BY RABBI MEYER FRIEDMAN
We are commanded to speak about Yetziyas Mitzrayim, leaving Egypt, on the fifteenth night of Nissan. As the Pasuk (Shemos 13:8) says, "You shall tell your son on that day". We call it the Pesach Seder and we have a whole Hagaddah describing the story of our slavery and the plagues that the Egyptians endured and then our redemption by Hashem, on this date.
A person should elaborate based on his ability. Every night of the year there is a Mitzvah to say that Hashem took us out of Mitzrayim, as we say in the Hagaddah. On Pesach, there is an additional Mitzvah to recount the story. It entails starting off with the negative (i.e. that we were slaves and that we worshipped idols) and then turning to praise Hashem, Who took us out of Egypt and brought us to Har Sinai and gave us the Torah.
The words “chametz” and “matzah” contain the same letters except that “chametz” has a letter “ches” whereas “matzah” has a letter “hei.” The difference between these two letters is only a small line. Although there is a small difference in the words, there is a large difference in reality. This teaches us a lesson for our daily lives as well. If we are not sensitive to the small things, such as greeting others with a smile and giving people compliments, that make a big difference in our lives and the lives of others, they can grow into big things and cause big problems.
Every Jewish home works tirelessly to clean out all of the chametz during the weeks leading up to Pesach. This cleaning process is symbolic of the cleaning process that we must put ourselves through. Just as we must clean out all of the chametz from our houses, we must clean out every bit of imperfection from ourselves. It takes a lot of hard work to change, just as it is difficult to clean out all of the chametz. The physical cleaning is symbolic of a spiritual cleansing that we must also undergo. Now that we have all cleaned our houses for Pesach and have realized the seemingly impossible task of eliminating all the chametz, we can also see that our spiritual cleaning objective is attainable if make the necessary effort.
Why is the first section of the Haggadah written in Aramaic whereas the rest of the Haggadah is in Hebrew? Chacham Ovadia Yosef answers this question with a story from the Gemara. The Gemara cites a story that one of the Amoraim gave his sick friend a blessing in Aramaic. The question is asked that we know that one should pray in Hebrew rather than in Aramaic because the intermediary angels who bring the prayer to Hashem do not understand Aramaic. The Gemara answers that a sick person is different because the Divine Presence is with him and there is a direct line to Hashem, regardless of the language in which one prays. This can also explain our original question.
The first paragraph is in Aramaic to impress upon us that the Divine Presence is with us at our Seder and we should act accordingly. To express this fact, we say the first section in Aramaic to show our understanding that Hashem is with us at the Seder and that we have a direct connection to Him. In the paragraph of Amar Rabbi Elazar, we discuss the commandment to mention the Exodus from Egypt twice every day. Why is this important to bring up at the Seder? R’ Yechiel Michel Schlesinger, founder of Yeshiva Kol Torah in Eretz Yisrael, answers that the Seder serves as our inspiration for remembering the Exodus every day for the rest of the year. After all, if we mention the Exodus twice daily and do many mitzvos that are based on the Exodus, what do we need a special Seder for?
We need a Seder to strengthen our commitment to performing these mitzvos and remembering the tremendous miracles that Hashem openly performed in Egypt every day for the rest of the year. As this is the purpose of the Seder, it is therefore only fitting that we discuss our daily obligation in the Haggada as well. The midrash says that the angels wanted to sing praises to Hashem at the time that the Egyptians were drowning in the sea. Hashem, however, told them that He did not want it because His creations were drowning.
If this is so, asks Rav Aharon Kotler, how were the Jews permitted to sing their song of praise? He answers that a song serves two purposes: it is a token of thanks for what was done, and it brings one closer to the object of his song. Angels cannot grow in their spirituality, and they remain stagnant. For them, the only purpose of the song is as a recognition of what Hashem did and Hashem felt this to be wrong because of the downfall of his creations. However, the Jews still had a reason to sing their praise because it helped bring them closer to Hashem. Hashem desires that this vehicle should be used to its fullest extent. We must realize the power of song and that it can bring us closer to Hashem. This is why singing is such an integral part of the Seder and zemiros are a key component of our Shabbos meals.
