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 poverty that our ancestors ate in the land of Egypt. Let all who are hungry come and eat. Let all who are in need come and celebrate Pesach. 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.
1. Why is this passage in Aramaic, the common spoken language in the rabbinic period?
2. Why are there two invitations: "all who are hungry" and "all who are in need"?
(יב) דבר אחר: פרי עץ הדר, אלו ישראל. מה אתרוג זה, יש בו טעם ויש בו ריח. כך ישראל, יש בהם בני אדם, שיש בהם תורה, ויש בהם מעשים טובים. כפות תמרים, אלו ישראל. מה התמרה הזו, יש בו טעם ואין בו ריח. כך הם ישראל, יש בהם שיש בהם תורה ואין בהם מעשים טובים. וענף עץ עבות, אלו ישראל. מה הדס, יש בו ריח ואין בו טעם.כך ישראל, יש בהם שיש בהם מעשים טובים ואין בהם תורה. וערבי נחל, אלו ישראל. מה ערבה זו, אין בה טעם ואין בה ריח. כך הם ישראל, יש בהם בני אדם שאין בהם לא תורה ולא מעשים טובים. ומה הקב"ה עושה להם? לאבדן אי אפשר, אלא אמר הקדוש ברוך הוא יוקשרו כולם אגודה אחת, והן מכפרין אלו על אלו...
(12) Another explanation: "The fruit of a beautiful tree" - these are [referring to] Israel. Just like this citron (etrog), which has taste and has smell, so too Israel has among them people that have Torah and have good deeds. "The branches of a date palm" - these are [referring to] Israel. Just like this date, which has taste and has no smell, so too Israel has among them those that have Torah but do not have good deeds. "And a branch of a braided tree (a myrtle)" - these are [referring to] Israel. Just like this myrtle, which has smell and has no taste, so too Israel has among them those that have good deeds but do not have Torah. "And brook willows" - these are [referring to] Israel. Just like this willow, which has no smell and has no taste, so too Israel has among them people that have no Torah and have no good deeds. And what does the Holy One, blessed be He, do to them? To destroy them is impossible, but rather the Holy One, blessed be He, said "bind them all together [into] one grouping and these will atone for those."
כְּנֶגֶד אַרְבָּעָה בָנִים דִּבְּרָה תוֹרָה: אֶחָד חָכָם, וְאֶחָד רָשָׁע, וְאֶחָד תָּם, וְאֶחָד שֶׁאֵינוֹ יוֹדֵעַ לִשְׁאוֹל.
1. חָכָם מָה הוּא אוֹמֵר? מָה הָעֵדוֹת וְהַחֻקִּים וְהַמִּשְׁפָּטִים אֲשֶׁר צִוָּה ה' אֱלֹהֵינוּ אֶתְכֶם. וְאַף אַתָּה אֱמוֹר לוֹ כְּהִלְכוֹת הַפֶּסַח: אֵין מַפְטִירִין אַחַר הַפֶּסַח אֲפִיקוֹמָן:
2. רָשָׁע מָה הוּא אוֹמֵר? מָה הָעֲבוֹדָה הַזּאֹת לָכֶם. לָכֶם - וְלֹא לוֹ. וּלְפִי שֶׁהוֹצִיא אֶת עַצְמוֹ מִן הַכְּלָל כָּפַר בְּעִקָּר. וְאַף אַתָּה הַקְהֵה אֶת שִׁנָּיו וֶאֱמוֹר לוֹ: "בַּעֲבוּר זֶה עָשָׂה ה' לִי בְּצֵאתִי מִמִּצְרָיִם". לִי וְלֹא-לוֹ. אִלּוּ הָיָה שָׁם, לֹא הָיָה נִגְאָל:
3. תָּם מָה הוּא אוֹמֵר? מַה זּאֹת? וְאָמַרְתָּ אֵלָיו "בְּחוֹזֶק יָד הוֹצִיאָנוּ ה' מִמִּצְרַיִם מִבֵּית עֲבָדִים".
4. וְשֶׁאֵינוֹ יוֹדֵעַ לִשְׁאוֹל - אַתְּ פְּתַח לוֹ, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר, וְהִגַּדְתָּ לְבִנְךָ בַּיּוֹם הַהוּא לֵאמֹר, בַּעֲבוּר זֶה עָשָׂה ה' לִי בְּצֵאתִי מִמִּצְרָיִם.
Corresponding to four children did the Torah speak; one [who is] wise, one [who is] wicked, one who is simple, and one who doesn't know how to ask.
1)What does the wise [son] say? "'What are these testimonies, statutes and judgments that the Eternal our God commanded you?' (Deuteronomy 6:20)" And accordingly you will say to him, as per the laws of Pesach, "We may not conclude the afikoman [a party after a festive meal] after [we are finished eating] the Pesach sacrifice. (Mishnah Pesachim 10:8)"
2)What does the wicked [son] say? "'What is this worship to you?' (Exodus 12:26)" 'To you' and not 'to him.' And since he excluded himself from the community, he denied a principle [of the Jewish faith]. And accordingly, you will blunt his teeth and say to him, "'For the sake of this, did the Eternal do [this] for me in my going out of Egypt' (Exodus 13:8)." 'For me' and not 'for him.' If he had been there, he would not have been saved.
3)What does the simple [son] say? "'What is this?' (Exodus13:14)" And you will say to him, "'With the strength of [His] hand did the Eternal take us out from Egypt, from the house of slaves' (Exodus 13:14).'"
4) And [regarding] the one who doesn't know how to ask, you will open [the conversation] for him. As it is stated (Exodus 13:8), "And you will speak to your your son on that day saying, for the sake of this, did the Eternal do [this] for me in my going out of Egypt."
A. Rabbi Hiyya, a Talmudic sage, began this [seder] night by opening his door and declaring, "All who who are hungry come in and eat." Our scholars believed that we break the matzah, the bread of poverty, to prepare us for and teach us about sharing what we have with those who have nothing.
(Fourth World Haggadah, World Union of Jewish Students, ca. 1970)
B. Babylonian Talmud, Ta’anit 11a תלמוד בבלי מסכת תענית דף יא עמוד א
Original Text:
בזמן שהצבור שרוי בצער אל יאמר אדם: אלך לביתי ואוכל ואשתה, ושלום עליך, נפשי,
Translation:
At a time when the community is suffering, no one should say, “I will go home, eat, drink, and be at peace with myself.” [AJWS Translation]
C.Although they may initially seem redundant, the two invitations we issue in HaLakhma Anya--"Let all who are who are hungry, kol dikhfin, enter and eat" and "Let all who are in need, kol ditzrikh, come and celebrate the Passover:---in reality are not. Kol ditzrikh means those who are in need--but not in need of bread...one who is alone, who has a lot of Matza and wine but no home or family...Whoever is in need should come and celebrate... Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik, quoted in A Night to Remember (2007)
D. Having suffered affliction ourselves, we should be more sensitive to the needs of others. So the seder begins with a reminder to care for others through tzedakah and hahnasat orhim [welcoming guests], inviting others who are lacking to come partake in the festive meal. Michael Cohen, A Night of Questions (2000)
E. Those who are hungry know what they lack...Those who are in need don't yet know what they truly lack in order to fulfill themselves. "Let them come and celebrate Pesach." That is, let them talk tonight about going out of Egypt; let them discover what will truly set them free... Beit Avraham (Slonimer rebbe, early 20th century) quoted in Wellsprings of Freedom: The Renew Our Days Haggadah, Ronald Aigen ed. (2012)
F. The wicked daughter is the one who dares to challenge the simplistic answers she has been given. She is the one who asks too many questions. She is the one not content to remain in her prescribed place. She is the one who breaks the mold. She is the one who challenges the status quo.
Some call her wicked and rebellious. We call her daring and courageous. We welcome rebellion to sit with us at our tables and make us uneasy. The Wandering is Over: Including Jewish Women’s Voices (Jewish Women’s Archive, Boston)
G. The "wicked" are those cynical people who exclude themselves from the collectivity. They cannot imagine that anyone would be motivated to do some good except for self benefit. Nor do they realize that their own actions might benefit others. It is this ingratitude of selfish individuals that causes them to be answered with isolation. (Kedushat Levi, Rebbe Levi Yitzhak of Berditchev, c. 1800) quoted in Wellsprings of Freedom: The Renew Our Days Haggadah
H.The Rasha is confrontational, but is still connected enough to come to the table. He or she may appear not to be listening, but in fact takes it all in. We struggle to know how to respond to this anger and alienation. Wellsprings of Freedom
I. The rasha's query is read by tradition as mocking, and hence the response is framed as a rebuke. But perhaps the rasha's question masks a deeper hunger. What if the rasha longs to draw near but does not know how? Open Door Passover Haggadah (2002)
J. Perhaps (some Chasidic rabbis suggest [e.g. Rebbe Levi Yitzhak of Bertichev-R.T.] ) we should turn the order of the Four Children upside down and see the silence of the One Who Does Not Know How to Ask as the most powerful response, emerging out of the awesomeness of the Exodus and even of life itself. On Wings of Freedon: The Hillel Haggadah for the Nights of Passover (1989)
K.The Reconstructionist haggadah A Night of Questions (2000) offers multiple versions of the four children. Here are a few of them.
i. The wise child asks, "What do we learn from out suffering as strangers in Egypt?"
The wicked child asks, "How can the Israelites have let themselves be enslaved?"
The simple child asks, "What kind of hard labor did Pharaoh impose on the Israelites?"
The silent child is overwhelmed by the cry of the injured, the sigh of the weary, and the groans of those who are oppressed. (p.53)
ii.The inquisitive child asks, "How has the experience of living in North America been liberating for the Jewish people?"
The challenging child asks, "How has the experience of living in North America been bad for the Jewish people?"
The simple child asks, "Is our country still welcoming new immigrants from troubled lands?"
The confused child looks around at the homeless man lying in the street, the undocumented refugee living in fear of deportation, the hunger and poverty, and worries about the limits of democracy and the price of freedom. (p.110)
iii. The wise child asks, "Is the State of Israel finally our last redemption?"
The wicked child asks, "Have the oppressed become the oppressors?"
The simple child asks, "Is liberation always so costly?"
The silent child hears the voices of the refugees who have found new homes and so becomes hopeful for those who are not yet at home. (p.116)