Operation Freedom: Suggestions For The Passover Seder
Operation Freedom: Suggestions For The Passover Seder
Everyone wants the Pesach Seder to be meaningful. And yet we sometimes struggle with how to make it so, especially if the crowd invited doesn’t have an enormous attention span. Do not give up hope. Once we grasp two basic points, we are already in the mindset to have a great Seder.
1. The Seder needs drama, and active participation. That does not mean you have to “act” it out, but it does mean that it helps to recite the text with an appreciation not only of the translation, but also of the context and intent.
2. Since we want the guest at the Seder to be willing and able to participate no matter what their level or background; the context must be something everyone at the Seder can relate to.
A. The Drama of the Seder
We’re going to list a number of “ingredients” for the Seder. Of course, ingredients by themselves do not bake a cake, but I hope the reader will find them to be helpful.
The first of our ingredients to the Seder is a practical one.
The Hagada can be a bit bewildering if we approach it without advanced preparation, especially if we are unfamiliar with Rabbinic texts in general.
Therefore, it’s important that there be a leader, or Magid, who is familiar with this text, and can lead the discussions and actions.
But, obviously, if the Magid is going to “take charge” they have the responsibility to be sensitive to everyone’s needs at the Seder (keeping in mind of course that a parent‘s primary responsibility is to their children).
The balancing act of having serious discussions, yet keeping the reading moving along is a management challenge, especially since we may have a widely divergent group of ages and levels of interest. But the Halacha requires us to finish the Afikomen by halachic midnight, which gives us a time-boundary within which the Magid can to try and keep the Seder in order. Therefore practise good management skills, DO NOT micromanage, and allow the Seder to develop organically, if you are the Magid. If you're not - then let the Magid be the Magid. You be one of the "sons."
The Second ingredient is that our Magid should have is a clear idea of where the Seder is trying to bring us, both emotionally and intellectually. This goal is described near the end of the Hagada itself:
In every generation a person is required to perceive himself as if he (personally) went out from Egypt; as the verse says: ‘For this (indicating the Korban Pesach) Hashem did for me when I went out from Egypt.’
If we are going to get to the point where everyone feels that they personally left Egpyt, then the Magid should look at the Hagada text (and the different mitzvos of the night) as a means towards creating discussions around the table as to the meaning of the story.
The Halacha requires us to know why this process is meaningful to us personally, and it’s no coincidence this is exactly what the Wicked Child asks: What is this service to you? He may be wicked (by excluding himself) but he’s smart enough to hit hard, and where it counts.
As he attacks, he equates not knowing the relevance of the Exodus with not knowing why one should be Jewish at all. And he’s right, as we see by the fact that only two positive commandments incur the punishment of excision (being cut off) if one refuses them. The first is Bris Mila, and the second the Pesach Offering. The first imprints the Abrahamic covenant on the body, and the second seals the Abrahamic covenant upon the Jewish soul and its historic mission, as we shall see.
Another very important ingredient is the presence of questions.
There is an Halachic requirement that the discussion should progress via questions and answers.
The famous four are an example, but the questions weren’t meant to end there.
This is an important point to remember. People have a harder time concentrating on a drosha than on a conversation. Conversation comes about through question and answer.
The Torah knows what it’s doing when it comes to educating the little ones, or anyone for that matter. When a person has a sincere question and is given a sincere answer, or even an “I don’t know” one thing is certain. We have their full attention.
Now, everyone asks (or doesn’t know how to ask) in their own way. That is why there are four sons.
But perhaps the most important thing to remember about the whole question/answer dynamic is to keep your answers short and to the point. There’s a rule in show biz. Keep them wanting more. That’s a lesson the Magid does well to keep in mind.
In our home we make it a point to announce that all good questions/songs/answers etc. will be generously rewarded from an exciting assortment of goodies (which are saved to be eaten later) so that by the end of the Seder a kid could have enough candy to last all Pesach! Who needs Halloween! The candy etc. is obviously a prop, but it definitely gets people warmed up to asking questions. After all, who doesn’t like a chocolate-coconut bar?
There is another Halacha which gives us a great clue as to how to appreciate the various passages of the Hagada.
The Hamada constantly repeats a "theme," that of beginning with how lowly we were, and then how HaShem lifted us up!
In Hebrew this is termed moving from genus (denigration) to shevach (praise).
In other words, genus to begin with, the Jewish people in a very undesirable situation, and shevach to recognize that which God has done for us. We were more than simply rescued from an horrific slavery, although “dayenu” that truly would have been enough, but we were also given a Divine mission to inherit and live in the Holy Land with the Torah we would receive at Sinai.
We were given freedom, which is very different from “free time.“
Freedom means being free from any restraints which inhibit your ability to be your greatest self.
Freedom means feeling that you are living a life of ultimate purpose, which your care about deeply.
Freedom is to feel you are living the life you want.
The one you choose.
Simply put, it means you are actually living what you are meant to be, by not reacting to any “master” other than God who is the Only Master.
When the Seder tells us to feel the personal relevance of the Exodus, it is asking us to see ourselves in a grand historical context, one which defines us at the deepest levels of our being.
We go through the Seder year after year to reconnect to our appreciation for all that we are, from our very origins as a people.
This is why we display wealth at the Seder. We are a resplendent People of Royalty. And so we recline while we eat.
(To me, leaning over the back of your chair doesn't really catch the Sages drift...in any event...)
The Hagada will regularly juxtapose genus to shevach over and over, building our sense of love for our own life, the vast depth of the historical mark the Jewish People have made on history, from that time forward, and how that touches us today - in who we are, in what we choose to be....
If we do this correctly, in the end we feel so appreciative that we just have to sing the Hallel.
In a moment we’ll take a brief look at the beginning of the Hagada to see this dynamic in action, but, but first let’s review our Seder ingredients quickly to keep them fresh in our minds.
1. Have at least one Magid (someone who is familiar with the text and is capable and willing to lead the Seder.)
2. The Magid should be aware of the goal of the Hagada, which is to bring everyone to a feeling that the Exodus has relevance to them.
3. That the telling of the Hagada should be done in such a way that empowers questions.
4. That the Magid be aware that the text is constantly moving from genus to shevach, which often shows us where sections begin and end in the Hagada, as well as showing us how to emphasize the text.
Let’s see one example of this last ingredient, so that we can better appreciate what I mean by knowing how to emphasize the text. To make it obvious which part is genus and which shevach, I‘m going to italicize the former and underline the latter.
This is the bread of affliction that our fathers ate in the land of Egypt. Whoever is hungry, let him come and eat; whoever is in need, let him come and join the Pesach service.
This year - here; next year in the Land of Israel!
This year - slaves; next year - free people!
Can we see the Hagada contrasting the bread of affliction with our ability to offer food to “anyone who is hungry?” Boy, we must have extra food to share! That wasn’t always something easy to say in times past, was it? Think about the Great Depression, think about the World Wars. Think about Egypt. But now we have food, and thank God, lots of it.
Next, the Hagada tells us that we are here, and seems to equate that with being slaves, while in contrast being in Israel means being free. Isn’t this a great place for someone to ask - “why should living in a nice house in Beverly Hills make me a slave?” That Consuela is a slave, well, a maid, you understand. But you? You're a lawyer, for crying out loud! The answer to that question is the purpose of the Hagada itself, and therefore a perfect place for us to move to point B.
B. Background for the Hagada
The Hagada posits a question we anyway ask ourselves many times over, in one way or another, every day, at least subconsciously: What does it mean to be Jewish?
The Hagada puts this question within the context of the Exile and Exodus from Egypt.
Because the Torah understands the Exodus to be the broadest historical paradigm from within which to view the long history of the Jews.
There have been MANY times we have been "enslaved," in fact, one might suggest that since we were finally exiled from our land there has never been a place or time that we weren't in some way "enslaved" by being Jews, even as Beverly Hills lawyers, for crying out loud.
Our sense of being part of history forces us to confront - as does the rest of the world via it's hate, what it means to be Jewish.
In every generation....
BUT:
The beginnings of the Egyptian exile were an early prophecy to our Patriarch Avraham, even before his name was changed from Avram. In order to see it in context I will quote the entire 15th chapter of Genesis, with a brief commentary after each verse.
Bereshit - Genesis Chapter 15
After these things the word of God came unto Avram in a vision, saying: 'Fear not, Avram, I am a shield for you, your reward is very great.'
Fear not: because Avraham had just defeated the four kings, as was concerned lest he have killed righteous people. God assures him that he did the right thing, his war was a righteous one.
And Avram said: ‘God my Lord, what can you give me seeing as I go childless, and the manager of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?’
Avraham knew that his mission was to return the world to a blessed state, which could only be accomplished through his own offspring, and not via Eliezer, even though Eliezer was such a faithful servant and student that he was Avraham’s “personal assistant.”
And Avram said: ‘Behold, to me You have not given seed; and behold, a “son” of my house inherits me.’
Avram points out that as he has no biological children, only a “son” like Eliezer, who is a son in the sense of being a loyal student, but not literally a piece of Avram’s soul as a biological son would be.
God had promised Avram earlier (12:1-3) that he would become a great nation, and thereby bring blessing into the world. Avram felt sure in his need for children because of God’s promise, hence his urgency here.
And behold the word of God came to him saying: ‘This one (Eliezer) will not inherit you, rather only they that comes out from your insides - he will inherit you.’
And He took him outside, and He said: ‘Gaze now toward Heaven and count the stars, if you are able to count them.’ And He said to him: ’So shall your seed be.’
Avraham is shown that his children will indeed be a great nation, and he believed God’s promise wholeheartedly.
And he believed in God; and He counted it to him for righteousness.
And He said unto him: 'I am God that brought you out of the Fire of Kasdim to give you this land to inherit it.'
God introduces the inheritance of Eretz Yisroel by saying “I am.. Who brought you out of Ur Kasdim.” I.e. Avraham himself experienced redemption from spiritual tyranny before being given the Land.
And he said: 'Lord God, whereby shall I know that I will inherit it?'
Avraham questions what he questions, which we will discuss in depth below.
And He said unto him: 'Take for Me three heifers, and three goats, and three rams, and a turtledove and a young dove.'
The Sages identify the large animals chosen to be part of the covenant as being representative of those nations that would arise to subjugate Israel, while Israel is represented in the turtledove and young dove.
And he took him all these, and divided them in the midst, and laid each half over against the other; but the birds divided he not.
The animals are all divided, meaning that all of those empires will come and go as history passes through them, but it is only the birds who remain intact at the end.
And vultures descended on the carcasses but Avram drove them away.
And it came to pass, that, when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and, lo, a dread, even a great darkness, fell upon him.
The Sages find a hint to the four exiles that the Jewish people will suffer throughout history in the words: “dread…great…darkness…fell.”
And He said unto Abram: 'Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years;
Three levels of exile are mentioned here: Alienation, servitude, and finally, affliction.
...and also that nation, whom they shall serve, will I judge; and afterward shall they come out with great substance.
Their suffering will in the end be vindicated, and the Jews will be rewarded even materially.
But thou shalt go to thy fathers in peace; thou shalt be buried in a good old age.
Avraham himself will not see this in his lifetime.
And in the fourth generation they shall come back hither; for the iniquity of the Amorite is not yet full.'
And it came to pass, that, when the sun went down, and there was thick darkness, behold a smoking furnace, and a flaming torch that passed between these pieces.
The Shechina (Divine Presence) passes through the pieces, establishing the covenant.
In that day HaShem made a covenant with Abram, saying: 'Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates;
The covenant is spelled out in detail, with the boundaries of Israel being the Nile and the Euphrates Rivers. Now go look at a map.
the Kenite, and the Kenizzite, and the Kadmonite, and the Hittite, and the Perizzite, and the Rephaim,and the Amorite, and the Canaanite, and the Girgashite, and the Jebusite.'
God promises to give to Avraham the Land which belonged to 10 nations. We will discuss the significance of this below.
First, let's consider the beginning of the above chapter from Genesis.
As mentioned, Halacha requires that the Hagada should work through questions and answers. And should that surprise us, seeing as the entire decree of exile itself is the result of a question?!
Avraham’s question, and how the exile could possibly be the answer to that question, is right at the heart of the Hagada.
Avraham asked how he would know that God’s word would be fulfilled regarding his inheriting the Land.
To "know" something in Biblical terms means to know with an internal clarity, a "visionary" way, if you will. To know with certainty, to know it in your bones.
Why did Avraham believe in the miracle of his barren body giving seed, but want to see for himself how his offspring would inherit the Land? Why is that a greater miracle, if I may?
For some reason when it comes to the Jews deserving the Land of Israel as a gift from God... Avraham our forefather, the grandfather of our father Yisroel, wants to know if his grandchildren will indeed succeed in their experiment called "Israel." Why? Why indeed.
Of course this question is what gives relevance to the Seder today as well. For how do we know that the Land of Israel is our Jewish ancestral inheritance? And why should it be so? I.e., what should it mean to me, a poor shlub from a second tier law school who married lucky and landed a job at a Beverly Hills law firm under the strict governance of his father-in law?
God told Avraham that his children would have the Land as an "inheritance."
Let’s focus on the word “inherit.”
An inheritance comes to a person because of who they are, not because of what they’ve done.
What is the (G-d forgive me...) stupidest question ANYONE can ask about an inheritance?
"WHAT IF I DON'T REALLY DESERVE IT?!"
Yes. That is the worst, most backward, non-appreciative response a human is capable of having.
Actually, I'm wrong. The worst would be to say... "No thanks... I get it but... too many rules..., as every other nation said in reaction to the Torah. But Avram O Avram... his question laid out the necessity for Jews to have to learn the hard way... that we are Princes, with a mission to repair the earth.
But what if the future “Jews” don’t merit it... is like asking... once your son has been chosen to pitch by his coach at the little league world series... "but what if he blows it!"
OMG.
So... Av.
Father.
Avram. Great Father.
Avraham. Father of Many Nations.
Why did you ask? And force us to go through... all that we've been through?
The answer, fortunately or unfortunately according to how we relate to it is... that whether or not we actually belong in the Land, representing God and His Will to the rest of the world, as the Princes we are, will always depend upon how us poor shlubs will relate to it, in our time, in our circle of influence. Being in the Land is an organic, living relationship. It will always depend, basically, upon us.
Recognize that Avraham knew that God is just and fair in an uncompromising way.
He also knew that in order for a person (or peoples) free-will to be meaningful, they must be able to choose their lives. If God was promising the Holy Land (which as its name describes, requires it’s inhabitants to live holy lives) to Avraham’s offspring, would that not predetermine that they must indeed be holy?
Avraham knew that the Land cannot tolerate un-Godliness, he had walked the length and breadth of it, after all. But if God’s promise cannot be broken, then how can the Jews of the future possibly have free-will?
In answer to Avraham’s question, God represents the nations of the world through the animals which are hewn in half, symbolizing that they would indeed be large but they would not last.
Only the birds, representing Avraham’s offspring, remain whole.
The smoking furnace and fiery torch represent the Divine Presence which moves together with Israel through all of its exiles.
How does this prophecy of world history answer his question?
Obviously at least we can see that whichever offspring the prophecy of exile and redemption appeared within would be the identifying mark of who forms the Jewish people, those who would inherit the Land.
Now it’s just speculation on my part, but perhaps Avraham saw something that concerned him when he “gazed up at the stars” as God had told him to “count his children.“
Perhaps he saw that out of his own son Yitchok, an Esav would descend. Perhaps he saw beyond that.... Esav's offspring....
Could such offspring carry world back to blessing? Could their evil even be conquered (or survived) by others who might fight against them?
At this time in history, Yaakov had not yet taken the birthright, the blessing, or produced the tribes he did with Rachel and Leah. The real answer to Avraham's question lays the groundwork for (at least) the rest of Genesis. Who are the real children of Avraham's promise to inherit the Land? Esav inherited Mount Seir. And Yaakov and his children went down to Egypt....
To bring the point home:
God's answer to Avraham’s need to know how to identify his true offspring was:
You will surely know that those of your offspring who would be ‘strangers in a land not their own…’,
I.e. those are the people who will inherit Israel. We can now understand the following sections of the Hagada:
In the beginning our fathers served idols; but now the Omnipresent One has brought us close to His service, as it is said: "Yehoshua said to all the people: Thus said the Lord, the God of Israel, `Your fathers used to live on the other side of the river - Terach, the father of Avraham and the father of Nachor, and they served other gods.
"And I took your father Abraham from beyond the river, and I led him throughout the whole land of Canaan. I increased his seed and gave him Yitzchok, and to Yitzchok I gave Ya'akov and Esav.
To Esau I gave Mount Seir to possess it, and Jacob and his sons went down to Egypt."
I.e. out of the offspring of Yitzchok, who are Yaakov and Esav, the latter gets his inheritance immediately, while Ya'akov and his sons go down to Egypt.
It was the descent of the Hebrews into the eventual furnace of the Egyptian slavery that turned them into Jews.
But being the People of exile and redemption is more than just our identifying mark.
Because there have been changes taking place within the Jewish people during our travels and travails. The final goal of the Exodus is not a political one, but it does have geo-political implications. Let’s look back at the end Genesis 15 to appreciate just what God promised Avraham. Look closely at the borders described, and the number of nations Avraham was promised to inherit:
'Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates; the Kenite, and the Kenizzite, and the Kadmonite, and the Hittite, and the Perizzite, and the Rephaim, and the Amorite, and the Canaanite, and the Girgashite, and the Jebusite.
The original borders of Israel are identified as stretching from a river at the base of the Sinai border with Egypt, to the Euphrates river in Iraq!
And the land of how many nations did the Almighty promise us? 10. But as Rashi comments on that verse, the Jews in Joshua's time only conquered seven. The final three... well... these three gems will only be received within the context of the final redemption.
And the last slavery? The last time we have to go through this process of absorption and expulsion? The last time we have to pass through the bowels of another nation and come out... if not whole, at least surviving? What is the last nation we must past through?
The Sages teach us, the last of the four exiles is that of Rome, which is identified as being descended from Yaakov’s brother Esav.
That means that the current exile of living under essentially a Roman mentality has been going on for over two millennia. Seriously now - it is a coincidence that up until the 60's classical education within University was based upon a Greco-Roman structure? Their basic government, sports, methods of war, etc. set the tone for “Western Civilization” ever since their rule. And the most basic rule of their Empire?
Power = Right.
The true Esavian has no regard for weakness. Nazi's are fantastic disciplinarians. Really, perhaps the best ever.
Of course not all the offspring of Esav are Nazi's. The vast majority are not, for the simple reason that they do not descend from amalek, the grandson of Esav. Esav has many offspring, with varying degrees of hatred for the Jew.
And yet the irony of Jesus... oh JESUS! They in subconscious reverence (if we take the Rambam at his word) prepare the way for their acceptance of the Jews as their final saviour. They, by accepting the prince of thorns, the least (perhaps) of the students of the Sages, have laid the foundation for their acceptance of the true heir of King David.
Consider.
Rome was “Judaised” via Constantine’s adoption of Christianity.
Seems good? Nope.
As we know from the long history of Christian anti-Semitism, there's perhaps nothing worse than a jealous stepbrother.
So.
Notice that in the Hagada, just after we recite the section about Avraham’s covenant and identify that very covenant as the very thing which stands by us in every generation:
Blessed is He who keeps His promise to Israel, blessed be He!
For the Holy One, blessed be He, calculated the end [of the bondage], in order to do as He had said to our father Abraham at the "Covenant between the Portions," as it is said:
"And He said to Abraham, `You shall know that your seed will be strangers in a land that is not theirs, and they will enslave them and make them suffer, for four hundred years. But I shall also judge the nation whom they shall serve, and after that they will come out with great wealth.'"
The matzos are covered, and the wine glass is raised:
This is what has stood by our fathers and us!
For not just one alone has risen against us to destroy us, but in every generation they rise against us to destroy us; and the Holy One, blessed be He, saves us from their hand!
We sing this part “V’he she’amda” with a lot of verve, or at least I believe that is the custom, and yet it could strike one as odd.
Ok, it’s true, HaShem saves us in every generation, but how do we get into these predicaments in the first place!
Why are we singing about the fact that in every generations there are vicious anti-Semites?
The sublime answer to this we already know, because every future exodus was present in the covenant between the parts. Ours as well.
We’re singing about our own suffering. Our own Egypt. Our desire to exit it... NOW!
Why?
Because at the deepest level of our existence this identity as a Jew gives a vast historical meaning to our personal existence.
We are part of a people, like the birds of Avraham’s covenant, which have passed through the terrible annals of history and yet emerged whole at the other end.
Surviving all these years of exile and yet retaining our Jewish identity is the sure sign that we are the intended heirs of Avraham. We are the yordei Mitzrayim, those who went down to Egypt. And once we recognize that, we can begin to believe that God will apply to us what He said to Yaakov when he first went down to Egypt. “I will go with you down into Egypt, and I will surely bring you up.” (Genesis 46:4) And by the way, we were also promised that in the end we come out with great wealth, so why not sing? And hey, let's face it... as Jews today... per capita... would you foolishly suggest that we are not rich?
But there is another level at which we can understand this, and it gives us the broadest possible context for the story of the Hagada and therefore an opening that anyone can relate to.
At the very beginning of the Creation story in Genesis, the world is described thusly:
“and the world was a shocking void, and darkness was upon the deep”
The Sages describe this these phrases: shocking, void, darkness and deep as representative of four empires that would rise to rule the world and subjugate the Jews along the way.
These four empire/exiles, identified by the Sages as Babylon, Persia/Media, Greece and Rome, are four templates of exiles Jews would endure throughout history.
But there was one exile which created the template for them all, and that of course was the exile that formed us into a nation in the first place. It was this exile that forged the people of Avraham’s covenant and puts the “Jewish” in Jewish identity.
But, as an aperitif, if I may... let's ask one last question. The Sages attach the exiles to a verse at the very beginning of Creation. Why?
Because the process of becoming, of moving from the state of being unformed, helpless, weak, infirm, downtrodden, poverty-stricken, hopeless and abandoned into a state of being an upright, free, well-informed person about town is a normal part of creation. It happens to us all. Identifying with the exile-exodus mechanism is more basic that history - it is true at every level of existence. Everything, everyone, everyplace, every moment is a movement from that which is not yet formed into that which is complete. This is so from the very beginning of creation. "And God saw the light, and it was good." See Ramban there. "Good" means enduring, complete, fully formed.
The opposite of "good", or ra, at it's most basic root simply means unstable. Unformed. Not functioning as it should.
That instability = evil, well that comes once it is processed through the mind of an evil, unstable person. Really, can you think of a truly evil person... who was stable? They were all nuts.
In any event, to become fully human is to become fully humane.
And obviously so, once we think about it.
Everything in existence must emerge from a state of potentiality into actuality, from relative non-being into being.
It is the state of the not-yet-formed-self which resonates with “exile.“ And then bursts forth the young sapling of Being.
Hence springtime is the perfect time to have Pesach, in which an abject slave people emerged unified into a nation through the mutual experience of the miraculous Ten Plagues, and under the leadership of Moshe and Aharon.
But this need to emerge from a state of non-being into being is true within every living creature.
The butterfly is a beautiful example of this. It is the very struggle of the butterfly to emerge from its cocoon that gives it its colors. So too, every individual must struggle in life, but it is how we deal with those struggles that matters.
So let’s no forget the end of the verse from Creation:
“and the Spirit of God was flying above the face of the water”
It is only God’s Spirit that moves creation from it’s state of non-being into goodness.
Everyone wants the Pesach Seder to be meaningful. And yet we sometimes struggle with how to make it so, especially if the crowd invited doesn’t have an enormous attention span. Do not give up hope. Once we grasp two basic points, we are already in the mindset to have a great Seder.
1. The Seder needs drama, and active participation. That does not mean you have to “act” it out, but it does mean that it helps to recite the text with an appreciation not only of the translation, but also of the context and intent.
2. Since we want the guest at the Seder to be willing and able to participate no matter what their level or background; the context must be something everyone at the Seder can relate to.
A. The Drama of the Seder
We’re going to list a number of “ingredients” for the Seder. Of course, ingredients by themselves do not bake a cake, but I hope the reader will find them to be helpful.
The first of our ingredients to the Seder is a practical one.
The Hagada can be a bit bewildering if we approach it without advanced preparation, especially if we are unfamiliar with Rabbinic texts in general.
Therefore, it’s important that there be a leader, or Magid, who is familiar with this text, and can lead the discussions and actions.
But, obviously, if the Magid is going to “take charge” they have the responsibility to be sensitive to everyone’s needs at the Seder (keeping in mind of course that a parent‘s primary responsibility is to their children).
The balancing act of having serious discussions, yet keeping the reading moving along is a management challenge, especially since we may have a widely divergent group of ages and levels of interest. But the Halacha requires us to finish the Afikomen by halachic midnight, which gives us a time-boundary within which the Magid can to try and keep the Seder in order. Therefore practise good management skills, DO NOT micromanage, and allow the Seder to develop organically, if you are the Magid. If you're not - then let the Magid be the Magid. You be one of the "sons."
The Second ingredient is that our Magid should have is a clear idea of where the Seder is trying to bring us, both emotionally and intellectually. This goal is described near the end of the Hagada itself:
In every generation a person is required to perceive himself as if he (personally) went out from Egypt; as the verse says: ‘For this (indicating the Korban Pesach) Hashem did for me when I went out from Egypt.’
If we are going to get to the point where everyone feels that they personally left Egpyt, then the Magid should look at the Hagada text (and the different mitzvos of the night) as a means towards creating discussions around the table as to the meaning of the story.
The Halacha requires us to know why this process is meaningful to us personally, and it’s no coincidence this is exactly what the Wicked Child asks: What is this service to you? He may be wicked (by excluding himself) but he’s smart enough to hit hard, and where it counts.
As he attacks, he equates not knowing the relevance of the Exodus with not knowing why one should be Jewish at all. And he’s right, as we see by the fact that only two positive commandments incur the punishment of excision (being cut off) if one refuses them. The first is Bris Mila, and the second the Pesach Offering. The first imprints the Abrahamic covenant on the body, and the second seals the Abrahamic covenant upon the Jewish soul and its historic mission, as we shall see.
Another very important ingredient is the presence of questions.
There is an Halachic requirement that the discussion should progress via questions and answers.
The famous four are an example, but the questions weren’t meant to end there.
This is an important point to remember. People have a harder time concentrating on a drosha than on a conversation. Conversation comes about through question and answer.
The Torah knows what it’s doing when it comes to educating the little ones, or anyone for that matter. When a person has a sincere question and is given a sincere answer, or even an “I don’t know” one thing is certain. We have their full attention.
Now, everyone asks (or doesn’t know how to ask) in their own way. That is why there are four sons.
But perhaps the most important thing to remember about the whole question/answer dynamic is to keep your answers short and to the point. There’s a rule in show biz. Keep them wanting more. That’s a lesson the Magid does well to keep in mind.
In our home we make it a point to announce that all good questions/songs/answers etc. will be generously rewarded from an exciting assortment of goodies (which are saved to be eaten later) so that by the end of the Seder a kid could have enough candy to last all Pesach! Who needs Halloween! The candy etc. is obviously a prop, but it definitely gets people warmed up to asking questions. After all, who doesn’t like a chocolate-coconut bar?
There is another Halacha which gives us a great clue as to how to appreciate the various passages of the Hagada.
The Hamada constantly repeats a "theme," that of beginning with how lowly we were, and then how HaShem lifted us up!
In Hebrew this is termed moving from genus (denigration) to shevach (praise).
In other words, genus to begin with, the Jewish people in a very undesirable situation, and shevach to recognize that which God has done for us. We were more than simply rescued from an horrific slavery, although “dayenu” that truly would have been enough, but we were also given a Divine mission to inherit and live in the Holy Land with the Torah we would receive at Sinai.
We were given freedom, which is very different from “free time.“
Freedom means being free from any restraints which inhibit your ability to be your greatest self.
Freedom means feeling that you are living a life of ultimate purpose, which your care about deeply.
Freedom is to feel you are living the life you want.
The one you choose.
Simply put, it means you are actually living what you are meant to be, by not reacting to any “master” other than God who is the Only Master.
When the Seder tells us to feel the personal relevance of the Exodus, it is asking us to see ourselves in a grand historical context, one which defines us at the deepest levels of our being.
We go through the Seder year after year to reconnect to our appreciation for all that we are, from our very origins as a people.
This is why we display wealth at the Seder. We are a resplendent People of Royalty. And so we recline while we eat.
(To me, leaning over the back of your chair doesn't really catch the Sages drift...in any event...)
The Hagada will regularly juxtapose genus to shevach over and over, building our sense of love for our own life, the vast depth of the historical mark the Jewish People have made on history, from that time forward, and how that touches us today - in who we are, in what we choose to be....
If we do this correctly, in the end we feel so appreciative that we just have to sing the Hallel.
In a moment we’ll take a brief look at the beginning of the Hagada to see this dynamic in action, but, but first let’s review our Seder ingredients quickly to keep them fresh in our minds.
1. Have at least one Magid (someone who is familiar with the text and is capable and willing to lead the Seder.)
2. The Magid should be aware of the goal of the Hagada, which is to bring everyone to a feeling that the Exodus has relevance to them.
3. That the telling of the Hagada should be done in such a way that empowers questions.
4. That the Magid be aware that the text is constantly moving from genus to shevach, which often shows us where sections begin and end in the Hagada, as well as showing us how to emphasize the text.
Let’s see one example of this last ingredient, so that we can better appreciate what I mean by knowing how to emphasize the text. To make it obvious which part is genus and which shevach, I‘m going to italicize the former and underline the latter.
This is the bread of affliction that our fathers ate in the land of Egypt. Whoever is hungry, let him come and eat; whoever is in need, let him come and join the Pesach service.
This year - here; next year in the Land of Israel!
This year - slaves; next year - free people!
Can we see the Hagada contrasting the bread of affliction with our ability to offer food to “anyone who is hungry?” Boy, we must have extra food to share! That wasn’t always something easy to say in times past, was it? Think about the Great Depression, think about the World Wars. Think about Egypt. But now we have food, and thank God, lots of it.
Next, the Hagada tells us that we are here, and seems to equate that with being slaves, while in contrast being in Israel means being free. Isn’t this a great place for someone to ask - “why should living in a nice house in Beverly Hills make me a slave?” That Consuela is a slave, well, a maid, you understand. But you? You're a lawyer, for crying out loud! The answer to that question is the purpose of the Hagada itself, and therefore a perfect place for us to move to point B.
B. Background for the Hagada
The Hagada posits a question we anyway ask ourselves many times over, in one way or another, every day, at least subconsciously: What does it mean to be Jewish?
The Hagada puts this question within the context of the Exile and Exodus from Egypt.
Because the Torah understands the Exodus to be the broadest historical paradigm from within which to view the long history of the Jews.
There have been MANY times we have been "enslaved," in fact, one might suggest that since we were finally exiled from our land there has never been a place or time that we weren't in some way "enslaved" by being Jews, even as Beverly Hills lawyers, for crying out loud.
Our sense of being part of history forces us to confront - as does the rest of the world via it's hate, what it means to be Jewish.
In every generation....
BUT:
The beginnings of the Egyptian exile were an early prophecy to our Patriarch Avraham, even before his name was changed from Avram. In order to see it in context I will quote the entire 15th chapter of Genesis, with a brief commentary after each verse.
Bereshit - Genesis Chapter 15
After these things the word of God came unto Avram in a vision, saying: 'Fear not, Avram, I am a shield for you, your reward is very great.'
Fear not: because Avraham had just defeated the four kings, as was concerned lest he have killed righteous people. God assures him that he did the right thing, his war was a righteous one.
And Avram said: ‘God my Lord, what can you give me seeing as I go childless, and the manager of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?’
Avraham knew that his mission was to return the world to a blessed state, which could only be accomplished through his own offspring, and not via Eliezer, even though Eliezer was such a faithful servant and student that he was Avraham’s “personal assistant.”
And Avram said: ‘Behold, to me You have not given seed; and behold, a “son” of my house inherits me.’
Avram points out that as he has no biological children, only a “son” like Eliezer, who is a son in the sense of being a loyal student, but not literally a piece of Avram’s soul as a biological son would be.
God had promised Avram earlier (12:1-3) that he would become a great nation, and thereby bring blessing into the world. Avram felt sure in his need for children because of God’s promise, hence his urgency here.
And behold the word of God came to him saying: ‘This one (Eliezer) will not inherit you, rather only they that comes out from your insides - he will inherit you.’
And He took him outside, and He said: ‘Gaze now toward Heaven and count the stars, if you are able to count them.’ And He said to him: ’So shall your seed be.’
Avraham is shown that his children will indeed be a great nation, and he believed God’s promise wholeheartedly.
And he believed in God; and He counted it to him for righteousness.
And He said unto him: 'I am God that brought you out of the Fire of Kasdim to give you this land to inherit it.'
God introduces the inheritance of Eretz Yisroel by saying “I am.. Who brought you out of Ur Kasdim.” I.e. Avraham himself experienced redemption from spiritual tyranny before being given the Land.
And he said: 'Lord God, whereby shall I know that I will inherit it?'
Avraham questions what he questions, which we will discuss in depth below.
And He said unto him: 'Take for Me three heifers, and three goats, and three rams, and a turtledove and a young dove.'
The Sages identify the large animals chosen to be part of the covenant as being representative of those nations that would arise to subjugate Israel, while Israel is represented in the turtledove and young dove.
And he took him all these, and divided them in the midst, and laid each half over against the other; but the birds divided he not.
The animals are all divided, meaning that all of those empires will come and go as history passes through them, but it is only the birds who remain intact at the end.
And vultures descended on the carcasses but Avram drove them away.
And it came to pass, that, when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and, lo, a dread, even a great darkness, fell upon him.
The Sages find a hint to the four exiles that the Jewish people will suffer throughout history in the words: “dread…great…darkness…fell.”
And He said unto Abram: 'Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years;
Three levels of exile are mentioned here: Alienation, servitude, and finally, affliction.
...and also that nation, whom they shall serve, will I judge; and afterward shall they come out with great substance.
Their suffering will in the end be vindicated, and the Jews will be rewarded even materially.
But thou shalt go to thy fathers in peace; thou shalt be buried in a good old age.
Avraham himself will not see this in his lifetime.
And in the fourth generation they shall come back hither; for the iniquity of the Amorite is not yet full.'
And it came to pass, that, when the sun went down, and there was thick darkness, behold a smoking furnace, and a flaming torch that passed between these pieces.
The Shechina (Divine Presence) passes through the pieces, establishing the covenant.
In that day HaShem made a covenant with Abram, saying: 'Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates;
The covenant is spelled out in detail, with the boundaries of Israel being the Nile and the Euphrates Rivers. Now go look at a map.
the Kenite, and the Kenizzite, and the Kadmonite, and the Hittite, and the Perizzite, and the Rephaim,and the Amorite, and the Canaanite, and the Girgashite, and the Jebusite.'
God promises to give to Avraham the Land which belonged to 10 nations. We will discuss the significance of this below.
First, let's consider the beginning of the above chapter from Genesis.
As mentioned, Halacha requires that the Hagada should work through questions and answers. And should that surprise us, seeing as the entire decree of exile itself is the result of a question?!
Avraham’s question, and how the exile could possibly be the answer to that question, is right at the heart of the Hagada.
Avraham asked how he would know that God’s word would be fulfilled regarding his inheriting the Land.
To "know" something in Biblical terms means to know with an internal clarity, a "visionary" way, if you will. To know with certainty, to know it in your bones.
Why did Avraham believe in the miracle of his barren body giving seed, but want to see for himself how his offspring would inherit the Land? Why is that a greater miracle, if I may?
For some reason when it comes to the Jews deserving the Land of Israel as a gift from God... Avraham our forefather, the grandfather of our father Yisroel, wants to know if his grandchildren will indeed succeed in their experiment called "Israel." Why? Why indeed.
Of course this question is what gives relevance to the Seder today as well. For how do we know that the Land of Israel is our Jewish ancestral inheritance? And why should it be so? I.e., what should it mean to me, a poor shlub from a second tier law school who married lucky and landed a job at a Beverly Hills law firm under the strict governance of his father-in law?
God told Avraham that his children would have the Land as an "inheritance."
Let’s focus on the word “inherit.”
An inheritance comes to a person because of who they are, not because of what they’ve done.
What is the (G-d forgive me...) stupidest question ANYONE can ask about an inheritance?
"WHAT IF I DON'T REALLY DESERVE IT?!"
Yes. That is the worst, most backward, non-appreciative response a human is capable of having.
Actually, I'm wrong. The worst would be to say... "No thanks... I get it but... too many rules..., as every other nation said in reaction to the Torah. But Avram O Avram... his question laid out the necessity for Jews to have to learn the hard way... that we are Princes, with a mission to repair the earth.
But what if the future “Jews” don’t merit it... is like asking... once your son has been chosen to pitch by his coach at the little league world series... "but what if he blows it!"
OMG.
So... Av.
Father.
Avram. Great Father.
Avraham. Father of Many Nations.
Why did you ask? And force us to go through... all that we've been through?
The answer, fortunately or unfortunately according to how we relate to it is... that whether or not we actually belong in the Land, representing God and His Will to the rest of the world, as the Princes we are, will always depend upon how us poor shlubs will relate to it, in our time, in our circle of influence. Being in the Land is an organic, living relationship. It will always depend, basically, upon us.
Recognize that Avraham knew that God is just and fair in an uncompromising way.
He also knew that in order for a person (or peoples) free-will to be meaningful, they must be able to choose their lives. If God was promising the Holy Land (which as its name describes, requires it’s inhabitants to live holy lives) to Avraham’s offspring, would that not predetermine that they must indeed be holy?
Avraham knew that the Land cannot tolerate un-Godliness, he had walked the length and breadth of it, after all. But if God’s promise cannot be broken, then how can the Jews of the future possibly have free-will?
In answer to Avraham’s question, God represents the nations of the world through the animals which are hewn in half, symbolizing that they would indeed be large but they would not last.
Only the birds, representing Avraham’s offspring, remain whole.
The smoking furnace and fiery torch represent the Divine Presence which moves together with Israel through all of its exiles.
How does this prophecy of world history answer his question?
Obviously at least we can see that whichever offspring the prophecy of exile and redemption appeared within would be the identifying mark of who forms the Jewish people, those who would inherit the Land.
Now it’s just speculation on my part, but perhaps Avraham saw something that concerned him when he “gazed up at the stars” as God had told him to “count his children.“
Perhaps he saw that out of his own son Yitchok, an Esav would descend. Perhaps he saw beyond that.... Esav's offspring....
Could such offspring carry world back to blessing? Could their evil even be conquered (or survived) by others who might fight against them?
At this time in history, Yaakov had not yet taken the birthright, the blessing, or produced the tribes he did with Rachel and Leah. The real answer to Avraham's question lays the groundwork for (at least) the rest of Genesis. Who are the real children of Avraham's promise to inherit the Land? Esav inherited Mount Seir. And Yaakov and his children went down to Egypt....
To bring the point home:
God's answer to Avraham’s need to know how to identify his true offspring was:
You will surely know that those of your offspring who would be ‘strangers in a land not their own…’,
I.e. those are the people who will inherit Israel. We can now understand the following sections of the Hagada:
In the beginning our fathers served idols; but now the Omnipresent One has brought us close to His service, as it is said: "Yehoshua said to all the people: Thus said the Lord, the God of Israel, `Your fathers used to live on the other side of the river - Terach, the father of Avraham and the father of Nachor, and they served other gods.
"And I took your father Abraham from beyond the river, and I led him throughout the whole land of Canaan. I increased his seed and gave him Yitzchok, and to Yitzchok I gave Ya'akov and Esav.
To Esau I gave Mount Seir to possess it, and Jacob and his sons went down to Egypt."
I.e. out of the offspring of Yitzchok, who are Yaakov and Esav, the latter gets his inheritance immediately, while Ya'akov and his sons go down to Egypt.
It was the descent of the Hebrews into the eventual furnace of the Egyptian slavery that turned them into Jews.
But being the People of exile and redemption is more than just our identifying mark.
Because there have been changes taking place within the Jewish people during our travels and travails. The final goal of the Exodus is not a political one, but it does have geo-political implications. Let’s look back at the end Genesis 15 to appreciate just what God promised Avraham. Look closely at the borders described, and the number of nations Avraham was promised to inherit:
'Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates; the Kenite, and the Kenizzite, and the Kadmonite, and the Hittite, and the Perizzite, and the Rephaim, and the Amorite, and the Canaanite, and the Girgashite, and the Jebusite.
The original borders of Israel are identified as stretching from a river at the base of the Sinai border with Egypt, to the Euphrates river in Iraq!
And the land of how many nations did the Almighty promise us? 10. But as Rashi comments on that verse, the Jews in Joshua's time only conquered seven. The final three... well... these three gems will only be received within the context of the final redemption.
And the last slavery? The last time we have to go through this process of absorption and expulsion? The last time we have to pass through the bowels of another nation and come out... if not whole, at least surviving? What is the last nation we must past through?
The Sages teach us, the last of the four exiles is that of Rome, which is identified as being descended from Yaakov’s brother Esav.
That means that the current exile of living under essentially a Roman mentality has been going on for over two millennia. Seriously now - it is a coincidence that up until the 60's classical education within University was based upon a Greco-Roman structure? Their basic government, sports, methods of war, etc. set the tone for “Western Civilization” ever since their rule. And the most basic rule of their Empire?
Power = Right.
The true Esavian has no regard for weakness. Nazi's are fantastic disciplinarians. Really, perhaps the best ever.
Of course not all the offspring of Esav are Nazi's. The vast majority are not, for the simple reason that they do not descend from amalek, the grandson of Esav. Esav has many offspring, with varying degrees of hatred for the Jew.
And yet the irony of Jesus... oh JESUS! They in subconscious reverence (if we take the Rambam at his word) prepare the way for their acceptance of the Jews as their final saviour. They, by accepting the prince of thorns, the least (perhaps) of the students of the Sages, have laid the foundation for their acceptance of the true heir of King David.
Consider.
Rome was “Judaised” via Constantine’s adoption of Christianity.
Seems good? Nope.
As we know from the long history of Christian anti-Semitism, there's perhaps nothing worse than a jealous stepbrother.
So.
Notice that in the Hagada, just after we recite the section about Avraham’s covenant and identify that very covenant as the very thing which stands by us in every generation:
Blessed is He who keeps His promise to Israel, blessed be He!
For the Holy One, blessed be He, calculated the end [of the bondage], in order to do as He had said to our father Abraham at the "Covenant between the Portions," as it is said:
"And He said to Abraham, `You shall know that your seed will be strangers in a land that is not theirs, and they will enslave them and make them suffer, for four hundred years. But I shall also judge the nation whom they shall serve, and after that they will come out with great wealth.'"
The matzos are covered, and the wine glass is raised:
This is what has stood by our fathers and us!
For not just one alone has risen against us to destroy us, but in every generation they rise against us to destroy us; and the Holy One, blessed be He, saves us from their hand!
We sing this part “V’he she’amda” with a lot of verve, or at least I believe that is the custom, and yet it could strike one as odd.
Ok, it’s true, HaShem saves us in every generation, but how do we get into these predicaments in the first place!
Why are we singing about the fact that in every generations there are vicious anti-Semites?
The sublime answer to this we already know, because every future exodus was present in the covenant between the parts. Ours as well.
We’re singing about our own suffering. Our own Egypt. Our desire to exit it... NOW!
Why?
Because at the deepest level of our existence this identity as a Jew gives a vast historical meaning to our personal existence.
We are part of a people, like the birds of Avraham’s covenant, which have passed through the terrible annals of history and yet emerged whole at the other end.
Surviving all these years of exile and yet retaining our Jewish identity is the sure sign that we are the intended heirs of Avraham. We are the yordei Mitzrayim, those who went down to Egypt. And once we recognize that, we can begin to believe that God will apply to us what He said to Yaakov when he first went down to Egypt. “I will go with you down into Egypt, and I will surely bring you up.” (Genesis 46:4) And by the way, we were also promised that in the end we come out with great wealth, so why not sing? And hey, let's face it... as Jews today... per capita... would you foolishly suggest that we are not rich?
But there is another level at which we can understand this, and it gives us the broadest possible context for the story of the Hagada and therefore an opening that anyone can relate to.
At the very beginning of the Creation story in Genesis, the world is described thusly:
“and the world was a shocking void, and darkness was upon the deep”
The Sages describe this these phrases: shocking, void, darkness and deep as representative of four empires that would rise to rule the world and subjugate the Jews along the way.
These four empire/exiles, identified by the Sages as Babylon, Persia/Media, Greece and Rome, are four templates of exiles Jews would endure throughout history.
But there was one exile which created the template for them all, and that of course was the exile that formed us into a nation in the first place. It was this exile that forged the people of Avraham’s covenant and puts the “Jewish” in Jewish identity.
But, as an aperitif, if I may... let's ask one last question. The Sages attach the exiles to a verse at the very beginning of Creation. Why?
Because the process of becoming, of moving from the state of being unformed, helpless, weak, infirm, downtrodden, poverty-stricken, hopeless and abandoned into a state of being an upright, free, well-informed person about town is a normal part of creation. It happens to us all. Identifying with the exile-exodus mechanism is more basic that history - it is true at every level of existence. Everything, everyone, everyplace, every moment is a movement from that which is not yet formed into that which is complete. This is so from the very beginning of creation. "And God saw the light, and it was good." See Ramban there. "Good" means enduring, complete, fully formed.
The opposite of "good", or ra, at it's most basic root simply means unstable. Unformed. Not functioning as it should.
That instability = evil, well that comes once it is processed through the mind of an evil, unstable person. Really, can you think of a truly evil person... who was stable? They were all nuts.
In any event, to become fully human is to become fully humane.
And obviously so, once we think about it.
Everything in existence must emerge from a state of potentiality into actuality, from relative non-being into being.
It is the state of the not-yet-formed-self which resonates with “exile.“ And then bursts forth the young sapling of Being.
Hence springtime is the perfect time to have Pesach, in which an abject slave people emerged unified into a nation through the mutual experience of the miraculous Ten Plagues, and under the leadership of Moshe and Aharon.
But this need to emerge from a state of non-being into being is true within every living creature.
The butterfly is a beautiful example of this. It is the very struggle of the butterfly to emerge from its cocoon that gives it its colors. So too, every individual must struggle in life, but it is how we deal with those struggles that matters.
So let’s no forget the end of the verse from Creation:
“and the Spirit of God was flying above the face of the water”
It is only God’s Spirit that moves creation from it’s state of non-being into goodness.