Seder traditions for us are an collection of practices that are Sephardic in origin, but for many of us these practices have grown and changed because they were practiced underground in either maranno or crypto-Jewish households.

Remember: Sephardic Passover customs and traditions can vary from region to region, country to country, city to city, community to community, and family to family.

The most basic difference between Sephardim and Ashkenazim pertains to kitniyot, which are eaten by Sephardim but not by Ashkenazi Jews. The literal translation of the word is "legumes," but the term is a catch-all for several varieties of grain or meal that are not actually chametz. These include rice, corn, millet, string beans, green peas and various kinds of dried beans, such as lentils, split peas, soybeans and chickpeas.

The following is a selected list of Sephardic Passover customs and traditions:

Kitniyot (Rice and Legumes at Passover) is considered kosher for Pesach by Sephardi Jews. It was a tradition among Egyptian Jews to purchase all the Pesach rice one month before the holiday. For some families that meant buying about 40 pounds of rice. The rice would be placed in the middle of the table and the family would sift and wash the rice then divide it into eight portions for the eight days of Pesach. Rice is part of a group of legumes known in Hebrew as “kitniyot.” These foods are considered kosher for Passover by Sephardi Jews and include corn, millet, string beans, green peas, lentils, split peas, soybeans and chickpeas.

It is the Ashkenazi custom to avoid rice, millet, corn, legumes (e.g., beans, peas, lentils), sesame and sunflower seeds at Passover. These foods are classified askitniyot and are in a separate category from chametz (leaven), which can only come from the five grains: wheat, barley, oats, spelt, and rye. Strict Ashkenazi custom also avoids any product of kitniyot, including things like sunflower oil.

Different Sephardic Traditions:

The Seder Plate in Southern Italy, Sicily and Morocco - The Seder plate is brought to the Seder table with great ceremony. It would be covered with a beautiful scarf and the family would sing as the plate arrived at the table. Before it was set down, the Seder plate would be placed on a child’s head and then rotated for everyone to see.

The Seder Plate in Tunisia, Sicily and Sardinia – As the plate arrives at the table, the Seder leader sets it on the head of the Seder leader. The plate is then passed from person to person around the table – held for a moment on each head by a family member. The Seder begins in this manner to demonstrate that we were once slaves in Egypt and carried heavy burdens on our heads.

The Matzah – At the point in the Haggadah where the matzah is described as “the bread of affliction,” Italian and Moroccan Jews would have ready three pieces of matzah tied up in a napkin, like a little sack. The sack would be passed around the table, shoulder to shoulder like this: First the sack would be held on the person’s right shoulder and the leader would ask her/him, “Where are you from?” The person with the shoulder sack would reply, “I am from Egypt.” The leader then asks the same person, “Where are you going?” Then the person with the sack would shift it to the left shoulder and say, “I am going to Yerushalayim. Will you come with me?” The sack is then passed to the next person at that table who says, “Yes.” And the process repeats around the table.

Pan de Semita – or “semitic bread,” is Passover bread made and eaten first by the Jews in pre-Inquisition Spain and later on by Mexicans and Mexican Americans along the Texas border. (Note: There are some historians who believe that the entire Caucasian population of Mexican is of Jewish origin, having escaped the Inquisition and fled to what is now Mexico. In the remote villages of Mexico many peasants observe Jewish traditions and customs without knowing the what or why of their practice!). Pan de semita is always eaten around Passover season, even when families don’t understand their Jewish connection. It is always unleavened and is made by combining two cups of flour, one half cup of water, a few tablespoons of olive oil and baked unleavened. Mexicans says that pork lard is prohibited, hence the name, “semetic.” Only olive oil may be used. The same recipe is used in Calabria, the deep south of Italy and is called “pane azimo.”

The Ten Plagues – This custom is Italian but also is done by Yemenite Jews and as such has become “minhag” for many of us. As each plague is said aloud, the Seder leader would pour a little bit of wine from his cup into a tin can. When all the plagues have been repeated, the matriarch of the family would take the tin can out into the farthest part of the yard, pour the wine into the ground and say in a loud whisper, “May this go to all of our enemies and haters. May they create no suffering for us or for themselves. Amen!” Those at the table remain very quiet, so that the loud whisper can be heard. In Greece this same ceremony is done with vinegar poured into a can as each plague is said.

Another Sephardic tradition is that there is no dipping of fingers in wine. The mother would walk up to the father with a large bowl and a glass of water. He would recite the plagues one by one, and for each plague he would pour a bit of wine in the bowl from a special large wineglass, and the mother would pour a bit of the water. It is all done under the table – nobody is supposed to look at the "plagues" for fear of being "contaminated"! Then the mother, without looking directly at the bowl, and with everyone else looking in another direction, would go to the bathroom and flush the "plagues" down the toilet. The wine represents justice and the water mercy.

Singing “Dayenu,” – In Italy the Seder table is set with a green onion (with long stems), one for each person. When it is time to sing Dayenu, each person takes an onion and wields it like a whip. At the chorus, each person takes the onion and whips the wrist of the person next to her/him. The sound of the onion stems represents the sounds of the whips of our slave masters. In Iran, Afghanistan and Iraq the onions are gathered in a bunch and one person “whips” the person next to her/him, then passes the onion bunch along. Incidentally, this ritual is performed while singing Dayenu because Dayenu is the song of miracles, so the whipping reminds us that it was a miracle that we were freed from the lash of oppression.

The Charoset – is one of the most popular and well-remembered Seder foods. It is part of the ritual food on the Seder plate, chosen to remind us of our lives as slaves where we had to mix mortar to make the bricks for Pharaoh’s buildings. Sephardi charoset is often made with dates as the staple (in Ashkenazi homes the staple is apple) because the color of the dates is similar to the color of mortar. Other Charoset ingredients include a variety of nuts, apricots, cinnamon and wine. The dates are crushed, boiled and pureed, then sprinkled with crushed dried nuts. The result looked exactly like mortar, as it is supposed to!

Charoset for Anousim or Oppressed Jews – In Cuba where Jews have had difficulty practicing their religion, traditional fruits are often not available. Apples and nuts and dried fruit were impossible to find. So Cuban Jews created a recipe called “Charoset of the Oppressed.” The mixture is basic and includes only matzah, honey, cinnamon and wine. Using this charoset at your Seder table will remind your family, especially the children, of the plight of Cuban Jews and all oppressed people around the world.

The Four Cups – In the Sephardi Seder blessings are said over the first and third cup of wine only. According to Sephardic halachah, rabbis believe that the blessings over the first cup for the Kiddush and the third cup after the Grace After Meals covers these cups as well.

Seder Dress – It is traditional for everyone to wear white to the Seder. In Italian and Spanish homes, the leader will always dress in a white caftan or robe, even if the guests do not. It is also a custom to have a crown present and to select someone as “Pharaoh.” The Pharaoh wears the crown and during the singing of Dayenu and the “whipping” with the onions, the Pharaoh moves from table to table, supervising the whipping!

Mimouna – (“mee-moh-oo-na) Celebration for the end of Pesach – There are several ways to celebrate the crossing of the Sea of Reeds and our path to freedom. In Sephardi synagogues in Mediterranean countries, the synagogue is opened at one minute after midnight (the end of the eighth night). The Torah is taken from the ark and the Song of Songs is read while congregants dance in the aisles. Following the Torah reading, the Mimouna festival begins. (Mimouna can also be done on the evening of the ninth day with visiting of neighbors and friends.) The Mimouna celebration honors Rabbi Maimon, the father of Moses Maimonides who was the beloved leader of the Moroccan Jews. Traditional Mimouna foods include pita bread, cut into pieces and eaten by dipping a piece into honey. The meaning behind this tradition is that the pita and honey will glue the family together and slavery and oppression will never again separate us.

Sephardim use balsamic vinegar instead of salt water. The Zeroah is not a chicken wing it is a large shank bone.