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After reciting Kiddush over the first cup of wine and before Ma Nishtana, we eat a little bit of karpas. This is a vegetable we dip in salt water or vinegar for flavor. This way, we are acting like free people, who first eat hors d’oeuvres and patiently wait for the rest of the meal. Eating karpas also leads children to ask why this night is special and so different from all other nights. Some use celery or parsley for karpas, while others use potatoes.
Before eating karpas, we use a cup to wash our hands ritually (as in 23:6 above) but without reciting a blessing. This is because in Temple times, when the laws of purity were in effect, ritual handwashing was required before eating a fruit or vegetable dipped in a liquid. Today, without the Temple, this practice has almost completely ceased. Nevertheless, it is customary at the Seder to follow the practice as if we were in Temple times. (The blessing is not recited because this handwashing is not obligatory.) In practice, we ritually wash our hands twice at the Seder – once before eating karpas and again before eating matza.
Someone who wishes to drink water or coffee after the first cup of wine may do so. However, eating is not permitted (apart from karpas), as we want everyone to have a healthy appetite for the matza and the rest of the meal. If someone is very hungry, he may eat a little. But all eating and drinking must stop once we begin reading Maggid.
