Pesach: Urchatz and Karpas at the Seder
- In Moadim
AI summary (may contain mistakes)
Why do we wash our hands at the Seder before karpas? Chazal instituted karpas so the children ask, and its name carries remazim such as samach perach and the kesones passim. Chazal treat unwatched hands as a sheni l'tumah that makes a liquid a rishon, so a food dipped in salt water is a reason to wash. Some explain the care tonight as a way to get the children to ask, others as reenacting the meal of the Korban Pesach in the Beis HaMikdash.
Key points
- Chazal instituted karpas so the children ask why food comes before the matzah.
- Chazal say a liquid touched by hands, which are a sheni l'tumah, becomes a rishon.
- Per the Shulchan Aruch some wash for wet food, while the Magen Avraham says we no longer do.
