In the day or two before Pesach, I thought I'd share two quick thoughts for the Seder, and ask that you add a comment with a quick idea from your Seder.
1) "An outstretched arm"--- What is the imagery of an outstretched arm? Is it just a repetition of "strong hand", another metaphor for God's power? Perhaps it means that the hand of someone helping another must be outstretched, but the one being helped cannot be rescued until he or she grasps the outstretched arm of the rescuer. Thus, redemption required God's outstretched arm--and our taking of it.
2) Ma Nishtana-- I heard from Rabbi Tzvi Sobolofsky that the Abarbanel understands the four questions as relating to the Korban Pesach (or at least the first question relating to it). Thus, "on all other nights we eat chametz and matzah, tonight only matzah" means: on all other nights that we bring a Korban Todah, a thanksgiving offering, it is brought together with chametz and matzah (according to the halachot of a korban todah), but this thanksgiving offering--the passover offering, we eat it only with matzah. Thus, the Korban Pesach is a type of Thanksgiving offering, but it is different from the regular one.
Please leave an idea or two of your own in the comments.
chag kasher v'sameach,
Michael Merdinger
Wednesday, April 4, 2012
Oops! We forgot the most important part of the Seder!
A slight divergence from Nach, to Pesach.
What is the most important mitzvah of the Seder that many people forget?
To answer this, let's think about the statement of the Mishnah, which is found in our Haggadah: "In each and every generation, a person must see himself as if he left Egypt."
We discuss this every Pesach. Matzah, Maror, Magid, the four cups are all part of how we recreate that experience. And of course, hard internal work is necessary to utilize these tools to get to the point of seeing ourselves as if we left Egypt.
But remember the end of Maggid? After the whole story is over, we say the word "Therefore."
Therefore. We recognize what God did (that's seeing ourselves as leaving Egypt), and then we say "Therefore." Therefore, because what God did, "we are obligated to give thanks, to praise, to extol. . . to the One who did for forefathers and for us all of these miracles. . ."
The purpose of Maggid is to make us aware. Then we are called upon to respond, and that response is Hallel.
To blow through Hallel is to miss the point of the Seder. If we skim through it, if we skip it, then we show that we didn't really do Maggid. So take a few minutes before Pesach starts to review Hallel. A lot of people aren't so familiar with it, it sounds repetitive, it is uncomfortable to our "modern" worldview. But not everything unfamiliar should stay that way, the themes of Hallel are both complex and uplifting, and sometimes we need to venture out of our comfort zone and adjust our worldview.
Chag kasher v'sameach.
What is the most important mitzvah of the Seder that many people forget?
To answer this, let's think about the statement of the Mishnah, which is found in our Haggadah: "In each and every generation, a person must see himself as if he left Egypt."
We discuss this every Pesach. Matzah, Maror, Magid, the four cups are all part of how we recreate that experience. And of course, hard internal work is necessary to utilize these tools to get to the point of seeing ourselves as if we left Egypt.
But remember the end of Maggid? After the whole story is over, we say the word "Therefore."
Therefore. We recognize what God did (that's seeing ourselves as leaving Egypt), and then we say "Therefore." Therefore, because what God did, "we are obligated to give thanks, to praise, to extol. . . to the One who did for forefathers and for us all of these miracles. . ."
The purpose of Maggid is to make us aware. Then we are called upon to respond, and that response is Hallel.
To blow through Hallel is to miss the point of the Seder. If we skim through it, if we skip it, then we show that we didn't really do Maggid. So take a few minutes before Pesach starts to review Hallel. A lot of people aren't so familiar with it, it sounds repetitive, it is uncomfortable to our "modern" worldview. But not everything unfamiliar should stay that way, the themes of Hallel are both complex and uplifting, and sometimes we need to venture out of our comfort zone and adjust our worldview.
Chag kasher v'sameach.
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