Midrash on A Midrash: Midrashim on the Haggadah

Urchatz ורחץ

וּרְחַץ

And Wash

נוטלים את הידים ואין מברכים "עַל נְטִילַת יָדַיִּם

."Wash your hands but do not say the blessing "on the washing of the hands."

Rabban Gamliel used to say: According to the Tosafot Yom Tov the basis of Rabban Gamliel’s statement is: “You shall say, ‘It is the Passover sacrifice to the Lord…” That is, we are commanded to recite the reason for the Passover commandments. Since we are explicitly told to recite the reason for the Passover sacrifice the same explanation is used for matzah and bitter herbs. Nowhere are we told what we are required to discuss when we recall the story of the Exodus from Egypt. Rabban Gamliel, therefore, tells us which details we are required to discuss. This is the essence of the telling of the Exodus. If one has not mentioned them, then one hasn’t fulfilled his obligation to tell the story of the Exodus. Anything else we discuss on Passover night falls under the statement, “One who expands on the story of the Exodus from Egypt is praiseworthy.”

-- Kos shel Eliyahu

Ashkenazic tradition no blessing is recited. The blessing for washing hands is said only before eating bread.

Urchatz: 1. After preparing yourself to speak before the Holy One, you must wash before entering the banquet hall. This may be compared to the person who comes to a mortal king to bring him a report. First he dresses himself in nice clothing and washes his face and hands so that there is nothing unseemly about his appearance. If this is what one does for a mortal king, how much more so for the Sovereign of all sovereigns, the Holy One who fills the universe with glory, when one comes to speak before Him and to recount the wonders and miracles and kindness He has performed for us, to give praise and thanksgiving . How much more so should one wash and dress oneself in nice clothes for such an occasion!
2. There is another reason for the washing of the hands. This is an allusion to freedom on this night. On this night we act like a fussy and picky ruler who doesn’t eat anything without first washing up.

-- Ma'arechet Heidenheim (Composed in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. Maarechet Heidenheim was written by Rabbi Tevele Bondi and was published in 1898 in Frankfort der Mein. Not much is known about the author. Rabbi Bondi’s commentary reflects the thoughts of a man who was aware of the changing times in which he lived.)

Karpas: One dips green vegetables in salt water to symbolize that like karpas, we must undergo an entire immersion of one's body for the purpose of a complete purification. One should not be like the person who immerses himself with an impure reptile in his hand, God forbid! This is an allusion to the fact that the Israelites were idolaters while they were in Egypt. When God took them out of Egypt in order sanctify them by giving them the Torah, it was necessary first to remove the impurity that was upon them and to have them perform complete repentance. One immerses the greens to symbolize the Baal Teshuvah (repentant) who is as humble as the plants in the field which are trampled underfoot.

The greens are called karpas, which comes from the word for trampled over; or it is related to the word refes, spelled with a shin instead of a samech, which is the word for mud or earth. (See Rashi in Proverbs, 6) Karpas is a reminder that the Israelites were humiliated by the Egyptians; they were like "mud and dirt."

Another reason for dipping: Having preparing himself to go before the King, he now shows his allegiance and his willingness to obey the King's command. By dipping the greens in salt water or vinegar, he still remembers the time when he was humbled while in Egypt and that God took us out of subjugation so that we could reach this exalted level. The dipping of karpas alludes to two opposing ideas, subjugation and freedom. First it symbolizes subjugation when our lives were like the vinegar or the salt water, and in the end it symbolizes the merit of dipping the hyssop when we fulfilled the commandment of placing the blood on the doorposts of our homes, so that Israel was saved from the death of the first born and afterwards they went forth to freedom.

Karpas is a code word for subjugation, which we learn by reading the word backwards; ס' פרך – the letter samech followed by the word parech (oppression). This means that sixty (number value of samech) ten-thousands were forced to do oppressive labor. (Ex. 13) Another way that I interpret this word is as an abbreviation, both forward and backwards.
פנים– כרבוא פעמים ס' ,אחור– סופם פרך
First they were a people of sixty thousand; afterwards they were oppressed.
פנים. כלו רעמסס פתום ס ' רבוא -- אחור ס' רבוא פתום רעמסס כלו
Another interpretation: read forward: sixty thousand finished the city of Ramses and Pitom and read backwards: sixty thousand finished Pitom and Ramses.
בתחילה ס' רבוא פה רך אבל סוף פרך
Yet another allusion in the word karpas: In the beginning there were sixty thousand who were enticed by soft words. In the end sixty thousand were oppressed. (the words for soft word Peh rach and the word for oppression - parech - are the same Hebrew letters).

--Marechet Heidenheim

Yachatz יחץ

יַחַץ

Break

חותך את המצה האמצעית לשתים, ומצפין את הנתח הגדול לאפיקומן

Split the middle matsah in two, and conceal the larger piece to use it for the afikoman.

Yachatz – The Broken Matzah:
Limits, Memory, Promises, and Change.

Yachatz, the breaking of the middle matzah, has several different meanings:

1. It is a reminder that the tenth plague happened in middle of the night. Thus we break the middle matzah into two unequal pieces because Moses said; "Thus said the Lord: 'About midnight I will go forth among the Egyptians…'" (Ex. 11:4) Moses said k'chatzot, "about midnight," and not exactly at midnight, since only God is capable of knowing the exact moment of an event. The broken matzah is a reminder of human limitations and the greatness of God.

2. The broken matzah is a reminder that God split the sea. Similarly, the sea was not split equally into two parts so we break the matzah into two unequal parts.

3. God divided the years that were mentioned in the Covenant of the Pieces into unequal parts. The people were not subjugated by the Egyptians for 400 years (as promised in Gen. 15:13) but were enslaved only 210 years; so too the matzah is divided into larger and smaller pieces . The larger piece is hidden under the pillow (for the Afikomen) as a symbol of the majority of the years that the Israelites were enslaved, and the smaller piece is placed back on the plate as a symbol of Israel's freedom. It is on this piece of matzah that we say "This is the bread of affliction…" It is for this reason that one who failed to make the Passover offering in the Temple or one who ate leavened food on Passover was punished with karet, extirpation. This is a fitting punishment, measure for measure: since God cut short the number of years that Israel was to be enslaved, a Jew is punished by having his years cut short when he fails to observe Passover. God cut short Israel's subjugation so that they would not fall down to the fiftieth level of impurity and thus become unredeemable. God in His great mercy made certain that the number of years Israel spent in Egypt was shortened so that they could still be redeemed.

4. Having sanctified himself and immersed himself in the way of a ba'al teshuvah, he now celebrates the festival. This is called Yachatz , from the word mechetzeh or chatzi, half. The celebration on festivals is partially devoted to God and partially devoted to the persons physical comforts. The larger portion of the commandment to rejoice on the festivals is for God. This is represented by the Afikomen, the larger piece of the matzah. This portion is hidden behind a pillow just the reward of the portion for the world to come is hidden from sight. Even though this reward is huge, it is beyond our comprehension, as is written: "In the covert of your presence you hide them from the plots of men. You hold them safe under your shelter from the strife of tongues" (Psalms 31:20).

Let Me Explain:
Why do we break the middle matzah and hide the larger portion of it for the Afikomen to be consumed at the end of the Seder meal? Rabbi Bondi explores the significance not only in breaking the matzah into two pieces but purposely breaking it into two unequal size pieces. He offers four reasons, which I would suggest fall into four different categories: theological, historical, prophetic, and existential. These four categories closely parallel Pardes, the literal, homiletical, allegorical and mystical.

1. The first explanation is the theological. Moses does not say that the tenth plague will come at midnight but "around midnight." The rabbis puzzled over this expression and explained that lest the Egyptians timing was off they might accuse Moses of having been wrong in his timing. Therefore Moses fudged the time a bit so that he could not be accused of being off in his timing. Only God can know the exact middle point of the night. One should note that midnight does not mean 12 AM but the middle point between sundown and sunrise. This is a halachic category which the rabbis regularly use to define times during the night.

2. The second explanation (and the third to an extent) is historical. The broken matzah is a reminder of the splitting of the red sea, and the amount of time that Israel was enslaved in Egypt.

3/4. Prophetic/historical - the Covenant of the Pieces refers to the mysterious vision that Abraham has in which God predicts that Israel will be strangers in a land not their own for four hundred years. (Genesis 15) The problem with this prophecy is that Israel was only enslaved 210 years - so what happened to the other 190 years. According to the sages, the Israelites were liberated earlier because they could not have endured 400 years of slavery. There are fifty levels of impurity - if Israel had descended all fifty levels they would have been incapable of being redeemed. God, therefore, redeemed them when they reached the 49th level of impurity before they were completely lost - this was after 210 years.

5. The existential interpretation continues an earlier line of interpretation. The fifteen steps in the Seder are not a reference to the ritual acts that are part of the Seder but also refer to the ways in which we sanctify our lives and undergo a process of spiritual transformation, beginning with kadesh - preparation, urechatz - cleansing, and karpas - immersion. We are now spiritually ready to celebrate and rejoice in the presence of God, yachatz - both for ourselves and for the sake of God.

-- Maarechet Heidenheim

Magid, Ha Lachma Anya מגיד, הא לחמא עניא

מַגִּיד

The Recitation [of the exodus story]

מגלה את המצות, מגביה את הקערה ואומר בקול רם:

The leader uncovers the matsot, raises the Seder plate, and says out loud:

הָא לַחְמָא עַנְיָא דִּי אֲכָלוּ אַבְהָתָנָא בְאַרְעָא דְמִצְרָיִם. כָּל דִכְפִין יֵיתֵי וְיֵיכֹל, כָּל דִצְרִיךְ יֵיתֵי וְיִפְסַח. הָשַּׁתָּא הָכָא, לְשָׁנָה הַבָּאָה בְּאַרְעָא דְיִשְׂרָאֵל. הָשַּׁתָּא עַבְדֵי, לְשָׁנָה הַבָּאָה בְּנֵי חוֹרִין.

This is the bread of destitution that our ancestors ate in the land of Egypt. Anyone who is famished should come and eat, anyone who is in need should come and partake of the Pesach sacrifice. Now we are here, next year we will be in the land of Israel; this year we are slaves, next year we will be free people.

Maggid: We devote the first part of the Seder to God through the study of Torah. Maggid refers to the study of Torah.

Maggid also means confession. The Baal Teshuvah must make a verbal confession. From Kadesh to Nirtzah (the order of the Seder) there are sixteen words which together allude to Yohakh, the sword of the Holy One. God smote Egypt with it until the Egyptians allowed the Israelites to go free. It is for this reason that we toss sixteen drops of wine from our cup when we recite the ten plagues, the plague acrostic (D'zakh Adash Ba'achav), and the three expressions דם ואש ותמרות עשן.

Maggid also refers to each symbol and its opposite. The sages decreed that the opening passage should be in Aramaic, the language of Babylonia, so that we begin with disgrace. Abarbanel wrote that the Egyptians fed Israel this unappetizing bread which is hard to swallow and digest. We begin by referring to a piece of matzah - since it is the way of the needy to only keep out a piece of bread. It is a reminder of servitude and disgrace. But one ends by saying, "Next year may we be free."

Let Me Explain:
Rabbi Bondi offers two ways of reading Maggid. The first is Torah study and the second, confession. For the sages studying Torah was a kind of prayer - it is a devotional act through which we praise God by seeking to understand God's revelation. The intellect and the heart are directly connected to one another. The second interpretation of Maggid is "confession." This is part of the spiritual process of repentance which begins preparatory (Kaddesh), continues with purification (Rechatz and Karpas) and then rejoicing in the presence of God (Yahatz). We are now prepared to offer confession (Maggid), part of the process of return to God. Maggid as confession is not as strange as it might seem, at first. In Deuteronomy 26, which is the basis of the Maggid, the passage is introduced: "I acknowledge (higaditi) this day before the Lord your God that I have entered the land that the Lord swore to our fathers to assign to us." (Deut 26:3) Higaditi comes from the same root as Haggadah. It is a kind of confession or affirmation of faith. By reciting the Haggadah we are confirming our connection to God and our historic roots as a nation.

The "order of the Seder" also alludes to a deeper mystical meaning. The sixteen words that make up the poem "Kaddesh U'Rechatz…" are associated with the sixteen times that we place our finger and remove wine from our cup later on and the mysterious name of God, Yohakh (see the foot note below). There are other references to God's sword later in the Seder.

Finally, Maggid begins with a theme that appears throughout the Seder: each object or symbol at the Seder represents an idea and its opposite: slavery and freedom, bitterness and hope, etc. In the opening words of the Seder we begin by holding up the matzah and referring to it as a poor person's bread or slave's food but we end by saying, "Next year we will be free." We are supposed to see both darkness and hope in all things on this night.

-- Ma'arechet Heidenheim

Magid, Ha Lachma Anya 3

This is the bread of haste....which our ancestors ate in the land of Egypt. Not the bread of affliction but the bread of haste. Matzah was the food that the people ate when they were liberated, not while they were enslaved. While most commentators associate Matzah with slavery and oppression, Rabbi Epstein believes that it is more closely connected with Israel’s liberation. The Israelites did not eat Matzah in Egypt. In fact in Numbers, 11:5 the Israelites tell Moses that the food in Egypt was plentiful: “We remember the fish we used to eat free in Egypt, the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, the onions, and the garlic.” (There is no mention of Matzah in this verse.) When the Haggadah says that they ate the “Lechem Oni” in Egypt, it does not mean literally “in Egypt” but rather in the vicinity of Egypt when the people left the land.

All who are hungry come and eat; all who are needy come and celebrate Passover. While these two statements sound repetitive, they contain two different types of invitations. The first statement is for those suffering from hunger while the second statement is for those who have food but lack the necessary provisions to celebrate Passover. Rabbi Epstein understands the second statement to be an invitation to join in the celebration of the holiday. “Vayifsach” is not a reference to the Passover offering but rather a verb formed from the proper noun “Pesach,” meaning to celebrate Passover. We find a basis for this interpretation in Maimonides’ version of the Haggadah. It says, “Kol detzrikh lifaseach,” “Anyone who needs to celebrate Pesach...” Furthermore, the continuation of this statement in the Haggadah makes it clear that this is a reference to the festival and not the Pesach offering since it says, “This year we are here (in the Diaspora).” The Pesach offering could not be sacrificed in the Diaspora so the opening statement must be an invitation to celebrate Pesach at a time when the Passover sacrifice was no longer being offered. Why are both statements necessary? The invitation reminds us that we have two different types of obligations to the needy. According to Halachah we must provide food to those who are hungry without investigating their needs. If someone asks for food we should not question him. We must give him what he asks for. When it comes to other less essential needs, we have a right to investigate if the person is really as needy as he says. One more note: If this is an invitation why don’t we make the statement, “All who are hungry…” before the Kiddush at the very beginning of the Seder? The Kiddush must be recited at the very onset of the Sabbath or the holiday without any delay, in fulfillment of the statement, “Remember the Sabbath day – remember it as soon as it begins.” (See Peachim 106b.) We find a similar statement in the Torah concerning Passover in Exodus 13:2, “Remember the day on which you went forth from Egypt.” The same principle must applies to both the festival and the Sabbath with regard to the Kiddush - we don’t delay its recitation. What’s more, we can’t be sure if and when there will be needy people at our door step so it would be impractical to delay the Kiddush while we issue an invitation and wait for the needy to arrive. The participants recite the Kiddush as soon as the Seder begins and only afterwards they issue an invitation to those who are hungry or needy to join them.

All who are hungry...now we are here, next year in the land of Israel; now we are slaves next year may we be free: The opening statement of the Haggadah begins with three passages: “This is the bread of haste…” “All who are hungry” and “Now we are here.” The first statement sets the stage for the telling of the Passover story. Is there a connection between the two invitations (all who are hungry and all who are needy) and the following two statements (now we are here and now we are slaves)? In Talmud, Berachot 34b, we learn that in Messianic times the only thing that will change in the world is that there will no longer be political oppression of one nation by another. There will, however, still be poverty in the world. Some realities never change. These two statements make this clear; even when we are in the land of Israel we will still have to say, “All who are hungry come and eat,” because “the poor will not cease from the earth.” (See Deuteronomy 15:11.) What will be different between the present era and the messianic era? “Now we are slaves,” but in the time to come “we will be free.” These statements are also a road map to redemption. The Talmud in Baba Batra10a, says, “Great is Tzedakah because it will bring redemption to the world.” We begin the story of redemption by bringing redemption to the world through acts of kindness and justice. The Talmud bases this statement on Isaiah 56:1, “Observe justice and perform righteousness (Tzedakah) for my salvation is soon to come.” These statements also explain the connection between the second and the third statements in “Ha Lachma Anya.” By performing acts of charity (“all who are hungry…”) we will gain the merit to live in the land of Israel as free men and women.

-- Baruch She'amar on Pesach Haggadah (Author: Barukh HaLevi Epstein

נוצר/נערך ב (1900 - 1940 לספירה בקירוב). פירוש על הגדה של פסח מבעל "תורה תמימה."

Composed in (c.1900 - c.1940 CE). Commentary on the Passover Haggadah by Rabbi Barukh Epstein, author of Torah Temimah on Chumash.)

Why We Begin the Seder with Matzah The Seder begins with “This is the bread of poverty” and not "This is like the bread of poverty,"^*Some versions of the Haggadah begin K'ha lachma anya: “This is like the bread of poverty.” as it is written, "In order that you may see the bread that I fed you… when I brought you out of Egypt." (Ex. 16:32) ^*Ex. 16:32, the verse quoted here, is actually a reference to the manna which was put aside as a reminder of the food which our ancestors ate upon leaving Egypt. Similarly, ‘the bread of poverty’ which we eat is the same as the bread which we ate at the time of the Exodus. The sages began with this statement in order to publicize “the bread of poverty” which our ancestors ate in Egypt. By beginning with lechem oni, it illustrates the rabbinic interpretation of this expression. The sages explain that matzah is called lechem oni because there is much to say (onim) about it.^*See Pesahim 36a The Hebrew words for poverty (oni) and for answer (oneh) are written with similar letters. The bread of poverty inspires us to explain the meaning of this bread and to answer many questions about it. Matzah inspires us to tell the story and carry out the rituals of the Seder. We begin with the unleavened bread and read a statement referring to this bread in order that we may see that everything afterwards is a reference to the bread with which the Seder began.

Had the Seder opened with Mah Nishtanah, it would not be clear that the Seder is about explaining the significance of unleavened bread. By beginning, "This is the bread…" and calling it by this name, and then continuing with the four questions, it becomes clear that the entire ceremony is about explaining that there is much to say about matzah. Since this is a statement that is recited by the head of the household, it is recited in any language that the members of the household will understand.

-- Divrei Negidim, Author: Yehudah Yudel Rosenberg, יהודה יודל רוזנברג (1860 - 1936

Yehudah Yudel Rosenberg, also known as Rav Yudel Tarlow'er after the town of Tarlow where he served as rabbi, was born into a rabbinical family that claimed descent from Yehuda HeHasid. In addition to a thorough traditional education, he learned Hebrew literature and encouraged it's revival. In 1913 he emigrated to Toronto, where he became the rabbi of the Beth Jacob congregation. He was a prolific author, perhaps best known for his translation of the Zohar into Hebrew, as well as his book about the Maharal and the Golem of Prague.

Matzah: A Remembrance of History and a Symbol of Hope:

This is like the bread of poverty which our ancestors ate: As we begin the Haggadah, we do so by emphasizing the power of God. Matzah serves as a symbol of memory. When we refer to the bread of affliction we are reminded that despite the fact that Pharaoh was so powerful that no slave ever escaped from Egypt, we were able to do so with the help of God. Matzah teaches us that we could not have escaped from Egypt on our own. Other people would have taken credit for their escape, but the bread of affliction is a reminder that we were powerless on o ur own. When we contemplate the meaning of Matzah which our ancestors ate and through which our ancestors merited God's blessings, we are affirm that the hand of God is all powerful, the creator of light and darkness. Matzah is not the food of slavery but an affirmation of God's providence, the One who creates the rich and the poor.

Therefore, all who are hungry come and eat: We invite the needy to come and eat with us. Even though the sages tell us that the poor are often humiliated by their poverty, having contemplated the meaning of the Matzah we can now say to them: "Don't be ashamed". What we have is not ours. Everything comes from God. We are eating at the table of the Merciful One. Even though you are now in great distress and need, your lowly state is meant to raise you up so that you can accept God's exalted inheritance.

All who are in need: We should invite not only those who are hungry but those who do not have the means of celebrating and honoring the festival.

Come and celebrate Passover: We invite him to come take whatever he needs to celebrate the holiday for he and we are the same. One should speak gently to a needy person. Say to him: "Consider this! Has any creature created something from nothing? Can one create fullness out of emptiness? Surely God can make the dejected feel secure and raise up those who have faltered!"

Now we are here (in a place where God's face is hidden) Next year in the land of Israel (where God's providence will be revealed):
Now we are slaves, next year free, each person underneath his vine and fig tree. We can only be free when we recognize the power of God. Matzah alludes to the power of renewal. With almost nothing we make Matzah. God renews the world ex nihilo, out of nothing, just as the bread of affliction is made without leaven to begin its preparation. The preparation of Matzah, however, begins with something: flour; human beings cannot really create something out of nothing. From the Matzah, then, we are made aware that God is all powerful and has the ability to reward or punish. When this idea is firmly in our hearts, then we will be 'in the land of Israel' and 'we will be free.'

-- Ephod Bad, Author: Benjamin David Rabinowitz

Written by Rabbi Benjamin David Rabinowitz of Warsaw, Ephod Bad is a commentary on the Pesach Haggadah. Ephod Bad was published in 1872. Although he is described as a “famous preacher”, little is known anymore about Rabbi Rabinowitz and his life. The concept of Divine Providence appears throughout the commentary. Rabbi Rabinowitz quotes Rambam’s Guide to the Perplexed, the Kuzari, the Zohar, the Bible, Talmud and halakhic codes.

One begins the reading of the Haggadah. The Rif wonders why one doesn’t recite a blessing for the reading of the Haggadah just as one recites a blessing for the reading of the Megillah. Surely the telling of the story of Passover is a positive commandment as we learn: "You shall tell your child on that day etc." (Exodus 12:8)
He explains that a blessing for telling the story is unnecessary since by saying in the Kiddush, "A remembrance for the exodus from Egypt," he fulfills his obligation of saying a special blessing. The Rashba offers another explanation for why a special blessing is not said for the telling of the Passover story. One does not need to say a blessing for a mitzvah for which there is no minimum in its performance. A simple statement ("God took us out of Egypt") would suffice in the telling of the story of the Exodus, though we do say "whoever tells the story at length is praiseworthy."

Why is matzah called lechem oni? It is bread about which we have much to say (onim "answer") such as the reading of the Haggadah and Hallel. Another explanation, just as the poor person only eats a portion of his bread, putting away part for later, so too do we recite the motzi on a broken piece of matzah.

-- Kimcha Davshuna, Author: Johanan Treves

נוצר/נערך ב (1520 - 1540 לספירה בקירוב)

Composed in (c.1520 - c.1540 CE). Published in Bologna in 1540, the Kimcha D’avshuna commentary on the Haggadah was written by Rabbi Yochanan ben Yosef Treves. This commentary focuses on explaining the halakhic way to conduct a seder. Rabbi Treves answers questions of Jewish practice surrounding the seder which reflects the nature of the community of his time.

Background
It has been suggested that the opening statement of the Haggadah is similar to an overture before a great opera or show. It is not part of the telling of the story and yet it contains many of the dominant themes of the Passover, beautifully expressed through poetry. So what does this statement say and how does it fit into the Haggadah? Notice that this statement ties together past, present and future. We begin “This is the bread of affliction;” speaking in the past. We continue “All who are hungry come and eat”, speaking in the present. And then we look toward the future: “Now we are here…next year…” Rabbi Lorberbaum picks up on this time frame and discusses not only past redemption, but future redemption as well in his commentary.

This is the bread of affliction. It is meant to be read as a statement that expresses sorrow. Despite the fact that we were redeemed from Egyptian slavery, we are now living in exile once again, “like the Jews subjugated to Ahasveros”. This bread which we eat at the Seder is like the bread of affliction which our ancestors ate in the land of Egypt….” The use of the Aramaic language at the beginning of the Seder is a reminder that we are still in exile and that this is not the true Passover. By referring to Matzah as the bread of affliction, we are also reminded that we are not yet redeemed.

There is an implicit ambivalence in our celebration of Passover and our recalling of the Exodus. After all, why celebrate past redemptions when we are currently unredeemed and in exile? The author explains this with a parable: Usually, someone who is liberated from prison has reason to rejoice not only in the fact that he was liberated but also to mark the day of his liberation as a time of celebration of an important event in his life. If the person is put back in prison, however, he has little cause to celebrate his original liberation. He would not want to celebrate past liberations if the present one has not yet taken place. This is not the case in recalling the Exodus from Egypt. By telling the story of the Exodus we gain the hope that God will redeem us again. We still have reason to celebrate because the original Exodus gives us reason to hope that God will redeem us again. Past redemption gives us hope for future redemption.

Why do we make the statement, “All who are hungry come and eat,” specifically on the festival of Pesach? Aren’t we obligated to help the needy on all of our festivals and not just Passover? Since there is still hope for redemption, our response should be to invite others to join us in celebrating this moment. Why are we inviting others to join us in celebration? We are celebrating because, “Now we are here and next year we will be in the land of Israel!” Telling the story of the Exodus is our way of expressing our hope in future redemption.
This statement, “All who are hungry,” appears to be out of place and time. It should have been said outside the door of one’s house so the needy would hear it and before the Kiddush so that the needy would have already joined the Seder. Why do we recite this passage indoors and after we have already begun the Seder?

The opening statement of the Haggadah, “This is the bread of affliction…” is not a true invitation to the needy as much as it is an explanation of the purpose of telling the story of the Exodus and celebrating the Passover. As a result, it appears before the actual telling of the Exodus.

Why is Matzah referred to as Lechem Oni, “the bread of affliction?” Why do we say, “This is the bread of affliction…which our ancestors ate in the land of Egypt?” Later in the Seder we explain that the Israelites ate Matzah when they left Egypt according to the Torah!
While the Jews ate Matzah when they fled from Egypt, we refer to it as “the bread of affliction” because this was also the food that they ate while they were living and toiling in the land of Egypt. The Egyptians worked the Israelites so hard that they did not even have time to allow their bread to rise.

-- Maaseh Nissim, Author: Yaakov Lorberbaum

Written by Rabbi Yaakov Lorberbaum (1760-1832), Maaseh Nissim draws from the insights of the Ramban, the Zohar, Ramban, and Rabbi Eliezer Ashkenazi to enlighten the readers. Each section of the text is divided into “Background” and “The Text”. The background sections are written by the translator, Rabbi Mark Greenspan.

This is the bread of affliction: The Seder begins with this invitation to the needy to join us in the Passover meal so that they won't be embarrassed by sitting at the table of someone wealthier than them. We comfort them by saying, ‘Aren't we all brothers and sisters who were redeemed from the house of bondage - both your and my parents?’ We do this in order to fulfill the commandment, "You shall love the stranger for you were strangers in the land of Egypt." (Deut. 10:19) In this way the needy person will not be humiliated.

-- Minchat Ani, Author: Jacob Ettlinger (17 March 1798 – 7 December 1871) (Hebrew: יעקב עטלינגר‎) was a German rabbi and author, and one of the leaders of Orthodox Judaism. He is sometimes referred to as the Aruch la-Ner (ערוך לנר), the name of his best-known publication."

There are those who explain: Why do we open the Haggadah with a passage in Aramaic? Since people spoke Aramaic in Jerusalem, it was considered the language of rejoicing⁵That way everyone would understand and could rejoice.. Another explanation: We recite this invitation in Aramaic because of the evil spirits. They only understand Hebrew and by beginning in Aramaic they will not know what we are doing. When we say all who are hungry, we do so in Aramaic so they will not gather together and mess up the meal! If we read the passage in Hebrew they would understand!

-- Shibolei HaLeket, Author: Zedekiah ben Abraham HaRofei

Composed in (c.1240 - c.1280 CE). Commentary on the Passover Haggadah excerpted from the medieval Halakhic work 'Shibolei HaLeket'.

Magid, Four Questions מגיד, מה נשתנה

מסיר את הקערה מעל השולחן. מוזגין כוס שני. הבן שואל:

He removes the plate from the table. We pour a second cup of wine. The son then asks:

מַה נִּשְׁתַּנָּה הַלַּיְלָה הַזֶּה מִכָּל הַלֵּילוֹת? שֶׁבְּכָל הַלֵּילוֹת אָנוּ אוֹכְלִין חָמֵץ וּמַצָּה, הַלַּיְלָה הַזֶּה – כֻּלּוֹ מַצָּה. שֶׁבְּכָל הַלֵּילוֹת אָנוּ אוֹכְלִין שְׁאָר יְרָקוֹת – הַלַּיְלָה הַזֶּה (כֻּלּוֹ) מָרוֹר. שֶׁבְּכָל הַלֵּילוֹת אֵין אָנוּ מַטְבִּילִין אֲפִילוּ פַּעַם אֶחָת – הַלַּיְלָה הַזֶּה שְׁתֵּי פְעָמִים. שֶׁבְּכָל הַלֵּילוֹת אָנוּ אוֹכְלִין בֵּין יוֹשְׁבִין וּבֵין מְסֻבִּין – הַלַּיְלָה הַזֶּה כֻּלָּנוּ מְסֻבִּין.

What differentiates this night from all [other] nights? On all [other] nights we eat chamets and matsa; this night, only matsa? On all [other] nights we eat other vegetables; tonight (only) marror. On all [other] nights, we don't dip [our food], even one time; tonight [we dip it] twice. On [all] other nights, we eat either sitting or reclining; tonight we all recline.

How different is this night from all other nights: This was included in the Haggadah for those who did not have a child to ask questions, as it says in Talmud Pesahim (116a), "If his son was knowledgeable, he should ask; if not let his wife ask him. If she is unable let him ask himself. Even two who are knowledgeable in the laws of Passover should ask one another."

-- Kimcha Davshuna,

Translator's Introduction:
In many commentaries on the Haggadah, we find the question of why we mention the four 'differences' but never explain, the specifics of "why this night is different from other nights. Rabbi Bondi offers a common explanation based on the commentary of Don Isaac Abarbanel, the Sephardic commentator.

The Mishnah states: "Pour the second cup of wine. Here the son asks his father. If the son does not have knowledge, his father should teach him, Mah Nishtanah…" The Talmud then adds: "If the son is knowledgeable, he should ask his father; if not, the wife should ask her husband; if she is unable to do so, let him ask himself. If two scholars who know the laws of Passover (are celebrating Seder together), they should ask one another, Mah Nishtanah…"

The essence of the Mah Nishtana is to inquire into why we perform contradictory customs on this night. The first question: Normally, the rich eat leavened bread and the poor eat matzah, each according to his financial capacity. On this night, however, we all eat matzah as if we cannot afford leavened bread. Similarly, in the second question, we say that on other nights we eat whatever vegetables we want (each according to what he can afford) but tonight all of us eat bitter herbs. Lest one think we do these things solely as a reminder of slavery, we also do the opposite. We dip vegetables like the rich and lean like freemen. Thus, these two practices are symbols of freedom and affluence. The first two practices, then, contradict the second two practices. Such contradictory practices are difficult for the child to understand.

Now we can understand why we don’t answer each individual question in the Mah Nishtanah. Rather we offer a general answer to all the contradictory differences, "We were slaves." Through these practices, we show that first we were needy slaves to Pharaoh and later we not only became free but we became royalty, as reflected in the practices of dipping and leaning. God took us out of Egypt with a strong hand and an outstretched arm and elevated us to royalty, as it says, "Israel is my first born son." God took us quite suddenly from the lowest status as slaves to the highest status as princes. We go from matzah to dipping and from maror to leaning, to show the great miracle that God brought us from the lowly status of slavery to the royal status. Thus the answer is a more general one to the question of why we eat foods that symbolize our contradictory status. We don’t explain each symbol separately. Rather, we explain the reasons in the Haggadah, beginning with "And they went down to Egypt" (Deut. 26) to Pesach, matzah and maror. "

Another explanation: *For the first question we say, "On all other nights we may eat hametz and matzah; on this night we eat only matzah," but for the second question, we say "On all other nights we may eat other vegetables; on this night (We eat) maror" Why do we add the word kulo, "only," here for the first question regarding matza but not for the bitter herbs? Eating bitter herbs doesn’t imply that we only eat bitter herbs. Once one has eaten the maror one is permitted to eat any other vegetables one wants. This is not the case for matzah. One eats matzah to the exclusion of hametz.

It is unnecessary to ask specifically why we eat haroset since this is no different the rest of the year - one can eat haroset any time one wants. Similarly, we don’t ask about the four cups of wine since there is nothing prohibiting a person from drinking four cups of wine any time one wants.

Let me explain:
Rabbi Bondi doesn’t add new insights to our understanding of the Mah Nishtanah but he offers an eloquent explanation for a question frequently asked regarding this passage. The Haggadah follows the Mah Nishtanah with Avadim Hayyinu, "We were slaves to Pharaoh in the land of Egypt but the Lord our God took us out from there with a strong hand and an outstretched arm." One would have expected an explanation for each of the differences between Passover night and the rest of the year. His explanation (based on Abarbanel's commentary) is that these four differences are simply pointing to the larger theme of the Seder: the contrast between slavery and subjugation in Egypt and the freedom and liberation of the Exodus. This night is different because it calls our attention to the contrast between these two states of being. Later in the Seder we will answer these specific questions.

It is interesting to note that originally there were only three statements in the Mah Nishtanah; they concerned the Passover offering (why roasted and not cooked), maror, and matzah. Over time the four statements or differences evolved into the statement that we now have. The original Mah Nishtanah, was directly connected to Rabban Gamliel's statement which comes at the end of Maggid: “One who has not explained three things at the Seder has not fulfilled his obligation.” For Rabbi Bondi and Abarbanel, on the other hand, the “answer to the Mah Nishtanah follows immediately after the questions. They see Avadim Hayyinu as a thematic answer rather than a specific detailed answer to the details.

One final note about the Mah Nishtanah halailah hazeh meko halailot: One could argue that Mah Nishtanah is not a question, or a set of questions, at all but a statement. Instead of “How is this night different from all other nights,” one could translate it, "How different is this night from all other nights!" The Mishnah is suggesting that if the child cannot ask for himself, then one should prompt him by pointing out the differences and saying to him saying, Mah Nishtanah, “How different is this night!” In that case we don’t need an answer to the questions at all!

​​​​​​​-- Ma'arechet Heidenheim

Background
OK, so the four questions are not really questions. What exactly are they? And if the purpose of the Haggadah is to tell the story of the Exodus from Egypt why do I need to explain why our customs are different on this night from all other nights? Rabbi Lorberbaum explains that at the heart of the Seder is an attempt to understand our way of life. We begin the telling not in the past but right here at the Seder Table in the present exploring the significance of our way of life. This will lead us to the past and help us understand who we are today. The questions in the Mah Nishtana, then, highlight the importance of the way we remember the Exodus today as Jews and how we tell the story through the commandments, customs and practices both divine and rabbinic.

Mah Nishtana. Why were the sages so insistent on one asking questions of another? The Braita says, “If he has no wife (and there is no one else to ask), then let him ask himself.”
The whole point of the telling of the story of the Exodus (“And you shall tell it to your child on that day, ‘It is because of this which God did for me when I went forth from Egypt.’”) is not merely the telling of the story but the explanation of the Mitzvot associated with the Exodus from Egypt. This is implied in Exodus by the words Ba’avur zeh, “It is because of this” referring to the Matzah and Maror. Discussing the Mitzvot takes place in a dialogue with others, through questions and answers, and inquiry and discussion.

Why do the four questions single out these particular differences in the Seder and not others such as the four cups of wine?

The four statements neatly divide into two groups the first two statements about Matzah and Maror have to do with those commandments associated with Passover that are divine commandments taken from the Torah, and the second two statements have to do with rabbinic commandments which appear at the beginning of the Seder. They are dipping and leaning. In this way the Mah Nishtana reminds us that we must be exacting in observing and explaining both the commandments whose source is in the Torah and those which are derived from Rabbinic literature.

-- Ma'aseh Nissim

The opening words of Mah Nishtanah are an allusion (remez) to the story of Esther. “On that night, sleep deserted the king…”⁴³Esther 6:1 This took place on the night of Passover – it inaugurated the downfall of Haman. The first letters of Mah nishtanah halailah spell the name Haman, a reminder that this is a night of redemption in many generations.

-- Marbeh L'saper-- Author: Yedidiah Tiah Weil, Composed in (c.1750 - c.1790 CE)

There are four things about which we were commanded on this night. The rituals of the Seder that we perform represent ways in which one sanctifies life from the womb until death. The four rituals which we are commanded to perform on this night, are pleasures of the body: the Pesach offering, matzah, maror, and four cups of wine. Each teaches us that in order to serve God, a person must do four things:
1) One must be prepared to sacrifice that which is most beloved to oneself in the service of God. The Pesach offering is a sheep. It symbolizes the people of Israel who are called "a lamb," as the prophet stated: "Israel is a scattered sheep, harried by lions." (Jer. 50:17)
2) A person should not become arrogant in whatever one does to fulfill the will of the Creator, or in aiding the needy. Rather, one should consider what one gives as simply sharing with the needy what one has been given by God. Matzah symbolizes humility, as stated above in the commentary on Ha lachma anya.
3) One should not consider the observance of the commandments troublesome, but rather one should consider it as an opportunity to willingly suffer in service of God. The maror represents this aspect of how one serves God.
4) One should serve God with joy and good spirit. The four cups of wine represent this aspect of how we serve God. It is stated in scripture: "Wine cheers the hearts of man." (Ps. 104:15)

-- Minchat Ani

There is another explanation for the four cups of wine. They are related to ideal life.

(1) The Cup of Kiddush is for childhood spent in the school house. These children are sanctified before they have tasted sin.

(2) The Cup of the Maggid is for youth, which is a time of learning Torah. A young person is taught to distinguish between the sacred and the secular. After this comes a break when we eat. This represents marriage when one is not as free to busy oneself in holy matters since one must marry, earn a living and support the members of one’s household.

(3) The Cup of the Birkat HaMazon. As one's mature years approach, one begins to give thanks to the Holy One for all the good that has bestowed upon him, giving him life and helping him earn a living.

(4) The Cup of Hallel - After this comes the time that is completely holy to the Lord: Hallel and Nishmat Kol Chai. This is the time when one makes the transition from this world to the world to come, fulfilling the verse: "Open for me the gates of righteous; I will enter them and give thanks to the Lord." To this we respond: "This is the gate of the Lord, the righteous shall enter therein." (Psalm 118)

-- Minchat Ani

Magid, We Were Slaves in Egypt מגיד, עבדים היינו

מחזיר את הקערה אל השולחן. המצות תִהיינה מגלות בִשעת אמירת ההגדה.

He puts the plate back on the table. The matsot should be uncovered during the saying of the Haggadah.

עֲבָדִים הָיִינוּ לְפַרְעֹה בְּמִצְרָיִם, וַיּוֹצִיאֵנוּ ה' אֱלֹהֵינוּ מִשָּׁם בְּיָד חֲזָקָה וּבִזְרֹעַ נְטוּיָה. וְאִלּוּ לֹא הוֹצִיא הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא אֶת אֲבוֹתֵינוּ מִמִּצְרָיִם, הֲרֵי אָנוּ וּבָנֵינוּ וּבְנֵי בָנֵינוּ מְשֻׁעְבָּדִים הָיִינוּ לְפַרְעֹה בְּמִצְרָיִם. וַאֲפִילוּ כֻּלָּנוּ חֲכָמִים כֻּלָּנוּ נְבוֹנִים כֻּלָּנוּ זְקֵנִים כֻּלָּנוּ יוֹדְעִים אֶת הַתּוֹרָה מִצְוָה עָלֵינוּ לְסַפֵּר בִּיצִיאַת מִצְרָיִם. וְכָל הַמַּרְבֶּה לְסַפֵּר בִּיצִיאַת מִצְרַיִם הֲרֵי זֶה מְשֻׁבָּח.

We were slaves to Pharaoh in the land of Egypt. And the Lord, our God, took us out from there with a strong hand and an outstretched forearm. And if the Holy One, blessed be He, had not taken our ancestors from Egypt, behold we and our children and our children's children would [all] be enslaved to Pharaoh in Egypt. And even if we were all sages, all discerning, all elders, all knowledgeable about the Torah, it would be a commandment upon us to tell the story of the exodus from Egypt. And anyone who adds [and spends extra time] in telling the story of the exodus from Egypt, behold he is praiseworthy.

Punishment and Threat
“The Lord our God took us out from there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm.” A mighty hand can mean with great strength, while an outstretched arm could mean continuing threat. That is, the Egyptians would continue to be threatened even after the plague took place for quite some time. God took the Israelites out of Egypt by smiting the Egyptians and by continuing to threaten them afterwards. Each time the plague ended, Pharaoh immediately began to sin once again so that it wasn’t possible to take the Israelites out of Egypt. The only way to free them was to threaten the Egyptians long enough to make sure the Israelites had a chance to leave Egypt. The plague of the first born lasted only a single moment at midnight; it was only the possibility that the plague might continue that the Israelites were able to leave Egypt. Explaining the passage, "He called for Moses and Aaron at night and said, 'Rise up and get out from among my people,'" (Ex.12:31) the Midrash states,^*The verses in the Torah suggest that after the tenth plague, the Egyptians were terrified that the tenth plague would continue. If they had not been afraid of the Israelites they might have changed their minds immediately after the death of the first born. It was the continuing threat that allowed the Israelites to wait until morning to leave. The Israelites argued that if they left in the middle of the night they would appear to be no better than thieves who run away after robbing someone. Remember the Israelites went around collecting silver and gold before leaving Egypt. "The Israelites said, 'Are we thieves? We will leave in the morning.' Pharaoh said to them, Shall all Egypt die, as it is stated, The Egyptians urged the people that they might send them with haste for they said, 'We shall all be dead men.' (Ex. 12:33) The Israelites then said to Pharaoh: 'Do you want to end the plague? Declare that we are now free and are now servants of God.' Pharaoh then declared, 'In the past you were the slaves of Pharaoh; from now on you are the servants of God.'" In this Midrash we see that Pharaoh was terrified because he thought that the plague would continue and everyone in Egypt would die. That is why he agreed to send the Israelites out of Egypt. The continuing threat was an example of the outstretched arm. Pharaoh feared that if he went back on his word the plague would return.

--Divrei Negidim

Whoever speaks at length about the Exodus from Egypt is praiseworthy: The Exodus is a paradigm of divine guidance in the world.There are three main areas of our lives in which we perceive divine guidance: children, lifespan and sustenance. But not all people perceive divine guidance in the same way. Some people perceive divine guidance maybe once in a long while; the rest of their lives are presumed to be a product of nature and chance. There are some who perceive divine guidance in all things and all moments: about them we have the verse in Song of Songs, “I am for my beloved and my beloved is for me.” About such people the Zohar says, “Just as they cleave to God, God cleaves to them.” Those who speak at length about the Exodus come to perceive divine guidance in all things. They understand that we must thank God for the forces of 'natural guidance' – these too come from God. This is natural guidance (really a form of divine guidance) is expressed in the liturgy when we speak about God causing nightfall or fashioning the light of day.

-- Ephod Bad

We were slaves to Pharaoh in Egypt: This is an answer to last of the questions about leaning; but it serves an answer for the other questions as well. This night is different from other nights; we eat matzah and maror. If one were to respond, "Whatever happened, happened; why do we have to bother telling what happened," we would say to him, "If the Holy One had not taken our ancestors out of Egypt, we and our children and our children's children would still be subjugated in Egypt."

-- Kimcha Kavshuna

Avadim Hayeenu, We were slaves: The two halves of the opening statement in this passage are taken from two different biblical verses; the first half of this statement is taken from Deuteronomy 6:21 – “And you shall say to your child, ‘We were slaves to Pharaoh in Egypt…’” The second half of the passage, Avadim Hayeenu is taken from a different verse Deuteronomy 5:15 – “And you shall remember that you were a servant in the land of Egypt, and the Lord brought you out from there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm.” This passage provides an answer to each of the four questions.

We begin with Deuteronomy 6:12 to fulfill the dictum that in telling the story of the Exodus, one begins with disgrace (and ends with exaltation.) Deuteronomy 5:15 contains not only a statement of exaltation but it also answers the four questions in the way it is worded.
Adonai took you out, (1) your God, from there (2), with a mighty hand (3), and an outstretched arm (4)

1. V’yotzee’acha adonai – “Adonai took you out.” This statement explains why we dip twice during the Seder. The two dippings represent the two blessings which God bestowed upon Israel in Egypt: first, they were redeemed from slavery to freedom, and second that it was God Himself who redeemed them. These two blessing are alluded to by these words: V’yotzee’aynu “He took us out” and adonai “Adonai.”

2. Elohaynu misham – “Our God from there.” This is an allusion to the matzah. When the Israelites were slaves in Egypt they were not much better than the Egyptians; like them they worshipped false gods. When they were about to leave Egypt, they renewed their faith in one God and repented of their former ways. We find reference to this in the verse: “Draw out and take your lambs according to your families.” The sages interpret this to mean draw yourselves away from idolatry and bring obligatory lambs. It is known that chametz is a symbol for the evil of idolatry while matzah is a symbol of the aspect of holiness. Therefore when the Israelites ate matzah, they affirmed that their God, Elohaynu, never ceased to be their God and that they were rejecting idolatry, symbolized by chametz. That is why we eat only matzah on Passover – it is an affirmation of acceptance of God and rejection of idolatry.

3. B’yad chazakah – “With a mighty hand.” This expression is a reference to the tenth plague since it is the mightiest of all the plagues. Through it Israel escaped from Egypt. Regarding this plague the Torah says, “There was no Egyptian household in which there weren’t dead,” As a result, there was bitterness and sorrow in every Egyptian household. We eat bitter herbs as a reminder of the bitterness we caused the Egyptians through the hand of God. Later in the Haggadah a different explanation is given for the bitter herbs, and both are correct.

4. U’v’zroah netuyah – “And an outstretched arm.” Because God took us out of Egypt with “an upraised hand,” without fear or anxiety, we lean at the Seder as a sign of our leisureliness and comfort.

-- Kos Shel Eliyahu

We Were Slaves: The Exile and Liberation of Speech:

From the narrow place (min ha’metzar) I cried out, and he answered me from the wide open space. It is obligatory to recall the Exodus from Egypt each day, morning and night. On this night, however, we do more than simply mention this event. We tell the story of the Exodus. We begin by saying, “How is this night different from all other nights?” and respond, “We were slaves to Pharaoh in Mitzraim, and he took us out of there with a strong hand and an outstretched arm.”

The Zohar teaches us that the story of the Exodus is really the story of the exile of speech. The words Pharaoh and Mitzraim are an allusion to this exile. When the letters of Pharaoh are switched around it spells oreph, restricting, just as the word Mitzraim can be read metzar yam, the narrow place. In exile, the Israelites lost the power of speech. They could not lift their voices in prayer and Torah. The powers of idolatry imprisoned them so that they could not be redeemed. It was only through the mighty hand of God that we were redeemed from speechlessness and we gained peh sach, an open mouth, though which we could offer prayers and thanksgiving. That is why the essential mitzvah of the first night of Pesach is Haggadah, declaring.

Telling the story (at length) is a sign of our true freedom. We find in the story of the subjugation Israel not only an image of redemption from exile, but also one of birth. When the people of Israel were in Egypt they were like a fetus in its mother’s womb. They were unable to speak or cry out. Only when they came forth from the ‘narrow place’ were they able to speak; therefore Passover celebrates our receiving a peh sach, a fluent tongue, once we left the womb that confined us. In this season of miracles and wonders the telling of the Exodus enters the heart of the listener for goodness. Haggadah, the telling, them is the very essence of the day since it expresses the freedom of expression that the Israelites received when they left Egypt.

-- Yismach Yisrael, written by Rabbi Yirachmiel Yisrael Danziger (1853–1910), is a compilation of Divrei Torah on the Haggadah. Rabbi Danziger was the most well-known member of the Aleksander Hasidic dynasty. Yismach Yisrael is a spiritual work which views the Passover seder as a time for renewal and healing.

One is wise and one is wicked... Why does the Haggadah contrast the wise child with the wicked children? The opposite of a wicked person should be a righteous person, not a wise person. Rabbi Epstein points out that there are places in the Bible where wisdom is associated with righteousness, such as Psalms 119: 98, “Your commandments make me wiser than my enemies.” In other words one’s wisdom allows us to fulfill God’s commandments and thereby overcome our enemies. The editor of the Haggadah chose the word “Chacham, wise” rather than Tzaddik, righteous,” because generally righteous people tend to follow the will of God without asking questions or expressing doubts. There are two type of righteous people. There are those who blindly follow God’s will (and say, “we will do and we will obey”) and there are those who obey God’s will but ask questions and probe into the deeper meaning of what it is they are doing. The Haggadah focuses on the second type of righteous person who obeys God’s will but is not afraid to probe and ask questions. Such a person is the opposite of the wicked child.

-- Baruch She'amar, Composed in (c.1900 - c.1940 CE). Commentary on the Passover Haggadah by Rabbi Barukh Epstein, author of Torah Temimah on Chumash.

The four children represent four types of learners.

1. There is the wise child (the self-motivated learner) who seeks out wisdom and knowledge in order to understand those things he has not learned. He is constantly acquiring new knowledge. He is called a chakham because he is constantly acquiring chokhma, wisdom. ^*In other words, the wise child isn’t inherently wise but he is constantly pursuing knowledge and wisdom.

2. The simple learner does not have more or less knowledge than the chakham. Rather, he asks questions only when he notices anything that is different or out of the ordinary. This is the definition of the simplest knowledge which is neither lacking nor additional. It only occurs to him to ask questions when he notices something different. ^*The simple child is intelligent but he is not curious. This child is motivated to ask by outside criteria and stimuli rather than an inner process of thinking and contemplation.

3. The one who doesn’t ask lacks knowledge and fails to ask questions even when he notices something out of the ordinary. He is certainly lacking and is therefore called the one who doesn’t even know how to ask questions. In Exodus, 13:8) we are told, “You shall tell your child on that day…” The sages interpret this verse as a reference to a child who fails to even ask question, or possibly is incapable of asking because he is too young or suffers from some type of a cognitive delay. Ex. 13:8 contains the word v’higadita, the basis for Haggadah.

4. Finally there is the one who is the opposite of the wise child who has a source of knowledge and understanding. He, however, uses his knowledge for evil to ask questions that lead to heresy. He is called wicked because he is wicked in his wisdom seeking knowledge that will lead to heresy. Anyone whose actions lead to evil is called a rasha.

There are those who pursue wisdom to become enlightened and those who pursue knowledge for the purpose of heresy. That is why the wise and the wicked are paired up first. They are opposites with the same knowledge.

We see that the four children are different from one another in their question on Passover night. The wise one asks from the perspective of the wisdom in the practice. He asks about all the commandments and not a particular one. The simple only asks when he notices something out of the ordinary. He asks when he notices something different on Passover night in the Passover offering, matzah and the maror. The wicked one asks because he sees the rituals not as service/avodah, but as an avodah/burden and so he rejects the commandments with his question. Each one, then, offers his question in a more fitting context and not just about the celebration of Passover on which one is obligated to tell the story.

We learn about the obligation to tell the story of the Exodus on Passover eve from the one who does not know how to ask. It is based on the obligation to tell the story and not on the question that is asked.

^{-- Divrei Negidim}

Blessed is the Omnipresent, Blessed is God: God is called Hamakom, the Omnipresent, because we praise God as the One who created the world; God is called "the place of the world." Lest we think that God is only God when we witness God in the physical universe, we also say Baruch hu, Blessed is God. The term hu (referring to God), is nistar, third person or hidden. God is hidden from the perspective of the divine essence and being. We only know God through God's creation. We then say Blessed is the One who has given the Torah to the People of Israel, because we come to know God through words of Torah. But since we cannot fully understand the Torah we again refer to God as Blessed is God, because the full meaning of Torah is hidden from us. Through the Torah we come to understand that we cannot really know (the essence and nature of) God. This contrast of present and hidden is expressed in every blessing when we refer to God in both the second and third person: as Baruch attah, Blessed are you, and as asher kidshanu, Who sanctified us. We learn that we can know God (and God's actions) from the aspect of God's deeds but not from the aspect of God's essence.

-- Ephod Bad

Blessed is the one who gave the Torah: The commandment to tell the story of the exodus to our children is written in four verses in the Torah. Since we are about to interpret these verses, we begin by reciting a blessing for the Torah and then offering interpretations.

-- Kimcha Davshuna

The Torah speaks of four types of children: Why does the Haggadah use the word “one” four times in this passage? It could have said that, “The Torah speaks of four types of children: wise, wicked, simple and could not ask.”⁸⁶Instead the Haggadah says “One is wise, one is wicked, etc… The use of the word, ‘one’ in this passage is a reference to the different ways in which the four children comprehend the ONENESS of God. [Bachya Ibn Pakudah (Chovot Halevavot)] [Chovot ha-Levavot is the primary work of Bachya ibn Paquda, a Jewish philosopher and rabbi who seemingly lived at Saragossa, Spain, in the first half of the eleventh century. It was written in Judeo-Arabic in approximately 1040 under the title Kitab al-Hidāya ilā Fara'id al-Qulūb, Book of Direction to the Duties of the Heart, sometimes titled as Guide to the Duties of the Heart, and translated into Hebrew by Judah ibn Tibbon in the years 1161-80 under the title Chovot ha-Levavot.]

Maimonides and others suggest that those who have the capacity of comprehending the oneness of God should engage in such analysis. This is accomplished through rational analysis; to arrive at belief without such analysis is not appropriate. A parable explains this. If a series of blind people try to follow one another with a seeing person leading them; if the sighted person falls into a pit, then all the others will fall in with him.

Each person must arrive at his or her own concept of God but not all concepts of God are the same. Not everyone is capable of such study and the ability to comprehend the unity of God is different for each student. According to a person’s knowledge and intellect he or she will arrive at different levels of understanding of God. Therefore, in this passage, when we say “the ‘ONE’ of the wise child, the ‘ONE’ of the wicked child, the ‘ONE’ of the simple child and the ‘ONE’ of the child who doesn’t know how to ask,” we are speaking about their different perceptions of God.

A child is not yet ready to delve into this analysis so he is better off accepting belief in God based on tradition. For the wise, “One” means incomparable and indivisible, while for the simple child, ‘One’ is quantitative (God is one and not two). The ‘One’ that the wise child comprehends is the true oneness of God in the sense that the philosophers spoke of it. For the wicked, God is not one in the sense of singular; “One” is a product of many joining together– such a person is guilty of heresy. [This may be a reference to the belief in the trinity in Christianity.] In the way of Kabbalah, the child “who doesn’t know how to ask” is one who realizes that one cannot truly comprehend the absolute oneness of God. True comprehension of God’s oneness is only possible through the instrument of Torah and through the extent of a person’s intellect.

-- Marbeh Lesaper

Blessed is the One who is everywhere: The Torah is a healing balm for all types of people in the world, whether they are wise, wicked, simple or silent. Each of them can go out of the darkness of night into the bright light of repentance by telling the story of the Exodus on this night.

Blessed is the One who is everywhere: The Haggadah refers to God as HaMakom, “the Place,” to comfort and strengthen the Jewish people during their exile. Even though we have no place of our own during this time of exile, we are in “the place” of God, and there is no place from which God is absent. Also, in every Jewish soul there is a spark of God so that God is present in each of our places.

-- Yismach Yisrael

Background
This passage has confounded many generations of commentators on the Haggadah. To What does the opening word of the passage, V’hee, “And it is that,” refer? Rabbi Lorberbaum ties this statement together with the previous one but he also offers an alternative explanation based on the work of Rabbi Eliezer Ashkenazi. Rabbi Lorberbaum repeatedly refers to this work and even structures his commentary based on this early work from the sixteenth century. His questions are similar to the ones that Rabbi Ashkenazi asks though his answers are not always the same.

And it is that which has sustained our ancestors and us. How does God “keep His promise”?What is the Haggadah referring to when it says “And it is that”?
This is an explanation of the expression in the previous passage, “Blessed is He.” We bless God not only because He made a promise to us, but because He actively takes an interest in its fulfillment. This is what has sustained us from generation to generation. Even when others rose to destroy us, they could not destroy our sense of hope, which was a direct product of God’s interest in us. And even in exile, when we were seemingly cut off from God, that sense of hope sustained us in the face of overwhelming odds. The fact that God determined the end gave us reason to go on and survive. God’s promise to Abraham that in four hundred years He would redeem the Israelites from Egypt not only sustained his descendants but continues to sustain us as well.

Rabbi Eliezer Ashkenazi, the Ma’asei Hashem, understands this passage differently. The expression “And it is that which has sustained us,” refers to the statement that follows: “For in each generation they have risen against us but the Holy One has saved us from them.” What is it that has sustained us? The fact that God has allowed us to survive against overwhelming odds not by destroying those who hated us but simply by allowing us to remain alive. If God had used us to punish the other nations than it would have appeared that we were simply God’s means of punishment for others. The fact that we survived regardless of the other nations was a sign of God’s love rather than God’s anger. Israel’s survival is a sign of God’s love.

-- Ma'aseh Nissim

And it is this (v’hee) that sustains us: Literally, v’hee is “And she” is a reference to the Shekhinah, the divine presence. “It is the Shekhinah that has sustained us for more than once as enemies plot to destroy…But the Holy One saved us from their hands.” She was with us in exile and was subjected to the forces of impurity – so she is with us in every generation but the Holy One, Praised be God, saves us from their hand.

Yet another explanation is that v’hee refers to geulah, redemption. “It is the various redemptions that have sustained us, for more than once as enemies plot to destroy us…But the Holy One saved us from their hands.” All of the redemptions until this time were incomplete and therefore we can only sing a shirah, not a shir. (Apparently, shirah is a song of praise but it is less whole than shir. V’hee, then, is a reference to the intermittent redemptions which precede the great redemption.

V’hee can also be a reference to teshuvah, repentance. “It is repentance that has sustained us for more than once, enemies plot to destroy us…But the Holy One saved us from their hands.” Repentance brings redemption closer to fruition. When Israel cries out in repentance to God, then the Holy One saves them from their enemies.

-- Marbeh Lesaper

The Ten Plagues

אֵלּוּ עֶשֶׂר מַכּוֹת שֶׁהֵבִיא הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא עַל־הַמִּצְרִים בְּמִצְרַיִם, וְאֵלוּ הֵן:

These are [the] ten plagues that the Holy One, blessed be God, brought on the Egyptians in Egypt and they are:

Elu eser makot, These are the ten plagues which the Holy one brought upon the Egyptians who were in Egypt: The verse says “On the Egyptians” meaning to exclude the Israelites. None of the ten plagues affected the Israelites; these are the ten wonders which God performed for the Israelites in Egypt. The Haggadah then says “In Egypt” to exclude those plagues which God performed at the Red Sea. At the sea God struck Egypt with fifty plagues! The Haggadah then goes on to list the plagues in order to show how God struck the Egyptians and saved the Israelites.

This is what Rabbi Samson said in the name of the Ari : Each time God struck the Egyptians, God healed Israel a little more.

-- Kos Shel Eliyahu

Background
People often ask why ten plagues? Wasn’t God powerful enough to convince the Egyptians with one devastating plague that would force them to free the Israelites from Egypt? Rabbi Lorberbaum answers this question in a novel way by connecting the plagues with the ten utterances with which God created the world. The plagues are the opposite of creation – they represent the ten acts of un-creation. They made Pharaoh aware that just as God could create the world he also had the power to take away the blessings of creation. These ten utterances play an important role in the history of Jewish thought and in Jewish mysticism in particular. They are often associated with the ten Sephirot with which the world is created.

These are the ten plagues. Why are there ten plagues? Why were these ten plagues the ones with which the Holy One chose to strike the Egyptians?

“The world was created with ten utterances. What does this teach? It teaches us that the punishment of the wicked who destroy the world created by ten utterances is increased while the righteous who preserve the world created by ten utterances are rewarded.” Pirke Avot 5:1.
According to the sages the world was created through an act of speech. There were ten utterances by God through which creation came about. These utterances are found in the opening chapter of Genesis. Nine of them begin, “And God said,” and the tenth begins with the word, Bereshit, “in the beginning,” which the Talmud considers to be an “utterance.” If God is all-powerful then certainly God could create the world with a single utterance. So why was it necessary for the Holy One to create the world through a series of such utterances instead? According to Pirke Avot, “The Ethics of the Fathers,” the ten utterances were meant to increase the punishment due to the wicked that destroy the world through their actions. This way, instead of just one punishment for a single utterance, they are liable for ten punishments, one for each aspect of creation that they destroy through their actions. Similarly, the increase in utterances increased the reward due to the righteous.

Pharaoh denied the existence of God by refusing to free the Israelites. We see this in the beginning of Exodus when he responds to Moses’ request by saying, “Who is the Lord that I should heed God?” (Exodus 5:2) Pharaoh is not simply a tyrant; Pharaoh is also an atheist who denies God as the creator of everything. The plagues are an attempt to show Pharaoh just how powerful the Holy One really is. Just as God creates and maintains the universe, so God has the power to “un-create” the universe as well. Each plague is related to one of the ten utterances. Just as each utterance expresses the creation of one particular aspect of the universe, so, through each plague, God reverses God's creation. In this way Pharaoh saw that, just as God could create the world, so too God had the power to reverse the creation of the world. The plagues were an illustration of the power of God and the powerlessness of the Pharaoh.

The Plagues, however, do not follow the chronological order of the utterances of creation and the creation of the world. What logic is there to the order of the plagues, then? The plagues reflect creation in a different fashion. They are listed both sequentially and thematically. The first five plagues reflect creation. The second half reflects on the human being and his basic needs:

{Plagues reflecting Creation of the world}:
The first creation is water - blood.
The swarming creatures come forth from the water – frogs.
The creatures closest to the water are the land creatures – lice.
Then the other land animals – wild animals.
The heavens come next, just as the planets and the sun were created.
The “heavens” are the source of the pestilence – pestilence.

{Plagues reflecting human beings and human concerns}:
The creation of the human being – boils.
The creation of the firmament; protection from danger - hail.
The creation of the vegetation and food - locust.
The creation of the light - darkness.
The final plague – the death of first born.

-- Maaseh Nissim

Blood: Why did the Holy One bring a plague of blood? It was measure for measure. God said to Abraham: “The nation that you served I shall judge” (Genesis 15). Since the Egyptians did not allow the daughters of Israel to immerse themselves in water to be purified from their impurity (Mikveh) so that they could fulfill the commandment of “Be fruitful and multiply, so God punished them (the Egyptians) with water.

-- Ma'arechet Heidenheim

Dam - Blood: All the water in Egypt turned to blood; not just the river but the water in the wells, the water in the pitchers, and even the water in the mouths of the Egyptians. If an Israelite had a pitcher full of water he could drink from it. The Egyptian asked for some water but as soon as the Israelite poured the water into his hands it turned to blood. The same occurred if they drank from the same utensil.

-- Marbeh Lesaper

Frogs: Why did the Holy One cause the plague of frogs? Because the Egyptians subjugated the Israelites and told them, “Bring us frogs and other reptiles,” (to eat) therefore, God brought frogs down on the Egyptians.

-- Ma'arechet Heidenheim

Tzfardeah - Frogs: Tz’fardeah, frogs, is written in the singular while kinim, lice, is written in the plural because there was one giant frog that attacked Egypt; when the Egyptians struck it, it broke up into many small frogs. A simpler explanation is that the word tzfardeah, though written in the singular, it refers to many frogs. We find this disagreement between Rabbi Elazar and Rabbi Akiva. (Exodus Rabbah 10:4)

It is also possible that kinim, lice is written in the plural because it refers to many different species of lice but there was only one type of frog that attacked Egypt so it is written in the singular.

The Midrash says much more about this plague. We learn that frogs were the most deadly plague since they found their way into the Egyptians beds, attacked them, and mocked them by saying their gods (one of which was a frog) were destroyed! Ha, Ha! Not only giant but talking frogs!

The Torah says, “The frogs shall come among you and your people;” Exodus 8:4, literally this verse says, “in you and your people.” Rabbi Aha explained that Pharaoh drank a bit of water – it entered his heart and became a frog and burst forth there. Rabbi Yohanan said that where there was dust and water, it turned into a frog.²²⁰Exodus Rabbah 10:3 There are many other explanations as well.

-- Marbeh Lesaper

• Frog (tzfardea) is for the second day of creation, the day on which God separated the water from the dry land. While God promised not to bring another flood upon the earth, God commanded the frogs to come up from the sea and cover the dry land.

-- Minchat Ani

Lice: Why did the Holy One cause the plague of lice? Because the Egyptians appointed the Israelites to be cleaners of the fields and the market places, the Holy One turned their (the Egyptians') dust into lice and made it cover every cubit of land, as it is written: “All the dust of the earth was lice…”

-- Ma'arechet Heidenheim

• Lice (kinim) was a sign that the essence of the earth was under the control of God since lice came from the soil.

-- Minchat Anic

Wild beasts: Why did the Holy One cause the plague of wild beasts? Because the Egyptians herded the Israelites like a herd, so the Holy One sent the birds of prey and the wild beasts in large herds to attack them. Also, because the Egyptians ordered the Israelites to capture bears, lions and leopards to live in Egypt, so God sent a mix of wild animals.

-- Ma'arechet Heidenheim

Arov - Wild Animals: There were wild animals in the air and on the ground. The Midrash says that if the Egyptians locked themselves in their homes, there was an animal that went up on the roof and bored a hole into their roof with its horn and gave birds of prey entrance.

-- Marbeh Lesaper

• Insects (arov) is parallel to the fifth day of creation, the day on which God created creeping creatures, birds and all the sea creatures.

-- Minchat Ani

Pestilence: Why did the Holy cause a plague of pestilence? Because the Egyptians made the Israelites shepherd their (the Egyptians') flocks and herds in the mountains and wilderness in order to keep their slaves from reproducing (by keeping the husbands away from their wives). The Holy One said, “I will send another shepherd (the pestilence)” as it is written, “Behold the hand of the Lord was upon their herds.”

--Ma'arechet Heidenheim

Dever – Pestilence: God struck the livestock because the Egyptians forced the people of Israel to care for their livestock. Yalkut Shimoni Vaera – Sign 182 Yet if God struck down the livestock during this plague, how is it that livestock were struck down again during the plague of hail? See Exodus 14:7; Compare to Exodus 9:6

During the plague of pestilence only those livestock the Israelites cared for were affected; the rest of the livestock in the fields were struck down during the plague of hail.

--Marbeh Lesaper

• Pestilence (dever) -- airborne virus-- indicates that the Holy One has power over the air and the wind.

-- Minchat Ani

Boils: Why did the Holy cause a plague of boils? Because the Egyptians made the Israelites prepare hot or cool water for their baths, so God afflicted them with boils so that they would not even want water to touch their skin.

-- Ma'arechet Heidenheim

Sh’chin – Boils: This was unlike regular boils – it was dry and burning on the center. And it only affected the Egyptians and their livestock. If a cow was owned jointly by and Egyptian and an Israelite, or if there was a question to whom the livestock belonged to, it was not struck by boils. In this way the Egyptians knew who the law favored.

-- Marbeh Lesaper

Hail: Why did the Holy cause a plague of hail? Because the Egyptians forced the Israelites to tend to their gardens and orchards, so God afflicted the Egyptians by destroying them all.

-- Ma'arechet Heidenheim

Barad – Hail: If a shepherd tried to raise his staff so that the flocks would flee before the hail, the hail came down and broke it. Also the hail formed a barrier so that the flocks could not escape. This is the meaning of “He gave their flocks over to hail.” Psalms 78:48. Yalkut Shimoni comment on Psalms this verse. The Egyptians slaughtered their flocks and tried holding them over their heads to protect themselves, but birds flew down and snatched the carcasses up!

-- Marbeh Lesaper

Locust: Why did the Holy cause a plague of locust? Because the Egyptians made the Israelites plant their (the Egyptians') wheat and barley, therefore God brought the locusts to eat everything that the Israelites had planted for them (for the Egyptians).

--Ma'arechet Heidenheim

Arbeh – Locust: Concerning this plague, the Torah says: “Locust invaded...Egypt and settled within the territory; never before had there been so many nor will there ever be so many again.” Exodus 10:14 Yet we know that there were other plagues of locust in Egypt at later times – but none like this one.

-- Marbeh Lesaper

Choshekh – Darkness: There were seven days of darkness: three days during which a person who was standing could still sit down and stand up, and three days when the darkness was so great the people could not move from their place. The seventh day of darkness took place at the shore of the Red Sea as the people fled from Egypt. Exodus 14:20 This is the meaning of the verse: “He sent darkness” – in Egypt; “it was very dark” – at the sea. Psalm 105:28

Further the Midrash asks, where did the darkness come from? Rabbi Yehudah said that it was the darkness from above which was created on the first day of creation – it was not just an absence of light but a darkness that had its own substance. Rabbi Nehemiah said that the darkness was the darkness of hell (Gehenom). Tanchumah Bo chapter 3; Exodus Rabbah 14:2

But in the homes of the Israelites there was light. Just as there is an imperceptible division between heaven and hell, so the darkness of the Egyptians was separated from the light that filled the Israelite homes. During those three days of darkness, the Israelites buried their own wicked who had been struck dead. In that way the Egyptians would not know what happened . Furthermore, we learn that the darkness was so thick that it could be touched, ‘like the thickness of a coin.” Yalkut Shimoni Tehillim 105 How do we know this? The Torah says “a darkness that can be touched (vaymesh).” Exodus 10:21 The word vaymesh has the same numerical value as k’dinar av, ‘as the thickness of a coin.’

-- Marbeh Lesaper

The plague of the first-born: While the other plagues are referred to by their names (blood, frogs, vermin, etc.), the final plague is referred to with an extra word, “Makat, the plague of...” We say “Makat Bechorot,” “the plague of the first-born.” Why do we add the word “Makat” to this plague and not the others? The names of the first nine plagues are clearly talking about something that is inherently bad and pernicious, such as frogs or lice or blood; however, it is not self-evident that the word “Bechorot,” “first born” is referring to something bad. By adding the word “Makah,” we understand that this is the plague against the first born. Rabbi Epstein offers a second Midrashic explanation of this term. He explains that the word “Makah” has more than one meaning. It can mean a plague and it can also mean “an attack.” The term “Makat Bechorot” is a reference to a Midrash which claims that when the first-born of Egypt discovered that they would be the victims of the tenth plague they begged their parents to acquiesce to Moses’ demands. When Pharaoh and the elders refused to give in to Moses, the first born attacked their parents. This was the true “Makat Bechorot,” the attack of the first-born! In Psalms 136 we read, “…who smote Egypt through their firstborn.” What does “through their first-born” mean? Why does the verse say that “God smote Egypt” instead of “God smote the firstborn?” This verse should be translated “…who smote the Egyptian by their first-born,” The first-born of Egypt rose up in rebellion against their parents and smote them because the elders stubbornly refused to allow the Israelites to leave Egypt.

-- Baruch Sheamar on Pesach Haggadah

Makat Bekhorot- The Plague of the Firstborn: We have seen that the usage of both words makat and bechorot is significant here. Not only is this plague equal to all the others, but this plague struck ten types of people who had the status of first born. Not only that, it refers not only to the attack on the first born in Egypt, but the attack of the first born on the rest of Egypt. That is why we say bechorot – the firstborns (plural).

-- Marbeh Lesaper

דַּיֵּנוּ

Dayenu!!

Dayenu begins, If God had taken us out of Egypt but not inflicted judgement … This would have been a great miracle and it would have been sufficient, as is explained regarding the verse in the Torah, "Has any God ventured to go and take one nation out of another?" (Deut. 4:34) He took us out of Egypt as a person delivers a fetus from its mother's womb before its time. Israel was not yet worthy of leaving Egypt since they could have been judged as being no better than the Egyptians. These were idolaters, and these were idolaters. These partook of sexually illicit actions and these partook of sexually illicit actions. Even so God doubled our miracle by taking us out of Egypt and passing judgement on the Egyptians for subjugating us. How much more so should we praise the Master of Everything. God could not pass up the judgement of the Egyptians for God had promised Abraham, The nations which they served I will judge. (Gen. 15) Not only that but God passed judgement on all of them and not just some of them!

-- Kimcha Davshuna

Had He taken us out of Egypt but not meted judgment upon them: The passage could have said, “If He had taken us out of Egypt but not judged them,” similar to the passage in the Torah, “I will judge the nation that they served.” But the language of Dayyenu is more appropriate. The language asah sh’fatim, (an action verb) "to mete out judgment" is used with regard to the carrying out of a punishment, and it is also used elsewhere in scripture specifically for executing judgment against the gods of other nations, as in, “I will mete out judgments (e’ehseh sh’fatim) to all the gods of Egypt.”

-- Kos Shel Eliyahu

If God had given us the Sabbath but not brought us to Mount Sinai, it would have been enough. The Sabbath teaches us the essential theological truths of Judaism: that God created and renewed the world from nothing, reward and punishment, and that God is all powerful. Even if God had not brought us to Mount Sinai, we could have sustained ourselves with these profound theological truths.

--Ephod Bad

Shabbat…would have been enough: Shabbat is equal to all the other commandments. Therefore had God simply given us the Sabbath it would have been sufficient, since this is the most precious of all the commandments which God has given us.

Rabbi Eliezer Ashkenazi, in his work Ma’asei Hashem offers another interpretation of Dayyenu.
He suggests that we should read the expression Dayyenu not as a demonstrative statement but as a question. “Would it really have been enough for us?” He uses a parable to explain this interpretation. Imagine a slave of a certain king who is rewarded with his own small kingdom. The slave, while grateful might say to the king: “How can I rule over my kingdom when I don’t have royal garb? How can I rule over my kingdom when I don’t have horses? How can I rule over my kingdom when I don’t have subjects and slaves? How can I rule over my kingdom when I am lacking in an understanding of the rules of kingship? With each request the king would give his slave what was necessary for him to rule over his kingdom. Similarly, we say to God, God you have taken us out of Egypt but is this really enough? You haven’t completed the job of making us a nation of priests and a holy people? It is only with all the miracles and gifts referred to in Dayyenu that God’s gift is complete.

-- Ma'aseh Nissim

If God had given us the Torah but not brought us into the land of Israel, it would have been enough for us! In all the other verses of “Dayyenu,” we can easily switch the two statements around and it will still be true. But that is not the case with this statement. Had God brought us into the land of Israel but not given us the Torah, it would not have been enough for us! Without the Torah there is no purpose in being in the land of Israel. Similarly, Israel would not be a holy people without the Torah.

-- Baruch She'amar on Pesach Haggadah

If God had given us the Torah and not brought us into the land of Israel it would have been enough. We have seen that from the moment of liberation until this point God has helped the people of Israel attain all the dimensions of perfection. By awarding them with booty on the shore of the Red Sea, they gained material perfection. By helping the people survive the years of wandering in the wilderness, they attained physical perfection. The daily collection of manna instilled personal perfection by teaching them virtues and character. And now by receiving the Torah, the people attained human perfection through the mitzvot and the teachings of the Torah.
So even if God had not brought them into the land of Israel, it would have been enough! The world would have seen us as a wise people because of the teachings we received at Sinai. Why would it have been sufficient to receive the Torah even if we didn‟t enter the land of Israel? The providential laws of the Torah are what makes us unique as a people and gives us the ability to attain human perfection. There are two types laws by which the world functions:
1. There is natural law with which the world was fashioned and by which the nations of the world deport themselves. These laws rarely change except in very special circumstances, or for special individuals or special nations who have been singled out by God.
2. There is providential law, or laws that have been given only to the Jewish people and which replaced the natural laws by which the other nations function. These laws were given at Sinai and never cease to be in force.
The fact that God gave us these laws would have been sufficient reason to be thankful even if God had not brought us to the land of Israel.

-- Ephod Bad

Rabban Gamliel's Three Things

Rabban Gamliel said, anyone who did not mention these three things. That is, even if he ate the Passover offering, matzah and the Bitter herbs, he will not have fulfilled his obligation if he did not explain why we eat these three things, since the Torah emphasizes the explanation and the telling.

-- Kimcha Davshuna

Rabban Gamliel used to say: Nowhere are we told what we are required to discuss when we recall the story of the Exodus from Egypt. Rabban Gamliel, therefore, tells us which details we are required to discuss. This is the essence of the telling of the Exodus. If one has not mentioned them, then one hasn’t fulfilled his obligation to tell the story of the Exodus. Anything else we discuss on Passover night falls under the statement, “One who expands on the story of the Exodus from Egypt is praiseworthy.”

--Kos Shel Eliyahu

“Rabban Gamaliel used to say: If one has not explained three things on Passover:” It is not enough to think about the story of the Exodus. As the commandment suggests, one must explicitly tell the story: “You shall tell it to your child on that day. ” The word Pesach means that we should do so with a peh sach, an open mouth. The story must be told with deep concentration and inner spirit. To tell the story without inner intention is no better than mumbling idle chatter. Such words are like a body without a soul, and if one does it this way one has not fulfilled one’s obligations. The person must learn how to tell the story of the Exodus from the three Passover symbols which we now explain.

-- Yismach Yisrael

In Every Generation

In every generation it is a person’s duty to regard him/herself as though he/she personally had come out of Egypt, as it is written (Exodus 13:8) : “You shall tell your child on that day: ‘This is on account of what the Lord did for me when I came out of Egypt:” One of the principles of Passover is that we should each see ourselves as if we personally went forth from Egypt. How do we learn this principle from this verse? Since it was originally addressed to the Jews in the generation immediately after they left Egypt, we might assume that this verse was addressed to the generation in the wilderness and not to future generations of the Jewish people as well. The immediate textual context suggests that this passage is addressed to the next generation after the Exodus (the generation born in the wilderness). We see this in the opening words of the passage: “When the Lord brings you to the land of the Canaanites,” (Exodus 13:5). Since the generation that left Egypt did not enter the land of Israel, this verse has to be talking about the next generation of the Israelites (those born in the wilderness). The passage goes on to say that when you address your child you shall say, “When I went forth from Egypt.” Yet the people being addressed actually did not go forth from Egypt. Future generations, then, should speak of the Exodus as if they personally went forth from Egypt. Rabbi Epstein also deduces this from the wording of the verse, “And you shall tell your child on that day saying...” The additional word “laimor” or “saying” suggests that you shall speak of the Exodus to others who did not experience the Exodus personally. The others here are future generations of the Jewish people.

--Baruch She'amar on Pesach Haggadah

God Redeemed All of Us
“In every generation…” This means that each person should see himself as if he personally left Egypt. Therefore, the individual must praise and exalt the Holy One; that is why the passage ends, “Therefore it is our duty to give thanks, praise, pay tribute, etc…” (from the Haggadah) It is to illustrate this, the passage state, “You shall tell your child on that day, ‘It is because of this which God did for me…’” (Ex 13:8) instead of saying, “us;” this is a way of saying it is as if he went forth from Egypt. Afterwards this passage states, “Not us alone did God redeem.” This statement adds that God took out both the parents and the children. When God redeemed Israel from Egypt, God redeemed them in their entirety. It was for Klal Yisrael, for the entire people of Israel, so that none of the people would continue to live under the domination of Egypt. That is why the redemption was for the parents and the children. If God was only concerned with the people who were in Egypt, God would have only spoken about that generation. By saying “Us” it emphasizes that the Holy One wished to redeem the entire people of Israel present and future.

-- Divrei Negidim

In every generation each person must see him/herself… This statement should not be understood literally. People often assume that it means that had their ancestors not left Egypt they would still be slaves there. But if this is the meaning of this statement then it is equally true for all the other miracles in history that God performed for the Jewish people. For instance, the same statement could be said concerning Purim (we should see ourselves as if we were personally saved from Haman…). Yet for other deliverances, it is customary to make a blessing in which one says, “Blessed are you…who redeemed our ancestors...” One does not say “and for us,” as we do in the Pesach Haggadah.
What we are stating here is not that each person should see him/herself as if he/she went forth from slavery but rather that each person should see him/herself as if he/she was personally redeemed from Egypt to become participant in the covenant. While we did not personally experience slavery and redemption, we all can say that because our ancestors were redeemed from slavery, we have the privilege of being Jews and living by the Torah. In is in this sense that we are all connected to the Exodus and not in an experiential sense. We did not experience Egypt in an immediate sense as our ancestors did but the fact that our ancestors were redeemed has shaped our identity. That is our connection to the past.

-- Ma'aseh Nissim

To see himself (atzmo) as if he went forth from Egypt: Why was it necessary to say, ‘himself?’ We learn in the Talmud that if one’s father experienced a miracle, his children and offspring must continue to give thanks. BT Berachot 54a The redemption from Egypt goes much farther than that. We are grateful not just because of our ancestors but because we ourselves benefited (and continue to benefit) from God’s redemption. We are the direct recipients of God’s goodness in the Exodus (otherwise ‘we might still be slaves.’) We are commanded to give thanks not because it affected our forefathers but because we directly benefit from God’s redemption.

-- Marbeh Lesaper

The Blessings Motzi and Matzah

HaMotzi lechem: The sages decreed that we should say HaMotzi lechem min ha’aretz, but there is a question whether the blessing should be Motzi lechem…in stead of HaMotzi. [See Talmud Berachot 38a.] Everyone agrees that Motzi implies past tense: “God brought forth bread from the earth.” The question is what the implications of HaMotzi: does it imply the past or the future? On the one hand, we learn that in the Garden of Eden, God literally caused the bread to sprout forth from the earth. On the other hand the same is predicted for the end of time; in the end of time, God will cause the bread to come forth from the earth. When we say HaMotzi, then, we imply that it refers to both the past and the future, while Motzi would only apply to the past.

-- Naftali Seva Ratzon

Motzi Matzah: A person should remove (motzi) controversy (matzah) from his heart. This is particularly true during meal times. Stay away from conflict when one eats, and there is no (dining) utensil more precious than peace.

-- Marbeh Lesaper

Shulchan Orech: The Table is Set