Thursday, April 2, 2009
Your Mission
Students are expected to write up a Hagaddah thought and post it with their name (click on anonymous and then put your name inside your comment). You can use thoughts from what I wrote up and we discussed in class, which is available as the top post (for now) at parshapost.blogspot.com.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Ha Lachma Anya
ReplyDelete“Ha lachma anya dee achaloo” (this phrase is written in Aramaic)
Why is this phrase written in Aramaic?
According to the Haggadah of Roshei Yeshiva the reasons is because we are not fully free and it’s a sign of our pain. When we say “the next year may we be free in Israel” and speak in our language (Hebrew).
The Torah Anthology says the reason its in Aramaic is because the women and children who did not understand Hebrew will understand it in Aramaic.
Haggadah of Passover Shira Chaddashah says that this is the bread of our pain which our forefathers ate in the land of Egypt. Let who ever is hungry come and eat and celebrate Passover. This year we are here but next year we will be in Israel. This year we are slaves next year we will be free in Israel.
The Why Haggadah states that in the early years when we wrote the Haggadah, mostly everyone spoke in Aramaic. So for people to understand it they wrote it in Aramaic.
The lesson is when saying Ha Lachma Anya you should keep in mind we are not fully free. Ha Lachma Anya gives us a message that every year we should hope to be free in Israel.
Lia Botwinick
Kadesh- This sanctifies the day. This is Kiddush, and it is the same as all the other nights. Tonight, on Pesach, there is a great connection between Kiddush and the holiday. In Egypt, the Jews were given the calendar as their first Mitzvah. Rabbi Avraham Pam explained, the difference between a slave and a free person isn’t how hard or how long they work. The difference is the controlling of time. They both work, but a slave works until he is told to stop. A free person works until he or she wants to stop. The calendar Mitzvah was the authority to decide when Rosh Chodesh and holidays fell out. The Jews were the ones with the authority in this case. We learn how important time is from this.
ReplyDeleteHalachma Unya-The phrase in this paragraph means, “The bread of affliction.” Why would we treat our guests like this? Matzvah was the bread of affliction. It was also eaten on the way out of Egypt. Therefore, it became the bread of freedom. Sharing food is the first act of when slaves become free. One who doesn’t share food fears tomorrow, but one who does shows faith and hope. Bread being shared is not affliction, but rather faith, hope, and freedom brought into the world.
Ma Nishtanah-This is about children asking questions on Pesach, and the story of Pesach. You should respond to them with the entire story of Yetziat Mezraim because the story is supposed to be heard everywhere. You want the story to be told wherever possible. The torah has two words for inheritance, Yerusha and nachalah. They represent the two different ways that inheritance happens in Judaism. Nachalah is when the root, ‘nachal’ which also means river. Inheritance is merely handed down here, just like water flowing in a river. In Yerusha, means active inheritance. R’ Samson Hirsch says larashet the verbal form of yerusha means to conquer. It means actively taking control of what you were promised. An inheritance that someone earns is far more secure if you worked for it, than if you did not work for it. This is why children are supposed to ask children. In Judaism, when a child asks, it has already begun doing the work to recive. Torah is a yerusha , not a nachalah. It needs work on behalf of the child if it is to be passed on across the generations.
Gabe Davidoff
Korban Pesach
ReplyDeleteKorban Pesach is a korban that is very different from all the other korbanot. You see this from the special laws it is given. They all symbolize unity (eesh echad b’lev echad). The Korban Pesach must be roasted over a fire, which shows that if it was cooked normally if would fall apart. This symbolizes that the Jews have to come together as one to achieve true redemption and freedom. The fact that the Korban Pesach has to be eaten in a big group and none can be left over also shows unity. Just like we must be together for the meal, we also have to come together as a nation and no one can be left behind (like none can be left over). We also can not break any bones of the korban while eating it. This shows that we can’t break apart as a nation. Even though we are scattered all over the world we need to be connected, just like we are pulling apart the korban but no bones can be broken. We can only celebrate and commemorate Yitziat Mitzraim if we become one nation, because the reason we were in galut in the first place is because we weren’t united.
Noa Schwartzbach
Dayenu
ReplyDeleteWhat is the purpose of Dayenu anyway? It is so that we can appreciate everything that Hashem has done for us. Dayenu lists all of the miracles that Hashem has done for us in the process of getting us out of Egypt. The first five verses talk about leaving from slavery. The second five talks about all the miracles Hashem did and the last five are all about being close with Hashem. We say Dayenu to remind us, that everything we receive is a blessing, and a miracle as opposed to taking it for granted. Even being alive is a miracle. The song has a certain pattern to it. Each verse says if he had done ‘x’ and not ‘y’ that would have been enough. This shows our great appreciation, since we are saying that it would have been sufficient for us if Hashem didn’t do all those things. We still appreciate the torah but he did the miracles anyway because we are his chosen nation. Dayenu gives us the foundation for the proper mind set for the rest of the seder. We are remembering the exodus from Egypt and thanking Hashem for redeeming us.
Emily Atar
In Chagadya there's an idea expressed of maker being able to destroy what he's made. The goat was taken out first representing benai yisroel and our weak status. Later various objects consume and then are consumed. but in the end the maker or G-d himself prevails because he can make everything and destroy it as well. This is expressed in Egypt when G-d totally belittles the Egyptian's magic with all of the plauges which thier magic couldn't do anything against. This trully represents the power of G-d and all he can do.
ReplyDeletei learned the reason kidush comes first is because thats the time and place for it and the sedar is all about order so the simple explnatoin is we must keep the correct order
ReplyDeleteyosef
The Mah Nishtana teaches us an important life lesson. We do not force information and knowledge upon a child and expect him to understand and care. Rather, we expect that the child asks the question. The child is the one who should want to learn more. It is questions that separate the intelligent intellectuals from everyone else. The Hagadah teaches us that this is the Jewish way of life. Judaism is a religion based on questioning. The Gemara is basically just a big book of questions. The Hagadah teaches us that we should have this mindset in everything we do; from a young age we are taught to question things. In order to reach higher intellectual heights, the Mah Nishtana teaches us that we must ask the questions.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous
The Four Cups of Wine:
ReplyDeleteThere are many reasons for why we drink four cups of wine at the Pesach seder. One of the many answers is that it represents the four different stages and expressions of our redemption. The four leshonot geulah are: V’hotzeisi, V’hitzalti, V’goalti, V’lokachti. On the surface, these four words seem synonymous. However, each of them has its own significance. We must praise and thank Hashem for the four phases of geulah. We do this by drinking four cups of wine.
Over the first cup of wine we give gratitude to Hashem for removing from us the burden of slavery. No more treacherous work. Hashem’s first promise to us,“V’hotzeisi etchem mi’tachas sivlos Mitzrayim”, refers to the difficult work from which we were freed.
Over the second cup of wine we thank Hashem for taking us out of slavery, as it says: "V’hitzalti etchem mei’avadotom"
The third cup is to thank Hashem for redeeming us: "V’goalti eschem”
Over the fourth cup, we thank Hashem for taking us to be His nation- "v’lackachti li l’am"
B’ezrat Hashem, we will soon drink the fifth cup together with the arrival of Moshiach. We will all will join together in Eretz Yisroel, and fulfill: "V’heveti eschem el ha’aretz asher nishbati l’Avraham"
-Shoshana Novick
Dayeinu...If you read dayeinu as meaning it would have been enough "bishfileinu" according to what we deserved, this whole song makes sense. If, for example, HKBH hadn't given us the Torah would it have been enough? The answer is according to what we deserved, "yes."
ReplyDeleteQuestion: Kitniot is not Chametz, so why do many Jews refrain from eating Kitniot on Pesach?
ReplyDeleteAnswer: Some Rabbis believe this custom was instituted because of a gezarah. Since cereals and many other similar dishes are made from both kitniot and the five grains, and this may cause someone to eat chametz by accident. This would be really bad!
In addition, there are places where breads are made from kitniot. Some corn breads are made from corn—this is fine. However, some corn breads are made from rye, which is one of the five grains—chametz. This could also cause a person to accidentally eat chametz on Pesach.
Also, there are places where chametz and kitniot are grown near eachother, and they can get mixed together. For example, wind can blow some grains of barley into the field of rice, unnoticed. This is another way a Jew can accidentally eat chametz on Pesach.
Summary: The reason we can’t eat Kitniot on Pesach is to protect us from eating chametz on Pesach by mistake.
Name: EB
What is one of the main purposes of celebrating the holiday of Passover? Someone at first glance might contend that the purpose is to retell the story of the Jewish people and their experience in Egypt and their exodus. Some feel that retelling the stroy in Hebrew is the proper way. Others who do not understand the Hebrew very well say that if we are going to retell the tale, we should read it in a language that we can thoroughly understand. However, retelling the story of the Jews' experience in and Egpyt and their exodus does not completely fulfill the obligations of the holiday's requirements. Jews should RELIVE the experience that their ancestors' had while suffering from the oppression of Egyptian rule and running away from Pharaoh. There are numerous ways in which this is done: Eating the maror and charoset, eating the bread of affliction (matzah), and eating the parsley.
ReplyDeleteJS
Thanks to everyone who did a good job at this. I hope that what you researched and wrote was meaningful to you and helped enhance your sedarim and all of Pesach and beyond. There is so much to say on all of these points. I look forward to discussing these ideas with you in class and in Torah Guidance and in life, this year and for years to come. I look forward to seeing each of you grow as true bnei and bnot Torah. Chag Kosher VeSameach,
ReplyDeleteRabbi Fleischmann
P.S. Thank you to the 2 readers who added profound insights to this discussion.
P.P.S. I've been thinking about sources and ideas relating to teaching, during this pause and this poem came to me.
P.P.P.S.
Teacher's Apparent Answer
"Why are you here?"
The student asks.
"I am not ready,
Why have you appeared?"
What does one say?
"I need to control"?
"It's an ego thing"?
"Because I get paid"?
or-
"I am here for you
Let us find your way
To dedicate your soul
Teach me the way through."
Seder Plate
ReplyDeleteThe Seder Plate has six symbols on it Charoset, Beitzah, Marror, Chazeret, Zeroa, and Karpas. Why are these six thing on the seder plate? What do they represent? The Charoset is a mixture of apples,nuts,wine, and spice. It represents the mortar that the Jewish people used for building bricks while they were slaves in Egypt. It reminds us of the mortar because of its look and feel. The Beitzah, the roasted egg, is a symbol of the spring when Pesach is celebrated, of the earth, of the circle of life, of the mourning for teh destruction of the Beit Hamikdash, and of the Korban Chagigah. The Marror and the Chazeret are bitter herbs. They symbolize the hard and bitter lives the Jews lived while they were enslaved in Egypt. Pharoah gave the Jewsso much work that their thoughts were turned away from g-d. The Marror is on the Seder Plate to remind us that we should always be thinking about Hashem no matter how hard life gets. The Zeroa, a roasted shank bone, represents the Korban Pesach. The Zeroa also symbolizes "Zeroa Netuah" which means "with and outstretched arm",showing the help of Hashem in Egypt and all the miricles Hashem performed for us. Karpas is a vegetable, usually green other than Marror. It represents the spring and its dipped in salt water to remind us of teh Jews' sweat and tears while they were slaves in Egypt.
Yael Rosenrauch
We all remember the reason we learned in Kindergarten why we eat Karpas: we dip vegetables in salty water to remember the tears that our ancestors shed while they were slaves in Mitzrayim. OK, but I thought that Marror already caused us to remember the bitterness of slavery. Why should we have another entire section of the Seder dedicated to that idea?
ReplyDeleteWell, what does Karpas mean anyway? It appears in Esther 1:6, where it means a type of cloth. It seems to be made up of to two different
words, Kar and Pas (both of which mean a type of cloth or garment). In fact we know the word Pas from the famous Ketones PASim. Hmmm, now
that we mention the Ketones Pasim, wasn't that DIPPED in goat blood when the brothers sold Yosef as a slave?! Rav J.J. Shachter pointed
out a Rabbeinu Mano'ach in MT Chametz U'Matzah 8:2 who says indeed that Karpas comemorates the Mechiras Yosef, when the brothers dipped Yosef's Ketones Pasim in blood. This also explains now why Karpas is in its own section, even before Magid, because Karpas symbolizes the cause of the Galus in Mitzrayim: the Shevatim's hatred for and Mechirah of Yosef.
sorry didnt post sooner--i forgot what the website was,
amanda
The Hagaddah seems to be geared towards children:Afikoman, Ma Nishtana, The Four Sons, children being thrown into the Nile, plague of the firstborns and the mitzvah והגדת לבנך. Why are children emphasized so much on Pesach? I think the reason for this is to continue the chain of tradition, which is through children. They need to be active in the pesach rituals and ask questions in order to feel involved in doing mitzvot and to understand their heritage. I believe that this is the best way to teach kids about Judaism: get them involved and make the learning process fun. Pesach is the perfect holiday for doing this.
ReplyDeleteMichael Kahnowitz
ReplyDeletePesach D’var Torah
Yachatz- The middle matza is broken in half and part is put away for later while half is returned between the other two matzot.
Matza alludes to redemption and the greater redemption will come with the Messiah. The afikomen is indicative of the “best yet to come.” The miracles from Egypt won’t compare to the ones that will be seen at the time of the Messiah.
Rav Elchanon Wasserman was asked why he was hiding from the Nazis. He replied with a story about a man learning what bread was. The ignorant person watched a man show him what was and how to make bread. The confused fellow was confused to see that bread might be a seed, but was astonished to see the volunteer put the “bread” in the ground. The seed then grows into a beautiful which he thought was bread. The teacher cut down the plant and takes the kernels to ground them and to mix them in water. The ignorant person is confused at to what exactly bread is. Shocked, the man then sees the teacher put the mix into the oven. Eventually, a sweet smell resonates from the oven. The once shocked and confused person is now reassured by the pungent scent and feels that something good is on the way.
The story is illustrative of the concept of comfort and redemption. Eventually something great will come about from much toil.
MK
On Pesach, everyone knows not to eat bread and instead to eat Matzah. But why? Well, there is the obvious reason. As our Jewish ancestors were escaping from Egypt, they had to leave at once. Therefore, they had no time to allow the bread to rise. This is the reason most people believe Jews eat Matzah on Pesach for. But there is another reason, a more symbolic one. On the night of the seder, when we eat Matzah, we commemorate times long ago. We remember how we were slaves in Egypt and how we were freed. This is where Matzah comes in. Matzah represents both affliction and redemption. It represents affliction because while we were slaves in Egypt, the Egyptions would eat soft, rich bread while the Jews would eat worse quality bread. So on the seder, Matzah reminds us to be humble and remember that we were once slaves. This part of Matzah is called lechem oni which means “bread of affliction.”
ReplyDeleteMatzah also represents redemption. As the Jews were leaving Egypt, they had to leave hastily, not allowing the bread enough time to rise. Matzah was the result. Because we had to pursue our freedom so quickly, we ate Matzah instead of bread. For this reason, Matzah represents freedom while some people believe that soft bread represents slavery. Therefore, Matzah is very symbolic and is essential to achieve the true feeling of Pesach.
Natan
I divided Dayeinu into 3 sections: 1. leaving slavery- according to Aish HaTorah the first 5 verses of Dayeinu relate to Bnei Yisrael leaving slavery )yeziat mizraim). This section of Dayeinu deals with bringing justice to the Egyptians and giving us their wealth. Hashem performed great miracles for Bnei Yisrael as we left Egypt and He gave us satisfaction in seeing the Egyptians being surprised. 2. Nissim (Miracles)- The second 5 verses of Dayeinu relate to the miracles that Hashem performed on our bahalf in the following order: blood, frogs, lice, pestilence, wild beasts, animals dying, darkness and the killing of the first born. The miracles are in this order because it is the order of the story of Yeziat Mizraim. 3. Being with Hashem- Once again, according to the Aish HaTorah website, the last 5 verses relate to being with Hashem. The 5 Dayeinu sentences shlow that Bnei Yisrael was close to Hashem by Him giving us shabbos, bringing us to Har Sinaii and giving us the Torah. We were also much closer to Hashem as he led us to Eretz Yisrael and we have seen numerous times that He is so great because he provided for us and had a lot of patience with us.
ReplyDeleteIn the passage " go out and learn", the hagaddah speaks of the sins of Laban and Pharaoh. When reading this passage one can infer that the hagaddah regards the sins of Laban to be worse than those of Pharaoh.
ReplyDeleteMany Rabbis have struggled with this issue. Rabbi Ezriel Hildesheimer provides a solution for this controversial issue. He says thats, " Jacob and his sons went down to Egypt, because Joseph was already there. Laban sin was that he tricked Yaakov into marrying Leah. By commiting this sin Laban jeopardized Yaakov ever marrying Raachel, and thereby never giving birth to Joseph. Had Joseph never been born, Yaakov would have never gone down to Egypt and therefore his descendents would not have grown so populous", as the passage "and he went down to Egypt" depicts. As a result Laban almost destroyed an entire culture.
Pharaoh's proclamation to throw all Jewish baby boy's intp the Nile River is metaphorical for Laban's sin. The Nile River is one of the Egyptian G-ds, by throwing the Jewish baby's into the Nile, Pharaoh was immersing them in Egyptian culture, and thereby trying to ruin Jewish culture.
The Four Sons
ReplyDeleteThe four sons represent all types of Jews with all types of feelings and approaches. We want them all at the Seder. These are the people that we invited and embraced, without checking who they are. As we commemorate our beginning as a People we immediately adapt a dual focus - exerting energy not only on our relationship with Hashem, but also working hard on reaching out to our fellow Jews.
josh spielman
ReplyDeleteIf we read Chad Gadya carefully, there seems to be a flow of good and evil. We start with the goat which is obviously good because we use it throughout are religion. Then the cat ate the goat making it bad. Then the dog ate the cat which makes it good. The stick beat the dog making it bad. the fire burnt the stick making it good. water put out the fire making it bad. An ox drank the water making it good. The butcher killer the ox making it bad. then the angel of death killed the ox making it good. and then hashem came making it bad. How could this be? Just to show us that even at the ned of the seder we are still asking questions.