Pesach Teachings, Thoughts and Philosophical Musings

Boys’ Division

Table of Contents

From the Head Teacher’s Desk ...... 1 - Rabbi Yehoshua Landes

The Color of Freedom ...... 2 - Jaylan Smith

The Blood Plague - La Plaga de Sangre ...... 3 - Yaphet Felix

Selling Your Chametz ...... 4 - Mikhel Shvarts

Young and Free ...... 5 - Rabbi Yossi Bassman

Bedikas Chametz ...... 6 - Zusia Rosenthal

The Unleavened Bread ...... 7 - Eliezer Armstrong

Three Extra Matzos ...... 8 - Rabbi Sholom Mendelson

The Passover Seder, There and Back Again ...... 9 - Isaac Gelfman

Pouring Out Your Problems: Pesach, Kabbalah and a Glass of Wine ...... 11 - Avi Gelfman

The Evolution of the Haggadah ...... 12 - Yanky Dlinn

The Chacham and the Rasha ...... 14 - Avigdor Shifrin

15...... אליהו The Cup Of - Zachary Sefia

Chametz and Matzah: A Closer Look ...... 16 - Shmuly Lotman

Biblical Mathematics – How long were we in Egypt? ...... 17 - Nosson Hanson

Has anyone seen Goshen? ...... 19 - Rabbi Yehoshua Landes

From the Head Teacher’s Desk

still remember the first time I saw hand-bakedShmurah Matzah. I was a young post-Bar Mitzvah boy, living in California. Pesach was just around I the corner, and a Lubavitcher Shaliach in Berkley suggested that we use hand-baked Shmurah Matzot for the Seder.

Until then, I had always associated matzah with the uniform square crackers that came in Manischewits boxes. Shmurah Matzot were different. They were round, they were burnt, they had character. Every Matzah was different, no two were alike. Some were oblong, some were thicker, some were folded or had bubbles in the middle – it was as if each Matzah had its own life story.

After that Seder, there was no going back. Machine Matzot were simply too cold and clinical, a modern extension of our mechanized society. Hand-baked Shmurah Matzot were authentic, it was what our ancestors ate in Egypt - it was the real McCoy.

During my times in a various schools, both as a teacher and pupil, I have seen a large variety of student publications. Many were highly sanitized and heavily edited works. I often felt that it was as if the teachers were writing the articles and only using their students as a façade. In Pesach terms, the pamphlets and booklets were like machine Matzot. Although the topics of the articles differed, they could have been, both linguistically and stylistically, clones of each other.

I am happy to say that this booklet is different. Yes, there has been some editing and light touch up work by our staff, but it is primarily the work of our students. Each article is like a hand-baked Shmurah Matzah with its own quirks, personality and outlooks on life. In many ways, this underscores and encapsulates what Hillel High is about – an institute of learning that celebrates and cherishes the differences within our students, rather than suppressing them to a uniformity of one size fits all. We cherish this multiplicity of viewpoints and attitudes at Hillel High, because we believe that it is the only way for our students to discover their true inner potential

I hope you enjoy reading this booklet as much as I enjoyed watching it being made. I also hopes it gives an insight of how Orthodox Judaism is broad enough to encompass a variety of different viewpoints and perspectives, depending upon where one currently is, in their spiritual journey to our Creator. As the Zohar puts it, a picture is only truly beautiful when it is composed of a variety of colors.

Wishing everyone a Kosher and Freilichin Pesach,

Rabbi Yehoshua Landes Head Teacher, Hillel High

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The Color of Freedom By Jaylan Smith

assover is a holiday that celebrates the liberation of the Jewish people from P Egypt. It is a miracle that the holiday of Passover has withstood the test of time. Throughout history, Passover has been celebrated by Jews every year. No matter how religious one may be and no matter what the circumstances, Jews have always had this celebration. Throughout our long and difficult history, Jews have constantly been oppressed. At many times, the Jewish people were back in chains once again, reverting to the same original situation as Egypt. Yet, even while being locked in chains and When the Jews received the Torah, they gained oppressed, the Jews continued the celebration something which no other nation could touch or of Passover. The question is why? Why is it that take away. Men can oppress the Jews physically, Jews continued to celebrate Passover even they can cause pain, imprison, destroy their during times of captivity, when seemingly the property, and yes, even gas their bodies. But due reward and gains of the original freedom are to the giving of the Torah, men will never be gone? Why celebrate the freedom they no longer able to spiritually oppress the Jews. have? There are many examples of Jews celebrating The answer is really in the Haggadah “In every Passover while under oppression. During the generation a Jew should see himself as though holocaust there were countless Jews celebrating he personally has been liberated from Egypt.” behind barbed wire with the guards patrolling When the Jews left Egypt, they started their the camp. Many Jews risked their lives in order journey on the path to a true freedom. This to commemorate their freedom. They baked happened when the Jews received the Torah at matzah in secret and even secretly held Sedarim. Mount Sinai. Receiving the Torah was the In the concentration camps Jews were being primary reason for leaving Egypt, as the verse murdered, starved and tortured. No matter what says, "When you bring the nation out of Egypt, the Nazis did there was nothing in which could you will serve God upon this mountain". The break the will of the Jewish people in terms of Torah is not only a book of laws. All of the commemorating their freedom. answers are within the Torah. All philosophies in People may hurt our bodies, but no one can which the Jews live by are derived from the touch our souls. Torah. When the Jews received the Torah, they received direction. As a result, the Jews gained true freedom. Before the giving of the Torah the Jews were an unstable nation because they had no rules or obligations. Ultimately, the Torah is the connection between G-D and the Jewish people.

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The Blood Plague - La Plaga de Sangre By Yaphet Felix

very Sunday morning when I wake up to in the bathtubs in the house. “Even in wood go doven, after washing my hands, I look and in stone” Rashi- Water in wooden vessels E at the tree that sits outside my window. and in stone vessels. As I walk to shul heading north, a big floating From this we see that Egypt had no chance of light the color of brass makes Lake Michigan escaping the blood, since the blood was even in shine like glass. The birds start to sing to the Al- their homes. The Midrash says that Egypt was mighty King- what a beautiful sight, it must be punished with their water because they forced spring. Looking at this magnificent scene, one the Israelites to fetch them water from the Nile. sees all the details of Hashem's glorious crea- What comes around goes around. tions, each one perfectly in sync with Hashem’s master plan. Every single grain of sand, and eve- The question now comes, how come Aaron was ry single drop in the ocean all perfectly playing the one to do the plague and not Moshe? Rashi their distinct role. says that it wasn’t appropriate for Moshe to do it since the water looked after Moshe when he In the story of the exodus of Egypt, in addition was placed in the Nile as a baby. Moshe had to the major characters of Moses and Pharaoh, such a relationship with the sea that he didn't the other elements of nature also played a dis- want to turn it into blood out of respect. tinct and significant role. “Say to Aaron, take your staff and stretch forth your hand over the From all the information above, we see that eve- waters of Egypt, over their rivers, over their ca- rything serves Hashem. The sea, which is alive nals, over their ponds, and over all their bodies and full of G-dliness, accepted that its purpose of water, and they will become blood, and there was that one day, it would turn into blood. Eve- will be blood throughout the entire land of rything will always be Hashem’s and on the side Egypt, even in wood and in stone” (EX. 7:18) of the Jews, even if it is a single grain of sand and a drop of the ocean. “There will be blood throughout the entire land of Egypt” Rashi- even in bathhouses, and

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Selling your Chametz By Mikhel Shvarts

n Passover, it is prohibited to own chametz. picking it up. This guarantor is known as an “Orav There are many Jews who own large Kablan,” where you have a third party who will take O amounts of chametz, and are unwilling to responsibility for the sale of your chametz. Ultimately, throw it all away, due to financial loss or that they find this means that the non-Jew will deal with the rabbi it hard to move it out their home. Since they don’t and not you, so you are now out of the equation. want to throw it away, they have the option of selling Do you have to sell your dishes? The only chametz their chametz to a non-Jew, who will now own it. The that must be sold is chametz that is visible, so the likelihood is that they will be able to buy it back again chametz that is absorbed on the dishes only has to be when Yom Tov is over. There is a standard contract for washed and put away. However, there are some this transaction, so that they will not own chametz, authorities (Chabad) that say you should sell both your and at the same time not experience a financial loss. dishes along with your chametz to the non-Jew. Also, Once a bill of sale is written up, and the chametz is a key thing to remember is that you must sell your sold, one can now leave the chametz in his house chametz by the fifth hour on the fourteenth of Nissan— without the worry of desecrating Pesach, because now which this year is approximately 10:45am. the chametz doesn’t belong to him. One should also It is a very important thing to make sure that you do gather all the chametz and put it in a locked room, so not own any chametz on Pesach. There is no reason to that no one will enter it during Pesach. This is done so be concerned for financial loss because the payment that one won’t accidentally eat the sold chametz out of for your goods are guaranteed, and you don’t have to habit during Pesach, without realizing it. This is worry about the effort of re-stocking your supplies, advisable, even though, technically, you could just because the chametz is still in your house and the leave the chametz where it is, because it is not yours. likelihood of the non-Jew coming to pick up your However, to be on the safe side, it is very much advised cereal, doughnuts, etc. and taking it away is slim. to gather all of the chametz and lock it up. Even if he does, you would still have gotten the entire The mechanics of selling chametz works by the Jew financial value of your chametz, so you could restock selling the chametz to a non-Jew for a specific price, and buy some more. the non-Jew gives a down payment of whatever price was agreed upon, or he has the option to give as The easiest way to sell your chametz is through payment an object of certain value. In the bill of sale it designating your local rabbi as your agent, and he will is stated, that “if the buyer fails to pay the agreed upon do the rest, which is selling your chametz, and then amount, then the chametz reverts back to the original later on buying it back for you after Pesach has owner after Pesach is over.” This is very similar to a concluded. mortgage, in that you own your house, as long as you A Kosher and Freilichen Pesach! pay it off, and if you stop paying the bill it reverts back to the bank and is no longer yours. However, the custom is that you designate the rabbi as an agent to sell your chametz for you, and then the rabbi does the transaction for you. In addition, the Chabad custom is that a guarantor is brought in to secure the funds in case the buyer, the non- Jew, does not have the funds to pay it upon

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Young and Free By Rabbi Yossi Bassman

hat’s a Jewish holiday without the Jewish children’s participation? W Chinuch; the Torah obligation to educate our children in the ways of Torah and Mitzvot, plays a crucial role in all matters of Judaism. Indeed, we see this as our children happily scamper into Shul, as they sit as engaged When it comes to understanding, maturity, and participants around the Shabbos table, to their experience, adults have the monopoly. But when it glowing faces by the menorah and to their rowdy comes to innocence, curiosity, and truth, children noise making and elaborate costumes on Purim. are the direction in which to look. Adults are Their involvement is a constant presence and focus. constantly calculating and considering myriads of Yet the regular role the child plays in all matters of considerations before making any big decisions or Judaism pales in comparison to their central role changes. Youth, as soon as they discover truth, or a they play during the Pesach Seder. perceived truth, they can in moments leave The highlight of Pesach, the Seder, revolves around everything behind and embrace this new discovery. the children. The entire Haggadah spins on the axis The Jews, upon hearing that they will be leaving of the curious child asking, “Why is this night Egypt, emulated this same characteristic of an different than all the others?” which propels us to adventurous youth. They literally dropped their respond with the Haggadah’s detailed response. entire past lifestyle and customs, their previous And with a personalized approach to education, the employment, country of residence, and followed G- Haggadah is quite specific about the message we are d into the desert pursuing truth. to give our children, providing tailor-made, As we attempt to experience our own personal “differentiated” responses for four different types exodus from Egypt, our own liberation from our of children. The Pesach Seder is a unique Mitzvah personal constraints and limitations that may be that too properly fulfill, one requires the holding us back in our personal lives, as we are on participation of the children. the journey seeking liberation, we must seek out Sure, conveying the message of Pesach to the next our inner child. We must be willing and open to let generation is crucial, but why is the Pesach message go of past perspectives and hurts, relieve ourselves deemed more important than all the other from cynical attitudes and past mistakes, we must holidays? Repentance, joy, Torah, G-d’s presence in be open to pursuing the truth as soon as we exile, are these messages less important to the discover it. As long as we refuse to make the big continuity of the Jewish people than the Pesach leap, we will never be truly free. Our intellect, our message? past experiences, they are only assets if they assist As one begins the Seder, one must first listen to the our pursuit of growth and truth, not if they act as questions of the child. As the Pasuk says: “And you impediments to change. shall respond to your child” with the story of the As we sit at the Seder, and hear the children ask exodus. While typically we are supposed to teach their questions, we must truly open our hearts and our children the message of the holiday, comes learn. Hear their purity, integrity and lack of Pesach the tables are turned and we are to be cynicism. That is the key to finding our inner child learning a message from the children! so that we may also ask the Seder questions.

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Disclaimer: The following document is for discussion purposes only. For practical Halachic rulings, please consult your local Bedikas Chametz competent orthodox rabbi. If you decide not to heed my disclaimer, I, in no way, shape, or form, take any responsibility for your actions. By Zusia Rosenthal I will not be sued, litigated, convicted, or held accountable should any consequences befall you in conjunction with your reckless violations of Torah and Rabbinic law. edikas chametz is the ritual search we do for any leaven remaining in our homes. We search for FAQ B leaven food because we are not allowed to 1. I am selling all of the chametz in my home and I am possess any type of leaven over the duration of Pesach. leaving for Pesach after the time for Bedikas chametz. Do I This search takes place half an hour after nightfall on still have to perform the Bedika? the night before the first Seder. Before you do the ritual Yes, you must still perform the Bedika if you leave of Bedikas chametz, you must 1st thoroughly clean within 1 month. However, you only need to check one your house everywhere. And yes, we do mean room. You should leave the chametz of one room out of everywhere, both in places you would normally think to the sale, in order that you can properly perform Bedika check: your house, your closets, your drawers, in your chametz on that room. shelves, (if you work in an office) your office, your pantry, your fridge. And places you wouldn't think 2. Can I use a flashlight instead of a candle? about checking: your pockets, your kids pockets, your It is preferable that you use a candle. However, if you car, cracks in your wall big enough to both let a little need to use a flashlight, you may use one. If there is any light in and be able to reach a little concern that a candle may cause a fire bit in there, your shoes, under your when searching in confined areas, you bed, even the pages of your books. should not use a candle and instead you (You take your books, hold them should use a flashlight. upside down, and shake them to get 3. Do I need to turn off the lights during the the chametz out). search? This is how you should do Bedikas If you are using a candle, you are not chametz: Take 10 pieces of leavened required to turn off the lights for bedikat food and wrap them up in a chametz, since the light aids in the search. flammable material. Hide them throughout the house However, if the lights do all the work and the candle (and write down the places you hid them in, in case you doesn't do anything, you have to turn off the lights. can't find them later). Those pieces symbolize all the 4. Can the task of checking the whole house be divided leaven that we may not find. Take a beeswax candle and among family members? light it. Say the blessing that thanks G-d for enabling Yes. If you do this, one person should recite the beracha you to search for chametz. You then take the candle and then each family member can check a part of the and search for the chametz. When you find it, you house. If you can ensure that they will perform a proper scoop it into a wooden spoon with a feather. Then take Bedikah, the members do not have to be of bar/bat the spoon and dump the contents into a paper bag. mitzvah age. When you have found all 10 pieces, tie the bag up and put it in a spot that you will remember to check the 5. Am I allowed to eat chametz in my house after I perform next morning (because you have to burn it). You then Bedikas chametz? say a legal declaration which basically ensures that any Yes you are, but you should be very careful to keep track chametz that you have not found is null and void. The of all of the chametz that is brought into the room. next morning, you go and take the bag of leaven and 6. Do I have to say the declaration in Aramaic? you burn it. After you throw it into the fire, you say an No you don’t. In fact, you must say it in a language you even more encompassing declaration of nullification speak because you are required to understand what than the one you said after you finished Bedikas you're saying. chametz.

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The Unleavened Bread By Eliezer Armstrong

hen people think of Pesach what is Back in ancient times, our forefathers were en- the first thing that comes to mind slaved in the land of Egypt under Pharaoh's rule. W aside from all the stress from prepa- When we were finally freed after 210 years, ration? That’s right, MATZAH! Aside from it be- Pharaoh tried to chase after us and destroy us. ing a flat piece of bread, it is a very deep and By this time, we had already began baking bread, multidimensional concept. It must be, since we but there was not enough time to finish, so with- spend hundreds of dollars on it every Pesach. out waiting for the dough to rise, the Jews ran But what is matzah really all about? Allow me to out of Egypt with unleavened bread. This bread elaborate on the subject. was eaten and sustained the entire nation, until What is Matzah? Matzah can be described as a Manna began to fall a month later. Therefore, cracker-like substance made from flour, and wa- every year on Pesach, we commemorate this ter, which is baked within 18 minutes. Matzah is miracle of being rescued from Pharaoh by eating not something that can be made from any grain, matzah at the Seder. The Matzah symbolizes though. There are 5 grains which matzah can be faith - the faith we had in G-d that that He created from; wheat, barley, oat, spelt, and rye. would save us from the Egyptians and that the The idea of matzah is that it cannot rise. If it matzah we hurriedly baked would be enough to does rise, then it becomes chametz which is the keep us alive in the desert during our exit of

biggest prohibition on Pesach. Egypt.

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Three Extra Matzos By Rabbi Sholom Mendelson

would like to share a short story. explain how few matzos he had, and how he could not Toward the end of World War II, in March of 1945, afford to give away any extra, but to no avail. “My father I the Skulener Rebbe, Rabbi Eliezer Zusha Portugal forbade me to return home with anything less than six found himself, along with other holocaust survivors and matzos!” displaced persons in the Russian-governed town of Finally, seeing that he had no choice but to honor the Czernovitz, Bukovina. Although Germany would not request, the Skulener Rebbe agreed, albeit reluctantly. officially surrender until May 7, much of Eastern Europe The day before Pesach, Rabbi Moshe arrived again at the had already been liberated by the Russian army. door of the Skulener Rebbe. Pesach was only weeks away, and amidst the terrible “My father has something to ask you. He wants to know poverty and conditions that reigned, the Skulener Rebbe whether you saved any Shmurah Matzah at all for had but one thought on his mind: How would he be able yourself." to obtain kosher matzah for the Seder? They barely had food period, let alone Shmura Matzah baked and The Skulener Rebbe began to cry and replied, "How could watched according to the Rebbe’s exacting standards! I take for myself, when so many others needed?" But the Rebbe was not to be deterred. He bargained, "My father assumed that that is what you would do," said bribed, and begged and finally succeeded in obtaining a Rabbi Moshe pulling out a package, "These three small amount of Kosher for Passover wheat. Then he matzahs he took for you…" kashered a bakery, and finally, after literally months of One of the messages of Pesach is selflessness. nonstop efforts, he managed to bake a very limited Just like Matzah is a flat bread, so too, amount of Matzos. selflessness is the flat bread of the spirit. Matzah The Rebbe then made an announcement: Whoever can have the same amount of dough as bread, needed Matzah for the Seder could come and receive the very same substance is there, but it takes up three matzos each. No more, no less. Three precious less space due to lack of inflation. Matzah matzos for the Seder, but that was it. There simply was conveys, that with a state of selflessness we can not enough. As Jews from all the surrounding areas better make room for others both at our Seder began to trickle in and lineup, the Rebbe himself table and in our hearts. personally stood and oversaw the distribution. This very bread also nurtures our faith, One week before Pesach, Rabbi Moshe Hager, the son of for faith blossoms when we put our egos aside the Seret-Vizhnitzer Rebbe, came for the three matzos and let G-d do his thing. for his father, Rabbi Boruch Hager. After being handed May this Pesach bring us closer to the three matzos, he said to the Hashem and to others, and Skulener Rebbe: "I know that hence closer to our true you said that you could only give selves. three matzos, but nonetheless my father, the Seret-Vizhnitzer A Kosher and Happy Rebbe, told me to tell you that Pesach. he must have six matzos." The Skulener Rebbe tried to

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The Passover Seder, There and Back Again By Isaac Gelfman radition changes just as a language does. event. The tradition written in the Chumash is Flowing throughout the endless river of in some ways very different than what we do T ages past, and changing into how it now. might be viewed in the future. Although the The Torah says as follows: “Take a lamb for you skeleton stays the same, the flesh on it has the on the tenth of Nissan. There should be one for possibility to become something quite different. each household or one for an extended family. In the case of Passover, the skeleton has stayed You must eat the whole lamb, so if a family is the same through the ages. Even the “flesh” of too small to finish it, they should pair up with the holiday stayed mostly the same. However, another neighbor for the korban. Each person from ancient to modern times, it seems that should be counted for the lamb. This lamb must there are some things that have either been lost, be male, perfect, and unblemished in its first or are not practiced because of our inability to year. You should take a sheep or goat. Hold this serve in the Temple in Jerusalem. sheep for inspection until the fourteenth day, Just as the language of Hebrew has changed and and then all of Israel should slaughter it in the morphed, there are even slightly different ver- afternoon of the fourteenth day. Take the blood sions of it, so also there are slightly different ex- and put it on 2 doorposts and the lintel of the pressions of Orthodox Judaism (e.g., Sephardic houses you eat it in. On that night eat the meat and Ashkenazi). It is not surprising that these with matzah and bitter herbs. The meat should different groups of Jews practice Passover be roasted as one piece, and not cooked in any slightly differently. It’s obvious to the naked eye, other way. None should be left over until morn- that traditions evolve and change. Yet they will ing, and any parts that are left over must to be always keep the inner spark that makes them burned. Eat it with your girded loins, ready to the same. travel, and with a staff in your hand. Eat it FAST. Ancient Pesach was an extremely communal

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Modern Pesach is the things that quite different it will change is than this. For one how we prac- thing, there is no tice Pesach, be- korban, instead we cause we would do many other once again be practices. We have able to bring the Seder plate, we the Pascal have a longer Hag- lamb, as we gadah, and we originally did. have different There’s been practices that in many changes some ways fill the to the Passover void left by the Seder through- Korban’s absence. Instead of eating quickly and out the ages. When the Third Temple comes, the acting like we are ready to travel, we take our Korban will be given again, and I’m sure that time and act like kings by leaning where we sit. there would be new customs to come along with We can’t do the Korban at our Pesach Seder, so it. we read about the story of this sacrifice. One is supposed to bring the spirit of the Pascal Lamb into their Seder, to live the exodus again and to project it into one’s life. That’s a big part of the modern Pesach Seder. So you know what? One day we will, once again, give that korban as a sacri- fice. The building Mural of Moshe and the exodus from an ancient syna- of the Third gogue in Syria. Dates back to C.E. 245. Temple will change many practices in Ju- daism. One of

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Pouring Out Your Problems: Pesach, Kabbalah and a Glass of Wine By Avi Gelfman

uperficially, many of the customary with your pinky, but rather actually spill the practices done during the Pesach Seder wine into a broken dish.” can seem somewhat strange. However, S The Arizal explains that the pouring of the wine with the right guide and an open mind, much symbolizes the anger aspect of the lowest depth can be found within our ancient sephira of the Ten Sephirot, Malchut (found on the traditions. Today we have extensive access to diagram below). You want to pour this "anger" large amounts of Judaic works on the internet. into a broken dish, which is symbolic for klipah We no longer have to go search a physical library (literally "husk", but a metaphor for evil). So for commentaries, or the scholarly works we when doing this tradition, you want to pour out desire. This enables us to easily acquire those the anger that was once inside and part of our guides that allow us to dig deeper into Jewish people’s being, during their slavery in Egypt, traditions. into a “broken prison of evil” which is the There’s a custom during the Pesach Seder to broken plate. We want to get all the anger out pour out wine into a broken or together with all our other chipped bowl 16 times, which negative aspects that are klipah. correlate to 10 plagues and 6 Afterwards, after spilling the 16 other Egyptian catastrophes. drops of wine, you're supposed to One could pour out these drops fill your cup full again. Now what just because that’s what the is left is a full cup of wine, totally tradition tells you to do, and rid of all evil. This cup of wine think minimally about what represents happiness and they’re actually doing. However, celebration. We are no longer where is the meaning in doing a slaves, we are no longer part of merely symbolic act? To give that klipah, and we have a full meaning to an action, you have cup of wine in front of us. Time to think about it yourself, see to live in the moment, and party what others thought about it, at the Seder. Celebrate life, and and finally do it with have a good time, keep life fresh, conviction. I like to believe that because this gives us perspective all of these practices are open to and ensures a happy “smile-filled” interpretation, just like a piece of Pesach. art. The only “right” meaning is the one that is the most sound with interpreter. Rabbi Isaac Luria (The Arizal), the father of contemporary Kabbalah, digs deep into this tradition. He ties kabbalistic symbolism to the Seder wine pouring. The Arizal says that when saying the words "blood, fire, and pillars of smoke”, that you should, “spill the wine in the cup three times. You are not to remove the wine

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The Evolution of the Haggadah By Yanky Dlinn

he word Haggadah comes from the word “v’hegadetah l’vincha”- and you shall tell T your children about the story of the Exodus. The Haggadah states “that whoever increases the telling of the story of the exodus of Egypt, is praise worthy.” So who wrote the Haggadah? Where did it come from? TEMPLE TIMES had to be done, what to say and a few sources, and During temple times, the Jews would go to the Beis it had an order to the Seder. Most of “Magid” (the Hamikdash and offer a paschal lamb. They would story of the Exodus) is written in shorthand, quot- slaughter it in the afternoon of the 14th day of the ing only the beginning of a section and ending it Jewish month of Nissan and eat it that night. They with “etc.” Most of our Hagadot are based on the would eat it with matzah, marror and charoset, book called Seder Rav Amram. The later Hagadot leaning to the left in an expression of freedom. Af- expounded on the “etc” and wrote out the whole ter they ate, they recounted the story of the Exodus paragraphs. from Egypt, sang Hallel and praised Hashem late into the night for all of the miracles that He per- The Rambam (Maimonides), during Medieval formed during the Exodus. The question, though, is Times, wrote his own Haggadah, which is surpris- when did the practice of conducting a Seder, includ- ingly similar to our own. After this, the Haggadah ing the present list of “simanim” (chapter head- remained almost the same, with just a few songs ings), procedures, order, and phraseology, begin? that were later added at the end. Neither of these Hagadot had “simanim” (names of THE EVOLUTION OF THE HAGGADAH the chapters of the Haggadah) – instead, they just The earliest written part of the Haggadah is found said what is supposed to be done. in the Mishna. Circa 70CE. After the Romans killed Now for the specifics: or kicked out most of the Jews living in Judea, fol- lowing the destruction of the Second Temple, Rabbi THE MISHNAIC HAGGADAH Yehuda HaNasi, the author of the Mishna, wrote down what had occurred during Passover in the This Haggadah begins with Mishna. That’s the first Haggadah that we know of. Kiddush over a cup of wine. This step is known as The Mishnaic Pesach Seder was more streamlined Kadesh. Then the Mishna compared to the Haggadah we use today. The earli- continues with the dipping est surviving Haggadah in manuscript form comes of the vegetable. Then the from Spain and dates back to the 10th century. It is second cup is poured and part of a prayer book compiled by Rav Amram here the son asks his father, Gaon, whose manuscripts were found in the Cairo “why is this night different?” Geniza. This Haggadah was very terse. It said what

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The Mishnaic Haggadah also had four questions, Why bitter herbs? but they were slightly different than ours: Why do we lean? Why matzah? These are four questions are identical with the 4 Why bitter herbs? questions that are asked during the modern Se- darim. This is also the first time that we see the Why roasted meat? question of leaning. Why dip twice? (Note: There is a difference in custom between the Se- The Mishnaic Haggadah continues with the para- fardim and Ashkenazim regarding the question of dip- graph, “An Aramean sought to destroy my father.” ping – is it the first of third question. Rav Amram Gaon The Mishna then brings the saying of Raban Gama- followed what would become the Sephardic custom) liel, that whoever didn’t discuss Pesach, matzah, and maror, didn’t fulfill his obligation of Passover. Rav Amram’s Haggadah has all of the sections that This is followed by Hallel and the drinking of the we currently say in our modern versions, however, second cup. they are all written in a shorthand form. This Hag- gadah also does not have the songs which we sing We pour the third cup before we start to recite at the end. Grace after meals, and we then pour the fourth cup and conclude with the Hallel prayer. OUR HAGGADAH That’s all we have from the Mishna in regards to Almost identical to Rav Amram’s, except that there the actual order of events. are no “etcs” in our Hagadot – instead, everything is written out. We also give names to each of the fif- RAV AMRAM’S HAGGADAH teen steps of the Haggadah. Finally, there are Rav Amram’s Haggadah, although based on the songs, such as Chad Gadya, which have been added Mishnaic Haggadah, has quite a few additions to it, at the end. Although all of these songs have been besides for all the halachic directions which Rav around for a while, they are relatively new in re- Amram put in. gards to the rest of the Haggadah. First, in this Haggadah, we are told what to say Although we don’t actually know who authored the when we recite Kiddush. This includes all of the Haggadah with all the steps and who gave the steps specific blessings, such as the blessing on the wine their names, we see that it has played a major part and the shehechiyanu. Then we are instructed to in the life of all walks of Judaism. And it’s up to us wash our hands (with a blessing) before we dip the to pass on this rich and amazing tradition to our vegetables. children and family, so that they may do the same. (Note: the current custom is that we do not recite a blessing on the washing of our hands before the dip- ping) It’s then written that the one who conducts the Se- der breaks a matzah and only then is the second cup of wine poured. We then invite, in Aramaic (because that language was the vernacular at that time), all who are hungry to come and eat, only then do we start the four questions: Why dip twice? Why matzah?

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The Chacham and The Rasha By Avigdor Shifrin

רָשָׁ ע מָ ה הוּא אוֹמֵ ר? מָ ה הָ עֲבֹדָ ה הַ זֹּאת לָכֶם? חכם מה הוא אומר: מה הוא העדות והחקים לָכֶם - וְ א ֹלו. וּלְפִ י שֶׁ הוֹצִ יא אֶ ת עַצְ ֹמו מִ ן והמשפטים אשר צוה ה' אלוקינו אתכם? הַכְּ לָל כָּפַר בְּעִקָּ ר. n the Haggadah there are 4 sons, the מָ ה ,chacham (wise), the rasha The rasha/wicked son asks What is this serviceהָ עֲבֹדָ ה הַ זֹּאת לָכֶם “ I (wicked), the simple, and the one who does not know how to ask. We of yours?!” He is excluding himself – are going to be focusing on two of he want’s nothing to do with this them. “service” that he scoffs at. This is The wise son asks What“ are the going against the principle of testimonies, the statutes, and the laws Judaism by saying that I am not that the L-rd, our Gd, has commanded part of your Mitzvos, I want to have to you?” While the rasha says “What no part of Judaism. is this work you are doing?!” These So the wise and wicked son are seem like almost identical questions asking two very different questions – they both exclude themselves when - one son is excluding himself and they say “you”? What makes one son the other isn't. The rasha does not a rasha and that other child wise, it’s think he is part of Judaism. The like they’re saying they both want wise son is not only proud of his nothing to do with us. Jewish identity, but also wants The Lubavitcher Rebbe gives an others to share his incredible answer in a Sicha. The wise son isnot enthusiasm for Judaism excluding himself, but rather is asking a different question: why do you put our G-d’s mitzvos into different categories? Why doyou divide the Mitzvos into 3 groupings – the logical, the traditional and the incomprehensible? The wise son views all of G-d’s Mitzvos as one – the very fact that G-d Himself commanded us to do them should be enough of a reason to motivate us to do them. The Rebbe supports his interpretation that this is the wise son’s question (why are other Jews splitting up the Mitzvos) because the chacham asks, “What are the testimonies, the statutes, and the laws”.

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אליהו The Cup Of By Zachary Sefia

hen you're sitting that is not drunk; it just sits at the Seder, so in the middle of the table? W much of what we What does it represent? are celebrating is about the Who was Elijah? past, the exodus from Egypt. The times of old seem to have Elijah’s task is to announce been “The Good Years” of the the future redemption. Elijah Jewish people. In times of is the one who will blow the old, we saw such amazing shofar to inform the world acts from Almighty G-D, as that Moshiach is here and is he saved us from the Egyp- ready to take us back to Isra- tians. What He did was above el. The fifth cup means hope nature and supernatural. He devastated the and freedom to the Jewish people, it represent Egyptians with the 10 plagues, culminating with the future. an even crazier act than anything before, the Celebrating Passover is such a big mitzvah, it’s splitting of the Red Sea. one of the best mitzvahs we can do. Yet, that’s all in the past, and I'm preparing to Throughout history, during times of great chal- sit at my Seder on April 3rd 2015, so distant lenge and danger, such as Communist Russia from the events of the Exodus. and Nazi Germany, the Jewish people celebrated Is there anything in the Passover Seder that cel- Passover; and the fifth cup represented their ebrates and focuses on the future? hope and dream of a better time and future. THE FIFTH CUP Passover has kept us strong and the fifth There is a disagreement in the Talmud, on the cup gives us a mes- number of cups of wine we have at the Seder - sage of hope. should it be just four, or do we include a fifth May Elijah blow his cup of wine for Elijah the prophet. horn to tell us that Our custom is to have the fifth cup at the Seder. Moshiach is here! What is the meaning of the fifth cup of Elijah, the cup poured at the conclusion of the Seder

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Chametz and Matzah: A Closer Look By Shmuly Lotman

fter meticulously scrubbing, washing, This is also why Chassidic custom rejects eating scraping and scouring every known (and saturated Matzah on the first seven days of A unknown) corner of the house for Passover, due to the small possibility that the leaven, one may wonder if the underlying reason saturation may transform the Matzah into for all of the effort involved is simply a ploy by leaven. However, the very same custom dictates the Sages to give us a taste of pre-exodus a complete change of attitude on the eighth day, slavery. Is the Passover experience really only and encourages us to eat saturated Matzah as complete if I can see my reflection in my often as possible. Why the sudden change? floorboards? However, a look into the mystical The eighth day of Passover is unique in its aspects of the holiday reveals this process to be a shifting of focus from the past to the future: critical component of a “successful” Passover instead of reliving the Exodus and internalizing holiday. its message, we turn our gaze to the future, The Torah commands: “You shall eat Matzos yearning for the final and ultimate redemption. seven days… But on the first day you shall When Mashiach comes, we will no longer need destroy all leavened product from your homes.” to run from evil, as we did in Egypt. To Chassidus explains that removing those crumbs symbolize this concept, we eat saturated between the couch pillows teaches us how to Matzah, emphasizing that true redemption remove the “leavened product” from within our occurs when we reach the point that Matzah, spiritual selves. Our Sages explain that after representing selflessness, no longer steeping in the cesspool of Egyptian runs the risk of being depravity for over two centuries, the inadvertently transformed Jewish people were mired in the into leaven, out of 49th level of impurity. The control egotism. Exodus enabled us to escape this sorry state of spiritual degradation. This required a complete spiritual overhaul. This is why the Torah commands us to remove all traces of “leavened” product. Leavened product, as the name suggests, connotes elevation, an uplifted state, even haughtiness. In order for the Jewish People to accomplish a true self-transformation and escape our past demons, no trace of our previous egos could remain. Only Matzah, known as the “Bread of Affliction,” which represents total self- nullification, would help us to reach our goal of Bitul, a true sense of inner self-effacement.

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Biblical Mathematics – How long were we in Egypt? By Nosson Hanson

“And the habitation of the children of Israel, that they dwelled in Egypt, was four hundred and thirty years.” (Exodus 12:40).”

o it seems that the Jews were present in Egypt for S 430 years. The problem is, this is impossible! Let’s do the Biblical math: So, the absolute most the Jews could have been It is extremely convenient that the sons of Av- in Egypt was 350 years. Of course, this would raham and their sons, extending further down only have been possible if there was no overlap into the succeeding generations, have the years during the lives of the fathers and sons, which is of their lives recorded in the Torah. These impossible lifespans will be our clues to conjoin and make Because of this, our Rabbis had a tradition that factual how long the Jews were actually in the Jews only inhabited Egypt for 210 years. Egypt. So you may be thinking, how does this make any So starting from Avraham, we know that he was sense? Did the Jews really inhabit Egypt for 430 born in 1813 BCE and had his second son, years like the pasuk says, or did they dwell in Yitzchak, at age 100, in 1713 BCE. Yitzchak had Egypt for only 210? As with most Jewish ques- Yaakov, his second-born son of a set of twins, in tions, there isn’t a straight answer. So, in a way 1653 BCE, when he was sixty years old. Yaakov yes, then again, in a way, no. Thankfully the To- fathered his third son, Levi, in 1566 BCE, when rah provides us clues to decipher this intricate he was 87. Levi lived for 137 years. His son was enigma. Kehas, who lived 133 years. Amram, was Kehas’ son, and he had a lifespan of 137 years. Moshe Parshat Lech-Lecha tunes us into some facts was the son of Amram, and was 80 at the time of that can change our perspective of things. the Exodus, in 1313 BCE. Finally, Kehas was born before the Jewish Peo- ple entered Egypt and Moshe was 80 when they left. Now let’s do the math… Kehas = 133 Amram = 137 Moshe = 80 Total 350 years!

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We’ve already said that Yitzchak was born in Bris Bein Hebetarim – 1783 BCE 1713 BCE and that the Exodus took place in Birth of Yitzchak – 1813 BCE 1313 BCE. That’s 400 years! Just as importantly, Exodus – 1313 BCE the Seder Olam (a Midrashic Jewish History Total book) writes that the Bris Bein Hebetarim (The 430 years! Covenant between the Parts) took place 1783, This is just a small example of how everything in when Avraham was 70 years old. That’s when the Torah is true and adds up – you just have to Hashem warned Avraham about the Egyptian do the maths! Exile. Suddenly it all adds up:

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Has anyone seen Goshen? Rabbi Yehoshua Landes

here are many famous Biblical cities and Delta keep them separate from the local areas whose exact location have been lost Egyptian inhabitants? in the sand of time. One of these is T JOSEPHUS VS TARGUM YONATAN Goshen – the district in ancient Egypt that became the home-in-exile of the Israelite nation There are 2 early opinions as to the site of for 210 years. Biblical Ramses, and with it, the general location of Goshen: Goshen’s exact location is a matter of debate among archaeologists. We know that the Josephus (Antiquities 2:7:6) argues that Ramses Israelites built (or rebuilt or fortified) the cities was another name for Heliopolis, whose ruins lie of Pitom and Ramses. It is likely that both of northeast of Cairo. This opinion is certainly in these cities were either within or extremely near line with the findings of a number of to Goshen. Unfortunately, we are equally as archaeologists, and would satisfy both points 1) unsure of the site of these cities as we are and 2) above. However, it is unclear how uncertain of the location of Goshen. Josephus would deal with point 3). Although the archaeological arguments and According To Josephus, when the Israelites left proposals for Goshen make fascinating reading, Goshen at the time of the Exodus, they travelled they are of secondary importance to the serious in the correct general direction (east) but veered Torah scholar. Students of the Torah are less the wrong way (due east, instead of northeast). impressed with the finds of modern digs, whose This set them on a collision course with the importance is often subjective and open to Bitter Lakes and the Red Sea, and was why interpretation; instead, they are primarily Pharaoh said that they had become “lost in the interested in what the Torah itself, together land, they have become trapped by the with its commentaries, writes about Goshen. desert” (Exodus 14.3). The Torah makes three general observations Targum Yonatan ben Uziel has a very different about Goshen: opinion as to the location of Goshen. He writes (Genesis 47.11) that Ramses, the capital of It was the best land in Egypt It was grassland, suitable for the grazing of flocks It was an area separate from Egyptian habitation. Neither the Israelites nor Egyptians wished to live together. Point 1) would apply to anywhere within the Nile Delta. Point 2) would tend to apply to the Eastern Nile Delta, which had better grazing land. Point 3), though, is more complex. The Nile Delta was heavily populated by Egyptians – how would placing the Israelites in the middle of the Nile

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Goshen, was actually the ancient Egyptian city of desert”. Pelusium, which was located in the Sinai There is no question that Targum Yonatan ben Peninsula, just east of the present day Suez Uziel is considered much more reliable than Canal. This was the eastern most branch of the Josephus. Although Josephus was personally an Nile Delta and borders what is now the Sinai observant Jew, he was also a turncoat who desert. He also writes (Exodus, 1. 11) that Pitom helped the Romans during their conquest of was the city of Tanis, which was in the Eastern Judea, between 66 – 73 CE. While he would have Nile Delta, approximately 35 miles west of had little reason to fabricate the names of Pelusium. This implies that Goshen was situated biblical cities and areas (especially in Antiquities in the area that is now the east and west banks of the Jews), anything he says must be taken with a of the Suez Canal. grain of salt. What is particularly interesting about the Although it is questionable1 whether the Targum Yonatan’s position is that it would illustrious Yonatan ben Uziel2 was the actual satisfy all three criteria that the Torah uses to author of Targum Yonatan ben Uziel, it is still an describe Goshen. It was still a fertile area of early biblical commentary that is held in high Egypt (point 1), it was grassland (point 2) and, regard. There is no question that his opinions being on the border of Egypt, it was probably must be considered seriously. less heavily populated than the heart of the Nile Delta, thereby keeping the Israelites separate Conventional wisdom has always placed Goshen from the majority of the Egyptian population at the heart of the Nile Delta. Targum Yonatan (point 3). ben Uziel argues that we need to question that assumption. Perhaps it is time to tell the According to Targum Yonatan, when the archaeologists that they have been digging in the Israelites left Goshen during the Exodus, they wrong place. turned around and headed back towards Egypt, an event that is recorded in the Torah (Exodus 14.2). Instead of going east, the Israelites headed south west, towards the Bitter Lakes and the Red Sea. This was certainly the wrong direction to travel when going to Canaan, which was why

Pharaoh thought that they had become “lost in

the land, they have become trapped by the

1 Yonatan ben Uziel definitely wrote a Targum (translation) on the Prophets (Megilla, 3a). There is no mention in the Talmud of his writing a Targum on the Pentateuch. Some say that Yonatan ben Uziel wrote both (Tosafot Avodah Zarah 59b) whereas others felt that the commentary was mistakenly attributed to him (Nitzutzei Orot on the Zohar, 1.89a).

2 Yonatan ben Uziel was the greatest of Hillel’s 80 disciples, a man whose Torah study was so intense and holy, that birds overhead used to combust (Sukkah 28a). Even if this is understood as a metaphor, there is no question that he was held in the highest regard by our sages.

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