The Passover experience, and by extension, the celebration of having become a free nation under God is not meant to conclude at the end of the Seder.
This week Jewish families around the world will gather together to celebrate and enjoy the Passover Seder. That first night of Passover is on the same Hebrew date that God took the Jewish people out of Egypt, and so we spend the evening reliving the Exodus to the best of our ability.
The word “seder” means order, and indeed, there are 15 rituals that must be performed in a specific order for the Seder to be valid. This includes eating bitter herbs to recall the bitterness of slavery, eating matza, which represents our freedom, and eating a large festive meal. It is explained that the 15 steps of the Seder are like the rungs of a ladder. As we perform each of these 15 mitzvot (commandments), we actually add another rung to our spiritual ladder. At the end of the seder, at the 15th “station,” everyone at the Seder table declares that he or she has completed the Seder and that we look forward to the final redemption.
And then we’re done! Or are we?