Inviting people late in the day… and other ideas for the Seder night
The first words of the Seder (After kiddush) are “Ha Lachma Anya”:
הָא לַחְמָא עַנְיָא דִּי אֲכָלוּ אַבְהָתָנָא בְאַרְעָא דְמִצְרָיִם. כָּל דִכְפִין יֵיתֵי וְיֵיכֹל, כָּל דִצְרִיךְ יֵיתֵי וְיִפְסַח
“Ha Lachma – This is the bread of destitution that our ancestors ate in the land of Egypt. Anyone who is famished should come and eat, anyone who is in need should come and partake of the Pesach sacrifice.”
It looks odd. As we are already at home, around the table. Who are we inviting now? Who is able to hear us “inviting” – besides the people who are already with us ? Perhaps – this is not an invitation for food. Rather – it is an invitation for anyone who wishes to satisfy his hunger to know more, to satisfy the soul and not (only) the physical body… So the first words of the Seder are : let us have an open house now, in which everyone can ask, discuss and suggest his thoughts for the occasion of Seder night.
Or perhaps an answer – in a more down to earth way….
The family is gathered this evening, wearing the best clothes, sitting around a table set in the most formal way – with the most precious dinnerware we have, silver cups etc. – so ceremonial, that some of us might actually, lose their appetite…. We are used to eating dinner in a much less “official” style.
Therefore, the person who leads the Seder, immediately says : “Whoever is hungry – let them come and eat” making sure that the “formal style” does not affect our mood and allows us to behave in a normal- pleasant way… “Formal – but Normal”…
After Ma Nishtana we read : Avadim Hayinu L’Pharaoh B’Mitzrayim
עֲבָדִים הָיִינוּ לְפַרְעֹה בְּמִצְרָיִם, וַיּוֹצִיאֵנוּ יְיָ אֱלֹהֵינוּ מִשָּׁם בְּיָד חֲזָקָה וּבִזְרֹעַ נְטוּיָה. וְאִלּוּ לֹא הוֹצִיא הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא אֶת אֲבוֹתֵינוּ מִמִּצְרָיִם, הֲרֵי אָנוּ וּבָנֵינוּ וּבְנֵי בָנֵינוּ מְשֻׁעְבָּדִים הָיִינוּ לְפַרְעֹה בְּמִצְרָיִם.
„WE WERE SLAVES to Pharaoh in Egypt, and the LORD our God brought us out of there with a strong hand and an outstretched arm. And if the Holy One, blessed be He, had not brought our fathers out of Egypt – then we, and our children, and the children of our children, would still be enslaved to Pharaoh in Egypt.“
At a communal Seder in Munich I once asked my father (Rabbi Pinchas Biberfeld זצ”ל : Today, the spread of slavery and its proliferation cannot be compared to its dimensions in the past. So how can we say that “He, had not brought our fathers out of Egypt – then we, and our children, and the children of our children, would still be enslaved to Pharaoh in Egypt.“?
He replied : “The whole idea of freedom only emerged out of the unique event of the Exodus from Egypt. And if this concept would have not been established at the time, who knows when or whether it would have been taken up by humankind. Abraham Lincoln would have not freed the American slaves, and Mandela would have still been in Robben Island.“
We read further about a particular Seder night in Bney Brak :
מַעֲשֶׂה בְּרַבִּי אֱלִיעֶזֶר וְרַבִּי יְהוֹשֻׁעַ וְרַבִּי אֶלְעָזָר בֶּן־עֲזַרְיָה וְרַבִּי עֲקִיבָא וְרַבִּי טַרְפוֹן שֶׁהָיוּ מְסֻבִּין בִּבְנֵי־בְרַק וְהָיוּ מְסַפְּרִים בִּיצִיאַת מִצְרַיִם כָּל־אוֹתוֹ הַלַּיְלָה, עַד שֶׁבָּאוּ תַלְמִידֵיהֶם וְאָמְרוּ לָהֶם רַבּוֹתֵינוּ הִגִּיעַ זְמַן קְרִיאַת שְׁמַע שֶׁל שַׁחֲרִית.
„It happened once that Rabbi Eliezer, Rabbi Yehoshua, Rabbi Elazar ben Azariah, Rabbi Akiva and Rabbi Tarfon were reclining in Bnei Brak and were telling the story of the exodus from Egypt that whole night, until their students came and said to them,‘The time of the morning Shema has arrived.‘“
The story does not tell us anything about the content of their discussion. So what is the purpose of the story ?
Perhaps it sends a strong message about the nature of the Seder night. It teaches us that the debate, dialog, conversation – are very important parts of the night. The talking part should be so fascinating, that we will not notice that the night is over, and a new morning has come.
Best wishes for a Happy and good Yom Tov
Rabbi Chaim Michael Biberfeld