Who leads Maggid?

Hi,
Who leads Maggid?

The students of the Vilna Gaon wrote regarding his practice, "He recites the Haggadah, and all listen."  (Maaseh Rav 191) This sounds like one person leads.

On the other hand, the Chafetz Chaim (Biur Halachah 472 shelo) wrote, "According to the halachah that women are obligated in the four cups as men are, they must be careful to recite the haggadah for each cup, or at least hear it from their husbands." This indicates that the Haggadah may be read by each participant.

Rav Shimon Eider (Halachos of Pesach 24:F:6) contends that both customs are valid.

Have a great day,
Mordechai 

Haggadah: The End of Maggid

Hi,

In our previous post, we presented the structure of Maggid. We noted that the middle of Maggid tells the story of our suffering in Egypt, and our redemption. There is some debate, though, as to where we end this story.

Our Haggadah takes the story through the makkot (plagues), but then, before Rabban Gamliel's closing statement about the centrality of the Korban Pesach, Matzah and Marror, we insert a midrashic passage regarding the number of plagues in Egypt and at the Sea, and the Dayyenu song which summarizes Divine miracles on our behalf. The Rambam, in his Haggadah, omitted this midrash and song. What is the reason for including or omitting these elements?

Rav Soloveitchik explained that the Rambam (as seen in Hilchot Chametz uMatzah 7:1) believed that the Seder is meant to discuss our experience in Egypt, and our rescue from there - but this ends with our actual Exodus. All that happens afterward is not part of the Seder. Therefore, we halt with the list of ten plagues. (For more, see Rav Hershel Schachter's article in Masorah 3 (Nisan 5750), pp. 27-28.)

It is possible, though, to suggest a justification for including the later miracles at the Sea. When Gd told Avraham that we would be 'strangers in a land not our own', compelled to work and to suffer, He also promised that the nation that harmed us would be judged for their deeds. The midrash which counts the plagues at the sea presents the punishment the Egyptians received for their cruelty during the enslavement of the Jews (more on that in "What happened to the Egyptians at the Sea, and why does it matter?"), and so it truly details part of the Egyptian experience.

Perhaps the same may even be said for Dayyenu, which records our national path all the way to the construction of the Beit haMikdash. The song, which is ancient - it appears in the 9th century Haggadah of Rav Amram Gaon - depicts our Egypt experience as an inextricable part of a longer arc. True, as the Rambam said, the Seder is meant to focus on what we endured in Egypt. Nonetheless, to ignore the national identity formed in Egypt, and the chain of events catalyzed by our national slavery, would be to omit the significance of the Egyptian experience itself. Therefore, our Haggadah includes those later events as well.

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Haggadah: The Structure of Maggid

Hi,

Many people get lost in Maggid, because of its length and because of the way it transitions between biblical verses and midrashic explanation. In truth, though, the structure is fairly simple:

1. Why do we have a seder? To commemorate our departure from Egypt
Mah Nishtanah - Four questions about the unique character of the night
Avadim Hayyinu - We are commemorating the slavery in Egypt, and we were redeemed
Maaseh, R' Eliezer, R' Elazar - This miracle remains a part of our lives until Mashiach
Baruch haMakom through Vihigadita - Commemoration requires education of our children

2. What is the story of Pesach?
The story of our initial idolatry and eventual suffering in Egypt
The redemption

3. We commit ourselves to thank Gd for these miracles
Kamah ma'alot through Rabban Gamliel - Our duty to honour and transmit the Divine Will
Bchol dor vador through psalms of praise - We stand as one in our praise of G-d

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Ha Lachma Anya and the key elements of the Seder

Hi,

"In this paragraph ["Ha Lachma Anya"] we have Pesach, Matzah and Marror:

"Matzah – 'This is the bread of affliction which…'

"Marror – 'All who are hungry, come and eat'. It is as people say, 'To a hungry spirit, every bitter item tastes sweet.'

"Pesach – 'All who need, come and partake in the Pesach."

(R' Tzidkiyahu ben Avraham haRofei, Shibolei haLeket 218)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Why do we shift focus to Mashiach in Ha Lachma Anya?

Hi,

"'This year we are here; next year, we will be in Israel, as free people.' Some explain that after we mention Pesach we need to invoke consolation in order to calm those who are reciting the Haggadah. It is as if we were saying that although we are now in exile and slavery and we cannot perform the Pesach properly, Gd has already promised to bring us from slavery to freedom, to take us from this exile and bring us to Israel as we once were. May it be Gd's will that He fulfill His promise this year, so that we will perform next year's Pesach in Yerushalayim."

(R' Tzidkiyahu ben Avraham haRofei, Shibolei haLeket 218)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Why is Ha Lachma Anya in Aramaic?

Hi,

"Some explain that we say this paragraph [Ha Lachma Anya] in Aramaic because Jerusalemites spoke Aramaic when expressing joy…

"My mentor R' Yehudah, my second brother, explained that it is because this was their foreign tongue, for this paragraph was established in Babylon…

"My brother R' Binyamin explained that we say it in Aramaic because the sages taught in a midrash on Eichah 1:3, "Israel was not exiled until they ate chametz on Pesach, for Eichah 1:3 says, 'Yehudah was exiled from oni' and matzah is called 'bread of oni'." Therefore we say it in Aramaic, to reveal this sin to our children, so that they will be careful."

(R' Tzidkiyahu ben Avraham haRofei, Shibbolei haLeket 218)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Enemies and Enemies, Lavan and Esav

Good moed,

In the Haggadah we read at the Passover Seder, we talked about the desire of Lavan to destroy the Jewish people, as he pursued Yaakov. It is odd that we singled out Lavan, and never even mentioned Yaakov's brother, Esav, who also tried to kill him!

The Maharal of Prague explained that we mention Lavan on Pesach night because his brand of hatred represents the unique enmity faced by Jews through the generations. Esav tried to kill Yaakov because Yaakov received the blessings, but Lavan hated without cause - Yaakov had only helped him grow in wealth, and now Lavan wanted to kill him. Thus we mention Lavan's hatred at the Seder, reminding ourselves of the hatred we have faced, and the fact that Gd has saved us time and time again, even from such irrationally implacable enemies.

Have a great day,
Mordechai

A Multitude of Jews

Hi,

The Haggadah reports that we descended to Egypt במתי מעט, as a small nation, but that HaShem has now made us many, like the stars of the heavens. But are we really so numerous?

The Chida explained that we view the Jewish nation not as a single generation, but rather as a composite of its entirety, across the generations. We have been promised that we will last eternally, and so we count our future descendants as well.

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Haggadah, Yaakov and Aliyah

Hi,

The Haggadah points out that Yaakov descended to Egypt to 'sojourn there' rather than to live there permanently.

The Maharal of Prague observed that the Haggadah is trying to say that had Yaakov and his family actually intended to abandon life in Israel and settle permanently in Egypt, they would not have been redeemed from slavery. They merited to be brought out of Egypt specifically because they, all along, had understood they would return to Israel and had intended to return to Israel.

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Moshe's employer

Hi,

In the Haggadah we say that HaShem saved us from Egypt Himself, ולא על ידי שליח, without an emissary.

This triggers an obvious question: Wasn't Moshe HaShem's emissary?

The Avudraham explained: HaShem actually performed the miracles, so Moshe was not HaShem's emissary. Moshe's role was as emissary of the Jews to Paroh.

Perhaps this helps explain why Moshe was so concerned that the Jews believe him - because they were really the ones sending Moshe. They had called out to HaShem for help, and this was the help, sent at their request. Therefore he needed their confidence; had they not trusted Moshe, the redemption could not have happened.

Have a great day,
Mordechai

The Order of Maggid

Hi,


Why does the Haggadah start from "Our ancestors were idolaters" in recounting the story of leaving Egypt?

The Talmud explains that מתחיל בגנות ומסיים בשבח, we start with our original degradation and conclude with praise, and one aspect of that degradation was our original spiritual state.

Rav Yosef Dov Soloveitchik added that this also demonstrates how we achieve גאולה, redemption. It's a process of תשובה, of repentance, in which we acknowledge our errors (וידוי), change our ways and declare that we will never revert. Thus we begin with the acknowledgement that we were once idolaters, and then declare that we have now come close to Gd, and that this will be our future.

Have a great day,
Mordechai