YEAR 8 HAGGADAH INSIGHTS AND DIVREI TORAH LEIBLER YAVNEH COLLEGE RABBI HASSAN S CLASS

Transcription

1 YEAR 8 HAGGADAH INSIGHTS AND DIVREI TORAH LEIBLER YAVNEH COLLEGE RABBI HASSAN S CLASS 1

2 The Symbols of the Seder Plate by Ryan Hendler The seder plate is usually placed at the centre of the table and throughout the night more and more of it is used. Believe it or not each one of these strange foods has its own meaning. Each of the six items arranged on the plate has special significance to the telling of the story of the exodus from Egypt, which is the focus of this ritual meal. The seventh symbolic item used during the meal a stack of three matzos is placed on its own plate on the Seder table. Others place the Seder plate on top of the stack of matzot. Maror: The word Maror comes from the Hebrew word Mar, which means bitter. The Seder Plate usually contains two places for Maror which represent the bitterness of slavery. The two places are called Maror and Chazeret. Only certain specific herbs are acceptable for maror, and the most commonly used vegetables are romaine lettuce and horseradish. Chazeret: As mentioned before, Chazeret is another type of Maror. The real Chazeret is made of freshly grated horseradish. The Chazeret is eaten between two Matzot to follow the prayer of Hallel, from the time when the Beit Hamikdash stood. He combined the Matzah and the horseradish and ate them together. Although it is mentioned as part of our seder plate some people choose not to include it on their seder plate. Karpas: Karpas is a leafy vegetable (usually celery, parsley or lettuce) which reminds us that Pesach corresponds with spring and the harvest, which, in ancient times was a big celebration in itself. Later on in the Seder it is dipped in to salt water to represent tears. A custom I the time of the exodus when having a formal meal was to begin with dipping vegetables in salt water, so to recognise this we dip Karpas in salt water. 2

3 Betzah, Zeroa, charoset and Matzah Adira Steinman What is the significance of the Zeroa and the Beitzah on the Seder plate? The reason we have a Zeroa and a Beitzah on the Seder plate, is on Erev Pesach in the time of the Beit HaMikdash, the Jews would bring two Korbanot: 1 the Korban Pesach and 2 the Korban Chagiga. But because we don t have the Beit HaMikdash anymore we have a Zeroa shank bone that represents the Korban Pesach and a Beitzah that represents the Korban Chagiga. In Aramaic Zeroa literally means arm and Bietzah means wanting. So when the two are put together on the Seder plate, it shows that Hashem took us out of Egypt with an outstretched arm because He wanted to. He redeemed us, not because we deserved it, but because He is compassionate and merciful. Another meaning as to why we use an egg on Seder night is because the egg can symbolise the Jewish people. Unlike other foods, which soften when cooked, the more the egg is cooked the harder it becomes. Likewise, in Egypt the more the Jews were tortured, the stronger they became. And it says As much as they were afflicted it so would it increase and would spread out (Shemot 1:12) throughout history, when the Jews were oppressed, they became stronger and their dedication towards Hashem became stronger as well. Also the reason why the Korban Chagiga is represented by an egg is because the Bietzah is rounded in shape and can be referred to as a wheel. A wheel turns around so that whatever is at the top goes to the bottom and vice versa. Similarly, someone that is in the depth of misfortune should be aware that Hashem is forever turning the wheel and could change his fortune for the better. As well an egg is smooth and has no indentations of a mouth. This hints at the laws of a mourner, and like a mourner we are filled with sadness that we no longer have the Biet HaMikdash. 3

4 What is Charoset? Charoset is a special dip that we make on Pesach, and it consists of mashed fruits, wine and cinnamon. Its colour is almost like clay, which is because when Bnei Yisrael were in-slaved, they were forced to construct buildings. And the Charoset reminds us of the bricks that they used. The Charoset is sweet in taste and some say that this is because it reminds us of some of the merits they had done whilst in-slaved. Like keeping the brit milah, giving their children Jewish names and they continued to speak in Hebrew. A usual explanation for the eating of matzah at the Seder comes from the Arizal. There are many explanations, for the sin of Adam and Chava. Some say, the sin was that Adam did not obey Hashem, and others add to this, that he had not owned up when Hashem asked him if he had eaten form he tree. The Arizal offers another interesting explanation, and he links the sin of Adam to the eating of matzah at the Seder. How is this possible? The Arizal says that Adam and Chava sinned impulsively, in haste. According to the Arizal, Adam was always meant to eat of the Etz Hada at, but only after Shabbat. Instead, he eats in haste, impulsively, too soon. Arizal says when we eat the matzah, the bread made in haste, so that we could escape Mitzrayim at the soonest possible time, so that we could serve Hashem, we make a Teshuvah for the Hasty decision of Adam. 4

5 Why do we have three Matzot for the Sedarim? Naomi Paluch and Saul Goldman There are many different ideas as to why we have three Matzot on Pesach. The first is that Abraham asked Sarah to prepare food for the angels that visited him after his circumcision. The Midrash says that the angels visited Abraham on Pesach. The Midrash also says that Abraham kept all 613 Mitzvot even before the Torah existed. A biblical commentator, Alshich says that Abraham wanted Sarah to knead the dough herself (and not give the job to a servant) so that she could make sure that it was not contaminated with chametz. The second reason that we have three Matzot on Pesach is to remember our fore fathers, Abraham, Yitzchak and Yaakov. The third reason for having three matzot on Pesach is because every Shabbat and Chag you need two loaves of challah. On Pesach we need two whole matzot for the blessing and we need the third Matzah because we break it at the beginning of the Seder, therefore leaving us two matzot lest to make the blessing. The forth reason for having three Matzot for Pesach is to symbolise the three groups of Jews: Kohanim, Leviim and yisraelim, all of whom were saved by the miracle of Pesach. 5

6 The four cups of wine Noah Epstein, Benji Kalkopf and Demi Kapul and Some use it as an excuse to get drunk, others just drink and forget about, and others just drink and forget about it for different reasons. However very few people actually know what the four cups of wine are and why we drink it. So in this Dvar Torah we will discuss the FOUR CUPS OF WINE!!! The four cups symbolise mainly three different things, how ironic, they symbolise the phases of Benei Yisreal s background to Mitzrayim, our bondage after the first exile, and the four levels of punishment from Hashem for those who oppressed us. However there are many more interesting theories that are much cooler so we re looking at those. Rabbi Yochanan teaches us that as it says in Shmot perek 6 passuk 6 Therefore say to the children of Israel, I shall remove you from the oppression of Egypt, and I shall save you from their work, and I shall redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great signs, and I shall take you unto me as a people and I shall be your Lord. So there we have it the four phases of Benei Yisrael s exile from Mitzrayim. Remove you, save you, redeem you, and take you There is one answer that I feel is interesting, short, so I don t bore you even more, and quite relevant, even to today. Rabbi Levi teachers us that the four cups symbolise the four ancient kingdoms after Mitzrayim that tried to destroy us. These kingdoms are Babylonia, Media (Persia), Greece, and Edom (Rome). How is this relevant to us? You may ask. Well if you bear a little longer with I ll tell you. In our lives there are people everywhere, no matter in what country, that want to harm us, whether it is just thinking Jews are all money obesest people or putting something into action. I guess this is what this mitzvah of the four cups of wine is really all about, never giving up on Judaism or yiddishkite because no matter who wants to harm us G-D will always be there for us, and save us, just like in yetziat Mitzrayim god was there for us and he took us out because he saw our cry and he felt it with us. 6

7 by Ezra Joel הא לחמא עניא The opening paragraph of Maggid הא לחמא עניא is one of the most beloved and cherished sections of the Passover Seder sung by all that sit at a seder. But it is also one of the strangest and misconstrued. Let all who are hungry come and eat; let whoever is in need come and conduct the Seder of Passover. Is this really a sincere call to poor people to come join our Seder? If it is, why don t we invite poor people to our Seder before the Seder has already begun? Why don t we open the doors so the poor people outside can enter our sedarim? Finally, if this is not a sincere and real invitation then what is its purpose - what is it doing in the opening paragraph of Maggid? The gemarra tells us that a man by the name of Rav Huna used to open his door before each and every meal and call out to the poor people to join him in his meal. Is this what we should be doing as well? It would appear therefore, that the call of let all who are hungry come and eat is not directed at any people outside at the time we recite it, but is rather directed at those who are sitting at the seder table. We generally think of the purpose of the Haggadah and the entire Passover evening to tell over the story and miracles that were performed for our forefathers in Egypt. According to this understanding, the purpose of the night is the concept of zecher ( reminder ), it is to remember and celebrate the events done on this very night, so many years ago, and therefore we review as many of the details of that historic night. In fact, the Haggada tells us that the ultimate goal and climax of the evening is: in every generation a person is obligated to regard himself as if he has come out of Egypt Hashem redeemed not only our ancestors from Egypt, but He also redeemed us with them Each and every one of us must feel as if we just stepped off a time machine and actually experienced Yetziat Mitzrayim ourselves. 7

8 It is possible to suggest that perhaps the opening passage of Ha Lachma Anya sets up a very purpose and goal of the Haggadah. The Haggadah is not just about the past. Rather, the cry of let all who are hungry come and eat takes us far away from that miraculous day in history many years ago in Egypt and brings us into the present. It says we were once slaves in Egypt this is the bread of affliction that our forefathers ate in the land of Egypt but what does that mean for us today in the present? Today we are fortunately no longer slaves but there are so many others around us who are hungry! Ha Lachma Anya is our moral imperative. Since we are no longer slaves and we are no longer hungry, we are therefore obliged to help all those around us who need it. Rabbi Jonathan Sacks explains: Pesach is an intensely political festival. It is about the central Jewish project: constructing a society radically unlike any that had existed before and most that have come into being since. It poses a fundamental question: can we make, on earth, a social order based not on transactions of power but on respect for the human person each person as the image of God? Pesach, like Judaism generally, is not about salvation, a private drama of the soul, but about redemption, the life we share as fellow citizens under the sovereignty of God. It is about freedom, justice, equity, the ethics of the market place and the responsible use of power to secure the common good. 8

9 Mah Nishtana: Questions or Answers? Ruth Slonimsky This Pesach, we will do what we did last year. We will do what we did the year before. We are continuing a chain of mesorah (transmission) from one generation to the next, as we are commanded in Sefer Devarim, When your child will ask you tomorrow, what are the testimonies, statutes and ordinances that the Lord our G-d has commanded you? you shall say to him, we were slaves to Pharaoh of Egypt, and the Lord took us out with a outstretched arm. We begin the seder with questions. The commandment to educate your child begins by mentioning questions. But why must we ask these questions? Aren t most of the people assembled at the seder table aware of the answers? Why not begin with something different or more stimulating? But we can see that there must be something more significant in the questions than mere answers. Otherwise, why would we recite the ma nishtana even if no children are present, as we do? But there is a symbolism. Everything at the seder table is symbolic of something else. The questions are symbolic of our different interests and learning methods. The wise child asks in the manner stated in the Torah, taking everything from a very intellectual point of view. It is in the nature of the wicked child to think critically. The structure of the seder accommodates that. The simple child asks about the strange actions performed at the seder, which is precisely the purpose they serve in relation to young children. And the child who does not know how to ask must and will be informed, through the obligatory questioning. The seder relates to everyone. The questions demonstrate how interest is channeled. These questions are symbolic of the learning that will take place tonight, which is how they reach a fame likened to that of the matzah. The subjects of the questions are important for some, but for others, the significance is in the act of questioning itself. 9

10 - By Mikey Lazar, Daniel Jaffa and Yael Tzur-Tal עבדים היינו לפרעה במצרים The Torah tells us that when Paroh s daughter stood at the banks of the river, she saw the basket with Moshe within the water, and she saw the child, and behold it was a crying child (2:6). The Torah doesn t say that she heard the child crying, but that she saw him crying. When a Jew cries, said R. Simha-Bunim of Pshischa, he weeps silently. That was why Paroh s daughter saw Moshe crying, rather than hearing him. A non-jewish child would have been screaming. And that was what made her realize it was a Jewish child. A merchant once came to R. Moshe, the rabbi of Pressburg, and asked the rabbi s blessing for his business. R.Moshe said to him: "I heard that your brother is a very poor man, and you aren't helping him. The merchant justified himself: my business isn't doing well, and I can t afford to help my brother now. R. Moshe answered him, It states in the Torah: I too have heard the sighs of the children of Israel, whom Egypt is enslaving. We know that the word too isn't meant to be inclusive. What does it include here? This teaches us that even though all the Jews were enslaved, and that each one sighed for his own sorrows, nevertheless all heard the sighs of their brothers and felt distress. It was because of this that God, too, heard the sighs. Ma ase Be Rabi Eliezer - Avraham Ori Winkler And why they stayed up all night? Everyone must feel that night as if he himself came out of Egypt. On the night of the Exodus, the children of Israel were to cross the commandments of Passover and Exodus from Egypt began at midnight. So did the sages - until midnight made the order and midnight telling of the Exodus. The chachamin saw the geula (freedom) and they saw that freedom is coming out from the night so what they did. They were speaking about the torah all night so that the freedom would come faster. Because the freedom comes from the dark they wanted to tell the jews in the roman time that good would come out of this and that there would be freedom from the badness. 10

11 Drasha on the four sons and Vehi Sheamda Jonathan Sher, Aimee Raitman and Josh MAx During the Seder, before we begin to tell the story of Yetziat Mizraim, the Haggadah speaks of four sons. Who are the sons and what do they represent? To find out, we must first look at the opening bracha that is said before we even get to the sons. Why is there an opening bracha? Well, the answer lies within the bracha itself. The four sons are first introduced in it. Because we are about to start educating children about the story of Yetziat Mizraim, we must first thank Hashem for giving us the Torah, for if he hadn t we would not be able to tell the story at all. This answers why we say the bracha, but why are there four separate expressions of praise, why not just one? Because each of the four expressions represents one of the four sons, and Hashem s association with each of them and his intellectual level. This is the meaning of the opening bracha. The Wise son: Who is the wise son? The wise son represents someone who wants to learn and understand the laws of Torah and Mitzvot, and needs no help to get himself started. This is illustrated by his question, which asks about the Chukim, Eidot and Mishpatim of Pesach. He is also very smart, as he already asks about each of the three different types of mitzvoth, instead of just asking about the mitzvot. The Wicked son: The Wicked son is clearly a person who does not believe in following the ways of Hashem. In his question he uses the word you, and not us, implying that he doesn t include himself with the rest of us. Perhaps he is a person who is intelligent but, who has turned out for the worst. He is not interested in being part of the Seder and so is punished for it. However, the wicked son can be interpreted to represent that among all good people, there will always be wicked, however, the wickedness of the wicked son is counteracted by the goodness of the wise son, therefore they are placed together, as they counteract each other. So, what do the four sons represent as a whole? They could represent four different levels of assimilation. The wise son is someone who is completely connected to Hashem, the wicked son is someone who has lost all faith in Hashem, the Simple son is someone who is beginning to doubt Hashem, and the son who does not know how to ask still believes in Hashem but has lost his faith in asking questions. However, the sons could represent four different levels of spiritual greatness. The wise son 11

12 is someone who needs no prodding to believe and ask questions, the simple son is someone who will only ask questions when he notices something out of the ordinary, the son who does not know how to ask is someone who needs prodding to ask questions, and the wicked son is someone who is full of hatred and has lost all spiritual connection to Hashem. We have looked at who the sons are, but what about the reason they are placed in the specific order; wise, wicked, simple and unable to ask? There is an explanation for that as well. The four sons could represent four levels of intelligence that are present at the Seder. The wise son is someone who is intelligent and has turned out for the best. The wicked son could be someone who has intelligence, but has turned out for the worst. So, he is the worst resulting case of the wise son. The two are placed together because they are the opposites of each other, one for the best, one for the worst. The simple son is someone who struggles but tries to ask questions to help him. The son who is unable to ask questions could be someone who also struggles, but unlike the simple son he does not try to help himself by asking questions, perhaps because he considers himself to be too cool for questions. So he is the worst case of the simple son. These two are also placed together because they are also opposites of each other, one for the better, one for the worst. The Simple Son and the One Who Does Not Know How to Ask: You must open up the conversation with the son who doesn t know how to ask. The son who doesn t know how to ask is a ritually observant Jew who fulfils all the customs of the Seder. However, his Judaism is cold and dry. He doesn t think he needs to be that spiritual and therefore, he needs help to get the conversation going, this is why he doesn t ask. The son who doesn t know how to ask is not stupid. In fact, an article in the commentaries of the Passover Haggadah Maggid that talks about this son is actually titled: Too Smart for Questions. Another article in the Haggadah about the simple child is titled: Not so simple. This means that the son is actually quite smart too. By using the word simple, this does not mean the son is actually simple. The other sons are labelled as the wise son or the wicked son. This is based on the way they perceive G-D. The simple son perceives G-D with a pure and innocent faith. This is why he is called the Simple Son. 12

13 Why do we dip our fingers into the wine on Pesach Arieh Herszberg Each Dip of wine signifies one of the 10 plagues hashem had to send to make the Egyptians let the Jewish go free. Taking your pinkie finger and dipping it into the wine and dripping it onto your plate. By taking some wine out, represents never forgetting the Exodus from Egypt. As we do so we dip a finger into our cup of wine and remove one drop for each plague. The reason for this is that in order that we should be feel how (the Egyptians) had to suffer. Wine is the symbol of joy and so their suffering reduces our joy. Every time one of the plagues is mentioned, we dip our finger in the wine and spill a drop. This reminds us that our cup of joy is not complete because people had to die for our salvation. Thus it is considered insensitive -- after completing the drops -- to lick one's finger! Rather than your "pinky" finger, you should use your "pointer finger" (Etzba in Hebrew), which corresponds to the declaration in the Torah that the plagues were Etzba Elohim -- "the finger of God". You should spill a total of 16 drops -- three for "blood, fire and pillars of smoke," 10 more for the plagues, and another three for Rabbi Yehudah's abbreviation. Some say that we pour ten drops for the plagues of our world: Against the making of war, and against the teaching of hate. Against the despoiling of the earth, and against the perverting of power. Against the fomenting of crime, and against the neglecting of human needs. Against the oppressing of peoples, and against the corrupting of culture, Against the subjugation of learning and against the erosions of freedom. 13

14 How many Plagues at the Sea? Demi, Noah and Benji The Torah says that there were only ten plagues, so then why do Rabbi Yossi, Rabbi Eliezer and Rabbi Akiva argue with this? Surely the Torah would be correct? The Rabbis try to amplify the effect and importance of the plagues in order to increase our sympathy towards the Egyptians. After all they were Hashem s creatures and we should be saddened by their destruction. The Rabbis are not talking literally when they say that there were 50/200/250 plagues, rather they were showing us the importance of mourning the death of your enemies, just as you would your friend. Also, they were increasing the importance of the Jew s redemption. Rabbi Yossi said how do we know that there were 10 plagues in Egypt and 50 plagues at the sea? He answers his question by saying that in Egypt the magicians said that the 10 plagues were the finger of God, meaning that one finger equals 10 plagues. However at the sea it says that Bnei Yisrael saw the great hand of Hashem laid against Egypt. And they believed in Hashem and in Moshe. Rabbi Eliezer then says that that each of the ten plagues in Egypt was worth 4, as it says fury is one, indignation is two, trouble is three and messengers of evil is four. So there were forty in Egypt and 40 times 5 [for the hand] is 200 at the sea. Finally Rabbi Akiva says that each plague was actually worth five since there were actually five expressions as it says fierce anger is one, fury is two, indignation is three, trouble is four, and messengers of evil is five. So there were 50 plagues in Egypt and 250 at the sea. 14

15 Hallel on Pesach- Jack Zuckerman My drasha today talks about why we say Hallel on Pesach. The second to last of the fourteen sections of the Seder is Hallel, during which we glorify and praise Hashem. This Hallel, of course, is the same Hallel recited on any Yom Tov morning, although we don t say the first two paragraphs here because they are recited earlier in the Seder, at the end of Maggid. At first it may seem very simple: we are giving praise to Hashem for taking us out of Egypt. The source for reciting Hallel on Pesach night is the Mishnah in Pesachim. The Mishnah says that when the three groups slaughter their animals for the Korban Pesach on the day before Pesach, "they recite Hallel." Who exactly recites Hallel? Rashi says that the Mishnah refers to "all of the groups." Rashi implies that all of the people in the three groups recite Hallel, instead of when only the levi im sang it in the azarah of the beit hamikdash. Also, the Gemara there says that the Jews must recite Hallel when they slaughter their animals for the Korban Pesach, because of the text "how could it be that the Jews slaughter their Pesachim without saying Hallel?" Rashi then says that the doing of every Mitzvah deserves Hallel. We also see that the part of hallel we say after maggid, Ha yarden yesov le achor. This talks about how the Jews crossed the Jordan River into eretz yisrael. This seems like it doesn t really work in synergy with the story of Passover, because we could just sing shirat hayam. Both of them praise hashem, and shirat hayam would definitely seem the better option, because this tells the story of the entire yetziat mitzraim. A possible answer may be found in the middle of the mitzvah of story of Yetziat Mitzrayim itself. As mentioned above, 'every person must see himself as if he himself left Egypt'. The Shirat HaYam that bnei Yisrael sang after coming out from the sea was a miracle in its own, since all of bnei Yisrael either sang in unison, or repeated the chorus together. Hallel, by difference, is recited on most holidays or at any time that a person experiences a personal excitement. Those of us sitting at the Seder table would have a hard time expressing thanks to Hashem for Yetziat Mitzrayim in the terms of the Shirat HaYam. The spiritual circumstances do not capture our ability to give thanks on the level of 'natural existence, in which we exist. Hallel, on the other hand, is a form of song familiar to us, and we use it to show gratitude and thanks on a regular basis for more ordinary incidents of 15

16 holidays. In order for us to give thanks to Hashem at the Seder Table as if we had just left Egypt, we use a Tefillah that we can understand from our own experiences. While the Shirat HaYam was elegant and tremendous in its power and praise, it cannot accurately portray how we feel when we left Egypt. As Moshe and the children of Israel were crossing the Red Sea, the children of Israel began to complain that they were very thirsty after walking so far. They couldn t even drink from the walls of water on either side of them because they were made up of salt-water. Whilst Moshe was looking around for some fresh water, a fish from the wall of water told him that he and his friends were willing to help. They would use their gills to remove the salt from the water and force it out of their mouths like a freshwater fountain for the Israelites to drink from as they walked by. Moshe accepted this kindly fish's offer with gratitude, but the fish said there was a condition. The children of Israel and their descendants always had to be present at the Seder meal that would be established to commemorate the Exodus, since they had a part in the story. When Moshe agreed to this, he gave the fish their name, which remains how they are known to this very day, for he said to them, "Go Filter Fish!" 16