The Zohar writes that whoever retells the story of yetzias Mitzrayim and celebrates it joyfully will be privileged to rejoice with the Shechina in Olam HaBa. The AriZal taught that the Haggada should be recited aloud, with great simcha and focused kavana.
The meshamesh Reb Nachman Maryashin related that when he was once at the Seder of the Rebbe Maharash, and all the chassidim at the table were sitting with awe and derech eretz as they read the Haggada quietly, the Rebbe instructed that the Haggada should be recited aloud.
The Frierdiker Rebbe also read the Haggada aloud, and when he became physically unable to do so, he asked others to do it instead. The Rebbe likewise would motion to the person reading the Haggada to read it aloud. During Hallel, the Rebbe would read aloud with a sweet tune and a noticeable dveikus, tears flowing from his eyes.
One year during the first Seder, Rebbetzin Chaya Mushka, the wife of the Tzemach Tzedek, came running in to the home of her father, the Mitteler Rebbe. While they were performing the Seder at home, her husband had drifted off into a trance of ecstasy, had fallen off his chair, and was lying under the table in a state of klos hanefesh. The Mitteler Rebbe was unfazed and assured her, “Never mind; he will crawl out.”
Rebbetzin Chaya Mushka returned home, only to find her husband in the same position. She ran back to father, who this time instructed some chassidim who had entered to tell the Tzemach Tzedek in his name that he should regain consciousness. They went along with Rebbetzin Chaya Mushka, but as they entered the house, the Tzemach Tzedek stood up and resumed his position at the table.
While reciting the Haggada, Reb Levi Yitzchok of Berditchev was filled with tremendous hislahavus. When he reached the words Matzah zu he would become so carried away in dveikus that he would fall from his chair to the floor, overturning the kaira, the matzos and the wine. By the time he came to, the table would be set afresh, and another long white kittel was handed to him to replace the one stained with wine. Putting it on, he would say with visible delight, “Ah! Matzah zu...”
An Exact Seder
The Maharil writes that one should be filled with awe as he fulfills every particular instruction that the Chachomim ordained for the Seder. Even if a certain observance may seem to be unimportant, one should realize that every detail has significance. As the Shaloh writes, “All the mitzvos of the Seder have lofty reasons, both revealed and hidden. It is a mitzva to discuss them and to try to understand them.”
The Shaloh writes further: The Seder night and all its halachos are filled with kedusha, for at this time HaShem chose us from the nations and gave us His mitzvos. On this night one should refrain from engaging in mundane chatter so as not to be separated from HaShem even for a moment. And by telling the story of yetzias Mitzrayim, we arouse the power of geulah.
In the original Tomchei Temimim yeshivah in Lubavitch, the whole of Pesach, including of course the Sedarim, was celebrated joyously, with almost all of the bochurim staying in Lubavitch to hear Chassidus from the Rebbe Rashab, instead of traveling home.
Many tables were set up for all the seudos in a large room, and a director and an assistant were chosen to take care of all the necessary Yom-Tov preparations for the hundred-and-fifty bochurim. At the Sedorim, one person at each table was appointed as mashgiach, to be responsible for the needs of that table. One talmid was chosen to be the announcer, and he would auction the zechus of asking the Mah Nishtana, filling the Kos shel Eliyahu, opening the door for Eliyahu, and leading the bentching. Following the announcer’s instructions, one table would start Kadesh, and when they concluded the next table was instructed to begin, each table taking its turn. Urchatz was done in the same organized fashion.
In the middle of the room was a table, on which stood a handcrafted menorah of the Rebbe Maharash, and around it the talmidim danced during the seuda. The Seder continued into the early morning hours.
Auspicious Time
When introducing Mah Nishtana, the Haggada says: Kan haben shoel. Simply translated, this means: “At this point, the son asks [the Four Questions].” However, shoel means not only “asks” but also “requests.” So once at the Seder, when the tzaddik Reb Osher of Stolin came to those words, he told those present, “Now is the time for every Yid to ask HaShem for whatever he needs.”
The Rebbe Rashab once told the Frierdiker Rebbe, “Yosef Yitzchok, during the Seder, and especially when opening the door for Eliyahu HaNavi, one should think about being a mentch, and HaShem will give His help. Don’t ask for gashmiyus, only for ruchniyus.”
Consider
Over what do we rejoice at the seder?
How does one merit feeling the kedusha of the seder?
