Mayim Achronim at The Pesach Seder

Question

Why in the Order of the Seder (that is Kadesh urchatz…) do we not include Mayim Achronim while we do we include the regular washing and the washing before dipping the vegetable into saltwater when all three are Halachic requirements? Why does the Mayim Achronim get ignored in the List of Things to do?

This version has it קדש ורחץ כרפס יחץ מגיד רחצה מוציא מצה מרור כורך שלחן עורך צפון נוטל ברך הלל. Maybe you are just looking at an Order poem from a place that didn't do Mayim Acharonim. Here's another קדש ורחץ כרפס יחץ מגיד רחצה מוציא מצה מרור כורך שלחן עורך טמון רחץ ברך הלל נרצה and another קדוש רחיצת ידים ירקות לאפיקומן הלל נטילת ידים מצה ומרור סעודתו אפיקומן מים אחרונים ברכת המזון הלל and another קידוש ידי אדם וטיבול בצע יגיד בגפן יד יציאת מצה ומרור יטביל גם כריכה יסעד מצה ידי זימון הלל יצא. — Double AA, Apr 05 '17 at 13:36
@DoubleAA Sounds like an answer if you fill in what "this version" and "another" are. — Loewian, Apr 05 '17 at 14:57
Mayim^2 Acharonim, welcome to Mi Yodeya, and thanks for bringing your question here! Please consider registering your account, to enable more site features, including voting. I look forward to seeing you around. — Isaac Moses, Apr 05 '17 at 17:04
@DoubleAA I know that you have discussed these different "signs" in a few questions. Can you provide a link to somewhere that you have located these different names? I've never seen any of these other versions that you mentioned. — DanF, Apr 05 '17 at 18:58
@DoubleAA Thanks for the ref. I may shock my kids by using one of them that I haven't used before, this year. — DanF, Apr 07 '17 at 13:42

score 1 · Answer 1 · answered Apr 08 '21 at 13:40

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Rav Shlomo Zalman Aurbach writes that the night of the seder is called leil shimurim(night of watching) and it would be improper to mention mayim achronim which was enacted to prevent danger.

answered Apr 08 '21 at 13:40

sam

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Jay · Answer 2 · 2017-04-05T18:58:12.980

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Perhaps the composer of the simanei haseder believed that mayim achronim is no longer obligatory (like the opinion of, for instance, Tosfot Brachot 53b among other Rishonim and Achronim. I don't mean to imply that this is the accepted halacha today).

edited Apr 05 '17 at 18:58

answered Apr 05 '17 at 18:49

Jay

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Alternatively, the composer included it and people dropped it. – Double AA Apr 05 '17 at 18:59
That's whats brought in rav shlomo zalmans haggada. – Shlomy May 09 '21 at 01:48
@Shlomy Thank you! It's always encouraging to discover that you had the same idea as someone of that caliber. – Jay May 09 '21 at 03:16

score 0 · Answer 3 · answered Apr 08 '21 at 12:03

I suggest that since this is supposed to be a normal part of every meal there was no need to mention it.

This is not like Kiddush, washing after Maggid, and the beracha of HaMotzie, because, even though they are also part of every Shabbos and Yom Tov meal, one might be confused about where to place them in the proceedings. We might think that Kiddush should be after Maggid, so it will be close to the meal. The Gemmara has to make a point that, even though one already washed before Karpas, one must wash again after Maggid before eating the Matzoh. It is not obvious that the beracha of HaMotzie is before the beracha of Al Achilas Matzoh.

Mayim Achronim at The Pesach Seder

3 Answers3

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