What are the Passover prayers and blessings?

Passover Prayers and Blessings

Passover (Pesach) is rich with prayers, blessings, and liturgical recitations that span the entire eight days (seven in Israel) of the holiday. The centerpiece is the Haggadah Shel Pesach — the Passover Haggadah — which structures the Seder night with blessings, narration, praise, and thanksgiving. The prayers draw from Torah commandments, Psalms, and rabbinic tradition, all oriented around the central theme of remembering and reliving the Exodus from Egypt.

Key Takeaways

The Seder night follows a 15-step order (order = seder) with blessings and recitations prescribed by the Haggadah.
Hallel (Psalms of praise, including Psalm 114) is recited on Passover, split between the beginning and end of the Seder.
Matzah and other Seder elements each carry their own rabbinic blessings (brachot).
Special prayers are added to the daily Amidah and Birkat Hamazon throughout the holiday.
The central Torah commandment is to tell (v'higadta) the story of the Exodus to one's children [Exodus 13:8].

The Torah Foundation for Passover Prayer and Recitation

The obligation to verbally recount the Exodus is rooted in the Torah itself:

"וְהִגַּדְתָּ֣ לְבִנְךָ֔ בַּיּ֥וֹם הַה֖וּא לֵאמֹ֑ר בַּעֲב֣וּר זֶ֗ה עָשָׂ֤ה יְהֹוָה֙ לִ֔י בְּצֵאתִ֖י מִמִּצְרָֽיִם" "And you shall tell your son on that day, saying: 'It is because of this that Hashem did [these miracles] for me when I went out of Egypt.'" [Exodus 13:8]

The command to eat matzah for seven days — described as lechem oni (bread of affliction) — is paired with the imperative to remember and relive the Exodus [Deuteronomy 16:3]:

"כִּ֣י בְחִפָּז֗וֹן יָצָ֙אתָ֙ מֵאֶ֣רֶץ מִצְרַ֔יִם לְמַ֣עַן תִּזְכֹּ֗ר אֶת־י֤וֹם צֵֽאתְךָ֙ מֵאֶ֣רֶץ מִצְרַ֔יִם כֹּ֖ל יְמֵ֥י חַיֶּֽיךָ" "For in haste you went out of Egypt, so that you may remember the day of your departure from Egypt all the days of your life." [Deuteronomy 16:3]

The Seder Night: The 15 Steps and Their Blessings

The Haggadah follows 15 structured steps (simanim). The major blessings and prayers include:

1. Kiddush (קידוש) — Sanctification

Recited over a cup of wine at the start of the Seder.
Includes the standard Yom Tov Kiddush blessing, the blessing over wine (borei pri hagafen), and Shehecheyanu (thanking God for reaching this season).
"בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה ה׳... בּוֹרֵא פְּרִי הַגָּפֶן" — "Blessed are You, Hashem... who creates the fruit of the vine."

2. Urchatz — Washing hands (no blessing recited here, unlike the usual hand-washing before bread).

3. Karpas — Dipping vegetables

Blessing: "בּוֹרֵא פְּרִי הָאֲדָמָה" — "who creates the fruit of the ground."

4. Maggid (מַגִּיד) — The Haggadah Narration

This is the heart of the Seder and contains several sub-units:

Ha Lachma Anya — Aramaic declaration: "This is the bread of affliction that our ancestors ate in Egypt..."
The Four Questions (Mah Nishtanah) — asked by the children.
The Four Sons — a midrashic teaching on engaging children at different levels.
Telling the story — beginning with "Avadim hayinu" (we were slaves) and recounting the Exodus through Midrash on Deuteronomy 26:5-8.
The Ten Plagues — listed while spilling drops of wine.
Dayenu — A beloved poem of 15 stanzas thanking God for each step of the redemption.
Pesach, Matzah, Maror — Rabban Gamliel's teaching [Mishnah Pesachim 10:5] that one who does not explain these three has not fulfilled the obligation.
First Half of Hallel (Psalms 113–114) — recited before the meal.

Psalm 114 opens: "בְּצֵ֣את יִ֭שְׂרָאֵל מִמִּצְרָ֑יִם" — "When Israel went out of Egypt..." [Psalms 114:1], directly linking Hallel to the Exodus narrative.

5. Blessings Over Matzah

Two blessings are recited before eating matzah:

"הַמּוֹצִיא לֶחֶם מִן הָאָרֶץ" — "who brings forth bread from the earth."
"אֲשֶׁר קִדְּשָׁנוּ בְּמִצְווֹתָיו וְצִוָּנוּ עַל אֲכִילַת מַצָּה" — "who sanctified us with His commandments and commanded us concerning eating matzah."

6. Blessing Over Maror (Bitter Herbs)

"...וְצִוָּנוּ עַל אֲכִילַת מָרוֹר" — "who commanded us concerning the eating of bitter herbs."

7. Birkat Hamazon (Grace After Meals)

Recited after the Seder meal, over the third cup of wine.
A special paragraph, Ya'aleh v'Yavo, is inserted, mentioning the holiday of Pesach.

8. Second Half of Hallel (Psalms 115–118)

Recited after the meal, over the fourth cup of wine.
Concludes with Hallel HaGadol (Psalm 136) and Nishmat Kol Chai — a soaring prayer of praise for all of God's wonders.

9. Nirtzah — Conclusion

The Seder concludes with songs: Chad Gadya, Echad Mi Yodea, and the declaration "L'shanah haba'ah b'Yerushalayim" — "Next year in Jerusalem!"

Hallel — The Psalms of Praise

Hallel is a central Passover prayer obligation, distinct from other holidays. The Talmud teaches that the full Hallel is recited on the Seder night because it was originally sung by the Jewish people at the sea [Pesachim 117a].

Full Hallel is recited on the first night(s) of