Audio Shiur: Haggadah shel Pesach - The Magic of Midnight

Audio Shiur:
Haggadah shel Pesach - The Magic of Midnight

We take an in-depth look at the piyyut "Vayehi Bachatzi Halayla" which is the first song of Nirtzah.


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An Exhibit of Haggadot in Jerusalem: Our National Past and Future

If you suddenly found yourself stuck on in a foreign country and a business trip with Pesach approaching, what would you do? You'd probably seek out the local Chabad, and that would be that. But what if you lived hundreds of years ago, before Chabad? Aside from the basic needs of matzah, wine and maror, where would you find a Haggadah to celebrate the night of the Seder?

This isn't a new problem at all. In fact, Jews throughout history found themselves in need of a copy of the Hagadah text for family use. While most communities could rely on the communal Siddur for prayer in shul, we conduct the Seder home, necessitating a copy of the text available to every household. This resulted in an unusual plethora of texts of the Haggadah, offering a fascinating view of Jewish history though these amazing book.

The Gallery on the Library Website

A Facebook post from my friend Dr. Yoel Finkelman (whose ridiculously cool job involves buying historical Jewish artifacts for the Library) shared information about a new exhibit at the National Library of Israel (neatly tucked into the Hebrew University Campus in Jerusalem) displaying a series of handwritten Haggadot that span some eight-hundred years of history. Rena and I decided last Friday to visit, and we were quite glad that we went.

When we first got there, the room was locked (I guess no one had asked to get in. But, to our pleasant surprise, the librarian on duty was great; she found the person who had the authority to tell the security guard to open the exhibit space, and we were in. She also gave us a nifty full color guide of the exhibit, bookmarks, a brochure about the library and its 1960s exhibit upstairs (which we went to see), and even emailed me a virtual tour of the Hebrew U. campus!

The space of the exhibit is actually a small room which you can peruse slowly in half an hour. And, in truth, you can see pictures of the Haggadot on the exhibition website, which is well done. Nonetheless, in person you can better see the little hand-written drawings that were drawn usually by artists, but sometimes by an amateur, which add much color and character to each Haggadah. Even more importantly, there is something incredibly powerful about being in a room with Haggadot that were hand-written literally around the world over the course of centuries, from the Cairo Geniza all the way to a 1942 hand-written personal Haggadah written in Mozambique by a family fleeing from Belgium during the Holocaust. While we couldn't actually touch them, their physical presence conveyed a tangible sense of living history.

The Really Nifty Exhibit Brochure - for Absolutely Free!

If the Hagaddah is the story of Jewish redemption, the story of these books is the tale of our national travails around the world, as the People of Israel fled from way station to way station, searching for peace and stability, while yearning truly to reach the final destination of our exile in the Land of Israel.  At every stop we celebrated our past and future redemption. And if we lacked a text, we either hired a professional or wrote one ourselves by hand.

Looking at this small collection of books, I couldn't help but think of them as clues in a centuries-long search for Home. Standing over the display cases in that tiny room in Jerusalem, I found myself feeling a sense of closure: these books, that had for so long guided our people on a path towards Redemption, had finally made their way to the rebuilt State of Israel. As they rest in the National Library of the Jewish State, they remind us not only of the many places and eras that came before us. They also remind us of the many centuries of yearning and prayer - of reciting the blessing at the conclusion of Maggid of which begins with the words, אשר גאלנו וגאל את אבותנו - "that God has redeemed us and our forefathers"...but then adds, "כֵּן ה' אֱלהֵינוּ וֵאלהֵי אֲבותֵינוּ יַגִּיעֵנוּ לְמועֲדִים וְלִרְגָלִים אֲחֵרִים הַבָּאִים לִקְרָאתֵנוּ לְשָׁלום, שְׂמֵחִים בְּבִנְיַן עִירֶךָ וְשָׂשִׂים בַּעֲבודָתֶךָ" - "So too Lord our God and the God of our fathers shall bring us to additional holidays and festivals that will come upon us in peace, joyous about the building of Your city and rejoicing in Your worship..."

This blessing was recited over the Haggadot in the exhibit and many thousands like them around a table of Jews - sometimes small, sometimes large - who actually can ever know - but those families throughout the ages always expressed a yearning and a hope for a future of Redemption, rebuilding and renewal. While the individuals around those tables may not be here, their Haggadot remind us that their dreams and prayers and yearning propelled our people to rebuild, reconnect and renew.

We have yet to arrive at the realization of the final stage of the blessing: וְנאכַל שָׁם מִן הַזְּבָחִים וּמִן הַפְּסָחִים אֲשֶׁר יַגִּיעַ דָּמָם עַל קִיר מִזְבַּחֲךָ לְרָצון - "and we will eat there from the offerings and the Paschal lambs whose blood reached the walls of your altar according to your desire..." Not yet at least. Still, hidden in those Haggadot is the reassurance and the knowledge that the Jewish Nation will fully realize the truth of the Haggadah, if not this year, then Next Year in Jerusalem.

Pesach Series: The Makkot in the Text - 3 Shiurim

Audio Shiur:
Pesach Series: The Makkot in the Text - 3 Shiurim

Careful study of the Makkot reveals a clear pattern that emerges, showing a distinct purpose for "set" of three plagues imposed upon the Egyptians. In addition to the "horizontal" connection between the plagues in each set, we find a clear "vertical" connection between similarly "numbered" plagues as well. If you really want to follow along at home, it would help to fill in this chart along with us as we go along. That will clearly make the shiur more meaningful for you.

Shiur 1: Blood to Boils
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Shiur 2: Hail to Darkness
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Shiur 3: Tying it All Together - Makkat Bechorot
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Two Audio Shiurim for Pesach: "Two Types of Redemption", and "Pesach and Eliyahu Hanavi"

Audio Shiur 1:
Two Types of Redemption

Different clues in the text of the chumash lead to very, very different opinions in the Gemara about how the redemption took place. What happened on that night? How did they eat the Korban Pesach? And what does that teach us about redemption today? We conclude with a beautiful piece from Eyn Ayah by Rav Kook

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Audio Shiur 2:
Pesach and Eliyahu Hanavi

We encounter Eliyahu twice over the Pesach period: in the haftarah for Shabbat Hagadol, and when we pour him a cup of wine during the Seder. What's Eliyahu Hanavi's role during Pesach? Not surprisingly, there are two, very different ways to understand his relationship to redemption. We again meet a very significant Religious Zionist personality in the form of Rav Uziel, who served as the Chief Rabbi of Tel Aviv.

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Fours Sons Are We - The Song

Each and every year since I was a child, as soon as we reach the Four Sons, we sing the famous "Four Sons" song. Yet, it seems that the song isn't as famous as I might have thought, because whenever I mention it, people give me blank stares. Well, I've found it on the Internet for your listening (and singing) pleasure. You can listen to it above. It's from a record that I'm sure many families had back "in the day".
Also, I'm happy to share the words for you to download. (Thanks to my aunt, Debby Greengart for the lyrics.) The original record is available in its entirety here. Well worth a listen. I think that much of my family's Seder came from it.



Four Sons Are We
Four sons are we we’re one family,
Listen and learn how we think differently

The wise son am I, who asks how and why
My goal is to learn and apply
The words of our sages live down through the ages
The source of our wisdom and pride.

This is the way a son aught to be
Setting examples for you and for me
Four sons are we we’re one family,
Listen and learn how we think differently

I don’t like to study, who want to be good
I don’t care if I’m call wicked son
Who needs all this learning I’m sick of page turning
I’d rather be bad and have fun

Don’t learn from him, he’ll lead you astray
What can you learn from what he has to say
Four sons are we we’re one family,
Listen and learn how we think differently

The last two are we, in this family
I’m simple I never ask why
What’s all this confusion explain what you’re doing
They don’t understand that’s their cry

Four sons are they each one had his say
Now you decide which one thinks the best way
Four sons are we we’re one family,
Listen and learn how we think differently

Audio Shiur: Hagadah shel Pesach - Vehi She'amdah

Audio Shiur:
Hagadah shel Pesach - Vehi She'amdah

In his famous version of "Vehi She'amdah", Yonatan Razel leaves out an important line from the Hagaddah. He just skips it. Why? And does that change the meaning and tone of the text? What is the "thing" that has "stood" - which we refer to in the Hagaddah? Finally, we study an incredible comment of Netziv on this section.


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The Wise Son: The Missing Answer

Among the Four Sons listed during the Seder, we identify most with the Wise Son. We don't really accept the premise of the Wicked Son (we might criticize children today for acting badly, but we don't identify them as "bad" or wicked children), and we like to hope that our children grow out of being either Simple or that they Don't Know to Ask.

Which leaves us with the Wise Son. Who among us don't really, deep down in our heart, consider our children "Wise"? Moreover, looking at his question, we recognize that his question is excellent:

חָכָם מָה הוּא אוֹמֵר? מַה הָעֵדוֹת וְהַחֻקִּים וְהַמִשְׁפָּטִים אֲשֶׁר צִוָּה ה' אֱלֹקינוּ אֶתְכֶם?

What does the Wise Son say? "What are the testimonies, statutes and dictates that the Lord our God commanded you?"

In fact, we find this exact question in the Torah, as Moshe instructs the Jewish people,

כִּי-יִשְׁאָלְךָ בִנְךָ מָחָר, לֵאמֹר:  מָה הָעֵדֹת, וְהַחֻקִּים וְהַמִּשְׁפָּטִים, אֲשֶׁר צִוָּה ה' אֱלֹקינוּ, אֶתְכֶם.

When your son asks you in time to come, saying: 'What is the meaning of the testimonies, and the statutes, and the ordinances, which the Lord our God has commanded you? (Devarim 6:20)

Ibn Ezra explains that the word מה – does not mean "what", but instead means למה – "what is the reason". In essence, the Wise Son asks, "Why do we do keep of these commandments?" It's not just an ancient question found in the Chumash. Rather, it's an eternal question, asked by children – good, wise children – throughout Jewish history.

Every Jewish parent should not only expect this question, but should hope for it. We want our children to ask.  We want them to inquire about why we do what we do. But, if we want them to ask good questions, we better be ready with good answers. What indeed do we tell them when they ask us, "Why should I keep the Torah? Why do you keep the Torah?" (Because I said so only works for the first few years. After that, you'll need to provide a better answer.)

The Hagaddah provides an answer – and that's where we begin to run into problems.

וְאַף אַתָּה אֱמָר לוֹ כְּהִלְכוֹת הַפֶּסַח: אֵין מַפְטִירִין אַחַר הַפֶּסַח אֲפִיקוֹמָן.

You, in turn, shall instruct him in the laws of Passover, [up to] `one is not to eat any dessert after the Passover-lamb.

What is the relevance of the answer we give him to his question? He's asking why we keep the commandments, and we're talking about dessert and the Korban Pesach? This isn't my own question, either. Ritva, is his commentary to the Hagadah writes,

וקשה, מה ענין תשובה זו לשאלה זו?

This is difficult, as what is the relevance of the answer to the question?

Moreover, we ourselves need not search for an answer to this great question, as Moshe Rabbeinu has already provided us a wonderful, powerful answer. Right after telling us what our children will ask us in the future, Moshe teaches us how to answer them.

וְאָמַרְתָּ לְבִנְךָ, עֲבָדִים הָיִינוּ לְפַרְעֹה בְּמִצְרָיִם; וַיֹּצִיאֵנוּ ה' מִמִּצְרַיִם, בְּיָד חֲזָקָה.  וַיִּתֵּן ה' אוֹתֹת וּמֹפְתִים גְּדֹלִים וְרָעִים בְּמִצְרַיִם, בְּפַרְעֹה וּבְכָל-בֵּיתוֹ--לְעֵינֵינוּ.  וְאוֹתָנוּ, הוֹצִיא מִשָּׁם--לְמַעַן, הָבִיא אֹתָנוּ, לָתֶת לָנוּ אֶת-הָאָרֶץ, אֲשֶׁר נִשְׁבַּע לַאֲבֹתֵינוּ.  וַיְצַוֵּנוּ ה', לַעֲשׂוֹת אֶת-כָּל-הַחֻקִּים הָאֵלֶּה, לְיִרְאָה, אֶת-ה' אֱלֹקֵינוּ--לְטוֹב לָנוּ כָּל-הַיָּמִים, לְחַיֹּתֵנוּ כְּהַיּוֹם הַזֶּה.  וּצְדָקָה, תִּהְיֶה-לָּנוּ:  כִּי-נִשְׁמֹר לַעֲשׂוֹת אֶת-כָּל-הַמִּצְוָה הַזֹּאת, לִפְנֵי ה' אֱלֹקֵינוּ--כַּאֲשֶׁר צִוָּנוּ. (דברים ו:כ-כה)

Then you shall say to your son: 'We were Pharaoh's slaves in Egypt; and the Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand. And the Lord showed signs and wonders, great and sore, upon Egypt, upon Pharaoh, and upon all his house, before our eyes. And He brought us out from there that He might bring us in, to give us the Land which He swore to our fathers.  And the Lord commanded us to do all these statutes, to fear the Lord our God, for our good always, that He might preserve us alive, as it is at this day. And it shall be righteousness to us, if we observe to do all this commandment before the Lord our God, as He has commanded us.' (Devarim 6:20-25)

This is a wonderful answer, especially when we read the text with care. In his answer, Moshe emphasizes our collective history, and our connection to our Forefathers and the Promised Land. More importantly, he describes the Torah and a life of adherence to the Mitzvot as "good", and the giving of the Torah as an eternal act of kindness that God did for us.

That's the true answer to this all-important question. We follow the Torah because we know that God wants goodness for us, and transmitted to us the ideal way to achieve that ultimate Good. While we don't always understand every detail, and cannot always perfectly answer each question, when we do answer the Wise Son, we must convey that sense of Goodness inherent in a Torah-true life.

This only makes the answer in the Hagadah all the more perplexing. Where's the connection to our history? What about the mitzvot? There isn't any mention of God! All we hear about is the Afikomen. Is that really a good answer for the Wise Son? Couldn’t the Hagadah have given us a better answer?

Ritva explains that the key word in the answer to the Wise Son is the word אף – "even". The answer provided here isn't the whole answer. Rather, it's the very end of the answer.

Of course we must provide the complete answer. and any Seder that doesn't address these critical questions, and focuses only on the minutia of the practical aspects of the Seder (How much Matzah to eat; how quickly to eat it, etc.) misses the most important element of the Seder. The very essence of the Seder is answering the underlying question of the Wise Son: "Why are we sitting here tonight?"

Only when we have finished answering his questions – all of them! – can we then proceed to the more intricate aspects of the Seder. Only then, וְאַף אַתָּה אֱמָר לוֹ כְּהִלְכוֹת הַפֶּסַח – "even teach him about the halachot of Pesach".

As parents, we sometimes fail in this critical mission. Sadly, we're good at details and minutia and "do it because I told you to," but fail miserably to convey the sense of goodness, fulfillment and love that the Torah brings into our lives. We fail to address the deeper questions, somehow afraid that we might say something wrong, give an incorrect answer, and mislead our children away from the truth.

Yet, the opposite is true. We must simply do our best and answer these challenging questions as best we can. We can start by studying the answers that appear in the Torah. But then we can and should answer the question our children really want to know: Not "why should they be Jewish?", but "Why are we Jewish, and why do we keep the Torah?"

Audio Shiur: Hagadah shel Pesach - The Wise Son

Audio Shiur:
Hagadah shel Pesach - The Wise Son

The short text relating to the Chacham - the wise son, leaves us with a great many questions, and the answer that the Hagadah offers leaves us wanting more. In this shiur, we examine the question that appears in the Torah itself, and the great answers offered by Moshe Rabbeinu himself. Then we'll analyze why Moshe's answer never made it into the Hagadah.

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Man Seder Sweeping the Nation Even More Than I Thought!

Last week, I shared this post about the Man's Seder, a mock seder for men geared towards helping men lead a better and more meaningful Seder. Last night, I got this email from a member of Congregation Beth Shalom of Potomac, Maryland:

Hi Rabbi Spolter.

I read with interest the listing of shule's that have created a "Mens Seder Night". I am proud to tell you that this will be the 4th year that Beth Sholom (Potomac, Maryland) has conducted our "Guys Night Out and Seder Summit". I have attached our flyer and recently created Press Release, announcing this year's event.

Our event is truly a community event as last year we attracted over 320 guys and are expecting 400 this year. We are especially proud of our community leadership that has already signed up including the CEO of our Federation, CEO of our JCC, Headmaster of our Day school (over 1500 kids) and Israeli Embassy officials. Last year we also welcomed 6 Rabbis.  

Please keep Beth Sholom, Potomac Maryland in mind, as you continue to publicize this great event, taking place all over the country.

Thank you.

He also sent me this flyer:

 ...as well as the following press release:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Rachel Winer
PR Consultant
winerrac@gmail.com
248-320-6632

Guys Night Out & Seder Summit: Ribs, Scotch, Learning and More!
Hosted by Beth Sholom Congregation in the Washington D.C. area

Potomac, Maryland: In the spirit of the NCAA Men’s Final Four and MLB Opening Day, Beth Sholom Congregation, the largest Modern Orthodox Synagogue in the Washington, D.C. area, proudly announces its fourth annual BBQ, Scotch and Seder Summit. The event will take place on Sunday evening, April 6th, from 6:00-9:30 PM. Over 400 attendees are expected from near and far, as this is the largest event known of its kind to get “the guys” ready for seder leading.

Who are some of the guys you may see at our event? The CEO of the JCC of Greater Washington, the President of the JCC of Greater Washington, the CEO of the local Jewish Federation, Head of Charles E. Smith Jewish Day School, leaders from the Israeli Embassy, AIPAC, the World Bank, Rabbis from other local synagogues, community members, friends, fathers, sons and grandsons coming to town from all over the east coast.

This unique "men’s outreach event" reaches across all spectrums of Judaism attracting orthodox, conservative, reform, and unaffiliated Jews. Attendees will also have the opportunity to enjoy Passover insights from Beth Sholom’s recently installed Senior Rabbi, Nissan Antine. Rabbi expresses as he looks forward to leading this event each year, “This is a great event and can surely be re-created in other local Jewish communities across this country.”

The evening features a man’s perfect menu: Kosher BBQ ribs, fries, oven baked “fried” chicken, scotch and Passover wine. The program will incorporate "speed learning," with a focus on sharing ancient traditions to help make one's Seder more meaningful for all participants. Men will take home pocket-sized materials with key lessons for them to incorporate into their own Seders. There will also be a chance to win raffle prizes, think whiskies and sports memorabilia!

The goal for this event is to raise funds to support Beth Sholom, community initiatives, all while providing a great venue for a great Jewish experience. Last year, the Washington Jewish Week stated, "I've been covering Jewish events for well over 30 years, and this was one of the most important, meaningful events I've ever experienced…this was one of the few places I had been where Orthodox, Reform, Conservative, unaffiliated, ...every type of Jew felt comfortable." 

Beth Sholom is one of the most active shuls providing financial support to families in need, during Passover. To find out more information about Beth Sholom, or to register for the event, go to: www.bethsholom.org or call 301-279-7010.

First of all, I love the name: "Seder Summit". Secondly, the shul is really utilizing the program in an exciting way - combining the power of an educational event, a fundraiser, and a force for unity in the community. You can even register and pay for the program online. Sounds incredible!

Rabbi Elazar Muskin

So, what about your shul? I never believed that I had to reinvent the wheel when it came to good shul programming. I was quite happy to "borrow" programs from colleages that I felt would benefit my community. Just recently, I proudly told Rabbi Elazar Muskin from the Young Israel of Century City that my Pre-Rosh Hashanah speaker series was completely and totally ripped off from him (which is fine, because he shared it with a large group of rabbis at a Young Israel conference).
So - rabbis, shul board members, lay-people: Here you go! You've got a great program idea (and even a press release) ready to go. Your members will be excited, your shul will make money, and their Seder night will be enriched.
The only question is, is the Man's Seder (or "Four Cups" or "Seder Summit") that will happen in your city going to be at your shul, or at the shul down the street?

Man's Seder Sweeping the Nation: Now in Chicago. Next Stop: Your City?

It started with a simple idea probably ten years ago. After my wife Rena returned home from a Federation-sponsored "Women's Seder" (complete with orange and obligatory readings), I wondered why they sponsor programs like that for women, but nothing for the men. After all, in many homes, the men lead the Seder. Shouldn't they spend some time preparing? Moreover, the Seder represents one of the most important family educational experiences throughout the Jewish year. Parents actually must sit with their children and talk (and read) about Jewish events. There had to be a program to get men ready for the Seder! Indeed, there was.
What gets men to come to anything? Torah? Sure. But what if you added steaks - really thick ones? (Remember that in Metro Detroit, good meat restaurants are pretty rare.) And what about beer? Men, like beer, right?
Turns out that they do. The idea percolated for a year, until I finally decided to inaugurate what has since become an annual event at YIOP: The Man's Seder. Here's the flyer from my last year.

The event actually garnered a fair amount of Press. We had a great article in the Detroit Free Press our first year, and more publicity in the following years. Here's a piece from the Detroit Jewish News in 2008 (click on it to enlarge):

The program has spawned imitators and emulators, which I'm actually quite proud of. For years now, my good friend Rabbi Barry Gelman of the United Orthodox Synagogue of Houston has been conducting a Man's Seder (you can find some more great pictures from their Facebook  page here). Aish Detroit copied it almost immediately after I left. It's been popping up across the country. And now the Man's Seder, moving into the big time, is making its way to Chicago.
Apparently, Rabbi Ari Sytner of YU's Center for the Jewish Future, shared the idea for the Man's Seder at a lay leadership seminar. The idea took hold, and this year Congregation Or Torah will conduct its first Man's Seder. Only they've rebranded it, and are calling it: Four Cups.

I love it. I love the upgraded graphics, and the Chicago tough-guy theme. I love the sponsorships (why didn't I think of that?) Most of all, I love the fact that a program I thought of is really helping spread Torah and excitement about Pesach.
So, if you live in Chicagoland, make your way to Or Torah for a great night of learning. And if you don't live in Chicago, share this blog post with your rabbi, ritual committee, education committe, Men's Club - whatever. Man's Seder is sweeping the nation. Don't miss it!

The Seder, President Obama, and true Redemption on Pesach

For years now, the Seder has been part of the Obama tradition, as the President (he began the minhag even before he became President). The White House published the attached video, in which the President explains to thousands of young Israelis why he brought the Seder into his household. He said,

After enjoying Seders with family and friends in Chicago and on the campaign trail, I’m proud that I've now brought this tradition into the White House. I did so because I wanted my daughters to experience the Haggadah, and the story at the center of Passover that makes this time of year so powerful.
It’s a story of centuries of slavery, and years of wandering in the desert; a story of perseverance amidst persecution, and faith in God and the Torah. It’s a story about finding freedom in your own land. And for the Jewish people, this story is central to who you’ve become. But it’s also a story that holds within it the universal human experience, with all of its suffering, but also all of its salvation.
For generations, this promise helped people weather poverty and persecution, while holding on to the hope that a better day was on the horizon. For me, personally, growing up in far-flung parts of the world and without firm roots, the story spoke to a yearning within every human being for a home. 

Taking President Obama at his word, he himself found the Seder personally moving. The Seder speaks to him, and he identified with the notion of overcoming slavery, seeking freedom and salvation, and rising to the greatest heights achievable. He wanted his daughters to share in the story because he correctly realizes that they cannot relate to it. They grew up in relative wealth in Chicago, and even worse, in the House of Pharaoh, in the lap of luxury that is the White House, where someone is always waiting to cater to your every need. How do you teach your children to appreciate what you have when they don't know what suffering is? How can you celebrate freedom if you've never tasted the bitterness of slavery?

It is this exact question that I feel vexes the Jewish people today. For centuries, we had no trouble appreciating the bitter pill of exile and degradation. That was the stuff of a daily Jewish existence, where antisemitism, bigotry and hatred formed the basis of a Jew's core identity. Yet, today we (thank God!) live in relative Utopias where Jews worship freely in the United States, and easily reach the highest levels of society, be they in the media, the financial and business world, and the government. While life is no picnic in Israel with enemies at every border, in another sense life is wonderful. We have a powerful army that protects us, great friends who care for us deeply, and a wonderful standard of living. Things are, in a very real sense, amazingly good. So we have no trouble with the elements of monarchy that we commemorate at the Seder. In fact, while the symbols that we invoke (leaning? What king leans to the left?) seem arcane, we fail to notice that the homes we consider normal or even small would have seemed huge, even obscene to most people just a few hundred years ago.
We already live like kings, with every luxury and whim at our fingertips. Food fills our fridges and any possible form of entertainment from across the globe lies no farther than the press of a button. How then can we possibly understand and appreciate what it means to be a slave?
And if we can't understand slavery, what is the meaning of redemption? After all, the Sages in the Gemara insisted that מתחילין בגנות ומסיימין בשבח - we must begin with the negative, and only then can we conclude with praise of God. Without the negative; without the suffering, there can be no praise.

For this reason I wonder whether Barack Obama might truly be able to appreciate the Seder experience more than most Orthodox Jews. How many of us grew up in parts unknown, yearning for a better life? How many of us have had to overcome true adversity, and know the sting of racism, prejudice and hatred?

Yet, there's another aspect of the Seder that President Obama cannot appreciate - no matter how hard he tries. While freedom from bondage and overcoming difficulty are critical elements of the Seder, they serve as means to an end. God did not free us to act as we choose. אין חרות אלא תורה - "There is no freedom other than [adherence to] the Torah. God freed us to become a Holy Nation with a unique, singular mission in the world. President Obama said,

And while Jews achieved extraordinary success in many parts of the world, the dream of true freedom finally found its full expression in the Zionist idea -- to be a free people in your homeland. That’s why I believe that Israel is rooted not just in history and tradition, but also in a simple and profound idea -- the idea that people deserve to be free in a land of their own. 

While he's right, he's also wrong. Israel is not rooted in the idea that "people deserve to be free in an land of their own." Israel is rooted in the idea that the Jewish people belong in and to the Land of Israel. It's not only a universal story. It's a particular story. It's our story, and it's our Land. On his Atlantic Magazine Blog, Israel Go-To Guy Jewish Journalist Jeffrey Goldberg wrote,

No holiday embodies the essential tension at the heart of Jewishness like Passover does. The story of Passover is the story of a particular people moving from a specific land of slavery to a particular land of freedom (President Obama, on his trip last week to Israel, seemed to understand very well the -- you should pardon the expression -- Zionism at the heart of the Exodus story).  Passover is also the most universal of Jewish holidays. It provided the world with what long ago became its most important, and metaphor-ready, story of human liberation. It also inculcated in Jews a restless and eternal urge to upset the status quo. The tug between the universal and the particular plays out in Jewish life in all sorts of ways, most notably on the Middle Eastern stage.

It's a prescient comment. That is, this struggle takes place almost on a daily basis here. Is Israel a universal idea - a nation of freedom and democracy first and foremost - or a particular one - a Jewish State? From my point of view, while democracy and freedom are clearly critical values, we are and must always be a Jewish State, and when the two values clash, then the compromises must come from the former, and not the latter. Interestingly, the last elections here (and arguably the ones before that as well) have articulated precisely this viewpoint among the majority of Israelis. We don't just want to be a free country. We want to be a free Jewish country - and not just because we happen to have a majority of Jews. President Obama concluded his speech by saying, 

And as the President of a country that you can count on as your greatest friend -- I am confident that you can help us find the promise in the days that lie ahead. And as a man who’s been inspired in my own life by that timeless calling within the Jewish experience -- tikkun olam -) -- I am hopeful that we can draw upon what’s best in ourselves to meet the challenges that will come; to win the battles for peace in the wake of so much war; and to do the work of repairing this world. 

Here he made a mistake (at least his speechwriters did), expecting the Israeli crowd to readily identify with the "universal" notion of Tikkun Olam, not realizing that he was simply parroting a trope that's been popularized by American non-religious Judaism: that our core national mission is "Tikkun Olam" - repairing the world. It's not, and to suggest so to a crowd of even secular Israelis will strike them as foreign, which explains why Obama's line got such a muted response (when he would have gotten a standing ovation for such a line in front of a UJA Federation crowd). Israelis think that Tikkun Olam is nice, but that's not why we're here. We're here to rebuild the Jewish Nation. Our soldiers stand watch not to "repair the world," but to protect and defend the Jewish nation. And, to repeat an oft-quoted Orthodox trope that's worth repeating, we do believe in Tikkun Olam: לתקן עולם במכלות שדי - "to repair the world in the Kingdom of God."
That's what we're building. That's the Redemption we pray for at the Seder. We want not just universal freedom and the right to live in peace and tranquility on our Land. Rather, we are building towards the day when the Jewish Nation succeeds in bringing about the spiritual transformation that will warrant the return of God to our Midst.
That can and will only be achieved by this Nation, on this Land.

Pesach, Matzah and Maror: The Essence of Jewish Education

Every Sunday morning, a student studying in Orot's M.A. program for Educational Counseling hitches a ride with me from Yad Binyamin to Elkana. During the ride, conversations often turn towards the material that he's studying. (While Orot's B.Ed. program in Elkana is for women only, men also study in separate classes towards M.A. degrees.) It's been interesting to watch as the trajectory of our conversations has shifted over the course of the year.
At the beginning, my "tremper" complained bitterly about the program. "It's so theoretical! I deal with real kids every day. I need to know how to handle the kids in the real world, and not delve into arcane psychological theory." And yet, as the year has progressed, his complaints have grown more tempered, and his appreciation for the program has grown. This morning he told me that he's already enlisted three friends to register for the program for next year.
What changed? I can tell you categorically that the program didn’t suddenly shift orientation due to his complaints. Rather, his appreciation for the material slowly matured. While he at first failed to see the significance of the theory to his work, over time he began to appreciate that while the theory of counseling might not directly impact on his counseling specifically, it allowed him to gain a broader, deeper appreciation for his work.

The "Obilgation" of the Three Symbols: What Obligation?
As we near the conclusion of Maggid and can almost taste the matzah in our mouths, we recite a famous statement from Rabban Gamliel, which is actually a direct quote from the Mishnah in Pesachim (116b):

רַבָּן גַּמְלִיאֵל הָיָה אומֵר: כָּל שֶׁלּא אָמַר שְׁלשָׁה דְּבָרִים אֵלּוּ בַּפֶּסַח, לא יָצָא יְדֵי חובָתו, וְאֵלוּ הֵן: פֶּסַח, מַצָה, וּמָרור.

Rabban Gamliel used to say: Anyone who did not speak about three things did not fulfill his obligation. And they are: Pesach (the Paschal lamb), Matzah, and Maror.

While his statement which obligates us to mention each of these three critical elements during the Seder seems clear, it's actually anything but. What "obligation" does one fail to fulfill should he not mention the three elements? Where do we find such an obligation? Not surprisingly, the answered to this question is mired in dispute.
According to Ramban (see מלמחות ה', דף ב' בדפי הרי"ף), one who fails to mention these three elements does not properly fulfill his obligation to eat the three foods on the night of Pesach. While the Torah commands us to eat, Rabban Gamliel adds that eating is not enough. One must also speak about them, understand them, and place them in the context of the story. Others, including Ra'avan, disagree, explaining that one who fails to mention these three foods does not completely fulfill the obligation to tell the story of יציאת מצרים.

A Critical Educational Lesson
Yet, when we take a step back, both positions seem to be two sides of the same coin. According to each position, Rabban Gamliel was expressing a critical idea.
On the first night of Pesach we confront two very different types of mitzvot. The first is academic: והגדת לבנך – "and you shall tell your child" the story of the Exodus from Egypt. At face value, telling a story is a theoretical exercise, as we recount the historical tale of our ancestors' exit from slavery. (Anyone who has ever been stuck in a boring history class can attest to just how irrelevant names and dates can be.) The second type of Mitzvah is action-oriented. More specifically, on this night we are commanded to eat, whether we taste the simplicity of the matzah, the bitterness of the Maror, or the richness of the Korban Pesach.
According to Rabban Gamliel, if we allowed these two elements to remain separate and disconnected, we would fail both in our telling of the story and in our eating of the food, as we neglected to focus on the critical connection between the learning and discussion and the tastes associated with that story. Rabban Gamliel reminds us that Chazal designed the different elements of the Seder to complement each-other. The study and action go hand-in-hand, each building upon the other to create a complete educational experience.

Rabban Gamliel's Lesson in the Real World of Education...and Parenting!
Education is a tricky thing. On the one hand, in the purest sense, learning is an academic, intellectual pursuit. It can be dry and theoretical, conducted in the sterile, antiseptic Ivory Tower, devoid of any real-world meaning. At the same time, practical education without underlying thought, analysis and study leaves students with a shallow, peripheral understanding of the material. Without the deeper meaning, contemplation and reflective analysis academic study demands, a student's understand is cursory at best.
In the world of Chinuch, the same holds true. If our students can analyze and parse complicated tracts of Gemara but don’t see any connection between their Torah studies and the music that they listen to or the movies that they watch, then their Torah education is sorely lacking. At the same time, if through fantastic experiential programming we've instilled in them a passion for spirituality and love of Judaism but they can't read a line of Rashi, we've also failed them.
On the night of Pesach, Rabban Gamliel reminds us that our children's education must be comprised of both academic knowledge and practical meaning. It must combine the story of יציאת מצרים together with the tastes of the Pesach foods. Only when we, as parents and teachers, combine these two critical elements together, can we rest assured that we have indeed fulfilled our educational obligation to our children.

A New Look at the Wicked Son

This past Shabbat, Rena and I traveled to Naharia (a nice beach town north of Haifa) for Orot's staff Shabbat. I heard a wonderful thought about the Rasha - the wicked son - from Rav Ze'ev Hass, an instructor at Orot.
For parents and educators, we find the Wicked Son the most challenging of children. First of all, what parent would even label her child as "wicked"?

רשע מה הוא אומר? 'מה העבודה הזאת לכם?' - ולא לו. ולפי שהוציא עצמו מן הכלל וכפר בעיקר, אף אתה הקהה את שיניו, ואמור לו: 'בעבור זה עשה ה' לי בצאתי ממצרים' - לי ולא לך, אילו היית שם לא היית נגאל! 

What does the Wicked Son say? "What is this worship for you?" - and not for him. And because he excluded himself, he has rejected a founding principle. You too must blunt his teeth and say to him, "For this God did for me when I left Egypt." For me and not for him. Had you been there, you would not have been redeemed.

The Questions
We all well know the questions regarding the Rasha. At face value, his question really isn't that difficult: מה העבודה הזאת לכם - "what is this worship of yours?" His question is so similar to the question of the Wise Son that we are left to wonder why we react to him in such a seemingly harsh manner, and to the Wise Son with such love and care. Secondly, as soon as he stops speaking, we stop talking to him, and start talking about him - in third person. Only then do we return to speaking to him to deliver our harsh response. Finally, the answer that the Hagadah provides to the Rasha should trouble us. Blunt his teeth? Tell him that he would still be in Egypt? When has that worked on a child?

Not an Only Child
Rav Hass suggested an answer by considering the "Wicked Son" not in a vacuum, but in contrast to his brother - the Wise Son. Imagine this son growing up, constantly trying to compete with his older, "perfect" brother. (This phenomenon isn't that unusual.) The oldest is often the most accomplished - intellectually, physically, educationally. Imagine how his brother feels when he's the one in school whose teachers always say, "Are you the Chacham's brother?" (As much as we ask teachers not to say things like that, somehow they still do...) How about at report card time, when he invetiably compares his grades to his "perfect" brother's? It's not hard to imagine him thinking that he can never really live up to the standard his brother set for him, so why bother?

The "Wicked Son" in our Schools

If you've ever taught in a school that tracks students by ability, you can see this phenomenon outright. It doesn't matter how you label the classes: "A1, A2, A3"; "Masmidim, Lomdim" - whatever you call them, the students in the bottom class know that they're the "dummy" class, and they'll say so outright. Oh - they'll do something else as well. They'll stop trying. After all, if their very own school calls them idiots, then why should they even bother trying to disprove them? (It's a good question that schools constantly struggle with: how do you establish an environment that allows excellent students to grow without labeling the others as inferior?)
That's our "Rasha". If he can't compete with his brother - and he can't - then why bother. So he begins to act out. We don't believe that children are inherently wicked. But he acts wickedly. His behavior certainly is bad, manifesting an attitude of apathy and indifference. And so he asks his question: "What is this worship of yours?" Why should I bother if I'll never measure up?

The Unique Nature of the Jewish Nation

Chazal teach us that at the time of the Exodux, the Jewish people found themselves in the depths of spiritual depravity and degradation. In the words of the Midrash, they had reached the 49th level of impurity, as far down as one can possibly descend and yet repent and return. What if they had adopted the attitude of the wicked son. Had the Jewish nation given up, the Exodus would never have taken place. This, explains Rav Hass, is the concept of the "Chosen Nation"; the unique quality of the Jewish people that we contain within us a spiritual spark which can, and ultimately must propel us to improve, grow and acheive spiritual greatness. This is an eternal "rule" of the Jewish people. Even if we ourselves cannot see the great potential within us, God can. He will redeem us and nurture us in order to draw out the spark of holiness that we all contain.
This inherent Jewish inherent quality will never change. And yet, it's the very notion that the Wicked Son rejects. So we say not to the Rasha - but about him, that if his apathetic attitude had been in Egypt, then he and the rest of us would never have been redeemed. Change can only come about when you believe in yourself and see not only your shortcomings, but the great potential within you to grow.

The Solution: Show Him the Truth
For this reason, we are instructed specifically to "blunt" his teeth (and not knock them out). Rav Hass noted a fascinating truth about God's creations: the more sophisticated and advanced a being is, the more primitive it is at birth. Think about it: animals are expected to get up and walk on their own moments after being born. Human beings, on the other hand, enter the world helpless, unable to care for themselves in even the most simple manner. We require nurturing, care and attention for years before we can take the necessary steps to care for ourselves, and then hopefully, our children. Nothing symbolizes this idea better than our teeth. We're born without them, and as we grow, our teeth grow, symbolizing our development and maturity. (Baby teeth --> adult teeth --> wisdom teeth). So, when addressing the Rasha's attitude of indifference, we tell him to look at his teeth. Does he really think that he was supposed to be born with a mouth full of teeth? Why then should he necessarily have to live up to the Chacham from the very beginning? Just as his teeth will grow and sharpen, so too will he develop, grow and become the person that he was meant to be.

"Our" Rasha

No parent today would label her child a "Rasha." (God forbid!) And yet, every parent and teacher knows which child feels inferior; that he cannot keep up with the stronger kids, and would rather not bother. Our task must be to instill in our children a sense of potential. We must help them sharper their teeth (ושננתם לבניך - from the word שן - see Rashi) to the point that they too have a sense of confidence in their unique abilities.
Like the Jewish nation, every child has that spark. It's up to us to help it emerge - to bring each and every child the personal redemption he or she can and must achieve.

Audio Shiur: Hagadah Shel Pesach - Celebrating Half Geulah

Audio Shiur:
Hagadah Shel Pesach - Celebrating Half Geulah

With our national return to our ancestral homeland, the night of Pesach leaves us in a quandary: How do we celebrate a future redemption that we believe has already begun? How did Chazal design the seder to reflect a future (and a missing past) that we have begun to realize? Answering these questions will help you bring meaning to your Seder.

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Audio Shiur: Hagadah Shel Pesach - Dayeinu - Is it Really Enough?

Audio Shiur:
Hagadah Shel Pesach - Dayeinu - Is it Really Enough?

For some, it's their favorite part of the Seder - the food is coming! But the famous poem begs an equally famous question. We'll analyze the question, and offer four different answers to enhance your Seder discussion.
You can access the thought mentioned by Rabbi Lamm in his Royal Table Hagaddah here. Or, better yet, you can buy his Hagaddah here.

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The Pendulum Swings of Redemption

A Thought from the Hagaddah shel Pesach
by Rabbi Reuven Spolter

As we contemplate Pesach as the Chag Hageulah - the holiday of redemption, each year the same questions creep into my mind: If we're moving towards the coming of Moshiach and the State represents a critical step in that process, why do things seem so challenging? Why do some people seem to be moving not closer to, but farther away from religious Judaism? How long will the process take? What stage exactly are we in right now?
While these questions prove difficult to answer, Rav Yitzchak Dadon, in his newly released Hagaddah called "Ayelet Hashachar" uses a well-known theme of Rav Kook to both explain a passage in הא לחמא עניא and also give us a sense of where we are and where we're going.

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Audio Shiur - Hagaddah shel Pesach: The Wicked Son

Audio Shiur:
Audio Shiur: Audio Shiur - Hagaddah shel Pesach: The Wicked Son

Among the four sons in the Hagaddah, we often gloss over the treatment of the wicked son. We do this because we'd be troubled by the harshness with which he's dealt. Together, we analyze the different approaches that parshanim took towards the Rasha, from the Middle Ages to today, and deal with the challenges the different approaches present.

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For This! More Thoughts on the Hagadah

We published this short piece in the Orot Newsletter mailed to alumni and friends.

My seven-year-old daughter asked me recently if she could read to me as part of a school assignment to practice her reading skills.
"Sure," I told her, as we sat down to read the story of "Kippi and the Bike Race", an old Sesame Street book. As she read to me with wonderful articulation, comprehension and emphasis, I felt a sense of pride both in her growth and accomplishment.
I can imagine what you're thinking: Sesame Street? For a seven-year-old? What's the big deal? I felt so proud because she was reading the book, fluently, in Hebrew.
When addressing the שאינו יודע לשאול, we explain to him that the reason we celebrate on the night of Pesach is because,

בַּעֲבוּר זֶה, עָשָׂה ה' לִי, בְּצֵאתִי, מִמִּצְרָיִם

"It is because of this" that Hashem did to me when I left Egypt.

What is the זה that the Torah refers to? What do we celebrate? Rashi explains that the זה refers to the mitzvot that we perform on Seder night:

בעבור שאקיים מצוותיו, כגון פסח מצה ומרור

In order that I fulfill His commandments, like [offering the Korban] Pesach, [and eating the] matzah and marror.

Yet, the Hagadah omits one of the mitzvot Rashi mentions:

יכול מבעוד יום? תלמוד לומר "בעבור זה." בעבור זה לא אמרתי אלא בשעה שיש מצה ומרור מונחים לפניך.

I might have thought that [we tell the story of Pesach] during the day. The verse comes to teach you, "because of this" – we only say "it is because of this" at a time when the matzah and maror sit before you.

What happened to the Korban Pesach? Rav Menachem Kasher in his introduction to the Hagadah Sheleimah (p. 124) notes that the Mechilta of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai does mention the Korban Pesach:

בעבור זה עשה ה' לי בצאתי ממצרים – כל זמן שגופו של פסח קיים

"For this Hashem did to me when I left Egypt – during the entire time that the sacrifice remains."

What's the difference if the Midrash mentions the Korban Pesach or just matzah and maror? This subtle difference holds the key to unlocking the power of בעבור זה. Jews ate matzah and maror during every era in every location. Whether in Israel in the second century or Prague in the 17th, we ate matzah and maror. But we only eat the Korban Pesach in Eretz Yisrael, and only when we have the Beit Hamikdash, and our presence in the Mikdash signified a substantial Jewish presence in Israel, and a national Jewish identity.
The section in the Torah in which we find the בעבור זה begins as follows:

וְהָיָה כִי-יְבִיאֲךָ ה' אֶל-אֶרֶץ הַכְּנַעֲנִי וְהַחִתִּי וְהָאֱמֹרִי וְהַחִוִּי וְהַיְבוּסִי, אֲשֶׁר נִשְׁבַּע לַאֲבֹתֶיךָ לָתֶת לָךְ, אֶרֶץ זָבַת חָלָב, וּדְבָשׁ; (שמות יג:ה)

And it shall be when the Hashem will bring you into the land of the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Amorite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite, which He swore to your fathers to give you, a land flowing with milk and honey…

Why did Hashem take us out of Egypt? He redeemed us to bring us to the Land of Israel, where we could build a Jewish nation to proclaim His glory to the nations of the world. When we fulfill our mission, we also merit the benefits that the befit the Jewish nation – life in our own country, our own language, government, army – and a Beit Hamikdash to properly worship God.
No, we're not there yet. The Jewish nation has a long way to go to achieve its mission, and barring some incredible miracle, I will not partake of the Korban Pesach this year.
But listening to my daughter read "Kippi and the Bicycle Race" in Hebrew I couldn't help but think, "We're off to a pretty good start."

Teaching the Value of Freedom at the Seder

Should we cause our children to suffer in order to help them fully appreciate the Redemption we're supposed to relive on the night of the Seder? Maybe we should. After all, as parents, we cause our kids to suffer all the time.
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Along the same lines, my wife Rena shared with me this story of parents outraged an an educational attempt to help kids appreciate the suffering of the Holocaust. Do you agree with the incensed mother at the end of the story? I'm not sure.

Imagine the following Seder "teaching" technique. (Full disclosure: my wife has forbidden me from actually doing this at our Seder this year. Or any year.)

After Kiddush, sometime after eating the Karpas and breaking the middle matzah, you turn to one of your children arbitrarily, point to her angrily and say, "Go to your room. Now!"
"Why? What did I do?"
"Get in your room I said! And the longer you take to get there, the longer you'll be there."
After either a small or large argument, your child will storm off, likely in anger, perhaps in tears.
Wait five minutes. Then call the child, giving her permission to return to the Seder, and ask her the following: "How do you feel? Wouldn't you like to celebrate the fact that you're now free to return to the Seder? Hasn't your time in your room given you a new appreciation for your newfound freedom?"

If your child has calmed down enough to speak, her answer will probably be "no." Before celebrating her freedom, she'd want to know why she was sent to her room in the first place. It's hard to celebrate redemption from a perceived injustice.
But isn't that exactly what we do at the Seder.
We're supposed to relive the Redemption from Egypt. We're supposed to act like kings on the night of the Seder, luxuriating in our newfound freedom. But in order to appreciate the good, the Mishnah (Pesachim 116a) tells us that we must first begin with the bad: מתחיל בגנות ומסיים בשבח – "we begin with the criticism and conclude with the praise." With which "criticism" do we begin the Seder? The Gemara presents two answers:

רב אמר מתחלה עובדי עבודת גלולים היו אבותינו [ושמואל] אמר עבדים היינו

Rav said, "Originally our forefathers were idolaters" and Shmuel said, "Our forefathers were slaves."

Examining Shmuel's explanation, I wonder: Sure, we were slaves. And yes, God redeemed us from slavery. But why were we in slavery? How did we get there? Was it not the same God that redeemed us Who also sent us into slavery in the first place? Rav's explanation seems to answer this question. We entered into slavery because we were idolaters. In essence, God initiated the process of שעבוד מצרים in order to redeem us. Commenting on the section of מתחילה עובדי עבודה זרה in the Hagaddah, Rabbi Yishaya of Tarani (רי"ד) explains:

לפי שיש לשאול, מה שבח הוא זה שהכניס אותנו המקום למצרים ואחר כך הוציאנו. לא יכנוס ולא יוציא והרי אנו בני חורין, ולמה נשבח על אותה הוצאה?
For one might ask, what praise is there that He brought us into Egypt and only then redeemed us. Let Him not bring us in nor redeem us, and we would have remained free. Why should we offer praise for this redemption?"

Good question. Rabbi Yishaya answers:

לכן אמר מתחילה עובדי עבודה זרה היו אבותנו; אף על פי שהיו אבותינו בני חורין היו עובדי עבודה זרה, ומה שגזר עלינו הקדוש ברוך הוא שעבוד לטובתנו היה, שעל אותה שיעבוד חס עלינו הקדוש ברוך הוא והוציאנו, והכנסנו תחת כנפיו, ונתן לנו את השבת ואת התורה, ובנה לנו בית הבחירה לכפר על כל עוונותינו.

For this reason it says, " Originally our forefathers were idolaters"; even though our forefathers we free, they were nonetheless idol worshippers, and that which God decreed upon us was for our own benefit. For, through this subjugation the Holy One had compassion upon us and redeemed us, and brought us under the canopy of His wings, and gave us the Shabbat and the Torah, and built for us the Temple to atone for all our sins.

In essence, God punished us in order to redeem us. He took away our freedom in order to give it back to us in a new, fundamentally different way. He couldn't just give the Torah to Ya'akov's sons in Cana'an. Their children (us) would never have accepted it fully. Only through the crucible of suffering and the joy and relief of redemption could we come to appreciate God's greatness and the redemptive nature of the Torah.
All this makes me wonder: how much do we as parents impose suffering upon our children in order to make them grow?
What cruel parent imposes suffering upon her children? you wonder. We all do, as well we should. What child wants to sit and do her math homework? Which self-respecting teenager wants to wash the dishes, or sweep the floors on erev Shabbat? What child wants to spend time in her room (or without internet or cell phone access, God forbid!) as a punishment for some minor or major infraction?
We "subjugate" our children by "forcing" them to do countless things that they would prefer to avoid in order to help them grow. In fact, if we failed to "subjugate" and "oppress" our children; if we gave them complete freedom to act as they pleased and do whatever they wished, we would be abdicating our parental responsibility. We would be bad parents.
All of this brings me back to our original scenario. The gemara I mentioned above concludes with a story:

אמר ליה רב נחמן לדרו עבדיה עבדא דמפיק ליה מריה לחירות ויהיב ליה כספא ודהבא מאי בעי למימר ליה? אמר ליה בעי לאודויי ולשבוחי אמר ליה פטרתן מלומר מה נשתנה

Said Rav Nachman to Daru, his slave: A slave whose owner freed him, and gave him money and gold – what should he say to [the owner]? He answered: he must thank him and praise him! [Rav Nachman] said back, you have exempted us from reciting the Mah Nishtanah.

The story in the Gemara sounds to me much like my "educational" scenario. Retelling the story of the Redemption to our children isn't about reading the text of the Hagaddah and sharing commentary on the text. It's about personalizing the story so that our children can come to appreciate both the meaning of suffering that they taste in the Matzah, and the value of redemption they must feel as they lean back and drink their wine.
Which makes me wonder: while I won't send my child to her room on the night of the Seder (remember, I've been forbidden to do so), wouldn't I be a better parent and "teller" of the story of the Redemption if I did?

Audio Shiur: Hagaddah 5770 - Back to the Beginning

Audio Shiur:
Hagaddah 5770 - Back to the Beginning
"We begin with the negative, so that we can conclude with the positive." The two positions in the gemara regarding this statement from the Mishnah teaches us a great deal about the message of the Hagadah, and the way that we must view the world. In addition, we discuss the notion of suffering, and the question of how much suffering a parent imposes upon his or her children to foster growth.

Click here for the audio link, or listen in the handy audio player supplied below.