Then he took some of the bitter herbs, and ate and
gave to the others. Then he read from the book of Moses a passage
concerning the significance of the feast. After that, the second cup
of wine was served, and the youngest son of the house stepped forward
and asked, according to the sacred custom, "What is the meaning of
this feast?"
The father answered: "The Lord brought us with a strong hand out of
the Egyptian bondage."
As he drank from the second cup, he said, "Praise the Lord, O my
soul, and forget not all His benefits." They then all sang the 115th
Psalm, "Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but unto Thy name give the
praise, for Thy truth and mercy's sake. Wherefore should the heathen
say, Where is now their God?"
Thereupon a blessing was pronounced on the unleavened bread and the
roasted lamb, and they sat down to eat, in a state of contentment
and with harmless talk. The old Eleazar spoke of past times, and
contrasted them with them the present: "Man born of a woman lives
but a short time, and is full of trouble; he cometh up like a
flower, and is cut down; he fleeth hence like a shadow, and
continueth not. A stranger and a sojourner is he upon earth, and
therefore he should be always ready for his journey as we are, this
holy evening."
The eldest son Jacob, who had come home in the evening after a
journey, seemed to wish to say something, but did not venture to do
so, till the fourth and last cup was drunk.
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