Doze off before Had Gadya? You’re not alone
64% of Israeli Jews finish the entire Hagaddah at their seders, including the part after the festive meal, study finds
It’s that familiar moment in every Passover seder: the last of the dishes has been cleared away and the leftovers stored in the refrigerator, the guests are pleasantly drunk, except for that one cousin who always overdoes it, the matzah crumbs have been irreversibly ground into the couch cushions. That’s the point when the participants look around the table and say to themselves, “Are we really going to get out the Haggaddah prayer books to finish the rest of the seder?”
According to the Jewish People Policy Institute, 64% of Jewish Israelis say yes and read the entire seder, the traditional prayers and rituals celebrated during the Passover meal, including the part of the Haggadah after the meal. This part includes the traditional Passover songs such as Had Gadya (Just One Kid) and Echad MiYodea (Who Knows One).
Just 22% of Jews who identified as “completely secular” said they finish the entire Haggadah, while, unsurprisingly, 99% of ultra-Orthodox Jews said they finished the whole megillah — er, Haggadah.
Passover seders are tied with the Jewish New Year dinners as one of the most widely-celebrated Jewish traditions, with 93% of Israeli Jews observing each holiday with a festive meal, according to a 2015 Pew Research Center survey.
According to a 2013 Pew study, 70% of American Jews participate in a Passover seder.
According to the JPPI survey of 3,000 Israeli Jews, just 25% of Israeli Jews participate in the seder because it is a commandment from the Torah.
The rest celebrate the holiday for historical, cultural, and family reasons. And for the matzah ball soup.
