The Mitzvah of Sippur Yetzias Mitzrayim Isn’t Only for Orators
On Pesach Night, We Don’t Call the Best Storyteller
As this concept relates to us: When the Ribbono shel Olam gave us the mitzvah of לבנך והגדת, every Yid received the koach haddibur from the Aibishter. No one said, “We need to have the best storyteller on Pesach night to tell the story of ".מצרים יציאת
One might think that—just as on Rosh Hashanah we look for an expert to blow the shofar beautifully and smoothly—we should also seek the same for the mitzvah of מצרים יציאת סיפור. But on Pesach night, it doesn’t work this way—every Yid has the power of dibbur.
You Only Need Heart!
People may say, “How can I conduct a Seder? I am not a person who can tell stories. I don’t know how to do it.” But we tell this person: “You don’t understand the point. You must grasp that this isn’t what the koach haddibur is all about!”
What is the koach haddibur?! Chazal have told us this: היוצאים דברים הלב אל נכנסים הלב מן, words that emanate from heart enter the heart. It is very simple to understand. The effectiveness of words is measured by whether they’re able to illuminate the heart of another.
Remembering the Point of Telling the Story
Sometimes, a person feels that he does have it... he prepared to tell his young children all about the blood and the frogs, and so forth... he makes a big to-do about it, and the children loved it. But even this isn’t necessarily the tachlis. We don’t mean to minimize this, but we must understand: What are we seeking here?
Sometimes, a person may feel down about himself. This person who knows how to speak must have the most amazing seder, he thinks. His children must be sitting with their mouths agape, listening to how he tells the story of the Makkos... and this may be the case in that person’s home. But this is still not necessarily the essence of the koach haddibur!
It’s How You Say It
There are kehillos in which the minhag is not to speak at all during the entire Seder. Some would raise their eyebrows at this and say: It’s all well and good to have minhagim... but you need to fulfill the basic mitzvah of לבנך! והגדת
