This is a nineteenth-century European postcard featuring a photograph of a boy eating matzah and standing next to two sacks of matzot. The title is Ma Nishtana Halayla Hazeh (How is this night different from other nights?), one of the four questions from the Haggadah which is usually recited by children. The Four Questions raise the unique features of Pesach which include eating matzah.
The postcard was part of a set of postcards published at the end of the nineteenth century, illustrating the Jewish festivals in Western Europe. These postcards were used as greeting cards for the New Year.
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Seder – Seder night is a special evening on the first night of Pesach (and the second night in the Diaspora). The Seder is often celebrated in large groups and with extended families and involves the telling of the story of the Exodus of the Israelites from Egypt and their delivery from slavery. The story is detailed in the Haggadah which includes quotes from the biblical narration of the Exodus and from other Jewish sources, many of which are sung using traditional melodies. The Seder includes drinking four cups of wine, eating traditional symbolic foods such as matzah and charoset, and playing games that are directed to helping the children present understand the story. Towards the end of the Seder a festive meal is served, usually with foods that are kosher for Pesach and do not include hametz (leavened foods). The Seder has evolved throughout history, and many new traditions have been added, for example, keeping a seat empty for persecuted Jews, interfaith Seders, and special feminist Seders.
Haggadah - While Jews scattered around the world have adapted to changing times and different places, adopting independent languages and customs, the annual telling of the Haggadah – the story of the Exodus from Egypt– remained unchanged, taking place every year on the eve of Passover eve during the Seder:
"And you shall tell your son on that day, saying: It is because of that which the Lord did for me when I came out of Egypt."
Though this core message persists, the Haggadah itself has evolved, adapting in form and content to local cultures and influences.
