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Kushner Hebrew Academy Middle School Pesach

2018/5778 TO ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE ACADEMICCULTIVATE EXCELLENCE CURIOSITY

JOSEPH KUSHNER HEBREW ACADEMY RAE KUSHNER HIGH SCHOOL

As a Modern Orthodox co-educational yeshiva, JKHA/RKYHS seeks to inspire students to live lives of Torah and mitzvot; to knowledge and American democratic values; to love and serve the Jewish People; and to forge a lifelong bond with the Land and State of .

We aim to empower students to achieve personal excellence by teaching them how to learn, and by encouraging them to analyze, to create, and to pursue new intellectual challenges.

We lead students to recognize that because we were all created in the , we must treat everyone with respect and loving-kindness.

We help students form strong, healthy identities, and we prepare them to take responsibility for themselves and their communities.

THINK CRITICALLY EXPLORE OPPORTUNITY ACADEMICMAKE A DIFFERENCE EXCELLENCE

Joseph Kushner Hebrew Academy 110 South Orange Ave Livingston, NJ 07038 (862) 437-8000 www.jkha.org

תשע"ח The 2018- Joseph Kushner Hebrew Academy Middle School Haggadah

הגדה של פסח

Editor Yaacov Feit

Cover Design Front: Tamara Sragow and Dalia Goldstein Back: Roey Novick, Jake Dickman, and Dani Bank

Contributors JKHA Middle School Faculty and Students

Dedicated by Sherry and Henry Stein in memory of:

Arie & Eva Halpern Dr. Morris Epstein Bernard Stein

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2 There is longstanding custom for communities, prior to Pesach, to collect and distribute money for the purpose of purchasing matzot for those who can’t afford it. (Rama OC ,מעות חטין 429:1). Why is the of matzah seemingly singled out in this regard? Why don’t we find a custom requiring the community to purchase a lulav and etrog or a menorah for the poor? Shaar Hatziyun (429:10) suggests, simply, that matzah is difficult or perhaps expensive to acquire and without it, the poor would be left on Pesach to starve. Additionally, he suggests that on the Yom Tov of freedom, it would be a lack of honor to Hashem if most of the community celebrated their freedom while others were left hungry. However, the Vilna is quoted as matzot shall be eaten“- מַּצֹותיֵָאכֵל אֵת שִׁבְעַתהַיָּמִׁים-saying that this custom is based on the passuk throughout the seven days.” There is not just an individual commandment to eat matzah; rather it is incumbent upon everyone to see to it that matzah is eaten by others. Why is the mitzvah of matzah unique? We know that Pesach is a Yom Tov of emunah. Beyond our recognition of Hashem as our Creator, Pesach emphasizes that Hashem remained directly involved in our lives after Creation. It is no coincidence, then, that Avraham Avinu, who was so integral to our understandings of emunah, is associated with the holiday of Pesach. The Tur (OC 417) notes that that three Regalim each correspond to one of the Avot; Pesach corresponds to Avraham. The passuk in Vayera (18:6) refers to Avraham baking matzot for his guests. The Bach (OC 417), in fact, comments that in the merit of Avraham baking matzot, Bnei Yisrael merited receiving the יֻקַח- mitzvah of matzah. The Medrash (Tanchuma, Vayera 4) comments that since Avraham said ,”נא“ take now a little water”, we have the mitzvah of matzah which cannot be eaten“ ,נָא מְעַט-מַיִׁם or uncooked. Maaseh Rokeach ( Umatzah 4) says that our three matzot correspond to .the three measure of flour that Avraham baked for his guests ,שְֹלש סְאִׁים קֶמַח סֹלֶת the The Rambam (Hilchot Avodah Zara 1:3) describes how once Avraham came to a recognition of Hashem, he did not keep it to himself. He traveled from city to city to teach the world about the emunah which he had discovered. Avraham teaches us that emunah is not something we can keep to ourselves. It is something that we must share with others. Perhaps, this is why we begin by discussing Terach and Avraham. We must recognize where our כל דכפין ייתי emunah came from then use it to inspire those around us. Perhaps, this is why we say We invite the hungry into our homes not just to feed them physically but to teach and uplift .ויכול them spiritually as well because Avraham taught us that emunah is something that must be shared. Perhaps, this is why matzah, the mitzvah so closely associated with Avraham and emunah, is not just an individual mitzvah. It is one that we need to share with others; through .we must see to it that others fulfill it. Avaraham would have done the same מעות חטין In this spirit, we are excited to present to you the 2018 JKHA Middle School Haggadah which is a compilation of the Divrei Torah of our 6th-8th grade students and teachers. Students strengthened their emunah by writing Divrei Torah of their choice on topics that interested them. This haggadah is the vehicle to share that inspiration with you because as Avraham taught us, inspiration is something that can’t be left inside; it is something that needs to be shared. I am truly indebted to the Middle School Judaic Studies Faculty who worked tirelessly to bring this project to fruition. We are once again so grateful to Mr. and Mrs. Henry and Sherry Stein for their generous sponsorship of this Haggadah. They are true partners in our mission to inspire and share inspiration with others. Finally, we are so thankful to and proud of our students who learned lessons of emunah and like Avraham Avinu would like to share them with you. Chag Kasher Vesameach, Rabbi Yaacov Feit

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דברי תורה לפסח by the Rebbeim and Morot of the Joseph Kushner Hebrew Academy Middle School

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6 Chesed Community By Rabbi Eliezer E. Rubin, Head of School, Klatt Rosh Hayeshiva

As children of and Sarah, our natural proclivity is to perform acts of chesed. Both through nature and nurture, through tradition and education, Jewish communities and individuals seek out ways to support others and respond to those in need. As the Psalmist wrote, “Good and kindness should chase me all the days of my life” (23:10). To underscore the importance of chesed as an obligation and expectation, the opening paragraph of the Haggadah declares that we are committed to feed those who are hungry.

It is by no coincidence that the Haggadah sees chesed as a foundational concept. The mitzvah of Korban Pesach, one of the central motifs of Pesach, symbolizes the significance of kindness and community. Rabbi Soloveitchik explains that the holiday created the "Chesed Community”. The purpose of the Paschal lamb was to extricate individual slaves from their personal misery, cloistered and lonely lives, and bring them into a community of sharing and providing for others. The rules of the Paschal lamb dictated that the food must be shared with others. Bringing freed slaves together as free men and women to partake in a shared meal goes far beyond liberation. The Korban engenders kindness and compels every member of the community to see beyond oneself. The slave no longer looks for daily rations, for momentary salvation; but rather thinks broadly as a free person and takes responsibility for those around him or her.

The Haggadah understood that the implicit and explicit themes of Passover-chesed, caring and responsibility-would become the hallmark of Jewish communities. No matter the geography, living conditions, or historical forces, the Chesed Community shares the same values of kindness. Each liberated slave acquired freedom by giving to others. The process started with Pesach Mitzrayim, the first Paschal lamb, and endures throughout history.

A Night of Questions By Mrs. Debbie Finkelstein, Principal of JKHA

In the Haggadah, we read of the four children: one wise, one rebellious, one simple and one who does not know how to ask. From reading about these children, the commentaries have come to the conclusion that children should ask questions and that the Pesach narrative should begin with questions asked by a child. The parents at the Seder should encourage the children to ask questions. This approach is aligned with our general beliefs, based on asking questions. Our students at JKHA are provided with positive encouragement in both their Judaic and General studies classes to ask questions, and the class is arranged as a safe environment where the students are comfortable grappling with incorrect questions and answers. Isadore Rabi, winner of a Nobel Prize in physics, was once asked why he became a scientist. He replied, “My mother made me a scientist without ever knowing it. Every other child would come back from school and be asked, ‘What did you learn today?’ But my mother used to ask: ‘Izzy, did you ask a good question today?’ That made the difference. Asking good questions made me a scientist.” It is important at the Seder to teach this to our children and for them to understand that not every question has an answer we can immediately understand. There are ideas we will only

7 fully comprehend through age and experience, others that take great intellectual preparation, yet others that may be beyond our collective comprehension at this stage in our lives. Even the great Newton, founder of modern science, understood how little he understood, and put it beautifully: “I do not know what I may appear to the world, but to myself I seem to have been only a boy playing on the seashore, and diverting myself in now and then finding a smoother pebble or prettier shell than ordinary, whilst the great ocean of truth lay all undiscovered before me.” Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks was quoted as saying, “In teaching the children to ask and keep asking, honored what called the active intellect and saw it as the gift of G-d. No faith has honored human intelligence more.” There is a unique fulfillment of teaching Torah on the Seder night as a vehicle to perform the mitzvah of Sippur Yitziat Mitrayim. The mitzvah of teaching Torah uncovers hidden ideas, gives expression to the geulah that we celebrate, and ultimately reveals hidden evidence of Hashem’s presence. Since focus is essential to teaching Torah, required one to focus on the night’s learning through the medium of questions. Through the questions, one prepares himself to focus and receive the learning of the Seder; children will feel the humility necessary for successful learning, and the mitzvah of teaching Torah will be performed in its complete form. On Pesach, we give each child a voice, not so much in order to facilitate the answers, but more to demonstrate the excitement and empowerment of questions.

The Importance of a Positive Self Image By Rabbi Dovid Selengut, Dean of Students

The Torah uses four expressions of redemption from Mitzrayim: Vihotzaitee, Vihitzalti, Vigaalti, and Vilakachti. The Sforno takes a novel approach to these descriptions. “I will bring you out”- when the plagues begin, the slavery will end. “I will save you,” when you leave their borders. “I will redeem you,” with the drowning of the in the Yam Suf. After the death of the Egyptians you will no longer be slaves. “I will take you to me as a nation,” at Har with the giving of the Torah. We must try to understand the words of the Sforno. Why did they have to see the death of their masters in order to feel a sense of freedom? Wouldn’t all the miracles of the Makot and leaving Egypt in shambles have been sufficient cause to establish their trust in Hashem? Henoch Leibowitz explains that we learn from here an important fact of human nature. Once a person has made up his mind about what he thinks of himself, it is difficult to change his impression. A negative self-image can be a huge deterrent towards our development. Once someone thinks of him or herself in a way that is negative, it is very hard to change that picture. Although Bnei Yisrael were liberated from Mitzrayim, they still remained slaves in their own mind. It was necessary for them to see the corpses of their oppressors washed up onto the shore to convince them that they were finally free. Rabbi Leibowitz points out that the most common cause for spiritual deterioration is the lack of recognition of one’s own greatness. The yetzer hara gets us to sin by telling us “You are just an ordinary person. You are nothing special. Your sin will not make much of a difference anyway.” If we would realize that we are princes, created in the image of Hashem, sinning would be unfathomable. Our self image and sense of pride would deter us from sin. As we sit at the Seder and we talk about all the miracles that Hashem did for us, we should realize how very

8 special we are. This will inspire us to grow in our development toward becoming true servants of Hashem.

Lessons From the Wicked Son and the Wayward Son By Rabbi Dovid Sukenik, Mashgiach Ruchani

The wicked son in the Haggadah is reminiscent of another son- the ben sorer umoreh, the wayward son. There are lessons that we can learn from this child which can help us set up an environment for our children to succeed. Although the Torah dedicates a few pesukim to the ben sorer umoreh, it is clear from Chazal that on a practical level, this phenomenon is not very relevant. In fact, according to one opinion cited in the , there will never be a ben sorer umoreh. Rather, the entire episode is there for us to learn from – “derosh vekabbel schar”. The gemara discusses many restrictions regarding who qualifies as a ben sorer umoreh. The parents must be of equal height and voice, and they must both be willing to have their son put to death. There is only a three-month time frame for all of this to happen, and the exact sin committed must be precise – eating a specific measure of meat and wine. Although these details limit the occurrence of a ben sorer umoreh, there are two lesser- known and less restrictive laws that shed light on some important ideas in chinuch that we can learn from. The gemara states that there is a dispute as to whether a city without elders can produce a ben sorer umoreh, as the Torah requires that he be brought to “ziknei iro.” According to one opinion, if there are no zekeinim, elders, in the city, it is technically impossible to fulfill the words of the passuk. According to the other opinion, this is part of the mitzvah, but it is not absolutely necessary; one can qualify as a ben sorer umoreh without it. Homiletically, we can understand the opinion that a lack of elders eliminates the possibility of a ben sorer umoreh, because if the child has no leaders and role models to look up to and appreciate, we cannot expect him to be able to follow the right path. We cannot expect a child to follow a path that he has not seen traveled. Meshech Chochma further notes that there cannot be a ben sorer umoreh in the city of Yerushalayim. Rav Meir Simcha (the author of Meshech Chochma) explains that the city of Yerushalayim was where the korbanot were brought, and there were always leftovers that had to be eaten within the walls of the city. Therefore, it is not fair to expect this boy to be able to refrain from being gluttonous and desiring meat. The city in which he lives was full of it! This is an important lesson in chinuch. We must place our children in an environment in which they can thrive.

Two Metaphors for Yetziat Mitrayim By Rabbi Reuven Greenberg

The brings two metaphors to describe our release from the bondage in Mitrayim. One described our situation as a gold smelting pot where extracting the gold is extremely difficult. The fire represents the slavery imposed upon us by the Mitzriim where Hashem had to extract us from our suffering. The Midrash implies that the entire process was one of purification and that the slavery was the first step in the process leading to Matan Torah. The second metaphor described the process as a shepherd assisting in the birth of a baby animal. The baby,

9 prior to birth, has no independence; its life is wholly dependent upon it's mother. After the birth, the baby assumes a degree of independence and then the natural development follows. Similarly, Bnei Yisrael were under the control of the Mitzriim. We had no true and complete independence until Hashem assisted in bringing us to nationhood, taking one nation from within another nation. Pesach is a celebration of our birth as a nation. We celebrate through the observance of the many mitzvot unique to the Seder night. Communicating this to our children is the essence of Pesach night. Pesach was the beginning of the long chain of . The day of the week that Pesach falls out on is the same as the day that Tisha B' comes out. Just like Pesach was the beginning of our redemption, we daven that Tisha B'Av will become the day when Hashem will bring the final redemption.

The Lessons of Day Seven By Morah Danielle Goldstein, Director of Student Life

Although there are many similarities between Pesach and Succot, there is one striking difference that is very important. When it comes to Pesach we have a Yom Tov on the first day of Pesach as well as the seventh day of Pesach. This day of Yom Tov is part of the holiday of Pesach and is considered almost like a part two of the chag. This is very different from Succot because on Succot we have a Yom Tov for the first day and then have a separate holiday called Atzeret at the end. Why is it that when it comes to the holiday of Pesach we have two days of Yom Tov, on the first and last days? Sforno explains that the seventh day of Pesach is the day of Kriyat Yam Suf which is celebrating the miraculous splitting of the sea. If this is the case, it is surprising that this special day is not an independent holiday that we celebrate. Shouldn't we be required to say Shehechiyanu on the seventh day of Pesach? I think the answer is one that we can learn a lot from. This day of Kriyat Yam Suf is not its own miracle but rather a culmination of all of the miraculous events that took place on Pesach. These miracles were not complete until the events at the Yam Suf. The Ohr Hachayim says that the passuk “Va'yo'sha Hashem ba'yom ha'hu,” “On that day Hashem saved Bnai Yisrael”- that only on that day, the seventh day, was there a full redemption, but not earlier. Even though we had already left Mitzrayim before the seventh day, we were not safe and not secure until Hashem destroyed the Mitzriim at the sea. It was only at that point that we, Bnai Yisrael truly became free people. Once we were truly bnai chorin we were able to recognize all of the miracles that Hashem did for us throughout our Exodus from Egypt. This idea explains so beautifully why there is a separate day of Yom Tov which is also part of the overall holiday of Pesach. Before the holiday of Pesach begins, we spend weeks and weeks ridding ourselves of anything that is chametz. This can be compared to ridding ourselves of all of the ideas that that yetzer hara is trying to push on us. On the seventh day of Pesach we are culminating this process of being chametz free; we are telling the yezter hara that we don’t want his influence in our lives. While we are celebrating Kryiat Yam Suf, we are thankful that we finally became totally free as a nation, physically. During this time we should be thinking about becoming totally free from the yetzer hara, spiritually. This is the opportunity we have on the seventh day of Pesach. We have to use it to finally achieve this level of being free; free to serve Hashem when we are in complete control of the yetzer hara. May we use the holiday of Pesach to focus on our physical and emotional freedom and use that freedom to connect to Hashem. Chag Sameach!

10 Freedom or Servitude By Rabbi Moshe Barenbaum

a time of freedom, or ,זְמַן חֵרוּתֵ ֵֽנוּ There seems to be a contradiction as to whether Pesach is .servitude ,עבדות a time of ,a time of freedom - זְמַן חֵרוּתֵ ֵֽנוּ, מִׁקְרָּ א קֹדֶש, זֵכֶר לִׁיצִׁיַאת מִׁצְרָּ יִׁם ,On Pesach, we say in the Passuk ,בהר referring to the fact that Hashem took us out of servitude in Egypt. In Parshat For unto Me the“ , " ִׁכּי־ ִִׁ֤לי ְב ֵנֵֽי־יִׁ ְשׂ ָּר ֵאל֙ ֲע ָּב ִִׁ֔דים ֲע ָּב ַַ֣די ִ֔ ֵהם ֲא ֶשר־הֹו ֵֵ֥צא ִׁתי אֹו ָָּ֖תם ֵמ ֶַ֣א ֶרץ ִׁמ ְצָּ ר יִׁם ֲא ִָׁ֖ני ה' אֱֹלֵֽ קֵ יכֶ ֵֽם" ,says children of Israel are servants; they are My servants whom I brought forth out of the land of Egypt: I am Hashem your G-d.” This sounds like Hashem took us out of Egypt to become his servants. Rav Boruch Saks explains that they are both true. In order to become Hashem’s chosen nation and fully accept the Torah we had to be free and not enslaved. Only then, as free people with our own free will, were we able to accept the Torah and become true servants of Hashem.

Pesach: The Continuous Conversation By Rabbi Yosef Sharbat

The Rambam, in the beginning of the 7th chapter of hilchot chametz u’matza writes that it is a positive commandment to discuss the miracles that happened during from זכור את just like it says by זכור את היום הזה אשר יצאתם ממצרים Egypt as it says in the pasuk והגדת לבנך ביום Immediately, one notices that the Rambam does not use the pasuk of .יום השבת as for discussing the miracles, and instead he uses this verse to teach us that ההוא לאמור occurs on the night of the 15th of Nissan even if there are no סיפור יציאת מצרים the mitzva of children present at the seder. There are three questions that one can ask on this halacha from the Rambam: on the night of Pesach different than the rest of the year when סיפור יציאת מצרים What makes (1 ?in our Tefilot יציאת מצרים we also remember What connection ?זכור את יום השבת Why does the Rambam feel the need to quote the pasuk of (2 does this have with Pesach? 3) On the night of Pesach we make a bracha on the mitzvot of the night. There is a bracha on drinking wine, on eating matza, on eating marror… Why is there no bracha on the mitzvah of ?the theme of the evening ,סיפור יציאת מצרים but it’s the bracha סיפור יציאת מצרים The Chatam Sofer writes that we do make a bracha on אשר גאלנו וגאל את אבותינו -before we drink the second cup of wine מגיד that we make at the end of .ממצרים,והגיענו ללילה הזה לאכול בו מצה ומרור… ברוך אתה ה' גאל ישראל Normally, we ?מגיד before beginning סיפור יציאת מצרים If so, why don’t we recite the bracha on make a bracha before performing a mitzvah and not at the conclusion of a mitzvah! The Chatam Sofer explains that there is an exception to this rule and that is by a convert. A convert can’t make the bracha before he immerses in the mikveh because he is still a gentile. Once they accept the mitzvot and immerse, then they are Jewish and can make the bracha. Similarly, the night of immersing ourselves in the mikvah to convert. This night is ,טבילה לגירות the seder is like ,קבלת המצוות is our סיפור The .סיפור different than other nights, and is a special type of recognizing and appreciating what G-d did for our ancestors and continues to do for us. The end is like immersing in the mikveh, becoming converts, and only then can we make the סיפור of the

11 Pesach is not .סיפור יציאת מצרים bracha, because only then can we appreciate the significance of just a historical night, it is a night to relive the Exodus. The Rambam writes in hilchot chametz u’matza (7:6): בכל דור ודור חייב אדם להראות את עצמו כאילו הוא בעצמו יצא עתה משעבוד מצרים שנאמר ואותנו הוציא משם וגו'. ועל דבר זה צווה הקב"ה בתורה וזכרת כי עבד היית, כלומר כאילו אתה בעצמך היית עבד ויצאת לחירות ונפדית “In each and every generation, a person must present himself as if he, himself, has now left the Regarding this ".He took us out from there" :slavery of Egypt, as [Deuteronomy 6:23] states - "]Remember that you were a slave [Deuteronomy 5:15" :manner, God commanded in the Torah i.e., as if you, yourself, were a slave and went out to freedom and were redeemed.” The Rambam has a different nusach than our Haggadah and the Gemara. One has to show and act in a way as if they actually left Egypt. The night of Pesach is part of history; not just remembering history. Every day we remember the Exodus from Egypt, but on the night of Pesach we pledge allegiance to Hashem and convert spiritually. We make history. The .זכור את יום השבת This may be why the Rambam connects remembering the Exodus to זכור את means to refrain from any work on Shabbat and שמור את יום השבת Gemara teaches us that is to remember the Shabbat through words, mainly Kiddush. So too on Pesach we are יום השבת ,and that is fulfilled through the wine, the matzah ,זכור את היום הזה אשר יצאתם ממצרים commanded and the telling of the story. It is not about “don’t eat chametz” but rather use our mouth to “eat matzah, drink wine and discuss the story”. When we do that, then we can properly end the And we will thank you in a“ ,ונודה לך שיר חדש על גאולתנו ועל פדות נפשנו by saying מגיד section of new song for our redemption and for the liberation of our soul”.

The Positive Experiences That We Create By Morah Batya Sharbat

One of the most famous themes of the seder night is me’avdut l’cherut, going from slavery to freedom. We retell the story of being slaves in Egypt and then how G-d saved us in miraculous ways. We are in awe when we think of the the ten makkot and the splitting of the sea and then Matan Torah, receiving the Torah at Har Sinai, the holiest experience we could ever imagine. However, we learn in Sefer Bamidbar that only a little time later, Bnei Yisrael want to go back to Egypt! They complain to Moshe that they have no meat and the food they had in Egypt was free. , disturbed by the word “free”, wonders how it could be possible that as slaves they had food for free!? Rashi answers that the word “free” isn’t referring to the food they had in Mitzrayim, but it was that they were free from keeping the mitzvot. Just a short while ago they were saved from persecution and rescued in the most remarkable way, yet it was a memory of the past because to them, keeping the mitzvot was a burden. The Jewish people at this point felt overwhelmed and burdened by the mitzvot and therefore would have preferred a life as slaves over keeping all the mitzvot they had just received. The gemara helps explain this idea when it teaches us that “ hametzuveh v’oseh yoteir mimi she’eino metzuveh v’oseh” which means that the reward is greater for one who is commanded and does [mitzvot], than the volunteer who does. The Ba’alei Hatosafot comment that the moment a person must do something, the task becomes more difficult. Our job as educators and parents at the seder is not only to teach the story of Yetziat Mitzrayim and how Hashem saved us from our slavery, but to teach children to recognize the joy and beauty of the mitzvot and to be models for positive experiences.

12 It is no coincidence that the first commandment that Bnei Yisrael receive as a people is the mitzvah of sanctifying the new moon (). Rav Soloveitchik writes on its significance and comments, “The basic criterion which distinguishes free man from slave is the kind of relationship each has with time and its experience. Bondage is identical with passive intuition and reception of an empty, formal time stream.” This idea helps illustrate the importance of how now that we are free and we have our time, we need to fill it with meaning and substance. We need to teach our children on the seder night how keeping the mitzvot is not a burden but a way to live a fulfilling and significant life. As a slave, our time and lives felt insignificant, yet now that we are truly free, we can keep the mitzvot and fill our lives with purpose and great meaning.

Dayeinu: Enough Already? By Rabbi Adam Hertzberg, Director of Academic Affairs

When we read through the text of Dayeinu, we are often struck with a recurring question. Many of the statements we make, expressing our gratitude to Hashem for all of the miracles that He bestowed upon us seem very strange. We declare that at each stage of the Exodus, had God stopped there, it would have been enough. But, would it have really been enough? Are we being disingenuous? For example, would it really have been enough if Hashem gave us the money of the Egyptians but did not split the sea for us? If it were not for the splitting of the sea we would have never survived the attack of the Egyptians. More famously, if all Hashem did was bring us to Har Sinai but did not give us the Torah, would it have been enough? What would the Jewish people be without the Torah? My friend, Rabbi Daniel Elsant, once shared a mashal that his grandfather shared with him. Imagine that a person struggled through college thinking that he would never graduate. He hired tutors just to pass some of the most basic classes. When he finally graduated, the feelings of accomplishment and satisfaction were overwhelming. He could not have ever imagined being any happier. A few years later after spending a long time trying to find a spouse, he finally got married. The feelings of joy and simcha were once again indescribable. Once again he could not have ever imagined a greater feeling of happiness. Over the next few years he and his wife were unsuccessful in having a child. They davened, went to different for brachot, and finally had a beautiful healthy baby. This went on and on in his life and by the time he was an old man he had a big family with children and grandchildren. Imagine asking this man if it would have been happy if he had just graduated college but that was it, or if he had gotten married but did not have kids. Of course the answer would be no. Even though at the time he could not have imagined being any happier, he did not know about the future events that would take place and now he could not have imagined it any other way. This is what we describe in Dayeinu. Of course looking at it from our perspective, many generations after the events took place, it is not possible to think that it would have been enough if Hashem only did some of the things described. However, from the perspective of the generation that was taken out of Egypt, each moment along the way, was the most amazing miracle that they could ever imagine and could not imagine anything more satisfying than that feeling. Dayeinu reminds us of the importance of being present and appreciating every moment of life. While it’s easy to look back and see what events of our lives were positive and which were not as positive, we should try to appreciate the good in the stage of life which we are currently

13 experiencing. We are exposed to many miracles and positivity throughout our lives. The important thing is to recognize the good, appreciate it, and say to Hashem, “Dayeinu”. “I am able to recognize that this alone, is something good that Hashem is doing for me, and therefore I am grateful.” If we keep this perspective, we can be more mindful of God’s presence in our lives, and be grateful for the positivity that we experience.

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הגדה של פסח With Commentary From the Students of the Joseph Kushner Hebrew Academy Middle School

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16 סדר בדיקת חמץ1 בלילה שלפני ערב פסח בודקים את החמץ. וחייבים לבדוק מיד בתחלת הלילה, ואסור להתחיל לאכול או לעשות שום מלאכה חצי שעה קודם הלילה.

קודם בדיקת חמץ אומרים: הֲרֵ ינִימּוכָן ּומְ זּומָ ן לְקַ יֵם מִצְ וַת עֲשֵה וְ ֹלא תַ העֲשֵ שֶׁל בְדִיקַת חָמֵ ץ לְשֵם יִחּודקּודְ שָא בְרִ יְך הּוא ּושְ כִינְתֵ יּהעַל יְדֵי הַ הּוא טָמִ יר וְ נֶׁעֱלָם בְשֵ ם כָל יִשְרָאֵ ל:

בָ רּוְך אַתָ ה יְהֹוָה אֱֹלקֵ ינּו מֶׁ לְֶׁך הָ עוֹלָם ראֲשֶׁ קִדְשָ נּו בְמִצְ וֹתָ יו וְצִ ּוָנּו עַל בִ יעּור חָמֵ ץ:

ומיד אחר הבדיקה יבטלנו ויאמר: כל חמִירָא וַחֲמִ יעָא דְאִ יכָאבִרְ שּותִ י דְ לָא חֲמִתֵ יּה ּודְ לָא בִ עַרְתֵ יּה ּודְ לָאיְדַעְ נָא לֵיּה ללִבָטֵ וְ לֶׁהֱוֵי רהֶׁפְקֵ אכְעַפְרָ דְ ַארְ עָא:

כל חמץ ושאור שיש ברשותי, שלא ראיתיו ושלא בערתיו ושלא ידעתיו - יבטל ויהיה הפקר כעפר הארץ

1 The Laws of Bedikat Chametz By Sabag

On the night of the 14th of Nissan, which is the night before Pesach, go around their household and check for objects that are chametz. Every Jewish household is obligated to do this search. This also applies to women that are living on their own. People who own businesses must do the search in their office or place of business. Before starting the search of chametz one should say the beracha for bedikat chametz. The beracha translates to, “Blessed are you Hashem, our G-d , king of the universe, who has sanctified us by His commandments, and commanded us concerning the removal of chametz”. One may ask why the beracha talks about the removal of chametz and not the search of chametz as the removal will only happen the next morning. This is because we are searching for the chametz to destroy it. The mitzvah of bedikat chametz is a very important law and people should practice it correctly.

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סדר שריפת חמץ2 ביום י"ד בניסן בשעה חמישית יעשה לו מדורה וישרפנו ותכף יבטלנו ויאמר: כל חמִירָא וַחֲמִ יעָא דְאִ יכָאבִרְ שּותִ י דַ חֲזִתֵ יּה ּודְ לָא חֲזִתֵ יּה דַ חֲמִתֵ יּה ּודְלָא חֲמִתֵ יּהדְ בִעַרְתֵ יּה ּודְ לָאבִ עַרְתֵ יּהלִבָטֵל וְ לֶׁהֱוֵי הֶׁפְקֵ ר כְעַפְרָ א דְַארְ עָא:

כל חמץ ושאור שיש ברשותי, שראיתיו ושלא ראיתיו, שבערתיו ושלא בערתיו - יבטל ויהיה הפקר כעפר הארץ. סדר הדלקת נרות בָ רּוְך אַתָ ה ה’ אֱֹלקֵ ינּו מֶׁ לְֶׁך הָ עוֹלָם, ראֲשֶׁ קִדְ שָ נּו בְמִצְ וֹתָ יו וְצִ ּוָנּו לְהַדְ לִיק נֵר שֶׁ ל יוֹם טוֹב. בָ רּוְך אַתָ ה ה’ אֱֹלקֵ ינּו מֶׁ לְֶׁך הָ עוֹלָם, שֶׁהֶׁחֱיָנּו וְקִ יְמָ נּו וְהִ גִיעָנּו לַזְמַ ן הַזֶׁה.

2 Burning the Chametz By Evie

On Pesach it is a mitzvah to burn any chametz in your house. To properly fulfill the mitzvah, you need to leave a kezayit of chametz to burn. Even if there is a really small piece left, you need to burn it. In addition, if you have non-chametz food with crumbs of chametz in it, it still needs to be burnt. When you put it in the fire you should make sure it gets completely that they beat on Hoshana ערבות burned. Some people have a custom to burn the chametz with Rabba. After the chametz is burned, it is time to declare that you don’t own the chametz where we say that the chametz is not "כל חמירא" anymore. There is a statement in called owned anymore. If when nullifying the chametz a person doesn’t understand what he/she is doing, it also doesn’t count. Therefore, if you don’t understand the Aramaic you may say it in English.

18 סימני סדר פסח3 קַדֵּ ׁש ּורְ חַ ץ כַרְ פַ ס יַחַ ץ מגִּיד רַחְ צָ ה מוֹצִּיא מַצָ ה מָ רוֹר כוֹרֵּ ְך ׁשֻׁ לְחָ ןעוֹרֵּ ְך צָ פּון בָרֵּ ְך הַ לֵּל נִּרְ צָ ה

3 One Step at a Time By Kayla Klibanoff

As we know, the Seder of Pesach is very organized. But what is the significance of being organized on Pesach? The night of the Seder is very precise and exact. We have 15 individual steps that we go through to remember when we were taken out of Egypt. But why does everything have to be so perfect? The simple answer is just so that we don’t make any mistakes. We announce what the next stage is every time the one beforehand is completed. But there is a deeper meaning to this. We want to take time on every minute of the Seder so we can really re- experience leaving Egypt and wandering through the desert. We are really trying to take this time to concentrate and focus on our lives when we were slaves in Egypt. Although we are reflecting on our lives from the past, we also use this time to think about the future, and the world that will If one look at the .יד הגדולה come. We hope to once again see Hashem’s Great Hand, or the one will see that it equals 14. This can connect to the 14 steps it takes to ,יד of the word גמתריא will come משיח We are hoping that .לשנה הבא לירושלים where we sing ,נרצה to קידוש get from soon, and we will once again see the hand of Hashem. From this we can learn to reflect on our past to help us go into the future. We should learn from our mistakes and fix them so in the future we won’t do the same. If we keep resolving our problems or mistakes, we will get closer and closer to our ultimate redemption, and we will finally reach that final step where we will see the Great Hand of Hashem.

(The Haggadah by Rabbi Joseph Elias)

Fifteen Steps By Abbi Bondy

On the Seder night, we use the Haggadah, a book written by our Sages, to outline the fifteen steps of freedom. On Pesach, every should feel that they are being freed from slavery. The rabbis teach us that we must take fifteen continuous steps to feel like we were freed from Egypt. That is why there are fifteen parts of the Haggadah.

(From Aish.com)

19 קַדֵּ ׁש4

4 Starting Off the Seder Right By Hannah Teitelbaum

When learning about Kiddush at the Seder there are two very interesting questions. The first question is why do we start the Seder with saying Kiddush? One reason is because we are sanctifying the day. Therefore, it has a big connection to Pesach, because Pesach starts the year so we start the Seder with Kiddush. The second question is, why do you make a bracha every time you drink the four cups? Firstly, each cup has a significance of its own. Secondly, each cup symbolizes the further stage of redemption. We therefore make a blessing for each cup but we do not say a concluding Bracha until the end. The relates the four cups to four different worlds, as a sign of many good things in all of the worlds. The Maharal connects the four cups to Sarah, Rivka, Rachel and Leah, since it was in their merit that the Jews were redeemed. When we make a blessing at the Seder we realize that each cup is sacred and we can learn a lot from that. We also learn that the cups are holy and unique. We only get to have the Seder twice a year and make the brachot on these cups eight times a year so we need to make it special.

(From The Jonathan Sacks Haggadah)

ארבע כוסות By Scarlett Mandil and Julia Davidson

When you are filling your cups it is preferable to use red wine but if you don't have it you can use a different wine. You are able to boil the wine for extra flavoring. If someone dislikes wine or is uncomfortable drinking it, he should force himself to drink the four cups unless it will actually make him ill. It is preferable to drink the entire cup of wine each time it says to. The right amount of wine should be drunk all at once, or within a time that is approximately 2-9 minutes. The minimum requirement that one must drink is a revi’it. There is an opinion that a person must drink most of the wine that is in the cup, if the cup is bigger than a revi’it. There are four places in the Seder that you drink wine. The four places are one for kiddush, one after maggid, one for benching, and one for .

(From the Chazon Ish Haggadah)

Why is Kaddesh First? By Rebecca Rothstein, Rivkah Kesselman, and Keira Cillo

Kaddesh is a great way to start because we start the seder with a great and powerful blessing over a cup of wine. Kaddesh is the right way to jump into Pesach. Kaddesh is a fun way to get into the Pesach mood! Kaddesh is important because it represents us acting like kings and queens and we like to start our seder feeling like a king and queen. So, we sit in our chair as an individual pours us a cup of wine. The reason we pour cups for each other is to make it “more real life” in the “king and queen mode”. Before Kiddush on Pesach we say, “I’m prepared to

20 בְׁשַ בָ ת מַתְחִּ ילִּין: וַיְהִ י עֶׁרֶׁ ב וַיְהִ י בֹקֶׁ ר יוֹם הַשִשִ י. וַיְכֻּלּו הַשָמַ יִם וְהָָארֶׁ ץ וְכָל צְ בָ ָאם. וַיְכַל אֱֹלהִ ים בַ יוֹם הַשְ בִיעִ י מְ לַאכְ תוֹ אֲשֶׁ ר עָשָ ה וַיִשְ בֹת בַ יוֹם הַשְ בִיעִ י מִ כָל מְ לַאכְ תוֹ אֲשֶׁ ר עָשָ ה. וַיְבָרֶׁ ְך אֱֹלהִ ים אֶׁ ת יוֹם הַשְ בִיעִ י וַיְקַדֵ ש אוֹתוֹ כִ י בוֹ שָ בַ ת מִ כָל מְ לַאכְ תוֹ אֲשֶׁ ר בָרָ א אֱֹלהִ ים לַעֲשוֹת. בַ חוֹל מַתְחִּ ילִּין: סַבְרִ י מָרָ נָן וְרַ בָ נָן וְרַ בוֹתַ י בָ רּוְך אַתָ ה ה’ אֱֹלקֵ ינּו מֶׁ לְֶׁך הָ עוֹלָם אבוֹרֵ יפְרִ הַ גָפֶׁן5. בָ רּוְך אַתָ ה ה’ אֱֹלקֵ ינּו מֶׁ לְֶׁך הָ עוֹלָם, ראֲשֶׁ בָחַר בָ נּו מִ כָל עָם וְ רוֹמְמָ נּו מִ כָל לָשוֹן וְקִדְ שָ נּו בְמִצְ וֹתָ יו. ןוַתִתֶׁ לָנּו ה’ אֱֹלקֵ ינּו בְַאהֲבָ ה )בְשַ בָ ת: שַבָ תוֹתלִמְנּוחָ ה ּו(מוֹעֲדִ ים לְשִמְ חָה, חַגִים ּוזְמַ נִים לְשָ שוֹן, אֶׁ ת יוֹם

recite the Kiddush over wine and to fulfill the mitzvah of the first four cups,” which means that we prepare ourselves to be treated like kings and queens and that we want to do the mitzvah and that Kaddesh is “honored” to be the first out of the four cups.

5 Who Creates the Fruit of the Vine By Josh Teich

The cup of wine is not only used for the regular Yom Tov Kiddush; it serves another purpose. The Midrash says that the four cups correspond to the four expressions of redemption that G-d used in his promise to Moshe. The four expressions of redemption are not repetitive versions of the same theme. Rather, they each build upon the other, creating more levels of happiness. If we ate something like fruits, instead of wine, the first one would be good, but then the next and next wouldn’t taste as good. However, when one drinks the four cups of wine, each one intensifies another greater feeling of joy over the four step process of redemption.

(From the Rav Shlomo Zalman Haggadah)

21 )הַשַ בָתהַזֶׁה וְאֶׁ תיוֹם( חַגהַמַ ּצוֹת הַזֶׁה6, זְמַןחֵרּותֵ נּו )בְַאהֲבָ ה(, אמִקְרָ קֹדֶׁ ש, זֵכֶׁר לִיצִיַאת מִצְרָ יִם. כִ יבָ נּו בָחַרְתָ וְ אוֹתָ נּו קִדַשְתָ מִ כָל הָעַמִ ים,)וְשַ בָ ת( ּומוֹעֲדֵי קָדְשֶׁ ָך )בְַאהֲבָהּובְרָ צוֹן,( בְשִמְ החָ ּובְשָ שוֹן הִ נְחַלְתָ נּו. בָ רּוְך אַתָ ה ה’, מְקַדֵ ש )הַשַ בָ ת וְ(יִשְרָאֵל וְהַזְמַ נִים. )בְ מוֹצָאֵּ יׁשַ בָ תמוֹסִּיפִּ ין: בָ רּוְך אַתָ ה ה’ אֱֹלקֵ ינּו מֶׁ לְֶׁך הָ עוֹלָם, בוֹרֵא מְ אוֹרֵ י הָאֵ ש. בָ רּוְך אַתָ ה ה’ אֱֹלקֵ ינּו מֶׁ לְֶׁך הָ עוֹלָם הַמַבְדִ יל בֵ ין קֹדֶׁ ש לְחֹל, בֵ ין אוֹר לְחשֶׁ ְך, בֵ ין ליִשְרָאֵ לָעַמִ ים, בֵ יןיוֹם הַשְ בִיעִ י תלְשֵשֶׁ יְמֵי הַמַ עֲשֶׁ ה. בֵ ין קְ דֻשַ תשַ בָתלִקְ דֻשַ ת יוֹם טוֹבהִבְדַ לְתָ , תוְאֶׁ יוֹם הַשְ בִיעִי מִשֵשֶׁ ת יְמֵ י הַמַ עֲשֶׁהקִדַשְתָ .הִבְדַ לְתָ וְקִדַשְתָ אֶׁת עַמְ ָך יִשְרָאֵ ל בִקְ דֻשָתֶָׁך.בָ רּוְך אַתָ ה ה’ הַמַבְדִ יל בֵ ין שקֹדֶׁ לְקֹדֶׁ ש.( בָ רּוְך אַתָ ה ה’ אֱֹלקֵ ינּו מֶׁ לְֶׁך הָ עוֹלָם,שֶׁהֶׁחֱיָנּו וְקִ יְמָ נּו וְהִ גִיעָנּו לַזְמַ ן הַזֶׁה. הׁשוֹתֶ רֹב כוֹס הַ יַיִּן בְהַסָ בָ ה.

6 Pesach vs. Chag Hamatzot By Maya Jurkevich

When the Torah mentions this holiday it is called Chag Hamatzot, the festival of matzot. However, when we, the Jewish people, speak about it we call it Pesach. Why is there a difference? Rebbi Yitzchok from Berditchev gives an explanation. He said that we call the holiday Pesach or Passover because we are emphasizing the great miracle that Hashem did for us by passing over the Jews when he killed every first born. When the Torah mentions this holiday it says Chag Hamatzot because Hashem wants to represent the devotion and passion we put into taking our belongings and rushing out of Egypt because Hashem told us to. This shows our amazing relationship with Him and how it is a two sided relationship.

22 ּורְ חַ ץ7 נוֹטְ לִּין אֶת הַ יָדַ יִּם וְאֵּ ין מְ בָרְ כִּ ין "עַלנְטִּ ילַת יָדַ יִּם". 8 כַרְ פַ ס

7 Wash Without Eating Bread By Abby Feiertag

Why are we washing our hands now if we're not eating bread right away? After we wash our hands we are going to eat . This matters because in the olden days it was tradition to wash your hands before you dipped food in a liquid. We still do this now because the adults want the kids to be asking questions about this.

8 What is the Mitzvah of Karpas? By Danny Falda

Karpas is the vegetable that we dip into the saltwater. The name comes from the Greek word, meaning “grass” or “vegetation”. Pesach is a spring holiday and is celebrated when the vegetation begins to sprout. It can’t be a coincidence that the birth of the Jews and the birth of nature takes place in the same month. There is a wide variety of what you can use for karpas. Anything that is “borei pri ha- adama” can be used for karpas. The green reminds us of spring and the salt water that we dip it into reminds us of the tears that were shed when we were slaves in Egypt. An early commentary on karpas explained that karpas relates to the colored coat that Yaakov gave to Yosef. “Pas” means stripe, and the dipping of the salt water reminds us of when the brothers dipped the striped coat in blood. For this reason, we have this custom to remind the parents not to favor one child over another, since doing so led to our slavery in Egypt.

Why the Karpas? By Sari Helfgott

After urchatz, we dip a vegetable known as karpas, in saltwater. Why? There are many opinions, but these are some interesting ones. The first is that the vegetable is like an appetizer to our main course, shulchan oreich. A second reason is that the vegetable should be bitter, as our slavery was bitter in Egypt. The third reason is so the children should ask why. Rabbi Yechiel Spero points out that these three answers, the bitter vegetable, the appetizer, and the children questioning, can be combined into one reason. The order goes as follows: First, we give the child the ‘appetizer,’ letting him think that it will be like any other appetizer, tasty and wonderful. He then discovers that it is actually bitter. Confused, the child will ask why it is bitter, and we get the chance to tell him the story of Mitzrayim and the Jewish

23 people. Through this, they can experience the cheirut at Shulchan Oreich later on. The lesson we can learn from this is that we should realize how special the freedom we have today is.

(From Touched by the Seder)

Karpas By Shira Rosenblat and Elisha

During the Seder, after Urchatz (when we wash our hands), we do Karpas. We take a vegetable and dip it into saltwater and say a blessing to thank Hashem for giving us the vegetable and eat it. We must rejoice while doing this task. We must rejoice over B’nei Yisrael when they were freed from Egypt; singing and drinking wine is part of our rejoicing. We dip the vegetable into saltwater to remind us of the times in Mitzrayim and the tears of B’nei Yisrael. Karpas is a symbol of spring and of renewal. Karpas was served as an appetizer for a feast in ancient times. Once there was a chasid who brought a sack of carrots to Rabbi Dov to be used for karpas. Rabbi Dov gave orders for the sack of carrots to be burned with chametz. No one asked him why. When the chassid returned to his home, his maidservant asked him if he was pleased with how the carrots looked. He said yes and asked her how it came out so perfect. She said that she soaked them in beer. The chassid thought to himself, “Beer is chametz! I have to do something about it!” So, he went on the two hour ride back to Rabbi Dov and told him that he should burn the carrots. Rabbi Dov replied, “I had them burned anyway.” The chassid asked why and Rabbi Dov replied, “I thought it was unusual to use carrots for karpas.” If you follow the laws, you won’t violate eating chametz on Pesach. The purpose of karpas is to give children a world of curiosity about this unusual task and why we do it. If you think more about a subject then you can receive more information from it. Every answer to a question leads to another question which leads to more interest in the subject.

The produce that we eat is from the ground because it also represents Adam and Chava in Gan Eden. When they were kicked out of Gan Eden, Adam was complaining about having to eat food from the ground. Because of this, Hashem made it possible for humans to grow their own food. When B’nei Yisrael were slaves in Egypt, they had to grow food from the ground. This reminds us of Hashem’s gift of being able to grow food from the ground.

(From A Family Haggadah by Shoshana Silberman and the JKHA Haggadah 5770)

Karpas By Rebecca Wiater and Ortal Twizer

In karpas you must dip the vegetable into salt water and then eat it commemorating the tears of Bnei Yisrael. The word karpas comes from a greek word, karpos, which means a fresh raw vegetable. The karpas also symbolizes Joseph's coat that his father made him and how his brothers dipped it in blood. Therefore, karpas is done at the beginning of the seder. The main purpose of eating karpas is that it is supposed to interest the little children and make them ask questions. Rabbi Chaim Shmulevitz explains that when information is given to a person as an answer to a question that the person has asked this allows them to have much more

24 טוֹבְ לִּין9 כַרְ פַספָ חוֹת מִּ כְ זַיִּת בְמֵּ ימֶ לַח, ּומְ בָרְ כִּ ין. בָ רּוְך אַתָ ה ה’ אֱֹלקֵ ינּו מֶׁ לְֶׁך הָ עוֹלָם, בוֹרֵ א פְרִ י הָאֲדָמָ ה. יַחַ ץ10

interest in the subject. This way, people are most likely to absorb the information that is presented.

(From A Family Haggadah)

9 Dipping the Karpas By Yishai Rothschild

We dip the karpas to show that we are kings! Poor people do not usually dip! Therefore, when we dip, it is a sign of royalty. We dip to remind ourselves that we are like royalty, but at the same time we should remember that we were once slaves.

10 The Prize of Pesach By Samuel Artman

My favorite part of the seder is the afikomen. But, I was wondering why we split the matzah at Yachatz. Our forefathers had very little matzah when they were in Egypt. So what they did was break it and save it for later. So too, we break the matzah at yachatz and put away the larger half to eat for the later. Why dont we just put it to the side and not cover it? One of the reasons is so that no one will eat it accidentally. Another reason is that when Bnei Yisrael left Egypt the donkeys carried the possessions and the carried the matzah. But, why? We learn that the leftovers of the matzah was more precious than the gold and silver. Therefore, they wrapped the matzah to hold them close. That's why we wrap our matzah in a special case or napkin. Fun Fact: Why do we hide the afikomen? This custom is based on a statement in the : “We snatch matzot on the night of Passover in order that the children should not fall asleep.” In other words, the game of hiding the afikoman and the accompanying bargaining for a gift is an activity to engage the kids and make sure that they don’t fall asleep during what is invariably a long evening.

(From The Medrash Says Hagadah)

Breaking Through the Past By Alexis Sohnen

we break the middle matzah and put the יחץ In ?יחץ What is the purpose of the word itself יחץ mentioned in the haggadah; the word יחץ larger half aside for the afikoman. Not only is

25 בַעַל הַבַיִּת עיִּבְצַ אֶת הַמַצָה הָאֶמְ צָעִּ ית11 לִּׁשְתַ יִּםּומַצְפִּ ין12 אֶ ת הַ חֲצִּי הַ גָדוֹל לַאֲפִּ יקוֹמָ ן.

and his יעקב is coming to attack עשו This story is when .עשו and יעקב also shows up in the story of עשו did this so if יעקב .split his family into two groups יעקב family. This word refers to, when killed one group, the other group could get away safely. Every time we, the Jewish nation, rebel and gain Hashem’s trust again. An תשובה or do something against Hashem, we are able to do example would be, during . It was a terrible time for the Jews. We were taken into camps and forced to work. This gruesome experience ended because of the extraordinary acts of America, for saving people in need. Another time, is when the Greeks put us into exile, which was a terrible event, if it בית המקדש caused the holiday of . Although the destruction of the did not happen we would not have Purim. Hashem has a plan, and no matter what happens it was tells us, whatever our destiny, Hashem will never completely יחץ meant for a reason. Therefore .בני ישראל destroy us, and there will always be

(From the The Pesach Haggadah: Through the Prism of Experience and History)

11 The Middle Matzah Mystery By Laila Friedman

During the Seder one may question why the middle matzah is broken at Yachatz. After all, why not break the top or bottom? It is said that the three matzot represent the three types of Jews: Kohen, Levi, and Yisrael. So the Levi matzah is broken in two, because it is in between Kohen and Yisrael. What makes the Leviim different from the others that it should be broken? During the brit bein hebtarim, Hashem tells Avraham the decrees that his descendants would suffer from, namely, being slaves in Egypt, being persecuted there, and being strangers in the land. Rashi says that the Leviim were not persecuted, or enslaved to the Egyptians, yet they were strangers in the land. It is said that when the matzah is broken, the smaller piece represents the one decree that the Leviim suffered from. This piece is left on the table as we speak about our time as slaves in Egypt, and the larger piece, meant to represent the other decrees which the Leviim didn’t suffer from, is taken away, hidden, for the afikomen that we will eat later during Tzafun. Some people may think that the Leviim are superior over the others because they did not suffer from all the decrees, but really we learn from this that the one decree that they suffered from is what connects us all together as we discuss about long ago, when we were slaves in Egypt.

(From the Shiras Yehudah Pesach Haggadah)

12 The Afikoman- Putting it Aside By Renee Dunec

At the beginning of the seder we have three matzot and take the middle one and break it. Then we put back the smaller half in between the other two matzot and take the bigger half and put it in the afikoman bag and put it away. We call that piece of matzah afikoman. Some have

26 מַגִּיד13 מְ גַלֶה אֶת הַמַ צוֹת מַ גְבִּיהַאֶת הַקְ העָרָ וְאוֹמֵּ ר בְ קוֹל רָ ם:

the custom to hide the afikoman and later when it is found we eat it for dessert! There are two interesting explanations as to why we put the matzah to the side. One reason we hide the afikoman and put it to the side is because we need to eat it at the end of the seder and we don’t want to accidentally mix the matzot up and eat it before the end of the seder. Another reason is that when we put it aside we put it in a bag or wrap it in something which reminds us of how we left Egypt and with our “matzot”.

(From .org)

13 The Etymology of the Word “Haggadah” By Matthew Mendelsohn

A common question during Pesach is why do we call the haggadah a “haggadah”? The which means “to tell,” and on ”להגיד“ simple answer is that it comes from the hebrew word Pesach we tell the story of Yitziat Mitzrayim, as we are commanded to do so. However, there are other interpretations on this word such as the Avnei Nezer’s opinion. The Avnei Nezer states that the word reflects the goals, requirements and method of relating the story of Yiziat Mitzrayim. and translates it to mean “to point out or ,”הגדה“ out of the word ”ויגד“ He takes the word clarify.” He suggests that the requirement is not to simply tell the story of Yiziat Mitzrayim but to teach it in such a way that a person feels like he is there when all the numerous miracles happened in Egypt. He explains that to fulfill the commandment properly one must tell the story in such depth that a person feels like they were really there. Another interpretation of the word is the based on the Gemara in Shabbat. The Gemara in Shabbat states that in the word haggadah גומל “ are for ד and ג It is interpreted that .”ד“ and ”ג“ which is the letters ,״גד“ you have one who treats poor people kindly.” Therefore people should help people who are“ ”דלים spiritually poor in the understanding of Yiziat Mitzrayim and teach it to them so well that these .והגדת לבנך ביום ההוא poor” people can properly fulfill the mitzvah of“

(From The Commentators’ Haggadah)

27 הָ א לַחְמָ א עַנְיָא14 דִ י אֲכָלּו ַאבְהָתָ נָא בְַארְ עָא דְמִצְרָ יִם. כָל דִ כְפִ ין יֵיתֵ י וְ יֵיכֹל15, כָל דִצְרִ יְך יֵיתֵי וְיִפְסַ ח. הָשַתָא הָ כָא, לְשָ נָה הַבָ ָאה בְַארְ עָא דְ יִשְרָאֵ ל16. אהָשַתָ עַבְדֵ י, לְשָ נָה הַבָ ָאה בְ נֵי חוֹרִ ין.

14 The Bread of the Poor By Zach Cohn

Ha Lachma Anya refers to the “bread of the poor” which is the matzah that Bnei Yisrael ate during the 210 years they lived in Mitzrayim. The Chida points out that the , (numerical value) of “” (poor man’s bread) equals 210, which is the amount of years they ate the matzah.

(From The Medrash Says Haggadah)

The Bread of Affliction By Dalia Goldstein

This“ ”הא לחמא עניא די אכלו אבהתנא בארעא דמצרים. כל דכפין ייתי ויכול" ,it says ,הא לחמא עניא In is the bread of affliction that our fathers ate in Egypt. Whoever is hungry, let them come and eat”. This is strange for multiple reasons. Why would we be giving the “bread of affliction” to the hungry? Shouldn’t we want the poor to be satisfied with the meal we offer them? Rabbi says that the “bread of affliction” is referred to as the “poor bread” because it Our ancestors were satisfied with as little as a flat .יציאת מצראים was all that we had at the time of piece of bread because they had nothing. The paragraph is saying that we should invite the poor people or “the hungry” to our table because all they need is the matzah. We can learn to not take things for granted because to the hungry, the “Bread of Affliction” is a meal that they can appreciate, but for us, it's only a regular, flat piece of bread.

A Night of Answers By Zachary Cohen

This is the bread of poverty. This also means that this is the bread over which we answer many things. During the Seder, we ask and answer a lot of questions. This teaches us that on this night we can also ask Hashem for anything we want. Whatever you daven for will be answered.

(From the Vintage Haggadah)

15 Pesach and Hachnasat Orchim By Lexi Spiegelman

Every year on Pesach we recite the paragraph of Ha Lachma Anya. Ha Lachma Anya is the paragraph that tells us to invite the less fortunate people into our houses to enjoy a wonderful meal. So, what is the reason that on Pesach we mention inviting the less fortunate people for a

28 meal if on other holidays we are commanded to do the same thing? R’ suggested that the reason we say that we should invite the less fortunate people to eat our meal on Pesach is because the time of Pesach is “the time of our freedom”, and we should recognize that we were once the less fortunate people. Even though on other holidays we are commanded to invite people to our meal, that is not what the holiday is fully about. For example, is titled “the time of our giving of the Torah” and is titled, “the time of our rejoicing”. I think that from this we should learn that we should invite unfortunate people to our meals and we should also really try to connect and understand what the holiday is about.

(From The Haggadah of the Roshei Yeshiva Book Three)

?סוכות But Not on פסח Why on-כל דכפחין ייתי ויכול By Eitan Laub

have many similar commandments and customs. So why is it סוכות and פסח We know that and פסח The reason for this statement on ?סוכות and not on פסח on כל דכפחין ייתי ויכול that we say itself does not סוכה Sitting in the .סוכה we have the mitzvah to sit in the סוכות is that on סוכות not we have the commandment to eat matzah which is very פסח come with an expense. However on we have the פסח expensive especially if you are eating shmura matzah. We see from this that on obligation to provide for those who are unable to afford matzah. “We must not limit ourselves to worrying about the kashrus of ‘hand .’ It is more important that we worry about ‘handing out matzos’ to all those who cannot afford to buy them.” (The Commentator’s Pesach Seder Haggadah) It is most important that we cater to those in need before we cater to ourselves. Rav Shach once told a story about when he was eating at a person's house for the Shabbos meal. The host had invited a poor man to eat the meal with him. After the first course the host started singing zemiros. The poor man interrupted and said “I’m very hungry. Could you please serve the second course now?” The host rebuked the man and told him he should have more derech eretz. The man’s wife whispered to her husband “Why did you bring this man to our house? To listen to your zemiros? To learn derech eretz? Or to eat a meal?” We learn from this story that it’s not enough to just invite a person into our house. We must also try to help them in any way.

(From The Commentator’s Pesach Seder Haggadah, story from the The Rav Shach Haggadah)

16 Anyone Who is Hungry, Come and Eat… By Temi Fooksman

How are inviting someone into your house to eat and living free in Israel connected? There is a Passuk in Yeshayahu that says “Zion will be redeemed through justice and those who return to it, through charity.” So from this we see that by giving charity and inviting the poor in to your house, Moshiach will come, and we will return to Israel as a free people.

(From The Vintage Haggadah)

29 מֵּסִּ יר הַקְ עָרָ ה17 מֵּעַל הַשֻׁ לְחָ ן, מוֹזְגִּיןכוֹס ׁשֵּ נִּי וְכַאן הַבֵּן18 אוֹ אֶחָ ד מִּן הַמְ סֻׁבִּ ים ׁשוֹאֵּ ל:

17 The Seder Plate By Yardena Goldstein

We have a Seder Plate for a reason. Every item has its own story. The “egg” we have on our seder plate is to commemorate the chagigah sacrifice. Also, it symbolizes mourning. Its round shape also represents the cycle of life and that we should have hope the Beit Hamikdash will soon be rebuilt. The “Karpas” symbolizes the potential for growth and rebirth. The “” is a mixture of chopped fruit and nuts together with cinnamon and ginger. The substance resembles the mortar, resembling our ancestors’ hard labor. We have the “chazeret” and the “”. Although the leaves of the Romaine lettuce aren't bitter, the stalks and roots are. It represents the Egyptian exile, which began pleasantly and ended in bitter slavery.

(From the Chassidic Haggadah)

18Four Questions By Sara Weisz

There are four questions that we ask on Pesach. The first is about matzah and the second is about marror. These two remind us that we were slaves in Egypt. The next two are about freedom. We talk about dipping our food and reclining like kings. So which one is it? Are we remembering that we are slaves or that we are free? The answer is both. While we are grateful that we are free, we still remember that we were once slaves.

“Mah Nishtanah” By Eliana Saibel

In magid, the youngest child at the table who is able to read says Mah Nishtana. The question we have all had for a long time is, why the youngest? The reason is that the older siblings, cousins, parents, and grandparents are supposed to be teaching the children the differences between this meal and all of the other meals. This will also prevent the children from asking random questions about the parts of the seder. This part wasn’t necessary in the time of the second Beit Hamikdash because all of the Jews were in one group together. In this time, each group of Jews has different questions because they are all separated. The oldest parts of the Haggadah are where people have the same questions but people have different questions when it comes to things like spelling or punctuation. Here we learn how important it is to educate our children and to set them on a good path for a good Jewish life.

(From the The Scholars’ Haggadah)

30 מַ ה נִשְתַ נָה19 הַ ּלַיְלָה הַזֶׁה מִ כָל הַ ּלֵילוֹת? שֶׁבְ כָלהַ ּלֵילוֹתָאנּו אוֹכְלִין חָמֵץ ּומַּצָה,הַ ּלַיְלָה הַזֶׁה - כֻּלוֹ מַּצָ ה!שֶׁבְ כָלהַ ּלֵילוֹת ָאנּו אוֹכְלִין שְ ָאר

Four Questions By Huvi Hirschey and Callie Poleyeff

The main goal of the Seder is to have many discussions about Yetziat Mitzrayim. In many homes, the youngest child usually sings Mah Nishtana. Even when there are no little kids home, the questions still must be asked. Rambam says that the person who is leading the Seder recites the four questions after the little kids do it. Often, we forget to answer the questions. Why is it important to ask these questions? The mitzvah tonight is to tell the story to another person. We ask the questions to be able to discuss the answers. The answers tell the story of Yetziat Mitzrayim, which is a mitzvah to discuss. The order of the questions, dipping, matzah, bitter herbs, and reclining is also the order of the night. Dipping, which is Karpas, is followed by eating of the Matzah, which is followed by bitter herbs. The question about reclining comes last, since it was added long after the first three questions were made.

(From http://www.aish.com/h/pes/f/g/48957301.html and http://www.chabad.org/holidays/passover/pesach_cdo/aid/1486798/jewish/The-Four-Questions- Explained.htm)

Maggid and the Mah Nishtanah By Coby Brand

A large portion of the Haggadah is Maggid. Maggid is full of stories from the times of Bnei Yisrael in Egypt and it is an obligation to tell these stories on the night of the Seder. One of the main things that we say during Maggid is the Mah Nishtanah which is the point in Maggid when the youngest child asks four questions. The point of the Mah Nishtanah is to keep the children interested in the Haggadah. The children ask four questions about why we do things different on this night other than all other nights and it keeps them interested for the rest of the Seder.

19 Freedom to Ask By Batya Zalmanov

Why do we ask the Four Questions at the Seder? There is a famous answer that the questions include the children. But why is it specifically on Pesach and not on other holidays? On Pesach we celebrate our freedom from slavery. A slave has no independence and can’t share his or her own opinions on anything. But when we are free we are given the ability to ask and to question. When we ask the Four Questions we are showing that we are free which is what Pesach is all about.

(From Chabad.org)

31 יְרָ קוֹת, - הַ ּלַיְלָההַזֶׁה מָ רוֹר! שֶׁבְ כָלהַ ּלֵילוֹתאֵ ין ָאנּו מַטְבִ ילִין אֲפִ ילּו פַעַם אֶׁחָ ת, - הַ ּלַיְלָה הַזֶׁה שְתֵ י פְעָמִ ים20! שֶׁבְ כָלהַ ּלֵילוֹתָאנּו אוֹכְלִין בֵ ין יוֹשְ בִ ין ּובֵ ין מְ סֻבִ ין, - הַ ּלַיְלָה הַזֶׁהכֻּלָנּו מְ סֻבִ ין! מֵּ נִּיחַ אֶתהַקְ עָרָ העַ ל הַשֻׁ לְחָן. הַמַ צוֹת תִּהְ יֶינָה מְ ת גֻׁלוֹבִּׁשְ עַ ת אֲמִּ ירַת הַהַ גָדָ ה. עֲבָדִ יםהָ יִינּו לְפַרְ עֹה בְמִצְרָ יִם, וַיוֹצִיאֵ נּו ה’ אֱֹלקֵ ינּו מִשָ ם בְ יָד חֲזָקָ ה ּובִזְרוֹעַ נְטּויָה.וְאִ ּלּו ֹלאהוֹצִיא הַקָ דוֹשבָ רּוְך הּוא אֶׁת אֲ בוֹתֵ ינּו מִמִצְרָ יִם, הֲרֵ י ָאנּו ּובָ נֵינּו ּובְ נֵי בָ נֵינּו מְ שֻעְבָדִ ים הָ יִינּו לְפַרְ עֹה21

20 Why Twice? By Beth Glantz

Rav asks how a child can ask in the “Four Questions” why we dip twice if they have only seen the karpas being dipped in salt water and not yet seen the maror. He answers that the child must have seen the maror and charoset on the seder plate and asked about what they are. His parent responds to him that the maror is dipped into the charoset. This teaches us that the focus of the seder is not just about what we are doing, but it extends to a bigger picture. This brings us to the point of the parent discussing the Exodus from Mitzrayim with his child and fulfilling this commandment from the Torah. We can learn for our own lives to keep children intrigued with our traditions so that they can be passed down from generation to generation.

(From the Rav Shlomo Zalman Haggadah)

21 Would We Really Still Be Slaves? By Aliza Teitelbaum

How can we say with such certainty that if not for God's deliverance we would still be slaves to Pharaoh today? So much happens in the world that it is hard to imagine that we wouldn’t have been taken out by now? The answer to this question may be found if we examine the wording of this statement with greater study. The paragraph begins by saying “We were slaves to Pharaoh in Egypt...” but at this point the Haggadah changes the wording to “We would have remained enslaved to Pharaoh in Egypt.” Rabbi explains that although we most probably would not have remained enslaved physically to Pharaoh after so many centuries we would nevertheless still have been slaves spiritually to the Egyptian culture and the 49 levels of impurity there. Therefore, we would not have experienced receiving the Torah at Mount Sinai, which is the key to the Jewish religion.

(From the Haggadah of the Roshei Yeshiva, Vol.1)

32 בְמִצְרָ יִם.וַאֲפִ ילּו כֻּלָנּו חֲכָמִ ים22, כֻּלָנּו נְבוֹנִים, כֻלָנּו זְקֵ נִים, כֻלָנּו יוֹדְ עִ ים אֶׁת הַ תוֹרָה, מִצְ וָהעָלֵינּו לְסַ פֵר בִיצִ יַאת מִצְרַ יִם23. וְכָל הַמַרְ בֶׁה לְסַפֵר בִיצִיַאת מִצְ רַ יִם יהֲרֵ זֶׁה מְ שֻבָ ח.

22 Every Person Can Know the Torah By Gabe Nelson

וַאֲפִׁילוּ כֻּלָּנוּחֲכָּמִׁים כֻּלָּנוּ “ the Haggadah states ,עֲבָּדִׁים הָּיִׁינוּ when we say מגיד At the start of This means that even if we are .”נְבֹונִׁיםכֻּלָּנוּ זְקֵנִׁים כֻּלָּנוּ יֹודְעִׁיםאֶת ההַּתֹורָּ מִׁצְוָּה עָּלֵינוּ לְסַפֵרבִׁיצִׁיַאת מִׁצְרָּ יִׁם people of wisdom, understanding, experience, or already know the Torah, we are still required to tell the story of Egypt on Pesach. But how does this make sense? Doesn't the Torah teach us which means that not many will be wise. So if there are so many foolish ” ֵֹֽלא־ ַר ִֵׁ֥בים יֶ ְח ָּ כּמוּ“ that people in the world, how can we say, “even if we know the whole torah?” Why would it say this if we obviously are not smart enough? Reb answered this based on principles that we apply in Beit-Din. He said that a person does not understand something just because they are not wise enough, but rather because he did not love it enough to push and push to try to understand it. Similarly, if a person loves something so much, they will be willing to do anything for it. So here we see that it is in fact possible to understand the whole Torah, but only in you love it so much and push to try to find the whole meaning of it. Reb Moshe adds on to is because even if we are ’כֻּלָּנוּ חֲכָּמִׁים‘ this by saying that the reason it states in the Haggadah wise, we have to continue to stay engaged in Torah to meet our full potential. Reb Moshe teaches another thing about Torah learning from here. We all know that there is an obligation to learn Torah, but Reb Moshe proves that it is also an obligation to learn all of which means that ַַ֡רק ִׁה ַָּ֣ש ֶמר ְל ָ֩ך וּ ְש ֹ֨מ ֹר נַ ְפ ְש ָ֜ך ְמ ֹ֗א ֹד ֶפן־ ִּׁת ְש ֹ֨ ַכּח ֶאת־ ַה ְד ָּב ִָׁ֜רים the Torah. In Devarim it states וּ ֶפן־יָּ ֙סוּר ֙וּ ִׁמ ְל ַָּ֣ב ְב ִ֔ך ָ֖כּ ֹל יְ ֵַ֣מי “ you should not forget what you learned. The pasuk continues and states This means that you should never remove the Torah from your heart. We see from this ”. ַח ֶי יך that you have to learn Torah until you die because if you stop then you will forget it. Now we see that if there was not an obligation to learn the whole Torah, but you were just forbidden to forget it, it would not make any sense. Why would you then have to learn until you die like we just said you had to, if you did not have to learn all of it? You would then just be reviewing the same things over and over again instead of learning new ones. So we see from here that you have to learn the whole entire Torah and therefore continue learning until you die to not forget it.

(From the Reb Moshe Haggadah)

Even Wise Men By Lior Duerr

We say in the Haggadah that everyone has an obligation to tell about the Exodus from Egypt. Rabbi Moshe Feinstein asks, “We understand why regular people must repeat the story of Exodus. Why do the people full of knowledge need to repeat the story of Exodus if they know it already?” He answers that the story of the Exodus needs a very high level of understanding, since the miracles of Exodus came from a source beyond the intelligence of any human. The

33 מַ עֲשֶׁה בְרַבִי אֱלִיעֶׁזֶׁרוְרַ בִ ייְהוֹשֻעַ וְרַבִיאֶׁ לְעָזָר בֶׁ ן עֲזַרְ יָה וְרַ בְ י עֲקִ יבָ א וְרַבִ יטַרְ פוֹןשֶׁהָ יּו מְ סֻבִין בִבְ נֵי בְרַ ק24, וְהָיּו מְסַפְרִ ים בִיצִיַאת מִצְרַ יִם

deeper one looks into the details of the Exodus, the more he appreciates Hashem’s infinite wisdom.

(From the Haggadah of the Roshei Yeshiva)

23 Yitziyat Mitzrayim By Avigayil Simon

What does Yitziyat Mitzrayim mean? Rav Gedalyah Schorr says that Yitziat Mitzraim literally means that we left Mitzrayim; not Mitzrayim left us. Mitzrayim stayed where it was; the Jews were the ones to leave Mitzrayim. Physically, we left Mitzrayim. Spiritually, Mitzrayim left us. At that time, we were true Bnei Chorin and were ready to accept the Torah and do the mitzvot. That is what Yitziat Mitzrayim is all about. When we celebrate Yitziat Mitzrayim, we are celebrating physically and spiritually leaving Mitzrayim. Another explanation is that the root word of Mitzrayim is metzarim, which means boundaries. We are told that no slave ever escaped, because even if a slave escaped from the physical boundaries the Mitzrim set for them, he was still mentally trapped in Mitzrayim forever. When we celebrate Yitziat Mitzrayim, we are not only celebrating our freedom from the boundaries that the Mitzrim set for us, but also the spiritual boundaries they trapped us in. Today we would not be physical slaves, but we .הרי אנו ובנינו….משעבדים This is the meaning of would still have been slaves in a different way; we would be forever entangled with the wickedness of Mitzrayim. A lesson we can learn from this is that when you find that you are a slave to something, you should take a moment to try to find a way to act differently. Then you can act less like a slave, so that you won’t be a slave mentally.

(From Touched By the Seder)

24 Why Four Rabbi’s? By Dylan Klein

We are currently just going through the seder and all of a sudden we start reading about four rabbis? Backstory: Four rabbi’s are at a seder in B’nei Berak. They are busy discussing the Pesach story until a student comes to the house and says “Rabbi, it is time to say the morning prayer.” This teaches us that even if we already know the whole Pesach story we should still go through it and discuss the miracles that happened. We could have gone through the Pesach story a million times yet we still have to go through it.

(From the Torah Tavlin Haggadah)

34 כָל אוֹתוֹ הַ ּלַיְלָה עַד שֶׁ בָ אּותַ לְמִ ידֵ יהֶׁם וְ ָאמְ רּו לָהֶׁ ם: רַ בוֹתֵ ינּו, הִ גִיעַ זְמַןקְרִ יַאת עשְמַ שֶׁל שַ חֲרִ ית25. ָאמַ ר רַ בִיאֶׁ לְעָזָר ןבֶׁ עֲזַרְ יָה: יהֲרֵ אֲנִי כְבֶׁ ן שִ בְעִ ים שָ נָה26, וְ ֹלא זָכִ יתִ י שֶׁתֵ ָאמֵ ריְצִ יַאת מִצְרַ יִם בַ ּלֵילוֹת27 עַד שֶׁדְרָשָ ּה בֶׁ ןזוֹמָ א: שֶׁ נֶׁאֱמַ ר,

25 It’s Time for Shema By Avrumi Arnow

Why did the students say it was time for Shema and not ? The Gemara says you can't interrupt someone who is learning Torah in order to say prayers, but you can interrupt them for Shema. This rule only applies to people whose job is only to study Torah. Therefore, the students only interrupted them for Shema and not Shacharit.

(From the Gedolei Yisroel Haggadah)

26 7 Days; 70 Years By Elisheva Maltz

In the Torah it says that a regular person's life is seven decades and there are seven days of Pesach. Is there a connection between the two? The first days of Pesach symbolize the early years of a person's life, which should be dedicated to learning Torah. The next four days of Pesach are Chol Hamoed where we are able to work but not eat chametz. Those days symbolize the teen and early adult years of a person's life where they work to make a living but still have Torah in their lives. After six days of Pesach, we celebrate Acharon Shel Pesach with complete holiness like the end of a person's life when they are retired and can dedicate the last days of their life only focusing on mitzvot. (From the Torah Tavlin Haggadah)

27 We Need to Remember By Zachary Younger

Precious things like gold, silver, and diamonds cost a lot but have no sentimental value and aren’t essential to living. The rarer the item, the less we need it. Wine is an expensive drink, yet if someone would be asked to part with it, they would. On the other hand, bread and water are cheap. Yet, when someone needs them he will part with all of his possessions. We see that whatever we need, Hashem has made easily accessible to us. If Hashem created the world like this, it’s possible to think that He created the Torah the same way. When the Torah says we have to remember our leaving of Egypt two times a day, we should conclude that this is necessary for man, like breathing air or eating bread. One cannot live without his spirituality. It’s the foundation of our belief, that Hashem conducts His world, rules over it, punishes the wicked and brings joy and happiness to the good. One who does not remember our leaving of Egypt is lacking in a fundamental belief and is as if he has no bread or water. (From the Pesach Haggadah)

35 לְמַ עַן תִ זְ כֹר אֶׁ תיוֹם צֵ אתְָך ץמֵאֶׁרֶׁ מִצְרַ יִם כֹל יְמֵי חַ יֶׁיָך28, יְמֵי חַ יֶׁיָך - הַ יָמִ ים, כָליְמֵ יחַ יֶׁיָך - הַ ּלֵילוֹת.וַחֲכָמִ יםאוֹמְרִ ים: יְמֵי חַ יֶׁיָך - הָ עוֹלָם הַזֶׁה,כֹל יְמֵי חַ יֶׁיָך - לְהָבִ יא לִימוֹת הַמָשִ יחַ . בָרּוְךהַמָ קוֹם, בָרּוְך הּוא. בָ רּוְךשֶׁ נָתַ ןתוֹרָ הלְעַמוֹ יִשְרָאֵ ל, בָ רּוְך הּוא. כְ נֶׁגֶׁד ַארְ בָעָה בָנִים29 דִ הבְרָ תוֹרָ ה. אֶׁחָד חָ כָם30, דוְאֶׁחָ רָשָ ע, וְאֶׁחָ ד תָ ם31, דוְאֶׁחָ שֶׁאֵ ינוֹ יוֹדֵ עַ לִשְ אוֹ ל.

28 Remembering Hashem’s Miraculous Miracle By Liav Merlin

One of the common questions most people have is why are we commanded to remember each and every day of our lives? Why isn’t one night of the year יציאת מיצרים the story of acceptable to remember this miraculous story? A religious man approached the of Alexander to say goodbye before a long trip. The Rabbi requested of him to purchase a pipe from where he traveled to. The man promised his Rabbi to buy him this item, and went on his expedition. Due to the busy and hectic activities on his long journey, the man forgot to obtain the pipe. He quickly went to the finest shop and bought the most upscale pipe. The man later returned to the Rabbi and handed him the expensive item. The Rabbi realized that this vessel’s condition was too nice and said, “this is not a pipe from the foreign country that you came from.” The man got nervous and defended himself out of instinct. The Rabbi stated that he was not looking for a present, rather that he wanted the religious man to remember that the Rabbi was looking out for him, even in a distant land. This teaches us that Hashem is always protecting and watching over us everyplace we are. Hashem does not desire our gratitude but wants us to remember that he is always there for us. Therefore, Hashem wants us to remember this miracle every day of our lives so we will think of Hashem ,יציאת מיצרים every day. This connects to the seder, because the main discussion we talk about is and every other day of our lives we also should discuss this important topic.

(From the Pesach Seder Haggadah)

29 The Four Children vs. The One We Don’t Know By Rachel Rutner

We know the four sons: the wicked one, the wise one,the simple one and the one who doesn't know how to ask. However, there is also a fifth son whom we don’t hear about because he isn’t at the seder. The fifth child doesn't know that he isn’t being included. Our job is try to find the fifth son and to try to include him in the seder so he will start to learn more about Judaism. We really hope that he will feel included and interested in the seder. The four sons all

36 have questions. The wicked one asked what does this service mean to you? The wise child asked what is the meaning of the laws which G-d commanded to you? The simple child asked what does this mean? When it comes to the one who does not know how to ask we just try to explain it to him. The fifth son doesn’t have a question that we know but we are trying to teach it to him. We are trying to show the fifth son that it is okay to come to the seder and have questions.

Four Sons; Four Questions By Carmela Warshaw and Sheva Rothstein

The four sons correspond to the four questions about how this night differs from others. We learn that King Solomon persuades us to teach our children in his own way, but what does this mean? This means that every child is different. Therefore the story must be explained differently for each child to understand. In the text, the four sons are named as, the wise one, the evil one, the simple one, and the one who does not know how to ask. The wise son is usually the oldest son, and he understands the Jewish life differently. This son asks “What are these laws, statutes, and ordinances?” he tries to understand every aspect of Judaism. Instead of being told the law, this son will question it. He strengthens his thoughts and he finds connections to get a deeper understanding of the concept he is learning. The evil son has excluded himself from the Jewish people; he has denied G-d. Could it be that the evil son has not only betrayed his brother, but his father as well? Every child, including us has to say to themselves “Am I with the Jews or not.

(From Aish.com)

30 We Should all be Like the Chacham By Marcus

Many people know the part of the Haggadah in Magid where it talks about the 4 types of children: the Wise one, the Evil one, the Simple one, and the child who doesn’t know how to ask. But how does this relate to children now? Rabbi S.R. Hirsch writes, “On the day marking the birth of our nation we are particularly concerned to safeguard our national continuity by passing our sacred legacy on to our children”. When we were slaves in Mitzraim, Pharaoh wanted to get rid of the Jewish tradition so he ordered all newborn sons to be drowned. That way, there would be less children to pass on the Jewish tradition to. The dedication to the education of the next generation is an answer to the schemes of Pharaoh when he tried to get rid of the Jews. The writes that in order to teach children the Torah and Mitzvot, we have to לַנַעַר, עַל-פִׁי חֲנְֹך teach it to them according to the child’s way. He quotes Mishlei (22:6) which says which means “Train a child in the way he should go”. Since we have to teach the Torah to דַרְ כֹּו our children in different ways, the Torah, in four different passages, tells us how to tell our children the story of Pesach. For the wise child, the Torah says that when the wise child asks what are the laws of Hashem, we should answer that Hashem brought us out of Mitzraim. So, it is not “what” the laws are, it is “who” gave the laws to us. This can apply to us today in many ways. While we all try to be Chachamim, as we can see from the passages from the Arba Banim, only one of the four children is a Chacham. Hashem

37 has a lot of promises for us if we obey Him. We will get good rewards, and he will redeem us from our . One of the core values of Judaism is fearing Hashem. He is all-powerful, and is in complete control of our lives. Fear here means that we should be afraid of what He can do, and respect Him because He is the reason we are here today. If we fear Hashem, we will prosper and have good. Hashem gives us everything; food, water, even life itself. The least we can do is to do what He wants us to do. A lot of Jews ask, “What do the mitzvot even mean?” and they have a right to ask that; a lot of the mitzvot are really hard to understand, and the reason why we still do them is because Hashem told us to. We have all of these assumptions about why we do them, but we really don’t know the reason why. The Chacham child also asked this question, and the response is that Hashem took us out of Mitzraim, so we have a lot more better things to thank Him for than asking why about His laws. Since the Chacham received this answer, that will probably be the answer he gives to his children when they ask that same question to him. This will continue to the next generation, and so on and so on. This is how every generation of Jews will think of Hashem’s laws, and then hopefully, everyone will accept it like everyone before him did. Then we can fear Hashem more because we aren’t busy asking questions about His laws, but just doing them because they are His laws. And if we fear Hashem more, we can all become Chachamim, just like the Chacham child in the Haggadah.

(From Mesorah Series Haggadah)

31 Teach the Simple Son By Jasmine Halpern

Out of the four sons, the average father would choose the wise son to share his seder experience with. Why is this? This is because it is more pleasurable to share your seder with an intelligent mind rather than a mind with little wisdom. Also, it will excite the father to be able to discuss various insights and thoughts during the seder with a son that will soak up the knowledge and contribute his own thoughts making the conversation more interesting and meaningful for both the son and father. If the father were to choose the “simple son” who didn’t know how to ask any questions the conversation would be less enjoyable for him. However, the bright sages from the Talmud see this differently. The sages teach that even though it may be more rewarding to share the story with the wise son, you should share the story in a simple way so the simple son can understand it along with the wise son. We learn this from the story of Rav Chiya, who was Rebbe’s leading student, and was taught seven very different approaches to the entire Torah. Rav Chiya, who is the co-author of the , is generally noticed as one of the most factual sources in the Talmud. Rav Chiya was also recognized for his various achievements in Jewish life. He gave a lot to charity and was focused on education. The Talmud states that Rav Chiya would plant flax and make nets out of linen by hand to trap deer. He would then kill the deer and separate the meat and give it to the people who needed it. After, when he was left with the hides of the deer, he would use it to write sections of Sifrei Torah. He would go around to Jewish communities and teach Torah and to children. Rav Chiya would encourage them to teach other students what they learned

38 חָ כָם32 המָ הּוא אוֹמֵר? מַה הָעֵדוֹת וְהַחֻקִ ים וְהַמִשְ פָטִ ים33 ראֲשֶׁ צִ ּוָה ה’ אֱֹלקֵ ינּו אֶׁתְ כֶׁם?וְ ַאף האַתָ ראֱמָ לוֹכְהִ לְכוֹת הַפֶׁסַח: אֵ ין מַפְטִ ירִ ין ַאחַר הַפֶׁסַח אֲפִ יקוֹמָ ן.

and then he would travel to other communities and start his process again. When Rebbe was sick on his deathbed and was instructing who his successors should be, Rav Chiya was neglected for the position of . When Rebbe was asked the reason for his decision, he replied that the reason is because Rav Chiya was very involved in his mitzvot and Rebbe didn't want to disrupt him. Even though Rav Chiya was by far the most fitting successor, Rebbe decided that Rav Chiya’s work with the unschooled youths from far away villages was a more important calling in life than to be his new successor. A lesson that we can learn is that in life when people have the choice to do something either in a more rewarding way or to do it in a way that will benefit more people, they should choose to do it the way that it will benefit it more people.

(From The Haggadah of the Roshei Yeshiva)

32 Free Choice and the Chance to Become a Leader By Jack Helprin

Can anyone be a tzaddik if they choose to? The simple answer would be yes and you have to hope that you will be. It is understood that there are four types of people: the wise, the wicked, the simple, and the one who can’t ask. The Sages teach us that you must hope that when your child is born, that he will become part of the wise group. In fact, Rav explains based on the that one is not allowed to have the milk from a non- Jewish nursemaid, as it is considered non-kosher. The reason for this is that the non-kosher milk will implant in you a feeling of impurity. Furthermore, we learn from the Vilna Gaon who learned from Rashba, that the source of this halacha is that when Moshe was taken by Pharaoh's daughter he refused to drink the milk from a non-Jewish women because he knew that his mouth would speak to Hashem and lead his nation. So, why is this halacha for everyone? We can take from this Midrash that anyone has the opportunity to be like Moshe Rabbeinu and be as holy as him, or as close as one can get. One can do this is by only doing good for Hashem and hoping that he and his children will become talmidei chachamim and follow the path of Hashem. To conclude, anyone can become a tzaddik as long as they follow the path of Hashem and don’t let the poor nature of those in the world rub off onto them and those around them.

(From The Haggadah of the Roshei Yeshiva, Volume 1)

33 Different Kinds of Mitzvot By Adam Commer

There are four different sons that the Haggadah discusses. The first of the four sons mentioned is the Chacham, the wise son. There is passuk in the Torah that describes the Chacham. The passuk tells us that there are three types of mitzvot including aidot ,chukim, and

39 רָשָ ע34 מָ ההּוא אוֹמֵר? מָה הָ העֲבֹדָ הַ זֹאת לָכֶׁם ?35 לָכֶׁם - וְ ֹלא לוֹ. ּולְפִ י שֶׁ הוֹצִ יא אֶׁת עַצְ מוֹ מִ ןהַכְ לָל כָפַרבְעִקָ ר. וְ ַאף אַתָה הַקְ הֵה אֶׁ ת mishpatim. The Ritva explains the difference between the mitzvot of aidot, chukim, and mishpatim Aidot are mitzvot which act as aidim (witnesses) testifying that Hashem did great things. An example is the mitzvah of eating matzah on the first night of Pesach. Chukim are laws that we don’t know the reason why we do them. On Pesach we eat the Korban Pesach and it has to be roasted and not cooked. This is a chok with no reason. Lastly, mishpatim are laws that we can usually understand the reason for them and that teach us to conduct ourselves properly. The Chacham wants to do all of these laws.

(From The Midrash says Haggadah)

Three Kinds of Laws By Hannah Weissman

The wise child divides the laws of the Torah into three categories. The edot (testimonies) are the laws which support the existence of the Jewish people. These laws unite our nation. The chukkim (statues) connect us to Hashem. We do not necessarily understand these laws, although Rav suggests that as time passes, we will understand them more and more. The reason why we observe the chukkim without understanding them is because they were commanded by Hashem who loves us and cares for us. The final categpry of laws are the mishpatim (judgements) which are the laws that every intelligent person can seemingly understand. They link us to society. These are the categories that the wise child mentions.

(From the Rabbi Riskin Haggadah)

34 The Wicked Son By Hailey Singer

Of all four sons, the wicked is the most relatable. We relate because at least once in our lives we have a visit from our yetzer hara, but as humans we learn to control it. The wicked son, who is much like the simple son, cannot control his yetzer hara and therefore has nasty answers to his father’s questions during the seder. The wicked son is like Pharaoh because he was also not able to control his yetzer hara, especially when Hashem hardened his heart. The Egyptians in general had an overpowering yetzer hara that clouded their yetzer tov and that is why their fate was worsened. The lesson that we learn from the wicked son is to always focus on the good in yourself and not the bad.

(From The Passover Haggadah)

40 שִ נָיו36 וֶׁאֱ מֹר לוֹ:בַעֲבּור זֶׁה עָשָ ה ה’ לִי בְצֵאתִי מִמִצְרָ יִם. לִי - וְ ֹלא לוֹ 37.אִ יּלּו הָ יָהשָם, ֹלא הָ יָה נִגְָאל.

35 Speak With Respect By Gaby Ilyayev

The Haggadah talks about the four sons. In their questions, both the wise son and the wicked son use the word “your”. Why is the wicked son treated differently than the wise son? When the wicked son asked his question he was being sarcastic and not respectful to his father.

(From the Artscroll Children’s Haggadah)

36 Believing in the Rasha By Ariel Hammerman

In the haggadah, we talk about four sons. The Rasha is one of those four sons who is always talked about as a terrible person. In the part in the haggadah when it mentions the Rasha the word Vehayah is found. The Gemara says that Vehayah signifies joy, but how could we have the word joy when we are talking about a terrible, bad person? There are a few interesting answers for this idea. First, a Rasha could do whatever they want on the night of the seder. They could do something to break Yom Tov; they could read or ignore the fact that it is Pesach at all. Instead, they are at the seder sitting down listening to all that happened to us in Egypt. He is being brave enough to come step up to join and talk about the seder. From the words Hakei et Shenav the Baal Haggadah learns that we are supposed to knock out the teeth of a Rasha but isn’t that so harsh!? I think that there is another meaning to these words. I think that when we knock out his teeth we are saying that we believe in him. He is here now so now we are setting high standards for him. We are trying to say that he is strong and can face any challenge - just like living without teeth. the ,רשע Next, according to the Belzer Rebbe, if you take a look at the letters of the word We see that on the .ש bad. But there is still the core of the word, the ,רע outer two letters are outside he is mean and bad, but on the inside he just is crying because he needs help. Also, there are three crooked lines coming out of the Shin that could could represent our three Avot that we came from. This could show that he is good on the inside; he just needs help showing it!! This is a great reason for joy and happiness!! This teaches us a valuable lesson. You should never judge people from what you see on the outside; there is always so much more to them than that. Everyone is special in their own way. Some people can show it and some people have trouble just like the Rasha. So, next time you see someone who seems different, remember that they are special just like you. Remember, never judge a book by its cover because everyone has potential and is special; you just have to dig in a little to find it sometimes.

(From Touched by the Seder)

41 תָ ם38 המָ הּוא אוֹמֵר? מַ ה זֹאת? וְ ָאמַרְתָאֵ לָיו: בְ חֹזֶׁק יָדהוֹצִ יָאנּו ה’ מִמִצְרָ יִם, מִ בֵ ית עֲבָדִ ים. וְשֶׁאֵ ינוֹ יוֹדֵ עַ לִשְ אוֹל - אַתְ פְתַ ח לוֹ 39, שֶׁ נֶׁאֱמַ ר: וְהִ גַדְתָ לְבִ נְָך בַ יוֹם הַ הּוא לֵאמֹר, בַ עֲבּור זֶׁה עָשָ ה ה’ לִי בְצֵ אתִי מִמִצְרָ יִם.

37 The Wicked Son By Leora Ginsberg

All the four children ask a question except the one who does not know how to ask. But what does the wicked son ask? The wicked son asks “what is the service to you?” He is referring to you (Bnei Yisrael) and not himself. He does this because he is excluding himself from Bnei Yisrael. The unity of Bnei Yisrael is the first principle of our religion. The wicked child denies this not by transgressing a specific commandment but by transforming the ¨us¨ to ¨you¨. Refusing to count himself as Klal Yisroel is what makes him deserving of our criticism. How are we to respond to the wicked child? The Haggadah suggests that we “set his teeth on edge¨. This means that we don't really answer the substance of his question, which in essence has already been answered in avadim hayinu. Instead we answer him in his own terms. ¨… because G-d took me out of the land of Egypt, me and not you.”

(From the Passover Haggadah by Rabbi Shlomo Riskin)

?תם What is 38 By Sean Felderman

lacks the ability to frame his questions תם A ?תם The Machzor Vitrey asked what is a clearly and intellectually. He speaks generally about his wonderment about everything. He is who חכם who doesn’t care about anything that regards to Judaism. He is unlike the רשע unlike the learns and asks many things regarding the Torah.

(From the Sephardic Heritage Haggadah)

39 Open For Him By Ruthie Isler

“As for the son who doesn’t know how to ask-you should begin a conversation with him.” It is known that the translation of Hebrew directly to English isn't always what it means. They often mix words up and when one reads it, it seems backwards. Such as up above, the line literally translates to: As for the son who does not know how to ask-you should open for him. Open? What does that mean? Why not use the more common word- “As for the son who does not know how to ask-you should say to him.” That seems like a perfectly good option. So why the word “open?” The answer can be found in a story.

42 יָכוֹלמֵ רֹאשחֹדֶׁ ש, תַ לְמּוד רלוֹמַ בַ יוֹם הַ הּוא, יאִ בַ יוֹם הַ הּוא יָכוֹל מִבְ עוֹד יוֹם, תַ לְמּוד לוֹמַ רבַ עֲבּור זֶׁה - בַ עֲבּורזֶׁה ֹלא יָאמַרְתִ אֶׁ לָא בְשָ עָה שֶׁ יֵש מַּצָ הּומָ רוֹרמֻ נָחִ ים לְפָנֶׁיָך. מִתְ חִ ּלָה יעוֹבְדֵ העֲבוֹדָ הזָרָ הָ יּו אֲ בוֹתֵ ינּו40, וְעַכְשָ יו קֵרְ בָנּו הַמָ קוֹם לַעֲבֹדָ תוֹ,שֶׁ נֶׁאֱמַ ר:וַיֹאמֶׁ ריְהוֹשֻעַ לאֶׁ כָל הָעָם, כֹה ָאמַ ר ה’ אֱֹלקֵ י

A teacher was tutoring a student in history, and one day the student seemed to be falling asleep. “Why are you sleeping? I’m spending my extra time with you, and you fall asleep? What chutzpah,” the teacher exclaimed, sighing. The student rubbed his eyes and yawned. “Mrs. Cohen, I’m not trying to sleep. I don’t understand,” the student tried to explain. “Then why are you sleeping?” Mrs. Cohen demanded. “You’re not teaching me. You’re just telling me facts. How does this apply to me? How will it affect people I know?” The student asked patiently. Mrs. Cohen stopped, pondering this notion. “I guess…..I guess I could try and answer some questions. But you never ask any,” Mrs. Cohen said, chewing on her lip. “I don’t know how. Will you teach me?” The student looked up hopefully at Mrs. Cohen. Mrs. Cohen nodded, her lips twitching into a smile. A teacher isn’t supposed to give one the answer but teach it to one, just as we shouldn’t carry the one who doesn’t know how to ask into the room of knowledge. We should open the door for him so he can learn himself. That way we’re teaching it to him, not just giving him the answer. This connects to the Haggadah because when one is sitting at their seder table and their guest seems lost, one should kindly teach them so they are not confused. Don’t tell them the answer and look away quickly. Open their mind to the question they can’t seem to ask.

(From the Malbim Haggadah)

40 Where We Came From By Isaac Gampel

Question: How come the Haggada starts at an earlier time with Avraham’s father, Terach? Answer: The reason why we start at this point in the story is because, we need to start at our lowest state in our history. The reason why we do this is because we want to thank Hashem for taking us out of a state of when we were bad and worshiped idols. It also shows us where we came from and how without the kindness of Hashem, we would still be at this low point today. If not for Hashem, we might not even be here today. But, two important Sages in our history by the name of Rav and Shmuel argue as to where the low point is. Rav argues that if Avraham had not been taken by Hashem into Israel, we would still be worshipping idols today and is there no greater punishment than that? Another Sage by the name of Shmuel, argues that our lowest point in history was when we were slaves in Egypt, so we begin with this to praise Hashem for taking us out of Egypt. The Haggada uses both opinions by following Rav’s view first by describing us being low spiritually. Then it quotes Shmuel starting with “Go learn” as an introduction to slavery. (From the Medrash Says Haggadah)

43 יִשְרָאֵ ל: בְ עֵבֶׁר הַ נָהָ ריָשְ בּואֲ בוֹתֵ יכֶׁם מֵ עוֹלָם, חתֶׁרַ יאֲבִ ַאבְרָ הָ ם וַאֲבִ ינָחוֹר, וַיַעַבְדּואֱֹלהִ ים אֲחֵרִ ים.וָאֶׁקַח אֶׁ ת אֲבִ יכֶׁם תאֶׁ ַאבְרָ הָ ם מֵעֵבֶׁר הַ נָהָ ר וָאוֹלְֵך אוֹתוֹ בְ כָל אֶׁרֶׁ ץכְ נָעַן, וַָארְ בֶׁה תאֶׁ זַרְ עוֹוָאֶׁתֵ ן לוֹ אֶׁת יִצְחָ ק, ןוָאֶׁתֵ לְיִצְחָק אֶׁ ת יַעֲקֹב וְאֶׁ תעֵשָ ו. ןוָאֶׁתֵ לְעֵשָו אֶׁת הַ ר שֵ עִיר תלָרֶׁשֶׁ אֹתוֹ, וְ יַעֲקֹבּובָ נָיו יָרְ דּו מִצְרָ יִם. בָרּוְך שוֹמֵר הַבְטָחָ תוֹלְיִשְרָאֵ ל, בָ רּוְך הּוא. שֶׁהַקָ דוֹש בָ רּוְך הּוא חִשַ ב אֶׁת הַקֵ ץ, לַעֲשוֹתכְמַה שֶָׁאמַ ר לְַאבְרָ הָ םָאבִ ינּו בִבְרִ ית בֵ ין הַבְתָרִ ים, שֶׁ נֶׁאֱמַ ר: וַיֹאמֶׁ ר לְַאבְרָ ם, יָדֹע עתֵדַ יכִ גֵר יִהְ יֶׁהזַרְ עֲָךבְאֶׁרֶׁ ץֹלא לָהֶׁ ם, וַעֲבָ דּום וְעִ נּו םאֹתָ ַארְ בַ ע מֵ אוֹת שָ נָה41.וְ גַםאֶׁת הַ גוֹי ראֲשֶׁ יַעֲבֹדּו דָ ן ָאנֹכִ י42 יוְַאחֲרֵ כֵן יֵצְאּו בִרְ כֻש גָדוֹל43.

41 Why We Were Slaves in Egypt By Klilah Mischel

Hashem told Avram, “your offspring will live in a land not their own and they will enslave them and afflict them for 400 years.” Rabbi Yaakov Kamenetsky asks, that if to be unsettled was enough to fulfill this requirement, why couldn’t they spend these 400 hundred years in Eretz Canaan or at least with peaceful years in Egypt? The answer is that being in exile actually depends on who is experiencing it. Avram's descendants felt the burden of being aliens less and less until they started to feel comfortable in Eretz Canaan. So, Hashem moved them to Egypt. That worked for a while until Yaakov’s sons died. Then it came to the point that in order to feel different than everyone else, Hashem needed to make them slaves.

(From the Haggadah of the Roshei Yeshiva)

42 Pharaoh’s Hardened Heart By Zev Nusbaum

Some people ask, “Why did Hashem harden Pharaoh’s heart? Did he really only do it just so He could judge Egypt more severely with ten plagues?” First off, Pharaoh was not innocent; he was a brutal dictator who abused the Jews just because they were citizens. Maybe Pharaoh hardened his own heart because he didn’t want the Jews to leave. Pharaoh saw that there was relief so he wouldn’t let them go. Hashem gave Pharaoh so many warnings of the final judgement to come. Pharaoh chose to bring more punishments on him and his nation by hardening his heart against Hashem’s commands. It’s possible that because Pharaoh hardened his heart, Hashem hardened his heart even further. From a human perspective, it seems wrong for G-d to harden a person and then punish

44 מְ כַסֶה אֶתהַמַ צוֹת ּומַ גְבִּ יהַ אֶ ת הַ כוֹס. וְהִיאשֶׁ עָמְדָ ה לַאֲ בוֹתֵ ינּווְ לָנּו! שֶׁ ֹּלא אֶׁחָדבִ לְבָד דעָמַ עָלֵינּו לְכַּלוֹתֵ נּו, אֶּׁלָא שֶׁבְ כָל דוֹר וָדוֹר עוֹמְדִ ים עָלֵינּולְכַּלוֹתֵ נּו,וְהַקָ דוֹש בָ רּוְך הּוא מַּצִ ילֵנּו מִ יָדָ ם. יַנִּיחַ הַ כוֹס מִּ יָדוֹ וִּיגַלֶ ה אֶת הַמַ צוֹת.

the person He has hardened. But really, one can sin against Hashem, and the penalty should be death. Therefore, Hashem’s punishments to us are not unjust; it is actually merciful in comparison to what the person deserves. (From https://www.gotquestions.org/God-harden-Pharaoh-heart.html)

Why Were the Egyptians Punished? By Jacob Dickman

In the story of the ten makot we know that eventually Pharaoh’s heart is hardened by Hashem. The Jews were going to be set free and Hashem lets people have free will so why would He do something like this to Pharaoh? One of the answers is that He wanted to show His full power to the Egyptians by making the enslavement last longer so He could make more makot. Another reason is that Hashem said the Jews would be enslaved in Egypt for four hundred years so He had to extend the time that they were in Egypt. But if Hashem was the one who said the Jews would have to be in Egypt then there is another question. Why were the Egyptians punished for Hashem’s decree? Rambam says that each individual Egyptian had free will to choose to treat the Jews very harshly so Hashem was able to punish them for how harshly they were harming the Jews.

(From The Gedolei Yisroel Haggadah)

43 The Real Reward By Liam Djebali

The Chizkuni comments that Hashem promised Avraham that his children will leave Mitzrayim with a “huge fortune” for working all those years without being paid. Hashem had in mind the greatest fortune which was receiving the Torah and developing trust in Hashem. Bnei Yisrael at the time were like little children who would not appreciate the Torah at the time of their departure from Mitzrayim so Hashem gave them gold and silver also which is something that they could appreciate now.

(From The Medrash Says Haggadah)

45 צֵא ּולְמַדמַ ה בִקֵ ש לָבָןהָאֲרַמִ ילַעֲשוֹת לְיַעֲקֹבָאבִ ינּו. שֶׁ פַרְ עֹה ֹלא גָזַר אֶּׁלָא עַלהַזְ כָרִ יםוְ לָבָ ןבִקֵ שלַעֲקוֹר אֶׁת הַ כֹל, שֶׁ נֶׁאֱמַר: אֲרַמִ י אֹבֵ ד ָאבִ י, וַיֵרֶׁד מִצְרַ יְמָ ה וַיָגָר שָ ם בִמְתֵ י מְ עָ ט, יוַיְהִ םשָ לְגוֹי גָדוֹל, עָצּום וָרָ ב. וַיֵרֶׁד מִצְרַ יְמָ ה - ָאנּוס44 עַל פִי הַדִ בּור. וַיָגָר שָ ם - מְלַמֵ דשֶׁ ֹלא יָרַ ד יַעֲקֹבָאבִ ינּו לְהִשְתַקֵ עַ בְמִצְרַ יִםאֶׁ ּלָא לָגּור שָם, שֶׁ נֶׁאֱמַ ר: וַיֹאמְ רּו אֶׁ ל פַרְ עֹה,לָגּור בָ ָארֶׁ ץ בָ אנּו, כִ י אֵ ין מִרְעֶׁה לַּצֹאן אֲשֶׁ ר לַעֲבָדֶׁ יָך, כִ י דכָבֵ הָרָ עָב ץבְאֶׁרֶׁ כְ נָעַן. הוְעַתָ יֵשְ בּו נָא עֲבָדֶׁ יָך ץבְאֶׁרֶׁ גֹשֶׁ ן45.

44 Forced? By Gabe Halpern

The haggadah says that Yaakov was forced to go to Mitzrayim but it doesn't really look like he was forced. The says that G-d triggered events that would eventually make Yaakov go to Mitzrayim. G-d could have placed iron chains on Yaakov and dragged him down to Mitzrayim, but since he loved our forefathers, G-d didn’t force him down to Mitzrayim physically. Some of the events that occurred were Yosef being sold by his brothers, Yosef becoming ruler of Mitzrayim, and famine striking the land which made Yaakov's sons go down to Mitzrayim because there was food there. Hashem “forced” Yaakov down to Mitzrayim by orchestrating events that would cause him to go to Mitzrayim. Hashen did this because He loved him so much.

(From The Medrash Says Haggadah)

45 Why Not Settle In Mitzrayim? By Zachary Jacobs

Why was Yaakov so hesitant from settling in Mitzrayim? Why did he want to keep his family in Goshen? The Jews gave the baby boys a bris, on the 8th day of the baby’s life, as Hashem told them to. The Egyptians on the other hand were completely impure. The homes of the Egyptians were filled with many idols that they worshiped and they also considered some animals holy. The Zera Gad explains that Yaakov was terrified that the Egyptian culture might influence his family. He told his family many times that they are different from the Egyptian culture. Now you understand why Yaakov was so against settling in Mitzrayim.

(From The Medrash Says Hagadah)

46 בִמְתֵ י מְ עָט - כְמַה שֶׁ נֶׁאֱמַ ר:בְשִ בְעִ יםנֶׁפֶׁש יָרְ דּו אֲ בוֹתֶׁ יָך מִצְרָ יְמָ ה46, וְעַתָה שָמְ ָך ה’ אֱ ֹלהֶׁיָך כְ כוֹכְבֵי הַשָמַ יִם לָרֹב. וַיְהִ י שָ ם לְגוֹי - מְ לַמֵ דשֶׁהָ יּו יִשְרָאֵל מְ צֻיָנִים שָ ם. גָדוֹל, עָצּום - כְמה שֶׁ נֶׁאֱמַ ר:ּובְ נֵי יִשְרָאֵל פָרּווַיִשְרְ צּו וַיִרְ בּו וַיַעַצְ מּו בִמְ אֹדמְ אֹד,וַתִ מָ לֵא הָ ָארֶׁ ץ אֹתָ ם. וָרָ ב - כְמַ ה שֶׁ נֶׁאֱמַ ר:רְ הבָבָ כְצֶׁמַ ח ההַשָדֶׁ נְתַתִ יְך47, וַתִרְ בִ י וַתִ גְדְ לִי וַתָ בֹאִ יבַ עֲדִ יעֲדָ יִים, שָדַ יִם נָכֹנּוּושְ עָרְֵך ,צִמֵחַ וְאַתְ עֵרֹם וְעֶׁרְ יָה. וָאֶׁ עֱבֹר עָלַיְִך וָאֶׁרְ אְֵך מִתְ בוֹסֶׁסֶׁתבְדָמָ יְִך, רוָאֹמַ לְָך בְדָמַ יְִך חֲיִי, וָאֹמַ ר לְָך בְדָמַ יְִך חֲיִי.

46 “With Seventy Souls Did Your Fathers Go Down to Mitzrayim” By Jacob Schnipper

In parshat the Torah tells us that sixty-nine people went down to Mitzrayim. Now, the Torah says that there were seventy people that came to Mitzrayim. How do we explain this difference? Rashi answers that the seventieth person was Yocheved, Levi’s daughter, who was born just as Yaakov’s family entered Mitzrayim. Another explanation from the Midrash is that the seventieth being was Hashem who was protecting the Jews while they travelled.

(From the Midrash Says Haggadah)

47 Growing Like Grass By Evan Kops

רבבה כּצמח which means they became many. The passuk says ורב In the haggadah it says I Hashem made all of you as many as the grass of the field.” The Ritva points out“ -השׂדה נתתיך that Pharaoh hated the Jews and tried to stop them many times from multiplying. The Jewish families continued to grow and grow like grass. Why “grass”? Just as grass grows really fast, Jewish children were like grass but in different ways. The Jewish children grew and developed all by themselves, with no parents, just like grass grows even though no one tends it.

(From The Medrash Says Haggadah)

47 וַיָרֵ עּו אֹתָנּו הַמִצְרִ ים48 וַיְעַנּונּו, וַיִתְ נּו עָלֵינּו עֲבֹדָ ה קָשָ ה. וַיָרֵ עּו אֹתָנּו הַמִצְרִ ים - כְמָ השֶׁ נֶׁאֱמַ ר: הָבָהנִתְ חַכְמָ הלוֹ פֶׁן יִרְ בֶׁ ה, וְהָ יָה יכִ תִקְרֶׁ אנָה מִ לְחָ מָה וְ ףנוֹסַ גַם הּוא עַלשנְאֵינּו וְ םנִלְחַ בָ נּו, וְעָלָהמִ ן הָ ָארֶׁ ץ. וַיְעַנּונּו - כְמָהשֶׁ נֶׁאֱמַ ר: וַיָשִ ימּו עָלָיו שָרֵי מִסִ ים לְמַ עַן עַנֹתוֹ בְסִבְֹלתָ ם.וַיִבֶׁ ן עָרֵימִסְ כְ נוֹתלְפַרְ עֹה. אֶׁת פִ תֹם וְאֶׁ ת רַ עַמְסֵ ס. וַיִתְ נּו עָ לֵינּו עֲבֹדָה קָשָ ה - כְמָ השֶׁ נֶׁאֱמַ ר: וַיַעֲבִדּו מִצְרַ יִם אֶׁ ת בְ נֵי יִשְרָאֵ לבְפָרֶׁ ְך49.

48 The Tortured Split By Gila Klibanoff

Throughout the haggadah, there are many mentions of how the Egyptians enslaved the It is a known fact that throughout their enslavement, the Jews were tortured by the .מצרים Jews in Egyptians. But in what ways were they actually tortured (besides for being forced to build things meaning the ”וירעו אותנו המצרים”,in very bad conditions with whips)? The haggadah says Egyptians did evil to us. The literal meaning to this would be that they tortured us. However, there is another possible meaning to this. That meaning is that not only did they do evil to us but they also made some of the good Jews into bad people. They turned all of the Jews against each other. Slaves were rude to other slaves as a result of all of their aggravation from being slaves. Also, the Egyptians made some of the Jews become the enforcers of what Pharaoh wanted. Part of their jobs were to literally “whip” the Jews into shape. This torture not only traumatized the but it also lead to similar things happening later in time. One example would be ,מצרים Jews in the Holocaust when Jews were forced to be police and to be cruel to their own people. Whatever case it was, it is clear that things can be very bad when you separate the Jews. Earlier this year, we learned in sefer Devarim that if the Jews sinned, they would get many punishments. One of these punishments was that Hashem would scatter the Jews all over the world. This has proven to be bad for the Jews. When the Jews are not together, they are powerless. Even if they are together physically but not spiritually, or emotionally, they are still powerless. But when all Jews are united they are as strong as ever. And today, we as Jews should always stick together and never let any type of torture tear us apart.

(From The Pesach Haggadah by Rabbi )

48 וַנִצְ עַק אֶׁ ל ה’ אֱֹלקֵ י אֲ בֹתֵ ינּו, וַיִשְמַ ע ה’ אֶׁ ת קֹלֵנּו, וַיַרְ א תאֶׁ עָנְיֵנּו תוְאֶׁ עֲמָ לֵנּו תוְאֶׁ לַחֲצֵ נּו. וַנִצְ עַק50 אֶׁ ל ה’ אֱֹלקֵ י אֲ בֹתֵ ינּו - כְמָהשֶׁ נֶׁאֱמַ ר: וַיְהִ י בַ יָמִ ים הָרַ בִ ים הָהֵם וַיָמָ תמֶׁ לְֶׁך מִצְרַ יִם,וַיֵָאנְחּו בְ נֵי יִשְרָאֵל ןמִ הָ העֲבוֹדָ וַיִזְעָקּו, וַתַ עַל שַוְעָתָם לאֶׁ הָאֱ ֹלקִ ים מִן הָ עֲבֹדָ ה.

49 Smooth Talkers By Ben Matthew

with cruelty and harshness. According to the ,בפרך The Egyptians enslaved Bnei Yisrael with smooth language. At first, the - ּבפה רך -Midrash, this word a shortened form of two words Egyptians spoke politely to the Jews in order to trick them into the becoming slaves. Later, they cursed them, shouting at them with foul language. Once the Jews became Pharaoh’s slaves, the Egyptians also abused them. They considered the Jews “their property” and used them for whatever work they wanted done. After a hard day’s work of laying bricks for Pharaoh, the poor, exhausted Jew would leave the construction site, only to be dragged to the home of an Egyptian. “Weed my garden” the Egyptian would command him. Or, “Go to the well and fetch water for me” or, “Dig a pit for me.” He didn't care at all if the the Jew collapsed from the strain. Therefore, all the Egyptians deserved to be punished with the ten makkot which Hashem brought on Mitzrayim. (From the Medrash Says Haggadah)

Karpas/Parech By Rebecca Commer

During the Seder, we eat a vegetable during Karpas. The Rabbis teach us that we do this so that the children will ask questions. Many people eat parsley which is called Karpas. The letters of the word karpas can be rearranged to spell the word parech with an extra samach. Parech means hard labor and the extra samach signifies the 600,000 Jewish men that were enslaved in Egypt. We eat this vegetable to remind us of the hard labor that the Jews went through while being slaves.

(From Chabad.org)

50 Why We Cried to Hashem By Sam Rinn

בני ישראל cried out to Hashem. But בני ישראל that Pharaoh died and שמות The torah says in cried was because the בני ישראל says that the reason רמב"ן ?hated Pharaoh so why would they cry were בני ישראל ,next Pharaoh was far more cruel than the previous Pharaoh. So, when he died .says that Pharaoh didn't actually die שמות רבה .crying because they didn't want the next Pharaoh

49 וַיִשְמַ ע ה’ תאֶׁ קֹלֵנּו - כְמָ השֶׁ נֶׁאֱמַ ר: וַיִ שְמַע אֱ ֹלהִ ים אֶׁ ת נַאֲקָתָ ם, וַיִזְ כוֹר אֱֹלהִ יםאֶׁת בְרִ יתוֹ אֶׁ ת ַאבְרָ הָם, תאֶׁ יִצְחָק וְאֶׁ ת יַעֲקֹב. וַיַרְ א תאֶׁ עָנְיֵנּו - זוֹ פְרִ ישּותדֶׁרֶׁ ְךאֶׁרֶׁ ץ51, כְמָ השֶׁ נֶׁאֱמַ ר: אוַיַרְ אֱ ֹלהִ ים תאֶׁ בְ ני ליִשְרָאֵ עוַיֵדַ אֱֹלהִ ים. וְאֶׁ ת עֲמָ לֵנּו - אֵ ּלּו הַבָנִים52. הכְמָ שֶׁ נֶׁאֱמַ ר: כָל הַבֵן הַ יִּלוֹד הַ יְאֹרָ ה תַשְ לִיכֻהּו53 וְכָל הַבַת תְ חַ יּון.

he died”! When the Torah“ /’’וימת“ But how can this make sense? The passuk clearly states that he was not actually dead; he was sick. Although he wasn't dead, he was so sick that he וימת said was basically at the point of death.

(From The Midrash Says Haggadah)

51 Jewish Families Were Separated By Dov Berger

Pharaoh tried to convince Jewish fathers not to return to their families after work. His men would say to the Jewish fathers, “If you go home tonight it will take too long to get back to work in the morning. So instead why don't you sleep in the field by the work site?” But, that plan failed to stop the Jewish fathers from going home to their families. Therefore, Pharaoh made a new decree. All Jewish baby boys would be thrown into the Nile. This decree that Pharaoh made influenced the Jewish fathers to separate from their wives and since they said, “I do not want to have any children killed.” Amram, the leader of the generation divorced Yocheved his wife. But his daughter told him that what you are doing right now is worse than what Pharaoh is doing. By leaving you cause neither girls nor boys to live and also if a baby is born his soul goes to olam haba. Amram listened to his daughter and returned to his wife and all the Bnei Yisrael followed. (From The Midrash Says Haggadah)

52 Our Frustration Refers to the Sons By Summer Teich

Question: Why were the women frustrated that they had to throw their children in the Nile. I could understand why they would be sad, but why frustrated? Answer: The Answer is that it's not easy to carry a baby for nine months and then raise them too. But the Jewish women had to go into hiding so that Pharaoh wouldn't take their babies. After so much agony and pain their babies were drowned in the Nile by Pharaoh. This was the greatest frustration of all. (From the Medrash Says Haggadah)

50

53 In the Merit of Righteous Women By Miriam Bash

Miriam, daughter of Yocheved, was a prophetess. Long before her little brother Moshe was even born, she received a prophecy promising that her mother would bear a son destined to save Israel. However, her prophecy didn’t seem likely to become true after Pharaoh made the decree that all Jewish boys were to be drowned in the Nile. When it was Moshe’s turn, Yocheved gently placed him in the Nile inside a wicker basket. Many people make the interesting observation that it was unlikely that Jews, fearing Pharoah’s wrath, would look into the riverbanks for babies to save. Also, if the Egyptians would’ve seen the baby in the basket, they simply would have overturned it. Therefore, how did Miriam and Yocheved expect this baby to be saved? It can only be that Yocheved, Moshe’s mother, had faith that Hashem would save her child. Additionally, Miriam must have strongly believed that Hashem would fulfill her prophecy, and therefore, allowed her little brother to be put in the river. Sure enough, a miracle occurred, and on that day, while Bat Pharaoh was bathing in the river, she discovered Moshe inside the basket and rescued him. The Talmud says, “In the merit of the righteous women of that generation were our forefathers redeemed from Egypt.” Only because Miriam and Yocheved had faith in Hashem, was Moshe able to survive and eventually take Bnei Yisrael out of Egypt. From this, one can learn, just like Miriam, to never to stop believing in Hashem. Everything He does is for a reason, and in the end, everything will turn out to be for the best. Miriam and Yocheved epitomized the greatness of women in their day by having such strong emunah in Hashem and never ceasing to believe that He would save Am Yisrael.

(From The ArtScroll Mesorah Series: Pesach Haggadah)

Babies in the Nile By Galit Usdan

Pharaoh commanded that all baby boys should be thrown in the Nile river. This decree included the Egyptian babies (see Rashi 1:22). Why was Pharaoh okay with throwing the Egyptian babies in the Nile if they were part of his nation? The reason why Pharaoh was okay with throwing all baby boys into the Nile was because he was willing to do anything for his power and glory. Rashi explains that his astrologers told him that a boy was going to be born and that boy would take over his kingdom. They weren't sure if the boy was Jewish or Egyptian. Because of his need for power, he was even willing to kill his own people. On the other hand, Moshe was a shepard, just like a lot of other Jewish rulers. Shepherd's care about every individual sheep in their flock just like a ruler should. That is the difference between Pharaoh and Moshe.

Pharaoh Thought Wrong By Gavriel Lowell

Rashi says that Pharaoh wanted to outsmart Hashem. Pharaoh knew that Hashem punished through Midda Keneged Midda (a punishment of the same nature as the sin). He knew

51 תוְאֶׁ לַחֲצֵ נּו - זֶׁההַדְ חַ ק,כְמָה שֶׁ נֶׁאֱמַ ר:וְ גַם ירָאִיתִ אֶׁת הַ ּלַחַץ אֲשֶׁ ר מִצְרַ יִם ֹלחֲצִ ים אֹתָ ם. וַיוֹצִאֵ נּו ה’ מִמִצְ רַ יִםבְ יָדחֲזָקָ הּובִזְ רֹעַנְטּויָה, ּובְ אמֹרָ גָדֹל, ּובְ אֹתוֹת ּובְ מֹפְתִ ים. וַיוֹצִאֵ נּו ה’ מִמִצְרַ יִם - ֹלא עַל יְדֵ ימַ לְאְָך,וְ ֹלא עַל ייְדֵ שָרָ ף, וְ ֹלא עַל יְדֵישָ לִיחַ, אֶׁ ּלָא הַקָ דוֹש בָ רּוְךהּוא בִכְ בוֹדוֹ ּובְעַצְ מוֹ,שֶׁ נֶׁאֱמַ ר: וְעָבַרְתִ י בְאֶׁרֶׁץמִצְרַ יִםבַ ּלַיְלָה הַזֶׁה, וְהִ כֵיתִ י כָלבְ כוֹרבְאֶׁרֶׁ ץ מִצְרַ יִם מֵ ָאדָ ם וְעַד בְהֵמָ ה, ּובְ כָל אֱֹלקֵ י מִצְרַ יִםאֶׁ עֱשֶׁה שְ פָטִ ים. אֲנִי ה’. וְעָבַרְתִ י בְאֶׁרֶׁץמִצְרַ יִםבַ ּלַיְלָה הַזֶׁה - אֲנִיוְֹלא מַ לְאָ ְך54

that after the Mabul, Hashem swore to that he would never bring another flood to the world. He thought, if I kill the Jewish babies with water, Hashem will not be able to punish us because He promised never to flood the world again. Thus, Pharaoh decided to have the Jewish babies drowned in the river, the Nile. However, Pharaoh’s reasoning was wrong. Hashem had only promised to never flood the world. He could, however, flood the country. In fact, Hashem did punish in the end, with Midda Keneged Midda. Pharaoh and his nation drowned in the Yam Suf.

(From The Midrash Says Haggada)

54 Hashem and Not an Angel By Ethan Braunstein

Why did Hashem have to bring makkat bechorot Himself and not through an angel? Why couldn’t an angel strike the Egyptian firstborn? There are multiple answers: 1) The medrash answers that only Hashem would know who is an actual firstborn in the Egyptian family since an Egyptian husband would often secretly marry other women. Likewise, an Egyptian woman would often become the wife of a man in secret. Even the malachim could not tell who the real firstborn was. Therefore, only Hashem knew who the real firstborn was. 2) The Siach Yitzchok answers that the accusing angels were saying that the Jews did not deserve to be taken out of Mitzrayim. The accusing angels also said that the Jews were idol worshippers. Hashem had to bring this makka to prove the accusing angels wrong. 3) Another reason Hashem had to bring this makka is because Hashem showed his shechina. This killed the Egyptian firstborns and instilled emunah in the Bnei Yisrael. The angels did not have such power like Hashem so Hashem had to bring this makka.

52 וְהִ כֵיתִ י כָל בְ כוֹרבְאֶׁרֶׁץ מִצְרַ יִם - אֲנִי וְ ֹלא שָרָ ף ּובְ כָל אֱ ֹלקֵ י מִצְרַ יִםאֶׁ עֱשֶׁ ה שְ פָ טִ ים - אֲנִי וֹלא הַשָ לִיחַ . אֲנִי ה’ - אֲנִי הּוא וֹלא ַאחֵ ר. בְ יָד חֲזָקָ ה - זוֹ הַדֶׁ בֶׁר55, כְמָ השֶׁ נֶׁאֱמַר: הִ נֵה יַד ה’ הוֹיָהבְמִקְ נְָך אֲשֶׁ ר בַשָדֶׁ ה, בַ סּוסִ ים, בַחֲמֹרִ ים, בַגְמַ ּלִים,בַבָקָ רּובַּצֹאן, דֶׁ בֶׁ ר כָבֵד מְ אֹד. ּובִזְ רֹעַנְטּויָה - זוֹ הַחֶׁרֶׁ ב,כְמָ ה שֶׁ נֶׁאֱמַ ר:וְחַרְ בוֹ שְ לּופָה בְ יָדוֹ, נְטּויָה עַל יְרּושָ לַיִם. ּובְ מֹרָ א גָדֹל - זוֹ גִּלּוי שְ כִ ינָה, כְמָ השֶׁ נֶׁאֱמַ ר: אוֹהֲנִסָה אֱֹלהִ ים לָבֹא תלָקַחַ לוֹ גוֹי במִקֶׁרֶׁ גוֹי בְמַ סֹת בְ אֹתֹת ּובְ מוֹפְ תִ ים, ּובְמִ הלְחָמָ ּובְ יָד חֲזָקָ ה ּובִזְ רוֹעַ נְטּויָה, ּובְ מוֹרָאִ יםגְדֹלִים, כְ כֹל ראֲשֶׁ העָשָ לָכֶׁם ה’ אֱֹלקֵ י כֶׁםבְמִצְרַ יִםלְעֵינֶׁיָך. ּובְ אֹתוֹת - זֶׁה הַמַטֶׁ ה56, כְמָה שֶׁ נֶׁאֱמַ ר: וְאֶׁת הַמַטֶׁההַזֶׁה חתִקַ בְ יָדְ ָך, ראֲשֶׁ תַ עֲשֶׁ ה בוֹאֶׁת הָ אֹתֹת.

4) The Malbim answers that if a father was going to free his son and he had not seen his son in years he would want to go himself to see his son for the first time. So it is the same thing here because Hashem loves us like we are His kids so He wanted to go to see us again. These are the reasons that Hashem wanted to bring the makka Himself.

(From The Medrash Says Hagadah)

55 The Plague of Dever By Jonathan Sabag

The Torah refers to all the makot as “Dever”. Why does the Torah do that if only one makka was Dever? The Netziv answers that the word dever means “death”. Together with each makka there was death or “dever” For example, together with dam there was dever and together with frogs there was dever etc. Since each makka had death with it, all the makot are called dever.

(From The Medrash Says Haggadah)

53 נוֹהֲגִּיןלְהַטִּ יף טִּ פָה מִּן הַ כוֹס57 בַאֲמִּ ירַת דָ םוָאֵּ ׁש..., עֶשֶר הַמַ כוֹת דְ צַ "ְך עַדַ "ׁש בְַאחַ "ב, בְ יַחַ ד, ט"ו פַעַ ם. ּובְ מֹפְתִ ים - זֶׁה הַדָ ם58, כְמָהשֶׁ נֶׁאֱמַ ר: וְ נָתַתִ י מוֹפְתִ ים בַשָמַ יִם ּובָ ָארֶׁ ץ, דָ ם וָאֵ ש וְתִימְ רוֹת עָשָ ן.

56 The Stick By Jacob Weissman

The Midrash in Shemot Rabba says that sometimes tzaddikim are punished by Hashem for doing something wrong. Hashem gives the tzaddik a sign either by making someone in his family ill or taking away something special from him. The tzaddik realizes he must do teshuvah for the sin. A rasha acts differently when Hashem punishes him. Instead of doing teshuvah, he becomes angry and keeps doing sins. He is like an animal who jumps when he is hit; his master must hit him again to make him behave. Hashem said to Moshe, “Pharoah is a rasha. I want you to show him this stick. He will see that there is a master of the world who will punish evildoers. If he refuses to do teshuvah then more makot will ensue with this stick.”

(From the Medrash Says Haggadah)

57 Mourn or Rejoice? By Nathan Pedoeem

Why did Hashem command the Jews in Egypt about the seventh day of Pesach if it would not be observed until future generations? Why do we dip our fingers into wine? When the everyone was happy, except for Hashem. Hashem expected ,ים סוף Egyptians got devoured by the Bnei Yisrael to be happy only because we were liberated from Egypt; not that the Egyptians died This is why the Jews were commanded in Egypt about the seventh day before the .ים סוף in the Egyptians died. They would realize that they were celebrating their freedom and not the deaths of the Egyptians. That is why we dip our finger, to mourn the loss of all the Egyptians that died.

(From The Sefardic Heritage Haggadah)

58 Why Blood? By Conner Flippo

Why did the Egyptians deserve to have their water turned into blood? The first and second makkah hit the Nile river, which the Egyptians worshiped as a G-d. Hashem also had the river turned into blood because the Egyptians threw the Jewish babies into the river. The Egyptians also lost their water supply because the Jews were forced to carry water buckets for them and did not allow the Jews to use this water. The Egyptians also spilled Jewish blood as

54 דָ רבָ ַאחֵ ר: בְ יָד חֲזָקָ ה - שְתַ יִם, ּובִזְ רֹעַנְטּויָה - שְתַ יִם, ּובְ מֹרָ א גָדֹל - שְתַ יִם, ּובְ אֹתוֹת - שְתַ יִם, ּובְ מֹפְתִ ים - שְתַ יִם.אֵ ּלּו עֶׁשֶׁ ר מַ כוֹת59 שֶׁהֵבִ יאהַקָ דוֹש בָ רּוְך הּוא עַל הַמִצְרִ ים בְ מִצְרַ יִם, וְאֵּלּו הֵ ן:

one spills water. The Egyptians also didn’t let the Jews fulfill the mitzvah of which lets blood flow, making blood a fitting punishment. The fact that the fish in the river died is also fitting because the Egyptians tried to stop the Jews from multiplying and being as much as the fish. (From The Medrash Says Haggadah)

59 The Reasons Behind the By Sarit Greenwood

We all know about the 10 plagues that occurred in Egypt. But, does anyone really know why it was those ten plagues specifically? Why didn’t Hashem, say, have the first plague be flooding, instead of the rivers turning to blood? There is an answer I would like to share that I found very interesting. The first is that each plague had a special reason behind it. The first plague, the plague of Dam, happened because Pharaoh said, “I am a God, and I made the Nile River.” Because of this, Hashem struck the river, to attack his supposed godliness. The second, tzfardea, is linked to water. So too, the Torah (which the Jews were destined to receive) is linked to water. The third plague, kinim, is described as being like dust, and the Jewish people are compared to dust in Sefer . The fourth plague, Arov, is the plague of wild animals. Multiple times, the Jews are referred to as animals. For example, the tribe of Yehuda is compared to a lion, and the tribe of Dan is compared to a snake. With the fifth plague it is the same. The sixth plague, Shchin, began from ashes from a fiery furnace. There is a famous Medrash that says that Avraham was put into a fiery furnace at a young age for destroying his father’s idols. So too, the boils started from a fiery furnace. Plague seven, hail, was like snow. In Isaiah it says that the Jews became white as snow when they repented before Hashem. Plague eight, locust, was like an army of bugs, and sometimes Bnei Yisrael is referred to as Hashem’s army. Nine is darkness. Just like darkness and light were separated in Bereshit, so too, Bnei Yisrael and other nations are separated. Ten, Makat Bechorot, is the death of the first borns of Egypt. Sometimes, Bnei Yisrael is referred to as “God’s firstborn,” and the Egyptians wanted to kill us, Hashem’s firstborns. So, Makat Bechorot is killing all of their firstborns. The message in this is simple, but still an important one nonetheless: Midah Keneged Midah or Measure for measure. Whatever we do, Hashem is rewarding or punishing us in that same way. If we do a really great mitzvah, then Hashem will reward us with an equal reward. So, next time you have the opportunity to do a good mitzvah, take it, because who knows what type of reward you may receive. (From The Torah Anthology)

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10 Makot...Why These? By Noa Bitansky

In Egypt, there were 10 makot. Blood in the seas, frogs all around, lice, wild animals, dying animals, boils on your skin, hail, locust, darkness and then killing of the first born. But why did Hashem choose those specific ones? Hashem chose blood because it took away all drinking water which shows that Hashem rules over all water. Hashem chose Frogs because the frogs went into stone ovens which shows that Hashem rules over all man-made creations. Hashem chose Lice because it makes known that Hashem rules over all dust in the land. Wild animals demonstrates that Hashem rules over all animals. Dead animals shows that Hashem rules over all of the air we breathe. Boils to show that Hashem can cause any living person or animal to suffer or heal. Hail shows that Hashem controls the element of fire. Locust destroyed all the crops, so it demonstrated that Hashem rules over all of earth’s vegetation. Darkness demonstrated that only Hashem can control the sky. The death of the first born demonstrated that Hashem rules over all of the angels and the spiritual world. That is why it was those specific makot were chosen.

(From Chabad.org)

The Science of the Makot By Boaz Fox

In today’s advanced technological world, it is hard to imagine what a miracle would look like. Science can help us understand them. Starting with Dam, the makah of blood, scientists have said that blood was really a phenomena known as red tide, where large outbreaks of algae turn water red, which kills fish, makes shellfish poisonous, and can contain diseases that can kill a human. Even if it wasn’t really blood, it was still deadly. Another makah, Arbeh, the makah of locusts, can be explained with locust swarms, where billions of locusts come together and destroy an area’s agriculture. This would also be a huge blow to any kingdom. The makah of Dever, which killed cattle, can be explained with Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy, also known as Mad Cow Disease, which can kill large amounts of cattle. The makah of Choshech, the makah of darkness, could be explained by volcanic ash blocking the sun and darkening the sky, and the weight of the ash might have made the air feel too thick to move. Makat Kinim, the makah of lice, is easiest to explain, as lice can easily be spread from person to person. The scientific explanations are not meant to lessen the awe of the makot. They are meant to show how Hashem could use the natural world at His will to send a devastating blow to the Egyptians in the time He chooses.

Faith in the Makot By Rina Rogers

All of the ten plagues were sent by Hashem to instill three higher levels of faith: 1. To prove that there is a single Creator; that Hashem watches over every feature or aspect , הַשְגָּחָּהפְרָּ טִׁית To institute the notion of .2 of his creation;

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3. To prove that there is none like Hashem; He is one of a kind. Each group of plagues, divided by Rabbi Yehudah’s , was aimed to prove these by this shall you know that I am Hashem ,בְזֹאת ּתֵדַעכִּׁי אֲנִׁי ה‘ principles of faith. Hashem mentions .דצ"ך or blood, the first plague in the series of ,דם Sh’mot 7:17) while introducing the plague of) This implies that monotheism was a foreign concept to the Egyptians and it was about to become the assortment of wild ,ערוב established beyond the shadow of doubt. Before the plague of לְמַעַן ּתֵדַעכִּׁי אֲנִׁי ה´ Hashem established a new concept of by stating , עד"ש animals which started .(so that you will realize that I, Hashem, am in the midst of the earth (ibid 8:18 ,בְקֶרֶ בהָָּארֶ ץ Although G-d´s actuality had already been acknowledged, there was still doubt, though it was limited, that He would go beneath His dignity to monitor the most insignificant aspect of Earth. Hashem proved the heresy to be erroneous by distinctively limiting the activity of each of the ten plagues to the Egyptians and refused the plagues entry to the Jewish people, their homes, and the בַעֲבוּר was established with the words בְַאחַ ''ב,land of Goshen. The third and last of the three series so that you may realize that there is none like Me in all the earth (ibid ,ּתֵדַע כִּׁי אֵין כָּּמֹנִׁי בְכָּלהָָּארֶ ץ 9;14). In the time before that group, there were some who acknowledged that Hashem was just another god, but continued to believe that there were other gods, although there were none but the Almighty Himself. A lesson we can learn from this is that by his breaking up of the ten makot into groups, Rabbi Yehudah suggests the different beliefs that can be attained by each set. Contrary to what it might seem, there are three different levels of faith within the makot.

(From The Haggadah Treasury)

Why So Many Makkot? By Zachary Lerman

If G-d knew that Pharaoh would only listen to the tenth makka what were the other nine for? The answer is that the Jews knew about Hashem from their fathers, but they were influenced by the false religion of the Eygptians. Hashem was worried that Bnei Yisrael were not ready to leave Mitzrayim because of a lack of love, and fear of G-d. Rashi says that the first nine makkot happened in order to create love and fear of Hashem. The Malbim say similarly that it was to heal the neshamot of the Jews that “the Egyptians took away”. The Jews passed down the messages of the makkot from son to son all the way to us. (From the Medrash Says Haggadah)

Why These Ten Makkot? By Moshe Samuels

Why did Hashem specifically bring these ten makkot? All the makkot were measure for measure. Let me give you some examples. Since the Egyptians worshiped the river and they spilled Jewish blood, the Nile was turned to blood. The Egyptians made the Jews catch all kinds of bugs. Therefore, Hashem made the makkah of frogs. The Egyptians made the Jews sweep the streets so that is why there's the makkah of lice. Hashem made the plague of locusts because He knew that the Egyptians forced the Jews to plant wheat and barley for them. (From Hilchos Pesach by Rabbi Yitzchok Lax)

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Ten Makkot; Ten Strategies By Maya Bank

with different plagues. Why did Hashem use these plagues מצריים Hashem punished the Me’am Loez explains that Hashem did this because His strategy was the ?מצרים to punish the same as a war general.

of blood is like the strategy of a war general because when you lay siege around מכה The .1 of blood is like cutting מכה a city you cut off the water supply, so they cannot drink. The .could not drink the water מצרים off the water supply because the of frogs is a good war strategy because when you are in war you blow trumpets מכה The .2 to scare your enemy. The frogs’ croaking was like the blow of the trumpet. 3. In war you have archers shooting arrows. When an arrow hits you it stings, like the lice in Egypt. 4. After the archers, the general calls “all attack” which means attack from everywhere. When they call that, the army comes out of hiding to attack. Just like the army, the wild animals came out of all different places like the jungle and deserts, destroying everything in their paths. of “animal death”, it is מכה When in war you try to poison the enemy’s food. So in the .5 by them not being able to eat it because מצרים like they were poisoning the food of the they were dead. 6. Next, the general bombs the city. Hashem's bombs are the boils that do more damage than bombs. 7. The hail is like the heavy artillery bombing and shooting at the city that destroys everything, just as the hail did, destroying everything in its reach. 8. In war, the army tries to breach the city entering all the houses and fields, just as the .מצרים locusts did in of darkness was מכה The defending team is them held captive and cannot leave. The .9 so the Egyptians couldn’t leave their houses. the death of the first born, was like in war after the city is taken over and all ,מכה The last .10 the leaders are killed, just like the firstborns who could be potential leaders.

Pharaoh’s Magicians By Charlotte Friedman

The first few makkot were ignored by Pharoah because his magicians were able to do those makkot on their own. Why did Hashem devise makkot that could be imitated by the magicians? According to R’ Yerucham of Mir, Hashem was demanding that Pharaoh had to know the difference between Hashem’s miracles and the fake performance of the magicians. An act of Hashem is so great. Hashem turned the lakes, wells, and canals into blood when the magicians just turned a cup of water into blood (Shemot Rabbah 9). This is not only a characteristic of the plagues in Egypt, but all the miracles of Hashem. In the text, it states: “Praise the name of Hashem, for his name is on high alone; praise him on Earth and in Heaven” (Tehillim 148:13). Hashem’s miracles are so amazing that it doubts a man could just forget it or ignore it. For

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example, when darkness came as one of the plagues, the sun was bright for the Jews so that they could look up at Hashem. Unfortunately, the Egyptians were not able to. Another example is that there was a storm that was so terrible but meanwhile the Jews were happy with no hail in Goshen.

60 Gratitude is the Attitude By Rebecca Arian

At each year’s seder, we learn how Moshe began the plagues on Egypt in miraculous and awe-inspiring ways. What is not normally recognized, however, is that Moshe did not directly cause the makot of blood and lice. Many commentators wonder why he specifically chose to The answer is that both the Nile River and the dust of the land .כינים and דם remove himself from had helped him as an infant when his life was in jeopardy, and Moshe realized that it would be ungrateful of him to use them as the basis for a plague. This teaches us about the necessity for gratitude. We should always remember the kindness that was shown to us and use it to inform our actions. Not only does this elevate our holiness in the eyes of Hashem, but it also helps us become righteous and worthy of receiving chesed.

(From The Sephardic Heritage Haggadah)

61 The Severity of Lashon Hara By Benjamin Lando

The Chafetz Chaim contrasted the plague of frogs to another incident in Bamidbar. In the plague of frogs Pharaoh asks Moshe to daven so that the plague will end. Moshe agrees and said that the next day the frogs would leave. The next day Moshe’s prayers were answered and the frogs departed. In Bamidbar the Torah mentions how when the Jews were traveling in the desert, “the people spoke against G-d and Moshe, ‘why did you take us out of Egypt…” For this they are punished with a plague of “fiery serpents” which killed many. The Torah then says that Moshe prayed to Hashem and Hashem replied that Moshe should make a serpent and put it on a pole and whoever that had been bitten should look at it. Then they would be cured. In this case Hashem told Moshe how to end the plague and he did not directly stop it. The Chafetz Chaim asks, why when the plague affected Pharaoh was it immediately stopped but when the plague was against the Jews there was a whole procedure to follow? The Chafetz Chaim answers that from here we see the severity of lashon hara. Even though Pharaoh committed many sins, the sins that he did could be atoned through prayer. On the other hand, a sin like lashon hara which is the sin that the Jews did in the desert to give them this plague needs special atonement for it to be forgiven. The Talmud says the reason the serpent was high up on a pole was so that the Jews would, “look up to Heaven and subjugate their hearts to their Father in Heaven and thereby be healed.” (The Haggadah of the Roshei Yeshivah: Book Two)

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צפרדע גוררת צפרדע By Hannah Koppel

There were many miracles that the Jews encountered while in slavery. One of the most miraculous miracles, was the miracle of the ten plagues. The plague that I would like to focus on is the second plague of Tzfardaya where the frogs spread throughout Egyptian homes, clothing, and fields. Many people are unaware that the plague only began with a single frog and each time that an Egyptian struck the frog, it would cause the frog to multiply, eventually resulting in frogs being everywhere. R’ Yaakov Yisrael Kanievsky explained a very important lesson that can be learned from this plague. How come the Egyptians continued to strike the frogs after the realization that what they were doing was making the situation worse? The answer is that they did it out of anger and frustration. This situation helps describe a very common obstacle that many people face throughout life. Sometimes people get angry and do things that actually make their situation worse. When someone gets angry, they often act irrationally and do things without thinking. An example of this is when a person interprets an innocent comment to be an insult. That person, may become angry and not think clearly about a response and end up countering the comment with a deliberate insult. In anger, he or she didn’t think through what was said and was unable to realize that an insulting response would only cause the situation to become worse and cause a further argument. From this, it is important to realize that while you are angry, you often make bad decisions that cause worse consequences than the initial problem. From the plague of the frogs and how the Egyptians reacted, we learn the importance of thinking before you act and how reacting with anger could worsen a situation.

(From The Haggadah of the Roshei Yeshiva)

Lashon Hara By Laila Klugmann

As it is recited on Pesach, the ten makot, are a crucial aspect of the seder. Although, the plagues seem very clear, indeed there are many different reasons underneath each one. The Chofetz Chaim, a famous rabbi who tried to limit the amount of spoken lashon harah, had many things to say regarding the makot, specifically Tzfardah. The Chofetz Chaim takes the approach of contrasting two texts from within the Torah. As it is said in Shemot, Pharaoh asked Moshe to daven to Hashem asking to stop the plague. In the book of Shemot, Moses agreed and said that the plague would be disposed of. In Bamidbar, the Torah relates that as Bnei Yisrael were traveling throughout the desert, Bnei Yisrael asked, “Why would you take us out of Mitzrayim?” As a result of their lack of appreciation toward Hashem, He sent fiery serpents that killed many Jews. Moshe davened to make the plague vanish, although Hashem directed Moshe with a specific task. This was to place a snake on a pole and whoever notices it, will live. Moshe’s davening was not answered because something had to happen to make the plague vanish. The Chofetz Chaim said the plague that had an effect on Pharaoh no longer occurred while that which afflicted the Jews in the desert was only stopped by the means of a more complicated process. The Chofetz Chaim comes to the conclusion that this can guide us to understand the effects of the spreading of lashon hara. As it was illustrated from Bnei Yisrael’s

60 actions in the desert, lashon hara is a sin that takes longer for Hashem to forgive. The Talmud explains that a snake on a pole has the ability to heal people from the snakes bite. There are many important lessons one can learn from the makah of Tzfardah, especially that one should limit the amount of spoken lashon hara. Today, there is a lot of spreading lashon hara, although if everyone would stop speaking that way, we could become united.

(From the Haggadah of the Roshei Yeshiva)

צפרדע By Binyomin Samuels

Rashi quotes the Midrash that says the plague began with one single frog but every time the Egyptians hit it swarms of frogs came out. They kept hitting it until the land was covered with frogs. The Steipler Gaon asks the obvious question: Why didn’t the Egyptians just stop hitting the big frog? He answers that we learn an important lesson from here. They kept on hitting it because they got angry and lost their temper. When that happens a person doesn’t act with good sense. He doesn’t use logic or reason. We should always try to not lose our temper.

(From the Haggadah of the Roshei Yeshivah)

Nothing New By Jacob Shapiro

How come Hashem performed miracles that were able to be imitated by Egyptian magicians? Hashem revealed his powers through what is found in the world - blood, frogs and lice. This allowed Pharaoh to make a mistake and assume that it was only common magic. Would it have been preferable to create new suns and gigantic monsters? If new beings had been created for the plagues, they would not be understood by man, nor would they make an impression on him. Man already possesses everything that might bring him to an awareness of truth; everything needed has already been created. This is what King Shlomo meant when he said, “There is nothing new under the sun.” (Kohelet 1:9) - creation is perfect and lacks nothing to make it perfect.

(From The Artscroll Pesach Haggadah)

The First and Second Plague By Sammy Maryles

For the first plague, Hashem says, in Exodus (7:17), that He will strike the water and it will be turned into blood. This plague punctured the heart of Khnum, the god of the river, according to the Egyptians. Making the water to blood, killed fish, made the water stink, and most importantly, the Egyptians could not drink because the water was blood. Moshe and Aharon performed this plague. G-d used Aharon’s rod to turn the water into blood. Egyptian magicians did duplicate this plague, so Pharaoh was not impressed or scared of this plague, so he remained stubborn.

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The second plague is that Hashem put frogs literally everywhere. They were in the beds, bedrooms, ovens, and bowls of the Egyptians. Also, the frogs were in the house of the servants. This plague struck against the Egyptian god, Heqet. She is seen as a god with a frog head. The magicians, again, did do this plague but they didn’t know how to get rid of the frogs. Since the magicians did not know how to get rid of the frogs, this was the first instance we see Pharaoh's heart soften.

(From “A Deeper Look at the 10 Plagues.” Life, Hope & Truth)

Frogs By David Reich and Zeke Rabinowitz

The plague of frogs began from one frog but everytime the Egyptians hit it, it multiplied into more frogs. Rav Yaakov Kanievsky explained that there’s an important lesson to learn from this. The Egyptians kept striking the frogs but you would think that once they hit one and it multiplied they would stop hitting them. But, they didn’t; they kept hitting them and they kept multiplying. This shows how anger is self destructive and hard to handle.`

62 The Makkah of Lice By Oren Gutkin

Concerning many of the plagues, the Torah states that they did not affect the Jewish area of Egypt at all. However, when it came to the makkah of Lice the Torah does not give any hints to whether or not it affected the Jews. The Rambam writes in his commentary on Mishnah (Avot 5:4) that there was a tradition that the lice actually infested the Jewish area of Egypt but the lice did not cause the Jews any harm. The fact that the lice were in the Jewish areas but still did not affect them, only further demonstrates the greatness of Hashem’s miracles.

63 Makat Arov By Yehuda Schechter

Why did the frogs die at the end of the plague but the wild animals were just removed at the end of the plague? Rashi explains that if the wild animals were to die, then the Egyptians would be able to benefit from their hides. By the frogs dying, they had smelly piles of frogs to deal with.

(From Rashi al HaTorah)

64 Creation, Dever, and the Makkot By Hannah Munk

From , chapter five, we can see that ten is a common number. There were ten utterances Hashem used to create the world, ten generations between Adam and Noach, and ten between Noach and Avraham. There were ten plagues in Egypt, another ten at the red sea, and there were ten tests over our forty years in the desert. There were ten miracles done in the Beit

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Hamikdash and ten things created on the first Erev Shabbos. Obviously, ten is an important number in Judaism. Rav Yitzchak Hunter makes an interesting connection between the ten plagues and the ten utterances of creation. Rav Hunter notes that for most of the plagues, Moshe comes to Pharaoh saying that there would be a plague that would be taking place the next day. When it comes to the plague of Dever (the plague that killed all the animals of the Mitzriim) Moshe is told to warn Pharaoh that This is the only .מועד Hashem has a set time to do this plague. The Hebrew word for set time is plague that is introduced this way, and the question is why? The Maharal notes that the ten plagues correspond to the ten utterances Hashem said when He created the world. The reason for this was to hurt the Egyptians in every way in existence. For example, the plague of darkness was parallel to when Hashem said, “Let there be light” (Berashis 1:3). The makkah of Dever was parallel to when Hashem said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the sky to separate day from night; they shall serve as signs for the set times—the days and the years (Berashis 1:14) Rashi explains that there is a connection with the sun, moon, and the air that keeps us alive. In the makkah of Dever, all the Egyptian animals die was used to show the connection מועד and from here we can see that it all ties together. The word between the sun, moon and stars, and the makkah of Dever. There is a lesson we can learn from this idea. I think we can learn that the makkot, as a whole, were not so much of a punishment as they were a reminder that Hashem runs the world. Therefore, Hashem connected the makkot to creation to show that just as the makkot are obviously from Him, so too, He runs the world and always will. From all the makkot, the Mitzriim realized that Hashem was the one and only God, and they recognized that it was only because of Him, that the world runs correctly.

(From The Haggadah of the Roshei Yeshivah)

65 Hail-o There! By Danielle Felderman

In Shemot it lists the ten plagues that Hashem sent to Mitzrayim. Hashem inflicted the land of Egypt with all of the plagues to demonstrate and show to the world all of His grand powers and wonders. One of the several plagues that Hashem brought upon the Egyptians was hail. It states, “Nothing like this had happened in the whole land of Egypt ever since they became a nation”, implying that the hail fell all throughout the land of Egypt. When Hashem began the Makah of the hail storm, it would have been logical for the hail to fall in the city of Goshen, which was the next town over from Egypt. Because the Jewish people lived in the land of Goshen, Hashem created a wondrous miracle by protecting the Jews from the dangerous plague. Hashem made it so that we would be safe as well as showing off His great powers for the rest of the world to see. A lesson we can learn from this is that even though Hashem wanted to prove and show the world all of his greatness, He saved and sheltered the people that He loves and cares about making the plagues even more miraculous. When wanting to do something or prove one’s self, we should be aware of our surroundings making sure that we doesn’t hurt anyone in the process.

(From the Ramban Haggadah)

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Makkat Barad- Working Together By Binyomin Rosenblum

What can we learn from the Plague of Barad (Hail)? We can learn from the fire and water, that even though they are opposites they worked together to listen to Hashem. We can learn from the Barad to have our Yeitzer Hara and Yeitzer Tov work together to listen to Hashem.

(From the Reb Moshe Haggadah)

The Makkah of Hail By Avichai Wise

The makkah of hail was truly a miracle in itself. Massive blocks of ice came down from the sky. And that’s just getting started. Along with that, the fire burned inside a block of ice. Obviously, it was a miracle because, naturally, fire cannot burn inside a block of ice. Along with that, deafening thunder coursed through the sky, along with lightning. The hail destroyed everything in its path, destroying the Egyptians crops. After Moshe presented the warning of this plague to Pharaoh, some Egyptians took this to heart, and heeded Moshe’s warning. The Egyptians, who were like Pharaoh, stubborn and reckless, did not heed Moshe’s command and paid the price. This is an example of why people should be less stubborn, and more flexible if something doesn’t go their way. If people were less stubborn, it would lead to less anger and confusion.

(From Aish.com)

66 Darkness: Measure for Measure By Yael Fink

During the seder every year, we read about the plague of darkness. But, what was the reason for darkness? During the plague Jews unworthy of being redeemed were killed and buried. But the concept of “measure for measure” was the main reason for the plague of darkness. Egyptians made Jewish people stand with candles on their head with a threat of death over their heads. Now, the Egyptians would sit in the dark. Also, the Egyptians made the Jewish people work late into the night in the dark. Now the Jews would have all the light they would need. The Egyptians confined Jewish people in dark cells. Now, the Egyptians would be trapped in the dark. Finally, the Egyptians caused darkness to be brought on the exile of the Jewish people. Now, the Egyptians would be subjected to torture of darkness. We learn from this that .punished the Egyptians with darkness it was measure for measure ה‘ when

(From Let My Nation Go)

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The Positive, Not The Negative By Brandon Dyckman

It is interesting that the Torah does not call attention to the fact that the Jews assimilated to the Egyption culture or that there were a lot of Jews who did not want to leave Egypt. We know that during that during the plague of Darkness many Jews who did not want to leave Egypt died. Although we are aware of these facts, the Torah does not mention any of them specifically. What does the Torah stress to us? That the Jews became a nation in Egypt and that they maintained their separateness and their identity as a people. Rav Aharon Kotler explains that the way of the Torah is to stress the positive and deemphasize the negative. This is a lesson we can apply in our daily lives. It is important for one to see the favorable aspect of an individual or situation and not to seek out the negative aspect.

(From the Haggadah of the Roshei Yeshivah)

Darkness- A Broken Promise? By Avi Wagner

How did Hashem punish the Egyptians with the plague of darkness? Did he not promise, “Continuously, all the days of the earth, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night, shall not cease”(Bereshit 8:22)? We might say a simple answer. This was not breaking Hashem’s promise, because there was not a total cessation of darkness, during the plague. During the plague, the regular daylight cycle continued in the rest of the world. Even in Egypt where Jews lived, there was light as it says, “for all the children of Israel there was light.” (Shemot 10:23). A very similar idea is found in the Talmud (Sotah 11) where the great Chachamim ask, “Why did Pharaoh say, ‘Let us outsmart him’ (Shemot 1:10)? Pharaoh should have said, “Let us outsmart them.” A Chacham by the name of R’ Chama answered, that what he really meant was, “Let us outsmart, Him, the savior of the Jewish people (Hashem).” Pharaoh wanted to outsmart the savior of the Jewish people knowing that Hashem’s punishments relate to the crime. So, they decided to drown the Jewish people, thinking that they were outsmarting him because they knew that He would not break his oath to never flood the entire world like he did in the time of Noach. But, Hashem outsmarted them by taking them into the sea and closing it on them. By doing this he never broke his oath because it was not the entire world.

Hello Darkness My Old Friend By Dalia Kushnir, Sofi Ehrlich, and Arielle Feiler

The plague of darkness was, in some opinions, the scariest plague out of all of the ten makkot. It enveloped all of the Egyptians in darkness, but still enabled the Jews to see. Some say it was so dark the Egyptians couldn't even move. The midrash teaches us that the Jews were able to go into the Egyptians houses and take their spoils. But why would God decide to perform this specific makkah? Hashem could've performed the plague of darkness to show his dominance over the gods that Egyptians believed in. One of the Egyptians most important gods was Ra, the

65 god of the sun. It is possible that Hashem took away their light to show them that he has power over their god, and to show that He was the only god.

67 The Worst For Last: the Last Two Makot By Ellie Minsky

darkness, if in the sefer ,חושך How can Hashem punish the Egyptians with the plague of of Bereishit it says, “Continuously, all the days of the earth, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night, shall not cease”? How could Hashem punish them with share that the daylight was not completely מפרשים darkness if it would break this promise? Some erased out of the land because the rest of the world still had day and night. Therefore, Hashem’s promise was not broken. the killing ,מכת בכורות ,After the plague of darkness, Hashem sent another plague to Egypt of the first born. The name of this plague is different than all the others. Why are all the other makot named after their agent and the last one is not? And why is it the only one that says the word makah in the name? Another question that arises is, Why does it say “with an outstretched arm- it alludes to the sword” if it doesn’t even mention a sword? Many commentaries mention that once the Egyptian kids that were going to be killed found out, they begged their fathers to release the Jews, but they refused. The firstborn sons then took swords and killed six thousand Egyptians. This not only answers our question about the sword, but it is also why this plague is called “the plague of the firstborn”. It is to commemorate the lives of the Egyptians that the firstborn children killed. On the night that everyone was told the firstborn sons would be killed, they were all scared, anxious, and they had trouble sleeping; except for Pharaoh. It is stated that Pharaoh “rose from his bed”. This shows us that he was not afraid and he was able to sleep easily. ,חושך There are many lessons we can take away from the last two plagues. From darkness, we learn that the world does not revolve around us. The people of Egypt are not the whole world, and the reason Hashem can punish them with darkness is because there was light in other parts of the world. From this we learn that there is a whole world aside from us. We also learn that Hashem knows everything and we should not try to “outsmart” Him or anyone else and that we should focus on our own goals and mindsets. In the last plague, we learn to never lose faith and to be aware of our punishments. We should know when to stop and that enough is enough. From all of the makot we learn that Hashem can do anything and if us Jews are good and follow in the ways of Hashem, He will always protect us because he is in control.

(From The Gedolei Yisrael Haggadah)

Why Did Hashem Only Kill the Firstborns? By Jaime Schindelheim

Simchas Yaavetz it says that הגדה Why did Hashem only kill the firstborns? In the by killing all of the Egyptians’ firstborns. It also says in יד חזקה his פרעה Hashem was showing that the angel of death did not just kill the firstborns of the mothers. It was difficult to הגדה the find out who were the firstborns of the fathers. By Hashem killing the firstborns of both the mother and the father it showed how great and powerful Hashem is.

66 רַ בִ ייְהּודָה הָ יָה ןנוֹתֵ בָהֶׁם סִמָ נִים :68 דְ צַ "ְך69 עַדַ "ש בְ ַאחַ "ב.

Before I looked in the haggadot I had my own reason. If Pharaoh was a king wouldn’t that make him a firstborn too? When Hashem killed all the firstborns of the Egyptians, that was threatening Pharaoh's life, ensuring that he would let the Jews go. Before, Hashem had bothered them by turning their water into blood, bringing frogs all over, lice, and boils, but never by threatening Pharaoh's life.

The Test of Faith By Avi Grad

There are multiple questions with the maka of bechorot. Why sheep? Why the blood of sheep? And above all, why did we have to smear the blood of the sheep on the door post when Hashem could have just passed us over without any signs? The answer is that ultimately, Hashem wants to test our emunah and see if we would do something that would perhaps get the Egyptians angry. We killed their god, sheep, and then smeared the blood on the door, doing this in the faces of the Egyptians. Doing this mitzvah demonstrated our emunah in Hashem. In addition, the first makka was blood and now Hashem ends the last of the makkot with blood as well.

Why the Death of the First Born? By Mari Kaufman

On the 14th night of Nissan, Hashem killed all the firstborn Egyptians as the last makkah. Pharaoh's son was included in this punishment. The Jewish people were commanded to bring a korban and put the blood of the lamb on their door frames. This displayed that they are a part of the Jewish nation and Hashem should not kill their children. Now, why would Hashem decide to kill the firstborn? The Midrash says that Hashem killed the first born because they take the throne after their father. This helps us to understand why Hashem would want to kill the firstborn sons specifically since they would be the future leaders of Egypt. Therefore this punishment was ending the dynasty of the Egyptian kings.

(From Aish.com)

68 Why Abbreviate? By Daniel Huppert

רבי יהודה Why did .מכות offers abbreviations for the ten רבי יהודה In the Haggadah into three words? The simple answer is that it is easier to remember the ten מכות condense the ten in three words. We often use abbreviations to remember things. The Seforno explains that מכות Each .מכות into three parts because there are three groups of מכות Rabbi Yehudah divided the ten .are different from each other in many ways. One example is the “DeTzach” group מכות group of The “DeTzach” group proves Hashem's power over the water and earth. The “Adash” group shows Hashem’s mastery over animals and people. And finally in the “B’eAchav” group

67 רַבִי יוֹסֵי הַגְלִילִי אוֹמֵר: מִ נַיִןאַתָ ה אוֹמֵ רשֶׁ ּלָקּו הַמִצְרִ ים בְמִצְרַ יִם רעֶׁשֶׁ מַ כוֹת וְעַל הַ יָםלָקּו חֲמִשִ ים מַ כוֹת? בְמִצְרַ יִם המָ הּוא אוֹמֵ ר? וַיֹאמְ רּו הַחַרְ טֻמִים אֶׁ לפַרְ עֹה: אֶׁצְ בַע אֱֹלהִים הִ וא, וְעַל הַ יָם מָ ה הּוא אוֹמֵ ר? וַיַרְ א יִשְרָאֵלאֶׁת הַ יָד הַגְדֹלָה אֲשֶׁ ר עָשָ ה ה’ בְמִצְרַ יִם, וַיִירְ אּו הָעָם אֶׁ ת ה’, וַיַאֲמִ ינּו בַ ה’ ּובְמשֶׁ ה עַבְ דוֹ 70. כַמָ ה לָקּובְאֶׁצְ בַ ע? עֶׁשֶׁ ר

Hashem shows his control over the sky. Additionally, Pharaoh was not given a warning for the .in each group מכה third

(From the Medrash Says Haggadah)

69 Hakarat Hatov By Emma Degen

In the Haggadah, as soon as we finish reciting the Ten Plagues we quote Rabbi Yehuda, who uses the first initial of each plague to arrange the plagues into three groups, the first group called DeTzaCh, referring to Dam, Tzfardiah, Kinim. In his Haggadah HaTodaah, Rabbi Eliyahu Kitov, discusses the differences among each of these three groups and explains that the first three plagues were each initiated by Ahron, and not by Moshe. Why would Moshe choose not to be the initiator for these plagues? The reason is that Moshe was an anav, a humble man, and he had tremendous Hakarat HaTov, appreciation, for everything that helped him during his life. When Moshe was a baby, the Yaor, the River Nile, saved Moshe. When Pharaoh declared that all Jewish baby boys should be killed, Yocheved choose to protect her newly born son. Yocheved had Moshe placed in a basket, which was floating in the Nile, under the watchful eye of his caring sister Miriam. The plagues of Dam, which turned the Yaor into blood, and Tzfardiah, where frogs would come out of the Yaor, turned the Nile from its pristine color to something much less. Kinim, which involved lice coming out of the same sand that hid the dead Mitzri who Moshe had killed, defiled an item that had helped Moshe in his youth. Moshe’s sense of Hakarat HaTov did not allow him to initiate those plagues. If Ahron had not been there, would Moshe have initiated those plagues on his own? We will never know. However, Moshe’s thoughtful Hakara HaTov to the water and sand provides us with an example of how we should choose to live our own lives.

(From Haggadah HaTodaah by Rabbi Eliyahu Kitov)

70 Why Emunah Now? By Abigail Rosenfeld

which means that Bnei Yisrael ”ויאמינו בה׳ ובמשה עבדו “ ,At the splitting of the sea it says believed in Hashem and Moshe his servent. The Chofetz Chaim asks why Bnei Yisrael suddenly recognize their emunah in Hashem now and not during the ten plagues. What were Bnei Yisrael shown now that they weren't before? Rashi explains that there were three different ways that the Egyptians drowned. The Egyptians were compared to straw, lead and stones. The most wicked

68 מַ כוֹת. אֱ מוֹר מֵ עַתָ ה:בְמִצְרַ יִם לָקּו עֶׁשֶׁ ר מַ כוֹת וְעַל הַ יָ ם לָקּו חֲמִשִ ים מַ כוֹת. רַבִי אֱלִיעֶׁזֶׁר אוֹמֵ ר: מִ נַיִן שֶׁ כָל מַ כָה ּומַ כָה שֶׁהֵבִ יאהַקָ דוֹש בָ רּוְך הּוא עַל הַמִצְרִ יםבְמִצְרַ יִם הָ יְתָה שֶׁ לַארְ בַעמַ כוֹת?שֶׁ נֶׁאֱמַ ר: יְשַ ּלַח בָ ם חֲרוֹן אַ פוֹ, עֶׁבְרָ ה וָזַעַם וְצָרָ ה, מִשְ לַ חַת מַ לְאֲכֵי רָ עִ ים. עֶׁבְרָ ה - ַאחַ ת, וָזַעַם - שְתַ יִם, וְצָרָ ה - שָ לש, מִשְ לַחַת מַ לְאֲכֵי רָ עִ ים - ַארְ בַ ע. אֱ מוֹר מֵ עַתָה:בְמִצְרַ יִם לָקּו ַארְ בָעִ ים מַ כוֹת וְעַל הַ יָם לָקּו מָאתַ יִם מַ כוֹת. רַבִיעֲקִ יבֶׁ א אוֹמֵר: מִ נַיִן שֶׁ כָל מַ כָה ּומַ כָה שֶׁהֵבִיאהַקָ דוֹש בָ רּוְך הּוא עַל הַמִצְרִ ים בְמִצְרַ יִםהָ יְתָהשֶׁל חָמֵ שמַ כוֹת? שֶׁ נֶׁאֱמַ ר: יְשַ ּלַח בָ ם חֲרוֹן אַ פוֹ, עֶׁבְרָ ה וָזַעַם וְצָרָ ה, מִשְ לַחַת מַ לְאֲכֵי רָ עִ ים. חֲרוֹן אַ פוֹ - drowned like straw which was the most painful; the better ones drowned like rocks which was less painful; and the and the best ones drowned like lead which was the least painful. From this we learn that each Egyptian was punished depending on their level of wickedness. Seeing Hashem punish each according to exactly what they deserve instilled a level of fear and emunah in Bnei Yisrael that they did not have before. From this, one could learn that just as Hashem is so involved in one’s life that Hashem is able to understand the perfect punishment for everyone, one could also realize that even though it might be hard to see sometimes He truly plays a crucial role in our life. This Pesach, we should all try to recognize Hashem's presence in our lives and realize how involved Hashem truly is with our everyday life.

(From The Roshei Yeshiva Haggadah)

Where Is Their God? By Adir Kaynan

Most nations ask themselves, “Where is our G-d?”. The answer is that Hashem is truly the one and only G-d in the world but they are blind to see it. This is because they keep asking themselves this question over and over again and they never found the answer to their question. Now, it’s not like we have never encountered the same situation that the non-Jews encounter today. There were times when all hope seemed lost as in Egypt. But the difference between us and them is that we found our connection to G-d again and we embraced our freedom and made sure that the love that Hashem has to us will not go unnoticed. Now, despite our good times, we all have bad times and our enemies take advantage of this. They say that our G-d has abandoned us and that we should give up hope. But they use this line to hide what they are feeling. They feel abandoned and alone. This really shows that there is no other god besides Hashem, for he is One, and He is the only.

69 ַאחַ ת, עֶׁבְרָ ה - שְתַ יִם, וָזַעַם - שָ ֹלש, וְצָרָ ה - ַארְ בַ ע, מִשְ לַחַת מַ לְאֲכֵי רָ עִ ים - חָמֵ ש. אֱ מוֹר מֵ עַתָ ה: בְמִצְרַ יִם לָקּו חֲמִשִ ים מַ כוֹת וְעַל הַ יָם לָקּו חֲמִשִ ים ּומָאתַ יִם מַ כוֹת. כַמָה מַ עֲלוֹת71 טוֹבוֹת לַמָ קוֹם עָלֵ ינּו! אִּלּו הוֹצִ יָאנּו מִמִצְרַ יִםוְ ֹלא עָשָ הבָהֶׁם שְ פָטִ ים, דַ יֵינּו . 72אִ ּלּו עָשָ ה בָהֶׁםשְ פָטִ ים, וְֹלא עָשָ הבֵאֹלהֵ יהֶׁ ם, דַ יֵינּו. אִ ּלּו העָשָ בֵאֹלהֵיהֶׁ ם, וְ ֹלא

71 Hidden Miracles By Ilan Shanskhalil

In the paragraph, , we see many miracles that Hashem does for us. These miracles are unhidden, but there are many miracles Hashem does for us that are hidden. The Chida comments that if you switch the letters of maalot (levels of goodness) around, you can find the word alamot, which means hidden things. Every day, Hashem makes hidden miracles like, not taking our neshama at night, letting us cross the street safely, driving to school safely, and much more. When we sing Dayenu on Pesach night, we realize all the unhidden miracles that Hashem does, and we also recognize the hidden miracles that Hashem does for us.

(From the Sephardic Heritage Haggadah)

Only Fifteen? By Daniel Paul

Why are there only fifteen good things that Hashem did for B’nei Yisrael, listed in Dayenu? Surely there were more than that! The Avudraham answers that they are symbolic of the fifteen steps in the Beit Hamikdash leading from the women’s section to the men’s section. They also symbolize the fifteen Shir Hamaalot paragraphs which were written by David Hamelech when he came to dig the foundations of the Beit Hamikdash.

(From A Sephardic Passover Haggadah)

Hakarat Hatov -דיינו 72 By Tamar Ben-Zvi

which describes, the events that took place throughout the ,דיינו What is the purpose of 480 years from the evacuation in 1450 BCE, until the building of the Beit Hamikdash? The perspective of the Jew who follows the Torah is that the more someone has received something from G-d, the more he is obligated to repay the kindness. The reason for the summary is to bring back into us a large feeling of appreciation in G-d for all of the help דיינו of events in

70 הָרַג אֶׁת בְ כוֹרֵ יהֶׁ ם,דַ יֵינּו.אִ ּלּו הָרַגאֶׁ תבְ כוֹרֵ םיהֶׁ וְ ֹלא נָתַ ןלָנּו אֶׁ ת מָ מוֹנָם73,דַ יֵינּו. אִ ּלּו נָתַ ן לָנּו אֶׁת מָ מוֹנָם וְֹלא קָרַ עלָנּו אֶׁת הַ יָם, דַיֵינּו.אִּלּו קָרַ ע לָנּו אֶׁתהַ יָם וְֹלא הֶׁ עֱבִ ירָ נּובְ תוֹכוֹ בֶׁחָרָ בָה,דַ יֵינּו. אִ ּלּו הֶׁ עֱבִ ירָ נּובְ תוֹכוֹ בֶׁחָרָ בָהוְֹלא עשִקַ צָרֵ נּו בְ תוֹכוֹ,דַ יֵינּו. אִ ּלּו עשִקַ צָרֵ נּו בְ תוֹכוֹ וְֹלא סִ פֵק צָרְ כֵנּו בַמִדְ בָ רַארְ בָעִ יםשָ נָה,דַ יֵינּו. אִּלּו סִ פֵק צָרְ כֵנּו בַמִדְבָר ַארְ בָעִ ים שָ נָהוֹלא הֶׁאֱכִ ילָנּו אֶׁת הַמָן, דַ יֵינּו.אִ ּלּו הֶׁאֱכִ ילָנּו אֶׁת הַמָן וְ ֹלאנָתַן לָנּו אֶׁ ת הַשַ בָ ת,דַ יֵינּו. אִ ּלּו ןנָתַ לָנּו אֶׁת הַשַ בָ ת, וְ ֹלא קֵרְבָנּו לִפְ נֵיהַ רסִ ינַי,דַ יֵינּו. אִ ּלּו קֵרְ בָנּולִפְ נֵיהַר סִ ינַי,וְ ֹלא ןנָתַ לָנּו אֶׁתהַ תוֹרָה, דַ יֵינּו. אִ ּלּו ןנָתַ לָנּו תאֶׁ הַ התוֹרָ וְ ֹלא הִ כְנִיסָ נּו לְאֶׁרֶׁ ץ

He has given us. This appreciation should be shown by davening with greater kavana than before. Our sense of obligation must always be equivalent to the large amount of gifts G-d gives us. For example, people who receive a greater amount of G-d's gifts, such as health, family, and success should be inspired to daven with more passion in their daily lives. In Lashon Hakodesh gratitude is called hakarat hatov. Once someone does something nice to someone, the other person usually feels appreciation towards that person. G-d provided us with this size so we would be able to serve Him happily and eagerly. Once we realize the amount of good things G-d gives us, we will automatically respond with appreciation. The lesson we can all learn is to thank Hashem for everything He has done for us with passion and a great amount of kavana.

(From The Holocaust Haggadah)

73 Were the Jews Thieves? By Sam Steiner

In Dayenu, the haggadah says “He gave us their wealth”. Why wasn’t this considered stealing when the Jews “borrowed” the Egyptians’ gold and silver, knowing they would not return it? R’ Zalman Sorotzkin brings up a story from the Talmud, where the Egyptians came to Alexander the Great, and demanded that the Jews return the “borrowed” silver and gold that the Torah says they took from their ancestors. Geviha ben Pesisa represented the Jewish people in the case, and he asked the Egyptians what proof they had. They responded that it was from the Torah. So, he told them that the Torah also said that 600,000 Jews worked for 430 years for Egypt and so they would have been owed much more money than what was taken. The Egyptians asked for three days to respond but couldn’t find an answer. From this story we see that the Jews didn’t steal anything because they were owed even more than this from their years of slavery.

(From The Rosh Yeshiva Haggadah)

71 יִשְרָאֵל, דַ יֵינּו. אִּלּו הִ כְנִיסָ נּולְאֶׁרֶׁ ץ יִשְרָאֵלוְ ֹלא בָ נָהלָנּו אֶׁ ת בֵ ית הַבְחִ ירָ ה, דַ יֵינּו. עַלַאחַ ת, הכַמָ וְכַמָ ה,טוֹבָ ה כְ פּולָה ּומְ כֻפֶׁלֶׁת לַמָ קוֹם עָלֵינּו74: שֶׁ הוֹצִיָאנּו מִמִצְרַ יִם, הוְעָשָ בָהֶׁ ם שְ פָטִ ים, וְעָשָ הבֵ אֹלהֵיהֶׁ ם, וְהָרַג אֶׁ ת בְ כוֹרֵ יהֶׁ ם,וְ נָתַ ןלָנּו אֶׁת מָ מוֹנָם75, עוְקָרַ לָנּו אֶׁת הַ יָם, וְהֶׁ עֱבִ ירָ נּו בְ תוֹכוֹבֶׁחָרָ בָ ה, עוְשִקַ צָרֵ נּו בְ תוֹכוֹ,וְסִ פֵקצָרְ כֵנּו בַמִדְ רבָ ַארְ בָעִ ים

74 Remember Hashem By Shirel levi

One way for us to appreciate Hashem is to bless Him. When you bless Hashem you remember all the things you are thankful for from Hashem. If we don't take the time to bless Hashem we will not appreciate all that we have. Rashi teaches us a story about when a dog was chasing a boy and the father saw so he picked up the boy. Later the boy fell asleep and when he woke he said, “where am I”? The father was surprised by how ungrateful his son was that he put the boy on the ground and let the dog bite him. The story teaches us that we need to always remember and appreciate what Hashem does for us and we should never forget all Hashem has done for us. We need to appreciate all we have and be grateful. That is why it is so important at the Seder to thank and bless Hashem.

75 Taking Their Wealth By Lilly Schneider

but had he not given us their wealth it“ ,ולא נתן לנו את ממונים In Dayenu, why do we say would have sufficed for us”? The Gemara (Berachot 9a) states that when the Jews were about to leave Egypt, Hashem, had to convince them to take silver and gold vessels from the Egyptians. Hashem wanted Bnei Yisrael to take riches from the Egyptians because they had been slaves for so long and didn’t get paid and it made sense for them to take riches from the people that forced them to do back-breaking work for many years. From this we can learn that Bnei Yisrael only takes and does what they need. We see this in the story of Purim when the Jews only killed the people that were threatening to kill them. The Jews did not take the riches of whoever they killed, which is an example of Bnei Yisrael not taking the riches that they did not need. While the Jews only kill and take what they have to, other nations willingly kill innocent Jews so they could make money. The lesson we can learn from this is to only do and take what we have to take.

(From the Haggadah of The Roshei Yeshivah)

72 שָ נָה,וְהֶׁאֱכִ ילָנּו אֶׁת הַמָ ן, וְ נָתַ ןלָנּו אֶׁת הַשַ בָת76, וְקֵרְ בָנּו לִפְ נֵי הַ ר סִינַי,וְ נָתַ ןלָנּו אֶׁת הַ תוֹרָ ה, וְהִ כְנִיסָ נּו ץלְאֶׁרֶׁ יִשְרָאֵ ל,ּובָ נָהלָנּו אֶׁ ת בֵ ית הַבְחִ הירָ לְכַפֵר עַל כָל עֲוֹנוֹתֵ ינּו. רַבָן גַמְ לִיאֵ להָ יָה אוֹמֵ ר:כָל שֶׁ ֹּלא ָאמַ ר שְלשָ ה דְ בָרִ ים אֵ ּלּו בַפֶׁסַ ח, ֹלא יָצָ איְדֵ יחוֹבָ תוֹ, וְאֵּלּו הֵן: פֶׁסַ ח, מַצָ ה, ּומָ רוֹר. פֶׁסַ ח77 שֶׁהָ יּו אֲ בוֹתֵ ינּו אוֹכְלִים ןבִזְמַ שֶׁ בֵית הַמִקְדָש הָ יָה קַ יָם, עַל שּום מָ ה?78 עַל שּום שֶׁ פָסַח הַקָ דוֹש בָ רּוְך הּוא עַל יבָתֵ אֲ בוֹתֵ ינּו

76 Shabbos and The Manna By Max Buch

In Dayenu, we say “(He) fed us the manna and gave us the Shabbos”. Throughout the Torah there are many connections between the manna and Shabbos. Before the Torah was even given, Shabbos was blessed and sanctified with a double portion of manna. Another interesting connection comes from Rabbi . He explained that when a Jew eats a meal on Shabbos it serves as reminder of the manna, just like the challah cover is a reminder to the layer of dew that covered the manna. Rabbi Schorr also said that even though the food at the Shabbos meal is similar to the food eaten during the week, it is in fact a spiritual experience. One more thing that the manna and Shabbos have in common is that they both represent physical, edible food, and the spiritual experience of eating food.

(From the Haggadah of the Roshei Yeshiva)

77 By Daniel Lando

Many people wonder why there is a Pesach Sheni? In the times of the Beit Hamikdash they would give a korban on the eve of Pesach. This was such a great mitzvah that everyone wanted to do and G-d made another day in case someone was unable to do it. For example, thos who buried Nadav and Avihu were incapable of giving a korban at that time because they were tameh. They complained since they had only became tameh because of Moshe’s orders. They thought they should be allowed to bring a korban and not be penalized for becoming tameh. G-d listened to their argument and made a special day called Pesach Sheni on which they could give a korbon. Pesach Sheni occurs during the month of and this month is known as the second month for it is the second level compared to the Exodus. On Pesach, you have to turn away from evil which includes throwing away or selling all your bread and sourdough. On Pesach Sheni you already left the evil behind so you can keep your chametz as the chametz has been converted to holiness.

(From Chabad.org)

73 בְמִצְרַ יִם, שֶׁ נֶׁאֱמַ ר: םוַאֲמַרְתֶׁ זֶׁבַ ח חפֶׁסַ הּוא לַ ה ', אֲשֶׁ ר פָסַ ח עַל בָתֵ י בְ נֵייִשְרָאֵ לבְמִצְרַ יִםבְ נָגְפוֹאֶׁת מִצְרַ יִם, וְאֶׁתבָתֵ ינּו הִּצִ יל, וַיִקֹד הָ עָם וַיִשְתַ חֲוּו. מַרְ אֶה אֶת הַמַ צוֹת לַמְ סֻׁבִּים וְאוֹמֵּ ר: מַּצָ ה79 זוֹשֶׁ ָאנּו אוֹכְלִים, עַל שּום מָ ה?עַל שּום שֶׁ ֹלא הִסְ פִ יק בְצֵקָ ם שֶׁלאֲ בוֹתֵ ינּולְהַחֲמִ יץ עַד שֶׁ נִגְלָה עֲלֵיהֶׁם מֶׁ לְֶׁך מַ לְכֵי הַמְ לָכִים, הַקָ דוֹש בָ רּוְך הּוא, ּוגְָאלָם,שֶׁ נֶׁאֱמַ ר: וַיֹאפּו אֶׁתהַבָצֵ ק ראֲשֶׁ הוֹצִיאּו מִמִצְרַ יִם עֻגֹתמַ ּצוֹת, כִ יֹלא חָמֵ ץ, יכִ גֹרְ שּו מִמִצְרַ יִםוְ ֹלא יָכְ לּו לְהִתְמַהְמֵּהַ, וְ גַם צֵדָ הֹלא עָשו לָהֶׁ ם. מַרְ אֶה אֶת הַמָ רוֹר לַמְ סֻׁבִּ ים וְאוֹמֵּ ר:

78 The Shankbone Nowadays By Sammy Cohen

Today we can’t bring the korbon pesach so when we talk about it at the seder we are referring to back then when they gave the korbon pesach. When we say this excerpt about the shankbone, the beginning is analyzing the essence of what the wicked son is asking. We reply to him that the korbon pesach is a sign of eternal hakarat hatov. Even though we don’t emphasize this directly towards the rasha we do it to encourage and strengthen our reply.

(From the Sephardic Heritage Haggadah)

79 Amount of Matzah By Moxe Meiri

If one has less than a kezayit (olive) of matzah should he eat it or not? The Chida cites an opinion that he doesn’t need to eat it since it’s not a mitzvah because it’s too small. He points out that on , even though you don’t get punished for eating less than a kotevet (small date), the Torah doesn’t allow eating even a small amount. So, the Chida says that even if the piece of matzah is small, it can be considered at least part of a mitzvah since he’s trying to do some of the mitzvah.

(From the Gedolei Yisroel Haggadah)

74 מָ רוֹר80 זֶׁה שֶׁ ָאנּו אוֹכְלִים,עַל שּום מָה?עַל שּום שֶׁמֵרְ רּו הַמִצְרִ ים אֶׁתחַ יֵי אֲ בוֹתֵ ינּו בְמִצְרַ יִם,שֶׁ נֶׁאֱמַ ר:וַיְמָרֲרּו תאֶׁ חַ יֵיהֶׁ ם בַ עֲבֹדָ ה קָשָה,בְ חֹמֶׁ ר ּובִ לְבֵנִיםּובְ כָל העֲבֹדָ בַשָדֶׁהאֶׁ ת כָלעֲבֹדָתָ ם ראֲשֶׁ עָבְ דּו בָהֶׁ ם בְפָ רֶׁ ְך. בְכָל דוֹר וָדוֹר חַ יָב ָאדָ ם לִרְ אוֹת אֶׁת עַצְ מוֹ כְאִ ּלּו הּוא יָצָא מִמִצְרַ יִם, שֶׁ נֶׁאֱמַ ר:וְהִ גַדְתָ לְבִ נְָךבַ יוֹם הַ הּוא לֵאמֹר, בַ עֲבּור זֶׁה עָשָ ה ה’ לִי בְצֵאתִ ימִמִצְרָ יִם.ֹלא אֶׁ תאֲ בוֹתֵ ינּו בִ לְבָד גַָאל הַקָ דוֹש בָ רּוְך הּוא, אֶּׁלָא ַאףאוֹתָ נּוגַָאל עִמָהֶׁ ם,שֶׁ נֶׁאֱמַ ר: וְ אוֹתָ נּו הוֹצִ יא מִשָ ם, לְמַ עַן הָבִיא אֹתָ נּו, לָתֶׁ ת לָנּו אֶׁת הָ ָארֶׁ ץ ראֲשֶׁ נִשְ עבַ לַאֲ בֹתֵ נּו.

80 Maror- Hashem Loves Us By Nikki Morreale

Maror symbolizes bitterness, and Matzah and Pesach both symbolize freedom. We believe that Matzah and Pesach remind us of the escape and the Makot that Hashem made while helping us get out of Egypt. Maror was the complete opposite. When we eat Maror, we remember the times that we were slaves, but it is seen as a good thing too. While Maror symbolizes enslavement, it also symbolizes the miracle of Hashem saving us from Egypt. The Midrash says that a woman takes longer than she should to get ready for the wedding to make sure that she wants to spend the rest of her life with this man. Hashem had the same thought process, but did not want to wait to take them out of Mitzrayim. Hashem saw them suffering and decided that he did not want to wait to save them. The Maror, made Hashem take them out quicker. Hashem couldn’t wait to take Bnei Yisrael out of Egypt. After reading this we learn that Maror doesn’t only symbolizes bitterness; it also symbolizes the love Hashem has for Bnei Yisrael and that he never wants to see us suffer.

(From the Shiras Yehuda Pesach Haggadah)

מרור זה שאנו אוכלים By Shmully Hyams

on our seder plate to remind us of the bitter troubles we had in Egypt. Why מרור We put don't we put gold and silver to remind us of all the riches we took from Egypt? of Premishlan answers: Since we always have had bitter troubles, to remind us of the bitter times in Egypt is still relevant. We don't have any gold and silver from Egypt so it isn't relevant.

(From the Gedolei Yisroel Haggadah)

75 מַ גְבִּיהִּ ים תאֶ הַ כוֹס עַד הַ לְלּויָה. לְפִ יכְָך אֲ נַחְנּו חַ יָבִ ים לְהוֹדוֹת, לְהַ ּלֵל, לְשַ בֵחַ, לְפָאֵ ר, לְרוֹמֵ ם, לְהַדֵ ר, לְבָרְֵך, לְעַּלֵה ּולְקַ ּלֵסלְמִ י שֶׁ העָשָ לַאֲ בוֹתֵ ינּו וְ לָנּו אֶׁ ת כָל הַ נִסִ ים הָאֵלּו: הוֹצִ יָאנּומֵ עַבְ דּות לְחֵ רּות מִ יָגוֹןלְשִמְ חָ ה, ּומֵאֵבֶׁ ל לְיוֹם טוֹב, ּומֵאֲפֵלָה לְאוֹר גָדוֹל, ּומִשִ עְ בּוד לִגְאֻ ּלָה. וְ נֹאמַ ר לְפָנָיו שִ ירָ ה חֲדָשָ ה: הַלְלּויָּה. הַלְלּו יָּה הַלְלּו עַבְדֵ י יְהוָההַלְלּו אֶׁת שֵ ם יְהוָה. ייְהִ םשֵ יְהוָה מְ בֹרָ ְך מֵ עַתָ ה וְעַד עוֹלָם. מִמִ חזְרַ ששֶׁמֶׁ עַד מְ בוֹאוֹמְ הֻּלָל שֵ ם יְהוָה. רָ ם עַל כָל גוֹיִם יְהוָה עַל הַשָמַ יִם כְ בוֹדוֹ. מִ י כַיהוָה אֱֹלקֵ ינּו הַמַ יגְבִיהִ לָשָ בֶׁ ת. הַמַשְ פִ ילִי לִרְ אוֹת בַשָמַ יִם ּובָ ָארֶׁ ץ. מְקִימִ י מֵעָפָר דָ ל מֵאַשְ פֹת יָרִ ים אֶׁבְ יוֹן. לְהוֹשִ יבִ י עִ ם נְדִ יבִ ים עִ ם נְדִ יבֵי עַמוֹ. מוֹשִ יבִ יעֲקֶׁרֶׁ ת הַבַיִת אֵ ם הַבָנִים שְמֵחָההַלְלּו יָּה. בְצֵ את ליִשְרָאֵ מִמִצְרָ יִם בֵ ית יַעֲקֹב מֵ עַם ֹלעֵז. הָ היְתָ יְהּודָ ה לְקָדְ שוֹ יִשְרָאֵל מַמְשְ לוֹתָ יו. הַ יָם רָ ָאה וַיָנֹס הַ יַרְ ןדֵ יִסֹב לְָאחוֹר. הֶׁהָרִ ים רָקְ דּו כְאֵ ילִים גְבָ עוֹת כִבְ נֵי צֹאן. מַה ּלְָך הַ יָם כִיתָנּוס הַ יַרְ דֵן תִ סֹב לְָאחוֹר. הֶׁהָרִ ים תִרְקְ דּו כְאֵ ילִים גְבָ עוֹת כִבְ נֵי צֹאן. מִ ּלִפְ נֵיָאדוֹן חּולִיָארֶׁ ץ מִ ּלִפְ נֵי אֱ לוֹּהַ יַעֲקֹב. הַ הֹפְכִיהַ ּצּור אֲ גַם מָ יִם חַ ּלָמִ יש לְמַעְ יְנוֹ מָ יִם. מַ גְבִּיהִּ ים אֶ ת הַ כוֹס עַד גַָאל יִּשְרָ אֵּ ל. בָ רּוְך אַתָ ה ה’ אֱֹלקֵ ינּו מֶׁלְֶׁך הָ עוֹלָם, אֲשֶׁ ר גְָאלָנּווְ גַָאל אֶׁת אֲ בוֹתֵ ינּו מִמִצְרַ יִם,וְהִ גִיעָנּו לַּלַיְלָההַזֶׁה לֶׁאֱכָלבוֹ מַּצָה ּומָ רוֹר. כֵן ה’ אֱֹלקֵ ינּו וֵאֹלהֵ יאֲ בוֹתֵ ינּו יַגִיעֵנּו לְמוֹ עֲדִ ים וְלִרְ גָלִים אֲחֵרִ ים הַבָאִ ים לִקְרָאתֵ נּו לְשָ לוֹם, שְמֵחִ ים בְבִ נְיַןעִירֶׁ ָךוְשָשִ ים בַ עֲבוֹדָתֶׁ ָך. וְ נֹאכַל שָ ם מִ ן הַזְבָחִ ים ןּומִ הַפְסָחִ יםאֲשֶׁ ר יַגִיעַ דָמָ םעַל קִ ירמִ זְבַחֲָך לְרָ צוֹן, וְ נוֹדֶׁ ה לְָך שִ יר חָדָ ש עַל גְאֻ ּלָתֵ נּו וְעַלפְ דּות נַפְשֵ נּו. בָרּוְך אַתָ ה ה’ גַָאל יִשְרָאֵ ל.

76 בָ רּוְך אַתָ ה ה’ אֱֹלקֵ ינּו מֶׁ לְֶׁך הָ עוֹלָם אבוֹרֵ יפְרִ הַ גָפֶׁן81. ׁשוֹתִּ ין אֶת הַ כוֹס בְהַסָ בַת שְ מֹאל. רָחְ צָ ה82 נוֹטְ לִּים אֶת הַ יָדַ יִּםּומְ בָרְ כִּ ים

81 Four Cups; Four Matriarchs By Noa Hassan and Elizabeth Rubin

Why do we drink four cups of wine on Pesach? We drink the first cup of wine for reciting kiddush. We dedicate each cup of wine to four of our amazing women leaders in Jewish history. For the first cup we commemorate Sara for her effort to spread the word of G-d to those who worshiped idols. For the second cup, after we finish telling the story of the birth of the Jewish nation, and we read about how Avraham’s father worshipped idols. Rivka's life story was pretty similar. She was born into a family that worshipped idols, and she still grew to be one of the matriarchs of the Jewish people. So, we drink the second cup of wine to commemorate Rivka. After we finish saying brachot on our meals we drink the third cup of wine in the honor of Rachel the mother of Yosef who assured the land of Egypt that they would make it through the famine. We drink the last cup of wine after saying Hallel to give praise to Leah. After the birth of her son Yehudah, she said, “this time I shall thank Hasham.” But why was this for the fourth son and not the other three? The reason is that Yaakov had twelve children and four wives and she was grateful that she had one more than her “share”. She was still grateful for all of her children but especially thanked Hashem for the birth of Yehuda. This is why we honor her and all the other woman by drinking a cup of wine.

?נטילה or רחצה82 By Dani Bank

So .נטילת ידים We all know about the mitzvah of washing before we eat bread, known as now that we are about to eat matzah, which is a type of bread, we are going to wash. But if the Rav Yerachmiel ?רחצה then why is this step of the seder called נטילת ידים mitzvah is called God washes. There is ,רחץ ה' :can be split up into two words רחצה Yisrael of Alexandria said that a line in the Germara which says that the Haggadah and Seder both follow a pattern of beginning alludes to the idea that Hashem is washing רחצה with shame and ending off with glory. The name and cleansing us throughout the Seder and at this specific stage of the Seder. The Maggid of in Him [Hashem] I put my“ ,”ביה אנא רחיץ“ is a reference to the words רחצה Mezeritch said that trust.” Since we need to put a lot of trust in Hashem in order to make money and get bread, we reference this in the name of the step to wash before eating bread.

(From The Chassidic Haggadah)

77 בָ רּוְך אַתָ ה ה’ אֱֹלקֵ ינּו מֶׁ לְֶׁךהָ עוֹלָם, אֲשֶׁר קִדְשָ נּו בְמִצְ וֹתָ יו וְצִ ּוָנּו עַל נְטִ ילַת יָדָ יִם. מוֹצִּיא מַצָ ה יִּקַח הַמַ צוֹת בְסֵּדֶ ר ׁשֶהִּ נִּיחָן, הַפְרּוסָ ה בֵּיןׁשְתֵּי הַשְ לֵּמוֹת, וְיֹאחַ ז ׁשְ לָׁשְתָ ן83 בְ יָדוֹ וִּיבָרֵּ ְך "הַ מוֹצִּ יא" בְ כַּוָנָה לעַ הָעֶלְיוֹנָה ו"עַל אֲכִּ ילַת מַצָה" בְ כַּוָנָה לעַ הַפְרּוסָ ה. ַאחַ ר כְָך יִּבְצַ עכְ זַיִּת מִּ ן הָעֶלְיוֹנָה הַשְלֵּמָה וְכַזַיִּת ׁשֵּ נִּי מִּן ההַפְרּוסָ וְיֹאכַלבְהַסָ בָה ׁשְ נֵּי הַ זֵּיתִּ ים84

83 Why Three Matzahs? By Naomi Klein

The custom for Ashkenazim is to have three matzahs at the seder. Why? An answer that אברהם the Daat Zekeinim says is that maybe the three matzahs are related to the three cakes that ?פסח have to do with שרה and אברהם made for their guests. But what do שרה and made their bread for the travelers in haste, as there was no notice that the שרה and אברהם guests were coming. The Jews also made their bread in haste, as they needed to leave Egypt. made the cakes אברהם is that when פסח are related to שרה and אברהם Another reason that for his guests, he did it without thinking. When the Jews were leaving Egypt, they did not make a lot of bread, trusting that Hashem would provide for their journey. How did the Jews know to .who always trusted Hashem ,אברהם trust Hashem? Its came from A lesson that we can learn from this is that we should always trust Hashem, and that we even if we do not get rewarded for it, because our later generations will ,חסד should always do learn from us. (From the Pesach Haggadah)

84 The Right Amount of Matzah By Emily Keiser

Every person needs to eat a kezayit of matzah. What happens if someone does not have a whole kezayit and they cannot obtain more matzah? According to the Shevut Yaakov, the person is exempt from eating the matzah because he or she will not fulfill the mitzvah anyway, since there is not enough matzah. Eating less than the required amount does not count. The Chida disagrees. He says that we see from the laws of Yom Kippur that eating less than the required amount still counts for something. On Yom Kippur we may not eat a kotevet (size of a date) worth of food. However, even less than this is considered forbidden. We see that less than the amount still counts. So too, even if you only have less than a kezayit of matzah you should still eat whatever you have. (From the Gedolei Yisrael Haggadah)

78 בָ רּוְך אַתָ ה ה’ אֱֹלקֵ ינּו מֶׁ לְֶׁך הָ עוֹלָם הַ מוֹצִ יא םלֶׁחֶׁ מִ ן הָ ָארֶׁ ץ. בָ רּוְך אַתָ ה ה’ אֱֹלקֵ ינּו מֶׁ לְֶׁךהָ עוֹלָם, אֲשֶׁר קִדְשָ נּו בְמִצְ וֹתָ יו וְצִ ּוָנּו עַל אֲכִ ילַת מַּצָ ה. 85 מָ רוֹר כָלאֶחָד מֵּהַמְ סֻׁבִּ יםלוֹקֵּחַ כְ זַיִּתמָ רוֹר ּומַטְ בִּ לוֹ בַחֲרוֹסֶ ת, חוֹזֵּרּומְ נַעֵּ ר הַ חֲרוֹסֶ ת, מְ בָרֵּ ְךוְאוֹכֵּל בְ לִּי הַסָ בָה. בָ רּוְך אַתָ ה ה’ אֱֹלקֵ ינּו מֶׁ לְֶׁךהָ עוֹלָם, אֲשֶׁר קִדְשָ נּו בְמִצְ וֹתָ יו וְצִ ּוָנּו עַל אֲכִ ילַת מָ רוֹר. כוֹרֵּ ְך86

85 Marror By Rachel Kornblum

Why do we eat Marror to remind us of the bitterness in Egypt, but we do nothing to remember the jewels and riches that we left with? The Bais Halevi explains that the riches are all gone, but the exile and the bitterness still remains.

(From the Artscroll Haggadah)

86 The Eating of the Korech Sandwich By Samuel Colchamiro

How should one go about eating the Korech Sandwich? There is a machloket between Hillel and the Chachamim. In the times of the Beit Hamikdash Hillel would stand in front of the people and make a sandwich out of matzah and maror (Rashi on the Gemara says that this included the Korban Pesach). This understanding follows the literal meaning of the passuk in Bamidbar that states In the second month, on the“ ,” ַב ֹ֨ח ֹ ֶדש ַה ֵש ָ֜נִׁי ְבַא ְר ָּב ֹ֨ ָּעה ָּע ֵָּ֥שׂר ֛יֹום ֵֵ֥בין ָּהֵֽ ַע ְר ַָ֖ביִׁם ַי ֵֽ ֲע ַ֣שׂוּ א ֹ תֹו ַעל־ ַמ ֵּ֥צֹות וּ ְמר ִָֹׁ֖רים יֵֹֽא ְכ ֻ לֵֽהוּ“ fourteenth day, in the afternoon, they shall make it [the korban pesach]; they shall eat it with unleavened cakes and bitter herbs.” The Chachamim hold that in order to fully appreciate each part one should eat each element (Matzah, Maror, Korban Pesach) alone.

79

Being that it is unclear whether to follow the Chachamim or Hillel, we do a bit of both. First, we eat Matzah and Maror, each one alone. Then we take the two of them and eat them together like Hillel. The simple question is: So why not just follow Hillel? Everyone agrees that everyone must eat Matzah and Maror so what harm can eating them together cause? The answer is that in the present day, Maror is a Mitzvah D'rabbanan being that we no longer bring a Korban Pesach. The power of the taste of the Maror might overpower that of the Matzah, which is a Mitzvah D’oreita. Therefore, today, even Hillel would agree that first one should eat the Matzah alone. There is still one question that remains. If everyone agrees that the Matzah needs to be eaten alone, what about the maror? Why must it be eaten alone? Do the Chachamim have an issue with eating matzah and maror together? Here, we use the same principle in a slightly different way. If we were to follow the Chachamim, where the person has already fulfilled his obligation of matzah alone, then the taste of the matzah that is not required, joined with the taste of the required maror would defeat the purpose of the required maror, thereby nullifying it.

(From the Rav Shlomo Zalman Auerbach Haggada)

Why We Do Korach By Koby Yolin

Why do you eat such a bitter thing like maror with something good like Matzah? The reason we eat the Maror with the Matzah is to show that without all the bad things that happened to us, we would not remember the good things that Hashem did for us. Sometimes, when things are good we forget to think about Hashem. The bad things remind us to think of Hashem, even when things are good. If we do not remember good things, there would be no Pesach. That is why we do Korach on Pesach. (From The Haggadah of the Roshei Yeshiva)

Why a Sandwich? By Eitan Bitansky

During Korech, we eat a sandwich made of matzah, maror, and charoset. Korech is following the custom of Hillel who ate a sandwich unlike the other rabbis who ate everything separately. Nowadays, since we have no Beit Hamikdash, we don’t have a korban Pesach and eating maror is not required by the Torah but is only required by the rabbis. Matzah is the only thing in Korech that we are obligated by the Torah to eat. Therefore, even Hillel would agree to eat them separately. The reason we eat them in a sandwich is to preserve a reminder of Hillel’s practice during the time of the Beit Hamikdash. Also, according to the Shulchan Aruch Harav, Korech is not only a reminder of the time of the Beit Hamikdash but also required today too. So, to fulfill the rabbinic ordinance, we should first eat matzah by itself and then with maror as we do today. (The Artscroll Mesorah Series Haggadah)

80 כָלאֶחָד מֵּהַמְ סֻׁבִּ יםלוֹקֵּחַ כְ זַיִּת ןמִּ הַמַצָ ההַשְ לִּיׁשִּ ית םעִּ כְ זַיִּת מָ רוֹר וְכוֹרְ כִּ ים יַחַ ד, אוֹכְלִּים בְהַסָ בָ הּובְ לִּיבְרָ כָה. לִּפְ נֵּיָאכְ לוֹ אוֹמֵּ ר. זֵכֶׁר לְמִקְדָ שכְהִ ּלֵל.כֵן עָשָה הִ ּלֵל ןבִזְמַ שֶׁ בֵית הַמִקְדָש הָ יָה קַ יָם: הָ יָה כוֹרְֵך מַּצָ ה ּומָ רוֹר וְ אוֹכֵלבְ יַחַ ד,לְקַ יֵם מַ השֶׁ נֶׁאֱמַ ר: עַל מַ ּצוֹת ּומְ רֹרִ ים יֹאכְ לֻהּו. 87 ׁשֻׁ לְחָ ןעוֹרֵּ ְך

87 Eating or Learning? By Arnold Ginsberg

Everyone gets hungry in the middle of doing things whether it being related to Torah or not. But, you shouldn’t really ever stop learning to eat, so why do we do so? We stop relearning the story of Pesach just to eat a meal so there has to be a reason. There are actually a few. One left Mitzrayim and we ,בני ישראל ,theory is reconnecting. During the seder we talk about how we reconnect with that. If you were enslaved for 210 years and were finally set free wouldn’t you want to celebrate with a big meal? This means .”וידבר אלי זה השולחן אשר לפני ה‘“ which states יחזקאל Another idea comes from “He said to me, this is the table that is before the Lord”. This relates to something that we learn it is like you “ate at the table of the Lord”. Coming back to דברי תורה If you speak .פרקי אבות in Rashi says that “the altar should be three cubits high”. Your table is “the altar” and the ,יחזקאל are דברי תורה If you put all of these together you can see that .חומש, משנה, וגמרא three cubits” are“ is דברי תורה equal to eating at the table before the Lord. Therefore eating at the table while saying .s table, justifying stopping and eating’ה‘ like eating at

(From the Commentators’ Seder)

The Correct Way to Eat By Ethan Sinnreich

In the Rav Shach Haggadah, there is a story about how Rav Shach once received a visit from a young man who wanted to discuss Torah topics. The visitor was also very close with Rav Shach but when he got there, the Rosh Yeshiva didn’t want him to stay because he had just finished giving a in Ashdod and he spent the whole morning in the doctor’s office and he had absolutely no strength to talk with this young man. The Rosh Yeshiva told the young man to come back at another time because he was too weak. The Rosh Yeshiva felt bad about kicking out the young man so the Rosh Yeshiva said, “I am well aware of the fact that you are good at learning Torah, but tell me, do you know how to eat?” The young man responded by saying, “Everyone knows how to eat!” But the Rosh Yeshiva proved this boy wrong by saying that in the Mishnah it says, “ if there is no Torah there is no food” (Avot 3:17). The Mishnah is telling

81 אוֹכְלִּים וְׁשוֹתִּ ים הַסְ העּודָ הָ עֲרּוכָה וְנוֹהֲגִּיםלֶאֱכוֹל תְחִּ לָהבֵּיצִּ ים88 מְבֻׁשָ לוֹת. וֹלא יֹאכַל יוֹתֵּ ר מִּדֵּ י, שֹלא תִּהְ יֶהעָ לָיו אֲכִּ ילַת אֲפִּ יקוֹמָ ן אֲכִּ ילָה גַסָ ה. 89 צָ פּון

us is that if someone can’t learn Torah in the right manner he can’t eat food properly and in the right manner because he doesn’t know how to.

(From the Rav Shach Haggadah)

88 Baitza: The Reason We Eat It By Jason Adams

During the Pesach seder, we have a hard-boiled egg which is usually called a baitza. We have this to remember the Korban Chagiga. Besides remembering the Korban Chagiga, according to the Rambam, the egg symbolizes mourning and sadness. Their rounded shape resembles a wheel .When you think of a wheel, there is a time when every part is either on the top or the bottom; as the wheel turns, it changes positions. Life is that way too. Sometimes we are in a low place in life but as the roundness of the egg symbolizes, the tables can turn and we will be on the top again.

(From The Medrash Says Haggadah)

Why Eggs? By Ella Mordekai

During Shulchan Orech, many communities eat the egg from the seder plate. Why do we eat the egg now? Some people say that we eat the egg to commemorate Tisha B´Av, when the Beit Hamikdash was destroyed. This is because the first night of Pesach always falls on the same day of the week as Tisha B´Av. Others say that we just eat the egg as a commemoration of the Beit Hamikdash being destroyed; not necessarily because of Tisha B´Av. These two opinions are different because according to the first opinion, the egg should only be eaten on the first night of Pesach while according to the second view, the egg should be eaten on both nights. The Gra says that to eat the egg in commemoration of the Beit Hamikdash would be wrong because Pesach is a happy holiday and we shouldn't be reminded of the tragic events of the past. He says instead that the egg is a symbol of the Korban Chagigah and the egg should be eaten as a memorial to that sacrifice.

(From the Commentators’ Haggadah)

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89 More Matzah By Tali Novick

even after we’re already satisfied? The Or ,אפיקומן Why do we eat more matzah, the it becomes very tasty. Because ,אפיקומן wants, by eating the ה' Hachayim says that by doing what אפיקומן Additionally, the .אפיקומן of this, even after we feel satisfied, we still have room to eat the is considered to be the dessert. Just how there’s always room for dessert, there’s always room for .אפיקומן the which ,ברך we bentch. In fact, the Gematria of the word ,אפיקומן Right after we eat the where we eat סדר which is the part of the ,צפון means to bentch, is 222. The Gematria of the word which means happiness, and add ,שמחה is 226. If you take the four letters of the word ,אפיקומן the Once we take the .צפון you get the same Gematria as the word ,ברך it to the Gematria of the word we get the same ,ברך s will and add it to the Gematria of’ה' happiness that we get from doing אפיקומן This shows that we aren’t yet fit to bentch unless we eat the .צפון Gematria of the word and feel the happiness that comes from eating it. מצוה to be happy. If it is a big מצוה it is a very big ;מצוה גדולה להיות בשמחה ,The phrase says From this we .מצוות to be happy, then even more so, it is very important to be happy when you do and we have to do ,אפיקומן like eating the ,מצוות can learn that we have to be happy when doing them with a full heart.

(From the Vintage Haggadah)

The Other Half of the Story By Amit Bitansky

Every child could say what we do at Tzafon- “We eat the afikoman.” The afikoman is the half-matzah that we hid at the beginning of the seder. Rav Meir Simcha Hakohen of Dvinsk zt”l (Ohr Somayach) provides a deeper reason for what we do. Other than symbolizing the lechem oni, the half-matzah also suggests that we only heard “half” the story; the other “half” will be revealed later, when we will eat the afikoman. But what is the other half of the story? It is the Geulah or the redemption. We hide the afikoman in order to say that the exact date of when the redemption will happen is hidden from us. It could be tomorrow or in one hundred years! We have no way of knowing; the date will always be concealed from us. However, because we know it is there, somewhere in the near future, we send the children to search for the afikoman, and at the very end of the meal, they find it. So, by eating the second half of the matzah, we bring the events of Yetziat Mitzrayim to a full circle. The lechem oni becomes the lechem geulah. By finding it and eating it we hope to hasten the arrival of Mashiach.

(From the Torah Tavlin Haggadah)

Matzah for a Mitzvah By Rebecca Dyckman

Tzafun, which occurs after Shulchan Orech, is the part of the seder where one takes a piece of matzah that was put away after Yachatz. Then they distribute the remainder of the

83 matzah among the people at the table. This matzah is called the “Afikoman”, and is eaten in memory of the Pesach sacrifice. The Gemara tells us that “the afikoman is to be eaten after everyone is already satisfied.” Why is it that only after everyone is satisfied should the afikoman be eaten? The pasuk in Vayikra states, “You shall eat your bread with satisfaction” (26:5). The Or Ha-chayim explains this by saying that when we fulfill G-d's mitzvot, the matzah becomes so tasty that we enjoy it even after we are satisfied. This mitzvah must be such a pleasure to do that even when we do not want to eat anymore, we still experience the delight of doing the mitzvah. We learn from this that even though we might not want to do a mitzvah we still need to do it, and after we do, we will be satisfied because we honored G-d.

(From The Yeinah Shel Torah Haggadah)

The Hidden Matzah By Ashley Katz

Why is Afikomen a thing; doesn't it just waste time at the seder? Actually it's more than that, it's supposed to be a reminder for many things. The Rosh and the Yerushalmi both have opinions on this. The Rosh says that it should be in memory of the Pesach sacrifice. However, the Yerushalmi says that if you eat the Pesach sacrifice early then you don't fulfill the mitzvah of Afikomen. Although the Rashbam doesn't agree with this, he thinks that Afikomen is just an obligation for eating matzah. He says that eating a piece of the broken matzah is a good thing .The Afikomen means what comes after, or in other words dessert .לחם עוני because it represents It means this because it is supposed to be the last thing eaten at the seder. The Babylonian Talmud says that instead of eating the Afikomen last, we should eat the Pesach offering last because then the taste will stay in our mouths. All these reasons state that the Afikomen is an important part of the Pesach Seder.

What is the Reason for the Afikoman? By Yardena Goldman and Talia Menasha

.is the bigger half of the second matzah אפיקומן The .אפיקומן During the seder, we hide the Usually, the youngest child will hide it. Then everyone else tries to look for it but they have to .you cannot eat anything else until the next morning ,אפיקומן Once you eat the .צַפוּן find it during We do this to show how full we are after this huge feast. Kings are always full after their meal and we are kings during the two nights of the seder. The word “Afikoman” is from the greek word epikomion (which comes after). Why do we hide the Afikoman? Because we will eat this matzah only at the very end of the seder, we don’t want to mix it up with the other two matzot at the table. The custom is to wrap it in some sort of cloth to remember the way the Jews left Mitzrayim with their matzah. Another reason that we hide the Afikoman is because otherwise the children will not stay up. The adults want the kids to stay up for the seder, but without the Afikoman there is nothing to get them to stay awake for the seder.

(From Chabad.org)

84 ַאחַ ר גְמַר הַסְ עֻׁדָ הלוֹקֵּחַ כָל אֶחָ ד מֵּהַמְ סֻׁבִּ יםכְ זַיִּתמֵּהַמַצָה ׁשֶהָ יְתָ ה צְפּונָה לַאֲפִּ יקוֹמָ ן וְאוֹכֵּלמִּמֶ נָהכַזַיִּת בְהַסִּ בָ ה. וְצָרִּ יְך לְָאכְ לָּה קֹדֶ ם חֲצוֹת הַ לַיְלָה. בָרֵּ ְך מוֹזְגִּין כוֹס שלִּיׁשִּי ּומְ בָרְ כִּ ין בִּרְ כַת הַמָ זוֹן.

שִ יר הַמַ עֲלוֹת בְ שּוב ה’ אֶׁת שִ תיבַ צִ יוֹן הָ יִינּו כְ חֹלְמִ ים. ָאז יִמָ לֵא שְ חוֹקפִ ינּוּולְשוֹנֵנּו רִ נָהָאז יֹאמְ רּו בַ גוֹיִם הִ גְדִ יל ה’ לַעֲשוֹת עִם אֵ ּלֶׁה. הִ גְדִ יל ה’ לַעֲשוֹת עִמָנּוהָ יִינּו שְמֵחִ ים. שּובָ ה ה’ אֶׁ ת שְ בִיתֵ נּו כַאֲפִיקִ יםבַ נֶׁגֶׁב. הַ זֹרְ עִיםבְדִמְ עָהבְרִ נָהיִקְ צֹרּו.הָ לוְֹךיֵלְֵך ּובָ כֹה נֹשֵ א מֶׁשְֶׁך הַזָרַ ע בֹא יָבוֹא בְרִ נָה נֹשֵ א אֲ לֻמֹתָ יו.

ׁשְלׁשָה ׁשֶ ָאכְ לּו כְאֶחָד חֲיָבִּ ין לְזֵּמֵּןוְהַמְ ןזַמֵּ פוֹתֵּחַ :

Why the Afikoman By Leora Glajchen and Emma Plotsker

Why is it that we need an afikoman? We are celebrating the freedom from Mitzrayim. What does hiding matzah have to do with Pesach? What is the role of the afikoman? We learn that the afikoman symbolizes the Passover lamb. Before the Beit Hamikdash was destroyed, the lamb was the korban. After the beit hamikdash was destroyed, we substituted the korban / the lamb with matzah also called the afikomen. Why is the afikoman supposed to be eaten before midnight? Moshe said that no korban Pesach should be kept for the next morning. The korban Pesach had to be eaten before midnight because after midnight was considered the next day. The afikoman is broken from the middle matzah. We have three matzot that symbolize the three fathers. The afikoman, from the middle matzah, symbolizes Yitzchak. Yitzchak was supposed to be sacrificed but wasn’t; he was replaced by a lamb. The afikoman represents both Yitzchak and the Passover lamb.

85 רַ בוֹתַ י, נְבָרֵ ְך! הַמְ סֻבִ ים עוֹנִים: יְהִ י שֵ ם ה’ מְ בֹרְָך מֵ עַתָ ה וְעַד עוֹלָם. הַמְ זַמֵ ןאוֹמֵ ר: בִרְ שּות מְרָ נָן וְרַ בָ נָן וְרַ בוֹתַ י, נְבָרֵ ְך )בעשרה אֱֹלקֵ ינּו( שֶׁ ָאכַלְנּו מִשֶׁ לוֹ. הַמְ סֻבִ ים עוֹנִים:בָ רּוְך )אֱ ֹלקֵ ינו( שֶׁ ָאכַלְנּו מִשֶׁ לוֹ ּובְ טּובוֹחָ יִינּו. הַמְ ןזַמֵ חוֹזֵר וְ אוֹמֵ ר:בָ רּוְך )אֱֹלקֵ ינּו(שֶׁ ָאכַלְנּו מִשֶׁ לוֹ ּובְ טּובוֹחָ יִינּו. בָ רּוְך אַתָ ה ה’ אֱֹלקֵ ינּו מֶׁ לְֶׁךהָ עוֹלָם הַזָןאֶׁת הָ עוֹלָם כֻּלוֹבְ טּובוֹ בְחֵ ן בְחֶׁסֶׁ דּובְרַ חֲמִ יםהּוא נֹתֵ ןלֶׁחֶׁ ם לְ כָל- בָשָר כִי לְעוֹלָםחַסְ דוֹ ּובְ טּובוֹ הַגָדוֹל תָמִ יד ֹלאחָסַ ר לָנּו וְ ַאל יֶׁחְסַ ר לָנּומָ זוֹן לְעוֹלָםוָעֶׁד בַ עֲבּור שְ מוֹ הַ גָדוֹל כִיהּוא אֵ ל זָן ּומְ פַרְ נֵס לַכֹלּומֵטִ יב לַכֹל ּומֵכִ ין מָ זוֹן לְכָל- בְרִ יוֹתָיו אֲשֶׁ ר בָרָ א בָ רּוְך אַתָ ה ה’ הַזָן אֶׁת הַ כֹל. נוֹדֶ ה ּלְָך ה’ אֱ ֹלקֵ ינּו עַל שֶׁהִ נְחַלְתָ לַאֲ בוֹתֵ ינּואֶׁרֶׁ ץ החֶׁמְדָ הטוֹבָ ּורְ חָבָ ה וְ עַלשֶׁ הוֹצֵאתָ נּו ה’ אֱֹלקֵ ינּו מֵאֶׁרֶׁ ץמִצְרַ יִםּופְדִ יתָ נּו מִ בֵ ית עֲבָדִ ים וְעַל בְרִיתְָך שֶׁחָתַמְתָבִבְשָרֵ נּו וְעַל תוֹרָתְָך שֶׁ ּלִמַדְתָ נּו וְעַלחֻקֶׁ יָך שֶׁ הוֹדַעְתָ נּו וְעַל חַ יִים ןחֵ וָחֶׁסֶׁדשֶׁ חוֹנַנְתָ נּו, וְעַל אֲכִ ילַת מָ זוֹן השָאַתָ זָן ּומְ פַרְ נֵס אוֹתָ נּו תָמִ יד, בְ כָל יוֹםּובְ כָל עֵת ּובְ כָל שָ עָה. וְעַל הַ כֹל ה’ אֱ ֹלקֵ ינּו אֲנַחְ נּומוֹדִ ים לְָך ּומְ בָרְ כִ יםאוֹתָ ְך, יִתְ בָרַ ְך שִמְ ָך בְפִ י כָל יחַ תָמִ ידלְעוֹלָם וָעֶׁד, כַכָתּוב: "וְָאכַלְתָ וְשָ בַעְתָ ,ּובֵרַ כְתָ אֶׁ ת ה’ אֱֹלהֶׁיָך עַ להָ ץָארֶׁ הַ טוֹבָה ראֲשֶׁ ןנָתַ לְָך". בָ רּוְך אַתָ ה ה’, עַל הָ ָארֶׁ ץ וְעַל הַמָ זוֹן. רַחֶ ם נָא ה’ אֱֹלקֵ ינּו עַל ליִשְרָאֵ עַמֶׁ ָך, וְעַליְרּושָ לַיִםעִ ירֶׁ ָך, וְעַל צִ יוֹן מִשְ כַןכְ בוֹדֶׁ ָך, וְעַלמַ לְכּות בֵית דָוִ דמְשִ יחֶׁ ָך, וְעַל הַבַיִת הַ גָדוֹל וְהַקָ דוֹששֶׁ אנִקְרָ שִמְ ָך עָלָיו. אֱ ֹלקֵ ינּו,ָאבִ ינּו,רְ עֵנּו, זּונֵנּו, פַרְ נְסֵ נּו וְכַלְכְ לֵנּווְהַרְ וִיחֵ נּו, וְהַרְ וַח לָנּו ה’ אֱֹלקֵ ינּו מְ ההֵרָ מִ כָל צָ רוֹתֵ ינּו. וְ נָא ַאל תַצְרִ יכֵנּו ה’ אֱֹלקֵ ינּו, ֹלא לִידֵ י מַתְ נַת בָשָ ר םוָדָ וְֹלא לִידֵ י

86 הַלְוָָאתָם,כִי אִ ם לְיָדְ ָך הַמְ לֵָאה הַפְתּוחָההַקְ דוֹשָ הוְהָרְ חָבָ ה, שֶׁ ֹלא נֵבוֹש וְ ֹלא נִכָלֵם לְעוֹלָם וָעֶׁד. בְׁשַ בָ תמוֹסִּיפִּ ין: רְ צֵּה וְהַחֲלִיצֵ נּו ה’ אֱֹלקֵ ינּו בְמִצְ וֹתֶׁ יָך ּובְמִצְ וַת יוֹם הַשְ בִיעִ י הַשַ בָ תהַ גָדוֹלוְהַקָ דוֹש הַזֶׁה.כִ י יוֹם זֶׁה גָדוֹל וְקָ דוֹש הּוא לְפָנֶׁיָך לִשְבָת בוֹוְ לָנּוחַ בוֹ בְ ַאהֲבָ ה כְמִצְ וַת רְ צוֹנֶָׁך.ּובִרְ צוֹנְָך הָ נִיחַ לָנּו ה’ אֱֹלקֵ ינּו שֶֹּׁלא תְ הֵא צָרָ הוְ יָגוֹן וַאֲ נָחָ הבְ יוֹם מְ נּוחָתֵ נּו. וְהַרְ אֵ נּו ה’ אֱֹלקֵ ינּו בְ נֶׁחָמַתצִ יוֹן עִירֶׁ ָך ּובְבִ נְיַן יְרּושָ לַיִם עִ יר קָדְ שֶׁ ָך כִ י אַתָ ה הּוא בַעַלהַ יְשּועוֹתּובַעַל הַ נֶׁחָ מוֹת.

אֱֹלקֵ ינּו יוֵאֹלהֵ אֲ בוֹתֵ ינּויַעֲלֶׁה וְ יָבֹא וְ יַגִיעַ וְ היֵרָאֶׁ וְ יֵרָ צֶׁ ה וְיִשָמַ ע וְיִפָקֵ ד וְיִזָכֵרזִכְ רוֹנֵנּו ּופִקְ דוֹנֵנּווְזִכְ רוֹןאֲ בוֹתֵ ינּו וְזִכְ רוֹן מָשִ יחַ בֶׁ ןדָוִ דעַבְדֶׁ ָך וְזִכְ רוֹן יְרּושָ לַיִם עִ יר קָדְשֶׁ ָך וְזִכְ רוֹן כָל עַמְ ָך בֵית יִשְרָאֵ ל לְפָנֶׁיָך לִפְ לֵיטָ הלְטוֹבָ ה לְחֵ ן דּולְחֶׁסֶׁ ּולְרַ חֲמִ ים לְחַ יִ ים )טוֹבִ ים( ּולְשָ לוֹם ביום חג המצות הזה זָכְרֵ נּו יְהֹוָה אֱ ֹלקֵ ינּו בוֹ לְטוֹבָ ה ּופָקְדֵ נּו בוֹ לִבְרָ כָה וְ הוֹשִ יעֵנּו בוֹ לְחַ יִים טוֹבִ ים. ּובִדְ רבַ יְשּו עָהוְרַ חֲמִ ים חּוס וְחָ נֵנּו וְרַ חֵ ם עָלֵינּווְ הוֹשִ יעֵנּו כִי אֵ לֶׁיָך עֵינֵינּו כִ י אֵלמֶׁ לְֶׁך חַ נּון וְרַ חּום אָתָ ה: ּובְ נֵה יְרּושָ לַיִם עִיר הַ קֹדֶׁ שבִמְ הֵרָ הבְ יָמֵ ינּו. בָ רּוְך אַתָ ה ה’, בוֹנֵה בְרַ חֲמָ יו יְרּושָ לַיִם. ָאמֵ ן. בָ רּוְך אַתָ ה ה’, אֱֹלקֵ ינּומֶׁ לְֶׁך הָ עוֹלָם, הָ קֵ לָאבִ ינּו, מַ לְכֵנּו, ַאדִ ירֵ נּו, בוֹרְאֵ נּו, גֹאֲ לֵנּו, יוֹצְרֵ נּו,קְ דוֹשֵ נּו קְ דוֹשיַעֲקֹב, רוֹעֵנּו רוֹעֵה יִשְרָ ַאל, הַמֶׁ לְֶׁךהַ טוֹב וְהַמֵטִ יב לַכֹל,שֶׁבְ כָל יוֹם וָיוֹםהּוא הֵטִ יב, הּוא מֵטִ יב, הּואיֵיטִיב לָנּו. הּוא גְמָ לָנּו הּואגוֹמְ לֵנּוהּוא יִגְמְ לֵנּו לָעַד, ןלְחֵ ּולְחֶׁסֶׁ ד ּולְרַ חֲמִ יםּולְרֶׁ וַח הַּצָ לָהוְהַצְ לָחָה, בְרָ כָהוִישּועָה נֶׁחָמָה פַרְ נָסָ ה וְכַלְכָלָה, וְרַ חֲמִ ים וְחַ יִים וְשָ לוֹם וְכָלטוֹב; ּומִ כָל טּוב לְ עוֹלָם עַל יְחַסְרֵ נּו.

87 הָרַ חֲמָ ן הּוא יִמְ לוְֹךעָלֵינּו לְעוֹלָם וָעֶׁד. הָרַ חֲמָ ן הּוא יִתְ בָרַ ְך בַשָמַ יִם ּובָָארֶׁ ץ. הָרַ חֲמָ ן הּוא יִשְתַ בַח לְדוֹר דוֹרִ ים, וְיִתְ פַָאר בָ נּו לָעַד ּולְנֵצַח נְצָחִ ים, וְיִתְ הַדַ רבָ נּו לָעַד ּולְעוֹלְמֵ י עוֹלָמִ ים. הָרַ חֲמָ ן הּוא יְפַרְ נְסֵנּו בְ כָבוֹד. הָרַ חֲמָ ן הּואיִשְ בוֹר עֻּלֵנּו מֵ עַל ּצַּוָארֵ נּו, וְ הּוא יוֹלִיכֵנּו קוֹמְמִ יּות לְַארְ צֵ נּו. הָרַ חֲמָ ן הּוא יִשְ לַחלָנּו בְרָ כָה מְרֻבָה בַבַיִת הַזֶׁה90, וְעַל שֻלְחָן זֶׁה שֶׁ ָאכַלְנּו עָלָיו.

90 No More, No Less By Eli Brickman

The ?הָּרַ חֲמָּן הוּאיִׁשְלַח לָּנוּ בְרָּ כָּהמְרֻ בָּה בַבַיִׁת הַזֶה What is meant by “abundant blessing” in Chafetz Chaim explains that not only do we not want too little of goodness; we also do not want too much of it. He uses rain, an important thing that we could not live without, as an example. Just enough is good and will help us live. However, if there is too much rain it could be damaging. This is the case for all good things in the world. The Chafetz Chaim shows this with a story. There was once a dad with a kid who walked to school every day on the same streets. The father asked one of the shop owners if he could give the boy a candy each day when he passed the store, and the dad would pay for each of the candies. The shop owner was relieved knowing that he had a steady customer for awhile, so he made the deal. So from that day on, the owner came out to greet the boy with candy each day. The candy would usually get the young lad through the day. Of course, over a long time the boy’s teeth were decaying at a rapid pace. So the lad’s parents took him to a doctor to get him extensive, and expensive dental care. One day the store owner came to the house of this child to give the father the bill, but he said that he would not pay because the store owner was told to give this boy candy, but obviously not so much that his teeth would start to rot. The store owner should have had the idea that he should give this boy a reasonable amount. The Chafetz Chaim asked to his students if the father should pay or not. Obviously the answer was no because the store owner was responsible for interpreting the father’s message properly, and realizing that it is not good to give so much candy to a young fellow. He should have realized that by giving this boy unlimited sweets, he was also hurting the boy’s health.

88 הָרַ חֲמָ ן הּוא יִשְ לַח לָנּו אֶׁ ת אֵ לִיָהּוהַ נָבִ יא זָכּור לַטוֹב, וִ ריבַשֵ לָנּו בְ שוֹרוֹת טוֹבוֹתיְשּועוֹת וְ נֶׁחָ מוֹת. בבית אביו אומר: הָרַ חֲמָ ן הּוא יְבָרֵ ְךאֶׁ ת יָאבִ ימוֹרִ בַעַל הַבַיִת הַזֶׁה, וְאֶׁת יאִמִ ימוֹרָתִ בַ עֲלַת הַבַיִת הַזֶׁ ה. נשוי אומר: הָרַ חֲמָ ן הּוא יְבָרֵ ְך אוֹתִ י, )אם אביו ואמו בחיים: וְאֶׁ ת ָאבִי מוֹרִ י,וְאֶׁ תאִמִ ימוֹרָתִ י,( תוְאֶׁ אִשְתִ י,וְאֶׁ תזַרְ עִי, תוְאֶׁ כָל אֲשֶׁ ר לִי. אשה נשואה אומרת: הָרַ חֲמָ ן הּוא יְבָרֵ ְך אוֹתִ י, )אם אביה ואמה בחיים: תוְאֶׁ ָאבִ י מוֹרִ י, וְאֶׁתאִמִ ימוֹרָתִ י,( תוְאֶׁ בַ עֲלִי, וְאֶׁ ת זַרְ עִ י, תוְאֶׁ כָל אֲשֶׁ ר לִי. אורח אומר: הָרַ חֲמָ ן הּוא יְבָרֵ ְך אֶׁ ת בַעַל הַבַיִתהַזֶׁה וְאֶׁת בַעֲלַת הַבַיִת הַזֶׁה, אוֹתָם וְאֶׁ תבֵ םיתָ תוְאֶׁ זַרְ עָם וְאֶׁ ת כָל ראֲשֶׁ לָהֶׁ ם. יְהִ ירָ צוֹן, שֶׁ ֹּלא יֵבוֹש בַעַל הַבַיִתבָ עוֹלָםהַזֶׁה, וְ ֹלא יִכָלֵם לָעוֹלָם הַבָ א, וְיִצְ לַחמְ אֹדבְ כָלנְכָסָ יו,וְיִהְ יּונְכָסָ יוּונְכָסֵ ינּו מֻצְ לָחִים ּוקְ רוֹבִ ים לָעִיר, וְַאל יִשְ ֹלטשָטָ ןֹלא בְמַ יעֲשֵ יָדָ יווְ ֹלא בְמַ עֲשֵ ייָדֵ ינּו, וְַאל יִזְדַקֵ ק )נוסח הגמרא: יִזְדַקֵ ר( ֹלא לְפָנָיווְֹלא לְפָנֵינּו שּום דְ בַר הַרְ הוֹר חֵטְ א וַעֲבֵרָ ה וְעָוֹן מֵ עַתָ ה וְעַד עוֹלָם. בסעודה משותפת אומר: הָרַ חֲמָ ן הּוא יְבָרְֵך אֶׁ ת כָל הַמְ סֻבִ ין כַאן.

This idea should be applied many times in life. Some people think that if they get an unlimited amount of what they want, they would be happy. It is impossible for any person to know what they are going to get, but here we pray for what is specifically needed for us. No more and no less.

(From the Haggadah of the Roshei Yeshivah)

89 אוֹתָ ם וְאֶׁ תבֵ יתָם תוְאֶׁ זַרְ עָם וְאֶׁ ת כָל ראֲשֶׁ לָהֶׁ ם, אוֹתָ נּו וְאֶׁ ת כָל אֲשֶׁר לָנּו, כְ מוֹ שֶׁ נִתְ בָרְ כּואֲ בוֹתֵ ינּו ַאבְרָ הָ ם יִצְחָ ק וְ יַעֲקֹב "בַ כֹל"- "מִ כֹל"-"כֹל" – כֵן יְבָרֵ ְך אוֹתָ נּו כֻּלָנּו יַחַ ד בִבְרָ כָה שְ לֵמָ ה. וְ נֹאמַ ר: "ָאמֵ ן". בַמָ רוֹם יְלַמְ דּו עֲלֵיהֶׁםוְעָלֵינּו זְ כּות שֶׁתְ הֵאלְמִשְמֶׁרֶׁ ת שָ לוֹם. וְנִשָ א בְרָ כָה מֵאֵ ת ה’, ּוצְדָקָהמֵאֹלהֵ ייִשְ עֵנּו, וְ נִמְ צָא חֵן וְשֵ כֶׁל טוֹב בְעֵינֵי אֱֹלהִ ים וְָאדָ ם. בשבת: הַרָ חֲמָ ן הּוא יַנְחִ ילֵנּו יוֹם שֶׁ כֻלוֹ שַ בָתּומְנּוחָה לְחַ יֵי הָ עוֹלָמִ ים. הַרָ חֲמָ ן הּוא יַנְחִ ילֵנּו יוֹם שֶׁ כֻלוֹטוֹב, יוֹם שֶׁ כֻּלוָֹארוְֹך, יוֹםשֶּׁצַדִיקִ ים יוֹשְבִ ים וְעַטְ רוֹתֵיהֶׁם בְרָ םאשֵיהֶׁ וְ נֶׁהֱנִיןמִ זִיו הַשְ כִ ינָה, וִיהִיחֶׁלְקֵ נּו עִמָהֶׁ ם. הָרַ חֲמָ ן הּוא יְזַכֵנּו לִימוֹת הַמָשִ יחַ ּולְחַ יֵי הָ עוֹלָם הַבָ א. מִ גְדוֹליְשּועוֹת מַ לְכוֹ, וְ עֹשֶׁה דחֶׁסֶׁ לִמְשִ יחוֹ, לְדָוִד ּולְזַרְ עוֹ עַד עוֹלָם. עֹשֶׁהשָ לוֹם בִמְ רוֹמָ יו,הּוא יַעֲשֶׁ השָ לוֹםעָלֵינּו וְעַל כָל יִשְרָ ַאל. וְאִמְ רּו: "ָאמֵ ן". יְראּו אֶׁ ת ה’ קְ דֹשָ יו, כִ י אֵין מַחְ סוֹר לִירֵ ָאיו. כְפִירִ ים רָ שּו וְרָ עֵבּו, וְ דֹרְ שֵ י ה’ ֹלא יַחְסְ רּו כָל טוֹב .91 הוֹדּו לַ ה’ כִ י טוֹב, כִ י לְעוֹלָם חַסְ דוֹ.

91 To Seek Hashem By Benjamin Huppert

”.but those who seek Hashem will not lack any goodness“ – ודרשי ה' לא יחסרו כל טוב If all who seek Hashem do not lack any goodness, how is it that Rabbi Chanina ben Dosa, who sought Hashem, was still lacking food and water. Doesn't it seem like it is not true? Rav Shach answers that he may have been missing some things, but he still felt like he was happy with what No one is lacking any goodness while .ודרשי ה' לא יחסרו כל טוב he had. That is the definition of they are happy with what they have. Rav Shach explains being satisfied with one’s portion. He says that it does not mean that one does not desire anymore than what he has. No man lives life with even half of his desires filled. When the Sages say, “being satisfied with one’s portion,”

90 פוֹתֵחַאֶׁ ת יָדֶׁ ָך, ּומַשְ בִיעַ לְכָל יחַ רָ צוֹן.בָ רּוְךהַ רגֶׁבֶׁ אֲשֶׁ ר יִבְטַ ח בַ ה’, וְהָ יָ ה ה’ מִבְטַ חוֹ. נַעַרהָ יִיתִ י גַםזָקַ נְתִ י, וְֹלא ירָאִיתִ צַדִ יק נֶׁעֱזָב, וְזַרְ עוֹ מְ שבַקֶׁ לָחֶׁ ם. ה’ עֹז לְעַמוֹ יִתֵ ן, ה’ יְבָרְֵך אֶׁ ת עַמוֹ בַשָ לוֹם. בָ רּוְך אַתָ ה ה’ אֱֹלקֵ ינּו מֶׁ לְֶׁך הָ עוֹלָם אבוֹרֵ יפְרִ הַ גָפֶׁן92. ׁשוֹתִּ ין בַהֲסָ בַ ת שְ מֹ אל. מוזגין כוס רביעי וכוס של אליהו. פותחים הדלת כדי שנזכר שהוא ליל שמורים93.

they are not referring to someone who does not have a desire to have more than what he owns. What they are saying is that a person realizes he has nothing coming because of his own merit; he knows he deserves nothing. He doesn't care that he wants more, he should be happy with what he has.

(From the Rav Shach Haggadah Page)

92 Four Cups; Three Reasons By Josh Kirsch

Why do we drink specifically four cups of wine at the Seder? What does four symbolize? 1) When Hashem promised to take the Jews out of Egypt, He used four terms to describe redemption: “I shall Take you out,” “I shall Rescue you,” “I shall Redeem you’’ and “I shall Bring you.’’ 2) The four cups symbolize the four exiles: by the Egyptians, the Babylonians, the Greeks and our current exile. 3) The words “cup of wine’’ are mentioned four times in Pharoh’s butler’s dream. (From Chabad.org)

93 The Cup of Wine and Opening the Door By Lea Diamond and Nessa Keiser

We all know that we open the door for Eliyahu. Why? One answer is that the Torah says that the night of Pesach is leil shimurim (a “guarded night”) because Hashem saved us on this night and when you open the door, you show your loyalty and trust in Hashem’s protection. Another answer is that Eliyahu is the one who visits each Jewish boy’s brit milah and confirms that the Jews are careful when they do the mitzvah of a brit milah. Eliyahu comes to the Seder to “confirm” that all who are there, have had a brit milah. Also, according to the midrash, the night before leaving Egypt, on Seder night, all of the male Jews had a brit milah in order to be able to

91 eat from the lamb that is sacrificed on Pesach. So, there is a connection between brit milah and the night before Pesach. We also know that we leave a cup of wine for Eliyahu. Why? One answer is that there is a question in the Talmud if we have to have four or five cups on the night of Pesach. This question was never answered so we pour a fifth cup, but do not drink it. One of Eliyahu’s jobs will be to answer all unanswered halachic questions. So, the fifth cup is nicknamed “Eliyahu’s Cup”, in excitement of the understanding he will answer on the problem.

(From Chabad.org)

Sh’foch Chamotcha By Sheina Blejer

pour out your wrath”? The answer“ - שפוך חמתך Why do we open the door when we say is that this night is called a guarded night, so we do not fear to say these words out loud where all can hear us. Let’s pretend the principal tells me that for one day you can tell me whatever you want and you are not going to get in trouble. I would probably say something that I would not usually say to him. So too, on this night Hashem is saying I will protect you and you can say .שפוך חמתך (From The Vintage Haggadah)

The Night of Protection By Eliana Lundner

The night of the Seder is called “leil shimurim,” the guarded night. It is called this because in Sefer Shmot it says that the night that Hashem took the Jews out of Mitzrayim was a guarded night and that this night will be guarded throughout generations. At the Seder, we open our door for Eliyahu to show our faith in Hashem that He will protect us. (From Aish.com)

?כוס אליהו Why Do We Also Have a By Isaac Mendelson and Jordan Alkobi

“This cup represents Hashem’s promise to the Jewish people regarding their settling in the and possessing the holy country. This additional cup of wine does not represent the freedoms of our past and present problems as do the first four cups of wine, but rather is a symbol of future greatness and final redemption of the Jewish people and with them of all humanity and Messianic times. One of the unique qualities of the Jewish worldview is its ability to combine and see the past and the future simultaneously and seamlessly. Thus, if the four cups of wine represent a progression of past and present freedoms, it is natural that there should be a fifth cup that represents our future freedom. However, since this fifth cup is not mentioned in the Mishnah that describes the Seder rituals, it is not drunk at the Seder.” (From The Pesach Haggadah: Through the Prism of Experience and History by Rabbi Berel Wein)

92 ׁשְ פְֹך חֲמָתְָך אֶׁ להַ גוֹיִם ראֲשֶׁ ֹלא יְדָ עּוָך וְעַל מַמְ לָכוֹת אֲשֶׁ רבְשִמְ ָך ֹלא קָרָאּו.כִ י ָאכַל אֶׁ ת יַעֲקֹב תוְאֶׁ נָוֵהּו הֵשַמּו. שְ פְֹך עֲלֵיהֶׁםזַעְמֶׁ ָך וַחֲרוֹן אַפְ ָך יַשִ יגֵם. תִרְ דֹף בְ ַאף וְתַשְמִידֵ ם מִתַחַת שְמֵ י ה’. הַ לֵּל ֹלא לָנּו ה’ ֹלא לָנּו, כִי לְשִמְ ָךתֵ ן כָבוֹד,עַל חַסְדְ ָך, עַלאֲמִתֶׁ ָך. לָמָ ה יֹאמְ רּו הַ גוֹיִם אַ יֵה נָא אֱֹלקֵ יהֶׁ ם, וֵאֹלהֵ ינּו בַשָמָ יִם, כֹל אֲשֶׁר חָפֵץ עָשָה. עֲצַבֵיהֶׁ םכֶׁסֶׁף וְזָהָב מַ עֲשֵ היְדֵ י ָאדָ ם. פֶׁה לָהֶׁם וְ ֹלא יְדַ בֵ רּו, עֵינַיִם לָהֶׁ ם וְ ֹלא יִרְ אּו. ָאזְ נַיִם םלָהֶׁ וְ ֹלא יִשְמָ עּו, ַאף לָהֶׁם וְ ֹלא יְרִ יחּון. יְדֵיהֶׁםוְ ֹלא יְמִ ישּון, רַ םגְלֵיהֶׁ וְֹלאיְהַ ּלֵכּו,ֹלא יֶׁהְ גּו בִגְרוֹנָם. כְ מוֹהֶׁ ם יִהְ יּו עֹשֵיהֶׁ ם, כֹל ראֲשֶׁ בֹטֵחַ בָהֶׁ ם. יִשְרָאֵ ל בְטַ ח בַ ה’, םעֶׁזְרָ ּומָ גִנָם הּוא. בֵ ית ַאהֲרֹן בִטְ חּו בַ ה’, עֶׁזְרָ םּומָ גִנָם הּוא. יִרְ אֵ י ה’ בִטְ חּו בַ ה’, עֶׁזְרָ םּומָ גִנָם הּוא. ה’ זְכָרָ נּויְבָרֵ ְך, יְבָרְֵך אֶׁ ת בֵית יִשְרָאֵ ל, יְבָרֵ ְך אֶׁתבֵית ַאהֲרֹן. יְבָרֵ ְך יִרְ אֵ י ה’, הַקְ טַ נִים עִם הַגְדֹלִים. יֹסֵ ף ה’ עֲלֵיכֶׁם, עֲלֵיכֶׁם וְעַל בְ נֵיכֶׁם. בְ רּוכִים אַתֶׁ ם לַ ה’, עֹשֵהשָמַ יִםוָָארֶׁ ץ. הַשָמַ יִם שָמַ יִם לַ ה’ וְהָ ָארֶׁ ץ נָתַן לִבְ נֵי ָאדָ ם.ֹלא הַמֵתִ ים יְהַלְלּויָּה וְ ֹלא כָליֹרְ דֵ ידּומָ ה. וַאֲ נַחְ נּו נְבָרֵ ְך יָּה מֵ עַתָ ה וְעַדעוֹלָם. הַלְלּויָּה: ָאהַבְתִ י כִ י יִשְמַ ע ה’ אֶׁ ת קוֹלִי,תַ חֲנּונָי. כִי הִטָהָאזְ נוֹלִי ּובְ יָמַ י אֶׁקְרָ א. אֲפָפּונִי חֶׁבְ לֵימָ וֶׁת ּומְ יצָרֵ שְ אוֹל מְ צָ אּונִי, הצָרָ וְ יָגוֹן אֶׁמְ צָ א. ּובְשֵ ם ה’ אֶׁקְרָ א, אָ נָא ה’ מַ ּלְטָ ה נַפְשִ י. חַ נּון ה’ וְצַדִ יק, וֵאֹלהֵ ינּו מְרַ חֵ ם. שֹמֵר פְתָ איִם ה’, דַ ּלוֹתִ י וְלִייְהוֹשִ יעַ. ישּובִ ינַפְשִ לִמְ נּוחָ יְכִ י, כִ י ה’ גָמַלעָלָיְכִ י. כִי חִ ּלַצְתָ ינַפְשִ מִמָ וֶׁת, אֶׁת עֵינִי ןמִ דִמְ עָה, אֶׁ ת רַ גְלִי מִדֶׁחִ י.אֶׁתְ הַ ּלְֵך לִפְ נֵי ה’ בְ ַארְ צוֹת הַחַ יִים. הֶׁאֱמַ נְתִ י כִי אֲדַ בֵ ר, אֲנִי עָנִיתִ י מְ אֹד. אֲנִי יָאמַרְתִ בְחָפְזִ י, כָל הָ ָאדָ ם כֹזֵב. מָה אָשִ יב לַ ה’ כָל תַ יגְמּולוֹהִ עָלָי.כוֹס יְשּועוֹת אאֶׁשָ ּובְשֵ ם ה’ אֶׁקְרָ א. נְדָרַ י לַ ה’ אֲשַ ּלֵם נֶׁגְדָ ה נָ א לְכָל עַמוֹ. יָקָ ר בְעֵינֵי ה’ הַמָוְתָ ה

93 לַחֲסִ ידָ יו. אָ נָא ה’ כִי אֲנִי עַבְדֶׁ ָך, אֲנִיעַבְדְ ָך בֶׁןאֲמָתֶָׁך, פִתַחְתָ לְמוֹסֵרָ י. לְָך אֶׁזְבַח חזֶׁבַ תוֹדָה ּובְשֵ ם ה’ אֶׁקְרָ א. נְדָרַ י לַ ה’ אֲשַ לֵם נֶׁגְדָ ה נָא לְכָל עַמוֹ. בְחַצְ רוֹת בֵ ית ה’,בְ תוֹכֵכִ ייְרּושָ לָיִם, הַלְלּויָּה: הַלְלּו אֶׁ ת ה’ כָל גוֹיִם,שַבְ חּוהּו כָל הָאֻמִ ים. יכִ רגָבַ עָלֵינּו חַסְ דוֹ, וֶׁאֱמֶׁ ת ה’ לְעוֹלָם, הַלְלּויָּה: הוֹדּו לַ ה’ כִ י טוֹב כִי לְעוֹלָם חַסְ דוֹ 94. יֹאמַ ר נָא יִשְרָאֵ ל כִי לְעוֹלָם חַ סְ דוֹ. יֹאמְ רּו נָא בֵ ית ַאהֲרֹן כִי לְעוֹלָם חַסְ דוֹ. יֹאמְ רּו נָא יִרְ אֵ י ה’ כִי לְעוֹלָם חַסְ דוֹ. מִ ן רהַמֵצַ קָרָ אתִ י יָּה, עָנָנִיבַמֶׁרְ בחָ יָּה. ה’ לִיֹלא אִירָא, המַ יַעֲשֶׁ ה לִי ָאדָ ם. ה’ לִי בְ יעֹזְרָ וַאֲנִי אֶׁרְ אֶׁה בְ שנְָאי. טוֹב לַחֲסוֹת בַ ה’ מִבְ טֹחַ בָָאדָ ם. טוֹב לַחֲסוֹת בַ ה’ מִבְ טֹחַ בִ נְדִ יבִ ים. כָל גוֹיִם סְ בָ בּונִי, בְשֵ ם ה’ כִיאֲמִ ילַם. סַ בּונִי גַם סְ בָ בּונִי, בְשֵ ם ה’ כִי אֲמִ ילַם. סַ בּונִי כִדְ בֹרִ ים, דֹעֲכּו כְאֵ ש קוֹצִ ים, בְשֵ ם ה’ כִי אֲמִ ילַם. דָ חֹה דְחִיתַ נִי לִנְפֹל, וַ ה’ עֲזָרָ נִי. עָזִיוְזִמְרָ תיָּה יוַיְהִ לִי לִישּועָה. קוֹלרִ נָהוִ ישּועָה בְָאהֳלֵי

94 His Kindness Endures Forever By Boaz Smith

we list the miracles Hashem did for us. Some of the miracles that we list have to ,הודו In do with Hashem helping us win battles. For example, it states that Hashem helped us slay mighty kings like Og, King of Bashan, and Sichon, king of the Amorites. But why do we not list all the wars we won against the Canaanite kingdoms and the wars of Yehoshua? The answer to this we say 26 verses that conclude with the words “His kindness endures הודו question is that in forever”. This number corresponds to the 26 generation from Creation to when the Torah was given. During these 26 generations when we did not have the Torah, Hashem supported us solely with His kindness. Because of this, we only say these verses thanking Him for the things He helped us with when we did not have the Torah. We did have the Torah during the conquest of we only thank Hashem for things הודו Canaan and during the wars of Yehoshua. To conclude, in .חסד He did for us when we did not have the Torah since those were complete

(From The Rav Nebenzahl Haggadah)

94 צַדִיקִ ים, יְמִ ין ה’ עֹשֵָה חָ יִל. יְמִ ין ה’ רוֹמֵמָ ה, יְמִ ין ה’ עֹשֵָה חָ יִל. ֹלא ָאמּות כִיאֶׁחְ יֶׁה, וַאֲסַ פֵ רמַ יעֲשֵ יָּה. יַסֹריִסְרַ נִי יָּה,וְ לַמָ וֶׁת ֹלא נְתָ נָנִי. פִתְחּו לִישַ עֲרֵ י צֶׁדֶׁ ק,ָאבֹא בָ ם,אוֹדֶׁ היָּה. זֶׁה הַשַ עַר לַ ה’, צַדִיקִ ים יָבֹאּו בוֹ. אוֹדְ ָךכִ י עֲנִיתָ נִיוַתְהִ י לִילִישּועָה. אוֹדְ ָך כִ י עֲנִיתָ נִי וַתְהִ י לִי לִישּועָה. אֶׁבֶׁן מָאֲסּוהַ בוֹנִים הָ יְתָ הלְרֹאש פִ נָה. ןאֶׁבֶׁ מָאֲסּו הַ בוֹנִים הָ יְתָ ה לְרֹאש פִ נָה. מֵאֵ ת ה’ הָ היְתָ זֹאת הִ יא נִפְ לָאת בְעֵינֵינּו. מֵאֵ ת ה’ הָ היְתָ זֹאתהִ יא נִפְ לָאת בְעֵינֵינּו. זֶׁה הַ יוֹם עָשָ ה ה’ נָגִילָה וְ נִשְמְ חָ ה בוֹ . זֶׁה הַ יוֹם עָשָ ה ה’ נָגִילָה וְ נִשְמְ חָ ה בוֹ. אָ נָא ה’, הוֹשִ יעָה נָא. אָ נָא ה’, הוֹשִ יעָה נָא. אָ נָא ה’, הַצְ לִיחָ ה נָא. אָ נָא ה’, הַצְ לִיחָ ה נָא. בָ רּוְך הַבָ א בְשֵ ם ה’, בֵרַ כְ נּוכֶׁם מִ בֵית ה’. בָ רּוְך הַבָ א בְשֵ ם ה’, בֵרַ כְ נּוכֶׁם מִ בֵ ית ה’. אֵ ל ה’ וַיָאֶׁ רלָנּו. אִסְ רּו חַ ג בַ עֲבֹתִ ים עַד קַרְ נוֹת הַמִ זְבֵחַ. אֵ ל ה’ וַיָאֶׁ רלָנּו. אִסְ רּו חַ ג בַ עֲבֹתִ ים עַד קַרְ נוֹת הַמִ זְבֵחַ . אֵ לִי אַתָ הוְ אוֹדֶׁ ךָ, אֱ ֹלהַי אֲ רוֹמְמֶׁ ךָ. אֵ לִי אַתָה וְ אוֹדֶׁ ךָ,אֱֹלהַ י אֲ רוֹמְמֶׁ ךָ. הוֹדּו לַ ה’ יכִ טוֹב, יכִ לְעוֹלָם חַסְ דוֹ. הוֹדּו לַ ה’ כִ י טוֹב, כִ י לְעוֹלָם חַסְ דוֹ.

יְהַלְלּוָך יי אֱֹלקֵ ינּו כָלמַ עֲשֶׁ יָך, וַחֲסִ ידֶׁיָךצַדִיקִ ים עוֹשֵ ירְ צוֹנֶָׁך, וְכָל עַמְ ָך בֵ ית יִשְרָאֵ ל בְ רִנָה יוֹדּו וִיבָרְ כּו, וִישַבְחּו וִיפָאֲ רּו, וִ ירוֹמְ מּו וְיַעֲרִ יצּו,וְ יַקְדִ ישּווְ יַמְ לִיכּואֶׁת שִמְ ָך, מַ לְכֵנּו. יכִ לְָך טוֹב לְהוֹדוֹת ּולְשִמְ ָך נָאֱה לְזַמֵ ר, כִ י מֵ עוֹלָם וְעַד עוֹלָם אַתָ ה קֵ ל. הוֹדּו לַאֲ דֹנֵי הָאֲ דֹנִים - כִ י לְעוֹלָם חַסְ דוֹ לְעֹשֵ ה נִפְ לָאוֹת גְדֹלוֹת לְבַ דוֹ - כִ י לְעוֹלָם חַסְ דוֹ לְעֹשֵה הַשָמַ יִם בִתְ בּונָה - כִי לְעוֹלָם חַסְ דוֹ לְרוֹקַע הָ ָארֶׁ ץ עַל הַמָ יְם - כִי לְעוֹלָם חַסְ דוֹ לְעֹשֵ ה אוֹרִ ים גְדֹלִים - כִי לְעוֹלָם חַסְ דוֹ

95 אֶׁת הַשֶׁ מֶׁ ש לְמֶׁמְשֶׁ לֶׁת בַ יוֹם - כִ י לְעוֹלָם חַסְ דוֹ אֶׁת הַ יָרֵ חַ וְ כוֹכָבִ ים לְמֶׁמְשְ לוֹת בַ ּלַיְלָה - כִי לְעוֹלָם חַסְ דוֹ לְמַ כֵה מִצְרַ יִם בִבְ כוֹרֵ יהֶׁ ם - כִי לְעוֹלָם חַסְ דוֹ וַיוֹצֵ א יִשְרָאֵל מִ תוֹכָם - כִ י לְעוֹלָם חַסְ דוֹ בְ יָד חֲזָקָ ה ּובִזְ רוֹעַנְטּויָה - כִי לְעוֹלָם חַסְ דוֹ לְגֹזֵר יַם סּוף לִגְזָרִ ים - כִ י לְעוֹלָם חַסְ דוֹ וְהֶׁ עֱבִ יר יִשְרָאֵל בְ תוֹכוֹ - כִ י לְעוֹלָם חַסְ דוֹ וְ נִעֵר פַרְ עֹה וְחֵ ילוֹבְ יַם סּוף - כִי לְעוֹלָם חַסְ דוֹ לְמוֹלִיְך עַמוֹ בַמִדְ בָ ר - כִ י לְעוֹלָם חַסְ דוֹ לְמַ כֵה מְ לָכִים גְדֹלִים - כִי לְעוֹלָם חַסְ דוֹ וַיַהֲרֹג מְ לָכִ ים ַאדִ ירִ ים - כִי לְעוֹלָם חַסְ דוֹ לְסִ יחוֹן מֶׁ לְֶׁך הָאֱ מֹרִ י - כִי לְעוֹלָם חַסְ דוֹ ּולְעוֹג מֶׁ לְֶׁך הַבָשָ ן - כִי לְעוֹלָם חַסְ דוֹ וְ ןנָתַ ַארְ צָם לְנַחֲלָה - כִי לְעוֹלָם חַסְ דוֹ נַחֲלָה לְיִשְרָאֵ ל עַבְ דוֹ - כִי לְעוֹלָם חַסְ דוֹ שֶׁבְשִ פְ לֵנּו זָכַר לָנּו - כִי לְעוֹלָם חַסְ דוֹ וַיִפְרְ קֵנּומִ ּצָרֵ ינּו - כִ י לְעוֹלָם חַסְ דוֹ נֹתֵ ןלֶׁחֶׁ ם לְכָל בָשָ ר - כִי לְעוֹלָם חַסְ דוֹ הוֹדּו לְ קֵ ל הַשָמָ יִם - כִ י לְעוֹלָם חַסְ דוֹ: נִשְמַ ת95 כָל חַ י תְ בָרְֵך תאֶׁ שִמְ ָך, ה’ אֱֹלקֵ ינּו, וְרּוחַ כָל בָשָ ר תְ פָאֵ ר ּותְ רוֹמֵ םזִכְרְ ָך, מַ לְכֵנּו, תָמִיד. מִ ן הָ עוֹלָם וְעַד הָ עוֹלָם אַתָה אֵ ל,

נשמת My Personal Connection To 95 By Sophia Eisenberg

Throughout most sedarim, many people overlook a very meaningful prayer that has an While .נשמת we say the prayer ,הלל during הודו extremely inspiring message. After we recite saying this prayer, we are asking Hashem to save us and support us in times when we need him most. Not only does this prayer connect Jews to Hashem; it also connects me to my family heritage. In 1939, my great-grandfather was trying to escape from Europe during the Holocaust. He managed to get to Italy but when he arrived, he was sent to jail because his visa expired.

96 ּומִ בַלְעָדֶׁ יָך אֵ ין לָנּו מֶׁ לְֶׁך לגוֹאֵ ּומוֹשִ יעַ, פוֹדֶׁ הּומַּצִ יל ּומְ פַרְ נֵס וְ עוֹנֶׁה ּומְרַחֵם בְ כָלעֵת צָרָ ה וְצּוקָה. אֵ יןלָנּו מֶׁ לְֶׁך עוֹזֵרוְ סוֹמְֵךאֶׁ ּלָא אָתָ ה. אֱֹלקֵ י הָרִ אשוֹנִים וְהַָאחֲרוֹנִים, אֱ ֹלּהַ כָל בְרִ יוֹת, אֲ דוֹן כָל תוֹלָדוֹת, הַמְ הֻלָל בְ רֹב הַתִשְ בָ חוֹת, הַ מְ גנַהֵ עוֹלָמוֹ דבְחֶׁסֶׁ ּובְרִ יוֹתָיו בְרַ חֲמִ ים. וַ ה’ עֵר הִ נֵה ֹלא יָנּום וְֹלא יִישָן הַמְ עוֹרֵ ר יְשֵ נִים וְהַמֵקִ יץ נִרְ דָמִ ים, וְהַמֵשִ יחַאִ ּלְמִ יםוְהַמַתִ יראֲ סּורִ ים וְהַ סוֹמֵ ְך נוֹפְלִים וְהַ ףזוֹקֵ כְ פּופִ ים וְהַמְ פַעֲנֵחַ נֶׁעֱלָמִ ים. ּולְָךלְבַדְ ָך אֲ נַחְ נּו מוֹדִ ים. וְאִ ּלּו פִ ינּו מָ לֵאשִ הירָ כַיָם, ּולְשוֹנֵנּו רִ נָה כַהֲמוֹןגַּלָיו, וְשִ פְ תוֹתֵ ינּו שֶׁבַח כְמֶׁרְ יחֲבֵ רָקִ יעַ,וְעֵינֵינּו מְאִ ירוֹת שכַשֶׁמֶׁ וְכַיָרֵ ,חַ וְ יָדֵ ינּו פְ רּושוֹת כְנִשְרֵ י שָמַ יִם, וְרַ גְלֵינּו קַ ּלוֹת כָאַ יָלוֹת אֵ ין אֲ נַחְנּו מַסְ פִיקִ ים לְהוֹדוֹת לְָך, ה’ אֱ ֹלקֵ ינּו וֵאֹלהֵי אֲ בוֹתֵ ינּו, ּולְבָרְֵך, אֶׁ ת שִמְָך מַ לְכֵנּו עַל ַאחַ ת, מֵ ָאלֶׁף, ַאלְפֵי אֲ לָפִ ים וְרִ בֵ י רְ בָ בוֹת פְעָמִ ים, הַ טוֹבוֹת נוסח ספרד: נִסִ יםוְ נִפְ לָאוֹתשֶׁ עָשִ יתָ םעִ אֲ בוֹתֵ ינּו וְעִמָ נּו. נוסח ספרד: מִ ּלְפָנִים מִמִצְרַ יִםגְַאלְתָ נּו, ה’ אֱֹלקֵ ינּו, ּומִ בֵיתעֲבָדִ יםפְדִ יתָ נּו, בְרָ עָב זַנְתָ נּו ּובְשָבָע כִלְכַלְתָ נּו, מֵחֶׁרֶׁב הִ ּצַלְתָ נּוּומִדֶׁ בֶׁרמִ ּלַטְתָ נּו, ּומֵחָ לָיִם רָ עִ ים וְרַבִיםוְ נֶׁאֱמָ נִיםדִ ּלִיתָ נּו.עַד הֵ נָה עֲזָרּונּורַ חֲמֶׁ יָך וְ ֹלאעֲזָבּונּו חֲסָדֶׁ יָך, וְַאל תִטְשֵ נּו, ה’ אֱֹלקֵ ינּו, לָנֶׁצַ ח. עַל כֵן אֵבָרִ ים שֶׁפִ ּלַגְתָ בָ נּו וְרּוחַ ּונְשָמָ ה שֶׁ נָפַחְתָבְאַ פֵינּווְ לָשוֹן אֲשֶׁרשַמְתָ בְפִ ינּו הֵ ןהֵ םיוֹדּו וִ יבָרְ כּו וִ ישַבְ חּווִיפָאֲ רּו וִ ישוֹרְ רּו וִ ירוֹמְ מּו וְ יַעֲרִ יצּווְ יַקְדִ ישּווְ יַמְ לִיכּו תאֶׁ שִמְ ָך מַ לְכֵנּו תָמִ יד. כִ יכָל פֶׁה לְָךיוֹדֶׁ ה,וְכָל לָשוֹןלְָך תִשָ בַע וְכָלבֶׁרֶׁ ְך לְָך תִכְרַ ע,וְכָל קוֹמָ ה לְפָנֶׁיָךתִשְתַ חֲוֶׁה, וְכָללְבָ בוֹת יִירָ אּוָך, וְכָלקֶׁרֶׁ ב ּוכְ לָיוֹת יְזַמְ רּו לִשְמֶׁ ָך, כַדָ בָ רשֶׁ כָתּוב, כָל עַצְ מֹתַ י תֹאמַרְ נָה: ה’, מִ י

After some time, a Rabbi came to the jail and said that all Jews would be taken out of the prison on one condition; they had to read a passage of Hebrew from a . My great-grandfather was Fortunately, he knew Hebrew and he was able to say the prayer .נשמת asked to recite the prayer was a perfectly suitable prayer for my great-grandfather to recite נשמת .which saved his life because it literally means, Hashem will save us when we are in times of trouble and he was definitely in a situation where Hashem’s support and help was needed. This story taught me that Hashem is always looking out for each and everyone one of us and even if we don’t notice it at the time, he is always there to protect the Jewish people.

97 כָמוָֹך מַּצִ יל עָנִי מֵחָזָק מִמֶׁ נּווְעָנִי וְאֶׁבְ יוֹן מִ גֹזְ לוֹ. מִ י יִדְ המֶׁ ּלְָך ּומִ י יִשְ וֶׁה ּלְָך ּומִ ייַעֲרָ ְך לְָך הָ קֵ ל הַ גָ דוֹל, הַגִבוֹר וְהַ נוֹרָ א, קֵ ל עֶׁלְיוֹן, קֹנֵה שָמַ יִ םוָָארֶׁץ.נְהַ ּלֶׁלְָך ּונְשַ בֵחֲָך ּונְפָאֶׁרְ ָך ּונְבָרְֵך תאֶׁ שֵם קָדְ שֶׁ ָך, כָָאמּור: לְדָוִ ד, בָרְ יכִ ינַפְשִ אֶׁ ת ה’ וְכָל קְרָ יבַ אֶׁת שֵם קָדְ שוֹ. הָ קֵ לבְתַ עֲצֻמוֹת עֻזֶָׁך, הַ גָדוֹל בִכְ בוֹד שְמֶָׁך, הַגִבוֹר לָנֶׁצַח וְהַ נוֹרָ א בְ נוֹרְ אוֹתֶׁיָך, הַמֶׁ לְֶׁך הַיושֵ ב עַל כִסֵ א רָ ם וְ נִשָ א. שוֹכֵן עַד מָ רוֹם וְקָ דוֹש שְ מוֹ. וְכָ תּוב: רַ נְנּו צַדִיקִ ים בַ ה', לַיְשָרִ ים נָאוָה תְהִ ּלָה.בְפִ י יְשָרִ ים תִתְ הַ ּלָל ּובְדִ בְרֵ י צַדִ יקִ ים תִתְ בָרַ ךְ ובִ לְשוֹן חֲסִ ידִ ים תִתְ רוֹמָ ם ּובְקֶׁרֶׁ ב קְ דוֹשִ ים תִתְ קַדַ ש. ּובְמַקְ הֲלוֹת רִ בְ בוֹת עַמְ ָךבֵ ית יִשְרָאֵלבְרִ נָהיִתְ פָאֵ רשִמְ ָך, מַ לְכֵנּו, בְ כָל דוֹר וָדוֹר,שֶׁ כֵןחוֹבַ תכָל הַ יְצּורִ ים לְפָנֶׁיָך, ה’ אֱֹלקֵ ינּו וֵאֹלהֵ י אֲ בוֹתֵ ינּו, לְהוֹדוֹת לְהַ ּלֵללְשַ בֵחַ ,לְפָאֵ רלְרוֹמֵ םלְהַדֵ רלְבָרֵ ְך, לְעַּלֵה ּולְקַ ּלֵסעַל כָל דִ בְרֵ ישִ ירוֹת וְתִשְ בְ חוֹת דָוִ דבֶׁ ן ייִשַ עַבְדְ ָך, מְשִ יחֶׁ ָך.

יִשְתַ בַ ח שִמְ ָך לָעַד מַ לְכֵנּו, הָ קֵ ל הַמֶׁ לְֶׁך הַ גָדוֹ ל וְהַקָ דוֹש בַשָמַ יִם ּובָ ָארֶׁ ץ, כִילְָך נָאֶׁ ה, ה’ אֱ ֹלקֵ ינּו וֵאֹלהֵי אֲ בוֹתֵ ינּו, שִיר ּושְ בָחָה, הַ ּלֵל וְזִמְרָ ה, עֹז ּומֶׁמְשָ לָה,נֶׁצַ ח, גְדֻ ּלָהּוגְבּורָה, תְהִ לָהוְתִ פְאֶׁרֶׁ ת, קְ דֻשָ ה ּומַ לְכּות, בְרָ כוֹת וְ הוֹדָ אוֹת מֵ עַתָ ה וְעַד עוֹלָם בָ רּוְך אַתָ ה ה’, קֵ ל מֶׁ לְֶׁך גָדוֹל בַתִשְ בָ חוֹת, קֵ ל הַ הוֹדָ אוֹת, אֲ דוֹן הַ נִפְ לָאוֹת, הַ בוֹ חֵר בְשִ ירֵ י זִמְרָ ה,מֶׁ לְֶׁך קֵ ל חֵי הָ עוֹלָמִ ים. בָ רּוְך אַתָ ה ה’ אֱֹלקֵ ינּו מֶׁ לְֶׁך הָ עוֹלָם אבוֹרֵ יפְרִ הַ גָפֶׁן96.

98 ׁשוֹתֶ ה בַהֲסָ בַ ת שְ מֹ אל בָ רּוְך אַתָ ה ה’ אֱֹלקֵ ינּו מֶׁ לְֶׁך הָ עוֹלָם,עַל הַ גֶׁפֶׁן וְעַל יפְרִ הַ גֶׁפֶׁן, עַל תְ נּובַתהַשָדֶׁה וְעַל ץאֶׁרֶׁ חֶׁמְדָ הטוֹבָ הּורְ החָבָ שֶׁרָצִיתָ וְהִ נְחַלְתָ לַאֲבוֹתֵ ינּולֶׁאֱ כֹל מִ פִרְ יָּה וְלִשְ בֹעַמִ טּובָ ּה רַ חֶׁ ם נָאד' אֱֹלקֵ ינּו עַל יִשְרָאֵל עַמֶָׁך וְעַל יְרּושָ לַיִם עִ ירֶׁ ָך וְעַל צִ יוֹן מִשְ כַן כְ בוֹדֶָׁך וְעַל מִ זְבְחֶׁ ָך וְעַלהֵ יכָלֶָׁךּובְ נֵה יְרּושָ לַיִם עִיר הַ קֹדֶׁ שבִמְ הֵרָ הבְ יָמֵ ינּו וְהַ עֲלֵנּו לְתוֹכָּה וְשַמְ חֵ נּו בְבִ נְיָנָּה וְ נֹאכַל מִ פִרְ יָּה וְ נִשְ בַ עמִ טּובָ ּה ּונְבָרֶׁ כְ ָך עָלֶׁיהָ בִקְ דֻשָ ה ּובְטָ ההֳרָ )בְשַ בָ ת:ּורְ צֵה וְהַחֲלִיצֵ נּו בְ יוֹםהַשַ בָתהַזֶׁה( וְשַמְ חֵ נּו בְ יוֹם חַגהַמַ ּצוֹת הַזֶׁה, כִי האַתָ ד'טוֹב ּומֵטִ יב לַכֹל וְ נוֹדֶׁ ה ּלְָך עַל הָ ָארֶׁ ץ וְעַל יפְרִ הַ גָפֶׁן. בָ רּוְך אַתָ הד' עַל הָ ץָארֶׁ וְעַל יפְרִ הַ גָפֶׁן. נִּרְ צָ ה חֲסַל סִ דּור פֶׁסַ ח כְהִ לְכָתוֹ 97, כְכָל מִשְ פָטוֹ וְחֻקָ תוֹ. כַאֲשֶׁ רזָכִינּו רלְסַדֵ אוֹתוֹכֵן נִזְ כֶׁה לַעֲשוֹתוֹ.

96 Why Four Cups of Wine? By Emma Lando

As most of us know, throughout the pesach seder we end up drinking four cups of wine. But why? What do these four cups of wine symbolize? One idea is that the four cups of wine refers to our four exiles: Egypt, Babylonian, Greece, and lastly, our current exile. Another opinion is that the four cups of wine symbolize when G-d liberated us from Egypt. He used the four terms, 1) “"I shall take you out...", 2) "I shall rescue you...", 3) "I shall redeem you...", and 4) "I shall bring you..." to explain our redemptions.

(From Chabad.org)

?נרצה What is 97 By Yomi Wise

.We start the final section of the Seder (Nirtzah) with these words .חסל סדור פסח כהלכתו Vayaged Moshe says that this is the end of the formal part of the Seder and the start of the informal part of the Seder. He also states that this part of the Seder should be as special as the desired) by Hashem like) נרצה first 13 sections are. We hope that the informal part of the seder is the formal part of the seder (like Matzah, Maror, Maggid, and the four cups) is as well. This is

99 זְָך שוֹכֵן מְ עוֹנָה, קוֹמֵם קְ הַ ל עֲדַ ת מִי מָ נָה. בְקָ רוֹב נַהֵ ל נִטְ עֵי כַנָה פְ דּויִם לְצִ יוֹן בְרִ נָה. לְשָ נָההַבָ ָאה בִירּושָ לָיִם. יֵּׁש נוֹהֲגִּין בְ חּוץ לָָארֶ ץ בְ לֵּיל ׁשֵּ נִּישֶ לפֶסַ חלִּסְ פֹר כַאן סְפִּ ירַ ת הָ עֹמֶ ר: בָ רּוְך אַתָ ה ה’ אֱֹלקֵ ינּו מֶׁ לְֶׁךהָ עוֹלָם, אֲשֶׁרקִדְשָ נּו בְמִצְ ווֹתָ יו וְצִ וָנּו עַל סְ פִ תירַ הָ עֹמֶׁ ר. הַ יוֹם יוֹם דאֶׁחָ בָ עֹמֶׁ ר. בְ לֵּיל רִּ אשוֹן אוֹמְרִּ ים: ּובְ כֵן יוַיְהִ בַחֲצִי הַ ּלַיְלָה98 ָאז רוֹב נִסִים הִפְ לֵאתָ בַ ּלַיְלָה, בְ רֹאשאַשְ מוֹרֶׁ תזֶׁה הַ ּלַיְלָה, גֵר צֶׁדֶׁ קנִּצַחְ תוֹכְ נֶׁחֱלַק לוֹ לַיְלָה, יוַיְהִ בַחֲצִי הַ ּלַיְלָה. דַ נְתָ מֶׁ לְֶׁך רגְרָ בַחֲלוֹם הַ ּלַיְלָה, הִפְחַדְתָ אֲרַמִ יבְאֶׁמֶׁ ש לַיְלָה, וַיָשַ ריִשְרָאֵ ללְמַ לְאָ ְך וַיּוכַל לוֹ לַיְלָה,

And, we hope that next year, we will be spending our .נרצה why we call this part of the Seder Seder in Yerushalayim.

98 Redemption at Night By Yaakov Itshakov

Why was the redemption from Egypt at night? The redemption from Egypt took place at night to show it is not over yet. There are still more redemptions to go.

100 יוַיְהִ בַחֲצִי הַ ּלַיְלָה. זֶׁרַ ע בְ כוֹרֵ י פַתְ רוֹס מָחַצְתָ בַחֲצִי הַ ּלַיְלָה, חֵ ילָם ֹלא מָצְ אּו םבְקּומָ בַ ּלַיְלָה, תטִיסַ נְגִיד חֲרשֶׁת סִ לִיתָ בְ כוֹכְבֵ י לַיְלָה, יוַיְהִ בַחֲצִי הַ ּלַיְלָה. יָעַץ מְ חָרֵ ף לְנוֹפֵף99 אִ ּוּוי הוֹבַשְתָפְ גָרָ יו בַ ּלַיְלָה, עכָרַ בֵל ּומַצָ בוֹ בְאִ ישוֹן לַיְלָה, לְאִ יש חֲמּודוֹת נִגְלָה רָ ז חֲזוֹת לַיְלָה, יוַיְהִ בַחֲצִי הַ ּלַיְלָה. מִשְתַ כֵר בִכְ לֵי קֹדֶׁ ש גנֶׁהֱרַ בוֹבַ ּלַיְלָה, ענוֹשַ מִ בוֹר אֲרָ יוֹת רפוֹתֵ בִ עֲתּותֵ י לַיְלָה, שִ נְָאה נָטַר אֲ גָגִי וְכָתַב סְ פָרִ ים בַ ּלַיְלָה, וַ ייְהִ בַחֲצִי הַ ּלַיְלָה. עוֹרַרְתָ נִצְ חֲָךעָלָיו בְ נֶׁדֶׁ ד שְ נַת לַיְלָה, הפּורָ תִדְ רוְֹך לְשוֹמֵר מַה מִ לַיְלָה, צָרַ חכַשוֹמֵ רוְשָ ח אָאתָ בֹקֶׁר וְ גַם לַיְלָה, יוַיְהִ בַחֲצִי הַ ּלַיְלָה. קָרֵ ביוֹם ראֲשֶׁ הּוא ֹלא יוֹם וְ ֹלא לַיְלָה, רָ ם הוֹדַ ע יכִ לְָך הַ יוֹם ַאף לְָך הַ ּלַיְלָה, שוֹמְרִ ים דהַפְקֵ לְעִירְ ָך כָל הַ יוֹם וְכָל הַ ּלַיְלָה, תָאִ יר כְ אוֹר יוֹם חֶׁשְ כַת לַיְלָה, יוַיְהִ בַחֲצִי הַ ּלַיְלָה.

ויהי בחצי הלילה יעץ מחרף לנופף 99 By Naftali Malovany

In what merit was protected from the army of Sancheriv? The Prophet Yeshayahu told King Chizkiyahu in the name of Hashem: “I shall protect this city and save it for My sake and for the sake of my servant Dovid.”

(From the Chazon Ish Haggadah)

101 בְ לֵּיל שֵּ נִּי אוֹמְרִּ ים: ּובְ כֵן וַאֲמַ רְתֶׁ םזֶׁבַח פֶׁסַ ח ץאֹמֶׁ גְבּורוֹתֶׁ יָך הִפְ לֵאתָ בַפֶׁסַ ח, בְ רֹאש כָל מוֹעֲדוֹת נִשֵאתָ פֶׁסַח, גִלִיתָ לְאֶׁזְרָחִ יחֲצוֹת לֵיל פֶׁסַ ח,וַאֲמַרְתֶׁ םזֶׁבַח פֶׁסַ ח. דְ לָתָ יודָ פַקְתָ כְ חֹםהַ יוֹם בַפֶׁסַ ח,הִסְ עִ ידנוֹצְצִ יםעֻגוֹת מַ ּצוֹת בַפֶׁסַ ח, וְאֵל רהַבָקָ רָ ץ זֵכֶׁר לְשוֹרעֵרֶׁ ְך פֶׁסַ ח,וַאֲמַרְתֶׁ ם חזֶׁבַ פֶׁסַ ח. זוֹעֲמּוסְ דוֹמִ ים וְ לוֹהֲטּו שבָאֵ בַפֶׁסַח,חֻּלַץ לוֹט מֵהֶׁ םּומַ ּצוֹת ָאפָה בְקֵ ץ פֶׁסַח, טִאטֵ אתֶׁ ַאדְ מַ ת מֹף וְ נֹף בְ עָבְרְ ָךבַפֶׁסַ ח,וַאֲמַרְתֶׁ ם חזֶׁבַ פֶׁסַ ח. יָּה רֹאש כָל אוֹן מָחַצְתָ בְ לֵיל שִ מּור פֶׁסַ ח, כַבִיר, עַל בֵ ן בְ כוֹר פָסַחְתָ בְדַ םפֶׁסַ ח,לְבִ לְתִי תֵת מַשְחִ יתלָבֹא יבִפְתָחַ בַפֶׁסַ ח, םוַאֲמַרְתֶׁ זֶׁבַ ח פֶׁסַ ח. מְסֻ גֶׁרֶׁ תסֻ הגָרָ בְעִ יתוֹתֵ פֶׁסַ ח, נִשְמְדָהמִדְ יָןבִצְ לִיל שְ עוֹרֵ י רעֹמֶׁ פֶׁסַ ח, שוֹרפּו מִשְמַ נֵי פּול וְ לּוד בִ דיקַ יְקוֹד פֶׁסַ ח,וַאֲמַרְתֶׁ םזֶׁבַח פֶׁסַ ח. עוֹד הַ יוֹםבְ נֹב לַעֲמוֹד עַד גָעָה עוֹנַתפֶׁסַ ח, פַס יַד כָתְ בָה לְקַ עֲקֵ עַצּול בַפֶׁסַ ח, צָפֹה הַּצָפִיתעִָרוְֹך הַשֻלְחָןבַפֶׁסַ ח,וַאֲמַרְתֶׁ םזֶׁבַח פֶׁסַ ח. קָהָ ל כִנְסָ ה הֲדַסָ הלְשַ ּלֵש צוֹם בַפֶׁסַ ח, רֹאש מִ בֵ ית רָשָע מָחַצְתָ בְעֵץ חֲמִשִים בַפֶׁסַ ח, שְתֵי אֵ ּלֶׁה רֶׁ גַע תָבִ יא לְעּוּצִ ית בַפֶׁסַ ח,תָ עֹזיָדְ ָך וְתָ רּום יְמִ ינְָך כְ לֵיל הִתְקַדֵשחַג פֶׁסַ ח,וַאֲמַרְתֶׁ םזֶׁבַח פֶׁסַ ח.

יכִ לוֹנָאֶׁ ה, כִי לוֹ היָאֶׁ ר]כֶׁתֶׁ מְ לּוכָה[. ַאדִירבִמְ לּוכָה, בָ חּור כַהֲלָכָה,גְדּודָ יויֹאמְ רּו לוֹ: לְָך ּולְָך, לְָך יכִ לְָך, לְָך ַאף לְָך, לְָך ה’ הַמַמְ לָכָה,כִ י לוֹ נָאֶׁ ה, כִ י לוֹ היָאֶׁ ]כֶׁתֶׁר מְ לּוכָה[. דָ גּול בִמְ לּוכָה, הָ דּור כַהֲלָכָה, וָתִיקָ יו יֹאמְ רּו לוֹ: לְָך ּולְָך, לְָך יכִ לְָך,

102 לְָך ַאף לְָך, לְָך ה’ הַמַמְ לָכָה,כִ י לוֹ נָאֶׁ ה, כִ י לוֹ היָאֶׁ ]כֶׁתֶׁר מְ לּוכָה[. זַכַאי בִמְ לּוכָה, חָסִ ין כַהֲלָכָהטַפְסְרָ יו יֹאמְ רּו לוֹ: לְָך ּולְָך, לְָך יכִ לְָך, לְָך ַאף לְָך, לְָך ה’ הַמַמְ לָכָה,כִ י לוֹ נָאֶׁ ה, כִ י לוֹ היָאֶׁ ]כֶׁתֶׁר מְ לּוכָה[. יָחִיד בִמְ לּוכָה,כַבִ יר כַהֲלָכָה לִמּודָ יויֹאמְ רּו לוֹ: לְָך ּולְָך, לְָך יכִ לְָך, לְָך ַאף לְָך, לְָך ה’ הַמַמְ לָכָה,כִ י לוֹ נָאֶׁ ה, כִ י לוֹ היָאֶׁ ]כֶׁתֶׁר מְ לּוכָה[. מוֹשֵ ל בִמְ לּוכָה, נוֹרָ א כַהֲלָכָה סְבִ יבָ יו יֹאמְ רּו לוֹ: לְָך ּולְָך, לְָך יכִ לְָך, לְָך ַאף לְָך, לְָך ה’ הַמַמְ לָכָה,כִ י לוֹ נָאֶׁ ה, כִ י לוֹ היָאֶׁ ]כֶׁתֶׁר מְ לּוכָה[. עָנָיו בִמְ לּוכָה,פוֹדֶׁ ה כַהֲלָכָה, צַדִיקָ יויֹאמְ רּו לוֹ: לְָך ּולְָך, לְָך כִ י לְ ָך, לְָך ַאף לְָך, לְָך ה’ הַמַמְ לָכָה,כִ י לוֹ נָאֶׁ ה, כִ י לוֹ היָאֶׁ ]כֶׁתֶׁר מְ לּוכָה[. קָדוֹש בִמְ לּוכָה,רַ חּום כַהֲלָכָהשִ נְַאנָיו יֹאמְ רּו לוֹ: לְָך ּולְָך, לְָך יכִ לְָך, לְָך ַאף לְָך, לְָך ה’ הַמַמְ לָכָה, כִ ילוֹ נָאֶׁ ה, יכִ לוֹיָאֶׁ ה ]כֶׁתֶׁר מְ לּוכָה[. תַקִיף בִמְ לּוכָה, תוֹמֵ ְך כַהֲלָכָה תְמִימָ יו יֹאמְ רּו לוֹ: לְָך ּולְָך, לְָך יכִ לְָך, לְָך ַאף לְָך, לְָך ה’ הַמַמְ לָכָה,כִ י לוֹ נָאֶׁ ה, כִ י לוֹ היָאֶׁ ]כֶׁתֶׁר מְ לּוכָה[. אַדִ יר הּוא יִבְ נֶׁה בֵ יתוֹ בְקָ רוֹב. בִמְ הֵרָ ה, בִמְ הֵרָ ה, בְ יָמֵ ינּו בְקָ רוֹב. קֵ ל בְ נֵה, קֵ ל בְ נֵה, בְ נֵה בֵ יתְ ָך בְקָ רוֹב. בָחּור הּוא, גָדוֹלהּוא, דָ גּול הּוא יִבְ נֶׁה בֵ יתוֹ בְקָ רוֹב. בִמְ הֵרָ ה, בִמְ הֵרָ ה, בְ יָמֵ ינּו בְקָ רוֹב. קֵ ל בְ נֵה, קֵ ל בְ נֵה, בְ נֵה בֵיתְ ָך בְקָ רוֹב. הָ דּור הּוא, וָתִ יק הּוא, זַכַאיהּוא, חָסִ יד הּוא יִבְ נֶׁה בֵ יתוֹ בְקָ רוֹב. בִמְ הֵרָ ה, בִמְ הֵרָ ה, בְ יָמֵ ינּו בְקָ רוֹב. קֵ ל בְ נֵה, קֵ ל בְ נֵה, בְ נֵה בֵ יתְ ָך בְקָ רוֹב. טָהוֹר הּוא, יָחִ יד הּוא, כַבִ יר הּוא, לָמּוד הּוא, מֶׁ לְֶׁךהּוא יִבְ נֶׁה בֵ יתוֹ בְקָ רוֹב. בִמְ הֵרָ ה, בִמְ הֵרָ ה, בְ יָמֵ ינּו בְקָ רוֹב. קֵ ל בְ נֵה, קֵ ל בְ נֵה, בְ נֵה בֵ יתְָך בְקָ רוֹב. נוֹרָא הּוא,סַ גִיב הּוא, עִ זּוז הּוא, הפוֹדֶׁ הּוא, צַדִ יק הּוא יִבְ נֶׁה בֵ יתוֹ בְקָ רוֹב. בִמְ הֵרָ ה, בִמְ הֵרָ ה, בְ יָמֵ ינּו בְקָ רוֹב. קֵ ל בְ נֵה, קֵ ל בְ נֵה, בְ נֵה בֵ יתְָך בְקָ רוֹב.

103 קָ דוֹש הּוא, רַ חּום הּוא, שַ קי הּוא, תַקִ יף הּוא יִבְ נֶׁה בֵ יתוֹ בְקָ רוֹב. בִמְ הֵרָ ה, בִמְ הֵ רָ ה, בְ יָמֵ ינּו בְקָ רוֹב. קֵ ל בְ נֵה, קֵ ל בְ נֵה, בְ נֵה בֵ יתְ ָך בְקָ רוֹב. אֶׁחָד מִ י יוֹדֵ עַ 100, אֶׁחָד אֲנִי יוֹ דֵ עַ. אֶׁחָ ד אֱֹלקֵ ינּו שֶׁ בַשָמַ יִם ּובָ ָארֶׁ ץ: שְ נַיִם מִ י יוֹדֵ עַ, שְ נַיִם אֲנִי יוֹדֵ עַ. שְ נֵי לֻחוֹת הַבְרִ ית. אֶׁחָ ד אֱֹלקֵ ינּו שֶׁ בַשָמַ יִם ּובָ ָארֶׁ ץ: שְלשָ ה מִ י יוֹדֵ עַ, שְלשָ ה אֲנִי יוֹדֵ עַ. שְלשָ הָאבוֹת, שְ נֵי לֻחוֹת הַבְרִ ית, אֶׁ חָ ד אֱֹלקֵ ינּו שֶׁ בַשָמַ יִם ּובָ ָארֶׁ ץ: ַארְ בַע ימִ יוֹדֵ עַ, ַארְ בַע אֲנִי יוֹדֵ עַ. ַארְ בַע אִמָ הוֹת,שְלשָ הָאבוֹת, שְ נֵי לֻחוֹת הַבְרִ ית, אֶׁחָ ד אֱֹלקֵ ינּו שֶׁ בַשָמַ יִם ּובָָארֶׁ ץ: חֲמִשָה מִ י יוֹדֵ עַ, חֲמִשָה אֲנִי יוֹדֵ עַ. חֲמִשָה חּומְ שֵ יתוֹרָ ה, ַארְ בַע אִמָ הוֹת, השְלשָ ָאבוֹת, שְ נֵי לֻחוֹת הַבְרִ ית, אֶׁחָ ד אֱֹלקֵ ינּו שֶׁ בַשָמַ יִםּובָ ָארֶׁ ץ: שִשָ ה מִ י יוֹדֵ עַ, שִשָ ה אֲנִי יוֹדֵ עַ. שִשָ ה סִדְרֵימִשְ נָה, חֲמִשָ ה יחּומְשֵ תוֹרָ ה, ַארְ בַע אִמָ הוֹת, שְלשָ ה

100 From One to Thirteen By Olivia Ansel

Why does this song end with the number thirteen and start with the number one? Isn’t the number thirteen bad luck? What do these numbers symbolize? One and thirteen encompass the wholeness of Judaism. The number one refers to the unity of G-d, which is the most fundamental principle of our faith. On the other hand, the number thirteen is in reference to the G-dly traits which Jews are supposed to follow. The Torah says that, “you shall follow after G-d”, which the Talmud explains means to adopt the traits of mercy, care, kindness, and other G-dly traits. The .and the creation of the Jewish nation was to create a holy nation יציאת מצרים purpose of Therefore, the fact that the Haggadah ends with a song that starts with the wholeness of G-d and ends with our trying to emulate him makes perfect sense. A lesson we learn from this is that we should always have faith in Hashem and in our nation's future.

(From Bondage to Freedom Haggadah)

104 ָאבוֹת, שְ נֵי לֻחוֹת הַבְרִ ית, אֶׁחָ ד אֱֹלקֵ ינּו שֶׁ בַשָמַ יִםּובָ ָארֶׁ ץ: שִ בְעָה מִ י יוֹדֵ עַ, שִ בְעָה אֲנִי יוֹדֵ עַ. שִ בְעָה ייְמֵ שַ בַתָ א, שִשָהסִדְרֵ ימִשְ נָה, חֲמִשָ ה יחּומְשֵ תוֹרָ ה, ַארְ בַ ע אִמָ הוֹת, השְלשָ ָאבוֹת, שְ נֵי לֻחוֹת הַ בְרִ ית, אֶׁחָ ד אֱ ֹלקֵ ינּו שֶׁ בַשָמַ יִם ּובָ ָארֶׁ ץ: שְ מוֹנָה מִ י יוֹדֵ עַ, שְ מוֹנָה אֲנִי יוֹדֵ עַ. שְ מוֹנָה יְמֵי מִ ילָה, שִ בְעָה יְמֵ י שַ בַתָ א, שִשָה סִדְרֵ י מִשְ נָה, חֲמִשָ ה חּומְשֵ יתוֹרָ ה, ַארְ בַע אִמָ הוֹת, שְ הלשָ ָאבוֹת, שְ נֵי לֻחוֹת הַבְרִ ית, אֶׁחָ ד אֱֹלקֵ ינּו שֶׁ בַשָמַ יִם ּובָ ָארֶׁ ץ: תִשְ עָה מִ י יוֹדֵ עַ, תִשְ עָה אֲנִי יוֹדֵ עַ. תִשְ עָה יַרְ חֵ י לֵדָה, שְ מוֹנָה יְמֵ י מִ ילָה, שִ בְעָה יְמֵ י שַ בַתָ א, שִשָה סִדְרֵ י מִשְ נָה, חֲמִשָ ה יחּומְשֵ תוֹרָ ה, ַארְ בַע אִמָ הוֹת, שְ ל השָ ָאבוֹת, שְ נֵי לֻחוֹת הַבְרִ ית, אֶׁחָ ד אֱ ֹלקֵ ינּו שֶׁ בַשָמַ יִם ּובָָארֶׁ ץ: עֲשָרָ ה מִ י יוֹדֵ עַ, עֲשָרָ ה אֲנִי יוֹדֵ עַ. עֲשָרָ ה דִ בְרַ יָא, תִשְ עָה יַרְ חֵ י לֵדָ ה, שְ מוֹנָה יְמֵי מִ ילָה, שִ בְעָה יְמֵ י שַ בַתָ א, שִשָ ה סִדְרֵ י מִשְ נָה, חֲמִ שָ ה יחּומְשֵ תוֹרָ ה, ַארְ בַע אִמָ הוֹת, שְלשָ הָאבוֹת, שְ נֵי לֻחוֹת הַבְרִ ית, אֶׁחָ ד אֱֹלקֵ ינּו שֶׁ בַשָמַ יִם ּובָ ָארֶׁ ץ: ַאחַד רעָשָ ימִ יוֹדֵ עַ, ַאחַד עָשָר אֲנִי יוֹדֵ עַ. ַאחַד עָשָ ר כוֹכְבַיָא, עֲשָרָ ה דִ בְרַ יָא, תִשְ עָה יַרְ חֵ י לֵדָה, שְ מוֹנָה יְמֵ י מִ ילָה, שִ בְעָה ייְמֵ שַ בַתָ א, השִשָ יסִדְרֵ מִשְ נָה, החֲמִשָ חּומְשֵ י תוֹרָ ה, ַארְ בַע אִמָ הוֹת,שְלשָ הָאבוֹת, שְ נֵי לֻחוֹת הַבְרִ ית, אֶׁחָ ד אֱֹלקֵ ינּו שֶׁ בַשָמַ יִם ּובָָארֶׁ ץ: שְ נֵים עָשָ ר מִ י יוֹדֵ עַ, שְ נֵים עָשָר אֲנִ י יוֹדֵ עַ. שְ נֵים רעָשָ שִ בְטַ יָא, ַאחַ ד עָשָ ר כוֹכְבַ יָא, עֲשָרָ ה דִ בְרַ יָא, תִשְ עָה יַרְ חֵ י לֵדָ ה, שְ מוֹנָה יְמֵ י מִ ילָה, שִ בְעָה יְמֵ י שַ בַתָ א, שִשָ ה סִדְרֵ י מִשְ נָה, חֲמִשָה חּומְשֵ יתוֹרָ ה, ַארְ בַע אִמָ הוֹת, השְלשָ ָאבוֹת, שְ נֵ י לֻחוֹת הַבְרִ ית, אֶׁחָ ד אֱֹלקֵ ינּו שֶׁ בַשָמַ יִםּובָ ָארֶׁ ץ: שְלשָ ה עָשָר מִ י יוֹדֵ עַ, שְלשָ ה עָשָ ר אֲנִי יוֹדֵ עַ.

105 השְלשָ עָשָר מִדַ יָא. שְ נֵים רעָשָ שִ בְטַ יָא, ַאחַד עָשָ ר כוֹכְבַ יָא, עֲשָרָ ה דִ בְרַ יָא, תִשְ עָה יַרְ חֵ י לֵדָ ה, שְ מוֹ נָה יְמֵי מִ ילָה, שִ בְעָה יְמֵ י שַ בַתָ א, שִשָ ה סִדְרֵימִשְ נָה, חֲמִשָ ה יחּומְשֵ תוֹרָ ה, ַארְ בַע אִמָ הוֹת, שְלשָ ה ָאבוֹת, שְ נֵי לֻחוֹת הַבְרִ ית, אֶׁחָ ד אֱֹלקֵ ינּו שֶׁ בַשָמַ יִםּובָ ָארֶׁ ץ: חַ ד גַדְ יָא, חַ ד גַדְ יָא101 דְ זַבִ ין אַבָ א בִתְ ירֵ זּוזֵי, חַ ד גַדְ יָא, חַ ד גַדְ יָא.

?חַד גַדְיָא How Can We Interpret 101 By Chandler Shriky

can be interpreted in many different ways. One way that it is interpreted is that the חַד גַדְיָּא kid represents the Jewish people. In this interpretation the cat represents Persia, the dog represents the Egyptians, the stick represents the Roman Empire and so on. In summary, this interpretation uses the kid, the cat, the dog, etc. to symbolize the conquering of the Jewish people by other civilizations. At the end Hashem destroys the malach hamavet. After this, the Jewish people continue to survive as a nation. In another interpretation, the kid is the birthright of Avraham, Yitzchak and Yaakov and their mission to create a world of monotheism. The father, is Yaakov who purchased the birthright from Esav. The two Zuzim are the bread and soup for which Esav sold the birthright. The cat represents the sons of Yaakov leading Yoseph into slavery. The dog, as in most interpretations, is Egypt. The stick, is the staff of Moshe. The water, represents the fourth century sages who eradicated amongst the Jewish people. The ox, in this case represents the Romans and their sins. The slaughterer is not really interpreted but it is said that it could represent the Greeks or our sins against Hashem. The Angel of Death is mostly interpreted as the Satan. G-d slaughters the Angel of Death meaning G-d will slaughter the Satan. The Holy One, in the seder is because חַד גַדְיָּא The reason for having .חַד גַדְיָּא blessed be he is G-d who finishes we must remember our downfalls but we must also see ourselves thriving. The song also gives us a more optimistic view of our future. (From Chabad.org and Aish.com)

The Story Backwards :אידג דח By Roey Novick

At the end of the Seder, with many other songs, is sung with rejoicing as the night comes to an end. The main concept of the song is that there is a goat, which represents Bnei Yisrael, that was eaten by a cat and starts a chain of events as one thing destroys another. The lesson of the song is Hashem’s love and mercy for us, being the one to slaughter the Malach HaMaveit, and end the chain. Mercy seems to be a stretch for how this story is displayed. The story just seems to have a bad theme to it, one thing killing another. Even at the end of the story, Hashem demonstrates “mercy” through….killing? It seems very odd that the whole story revolves around one thing destroying another, especially when the song’s purpose seems to be to

106 וְָאתָ א שּונְרָ אוְָאכְ לָה לְגַדְ יָא, דְ זַבִ ין אאַבָ יבִתְרֵ זּוזֵי, חַ ד גַדְ יָא, חַ ד גַדְ יָא. אוְָאתָ כַלְבָאוְ נָשַ ְך לְשּונְרָ א, דְ ָאכְ לָה לְגַדְ יָא, דְ זַבִ ין אאַבָ יבִתְרֵ זּוזֵי, חַ ד גַדְ יָא, חַ ד גַדְ יָא. אוְָאתָ אחּוטְרָ וְהִ כָה לְכַלְבָ א,דְ נָשַ ְךלְשּונְרָא, דְ ָאכְ לָה לְגַדְ יָא, דְ זַבִ ין אאַבָ יבִתְרֵ זּוזֵ י, חַ ד גַדְ יָא, חַ ד גַדְ יָא. וְָאתָ א אנּורָ ףוְשָרַ לְחּוטְרָ א102, דְהִ כָהלְכַלְבָ א, דְ נָשַ ְך לְשּונְרָ א, demonstrate Hashem’s love and mercy for us. But, if one reads the whole story, literally and figuratively, backwards, a new story starts to form. Hashem, with all of his great mercy, decides to spare the Malach HaMaveit. The Malach HaMaveit no longer wants to go out and kill because of the compassion that Hashem showed to him. So what does he do? He spares the butcher. The butcher now sees the certain amount of mercy that the Malach HaMaveit, the angel which is supposed to kill, has for him, and he feels bad slaughtering the innocent ox, so he decides to spare the ox. Out of celebration and appreciation, the ox is now too excited to go and drink water, besides, why should he disrupt the water if he was just saved from being killed? The water now is calm, because the ox never came to disrupt it, so there is no way that it could exterminate the fire if the waters were calm. Besides, why go off and exterminate the fire when the water had just been spared by the ox? The water no longer attacks the fire. Now the fire doesn’t have to engulf the stick in flames. Why should it? The fire now can sustain itself because the water didn’t engulf it. Besides, why attack the stick at a time where the water was kind enough to spare it? The fire doesn’t engulf the stick. Now the stick has no reason to slap the dog. Why should it? What reason does the stick have for even doing so if it was completely avoided by the fire. The stick doesn’t slap the dog. The dog now sees a certain amount of compassion from the stick in its eyes and no longer wants to attack the cat. The cat doesn’t get attacked. The cat, seeing that the dog was gracious enough to spare it, doesn’t attack the goat. Why should it? If the cat was spared by its predator why doesn’t the cat spare its prey as well? Hashem being Hashem, and Bnei Yisrael being the goat, we can see how if the story is looked at from a different perspective, we can see now that Hashem actually set off a chain of events of mercy and sparing, so as a final product we can be spared as well. We should always keep in mind that Hashem has a plan that is good for us, regardless of how it seems, and if we can’t see how, flip the story and try to see it from another perspective.

102 And the Fire Came and Burned the Stick By Sam Tennenberg

The fire represents the yetzer hara which causes a person to sin. The yetzer hara lead to the destruction of the Beit Hamikdash. The stick is the staff of Moshe Rabbeinu that freed the Jews and struck the Egyptians with the ten plagues. This is just like when a person may punish a

107 דְ ָאכְ לָה לְגַ דְ יָא, דְ זַבִ ין אאַבָ יבִתְרֵ זּוזֵי, חַ ד גַדְ יָא, חַ ד גַדְ יָא. וְָאתָא מַ יָאוְכָבָ הלְנּורָ א, דְ שָרַ ףלְחּוטְרָ א, דְהִ כָה לְכַלְבָ א, דְ נָשַ ְך לְשּונְרָ א, דְ ָאכְ לָה לְגַדְ יָא, דְ זַבִ ין אאַבָ יבִתְרֵ זּוזֵי, חַ ד גַדְ יָא, חַ ד גַדְ יָא. וְ ָאתָ א אתוֹרָ הוְשָתָ לְמַ יָא,דְ כָבָ הלְנּורָא, ףדְשָרַ לְחּוטְרָ א, דְהִ כָה לְכַלְבָ א,דְ נָשַ ְך לְשּונְרָ א, דְ ָאכְ לָה לְגַדְ יָא, דְ זַבִ ין אאַבָ יבִתְרֵ זּוזֵי, חַ ד גַדְ יָא, חַ ד גַדְ יָא. וְָאתָא הַ שוֹחֵט וְשָחַט לְתוֹרָ א, דְ שָתָ ה לְמַ יָא, דְ הכָבָ לְנּורָא, דְשָרַ ף לְחּוטְרָ א,דְהִ כָה לְכַלְבָ א,דְ נָשַ ְךלְשּונְרָ א, דְ ָאכְ לָה לְגַדְ יָא, דְ זַבִ ין אַבָ א יבִתְרֵ זּוזֵי, חַ ד גַדְ יָא, חַ ד גַדְ יָא. וְָאתָא מַ לְאְָך הַמָ וֶׁת וְשָחַ ט לְשוֹחֵ ט, דְ שָחַ ט לְתוֹרָ א, דְשָתָ ה לְ מַ יָא, דְ כָבָהלְנּורָ א, דְ שָרַ ףלְחּוטְרָ א,דְהִ כָה לְכַלְבָ א,דְ נָשַ ְךלְשּונְרָ א, דְ ָאכְ לָה לְגַדְ יָא, דְ זַבִ ין אאַבָ יבִתְרֵ זּוזֵי, חַ ד גַדְ יָא, חַ ד גַדְ יָא. וְָאתָא הַקָ דוֹשבָרּוְך הּוא וְשָחַ טלְמַ לְאְַך הַמָ וֶׁת, דְ שָחַט לְשוֹחֵ ט, דְ שָחַ טלְתוֹרָ א, דְשָתָ הלְמַ יָא, דְ כָבָהלְנּורָ א, דְ ףשָרַ לְחּוטְרָ א, דְהִ כָה לְכַלְבָ א,דְ נָשַ ְך לְשּונְרָ א, דְ ָאכְ לָה לְגַדְ יָא, דְ זַבִ ין אאַבָ יבִתְרֵ זּוזֵי, חַ ד גַדְ יָא, חַ ד גַדְ יָא.

לשנה הבאה בירושלים! חג כשר ושמח!

dog with a staff just as Moshe punished Pharaoh with the staff. The yetzer hara has the potential to overcome the inspiration caused by the miracles of Moshe’s stick. (From the Vilna Gaon Haggadah)

108

109 חג כשר ושמח!