מַעֲשֶׂה בְּרַבִּי אֱלִיעֶזֶר וְרַבִּי יְהוֹשֻׁעַ וְרַבִּי אֶלְעָזָר בֶּן-עֲזַרְיָה (וְרַבִּי עֲקִיבָא) וְרַבִּי טַרְפוֹן שֶׁהָיוּ מְסֻבִּין בִּבְנֵי-בְרַק וְהָיוּ מְסַפְּרִים בִּיצִיאַת מִצְרַיִם כָּל-אוֹתוֹ הַלַּיְלָה, עַד שֶׁבָּאוּ תַלְמִידֵיהֶם וְאָמְרוּ לָהֶם רַבּוֹתֵינוּ הִגִּיעַ זְמַן קְרִיאַת שְׁמַע שֶׁל שַׁחֲרִית.
It happened once [on Pesach] that Rabbi Eliezer, Rabbi Yehoshua, Rabbi Elazar ben Azariah, Rabbi Akiva and Rabbi Tarfon were reclining in Bnei Brak and were telling the story of the exodus from Egypt that whole night, until their students came and said to them, "The time of [reciting] the morning Shema has arrived."
Why is this section included in 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.
What type of discussion should we have at the Seder?
(יב) מעשה ברבן גמליאל וזקנים שהיו מםובין בבית ביתום בן זונין בלוד והיו [עוסקין בהלכות הפסח] כל הלילה עד קרות הגבר, הגביהו מלפניהם ונועדו והלכו [להן] לבית המדרש....
(12) Once, Rabban Gamliel and the elders were reclining in the house of Boethus ben Zonin in Lod, and they were occupied in studying the laws of Pesach all that night, until the cock crowed. They lifted the table, made themselves ready and went to the house of study [to pray].
חָכָם מָה הוּא אוֹמֵר? מָה הָעֵדוֹת וְהַחֻקִּים וְהַמִּשְׁפָּטִים אֲשֶׁר צִוָּה ה' אֱלֹהֵינוּ אֶתְכֶם. וְאַף אַתָּה אֱמוֹר לוֹ כְּהִלְכוֹת הַפֶּסַח: אֵין מַפְטִירִין אַחַר הַפֶּסַח אֲפִיקוֹמָן:
What does the wise [son] say? "'What are these testimonies, statutes and judgments that the Lord our God commanded you?' (Deuteronomy 6:20)" And accordingly you will say to him, as per the laws of the Pesach sacrifice, "We may not eat an afikoman [a dessert or other foods eaten after the meal] after [we are finished eating] the Pesach sacrifice. (Mishnah Pesachim 10:8)"
What was accomplished so late at night?
A Story of Rabbi Eliezer, Rabbi Joshua... Why were these five sages together on Seder night? They sages got together to discuss the Exodus but when they reached midnight they began to debate the controversy regarding when the Passover offering should be consumed. This controversy was between Rabbi Elazar ben Azariah and Rabbi Akiva; a similar controversy can be found in the Talmud between Rabbi Eliezer and Rabbi Joshua. The question is about what time the Passover sacrifice must be consumed – by midnight or by day break. Since we now eat the Afikomen in lieu of the sacrifice, this question influences the time by which we must eat the Afikomen.
According to Rabbi Elazar ben Azariah (and Rabbi Eliezer) the sacrifice must be eaten before midnight; according to Rabbi Akiva (and Rabbi Joshua) the sacrifice can be consumed all night long. Each brings a different proof for his point of view. According to Rabbi Elazar ben Azariah, we learn that the sacrifice must be eaten by midnight based on a gezerah shavah. We find two verses: “You shall it the meat on this night,” and, “I passed through the Land of Egypt on this night.” Just as God passed through the land at midnight so the Passover offering must be consumed by midnight. Rabbi Akiva interprets the verse: “You shall eat it in haste” as a proof text for consuming the offering all night. Just as the Israelites ate the Passover offering ‘in haste’ that is, all night long, so we can eat the sacrifice all night long. Rabbi Akiva understands b’chipazon as a reference to the way the Israelites were supposed to eat the offering, with their loins girded, sandals on their feet and their staff in hand. B’chizpazon means they were ready to go at any minute. Rabbi Elazar Ben Azariah, on the other hand, understands ‘in haste’ to refer to the Egyptians. At midnight, as the God passed through the land of Egypt, the Egyptians came and pressed the Israelites to leave. The Israelites ate in haste because the Egyptians were pushing them to leave as quickly as possible – this would have occurred at midnight...
When the sages were together, the time for the eating of the afikomen arrived and the sages began to debate the correct time by which the matzah had to be consumed: Was it by midnight or could they eat it all night long? Each of the rabbis wanted to follow his approach to the law. As a general matter, Jewish law follows the opinion of Rabbi Akiva when his colleagues disagree with him; therefore the law should have been that the Passover offering could be eaten all night long. However, in order to distance us from transgression we say that we should still eat the Afikomen by midnight.
Rabbi Tarfon was among the sages in B’nai Brak and refused to allow a compromise in this matter; as the teacher of Rabbi Akiva, he felt a compromise in this matter was wrong and as a result this argument continued all night long. Elsewhere in the Talmud when Rabbi Tarfon took the more stringent point of view he was criticized by the other sages. As a result he was uncompromising in this matter and insisted that the sacrifice could be consumed all night long, taking a more lenient opinion. Rabbi Tarfon’s name appears last in the list of sages in B’nai Brak since he was the oldest of the group and apparently as a result he had the greatest influence in this discussion.
Once Rabbi Eliezer, Rabbi Joshua…were reclining in B’nai Brak: When are we supposed to tell the story of the Exodus on Passover night: all night or just when the Seder plate is before us? There is a contradiction between this text and other texts in the Haggadah and rabbinic literature. In this incident we learn that the sages told the story of the Exodus all night long, suggesting that there is no time limit within which one is obligated to recall the Exodus. Yet elsewhere we learn that one must do so 'while the Matzah and Maror are before him.' Further, we are told that one must consume the Afikomen by midnight suggesting that there is a time limit for telling the story of the Exodus. The time limit, however, is for the Passover sacrifice and for eating Matzah and Maror – not recalling the miracles of Passover. This story teaches us that there is no time limit for one who wishes to spend the entire night recalling the Exodus. The Haggadah emphasizes this by telling us that “One who speaks about the Exodus at length all night is praiseworthy.” The story of the Rabbis in B’nai Brak is an illustration of this statement.
Rabbi Elazar was of the opinion that the Passover sacrifice must be consumed by midnight. One might think therefore that the telling is limited to midnight as well. The Haggadah, therefore, includes Rabbi Elazar Ben Azariah‟s statement even though it does not directly concern Passover. This passage has to do with the question of whether or not we have to recite the passage regarding tzitzit, fringes (Numbers 15) in the evening. By including this discussion we learn that we must mention the Exodus every night (and not just during the day) throughout the year but on Passover night, the night of the Exodus, the telling has no time limit (as it does the rest of the year). One can discuss all night long if one wishes.
Rav Yosef said: It is Rabbi Elazar ben Azarya, as it was taught in a baraita: With regard to the verse “And they shall eat of the meat on that night” (Exodus 12:8), Rabbi Elazar ben Azarya says: Here it is stated “on that night,” from which it cannot be determined when the night ends. And below it is stated: “And I will pass through the land of Egypt on that night and I will strike every firstborn in the land of Egypt” (Exodus 12:12). The Torah states with regard to the death of the firstborns: “Thus said the Lord: At about midnight, I will go out into the midst of Egypt and every firstborn in Egypt shall die” (Exodus 11:4–5).
אָמַר(להם) רַבִּי אֶלְעָזָר בֶּן-עֲזַרְיָה הֲרֵי אֲנִי כְּבֶן שִׁבְעִים שָׁנָה וְלֹא זָכִיתִי שֶׁתֵּאָמֵר יְצִיאַת מִצְרַיִם בַּלֵּילוֹת עַד שֶׁדְּרָשָׁהּ בֶּן זוֹמָא, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר, לְמַעַן תִּזְכֹּר אֶת יוֹם צֵאתְךָ מֵאֶרֶץ מִצְרַיִם כֹּל יְמֵי חַיֶּיךָ. יְמֵי חַיֶּיךָ הַיָּמִים. כֹּל יְמֵי חַיֶּיךָ הַלֵּילוֹת. וַחֲכָמִים אוֹמְרִים יְמֵי חַיֶּיךָ הָעוֹלָם הַזֶּה. כֹּל יְמֵי חַיֶּיךָ לְהָבִיא לִימוֹת הַמָּשִׁיחַ:
Rabbi Elazar ben Azariah said, "Behold I am like a man of seventy years and I have not merited [to understand why] the exodus from Egypt should be said at night until Ben Zoma explicated it, as it is stated (Deuteronomy 16:3), 'In order that you remember the day of your going out from the land of Egypt all the days of your life;' 'the days of your life' [indicates that the remembrance be invoked during] the days, 'all the days of your life' [indicates that the remembrance be invoked also during] the nights." But the Sages say, "'the days of your life' [indicates that the remembrance be invoked in] this world, 'all the days of your life' [indicates that the remembrance be invoked also in] the next world."