Where have those hands been?

וּרְחַץ

Almost forgot an important step - time for Urchatz, or the handwashing. It's always a good idea to do this before you start with all the dipping...

Although we're generally tired of Haikus, it's useful to have something to say for Urchatz. Anyway, everyone enjoys the seminal Urchatz haiku:

Slaves have to eat fast

But we're not in Egypt now

There's time to wash up.

Most sources (Internet sources, at least) say that Urchatz doesn't include a prayer. A minority, however, say that Urchatz involves the "nitalat yidayim," just like any other handwashing, so I'm including it to be safe:

נוֹטְלִין אֶת הַיַָדַיִם וְאֵין מְבָרְכִין "עַל נְטִילַת יָדַיִם

Actually some sources think that Urchatz doesn't really merit a solo section in the haggadah (or bloggadah) because it's really part of Karpas.

Urchatz is as good a time as any to say a blessing for our pets, one of whom in pictured here in her Midian-style cloak. Apparently pet blessing is not a particularly Jewish activity. St. Francis seems to have cornered that market. At least one writer was troubled enough by this state of affairs that he wrote about a Jewish boy who wants to take his dog to the Catholic Church for a blessing. His mom won't let him. "A disappointing, slack treatment of a promising theme," says Publisher's Weekly. (I certainly agree that it's a promising theme.) The School Library Journal is less harsh. It gives the book a thumbs up, saying, "The question of what Jared will choose to do keeps readers in suspense straight through to the last page." Since when are Jewish boys named Jared? For me, the cover sells the book. Check it out: http://www.amazon.com/Blessing-Animals-Michael-Rosen/dp/0374308381.