(ד) מָזְגוּ לוֹ כוֹס שֵׁנִי, וְכָאן הַבֵּן שׁוֹאֵל אָבִיו, וְאִם אֵין דַּעַת בַּבֵּן, אָבִיו מְלַמְּדוֹ, מַה נִּשְׁתַּנָּה הַלַּיְלָה הַזֶּה מִכָּל הַלֵּילוֹת, שֶׁבְּכָל הַלֵּילוֹת אָנוּ אוֹכְלִין חָמֵץ וּמַצָּה, הַלַּיְלָה הַזֶּה כֻלּוֹ מַצָּה. שֶׁבְּכָל הַלֵּילוֹת אָנוּ אוֹכְלִין שְׁאָר יְרָקוֹת, הַלַּיְלָה הַזֶּה מָרוֹר. שֶׁבְּכָל הַלֵּילוֹת אָנוּ אוֹכְלִין בָּשָׂר צָלִי, שָׁלוּק, וּמְבֻשָּׁל, הַלַּיְלָה הַזֶּה כֻלּוֹ צָלִי. שֶׁבְּכָל הַלֵּילוֹת אָנוּ מַטְבִּילִין פַּעַם אַחַת, הַלַּיְלָה הַזֶּה שְׁתֵּי פְעָמִים. וּלְפִי דַעְתּוֹ שֶׁל בֵּן, אָבִיו מְלַמְּדוֹ. מַתְחִיל בִּגְנוּת וּמְסַיֵּם בְּשֶׁבַח, וְדוֹרֵשׁ מֵאֲרַמִּי אוֹבֵד אָבִי, עַד שֶׁיִּגְמֹר כֹּל הַפָּרָשָׁה כֻלָּהּ:
(4) The attendants poured the second cup for the leader of the seder, and here the son asks his father the questions about the differences between Passover night and a regular night. And if the son does not have the intelligence to ask questions on his own, his father teaches him the questions. The mishna lists the questions: Why is this night different from all other nights? As on all other nights we eat leavened bread and matza as preferred; on this night all our bread is matza. As on all other nights we eat other vegetables; on this night we eat bitter herbs. The mishna continues its list of the questions. When the Temple was standing one would ask: As on all other nights we eat either roasted, stewed, or cooked meat, but on this night all the meat is the roasted meat of the Paschal lamb. The final question was asked even after the destruction of the Temple: As on all other nights we dip the vegetables in a liquid during the meal only once; however, on this night we dip twice. And according to the intelligence and the ability of the son, his father teaches him about the Exodus. When teaching his son about the Exodus. He begins with the Jewish people’s disgrace and concludes with their glory. And he expounds from the passage: “An Aramean tried to destroy my father” (Deuteronomy 26:5), the declaration one recites when presenting his first fruits at the Temple, until he concludes explaining the entire section.
Literally, however, B'nai B'rak is the name of a place.
מעשה ברבי אליעזר. שכל מסיבתם רבנים גדולים וכל רז לא אניס להו ועכ"ז היו מספרים וכו' והגם שאין עמהם לא נשים ולא קטנים דסתם נשים וקטנים אינם יכולים להיות נעורים כל הלילה בפרט אחר שתיית ד' כוסות עכ"ז היו מספרים ולא היו מסתפקים במועט אלא כל אותו הלילה ואע"פ שיודעים כלם מה שישמעו והטעם הואיל ומצינו שהקפידה התורה לכפול השאלה והתשובה כנגד ארבעה בנים ש"מ שחפץ ה' בנו להרבות בספור זה ואתייא מכללא שא"א שלא ישמעו זמ"ז דבר חידוש שאין כל אחד רשאי לחדש רק מה שקבלה נשמתו כפי שורש בחינתו ומביא ראיה לזה:
Another explanation: The reason that the students came to remind their teachers about the Sh’ma was to emphasize the two aspects of the Exodus. There are two aspects to the story of the Exodus: one is telling the story of the actual Exodus from Egypt and the ten plagues; the second is the story of the splitting of the Red Sea. We mention the splitting of the Red Sea in the morning as part of the Shacharit service. The sages spent the whole night recalling the story of the Exodus. The disciples now came to remind their teachers that it is also necessary to recall the other half of the Exodus – the splitting of the sea – as part of the Shacharit service. According to Rav Yehudah,66BT Berachot 21a the recitation of the Shema was ordained by the sages but the mention of the splitting of the sea is a Torah obligation. It was incumbent upon the students to remind their teachers of this because they were so engrossed in the discussion of the Exodus.
Why does the Haggadah include a story about these five sages in particular? These sages disagreed over the issue of what part of the night one is obligated to recall and discuss the Exodus from Egypt. According to Rabbi Eliezer and Rabbi Elazar ben Azariah, one is only obligated to do so until midnight.67Mekhilta, Parshat Bo, chapter 18; Also see BT Berachot 9a. There is a lengthy discussion of the Halachic opinions in this passage but I have chosen to leave them out. His opinion was based on the idea that the Exodus took place at midnight. Rabbi Akiva and Rabbi Yehoshua, on the other hand, felt that the Exodus should be discussed all night long since the time of the flight from Egypt took place the following day, so we continue to discuss the story until the hour of the flight. Rabbi Tarfon, tangentially, was also involved in this disagreement. The argument went on all night long as to whether one is required to tell the story of the Exodus until midnight or until daybreak.
Affirming life and performing mitzvot: This episode raises many questions. (Page 57b-60a) It is surprising that the students found it necessary to remind their teachers about reciting the morning Sh’ma. How could they speak so impudently to their teachers? Surely the sages knew this! And since they were engaged in the commandment of telling the story of the Exodus, shouldn’t they have been exempt from other mitzvot? There a rabbinic principle that one who is engaged in a Mitzvah is exempt from other mitzvot? An introduction is necessary to understand the true nature of the dialogue between the students and the sages in this story. Judaism is a religion that affirms life above all else. We can only serve God in this world; when we give up life we loose the opportunity to bring pleasure to the Holy One. We see this in the story of Rabbi Akiva. When he was about to be put to death by the Romans, he began to recite the Sh’ma. His students asked him, “Until here?” Rabbi Akiva responded, “All my life I worried if I could fulfill the commandment to ‘Love God with all your soul.’ Now that this opportunity has come to me shall I not fulfill it?” The students of Rabbi Akiva were distressed that their teacher was prepared to give up his life by fulfilling the mitzvah of martyrdom and lose the opportunity to serve God in this world. They said, “Until here (you will serve God and no more?).” They knew that Rabbi Akiva had the power to deflect the Romans and save himself, and yet he was not prepared to do so; that is why they questioned him. They believed it was better to remain alive and serve God than to die and lose all future opportunities to do so. Like Moses who did not want to die outside the land of Israel, he was willing to give up all the blessings in store for him in the world to come in order to bring pleasure to God in this world through divine service. Rabbi Akiva recognized that he would never have such an opportunity of martyrdom again; to recite the Sh’ma while giving up his soul. He could not pass up such a holy opportunity. The question to Rabbi Akiva and his colleagues in this episode is much the same. The sages in B’nai Brak had reached such a level of ecstasy, and connection to God that they were prepared to give up their souls in ecstasy. They were no longer connected to this world, and their students seeing this wanted to bring them back to the realities of this world and its opportunities. They did so by saying two things to the sages at B’nai B’rak. First, they called out to their teachers, “Rabbotaynu,” our teachers.” In this way they reminded the sages that they would be lost without their teachers. Who would teach them the Torah and God’s commandments? All righteous people actually fulfill their mission in this world relatively early in life and could easily return to their place with God. It is part of God’s grace that he allows us to keep them more time so that they can reach their children and their students in this world. Second, they said to their teachers, “Has not the time for the recitation of the morning Sh’ma arrived?” In Sefer Haredim we learn that the commandment to “Love the Lord your God” means to love your fellow by teaching God’s ways to all humankind, as Abraham did. Abraham is called Ohavi, “My lover,” because he made known God’s presence to all people in the world. A true servant of a king will go out of his way to bring other people to the service of the king as well. As long as a person is in this world, he is capable of accomplishing this goal, but he cannot do so once he leaves this world and enters the world to come. Such a person brings great pleasure to God. When we are dedicated and selfless in the service of God we can do so many times. But when we do so in martyrdom, we can only do so once and never again. This was the meaning of Rabbi Akiva’s students to him. They said: Ad Kan? “Only until here” Are you really prepared to give up the opportunity to serve God?” So too when the students spoke to the sages who were about to let go of their earthly existence they said to them, Are you really willing to give up your souls in this way? It is time for you to recite the Sh’ma – this is a form of mesirut nefesh, selfless devotion – and by reciting the Sh’ma with your entire being it is as if you gave God your very life, and thereby brought him pleasure! This is the meaning of a verse in Eshet Hayil, Proverbs 31:25-26. Strength (oz) and dignity are her clothing; she laughs at the time to come. She opens her mouth with wisdom and a Torah of loving kindness is on her tongue. The word oz is a reference to Torah. When one makes the Torah one’s mantel, God reveals the blessings that will be given in the time to come. However, the righteous person merely laughs at them – he would rather bring pleasure to God in this world. Therefore, “She opens her mouth with wisdom,” means that she opens the gates of wisdom from above and arouses great compassion from the source of all compassion in order that the “Torah of loving kindness” shall be on her tongue. The Talmud offers two interpretation of this phrase This means that one either learns Torah for its own sake (without an ulterior motive) or one learns Torah in order to teach it to others. Such Torah brings great pleasure and satisfaction to God. The Zohar says that people who serve God in this way are like those who have sacrificed their very soul to God. When one does this, “She looks well to the ways of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness ." When Torah is learned for self-aggrandizement, it is considered the bread of idleness. The truly righteous would never consume such “bread” because it does not bring satisfaction to the Creator.
Rabbi Elazar ben Azariah said: *This passage is taken from the first chapter of the Mishnah Berachot. It is actually about whether there is an obligation to recite the third paragraph of the Sh’ma. Since we are not obligated to wear fringes at night, we may be exempt from reciting this passage. But since it also mentions the Exodus, Rabbi Elazar concludes that the obligation to recite it and mention the Exodus even at night. This passage is brought here even though this statement does not address the commandment of telling the Exodus from Egypt on Passover. Rather it addresses the question of mentioning the Exodus in the Kriyat Sh'ma every night. It is to show how important the commandment of remembering the Exodus is. According to the sages one is obligated to mention the Exodus each day and according to Rabbi Elazar, one is obligated to mention the Exodus every day and every night. How much more should one remember the Exodus on the night that it took place. Further, the fact that the sages say that we are obligated to mention the Exodus as part of the Sh'ma even in the Messianic era teaches us we will still be required to tell the story of the Exodus on the night that it took place even in the Messianic era.
This teaches us how important remembering the Exodus is: even in the Messianic era we must not forget the Exodus.