Passover 14

The wine has been poured for the second cup. The MAGID section is begun. The usual custom  is for a child to ask the four questions. In many homes, all the children ask. While in others, the child asks first, with all the participants repeating the questions. In some families, based on RAMBAM, the child only asks "Mah Nishtanah..." (why is this night different from all other nights?), with the leader of the Seder posing the questions in detail. The questions are themselves mysterious. They are fairly uniform in all Jewish groups, differing primarily in order, with one exception. After Mah Nishtanah, the four questions(actually statements) are posed: All the nights of the year, we eat hametz and matzah, but this night, only matzah. All the nights of the year, we eat all kinds of greens, this night, only bitters. (BTW, many see this as clear proof that both the karpas and maror must be green vegetables. No boiled potato or horseradish). All nights of the year, we eat either sitting straight or leaning, on this night, we all lean. All nights of the year, we do not dip even once, on this night, twice. This last one is somewhat problematic, as we actually do three dippings (and in some customs, four). Therefore some substitute, based on the reading of RAMBAM, "metablin" we season, i.e., with vegetables, for "matbilin" (we dip). Vegetables were seen as "seasoning", rather than food. When we had the Pesach Sacrifice, there was a fifth question. "On all other nights, we eat boiled or broiled, on this night, only broiled". Why do I say "mysterious"? Two of the four questions are never actually answered! It is as if to say that the story of our miraculous Redemption from Egypt, and our hopes of future redemption, ARE the answers to these, and all questions. We now uncover the matzot, and begin the narrative. But there are two views in the Talmud as to what should be the emphasis. One view is that we must emphasize the physical redemption; "we were slaves unto Pharaoh, but now we are free". The other view is to emphasize the spiritual redemption. "We were, at one time, idolaters, but now G-d has brought us to His service". In practice, we recount both. We are given a narrative concerning a group of great second-century rabbis conducting a seder together. They explain why the Torah repeats several times the command to tell our children about the Exodus. They show how the differences in wording actually imply different methods of telling the story, depending upon the character and intelligence of the child. (The four sons). They tell of the Exodus, in the style of "drash", that is, expanding upon the story with legends and symbolisms, that would not be apparent to the average reader. This is standard Talmudic method, often not understood by many people. So, the ten plagues actually come out to three hundred! Some understand drash literally, others take them as parables for higher ideas. The entire MAGID portion of the seder can be read in about twenty minutes, but in most families is enlarged upon for several hours. There are numerous commentaries and explanations that may be referenced during the seder. We actually read in the Haggadah, that all who expand upon the story are to be praised. This must, however, be balanced with the idea of the children remaining awake to hear of the Exodus. That is why some families do the entire seder in two hours, while others go the entire night. We then have the retelling of the Ten Plagues. There is an almost universal custom of pouring out some wine from our cup at the recitation of each plague. There is considerable controversy as to the reason for this, with a far-right and a far-left understanding. That will be my next post.