Moshe Ben-Chaim
The
Seder is the central focus of Passover. During the Seder, there are a number of
primary laws. We read the following in the Talmud (Pesachim 117a) and in the
Haggadah: “Rabbi Gamliel taught, ‘Anyone who does not explain three matters on
Passover, does not fulfill his obligation; 1) the Paschal lamb, 2) matza and 3)
the bitter herbs’.” We wonder why these three elements are so central to
Passover. How do these define the nature of the holiday? Another interesting
feature is that there were two Passovers: an Egyptian Passover, and all others
celebrated after the Torah was given. Why are there only one Sukkos, and one
Shavuos? What aspect of Passover demands two versions? The Talmud and Haggadah
also teach that we are obligated to view ourselves as if we were redeemed from
Egypt, and that we must also recline while eating matza and drinking the four
cups of wine to express this newfound freedom. And, “even if we are all
wise…all knowing the Torah”, we are still obligated to recount the Exodus. But
why? How can we learn more, if we already know this story inside out? We then
read of every generation who attempts to destroy us, but that God saves us. We
recount Laban’s evil, and God’s salvation; we recount at great length the
Egyptians’ evils, and how God heard our cry, and saved us with miracles.
Another law is that when reciting the Haggadah, we must recount our history,
commencing with our degraded events and concluding with our praiseworthy
status: we commence with our having been slaves and idolaters, and conclude
with God’s redemption and granting us Torah. We follow this theme with the
recital of Hallel, praising God. Astonishingly, our Haggadah that recounts so
much about our life in Egypt and God’s plagues, mentions Moses just once:
Maimonides’ Haggadah omits Moses’ name altogether. We would think Moses’ role
in Passover should be present. Why is Moses of little or no focus? Although we
have cited many laws, there is one reason for all of them…can you determine it?
If not, let’s investigate further.
“Rabbi
Gamliel taught, ‘Anyone who does not explain three matters on Passover, does
not fulfill his obligation; the Paschal lamb, matza and the bitter herbs’.”
What
is the significance of the Paschal lamb? As we recount our history in the
Haggadah, we learn of our state as idolaters before Abraham’s times, and God’s
oath to make us a great nation. We learn of our Egyptian bondage and God’s
miracles. Why did God deliver so many plagues? God desired to direct Pharaoh
and his people to the error in their ways, and each plague targeted another
misconception. The first three plagues displayed God’s sovereignty over Earth;
the next three, over Earthly events; and the last three, over the heavens. All
three realms, Earth, the heavens, and all in between are shown to be under
God’s control: the Egyptian gods could do nothing to deflect God’s plagues.
Finally, when Pharaoh sustained his denial of God, God delivered a plague
inexplicable by nature: firstborn deaths. Thereby, God taught conclusively of
His exclusive reign as Creator and Governor of the universe: as He created
everything, He alone controls all natural laws, and no realm escapes His
control. We learn of our Egyptian bondage, and the central flaw of our
oppressors: they worshipped something other than God. And we learn how God
attempts to offer man truth before delivering the final blow.
To
be entitled to freedom and accept a Torah from the true God, we must understand
what “God” refers to. If we assume the Egyptian meaning, we do not deserve
redemption. Thus, God commanded our sacrifice of the Egyptian deity, the
Paschal lamb. It is only through this sacrifice, that we deny the false god and
affirm the true God, earning our delivery from a bitter existence to taste
freedom: embodied in matza, as it could not rise due to God’s swift delivery.
The
Paschal lamb is the Egyptian god; an idolatrous culture which projects its
fantasies onto reality, also projecting its need for human domination, which
caused our embittered, slave existence. For this reason, when no Temple exists
and no Paschal lamb is sacrificed, the bitter herbs also cannot be fulfilled as
a Torah law, but are only Rabbinic. The bitter herbs (our bitter existence)
result from the lamb-worshipping culture who feels favored by their gods, and
who can justifiably oppress others who devour their God, “For the Egyptians
could not eat bread together with the Hebrews, for it is an abomination to the
Egyptians.” (Onkelos; Exod. 43:32)
Our Torah law reflects this relationship
between idolatry and oppression, by commanding the bitter herbs only be eaten
when the idolatrous Paschal lamb is present. Exodus 12:8 reads, “And you shall
eat the flesh on that night, roasted by fire, with matza and bitter herbs you
shall eat it (the Paschal lamb).” It teaches of the relationship between the
matza and bitter herbs, that they depend on the Paschal lamb. Meaning, it is
through the denial of the lamb-god that we earned a delivery from the bitter
life, to taste freedom: the matza.
As
Rabbi Gamliel teaches, explaining this triad forms our primary obligation in
Haggadah: 1) killing the idolatrous Paschal lamb (Pesach) is the means by which
we earn redemption from 2) bitterness (maror) to 3) freedom (matza). Without explaining these three, we do not
fulfill our command, and for good reason.
The
goal of Passover is to engender a feeling of appreciation for God, who took us
out of Egypt. God transformed our slave nation into a dignified, free people
who received Divine laws for our own good. To emphasize this contrast and to
create our real sense of thanks, Passover is the only holiday possessing two
forms: A) the Egyptian Passover, and B) all later Passovers. The objective of
these two holidays is to highlight this very contrast of our having A) been
slaves, and B) our present freedom. Samson Raphael Hirsch states the reason for
the Egyptian Passover: we were to focus on our “current” bondage, eating poor
man’s bread, bitter herbs and sacrificing the lamb…to be contrasted suddenly by
God’s swift salvation. We must realize we did nothing to cause our salvation:
it was God alone. This contrast is the key aspect of Passover. For it is only
through contrasting bondage to freedom, that we might feel thankful to God.
Therefore, Passover is the only holidays with two versions: since the holiday
is one where “contrasting” our “bondage to freedom” is the focus, so as to
engender our thanks for God’s kindness.
We
therefore recline to embellish our freedom, and recount our tragedies followed
by our successes, again offering a ‘contrast’ and thanks for the good God
bestowed upon us. This explains why we are obligated to view ourselves as if we
were redeemed from Egypt. Now, “even if we are wise…”, we are still obligated
to recount the Exodus”. Why is this? The answer: this is not an exercise in
“learning”, but in generating “appreciation”, something we must and can do
yearly. So it matters none that we repeat what we know already, as wise,
elderly Jews. For even at that prime age, we must renew our appreciation for
God who redeemed us. And as our appreciation reaches its crescendo, we recite
the Hallel, as an expression of our thanks, for true thanks would be lacking,
if we were not moved towards expression. We might also suggest that Moses’ role
is downplayed in the Haggadah, since God is to retain full focus of our
appreciation.
Matza
recalls poor man’s bread, but also teaches of God’s salvation. So when no
Temple exists and the sacrifice cannot be brought, despite the absence of the
means of our redemption – killing the Egyptian god – we may still eat matza, as
matza embodies the “objective” of Passover. Of course we lack the complete
picture portrayed in the triad of “Pesach, Matza and Maror”, nonetheless,
Passover’s objective of matza – “redemption” – is significant enough to stand
alone. So significant is the objective of freedom embodied in matza that the
Torah verses command us in matza again by itself, (12:18) in addition to the
matza commanded to be eaten with the Paschal lamb and the bitter herbs.
This
holiday is called the “Holiday of Matzas” and not the “Holiday of Pesach” to
emphasize the matza’s independent lesson, not reliant on the lamb or the herbs.
However, bitter herbs are commanded only when the Paschal lamb is present, as
we said, for they reflect the bitterness associated with the culture deifying
the lamb-god. More precisely, our bitter bondage was a result of an idolatrous
culture, devoid of Divine morality. Therefore, the two – bitter herbs and the
lamb – are inseparable. We cannot talk about a bitter bondage if the cause of
that bitterness – idolatry (the lamb) – is absent. So with no Paschal lamb,
there are no bitter herbs. But since matza embodies the overall objective of
“redemption”, and since the Torah commands eating matza even when no Paschal
lamb is present, matza retains an independent role.
Summary
God designed us
to find the most satisfaction when we engage our highest element: our
intellects. It is our intellect that we sense as our center, and it is only
when we engage our intellect that we will find the most profound sense of
purpose and satisfaction. For this reason, God delivered us from Egyptian
bondage, with the objective of giving us the Torah. Regardless of our state of
affairs, the Torah lifestyle will definitely brings us towards fulfillment and
happiness. Perhaps, it is for this reason that the Talmud teaches, even a poor
person must recline, for even though impoverished and with no means, he must
realize that the redemption applies to everyone and affects everyone, poor and
rich alike. The Torah system was given to an entire “people”, not to an
individual. As such, is must be God’s meaning that Torah improves everyone’s
life. We commence the Haggadah with the words, “all who are in need, come and
eat.”
Torah laws target specific areas, from relationships to objects of mitzva, from seasons to daily needs, and from actions to proper thoughts. Passover, which too contains many truths, carries the broader goal of imbuing us with an appreciation for God’s redemption. Truly, Passover targets the general feeling of “appreciating God”. It is through all these laws that Passover leads us towards recognition that God created us, and governs us with His intervention and His gift of Torah. It is only through following Torah law and philosophy, that we will indeed become joyous in our lives. With that thought, I wish a truly happy Passover to everyone.