, nevertheless, sick. But when faith generates healing, a person is not sick in the first place.”6

Delving Deeply

A Jew believes in G‑d because his soul is an “actual part of G‑d Above.”7 Eating matzah nurtures our awareness of this inner spiritual potential. In this vein, the Mitteler Rebbe8 explained: Our Sages teach that9 “a child does not know how to call to his father until he has tasted grain.” Just as partaking of grain grants a child the ability to acknowledge his father, so too eating matzah on Pesach allows us to recognize our Father in Heaven.

The Rebbe Maharashexpressed the idea more graphically:10 “When a person eats matzah, he is eating G‑dliness.”