5776 2016 Joseph Kushner Hebrew Academy Middle School Pesach Haggadah Joseph Kushner Hebrew Academy 110 South Orange Ave Livingston, NJ 07038 (862) 437-8000 www.jkha.org תשע"ו The 2016- Joseph Kushner Hebrew Academy Middle School Haggadah הגדה של פסח Editor Rabbi Yaacov Feit Cover Design Front: Eila Fluman and Danielle Felderman Back: Maya Minsky Contributors JKHA Middle School Faculty and Students Dedicated by Sherry and Henry Stein in memory of: Arie & Eva Halpern Dr. Morris Epstein Bernard Stein 1 MAKE A DIFFERENCE THINK CRITICALLY ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE JOSEPH KUSHNER HEBREW ACADEMY RAE KUSHNER YESHIVA HIGH SCHOOL As a Modern Orthodox co-educational yeshiva, JKHA/RKYHS seeks to inspire students to live lives of Torah and mitzvot; to embrace knowledge and American democratic values; to love and serve the Jewish People; and to forge a lifelong bond with the Land and State of Israel. 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 image of God, 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. BEYOND THE CLASSROOM TORAH VALUES ACADEMICCULTIVATE EXCELLENCE CURIOSITY Every year, as I prepare the JKHA Middle School Haggadah, I marvel at the number of divrei Torah about the four sons and the interest they generate. Personally, I never understood why they need to be emphasized. Why do we talk about who we need to teach? Why don’t we just start teaching? The focus on inclusion of different types of people, however, is interestingly not unique to our Yom Tov cycle. On Rosh Hashanah we declare our desire for everyone to anoint Hashem as The whole world is asked to . ֵוְי עָשֹּוֵכֻּלָםֵאֲגֻּדָהֵאֶחָתֵלַעֲשֹֹות רְ צֹונְָך בְלֵבָב שָלֵם King of Kings when we say bind together to serve Hashem. On Yom Kippur we begin the services by publicly stating, " על דעת המקום ועל דעת הקהל, בישיבה של מעלה ובישיבה של מטה,ֵאנוֵמתיריןֵלהתפללֵעםֵהעבריינים" We specifically allow the evildoer to join us in our prayers and invite him into shul. On Sukkot, the Medrash (Vayikrah Rabba 30:12) comments that the four species correspond to four types of Jews with various combinations of wisdom and deeds and some with neither. On Shavuot, we highlight the fact that a prerequisite for receiving the Torah was the fact that Bnei Yisrael were like one man with one heart.” Recognition of the many types of children at the“ -כאיש אחד בלב אחד Pesach seder table no longer seems to be the exception but the rule. Apparently, inclusion of all types of Jews and unity is a theme of every Yom Tov. Why? Perhaps, that which we are trying to achieve on every given Yom Tov cannot be accomplished as an individual but requires participation of the entire nation. Every single person in Klal Yisrael is necessary; no one can be left out. In order to properly anoint Hashem as King on Rosh Hashana, everyone needs to do so. To achieve complete teshuva on Yom Kippur requires that we repent as a nation as we are all responsible for each other. The celebration of Sukkot is lacking until we bind together all types of Jews to celebrate as one. To properly receive the Torah on Shavuot, we need to receive it as a nation that is like “one heart and one mind.” So too, to truly experience the freedom of Pesach, the chacham, rasha, tam, and she’eino yodea lishol all need to be there. On Pesach we commemorate and relive the geula that we experienced from Egypt. Without a geula for every member of Klal Yisrael our geula would be incomplete. On Pesach our identity as a nation was formed. Without every member of Klal Yisrael that identity would be incomplete. On Pesach we transmit our mesorah of emunah in Hashem to the next generation. If we can’t impart that message to everyone in Klal Yisrael, our message is incomplete. The four sons represent our nation in its totality, a diverse group of people each with different talents, strengths, and perspectives who together create a perfect whole. Every single one of us has something to contribute. When one individual’s participation is missing we are incomplete; that which we strive to accomplish is lacking. We need everyone to be at the table. With this in mind, we introduce this year’s JKHA Middle School Haggadah which is a diverse collection of divrei Torah on the haggadah from our sixth through eighth grade students each presenting his or her own insights from their perspective which together forms the collective whole of this magnificent publication. Every student and every thought presented here is precious and makes our Pesach celebration a complete one. I am truly indebted to the Middle School Judaic Studies Faculty who has worked tirelessly and diligently to bring this project to fruition. We are once again so grateful to the Stein Family for their generous sponsorship of this Haggadah. They are true partners in our mission to pass our tradition to the next generation and see this project as an excellent vehicle for doing so. Finally, we are thankful to our students. Thank you for your unique insights, energy and creativity. Continue to make us proud! Chag Kasher Vesameach, Rabbi Yaacov Feit, Director of Judaic Studies 2 3 דברי תורה לפסח by the Rebbeim and Morot of the Joseph Kushner Hebrew Academy Middle School 4 Finding A Voice By Rabbi Eliezer Rubin, Head of School In every generation, we can learn from the Four Sons narrative in the Haggadah about learning and the transmission of our heritage. For educational lessons to be internalized by our children, we must resist the temptation to be authoritarian. In a world of choice and unlimited messages relayed by a cacophony of media, our children will need to own their commitment to the values and applications of Torah. Authoritarianism has limited value in the world full of choices. Perhaps the most important educational lesson we can glean from the Haggadah is to encourage our children to question. Finding their voices around the Jewish table will enable them to find the meaning in embracing the symbols and substance of Judaism. Nechama Leibowitz explains that whereas the wise son will ask, the wicked son will proclaim. Encouraging children to question and supporting their inquiries will help them search for truth and be open to honest dialogue. If a child is compelled to embrace a value system without the benefit of inquiry, he or she may ultimately reach conclusions without questioning assumptions and have little interest in reflection. Children need to be confident that questions are an integral part of the process of developing the Jewish consciousness. Rabbi Lau sees the child that does not know how to question as one who thinks it is forbidden to do so. Paraphrasing Rabbi Alkbets, he explains that parents should open the window to questions by giving the child confidence to ask. By altering the letter Peh in the word Petach (open) to the letter Bet, the directive becomes Betach Lo, give the child confidence. The Seder is designed to be child centered. It is not only an opportunity to speak to children about our heritage but it is also a unique opportunity for them to speak to us about their beliefs. From Purim to Pesach By Mrs. Debbie Finkelstein, JKHA Principal The message I would like to share to introduce our student’s Haggadah relates to a central component of the holiday of Purim. No-- that was not a typo, I mean Purim! There is a close connection between the Holidays of Purim and Pesach. The Gemarah in Megilah 6b explains that in a year like this year where there are two Adars, we celebrate Purim in the second Adar. The reason, the Gemara explains, is in order to juxtapose geulah to geulah-- meaning the holiday of Purim should be celebrated in the month immediately before the month where we celebrate another holiday of geulah, Pesach. Our sages ensured that even in a year where there are two months of Adar, the holiday of Purim would be celebrated directly before Pesach. This is not just a calendrical coincidence, but has deeper significance to how these two holidays relate to each other. The connection between Purim and Pesach is seen further in the Gemarah in Taanis 29a, which says that when Adar enters we should increase our happiness. Rashi offers that the reason our happiness increases in Adar is the upcoming days of miracles for the Jewish people, namely, Purim and Pesach. Even though Pesach takes place in Nisan and not Adar, Rashi nonetheless felt the need to mention Pesach and Purim as the reasons for increased joy in Adar. Rashi is trying to highlight the importance of connecting these two holidays. The question that must be addressed is 5 exactly what is the connection between these two holidays and how does this connection enhance our experience of Pesach? By exploring a theme in each of these holidays we can understand the connection between the two. What first comes to mind when thinking about Purim is happiness. The Megillah says that the days were instituted for “celebration and simcha”. The mitzvot that we perform on Purim increase our happiness. Whether it is increasing friendship through misloach manot, or bringing joy to those less fortunate through matanot l’evyonim, or experiencing the joy of the day through a festival meal, Purim is all about simcha.