HaMaayan/The Torah Spring Edited by Shlomo Katz Pesach - Overview of the Seder Volume V, Number 24 (210) 15 Nisan 5751/March 30, 1991 Pesach - Overview of the Seder In most Pesach Hagadot, the text of the Hagadah itself is prefaced by a 16-word poem that begins with the words "Kadeish U'Rechatz," and lists by name the 15 portions into which the Seder may be divided. In Hagadah Shel Pesach Be'er Miriam (by R' Reuven Margaliot), this poem is attributed to Rabbenu Shmuel of Falaise, one of the French "Ba'alei Tosfot". Others attribute it to Rashi. Because the word "Seder" means "order," it is only fitting that the Seder follow such a fixed order as is described by this poem. For this reason, many households have the custom of reading (or singing) "Kadeish U'Rechatz" before making Kiddush, and of announcing the name of each portion of the Seder before that portion is begun. In the pages that follow, HaMaayan presents one D'var Torah for each of the 15 sections of the Seder. They are drawn from 15 different Hagadot, and represent a broad spectrum of commentaries, >from the Chassidic and philosophical to the Halachic. As always, please remember that nothing in HaMaayan should be relied upon in actual practice. All Halachic questions should be referred to a competent Rabbi. ************************************ Kadeish - Reciting Kiddush R' S.R. Hirsch writes that although we already fulfilled the Torah obligation of Kiddush through our prayers in "Shul" we repeat Kiddush at home because the sanctity ("Kedushah") of the day must first and foremost find its expression in our homes. Kiddush must be recited at the place where our meal will be eaten, as the festive meal is the most obvious manifestation of the joy we feel on the festival, and that joy must be preceded by sanctity. (The Hirsch Hagadah) ************************************ Rechatz - The first washing In Temple times, one would wash before consuming a damp fruit or vegetable in order to eat it in ritual purity. Although we cannot achieve such purity today, we observe this law of "Netilat Yadaim" (washing) at the Seder in order or express our hope that we will soon be obligated to observe it, due to the arrival of Mashiach and the rebuilding of the Bet HaMikdash. This is an expression of the freedom that we feel on Pesach. (The Artscroll Hagadah) ************************************ Karpas - Eating a vegetable Of what does the salt-water in which we dip the Karpas remind us? R' Menachem Mendel Hager of Vishuva notes that, throughout the Talmud, salt is used as a metaphor for suffering. Chazal teach that suffering is actually good for a person for it expiates his sins, but, being only human, we quickly reach a point where we can stand no more. Salt reminds us of this, for a little bit of salt improves the taste of food, but if that same food is too salty, it is not edible. As we begin to recall the suffering of the slaves in Egypt, this thought should be on our mind. (Hagadah Shel Pesach Vishuva-Vizhnitz Shearit Menachem) ************************************ Yachatz - Breaking the middle Matzah Why is the middle Matzah broken rather than the top or bottom one? There are two "Berachot" that are recited before eating Matzah at the Seder: "Hamotzi" - the blessing for "bread" - and "Al Achilat Matzah" - the special blessing over the Mitzvah of eating Matzah on the first night of Pesach. The Halacha is that whenever we recite Hamotzi it is preferable to have a whole loaf of bread or Matzah before us, whereas the Beracha on the Mitzvah of eating Matzah is preferably recited over a broken Matzah, symbolizing that it is "Lechem Oni" - "The bread of poverty (or affliction)." There is a Halachic principle which states, "One may not pass over a Mitzvah (or a Mitzvah-object)." Generally speaking, all Mitzvot should be done in the order in which they present themselves to us (and all Mitzvah-objects should be used in the order in which they are brought before us). This rule obligates us to recite "Hamotzi" over the first Matzah that we see when we are ready to eat, i.e. the top one in the pile of three, and because of the Halacha cited above this Matzah must be whole, not broken. The blessing of "Al Achilat Matzah" must be recited on the second Matzah we see, i.e. the middle one, and this one should be broken. If we had broken the bottom Matzah instead of the middle one, we would have to pass over the middle (whole) Matzah to reach the broken one, and this should not be done. (Hagadah Shel Pesach MiBa'al Shlah HaKadosh) ************************************ Maggid - Telling the story of the Exodus We begin our story with the statement "Avadim Hayinu...." - "We were slaves to Pharaoh in Egypt." Rav Kook writes that this sentence describes three levels of degradation" 1) We were slaves, 2) to a foreign king, 3) in a foreign land. The Hagadah then goes on to recount that G-d saved us from all three of these troubles: 1) We were taken out of slavery, 2) by Hashem, our own King, and 3) we were taken from Egypt and brought to Eretz Yisrael. (Hagadah Shel Pesach Olat Re'iyah) ************************************ Rachtzah - Washing a second time Although the "Kadeish U'Rechatz" poem is, in its most simple meaning, the order of service that we follow at the Seder, numerous commentaries see it also as a complete plan for a Torah way of life. One of its messages is: "First 'Kadeish U'Rechatz' - 'Sanctify and wash (purify) yourself' - and only later, 'Maggid Rachtzah' - 'Tell others to wash themselves'." (Hagadah Shel Pesach Zichron Niflaot and others) ************************************ Motzi - The blessing over the Matzah R' Moshe Sternbuch, Shlita writes: Feeling joy when performing Mitzvot is always considered one of the highest forms of service of G-d. We should feel especially joyous when eating Matzah, for Chazal teach that this Mitzvah, properly fulfilled, can save one >from judgement on Rosh Hashana. (Hagadah Shel Pesach Moadim U'Zmanim) ************************************ Matzah - The blessing over the Mitzvah of Matzah Chazal teach that Chametz represents the evil influence of the "Yetzer Hara" and that our task on Pesach is to eradicate this "Chametz". The word "Matzah" can be translated "battle" and Matzah is therefore an appropriate food to eat when we battle the Yetzer Hara. Eating Matzah is mandatory on the first night of Pesach only, for after that the "battle" is (hopefully) over, However, we remain forbidden to eat Chametz for several more days (i.e. the rest of Pesach), for we must keep the Yetzer Hara from returning. (Hagadah Shel Pesach Shem MiShmuel) ************************************ Maror - Eating the bitter herb R' Yitzchak Meir of Ger said: The bitterness of the exile actually contributed to our redemption, for it made our situation unbearable and inspired us to pray. (Hagadah Shel Pesach Kohelet Moshe) ************************************ Koreich - Making the Matzah/Maror sandwich There is a view in the Talmud that two Mitzvot may not be done at the same time because the concentration required for one may disturb the concentration required for the other. R' Yosef Shaul Nathanson notes that the sage, Hillel, was nevertheless able to eat Matzah and Maror at the same time because he was always concentrating on fulfilling G-d's will, and nothing could distract him from this. As an example of Hillel's constant devotion, the Talmud tells us that he considered the weekday meals to be Mitzvot equal to the Shabbat meal; all of them fulfilled the purpose of strengthening him to serve G-d. (Hagadah Shel Pesach Migdal Eder HaChadash) ************************************ Shulchan Oreich - Setting the table for dinner This expression literally means "He is setting the table" (in the present tense), and it alludes to G-d. The story is told of a beggar who "worked" the homes of his neighborhood for only two hours a day, yet collected more than any of the beggars who struggled from door to door all afternoon long. When he was asked the secret of his success, the beggar said, "I knock on doors only at mealtimes. Since the table is already set, no one minds feeding me as well. You, however, arrive at the houses when people are busy with other things, and they cannot be bothered to open the kitchen just for you." Hashem, says R' Yosef Chaim of Baghdad, is not like a human. He (G-d) is always "setting the table" for us and thus we find sustenance at all times. (Sefer Orach Chaim: Peirush Al Hagadah Shel Pesach) ************************************ Tzafun - Eating the Afikomen R' Eliyahu Ki Tov writes that in Aramaic, "Afikoman" means "Bring out ('Afiku') dessert ('Man')." It, therefore, symbolizes our freedom, for the poor and oppressed cannot afford the luxury of a leisurely conclusion to their meal. (Hagadah Shel Pesach Yalkut Tov) ************************************ Bareich - "Bentching" The Gemara says that after a person eats, he has only one heart. What does this mean? Before a person eats, he has a Yetzer Tov ("good inclination") and Yetzer Hara ("evil inclination"). After he eats, however, he has only one. If he has eaten "For the sake of Heaven," the Yetzer Tov subjugates the bad, but if he ate merely too fulfill his own desires, then it is the Yetzer Tov that is subjugated. Reciting Birkat HaMazon enables the Yetzer Tov to prevail, for in it we acknowledge that all food is G-d's. (Hagadat R' Tzadok Hakohen) ************************************ Hallel - Singing G-d's praises The paragraphs of Hallel are divided at the Seder into two groups, one of which is recited before the meal and the other after. (To see this division, compare Hallel as found in the Hagadah with Hallel as found in the Siddur.) Malbim explains that the section recited before the meal contains two paragraphs: one describes G-d's greatness in general terms, and the other deals specifically with the Exodus. These paragraphs are closely related to the story we tell tonight, and are therefore recited immediately upon concluding the Mitzvah of "Maggid" and just before eating the Matzah. In contrast to these, the paragraphs of Hallel which are recited after the meal are interpreted by Chazal as referring to the future, not the past, redemption. As such, they are more appropriately placed after our performance of the major Pesach Mitzvot (Matzah, Maror, etc.), for then we can look ahead to the future. (See next paragraph.) (Hagadah Shel Pesach Im Be'ur Midrash Hagadah) ************************************ Nirtzah - Our observance has been accepted In the poems and songs of this section of the Hagadah we pray that all of the "Tefilot" which we have recited at the Seder be accepted by Hashem. If one has performed all of the Seder according to Halacha, he may feel confident that his service has indeed been accepted by G-d. We should pray that we may see the fulfillment of the verse: "As in the days of your Exodus from Egypt, I [G-d] will [again] show you great wonders." Then we can confidently proclaim: "Next year in Yerushalayim." (Hagadah Shel Pesach MiBeit HaLevi (Brisk) ************************************ Note: HaMaayan will not appear on the last day(s) of Pesach. The next issue will be for Parashat Shemini (April 13) ******************** Posted by Alan Broder, ajb@grebyn.com (uunet!grebyn!ajb), who should be contacted to request back issues of HaMaayan or to get on or off the direct email mailing list. Shlomo Katz can not receive EMAIL, however I will pass on any comment forwarded to me, or alternately, send your comments care of yehuda@gwuvm.bitnet