‫בס״ד‬
THE
SEDER
EXPLAINED
Rabbi Moshe Steiner
April 12th, 2016
Unit #3
Four Cups of Wine
Unit #2
Maggid—Telling the Story of the Exodus
THE
SEDER
EXPLAINED
This verse is the scriptural source for recounting the exodus from Egypt on
Pesach:
And you shall tell your son on that day, saying,
“Because of this, the Lord did [this] for me
when I went out of Egypt.”
‫וְ ִה ַ ּג ְד ָּת לְ ִבנְ ָך ַ ּב ּיוֹ ם ַההוּא לֵ אמֹר ַ ּב ֲעבוּר זֶ ה‬
‫אתי ִמ ִּמ ְצ ָריִ ם‬
ׂ ָ ‫ָע‬
ִ ‫שה יְ הֹוָ ה לִ י ְ ּב ֵצ‬
‫ח‬:‫שמות יג‬
Exodus 13:8
This verse is the scriptural source for remembering the Exodus
Every day:
You shall not eat leaven with it; for seven
days you shall eat with it matzot, the bread of
affliction, for in haste you went out of the land
of Egypt, so that you shall remember the day
when you went out of the land of Egypt all
the days of your life.
Deuteronomy 16:3
‫תאכַ ל‬
ֹ ּ ‫לֹא תֹאכַ ל ָעלָ יו ָח ֵמץ ׁ ִש ְב ַעת יָ ִמים‬
‫את ֵמ ֶא ֶרץ‬
ָ ‫ָעלָ יו ַמצּ וֹ ת לֶ ֶחם עֹנִ י ִּכי ְב ִח ּ ָפזוֹ ן יָ ָצ‬
‫את ָך ֵמ ֶא ֶרץ‬
ְ ‫ִמ ְצ ַריִ ם לְ ַמ ַען ִּתזְ ֹּכר ֶאת יוֹ ם ֵצ‬
ָ ‫ִמ ְצ ַריִ ם ֹּכל יְ ֵמי ַח ֶ ּי‬
‫יך‬
‫ג‬:‫דברים טז‬
Why do we need to have two individual verses commanding us to perform
the same mitzvah?
The truth is that these two mitzvot are very different in their observances,
which we will detail throughout the Haggadah.
> YACHATZ
The purpose of breaking the matzah before recounting the Exodus is because
matzah is called “bread of affliction,” and people who don’t have much food will generally eat some of what they have and put some away for later. Here we are demonstrating our status during our enslavement in Egypt. So in essence it is a “prop” of
sorts through which we illustrate the story to make it more real.
2 THE SEDER
EXPLAINED
with Rabbi Moshe Stainer
Unit #2
Maggid—Telling the Story of the Exodus
THE
SEDER
EXPLAINED
> MAH NISHTANAH
The purpose of having children ask questions about the peculiar rituals being
observed is in order to draw their attention and really teach them about the Exodus.
There is no better time to teach than when one is curious to know.
The mitzvah can be performed for an entire night, unlike the mitzvah to remember
the Exodus, which takes a moment a day.
> THE FOUR SONS
The message of the four sons is unique among the mitzvot, in the sense that there
are different ways to discuss the Exodus based on who it is that you’re talking to. So:
1. We must discuss it with others and have a dialogue;
2. We should talk about the Exodus to each person on their terms.
3 THE SEDER
EXPLAINED
with Rabbi Moshe Stainer
Unit #2
Maggid—Telling the Story of the Exodus
THE
SEDER
EXPLAINED
> VEHI SHEOMDAH
We have an obligation not only to recount a history of the past, but to actually experience it here and now. We need to find liberation in our life today!
‫ כ"ו‬- ‫דברים‬
Deuteronomy - 26
5. And you shall call out and say before the Lord,
your God, "An Aramean [sought to] destroy
my forefather, and he went down to Egypt and
sojourned there with a small number of people,
and there, he became a great, mighty, and
numerous nation.
6. And the Egyptians treated us cruelly and
afflicted us, and they imposed hard labor upon us.
‫ה וְ ָענִ ָית וְ ָא ַמ ְר ָּת לִ ְפנֵ י | יְ הֹוָ ה ֱאל ֶֹה ָיך ֲא ַר ִּמי‬
‫א ֵֹבד ָא ִבי וַ ֵ ּי ֶרד ִמ ְצ ַריְ ָמה וַ ָ ּיגָ ר ׁ ָשם ִ ּב ְמ ֵתי‬
‫ְמ ָעט‬
‫וַ יְ ִהי ׁ ָשם לְ גוֹ י ָ ּגדוֹ ל ָעצוּם וָ ָרב‬
‫ו וַ ָ ּי ֵרע ּו א ָֹתנ ּו ַה ִּמ ְצ ִרים וַ יְ ַע ּנוּנ ּו וַ ִ ּי ְּתנ ּו ָעלֵ ינ ּו‬
‫ֲעב ָֹדה ָק ׁ ָשה‬
7. So we cried out to the Lord, God of our fathers,
and the Lord heard our voice and saw our
affliction, our toil, and our oppression.
‫ז וַ ִנ ְּצ ַעק ֶאל יְ הֹוָ ה ֱאל ֵֹהי ֲאב ֵֹתינ ּו וַ ִ ּי ׁ ְש ַמע‬
‫יְ הֹוָ ה ֶאת קֹלֵ נ ּו וַ ַ ּי ְרא ֶאת ָענְ יֵ נ ּו וְ ֶאת ֲע ָמלֵ נ ּו‬
‫וְ ֶאת לַ ֲח ֵצנ ּו‬
8. And the Lord brought us out from Egypt with
a strong hand and with an outstretched arm, with
great awe, and with signs and wonders.
‫ח וַ ּיוֹ ִצ ֵאנ ּו יְ הֹוָ ה ִמ ִּמ ְצ ַריִ ם ְ ּביָ ד ֲחזָ ָקה ו ִּבזְ ר ַֹע‬
‫נְ טוּיָ ה ו ְּבמ ָֹרא ָ ּגדֹל ו ְּבאֹתוֹ ת ו ְּבמ ְֹפ ִתים‬
4 THE SEDER
EXPLAINED
with Rabbi Moshe Stainer
Unit #2
Maggid—Telling the Story of the Exodus
THE
SEDER
EXPLAINED
To summarize the differences between the daily commandment of
remembering the Exodus and the special mitzvah of Pesach:
Year-round
Mentioning the Exodus daily (even in passing) fulfills your obligation.
Pesach
When remembering the Exodus on Pesach:
1. The story must be told with the “props” of theSeder to bring it alive
2. There must be interaction and questions (which is a reason for many of the peculiar rituals).
3. We must tell the story in full detail
4. The mitzvah can be performed the entire length of the night, if one so chooses
5. It must be made personal, not just historical
> THE ESOTERIC ANGLE
Seder Message:
The word Pesach means to pass over or leap over. There is something which is
unique about leaping relative to walking or even running. Walking must come step
after step; there’s no skipping steps. Likewise with running. With leaping, though,
we can go far beyond an orderly achievement and grow in “leaps and bounds.”
Pesach gives us the strength and encouragement to leap to an achievement which
may have seemed distant from becoming reality. Let’s take a leap and achieve something special.
Seder Exercise:
Take something in your mind, or share with those around you, something which
seems out of reach now, but that you will leap to achieve.
5 THE SEDER
EXPLAINED
with Rabbi Moshe Stainer
Unit #2
Maggid—Telling the Story of the Exodus
THE
SEDER
EXPLAINED
> NOTES
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6 THE SEDER
EXPLAINED
with Rabbi Moshe Stainer