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Leaning to the Left
Every male (13 years old and above) at the seder is required by halacha to lean to the left side while:
  • Drinking each of the four cups of wine.
  • Eating matza for each of these mitzvot: motzi, matza, koreich, afikoman.
Ideally, lean onto something to your left, such as a chair or couch. A pillow is nice but optional.
Note Women and girls are not required to lean at any time during the meal.
Jewish Festivals: Evening Kiddush
To fulfill the two requirements for Jewish festival evening kiddush:
  1. Make Kiddush
    Say, or hear, the three Jewish festival evening kiddush blessings/segments:
    1. Borei pri ha'gafen (if on wine or grape juice—preferred option), OR
      Ha'motzi (on two challot if you have no wine or grape juice, since no chamar medina is allowed for Jewish festival evening kiddush; see Jewish Festivals: Kiddush: Challot for Kiddush) AND
    2. Asher bachar banu mi kol am.... mekadeish Yisrael v'hazmanim, AND
    3. She'hecheyanu on all Jewish festival nights, except the last two nights of Passover.  So say she'hecheyanu on:
      • Both nights of Rosh Hashana (in or outside of Eretz Yisrael),
      • First two nights of Passover (1 night in Eretz Yisrael),
      • Both nights of Shavuot (1 night in Eretz Yisrael),
      • First two nights of Sukkot (1 night in Eretz Yisrael), and
      • Nights of Shmini Atzeret and Simchat Torah (same day in Eretz Yisrael).
      Note There is never any requirement on an indvidual to drink kiddush wine (except at the Passover seder), but the kiddush wine must be drunk by one or more persons.
      Note A woman who had said she'hecheyanu when she lit the Jewish festival candles does NOT say she'hecheyanu again if she makes kiddush for herself, even when making kiddush at the Passover seder.
      Note There is no need to eat a new fruit after saying she'hecheyanu on the second night of  Shavuot, Passover, or Sukkot. This is not comparable to Rosh Hashana, since the second festival night was instituted due to uncertainty of the actual date of the holiday, while Rosh Hashana is considered to be one single, long day.
  2. Establish a halachic “meal” (kovei'a se'uda).
    For how to establish a halachic meal, see Introduction to Jewish Festival “Eating a Meal” Requirements.
Note For evening kiddush, the custom is to go straight to the meal without delay (with no mezonot or snacking first).  B'di'avad if you snacked, it is still OK.
Note At night on Jewish festivals (or Shabbat), you may not say kiddush at a place where you will not eat your evening meal (even if you will hear or say kiddush again at the place where you will eat the meal).
Fore-Blessing: Which Grains: Mezonot/Non-Mezonot Combinations: Turkey with Bread Stuffing
Situation You will eat bread stuffing with turkey. The bread stuffing has at least one chunk of bread at least 1.3 fl. oz. in volume.
What To Do Wash and say ha'motzi. If you eat at least 1.3 fl oz of the stuffing, say birkat ha'mazon afterward.
Situation You will eat bread stuffing with turkey. There is NOT at least one chunk of bread at least 1.3 fl. oz. in volume.
What To Do Do not wash and say ha'motzi, and do not say birkat ha'mazon (unless you eat enough to constitute a full meal). However, if you enjoy the stuffing as much as the turkey or will eat some stuffing by itself, say borei minei mezonot.
Tum'a: Touching Body Parts after Saying HaMotzi
You must wash your hands again (but without a blessing) using the One-Time Method if you touch a normally covered area of your body or scratch your head where you have hair after you have said ha'motzi; but don't say ha'motzi again.
 
Introduction to Three Matzas (Matzot)
The seder table also has a stack of three matzas (matzot), representing, among other meanings:
  • Cohen-Levi-Yisrael:  The three divisions of Jews
  • Abraham-Isaac-Jacob:  The three forefathers
These matzot are used later in the seder for the steps of Motzi and Matza (top and middle matzas); the middle matza becomes the “Afikoman.”
How Much Challa May Be Missing
Less than 1/48th missing is still considered a whole loaf. So if you only have two challot (or other loaves of bread) for Shabbat, you might be able to use one loaf twice, as follows:
  • Wash your hands,
  • Say ha'motzi,
  • Cut off a piece that is less than 1/48th of the loaf, and
  • Eat it.
REASON You may consider the remainder of that loaf as still being a full loaf and you may re-use it for your Shabbat morning meal.
NOTE If you have pieces of bread or other mezonot, you may:
  • Cut off less than 1/48th of the loaf,
  • Eat the additional pieces of bread to make a total of at least 1.9 fl. oz. (56ml), and then
  • Re-use the same loaf for Shabbat morning.
How Much Challa May Be Missing
Less than 1/48th missing is still considered a whole loaf. So if you only have two challot (or other loaves of bread) for a Jewish festival, you might be able to use one loaf twice:
  • Wash your hands,
  • Say ha'motzi,
  • Cut off a piece that is less than 1/48th of the loaf, and
  • Eat it.
Reason You may consider the remainder of that loaf as still being a full loaf and you may re-use it for your Jewish festival morning meal.
Note If you have pieces of bread or other mezonot, you may:
  • Cut off less than 1/48th of the loaf,
  • Eat the additional pieces of bread to make a total of at least 1.9 fl. oz., and then
  • Re-use the same loaf for Jewish festival morning.

Introduction to Jewish Festival "Eating a Meal" Requirements
We are required to eat two meals on Jewish festivals, each preceded by kiddush, one in the evening and one in the morning. For both meals for each Jewish festival day (and all three meals on Shabbat), say ha'motzi over two complete loaves of bread, each of which is at least 1.3 fl. oz. in volume. 
Note Girls and women are not required to eat any meals (that is, including bread or matza) on Jewish festivals except the Passover seder. However, if a woman, or girl at least bat mitzva age, wants to eat bread, she should use two loaves, just as men do. This is halacha, not a custom. Also, girls and women may not fast on any festival day so even if they do not eat bread or matza, they must eat some food.

Source of Saying Jewish Festival Kiddush
Some kiddushes are commanded by the Torah (d'oraita); the others are from Chazal (d'rabanan), as follows:
Kiddush d'Oraita
  • First night of Jewish festivals
  • Night of seventh day of Passover
  • Night of Shmini Atzeret.
Kiddush d'Rabanan
  • First day of Jewish festival
  • Second night of Jewish festival
  • Second day of Jewish festival
  • Seventh day of Passover
  • Eighth night of Passover
  • Eighth day of Passover
  • Shmini Atzeret day
  • Night and day of Simchat Torah.
Source of Jewish Festival Kiddush Location
Saying Jewish festival kiddush at the place where you will eat your meal is a rabbinical (d'rabanan) enactment.
Jewish Festival Kiddush-Meal Quantities: Evening
  • For evening kiddush for a first-night (d'oraita) Jewish festival, a minimum of 4 fl. oz. (119 ml) of wine must be blessed on and at least half must be drunk.
  • For evening kiddush for a second-night (d'rabanan) Jewish festival, a minimum of 3.3 fl. oz. (99 ml) of wine must be blessed on and at least 2.0 fl. oz. must be drunk.
  • For the evening meal, as on the first two Shabbat meals and for all required Jewish festival meals, a minimum of 1.9 fl. oz. (56 ml) of bread must be eaten within four minutes.
Eating Requirements for Jewish Festival Morning Kiddush
There are two separate eating requirements during the daytime. They may be combined (say/hear kiddush and start the main meal right away) but are often done separately (say/hear kiddush and then eat some light foods and beverages; the main meal is eaten later in the day).
Note Since eating and drinking requirements on all morning kiddushes (both Shabbat and Jewish festivals) are d'rabanan, the required beverage amount for morning kiddush is only 3.3 fl. oz. (99 ml) instead of the d'oraita 4 fl. oz. (119 ml) (which is required for kiddushes for Shabbat evening and all first-night Jewish festivals).
  • Morning kiddush requires a halachically legal “meal” with these elements:
    • Blessing on a minimum of 3.3 fl. oz. (99 ml) of wine (or other beverage),
    • Someone's drinking at least half the beverage, followed by
    • Eating at least 1.3 fl. oz. (39 ml, or 1/6 cup) of some type of mezonot within four minutes. 
      Note If you drink at least 3.3 fl. oz. (99 ml) of wine within 30 seconds, you do not need to eat mezonot.
      Note You do not need to drink the wine or other kiddush beverage to fulfill “establishing a meal.” You may hear kiddush and then simply eat the required amount of bread or mezonot. This applies to Shabbat or Jewish festivals, evening or morning.
       
  The kiddush “meal” does not have to satiate.
 
  • The real meal (kovei'a se'uda) requires eating at least 1.9 fl. oz. (56 ml) of bread (or matza during Passover!) within four minutes. It must include enough food to satiate. 
    Note You can simultaneously fulfill the requirement to “establish a meal” and to “eat a meal” by eating one (the same) piece of bread.


Matza Brei Blessing
The blessing on matza brei is mezonot, as long as the pieces of matza are smaller than 1.3 fl. oz. (39 ml, or 1/6 cup) each. If even one of the pieces is larger than 1.3 fl. oz., wash your hands and say ha'motzi before eating it.
Rosh Hashana: End: Baruch HaMavdil Bein Kodesh L'Chol and Birkat HaMazon
Saying Baruch ha'mavdil bein kodesh l'chol after dark at the end of Rosh Hashana (as for Jewish festivals) does not affect the additions you will then say in birkat ha'mazon.
Situation You washed your hands, said ha'motzi, began eating your meal on Rosh Hashana afternoon, and it is now dark.
What To Do You may say Baruch ha'mavdil bein kodesh l'chol and do melacha, and then continue to eat your meal or say birkat ha'mazon INCLUDING ya'aleh v'yavo and ha'rachaman hu yichadeish alenu et ha'shana ha'zot l'tova v'livracha.
Birkat HaMazon: Women's Mezuman and Minyan
Women (even if 10 or more) do not make a minyan, only a mezumanSo do not say the birkat ha'mazon's minyan introduction but simply say the mezuman introduction if:
  • 10 or more women ate together, without men present;
  • At least two women washed, said ha'motzi, and ate bread; AND
  • At least one more woman ate some type of food.
Note Women are never required to make a mezuman. So when three women are eating together and no men are present, they may say birkat ha'mazon as a mezuman but they are not required to do so.
Jewish Festivals: Ending: Before Havdala: Baruch HaMavdil and Birkat HaMazon
Saying Baruch ha'mavdil bein kodesh l'chol after dark at the end of a Jewish festival or of Rosh Hashana does not affect the additions you will then say in birkat ha'mazon.
Situation On a Jewish festival afternoon, you washed your hands, said ha'motzi, and started eating.  It is now dark and the end of the Jewish festival.
What To Do You may say Baruch ha'mavdil bein kodesh l'chol and do melacha, and then
  • Continue to eat your meal, or
  • Say birkat ha'mazon INCLUDING ya'aleh v'yavo and ha'rachaman hu yanchileinu yom she'kulo tov.
After-Blessings If Snack, then New Meal
If you said a fore-blessing and ate a snack, but then decided to eat bread and a full meal:
  • If your meal will not contain any foods that have the same after-blessing as your snack--
    • Say the snack's after-blessing, and then
    • Wash your hands and say ha'motzi.
  • If your meal will contain foods with the same fore-blessing as your snack (even the same food as your snack)—
    • Do not say the snack's after-blessing.
    • Wash your hands and say ha'motzi.
Note Wash and say ha'motzi if you will be eating any amount of bread--even less than 1.3 fl. oz. (39 ml, or 1/6 cup) within four minutes and even if it will take you more than four minutes to eat it (in which case, although you say ha'motzi, you do not say any after-blessing, including birkat ha'mazon).
Note Say al netilat yadayim only if you intend to eat at least 1.9 fl. oz. (59 ml) within four minutes.
Exception If you have eaten mezonot (and even if you will not eat any more mezonot with your meal), do not say al ha'michya. Just wash your hands, say ha'motzi, and eat your meal.
Borei Pri HaAdama: Salads
Say borei pri ha'adama on vegetable salad.
Note The fore-blessing of borei pri ha'adama also covers salad toppings and additions that by themselves require a different blessing, such as:
  • Borei pri ha'eitz for a sprinkling of pine nuts, cashews, apple slices, or raisins, or
  • Borei minei mezonot or ha'motzi for bread croutons. 
Reason Since these toppings and additions are subordinate to the main salad, you do not say the individual blessings; you only say borei pri ha'adama.

Birkat HaMazon: If You Planned To Eat Minimum Amount of Bread and Did Not
If you planned to, but did not, eat a full meal:
  • Do not say al ha'michya if you did not eat at least 1.3 fl. oz. (39 ml, or 1/6 cup) of foods baked from the Five Grains within four minutes--even if you had washed your hands and said ha'motzi.
  • Do say the appropriate bracha achrona for any other foods of which you ate the minimum (1.3 fl. oz.--39 ml, or 1/6 cup) quantity within four minutes, even though you did not say an individual bracha rishona (since you were planning to