Musings on Parshot Tazria-Metzora

Following are some of the ideas, insights and interpretations that emerge from our weekly Chumash learning group at the Young Israel of Oceanside, Long Island. We cite sources when possible. Some of our interpretations derive from ideas we may have seen elsewhere, possibly without attribution. Or we may simply have forgotten the source. For this we apologize. We invite your comments, observations and participation.

Overview

Ritual purification after childbirth …symptoms, types, diagnosis and laws of tzara’as of the body and garments…ritual purification of the metzora …offerings…tzara’as of houses… physical secretions …seminal emissions… normal and abnormal menstruation

On Tumah

We think Tumah can best be understood in psychological terms. Yehudah Valladares thinks of Tumah as a state of mind that causes one to question/doubt one’s long held beliefs. Witnessing or coming into contact with death prompts one to wonder about life, about death, about God and about the Hereafter.

Tumah  may also be thought of as a state of cognitive loss; a radiating negative energy; a "death" or "dispirited" state during which one is so deeply depressed, apathetic, and/or guilt-ridden (on some level)  that he/she no longer has the capacity to enter into any  relationship--not with God and not with other human beings.

Contact with death precipitates a state of Tumah.  A corpse is considered the "ultimate father of all Tumah," because contact with death triggers a primordial uneasiness, a fear (of one's own mortality?) and a negativism that can absorb all of the person’s emotional energy.  (Even medical students report a sense of uneasiness after the first encounter with a cadaver.) Death of a family member can evoke negative emotions including sadness, resentment, anger, feelings of unfairness, and guilt. The person who encounters death is self-absorbed, sad, and depressed.  These feelings interfere with one's ability to connect with others.

The Torah's insight into the profound (oft-times unconscious) forces that dominate a human being's emotions and behavior is further evident in the reality that the negativity  associated with death becomes diluted the further one is removed from the source.  Thus, a person who touches a corpse (called a "Rishon L'tumah") experiences the most intense emotional negativity (i.e., Tumah).  As that person comes into contact (e.g., shakes hands) with others, the emotion of the "death association" by the latter is a step removed and diluted.  And so on down the line as each Tameh person comes into contact with another person or object, the transmission (emotional response to the original source of Tumah) weakens. 

A woman who menstruates, a women who has given birth, and people who experience abnormal sexual emissions (zav, zava) are deemed to be in a state of Tumah because  blood and fluids associated with the procreative process represent on some level of the human mind the (potential) death of a human life. Bad and sad feelings result (e.g., postpartum depression) and fill the person with negativity...i.e., Tumah.

Primitive man feared that blood flow from any part of the human anatomy meant illness and/or death. Women especially were considered dangerous and impure, unable to participate in religious ritual. The blood flows of child bearing contained seed and demanded that the woman be separated. Giving birth to a female--who also would eventually experience the “impurity” from the feared blood flows--necessitated a separation period twice that required for a male.

                       

Over the years it has been noted (and, in our generation, said in the name of Rav Solovetchik a"h) that to understand the deeper meaning of a word, look for where that word first appears in the Torah.  The first time we encounter the root-word Tumah is in Breishis 34:5 after Shechem's seduction and rape of Yaakov's daughter, Deena.  Here the Torah focuses on Yaakov's reaction:

 “Yaakov learned that his daughter Deena had been Teemay (defiled)” and “Yaakov remained silent until they (his sons) came home”.

Tumah is the condition that is characterized by a seething rage, deep mental anguish, and a state of speechlessness all part of a galaxy of negative emotions that precipitate questioning of long held beliefs and prevent inter-personal relationships. Yaakov's internal turmoil presumably mirrored that of his daughter.

On Tzara’as

Tumah exists when a person is in the disease state known as tzara’as, a dermatological disorder characterized by symptoms of coloring, depth, extent. Often, the condition is inaccurately identified as leprosy, based on the Greek translation of the word (scaly).

The condition is not a medical/hygienic one but a religious one, thought to be brought upon a person for having maligned other people (Metzorah =Motze Shem Rah).Only the Cohen had the authority to declare one Tameh. The laws do not apply to non-Jews. A bridegroom upon whom spots have appeared is able to complete his seven days of wedding celebration before seeking out the Cohen’s examination.

Deep in the recesses of our soul we are aware that in speaking/behaving badly towards another our behavior is inappropriate and harmful. Our conscience struggles with his behavior and experiences guilt on some level.  Struggling with "one's own demons" causes a person to be Tameh because preoccupation with one's own emotions interferes with the ability to relate to others. Perhaps tsara’as is the psychosomatic manifestation of guilt.

                       

The treatment of tsara’as is also revealing. One is isolated (moves outside the city) and prohibited from socializing with others, presumably to allow for a period of introspection regarding the ramification of one's behavior (a "time out" in current parlance). Other details of this isolation are remarkably similar to the Shiva regulations, when a person struggles with the emotional aftermath of death.  The psychological reverberations of death, loshon harah, tsara’as and guilt seem inextricably linked. 

 

According to the Lubavitch Rav, tzara’as is to be viewed as an educational lesson designed to help a person correct his ways and experience a spiritual rebirth. The disease is only skin deep, conveying that it is not a deep-rooted problem. The proximity of these laws to those of childbirth links to the idea of birth and rebirth. The Metzorah will learn not to speak loshon hara anymore (since he will be isolated with no one to speak with) as he silently reflects on his past behavior. He abused his God-given gift of speech by using it to malign others. Now he is given the opportunity to change.

Rabbi H. L. Berenholz

Musings on Parshat Shemini

Following are some of the ideas, insights and interpretations that emerge from our weekly Chumash learning group at the Young Israel of Oceanside, Long Island. We cite sources when possible. Some of our interpretations derive from ideas we may have seen elsewhere, possibly without attribution. Or we may simply have forgotten the source. For this we apologize. We invite your comments, observations and participation.

Overview

·       The eighth day of Inauguration of the Mishkan

·       Deaths of Aaron’s sons Nadav and Avihu

·       Cohanim not to mourn

·       Cohanim warned against becoming intoxicated

·       Disposal of the Initiatory offerings

·       Dietary laws: forbidden animals… forbidden fish…listing of forbidden birds… permitted and forbidden insects

·       Ritual impurity from contact with prohibited  animals, objects, foods, permitted animals, reptiles and insects

On setting limits

Robert Alter notes that separation is a major theme in Sefer Vayikra. The concept of setting apart (havdil root) is repeatedly manifest in the broad range of ritual, dietary and sexual laws. By accepting these rules, we the Jewish people set ourselves apart from other peoples to become holy like G-d. The Torah repeatedly reminds us of the need to keep our distance from the sacred Mishkan; no unauthorized person may encroach (lo sikrav, do not come close).

Purification is another major theme. Profane pollutants that need to be avoided include bodily discharges; various skin conditions; mildew and other blights in buildings, utensils and fabrics.

Cohanim have to avoid Tumah in order to enter and officiate in the Mishkan. We all are to avoid contact with anything that puts us into this state of Tumah (ritual impurity).

In this week’s Parsha we learn of the need to avoid eating certain foods and the procedures for cleansing ourselves should we come into contact with a dead human or animal.

On Foods

Foods that are permitted to be eaten are called Kasher, (or Kosher) although technically the meaning of the Hebrew word is “fit” or “proper” and the word appears only once in the Torah (Megillat Esther) in a non-food context.

Trefah or Treif in current usage describes a food that is not permitted to be eaten (the opposite of Kasher).But the technical definition of the word is an animal that is torn apart and is prohibited because it suffers this  injury, disease or defect.

The Torah uses the words Tame (impure) and Tahor (pure)—not Kasher and Treif-- to describe the permissibility of foods. A creature that is Tame is not abominable but is considered repulsive only because of a Divine command that forbids its being eaten.

Reasons for the dietary laws

Nechama Leibowitz and Rabbi Günter Plaut, among others, have surveyed the range of opinions.

Ravi David Tzvi Hoffman thinks that the  ancient distinctions between clean and unclean beasts may be traced to heathen cults’ belief  that the universe is ruled by two rival deities, one pure and holy, and the other unclean and abominated. These unclean beasts (embodying the unclean deity) are to be hunted down and destroyed  and the clean ones are to be protected. The former were regarded as destructive forces bringing with them sickness and evil (Professor Yechezkel Kaufmann).

The Torah view stands in sharp contrast to these pagan beliefs in that it denies the existence of an independent god-like Evil force. There is nothing inherently unclean or evil or destructive in living creatures. Uncleanliness is not an independent power in the war between the forces of good and evil  that threatens G-d. Creatures are prohibited as foods only  because  the Torah has informed us “unclean they are to you”.

Rambam thinks that the foods prohibited by the Torah are unhealthy. For example, swine flesh is prohibited because of that animal’s loathsome, dirty life style. Note: Archeological findings show that pork was a common food eaten by the Philistines. It was later in the Hellenistic period that the pig became the “prohibited animal par excellence” (Robert Alter).

Sefer Hachinuch shares this approach-- even as he acknowledges that the Torah does not provide us with any explanation-- but stresses that the physical disability that results will have a detrimental effect on one’s intelligence, education and character building.

Abravanel and his mentor  Rav Yitzchak Arama take issue with the medical approach for a number of reasons. Firstly, if it is about health, why did the Torah not include other harmful and poisonous creatures and herbs? Moreover, empirical observations are that those who eat pork and other prohibited species do not seem to suffer any more illness than the rest of the population.

Ramban and Abravanel observe  that the Torah is not meant to be a medical textbook. They conclude that these laws must be motivated by the desire to maintain the purity of one’s soul. Forbidden birds are carnivorous. These birds of prey’s bloodthirsty attacking behavior could be absorbed by the person who eats it. By contrast, the cloven foot, cud-chewing permitted animals do not prey on other creatures.

Some maintain that the rationale is to help us achieve self-discipline and abstinence and to build character in our efforts to fulfill G-d’s will. The Sages note that a person should not say “I cannot stand pork!” but rather “I would like to eat it , but what can I do since my Heavenly father has prohibited it”. Philo of Alexandria thinks that the Torah wants to discourage excessive self indulgence and therefore banned pork, supposedly  the most tasty of meats.

 “You are what you eat”

Cloven- footed and cud-chewing animals tend to be domesticated, familiar, herbivorous non-attacking ruminants. We want to absorb gentleness and kindness. The word ruminate means to study, rethink, ”chew on” an idea. We want to eat those animals (ruminants)  that can enhance this behavior in us. Philo of Alexandria further notes  that the  split hoof aspect points to our need to carefully study things that appear to be the same but  really are  completely different  from and independent of one another (i.e., split).

Dr. Alvin Schiff  focuses on the eating and careful digestion aspects that nourish  the brain to enable us to think. The split hoof reminds us to watch where we go in life. Jeff Benkoe thinks that the split hoof reminds us of the choices  we have in life.

Fish that have fins and scales are permitted. Ramban notes that fish without these tend to be bottom-feeders, scavengers, and attackers that swim in the dark, murky waters below. The Torah wants us to not ingest this aggressive behavior and psychological darkness.

Prohibited birds tend to be attacking  and aggressive, characteristics we want to avoid  ingesting and absorbing.

Rabbi H. L. Berenholz

Counting of the Omer: A Journey From Tumah to Tahara

Introduction

There is no Biblical injunction against being in a state of Tumah (“impurity”). A person's status in this regard is relevant only as it relates to the permissibility of entry into holy places (Mishkan /Temple/Mount Sinai).

The Mishkan, the Holy Temple and Mt. Sinai have been designated by the Torah as places where an individual can have a relationship with G-d. It is in these locations that one can bring a Korban, an offering of/from oneself to experience closeness with the Divine. It is in these locations that G-d communicates with us (from above the Cheruvim, and from atop the mountain). Indeed, the Ramban, and more recently, Rabbi Menachem Leibtag, note that the role of the Mishkan during the wandering in the desert was to serve as a constant and concrete reminder of the Mt. Sinai experience, as a kind of visual representation of the place that the special relationship with Hashem was forged. The encampment surrounding the Mishkan, the flames from the offering of Korbanot in the very center mirrored the encampment on and around Mt.Sinai where Korbanot were offered amidst the fiery scene.

Tumah can best be understood in psychological terms.  Our hypothesis is that Tumah is a state of cognitive loss; a "death" or "dispirited" state during which one is so deeply depressed, apathetic, and/or guilt-ridden (on some level)  that he/she no longer has the capacity to enter into any  relationship--not with G-d and not with other human beings.

If one is filled with negativity in a state of emotional self absorption (Tameh) it is pointless to enter the Temple, for no relationship can or will develop. This Torah truth is, of course, equally applicable to our human relationships, particularly the most important one of all, the spousal situation.  When there is the aura of negativity in one of the partners, there can be no relationship. In our view, this is the deeper message of Tumah for us all in our religious and personal lives. 

Contact with death precipitates a state of Tumah.  A corpse is considered the "ultimate father of all Tumah," because contact with death triggers a primordial uneasiness, fear (of one's own mortality?) and negativism that can absorb all of the one’s emotional energy. (Even medical students report a sense of uneasiness after the first encounter with a cadaver.) Death of a family member can evoke negative emotions including sadness, resentment, anger, feelings of unfairness, and guilt.  The person who encounters death is self-absorbed, sad, and depressed.  These feelings interfere with one's ability to connect with others.

The Torah's insight into the profound (oft-times unconscious) forces that dominate a human being's emotions and behavior is further evident in the reality that the negativity  associated with death becomes diluted the further one is removed from the source. Thus, a person who touches a corpse (called a "Rishon L'tumah") experiences the most intense emotional negativity (i.e., Tumah). As that person comes into contact (e.g., shakes hands) with others, the emotion of the "death association" by the latter is a step removed and diluted. And so on down the line as each Tameh person comes into contact with another person or object, the transmission (emotional response to the original source of Tumah) weakens. (Please note that the halachos of Tumah are lengthy, complicated and well beyond the scope of this article. It would be interesting at some point to study the details of Tumah and see if they fit the hypothesis we are proposing. For the moment, however, our interest here is in providing a conceptual framework for understanding the psychological meaning and emotional dynamics of the thing that is Tumah.)

Counting of the Omer

Shavuot is the holiday for celebrating our relationship with G-d. Counting of the Omer occurs between Pesach and Shavuot.  We count up to 49, not down from 49, despite the fact that the latter approach conveys a greater level of anticipation and excitement.  ("We have only x number of days left...") If an individual failed to count one day, he cannot recite the blessing when he counts the remaining days! Why? Also, is the number 49 of days leading up to Shavuot coincidental or significant? 

Preparing for a relationship requires a positive emotional/religious outlook. Counting of the 49 days of the Omer is a day by day building up process designed, in part, to neutralize the deep feelings of depression and despair in Egypt when the Jews plunged to the 49th level of Tumah—to the depths of despair. If perchance we forget to count one day (i.e., we fail to think and emote positivity), we have interrupted the integrity of the building process.  Each day builds on the previous day's progress. By missing a link of a day we are no longer able to achieve the totality of the rebuilding process. This idea may explain the Halacha that if one misses counting of one day he can no longer count the remaining days with Bracha.

We hope and pray that thinking about its meaning as we count the Omer helps us emerge from whatever Tumah state we may have been in, thereby preparing us for re-experiencing the defining Jewish relationship at Mt. Sinai on Shavuot. And we hope and pray that this healthy emotional condition extends itself to all our personal, human relationships.

Rabbi H.L. Berenholz

Musings on Shir Hashirim

The custom is to read Shir Hashirim on Shabbat Chol Hamoad of Pesach since Passover is the time when God redeemed us from Egypt and chose us to be his Special Nation. The exquisite love that exists between God and us is portrayed as the undying love between a man and woman in the beautiful, poetic language of Shir Hashirim. Re-awakenings and rebirth in Man and in Nature occur in spring (chodesh ha’aviv).

This stirring love story is believed to have been composed by King Solomon (who also authored Proverbs and Ecclesiastes) as indicated in the opening passage, “The Song of Songs which is Solomon’s”.

Following is a summary of the narrative by Rabbi Dr. S.M. Lehrman (Soncino Press, 1952)

“The story describes the trials of a beautiful peasant maiden from Shunem, or Shulem, who was employed by her mother and brothers as a shepherdess to their flock of goats. She had fallen in love with a shepherd of the same village, but the brothers did not look with approval on the union. They, accordingly, trans­ferred her services from the pasture to the vineyards, in the hope that there her meetings with her lover would not be possible. One day, as she was tending the vines, she was seen by the servants of King Solomon, when he chanced to pass the village on his way to his summer resort in Lebanon. Impressed by her beauty, they try to persuade her to accompany them. She refuses and is finally led away as a captive to the king's chambers. No sooner does the king behold her, when he, too, falls violently in love with her. He sings her beauty and uses all his endeavors to induce her to abandon her shepherd for the love and wealth he can shower upon her. The ladies of the court also join in trying to dislodge her love for her humble swain. Her heart, however, belongs to him and she remains steadfast.

During her stay in the palace, she yearns for her lover and is tantalized by the taunts of the ladies of the court that he has rejected her. In her agitated state of mind she speaks to him as if he was in her presence, and even dreams that he has come to rescue her and escort her back to her mother's home. Awaking from her dream, she rushes out of her chamber to seek him in the streets where she is roughly treated by the watchmen of the city, who misjudge her character. When the king is finally convinced of the constancy of her love for the shep­herd, he dismisses her from his presence and allows her to return home. She is now joined by her lover and, leaning on his arm, approaches Shunem where a warm welcome awaits her. They come upon the scenes so dear to them, and she recounts the vicissitudes through which she had lately passed. The story ends on a triumphant note. Not only could her love not be extinguished by the temptations offered by the king, but she also assures her brothers that their solici­tude for her virtue was unwarranted. She has proved that love is capable of heroic endurance. The tale she tells to their assembled friends makes a strong protest against the luxury and vice of the court, and pays testimony to the beauty and dignity of pure love and fidelity.”

The Sages of the Talmud debated about including this Megilla in Scripture, presumably because of the uncertainty over whether the words were to be taken literally as the expression of love between a man and woman or whether this Book is allegorical, depicting the spiritual “marriage” between Israel and G-d that began with the Revelation at Mt. Sinai. Even if the former, matters relating to the marital relationship are steeped in holiness. Indeed, one of the seven blessings at a wedding concludes with the hope that G-d will “cause Zion to rejoice with her children”, thereby linking the religious ideas of redemption and Return to Zion with the wedding ceremony. Rabbi Akiva ruled that all the Songs in the Torah are holy and Shir Hashirim is holy of holies.

Midrash, Targum and early medieval commentators understood the story allegorically. Even the rationalist Rambam gave homiletic meaning to many of its verses.

Rabbi Amos Chacham,in the Daat Mikrah commentary, is of the  opinion  that Shir Hashirim may be an organized collection of independent love stories (or poems recited at weddings) describing pure, unadulterated love and recording different situations experienced by the couple. An unnamed shepherd (referred to as “dod”) who wanders though the mountains of Israel is in love with an unnamed  beautiful young woman (tall, dark complexion, and dark hair) referred to as “raaya” who appears to be from a wealthy family (pampering herself with many expensive perfumes)  and whose brothers demand that she tend the family vineyards. There is no mention of G-d or religion. It is a Book that possesses a unity “of ardent love, abundance of imagery, vivacity of movement pleading tones and warm passions” (Rabbi Lehrman). The imagery is sensual and suggestive, but it is never vulgar or coarse.

The message of the Megilla is that Love, one of the strongest emotions, can also be the holiest. A Loving G-d watches over His Chosen People; Israel reciprocates with its loyalty to and faith in Him. Rabbi Chacham speculates that the reason that there  is  no mention of G-d is because of concern that this holy poetry might find itself in an “unholy”, profane environment (i.e., overindulgence at a wedding where the poems would be recited).

The Daat  Mikrah attributes the custom of saying  Shir Hashirim Friday evening before Mincha  to Kabbalists, who linked “Boee Kallah, Boee Kallah” to  the word  Kallah(bride)  that appears in Shir Hashirim. Shellie Schiff of Oceanside, New York notes that there is a similar custom among women who, after candle lighting, gather together to read it. Juxtaposing the peaceful serenity of Shabbat with the love relation of G-d and Israel portrayed in Shir Hashirim reinforces the very warm, moving, continuous interdependent relationship between us and Him. G-d lovingly gave us this gift of Shabbat. As  Achad HaAm observed some 100 years ago, "More than the Jews have kept the Shabbat, Shabbat has kept the Jews." This triangle of relationships (Shabbat, Israel and Shir Hashirim) is a “threefold cord that is not quickly broken” (Ecclesiastes 4:12).

Rabbi H. L. Berenholz

Musings on the Seder and the Haggadah

Introduction

Performing a Mitzvah must capture the emotion of the associated historic event in order for it to have an impact on us and our persona. We attempt to put ourselves in the place of those Jews who first experienced the event being commemorated, in the hope  that we feel the same degree of inspiration and awe that they did. Being able to emote, to gain mastery, to feel the moment makes the ritual meaningful and positive.

What were the Jews feeling when they were protected by Succos in the desert? What must have been the awesome, inspiring emotion they had at Har Sinai? What was the powerful emotion they felt when bringing a Korban? The full impact comes if we re-live, if we make the conscious effort to think about what it is we are doing. By emoting we become inspired and can have our persona changed for the better. As the artist Pablo Picasso has observed, "creation first starts by contemplation".

This idea is best  captured in the words of the Haggadah: “bcal dor vador… “In every generation each one of us has to imagine what it must have been like to be redeemed from Egypt”. This requirement entails action and activity and re-enactment. Some observe the custom of marching around with matzos in a bag over their shoulder, re-enacting the Exodus.

Korbanot (offerings)

We pray daily for the speedy restoration of the Temple’s sacrificial service and note the service’s connection to Jewish nationalism and independence. Even Rambam the rationalist rules l’halach that in the days of Moshiach, “all Korbanot will again be offered.”

The reason for this may be that the most profound aspect of Korbanot is the never-ending effort to build and re-build relationships between Man and G-d and ultimately create a bonding and sense of unity between Man and Man. Also, I think that we are expressing our desire to experience the powerful emotions that accompanied and inspired the people bringing Korbanot.

The pasuk “Ooneshalma Parim Sefsaynu” is cited as the source for prayer (using our lips in prayer) as a substitute for bringing Kornabot. Perhaps the pasuk can be interpreted to mean that today, in lieu of actually being able to bring a Korban, we have Sfasanu, our lips, to discuss, to debate and to learn about the meaning of the Korbanot in an effort to re-live and re-experience.

On Chametz and Matzo

The Torah commands us to remove Chametz (leavened grain products) from our midst for the seven days of Pesach before we eat matzos. Chametz = Egypt with its fancy well-known breads and its societal arrogance (inflated self view). It is this representation of Egyptian culture and behavior that we reject by not owning and not eating. Others see in Chametz the evil inclinations in us all that we take this opportunity to remove (from within us).

In Hebrew, both words contain the letters Mem and Tzadi. But Chametz begins  with a Chet and Matzo ends with a Hey. Hey is G-d and His Ethics. If a person decides to add even a little of his own to God’s law he adds to the Hey’s “leg” and makes it a Chet. By giving his new additions prominence and by moving  the Chet  to the beginning  of the word, he has converted matzo  to chametz. He has changed internally from the simplicity and “goodness” of  a matzo-like personality into an  inflated, egotistical Chametz personality.

In the frenetic cleaning of our homes of even the tiniest traces of chametz, it is easy to lose sight of the purpose of our efforts. We need  to stop and think about and then  eradicate the chametz/evil inclination/negativity/foreign culture that we have absorbed  from our surroundings.

The Seder Meal

Rabbi Menachem Leibtag likens the Passover Seder to a formal meal celebrating our miraculous emergence from slavery that is held in an upscale restaurant that specializes in well-prepared fine, tasty “anti-Egyptian culture” foods. The focus is to remember our salvation and our rejection of Egyptian (and other pagan) culture.

Reservations are needed (s’ae l’bayis). It is a family affair that includes invited friends, family and neighbors in the community who do not have enough people to bring their own Pesach offering. We need to be dressed in our finest clothing (“shoes on your feet”) and behave like free men using a “walking stick (a sign of importance) in your hand”. The main course consists of the best cut of meat: well roasted (not boiled and not raw) lamb…the Egyptian deity. We eat until we are full and are prohibited from leaving leftovers—trying to shake the slave mentality of squirreling away food for the next day. We eat with enthusiasm, excitement and zest but not with haste lest the animal bones be broken.

Green salad is served, not with a sweet dressing but with bitter herbs to remind us of the bitterness of our Egyptian experience. We eat only simple unleavened matzos with our meal— displaying our disdain for the fancy breads for which Egypt was famous. Like nobility, we lean on our sides and relax and we make use of finger bowls to clean our hands.

Understanding the Haggadah

Rabbi Avrohom Dov Kahn in his The Chosen Nation Haggada proposes an intriguing way of approaching the Haggadah. At the Covenant between the halves (Bris Bein  Habsorim) G-d  promised Avraham Avinu that his offspring would become a nation with their own land, but they would first require an “iron crucible” Egyptian servitude experience.

The key message of the Haggadah that we need to recognize and declare and describe and re-tell and re-enact and transmit to our children is that G-d chose us, the Jewish people, from all the nations of the world. During the Seder, as we identify with the Jews redeemed from Egypt, we communicate to our children this inheritance and the responsibility it carries. Teaching by example and using the question and answer method is the best way of perpetuating the Jewish nation. Despite its overtones of universal freedom, the Seder is a uniquely Jewish experience.

With this unifying approach we are better able to understand the wording of the text and answer some troubling questions. Moshe Rabbenu is not mentioned in the text because it was God and not Moshe who chose, redeemed, and created a nation of Jews. The holiday of Pesach is referred to as Passover, instead of, for example, the Torah’s name “Festival of matzos” because it was G-d passing over the Jewish homes that most clearly expresses our having been chosen by Him. Rav Kahn quotes the Sh’La HaKodesh  who notes that the word Pesach consists of Pe (mouth) and Sach (speech). We are commanded to use our mouth and our speech to verbalize the idea that G-d selected us to be His chosen nation.

The heart of the telling of the Exodus story is the prayer that the farmer in Israel recites when he brings his first fruit offering to the Temple, Arami Ovayd Avi. With these words the farmer declares how fortunate he is to have been saved from Egypt (even though he was not there physically) and to be able to bring the first fruit of the land. Although “the Exodus initiated the choosing of Israel, the process was not completed until the Jews settled in the Promised Land”.

The Seder of the Seder

The order (Seder) of the Seder is attributed to Rashi who, we may assume, created this listing for both ease of recollection as well as for halachic considerations.

KADESH-recitation of Kiddush (sanctification over wine) with its blessings for sanctification of the holiday and, according to some Scholars, also being the blessing for the Mitzvah of Maggid—retelling the Exodus story.

U’RECHATZ—washing the hands without a blessing. The halacha of foods dipped in water requiring washing of the hands generally is not applicable in our times except for Pesach night when we attempt to maintain a higher level of spiritual purity—just as the Jews did when leaving Egypt. Because we strive to re-live that experience, we do the same.

KARPAS—eating a vegetable dipped in salt water, reliving the way the Jews ate in Egypt with salty tears of servitude, hopelessness and sadness running down their faces into their food.

YACHATZ—breaking the Matzo in half and hiding one part, communicates poverty (“poor man’s bread”) in preparation for the immediately following MAGID section. Matzo  conveys oppression and enslavement and then later represents redemption (because the speed of the redemption prevented the dough that the Jews were carrying from rising).

MAGID—re-telling of the Exodus story. Rabbi Menachem Leibtag provides the following outline.

I.                  Introduction and/or invitation (Ha’lachma anya). Setting the stage with words said at the first Seder in Egypt or words of sharing said to one another at our Seder…connecting with the first Seder during the Exodus … sharing and providing historical content…unity and solidarity give meaning to the Seder (Rav J.B. Soloveitchik)

II.               Getting children’s attention (Ma Nishtana).Using questions to ensure participation and communication.

III.            Explaining the obligation to tell the story

a.   WHY (Avadim Hayinu)

b.    WHO (even if we know it all already)

c.    HOW  (Four Sons or four stages of a person’s emotional development)

d.    WHEN (this evening only or from Rosh Chodesh when Jews were commanded to ready the sacrificial lamb for the Pesach offering)

IV.            The actual MAGID story begins: Arami Ovayd Avi

a.   Danger of assimilation

b.    Drasha on phrases in Devarim 26:5-8

c.    Draha to arrive at Ten Plagues

d.    Drasha re: number of plagues at Yam Suf

V.               Dayanu

a.   Understanding, appreciating  and praising God for each step of the redemption process

b.    Enumeration of each event in the process in which G-d publicized our special status as a chosen people having a special relationship (Rav Kahn)

VI.            Raban Gamliel connects the story with the related Mitzva about to be performed.

VII.         Our need to re-enact the Passover story—B’chol dor v’dor—AS IF WE WERE THERE (NOW).

VIII.      Hallel--Praise-- usually recited as one unit but split into two parts in the Haggadah.

a.   Two paragraphs here relate to the Exodus and our being chosen as God’s nation. The rest of Hallel relating to future events is recited later (Rav Kahn)

b.    A blessing is a consciousness- raising statement as we prepare to perform a mitzvah. No blessing is recited here on Hallel because it would interfere with the joy we feel and the spontaneous praise we utter as we re-live the Egyptian experience(Rabbi T. Sabolofsky)

RACHTZA—The sages established restrictions to guard against the possibility that the Cohanim(Priests) would inadvertently make the tithes given to them “impure”. To insure that the Cohanim would remember to wash their hands before eating the tithes, the Sages declared that any Jew eating bread must wash his hands.

MOTZI MATZOH—Eating matzoh twice. First to fulfill the requirement to eat bread or bread-like grain every Shabbat and Yom Tov. Then to fulfill the specific commandment to eat matzo on Peasch night.

MARROR—Eating bitter herbs to feel the bitterness experienced by the Jews in Egypt.

SHULCHAN OREICH—eating the holiday meal in preparation for the eating of the Pascal lamb (or, in our times, the Afikoman).

TZAFON—Eating the “hidden” piece of matzo. According to some commentaries, the Afikoman symbolizes the Korban Pesach. Others maintain that the matzo eaten now is the fulfillment of our obligation to eat matzo on Pesach night.

BAREICH—Grace after meal that provides historical prospective. The first three blessings are derived from the Torah: thanking G-d for providing food; appreciation of the land of Israel and its bounty; thanks for Jerusalem and the Temple. The fourth blessing, Who Is Good and Does Good, was instituted to commemorate the destruction of the city of Betar in 70CE at the hands of Hadrian and his Roman legions. At that time, corpses were left in the street to rot but miraculously did not decompose and were ultimately buried some three years later, after Hadrian’s death.Rav Kahn views this as a pivotal point in the Seder when we turn from thanking God for choosing us (at the Exodus and in the Land of Israel) to thanking Him for his ongoing involvement with us throughout Jewish history.

HALLEL—The first part of Hallel was already said earlier when we re-lived the experience of newly-freed slaves. This part focuses on our historic ongoing relationship and “chosenness” that assures us of His constant vigilance over us.

NIRTZAH—Songs and praise to God and expression of the hope for ultimate redemption.

Beginning with disgrace…and finishing with praise

The Mishna teaches us that fulfillment of the commandment to tell the Exodus story  requires a format that begins with derogatory comments and concludes with praise(matchilim bi-gnus u-mesayamim be-shevach). Rav and Shmuel debate what the opening statement should be. Rav’s view is that it is “at first our ancestors were idol worshipers”, the message being about spiritual freedom. Shmuel, who focuses on the physical release from slavery, is of the opinion that the beginning is “We were once slaves to Pharaoh in Egypt”. Some speculate that it was during the Gaonic period that both approaches were incorporated to form our modern Haggadah.

Rabbi T.H. Weinreb, in a lecture at the Young Israel of Oceanside last year, explored the meaning of this idea by relating it to Rav A.Y. Kook’s  concept that in life there is both Hachana (preparation) and Tachlit (achievement). Using  this construct, gnus  is the preparation stage and shevach is achievement. One cannot achieve true freedom/tachlit unless he has first experienced slavery/g’nus. Freedom must contain within it elements of slavery, because it is only when one struggles and is conflicted that he can emerge truly free. The Haggadah describes a continuum starting with slavery and building to freedom. Every step of exploring alternatives, making mistakes and experiencing frustration is part of the learning and maturing process in both Man and Society.

Avadem hayenu vs. M’shubadim hayenu

The Haggadah describes how we were slaves (avadem) to Pharaoh in Egypt and had God not rescued  us we still would be enslaved (m’shubadim) to Pharaoh, Why, asks Rabbi Weinreb, the variation in terminology?

Avdus is a role played by a person, even if he does not feel it whereas m’shubad refers to the essence of a person, his persona. Had God not rescued us from our role as slaves in Egypt, the servant mentality would have become ingrained in us and our persona.

Rabbi Eliezer Ashkenazi maintains that eved refers to the physical and m’shubad refers to mental enslavement. Had others redeemed us, and not G-d, we would be forever enslaved emotionally and  feel obligated  to them.

Rav J.B. Soloveitchik  draws our attention to use of the phrasing that “we were slaves to Pharaoh…” rather than “we were Pharaoh’s slaves…” The former conveys a sense of distance between slave and master whereas the latter suggests a deep bonding in which the master is part of the  servant’s identity. The Rav concludes that though we were slaves to Pharaoh in Egypt he never owned us. The Jews remained avadei hashem , guarding our loyalty to and identification with God.

Rabbi H.L. Berenholz