We were slaves.pdf

7/28/2019 We were slaves.pdf

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..e were slaves To Pharaoh in Egypt; But the Lord our God brought us out Wt h a stro ng hand and an outstretched arm.

In the Mah Nishtanah the ch i ld has asked about speci f ics:

the small de ta i l s which catch his at ten t ion . vlhy the matza? rvhy the

b i t t e r herbs? t<'hy the dippings and the rec l in ing? But the adu l t ' s reply -

"r;'le were s laves . . . " - focussf"!s on the wi der his tor ical i ssues which

brought the f e s t i va l in to being; Egypt, s lavery , God's deliverance.I f the child expected a direc t answer to hi'" fOllL quest ions

he would be disappointed . We do indeed, much l a t er on, explain the meaning

of the 'Pesach,Matza an d Maror' . But we want f i r s t to show the child

tha t behind these symbols l i e deeper t ru ths . We tr y to expand h is horizon.

To give him a sense o f th e historical background: "For if the Holy One

blessed be He ha d n o t redeemed our fa thers from Egypt, then '<Ie and our

chi ldren and our chi ldrens ' children would s t i l l be in servitude to

Pharaoh in Egypt".

Wi th sub t le ins igh t t lw Avadim HayyioJ t e l l s thE child

something o f crucia l importance: t ha t it was the exodus from Egypt tha t

began the long relat ionship between God and I srae l ; tha t without it

Israel would never have been l iberated from the worship o f Egyptian gods;

without it God would never have become God o f the Jewish people and

th roug h them, o f mankind. Deep ideas,which we must try to make the ch i ld

see mean something to him.

Perhaps it i s because the Avadim Hayyinu does not direc t ly

ans \o.'e r t he ch i ld , tha t we add: "Whoever t e l l s about th'e exodUS a t length

i s praiseworthy". We admit to the chi ld tha t we have no t answered his

fo ur quest ions , bu t that deeper s tudy and fur ther discussion would

provide the answers .There have,though,been commentators who read the Avadim

Hayyi nu as a poin t-by-poin t ansr1er to the Hah Nishtanall. [1 ] We weres laves - explains why we ea t only b i t ter he:rbs, because o f ,::the bi t t e rness

o f serv i t ude; [2] to Pharaoh in Egypt - a harsh king a harsh land,

explains why we rec] jne a t having broken loose from these double f e t t e r s ;

[3 ] But the Lord our God brought us out - explains why t'le eat only Matza

beca use o f the rushed manner o f the departure; (4) i>/ith a strong handand an outstretched ann - a double expression o f delJ'verance wMch

accounts fo r the two dipp·ngs. /vj lna Gaon]

'l'he opening verse o f Avadim Ra!:yinu i s taken from D e u t . 6 :2 1 ,

where we aIe to ld to give th i s as che re ply co the Jewish chi ld if he

asks a t any time the maaning o f Jel,Hsh law and pracr.isa. Not only or

speci f ica l ly on Pesach. This fur ther l1nderline s the sense in which t.he

exodus i s central to the whol e o f Judaism. Many o f the basic rel igious

principle!" n f 'Judaism have th js as the i r explanation, tha t they are

zecher l i y t s j a t mitzra yim , hui l t upon t he memory of the excdus.

Had the HClfy One blessed be He not brought our fathers out

from Egypt, we and our children and their children would sti l l be Pharaoh's



sla ves - th is suggests another idea: tha t so d.)eply entr('ncilrd were the

Israel i tes i.n the corruptions o f Egypt [they han rcac.:hed, say the raut}i s ,

tl1e 49th o f the 50 gates o f impurity] that had (,od nu t brat/gil us out ,

our med t s would not: have suff} ced to makc' us wortl1y o f be} ng saved.

Tbis points out fo r a ll t imes u fa i th bellond pcssl[n ism or de"'pair.

Even if \-I'e are unk1orthy, the promise , ·tc ' rna11I l remains: that (,ad ",.0111

rescue us, for His name's sake . [ J . e . ]

"Begin with the shameful ,the negat ive,par t of our history; and end with

praise." This i s the Mishnaic rule for how to t e l l the Pesach s tory .

Rav and Shmuel, the Talmudi r:: sages, oi f fered as co what was the shame

and wha t the pra is . For Rav !,re ,,,ere to begin by deseri bing how ou r

ancestors were original ly ido la tors , and c u J ~ l n c l t e by describing how

God brollgh t LIS near to His service . For ~ h m u e l we I,r<:»'/? to hegJ' n by

saying that we were once slaves to olarach in ECTYP'; but God brought

us out wi th a mighty hand. The disagr eement, l-'eri1a ps ~ " a s about the

nature o f the exodus. Was it to be se_n primarily as spir i tual l iberat ion

from idolatry o r as pol i t ical l iberat ion from slaverll?

For Shmuel the exodus i s Sl' tJn In close-up. I t beglns with

s lavery in Egypt and ends with the hasty departure of the I srae l i t es

a f t e r the tenth

plague. Fo r Rav

the exodus i s

part o f a much

longer

sp ir i tual

drama,

stre,tching

back to the

days before

Abraham, when

Terach, h is

fa ther ,

worshipped

idols;

s tre tching

forwards too to the day when the Is rae l i te s stood a t the foot o f Sinai

and heard the voice of God.

Tn fact we say both passages. Pirs t that o f Shmuel,in

Avadim l1ayyinu., then la tee tha.t o f Rav n th e passage which s tar ts , "At

f i r s t our fa thers worshipped idols ." For both poi nts o f view are true .

The going out of Egypt was both a going out and a going to . Going out

from physical s lavery . Going to the sp ir i tua l l iberat ion-of s inai .

Nonetheless we place f i r s t the physical l iberat ion. Perhaps because while

there are s t i l l Jews who are enslaved, the vic t ims of tyranny,oppression,

hate , we must emphasise above a ll th e need for pol i t ical freedom.There is somethjng i ronic about s ~ y i n g , i m m e d i a t e l y a f te r

the Mah Nishtanah, "Once we were slaves" when j u s t beforehand ,in the

Ha 'Lachma A.I1ya we said the opposi te: Nry"" we are s laves , next year l e t

us be f ree. Are we s t i ~ l slaves? Or was-that s t r ic t l y in the past?

Perhaps the point can be put bes t in a s tory:

There was once a king who decided to pay a v i s i t to one

o f the prisons in his realm. Amongst the prisoners there was on e who

caught his eye as being a man out of place. The man protested his innocence;

the king decided to invest igate his case; It turned out that he was

t e l l ing the truth; and he was se t t ree. The mew was doubly grateful:

he rejoiced not only in h is freedom but in h is restored sense o f jus t Ice .



OIle day though , fo r 9C' t t ing everyth ing , he commi t ted a cr ime, was t r i e d

and found gu i l t y , and thror../ll once again i f to p r i s o n . From timE' to t ime

the k ing , uns een, wou ld pay a v i s i t to the prison; and h would hear

the man say ing to h imse l f : NOI.. I am here, but nex t year I wil l be f ree .

Th e king kn€'!lv tha t t h i s i s what 11 pr i soners say. And he wouJd p as s on.

But one n igh t he came and heard the man say t.o Ilimself: Todar.; 1 5 he

a.nnjversary o f the f reedom the kine; onc.:e gra n t ed to me,and even now t h a t

I l angu ish here I r e j oice to l'emembr- r it. The b m J , overcome: ! " i th the

memory and with the man's und iminished g r a t i t u d ~ , preserved no t on ly

freedom b u t ,:'ven in renewed impr i sonmel l t , issed a roya l pa. don _ And

the man was set: f ree again. Th i s t ime he d id no t ·0 g e t ; an d eiT"'r a f t ~ rhe was loyaJ to the k ing 's laws.

SI may i t b e wi th us.

I I

IITne more one te 11 s a bout the goi ng out from Egypt, the more he ; s to bepra i sed II •

It i s no t c-ncugf" j u s t to tell the s toru . Here, b rev i t y is

not the sou l o f I"jt. Ton igh t the sLory must be laborated a t l ength . The

more, the be t te r . r.'hy? Fl r s t l y so tha t th e s to ry s}lOuld no t be j u s t

h i s t o r y . It ou r duty to sec:; ourse lves ae; i t l-;e r<'ere the re . E ch ing

acn af!ta i I on t h ~ memory _ Spcondl y , by ask i ng

quesUon . , to tl-Y t r p · ~ n ~ 1 t . r r e to d f ~ e p e r meanings.

'FnpH. }s a f t p r aJJ a dut!;, /0 mentio!2. th e r;w} ny out

f om EqYl·t f : . ' V ~ r y dati and .I'll()! t· : "'1'/la 1,'" u may

r21T/( mh ' r th e day I hf'n UOl.! Cdme out c f the land o f

C l lfP! cd I t}-;(· dZltj. - o f /JoUr 1 ; f " f Del) t . 9: 3] .

Tnn iqh t 117e duty ; s more tha.n tha t : to speak a t

l r n ~ t h an d to ask.

- 5 thp c:t-ory, a r b ~ r a l l , so s t ra iqh t f o rward ?

WI1I..J r / jd th o I.c:rar17h s havf' to su f f e r ef1s1avemcn t

in Ty':J'pt? r t O ' J no t iust happNl. I t •.. prf 'd ic tcc1

l ong be io re to l ,b rah -H'1, I" ' ('m ('od t o l d : "Know fo t cer td in tha t your

dC'scelldants \-.jl1 id" . t ra l l ( l e r$ in i) J.a.nii no t the i rs ,and Rha l l sprVr;; them

and ult-orloJara Lh ' lj s h a l l r:Offie C"l. t l<fit;h Qreat WCldlth" {Gen.15: 13-14 ]r-las the! -t ime 1n E q ~ p t . rJ pun1s1m·,".!Tlt? if so , fo r " 'ha t s in and by ""hom?

If It !N'as no t a [ i l l . , jshmcnr, I,'hat purpose d ld i t ' ;LrVI? rvh did Prov idenc

7ead , 7 o ~ e p h to i./ 'C.11" rank in Eq,!pt , on ly to hay. h is and h I S bro thers '

'h " l. d l l '!l c- t down? Were th=> Tsrae l i t es Imablc

fo . '1p£llCciar(' t rue freQdom wi thou t f i r s t : ras t i ng

SlclVI."CY? If so, d id they r "aLJy learn the i r IF-'sson?

nid t h L ~ not , in wild r n ~ s s . o f ten want to

be back in Fayp ' .aqain? .

Thc' qu"s t ions mll.lt ipl/ .! . I s the matza we 'c;/;:

" t h r bread of' a f f l i c t i o n ....·fiich O l l r [ath<'rr. atc'

i n the land of Egypth , or i s 1t the bread of hast,

th<lt tht..y a te h{l r ry 'ng tow<:.rds f rcccJoI? Arc we



supposed to see ourselves back in Egypt? I f so, why the symbols o f freedom ,

the wine, the reclining? Are we meant to see ourselves as free? I f so,

why s t i l l the b i t t e r herbs? Why did R.Yose , R.Eliezer and R.Akiva del ight

in multiplying the number of plagues that befe l l the E q ~ p t i a n $ a t the

Red Sea? what do we mean when we say that

had God performed some o f the miracles but

not all ,dayyen u? Would it have been enough

not to have had the sea divided? Would it

have been enough t o have brought us to

Mt Sinai and then not to have gi ve n us the

T o ~ a h ? would it have been enough to havebeen Jed out o f Egypt and not given the

land o f Israel?

Thinking o f the meaning o f the

exodus Can raise confl ic ts and seeming

contradict i ons. But the Haggada encourages us to face them. We are to ldto talk them through. Each time,we should see something new . For in Judaism

being in doubt i s not taboo . So long as we search in earnest for an answer.

And so long as we real ise that our knowledg e and understanding are l imi ted.

Not f inding an answer does not mean tha t there is none to be found.

The rabbis said: the person who i s shy t o ask does no t learn

{Ethic s o f the Pathers 2:61. This, then, i s the f i rs t principle o f the

Haggada: learning t o grapple wi th our doubts.

There i s a further sense as

well . Perhaps we should translate the

ins truct ion as " t he more one speaks out

about the exodus th e more he i s praised".

The Torah draws from the exodus the lesson

tha t we should not wrong o r oppress

others , ,. for you know the heart o f the

s t r a n g ~ r , because you we re s t r anger s in

the land o f Egypt" [Ex. 23:9} . We must

always be in the forefront o f those who

speak out agains t the oppression o f others .There i s a th ird sense o f speaking out, There is a great

psychological need to ta lk through the conf l i c t s we face, in our rel igion,

our marriages, our children, ou r whole network o f pe.rsonal problems.

Confl ic ts are rarely resol ved without communication. Lack o f communication

i s often what started them in the f i r s t place.

The family grouped together round the seder able , spanning

the generations, and sharing the discussion, i s the model o f how th ings

should be in the Jewish home. Jlnd the Haggada proceeds by t e l l ing us about

t he f ive great rabbis who stayed up the whole night in Bnei Brak, so

immersed in tIle discussion that they did not notice the dawn. They were

a l l great , learned and experienced men. But as people, each was di f fere n t:

a di f feren t background, outlook, views and feel ings. Each was able to learn

from the o ther s . Perhc;p '" ':he y too h;:;:"" the ir confl ic ts and doubts . Si t t ing

together and speaking as fr iends, perhaps they too had their spir i tual

burden eased. [G.S.]

I IA conversation piece

The characters: four brothers:

Chayim - the bright spark o f tb e family. Firs t class honours in ma hs.

Two years a t an Israeli yeshiviJ. Religious. Works in computing. Wants,

eventually, to go on aJiyah. Obviously, a chacham.



Roger - an up -and-comi ng advertising ex ecu t i ve . Will go far, ·probably

further than i s poli te . Drives a sports-car. Especia l l y on Shabbat.

Jewish commitment minimal, but doesn' t want to offend the family by

not coming to seder. A b it of a rasha.

Tom - s t u d ~ i n g a t yeshiva in O k l ~ Very re l ig ious . Has shied away from any hl.gher secular education. Firm, but a l i t t l e naive, in his religious bel ie f s .

She1 1ey - younger than th e r e s t and s t i l l a t school . A f loating Je w:

goes along {"ith the t ide. Goes to shul but f inds it boring. Doesn ' t

feel strongly enough about Judaism one way or another to make any major decision about it . He i s our she'eno yodea l i sh 'o l ,

who doesn ' t quite know what to ask .

Ch. I t seems to me that the Pesach story ra i s es the questions

of our time . There were the Isra e l i t es , wanting more than

a nything else a quiet l i f e . There were the Egy pti ans,

persecuting the Jer,.,'s even when it was man i f es t l y against

the ir in teres t to carr yo n doing so. And ther e was Moses,

trying to persuade each o f them j n t ur n that there wassome higher meaning to what was go i ng on . I n the end it

t ook the strong hand o f God to get t he Is raeli tes out ,

because both the Israeli tes and the Egyptians kep t ignoring

the real message o f what was goi ng on around them. And here

we are, a ll o f us , born af ter the holocaust and the birthof Israel - the two most epic events since the f a l l o f

the second Temple - and we are doing the same a l lo ver

again . Acting as if nothi ng Jlad happened. Wanting a qu .i e t

l i f e . We are s t i l l not without our modern-day Egyptians.

What we don't have i s a Mos es . That's why, Roger, I think you ' re f o ~ l i n gyourse l f . You can' t l ive yo ur l i f e as if you weren ' t a Jew . I t w o u ~ a n ' thave convinced Pharaoh, or Haman, or Hi t l e r . I adndr that you have never

f ound an ything inspiring in Judaism. Dut that ' s because you never looked

fo r a Moses, a real teacheT . But l i ke i t or not , af t er th e holocaust,

any Jew outside Israel i s l i vi ng in Egypt. He can' t close hi s eyes to

history .

R. Chayim, I agree with you. History has a meaning. I t ' s jus t that you are

reading it the wrong way. The way I look a t i t , f o r the

las t two thousand years it i s n ' t the others who have

suffer ed the plagues: i t ' s been us. One persecut :ion af ter

another. And we've been s t ubborn l i k e t he Egt, ptians: we've

refused to le t our Jewish i dent i ty go. We were wrong,and

I for one have taken the message . I don 't wan t an y

ch i ldren o f mine to grow up branded and s t i gmatised. I

don ' t want anyone, l eas t of a l l them, even to know theyare Jews. I can ' t help what I was born in to; but I can

s ee to it tha t my chi ldren a r ~ JJot- born w t I l my di s -

advantage . And when we read that b i t in the Haggada about

the wi cked son: "if he had been the re , he would not have

been saved" - it didn ' t s e t my teeth on edg e . On the

contrary . Had I been there I would have preferred not to

have been saved . Saved for what? For the wilderness? For

a religion that would only have made me feel guil ty every

t ime I did something wrong? For a history o f suffering?No thanks. I would rather have stayed there and waited

fo r a mor e philo-semitic Pharaoh, and r would have brought up my ch i ldren

as well - behaved Egyptians.

T. Fra nkly , I don't understand either o f you, You ca n argue about the message

of his tory all night , but what difference does it make? We are Jews, we

have mitzvot to keep, and i t ha s been the same a ll along, in the times

when we p r o ~ p e r e d as a peopJe, and even when we have been under s e n t e n c ~o f death as a people. When I learn chumash, I 'm back in the wildern e s s ;



when I learn Mishnah, I'm with Rabbi Judah the Prince in second-century

Israel; when I learn Gemarra I'm in Babylon; and when I read Rashi I'm

in medieval Prance. When r put on t e f i l l in I am doing ~ / h a t Jews have

done throughout his tory and in every corner o f the world. History and

geography, time and place, don' t mean anything to Judaism. All t h a t

matters i s learning and doing . What I don't understand about you, Roger,

i s ho ...' you real ly think you can get any happiness out o f the l i f e you

lead. Money and Success are f ine now, but what about in ten years' time,

o r twenty? And as for you, Chayim, why you have to ask so many questions

i s beyond me . I don' t see why you have to relate Judaism to issues o f our

time. Frankly, the less JUdaism has to do with 'our t ime' the better.

You should never have gone to university.

Sh , I think Chayim and Roger have a point . But what puzz le s me i s th is .

Chayim talks about the rel igious meaning o f events. But: if the hand

o f God was in th e se t t ing up o f the State o f Israel , then where wasGod a t Auschwitz? And if God wasn ' t at Auschwitz, when He was needed ,what makes us think He has anything to do with Israel? You can ' t

answer questions l ike that - so what's the point o f asking them?

Ch. The poin t o f asking i s to make us realise tha t , one way or another, a

Jew today has to l ive his l i f e a s if he were about to leave Egypt . Ir -....__ ~ ~ ~ , ~ l a i m to have the answers. Perhaps it would be impious even to

suggest an explanation o f the holocaust. Bu t two things 'are

as clear as day. One: af ter Auschwitz no Jew can r i sk the

gamble o f assimi lat ion. We can ' t decide to make ourselves a t

home in a non-Jewish world. Two: now that there i s a state o f

Israel , there i s somewhere for a Jew to feel a t home . I admit,

I am s t i l l h e r ~ I haven' t gone on aliyah yet . I hope one day

I wil l . But even while I I m here in 1tfI1e,'("'CA, something ha s

changed for our genera t i on . fo'e mus t be aware th a t we are Jews .

We can ' t hide from r.ustory. And if a ll that means i s that wemix social ly with other Jews, o r that we give donations to

Israel , then we are t r iv ia l i s ing something which must not be

t r iv ia l i sed if we are not a ll to end up l ike Roger. That i swhy I went to Israel , and to yeshiva, to study. That i s whyI keep my JUdaism. I f being Jewish meant enough, to the Nazis ,to k i l l for , then it must mean enough for me to l ive for. I f

not , then we l.;i11 have be€!n guil ty o f making the holocaust

meaningless.

R. I don' t see how anything you o r any other Jew can do, can change the past .

I sympathise with the secular Zionists. They don't believe in God. They

j u s t bel ieve in defending themselves in the ir own country, because they

don't think that anyone else wil l do it f o r them: man or God. I think

they a re r ight . But on the other hand I don' t see why I should join them.

I c ~ ; n k I can defend myself bet ter by quie t ly l e t t ina everyone forget

I am a Jew. I t ' s easier that way, and more comfortable, and I don'tsee anything wrong with enjoying l i f e .

T. I think you ha."re a point , Roger. I think Chayim worries too much. I

don ' t fee l the need to go on aliyah. Frankly, I thJ'nk Judaism i s

stronger .i n Bore ""tiC o r 8 ~ o l d ~ 1 \ than in Israel . The job o f a

Jew i s to keep to the Torah, wherever he i s . And he should l ive amongst

o the r Jews Who do the same, wherever they happen to be. I think thatthe holocaust i s a problem for Jews who put their faitil in assimilat ion .Bu t fo r orthodox Jews it i s no easier and no harder to understand than

any of the other sufferings we have been through. Our d u t ~ is to have

fa j th and not ask questions. Your trouble, Roger, i s simply your

yetser hora, your supezf ic ial at t i tude towards pleasure. I f you would

try and keep your mania for pleasure in check and learn what i t i s ta

davven properly, to keep a mitzvah with the r ight intent ions, if you

simply owned up for once to having a sou], then I think we might mak€.'



Sh. All o f th is j u s t confuses me. Torr enjoL/s h is Judalsm - good for him.

Roger, according to 'Pam, doesn ' t kno,,' what he's missinq. But i t

obviously doesn ' t worry Roger, who seems to ~ to b hdvjn. a good t ime.

Chayim argues that the past imposes a duty on Jews to be Jews. Rag r

says that the past teaches us that we should give up Judaism as il

gamble th a t went wrong. You can ' t a l l be r iqh t . I give up.

Ch. ~ v e l l , then a toast: Next year in Jerusalem .

R. Next yeal' in rbwaii

T. Next ye a r in New C J ~ Sh. Ne xt year, s t i l l , in doubt.

Educational insights ~ a s e d on The Four Sons

Four sons, edch d i f f e r e n t . The Haggada describes how three

o f t hem ask t heir quest ions, while the fOllrth remains s i len t .

{I]' The wise so n asks , "What are the test imoni .;s , s ta tu tes and laws which

the Lord our God has commanded you?" By ca l l ing Him 'our' God he declareshimse l f to be a member o f the congreg-ti on o f Israel . III s question i s

evidence o f a des ire 0 learn, and o f an ana,lytica1 mind. We must t ry to

see tha t he i s given the kind o f Jewish education tha t w i l l fur ther

s t imulate hi m, an d that ",'111 keep Torah sr:udy a t the hear t o f h is general

in te l l ec tua l developmcmt.[2] The second so n asks , "r,'hat i s th i s n d c e to you?" In e f f e c t he i s

placing a distance between himsel f an d +- jw ,Jewish comrnu,lity. He: k'ould

rather ass imi la te an d deny four thousand ye.'a1.s o f Jewish his tory . His

quest ion does not real ly seek al1$ver . I t i s more an expression o f scorn .

[3 J The th ird so n i s cal led simple. Thl.s means: he asks , but in hi s l im i ted

comprehension he cannot fu l l y grasp the depth of the i s sues h is quest ion

raises . f!e deserves a gentle reply . In keeping w ~ t h h is understanding:

do nor speak above him, b u ~ to him .

[4] The fourth so n does not ye t know horv to ask. I l lS j)owers of understanding

are undevel oped. Dut the poi'1t o f the Haggada here i s : no chi ld i s ever

too young to be nurtured 'nto he ways o f Torah Judaism. Tn a recent repor t

on i l l i t e racy , Professor Bullae}. suggested that pa.rents should begin to

ta lk to the i r babies from bir th - "bathe your baby with words". It i s anins igh t tha t Judaism shares .

The Haggada stl 'esses the di f f erences between chi ldren

a t the i r various s tages o f development. How i s t.his related to recent f indings in psychology?

I t i s known that chi ldren cons tant ly develop their a t t i t ud e s

throughout the i r growtl1 in to adulthood. From bir th to puberty the primary

i n f luence i s - par ·n ts . Recent s tud ies show the high correlat ion bct\·,reen

the re l i gi o us a t t ~ t u d c s or chi ldren and the ir parents (a s high as 74').;). But

as children grow old'-'T, the in f luence o f parents decl1n s and other social

fa c tors become increasinqly impor tant . ThIS i s most "larked at the beyj nning



o f ado1escer:ce. And thu; cr l2ates d mD 'j r )r , ](" ' I · : i : ;h problem. For it i s t l l is

per iod , from 12/13 onwa.rd.,,;, l-o'IJich i s the c r i t J ca l per iod when a t t i t udes

are cys ta l l i sed . And it is j u s t then tha most ch i ld ren s top t h e i r

Jewish educat ion, while t h ~ i r genera l e(ucat ion c o n t i n u e ~Dur ing th i s stage th r e maJn fac to r s are a t work:

[a ] peer in fJuence: dur ing adolescence c:hi ldr . n spend l e s s t ime a t home,

more tirr.e wi th fr iends. What other tc'cnagel-s th Ink an d d o hee:omes a

l a rg e r i nf lu en ce .

[b ] the media: parenta l in f luence is fu r th( " r weakened by th e media exp l os i0n :

the values communicatf 'd by radJo , te lev is ion ,

f i lms and t Ie p T _ S 5 ;

Ic ] educa t ion cons is tency : the value o f a

fo rma l programme o f Jewish educat ion I S

st rengthened or weakened to the e x t e n ~ by

!vhic/1 i t i s complemented by the i n formal

e f f ec t o f a Torah-or iented home life.

The Jewish t r ad i t i on kn ew , long ago,

o f the problems o f pa ren t / ch i ld co n f l i c t .

The Torah d sc bes the DToblem o f the

' s tubborn and rebe l l i ous son ' [ se e Deut. ch . 21 ] .

Learn ing is a process o f acqu i r ing va lues f G ~ the environment; an d i f

t he home re f lec ts a pos i t i ve at . t i tude OWiJ.;ds .Judaisll l l in genera l ch i l dren

wi l l f o l low the same course. 1.'he I e s p o n . ~ ; i b ' : ' l j t y i s p laced , by the Torah,

f i rm ly on the shoulders of parents : " L j s t e n , my son, to the i ns t ruc t ion

o f your f a t h e r a sd do n o t forsake the teach ings o f !tour moth9r" [Proverbs

1:8] . The paren t i s p ar excel lence the teacher , and must exerc ise

guidance throughout th E ....,hole proe: "ss or h is ch i Id ' s deve l opment . This

is the pr i nc ' p l e s ta ted in the Shema: "And yo u sh a l l teach them diligen tly

to your: ch I ld ren" {DelJt. 6:7J. -- -

One o f the f ind i t lgs of the Plowden Report ce r ta i n l y

appl ie s to our chiJd en a t Hebrew Classes and Jewish Da y Schools . Success

var i es in re la t ion to parer. ta l in t e r e s t . Ii the va lue sys tem of the

home accords wi th the content. o f Jewish 1 'sson5, th e ch i Ld wi l l give

a more pos i t i ve per formance. If not , h E- ",,- i l l su f fe r a c o n f l i c t which may

damage h is development. We must there fore gjve our ch i ld ren the back ing

o f a committed home environment, 'Ie must t r e a t ach ch i l d as an i n d i v i d u a l ,

fo r the f o u r SOI1S show horN o:"f['?r rot ch j ld ren may be. An d above all, as

parents , we must: teach examplG. Through love an d ceraerncss we sh a l lsucceed in ra is ing a n ~ r a t i o n commit ted ' 0 Tor, h .J.ldaism. {M.B. l

Not: only on e

Has r i sen agdins t us

7'0 dest ..oy us,

But in every generat ion

{Ti:,' ~ d i c v r J l accusat ion

of the blood l1bco],

[ ~ v l v c d hero in Ju l ius

Srrc.Jchc r s NazJ

nOlo/spaper Ver c; turml 'r ,

f·<ay 1934,1

Ole Judcn ~ I D d DOHr lIot110ckl



~ e s a c n ana ne h b l o c ~ ~ s t"On f'rida',': March 2nd 1945, \v( ' reached Naurhausen. , ', i IJ

those l as t few di f fJcul t Iveeks that we spent in the concentration camp,

some o f us worked in he unloading o f cars o r grain for the warehouse.

A number o f t imes our small group succeed a in taking a l i t t l e b it

o f wheat from the warehouse. The re l ig ious Jews among us gave up

their bread rat ions in exchange for wheat. In this fashion they

accumulated a small quantity o f wheat for Pesach . They crushed the

grains o f wheat with a hammer in to a kind o f f lour . This they baked

in to matzot and so some tens o f Jews {"ere able to conduc' the.' two

sedarim .

Late a t night, when the guards had l e f t ollr block, several

tables ,,'ere se t up in the washing room. '''e l i t two canclles, each

part ic ipant r e c ~ i v e d one matza. One o f us began reCiting the Haggadain a tremulous voice, the r es t rep!"ated it af ter him Iveoping, the ir

voices choked with sobs. Thus did a small group o f Jews, in th e s hadowo f death, conduct the two sedarim in the Mauthausen concentrat ion

camp ." [Mordechai Ellav, Ani Ma'amin, p , 192

. "The winter o f 5705 [1945J was a di f f i cu l t on e in the

Fei hingen concentrat ion camp in Germany. , But in th is dc-ath campthere were some who tubbornly held fas t to tneiz Judaism unt i l the

l as t moment. Passover was com.1ng. Ho\-' does one refrain from eating

chametz? A few days b ~ f o r e Pesach one of the 5 .5 . men entered the

f oundry where I was "'orking as a sign-maker. He asked if T could

prepare some targets for r i f l e practice. At the moment an idea sprang

in to my m ~ n d and I proposed i t to him. I tvould prepare targets wi th

f igures o f soldiers attached to them. But T would nec:d a quantity o f

f lour with which to prepare the paste . . . ult imat_ly I received 15 k i los

o f f lour. When I got the f lour to the foundr'::,' r told my fr iends o f the

miracle - and it is impossible to describe the ir joy. The wil l to

l ive , which was a.Imos· extinguished, h'as kindled anew. We ' l iberated 'some wood scraped a table \0/1. th glflss and r kashered' i t with hot

bricks . . . we began to bake matzot . . . On the ni h t o f the f irs t seeer

we gathered in the foundry as the marranO$ did in ancient pain. We

s ta r t ed awesomely, "We were slaves" , each o f us had three matzot. In

place o f wine we us d ,-"a, ter sweeter,ed ,,,i th sugar. role lJad pota toes for

karpas and white beets for maror. Salt and water were no t in short

s uppJ.y . we reci ted the Haggada from some siddurim which we had

succeeded in hiding a ll th i s imc. When h'e were about hal.fway through

the Haggada I Azr i e1 began t. o preach to us not to despair and to

wi th s tand the t e s t o f affl ict ioJJ, for rEdC'mptio'"l was ne.1T . , .

[Eliav, op ,c i t . , p.183; both quotations taken from I.Rosenbaum, Holocaust

and Halakhar: , KTAV, 1976]



A drama

based

Yaakov

The cha racters:

FRED: an Egyptian in the s t r e e t . Your average man.

in ten acts

on the commentso f Malbim an d Rabbi

Etl inger .

W W I G : a tbinking Egl.lptian t A bi t o f an in te l lec tua l , no t eas i ly convinced .

OZ: a member o f Pharaoh's magic c irc le .

PHARAOl/: king o f Eg! lpt . A h a r d - h ~ a r t e a man.

ACT 1: BLOOD

Dawn by the N i l e . Pharaoh i s gree t i ng the Sl..i.n ' god ' on t h e 'd i v i n e ' r iver .

MO,she challenges him pLivately. No go •.lJll Egypt's drinking water tu rns

to b lood .

Fred: Rather unpleasant ,a l l th{s b lood

Ludwig: Egupt 's god o f l i f e i s dmYTl. Is th i s Jewisn God real? BlIt maybe

i t ' s j u s t Moshe's m a g ~ c . After a l l , he used his s t i ck to br jng

the blood . . .

OZ: Amazing i l l u s · o n . They make tvater l ook l i ke blood . Must see i f I

ca n mamJge i t .

Pharaoh: See: Moshe's j u s t doing magic.

ACT 2; FROGS AND/OR CROCODILES

Pharaoh's p a l a c ~ , Moshe no..' i ssues d public warning, From nowhere, f rogs

(or crocodiles) f i l l the Nile and actual l y crawl ashore. In to the palace ,

in to k i tchens ... Moshe p r a ~ s for them to go,and those on land jus t die . Fred: This i sn ' t get t ing any bet t er at a ll . . .

LlJdwi 9 : t 10<..")ks A S i t Egypt' qod o f fe has subm:i tr:ed to the God o f

theJet-1S. Bu mayor-> it's jus t that mag1c s t I ck again ...OZ: Let / s get in a m o n g s ~ the f rogs an d pretend that we a re

controlling b1em ' "

Pharaoh: Those maglcians are ju,c;t a sham. But maybe Moshe i s too . . . L et

him as}. h is God to :;top it in the morning, k'hen magic clearly

has no ef fec t . Oh - he's done it. aut Moshe said they'd vanish,Bn d ins ca d they j u s t di':.'d. Betr:;er lucJ. nl?)(t t i m e , M o ~ h c .

ACT 3: LICENO warning. This time t!u:;y'11 l ra rn the hard h'ay. Human l i ce ge t out o f

hand . The ground c rawls with them. They remain as a permanent torment

to Egypt.

Fred: Yerrch!

Ludwig: You know . . . parhaps the Jew$' Cod does ex s t ... sometvhere.

Oz: I c 'an ' t mak(2 magic work on stich l i t t l e things. Le t ' s t r l )

medjc ines and pes t icides to get r id of them. No, i t ' s no good.

TJey w()n ' t go Blval/. I t ' s a miracle , a l r j g h t . Got to hand i t to

Moshe. Tha Gorl of h is i s an amazing performer.



Pharaoh: I t can ' t be magi c , so Oz t e l l s me . . . but didn' t the l ice come

without warning? It must be an Egyptian god who i s a t work!

ACT 4: WILD CREATURES

Dawn by the Nile . Another warning. Dangerous creatures fearlessly roam the

s t ree ts , the Palace , eventually maRing their la i rs }n Egyptian homes. But

the Jews are spared! Now Moshe t es t s Pharaoh's good fa i th: the creatures

s tar t re treat i ng before Pharaoh has completed h is side o f the deal.

Fred: Thi s i s ridiculous . My next door neighbour [vas ki l led . Why

i s n ' t anyone doing somethi ng?ludwig: I really am corning round gradually to the opinion that the Jews'

God does seem able to look af t er them somOt imes.

Oz: No comment . I give in . It's a ll too much for me.

Pharaoh: O.K. I grant you. Their God seems to look af ter them. But l e t

them hold prayers here, or even in the deser t . . . Hang on! The

creaturus are going. Forget it .'

ACT 5: PESTILENCEA public warning - and a long one. Then, In a f lash, a ll animals i n the open

are dead. Except t lle ..1ewish-owned ones.

Fred: ' i. 'here' 5 dea th everywhere thes e days. Do you th ink we' 11 be next?

Ludwig: Yes , you know, the Jews' God se.ems to have a foothold down here

in Egypt '"OZ: {silence]

Pharaoh: No. Thei r r.od can ' t look af ter them that well . There was def ini te ly

one Jewish-owned animal t ha t died. (Actually, it belonged to

someone of mixed descent.)

ACT 6: BOILSNo warning - they ' l l learn by r etr ibut ion. Moses tosses soot from the furnace

i n to the air , and a ll the Egyptians - but not the JetolS - get boi l s that

never go away.

Fre'd: Ouch ° I can ' t bear it. MigJlt lo,°e di e?

ludwig: Yes, tbe Jewish God i s strong . But i s fie a match for the sun god

and the gods of the sky?

Oz: I real ly must try th i s crick. Help! I ' ve got boils myself now.

This i s de f in i te ly my l as t try . From now on Pharaoh is on h is own .Pharaoh: I ' v e had t!nouqh . . . perhaps . . .but no! No-one i s going to t e l l

me what to do .

ACT 7: HAll.Dawn by the Nile . .2\ warning to get indoors . . stupendous burst o f ba.i l actual ly

wipes out everyone the open. A second mirac_e: hai l mixed with f i r e .

Crops largely destroyed. But Egypt s t j] 1 1e f t Ivl th somethJ.ng to lose 0 ••Fred: So many Egyptians got ki l led . . , ludw·j g: The God o f the Jews seems to be able to control the clouds.

Pharaoh: Thei r God kindly warned us. v.'e shvpld have l i s tened iJe's

clearly on ou ... s i d ~ . And d!iYI.-ay, Moshc -aid the thunder ,.;ould stop

and then the hai l . But I could hear it af ter the haL1. lle 's a

fraud . . , .'1y advisers say I shvu1d le t them go. But how cantheir God be a God o f good and ev.U? I f he 's ev i l , take sacr i f ices

for Him. But no need to take your children then . . ,

ACT 8: LOCUSTS A public warning. '['hen a stupendous win,1 brings a record storm of locusts

to ea t what's l e f t . Their rEmains threa ten to i n f ec t every home in Egypt.

Then - qone with the wind. Not on e rema 'ned as a so uveni r .

Fred: I f th i s goes on we' l l de f in i t e ly die . There's no food l e f t to ea t . We'll s tarve . Why don' t we l e t the Jews 70 if tha t ' s tvhat they want?

Ludwig: Amazing - th i s Jewish God seems to control the wind as well.

Pha raoh: I ' ve sinned. Stop th e locusts. They ' l l i nfect us a ll .

ACT 9: DARKNE"SS

No warning . They' ll jus t have to learn the h21rd way. Thick vapuurs, o r pc'!rhapsa paralysing sp ir i tua l l i gh t . bring three days o f no seeing and three days

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/somethJ.ng





o f no moving.

Fred : Help! I can ' t s ee . I call' t move. Wha t' s going on? I f we can ' t get

o f f our seats we ' l l di e o f stClrvation.

Ludwig: More and more in terest ing. Their God prevai ls even against the

gods o f the sun, moon and s tars . ~ you suppose He is synonymouswith Nature?

Pharaoh: I was wrong. Your God i s a God o f good . So go with your chi ldren.

But now there ' s no reason to take your herds - li P can ' t want

sacri f ices . Anyway, Moshe only said, ' Let my people go' . He ' s

a fraud . No more negotiat ions . . . Another plague coming? 1

don' t care.ACT 10: DEATH OF THE FIRSTBORN

Ample warning o f th is from the outse t . ])eatJl o f a ll f i rs tborn Egyptians

anywhere in the world, and f i rs tborn l ives tock . Non-Egyptian f irs tborn in

Egypt die too.

Fred: Don't j u s t le t the Jews c:o. Drive them out ' This i s the end .

Ludwig: Fascinating. So the i r Cod doesn' t even need to use natural forces .

Death came out o f ' th in a ir I f'lho j s th is Cod or theirs? He's

not l i ke an y o f ours.Pharaoh: OUr idols and sanct i f ied s ons 1f irstborn] are Ivlped out . Even

for e igners got no help from the i r gods . . . . Take the lo t and go!

Exeunt, the Is rae l i te s . {L.G. ]

..

R. Yos c> Hagl 1Ji, R. E ~ i c z e r an d R.Akiva have been debating how

many plagues the Egyptians w ~ r e snutten by a t the Red Sea. In a sudden

contras t o f mood the Jiaggada turns to God's acts o f kindness to Israel ,

and says that for each, had it been a l l , it would have been enough.

Enough tor our e ternal indebtedness. Dayyenu i s a p o e ~ o f thanksgiving,

an d perhaps taci t ly an atonement fo r the sustained lack o f grat i tude

o f those who actually l ived through the ev"nts - the Israel i tes fo r whom-h miracle .:. ?emE'd insu f f i c i ef' t .

perhaps it i s so , that the sp i r i t o f thanksgiving cnly ComeS with

t ime. Those who l i ved in th daily presencp o f miracles cQu1a not see the

en ormity o f what was being enacted on the i r behal f l iow of ten, to late]" Jews ,

would even a fragment o f on e o f those " 'onders have been su f f ic ien t . We grow

wise too la te .But what real ly does the po em mean? The commentators to/restled

with the s e l f - e v ~ d e n t p:coblems. Surely, if the Sea hiJd not divided j1 - would

not have b"en enough, for the Is rae l i te s ,...oula have been caWJht an d r'('capt(lrC'd.

But it would, they answer: for God ! leLa not have made Pharaoh pursuL' them

in the f i r s t place. Thpy might ha e l e f t natural ly without need o f thL

sp l i t t ing o f the Sea . And !-'hat does it me.'Jn to sao that i t would have

been enough if God had not s uppl ied ou r nerds in tll> lvi lde nC'.c;s? I 'erhaps ,

that j t would have been po.c;sibl e to choose' a route tha 1:: J ru throuqJJ

i n h a b ~ t : e d country wher -' they could have bought food WIth tile r..'C .:d l l l

they had brought outhr i

th them, and not have had ne 'do f bn

.'r1d from



heaven, and watel" from the 1.ock and the well . And l-'ou1d it have been enough

had God not given us the Torah? Yes: we /i.Jght have suff iced with the

teachings o f Moses, without the unique direct revelation o f God to the

Is rael i tes a t Sinai . And 50 wi th a ll o f them - the promised end mi.ght

have been achieved without the miracle, 50We natural r"ay , Why then tile

miracle? To reveal God's love fo r His people, that fo r them He wasprepared to transform nature,and temporarilu suspend the laws He had

implanted in the works o f creat ion,

The term

rna I alo t I used

in the

in troduct ion

to dayyenu

i s suggestive

o f other

associat ions.

It i s usual ly

transl ated as

' favours' .But it mayalso meanI ascents ' .

And so the

commentatorsfound connections between t h i s ascending llyrnn o f praise , with i t s 15 s t eps ,

15 miracles, an d other places when tve f i nd an ascent of 15 phases. There

were f i f t een generations between Abraham, t o whom wa s granted a prophetic

glimpse o f the exodus, and Solomon who bui l t the Temple with which dayyenu

ends. In the Te mple i t se l . f there were 15 steps from the forecourt to

the inner cour t . And on each step the Levi tes sung a dif ferent psalm o f

praise - the 15 'p salms o f ascent ' (Psalms 120-134).

The f i f teen miracles mentioned 1n dayyenu also correspond

to the f i f teen phases in to which the seder service i s divided.

R.Judah Loewe o f Prague, the M A l ~ R A L , found a fUrther s igni f icance.

The moon takes 15 days to grow f rom i nv i s ib i l i t y to a complete sphere.

As each night we gain a fu l ler s igh t o f moon, so w'i th each miracle

the Is rae l i te s gained a fu l ler sense o f the splendour o f God. And jus t ask'e neve r see, standing on earth, the other s ~ d e o f tile moon eve, when it

i s fu l l , so as beings o f the c:.arth we never see God ln His er:.tirety: even

Moses was only granted s lght o f the 'back' o f God . The analogy goes deeper .

For in real i ty i t i s not the moon which al ters dur irJo] i t s phases, but:

only our perception o f i t . And so too tI le pot.'er o f God in his tory never

al ters , When at times we feel that it ha s shrunk La i f lV i i b l l i t y , the

fau l t l ies with us and our perspect ive ,Perhaps that is in the end the poin t o f aayyenu . To train ou r

perspective from one ;,'h:-re our s i tuat ion in l ~ f e i <; seen as inadeqllate,

unsa t i s fy ing, making ti S anxious and competit i ve to one where I-/e can see

in a l l around us the olessings of God. Who i s rich? Be who can turn in

thanks to God and say: dayyenu. { M ~ . ~ F ~ ~ I ~ ~ ~ ~ ; ; ~



A t las t we reach the answers to the Mall Nishtanah. The ChIld asked

about the matza and maror. And when tho Templ() stood he asked about thc'

Pesach sacr i f i ce as well . Evel'ything has led up to t:hi co morrent.

We have dec;cribed what happened: the his tory . And now we Ciln do C ~ " 'more th an ta lk . We ca n hold up the matza and mCJror and show that.

fn:edom and oppression are net jus t abs t ract c o n ~ e p t f ; : they

leave a t a s t e in the motlth. And there too i s the bone

representing what would once have been the sacr i f i ce . We may not

point to lt, because in th i s case c1 symbol musl: not be mistaken

fo rrea l i t y .

But th istoe> ]f'cJves a

co ncrete impression. Oncew :

had a Temple, now we do not , and there i s the e v ~ d e n c e in front

o f us.

tvhy do we i n s i s t on an explanati on ? There are many acts

J'n Judaism tha t I."e do to remind us of th ings . But nowhere i s

there qui te th is insis tence that we should put in to words

what the9 are meant to s jgn i fy . MAHA RSfJj, explains that the

Pesach, MatZa, and Maror were intended not merely to celebrate

the going out o f Egypt, but actual ly to achi c the

I s rae l i t es the r igh t s ta te wf mind, a wil l jngness to leave.

Perhaps he means tha t the Pesach sacr i f l ce !laS, a r Maimonidcs

says , commanded o f the Israel i tes in Egypt to m t 3 k tl 'em show

that they had l iberated themselves from the i d o l a t r ~ o f Egypt :

"the Egyptians worshipped "r ies , and there fore aVs-ained from k i l l in g sheep, and held shepherds in contemptJ l Perhaps the Maror was intended to make thew

t as te the fu l l bi t terness o f their s i tua t ion , .;tnd leave , d thout regrets; and

we know tha t th i s was necessary because sC'vera_1 t imes in the wilderness the

I s rae l i t e s expressed the des i re to be back in Egypt. And th e matza: to

make them sense the haste with which they had to leave, and to give them

no chance fo r second thoughts. For us too, it i s not enough merely to ea t :

we must spe l l i t out in words, what these objects meiJfl. Their message has not

become l e ss v i ta l with the passing o f the mil len ia .

The r igh t s t a t e o f mind: we cannot s i t around tlll? seder table"!,

in the presence of the? Pesach Matza and Maror, and not th ink of thf; -ellIS

in the Sovie t U l ~ i o n , in Arab lands, and undl?r tyranny anywhere. While

we rec l ine l i ke f ree men, they taste to the fu l l the bread o f

af f l i c t i on; the Maror of pol i t Ica l oppression; they have hadthe courage to o f f er up the Pesach sacr i f i ce , of r G j ~ c t i n gthe i dol s o f the ir e n v i r o n ~ n t .

pel"haps Rabban Gamliel could be read as saying: he

who does not menti on these things as they ex i s t In the ?resent

has not f ul f iJ . led h is du ty . May th e Almighty hear our protest

and the i r cry . {N.G.}

Rabbi Samson RaplJael Hirsch wrote:"()r 11 tne b o ' ) ~ so f the Holy scr iptures , save tlJe Five Books o f MOS B5 themselves ,

the Book o f Psalms has had the grea tps t in f luerce cm the

Jewish mind and sp i r i t " . But o f tlJe 150 psalms, s ix stand

apar t : those tha t cons t i tu te the Halle l IPs, 113-118], No

f e s t i ve service would be complete wlthoot "'hem. Thel./

represent joy thanks i ving an d redempt ion.

Nhen was the Hallel f i r s t reci ted? The Talmud of ters many a n s ~ ...ers:

it was said by Joshua, Deborah, I1ezekiah, Esthel , or eveD by Moses l J i r n s l ~ l f .But i t s s igni f icance i s nol confined to a partIcular se t of events: th prophets

i ns t i tu t d tha t "at every epoch and a t ov(:ry t rouble, !I.,hen Is rae I are

redeemed they should r ec i /:e the Hallel in thankfulness [o r tilei r del ivcrtj ."

So on the seder night , when each Jew must- see hi mselI as if he

personally ha d gone out o f Egypt, the Hallel s tands as che natural s ign

o f our thanks to God for oursalvat ion.In the t ime of the Temple, Hallel was sung by th e Levi tes 10'.11(>'1

the Paschal sacri t icc was brought . Later, a t night , I"h£:n each household at l '



In PS<:Jlm 114, the second paragraph o f Halle l , there a re re ferencE

to the Exodus, the crossing o f the Red Sea, and the revelation a t Sinai .

This in e f f ec t closes the f i r s t part of the evening. whereas the seder

wi l l continue, the Haggada or narrative has now reached i t s f i t t i ng

conclusion. The Torah has been given and the redemption i s complete.

After the mea], the second hal f o f Hallel i s rec i ted . In keeping

with the Talmudjc idea that the month o f Nisan not: only brought deliverance

in the past but wil l do so again in the future, the Hallel now alludes

to tile resurrection o f the dead, and to the messianic era.

Perhaps th is i s why tve divideit

in to two parts, saylng part:before, and part af t er , the meal. Or ir.:: may be that having the meal in the

middle makes the eating i t s e l f an act of Divine service and praise .I t i s conceivable also that the Hallel was in terrupted del iberate

to f u l f i l the teaching of Proverbs: "Do not rejoice when your enemy fa l ls" .I t may be that we pause to re f lec t on the su f fer ing o f our fellow creatures,

the Egyptians, whom God re luctant ly destroyed at the time o f the exodus.

The rabbis tel.I tha t the angels wished to sing praise ("hen the Red Sea

divided, but God rebuked them saying: "The work o f My hands i s being

destroyed, and you wish to sing a song o f praise?"

Though it i s not clear whether the Ha1.1el represents , during the

seder, a part o f the story or a song of praise , it i s inseparable from

the Haggada. The opening verse of the H ~ l . I c l i s , af ter a l l , the best

summary of the meaning o f the seder as a whole. It r eads : "Praise theLord. Praise, you servants o f the Lord" - to which the Talmudic sages

added the comment: "Until now you were servants o f Pharaoh. Now you are

servants of the Lord". {D.F.]

•" .'

"Pour out Thy wrath "

As we pour out the cup o f Elijah we add a strange

l i t t l e prayer: "Pouz' out: Your wrath upon the nations who

do not acknowledge You . . . . . Strange because it s t r ikes

the reader as angrily revengeful . Not at al l typical ofthe sp i r i t o f Judaism; not in l ine with the sp i r i t o f

Pesach, w h e ~ we spi l l drops o f wine remembering theplagues: though the £'gyptians were enemi c:s, they to o

were human beinqs, the works of God's hand." " " ' V ! ~ ~ ~ - ' : : " : ~ ~ m " For a long t ime people have f e l t som embarrass~ ~ ~ ~ . r I ' c i . ! ~ ~ ~ , . ; : mene a t the seder table when they read th i s prayer,

especially when non-Je....·s were present: a t the table. Yet

it i s r ight that Ih'e shOUld recite i t , for it represents

the other side of the story o f our people j n the

chronicles o f c iv i l i za t ion . Especially at Pesach t ime,

when the s,ows melted an d Christian chIldren were found

dead in the fores ls , .... e were accuseo time and again

o f murd _ring these innocent Ii ves. The four cups o fjoy became for Jetvs cups o f bi t t e r tears . And the prayer

re>flects the deep feelings o f our helplessness and the

f ea r s o f our persec t e d forebears. II m ~ r r o r of What we pray i s a buried

and primitive aqe.

The prayer, together with Eli jah ' s cup, stand betv.'eeTl the two

halves of Halle]: the part before the meal referring to redemption in

the past, that a f t e r indica ing deliverance in the future. Hence these

tw o insertions: or Elijah, in Jervish t radi t ion, wil l be the person "'ho

announces the . fu tun ' Messi anlc Age; and, as our prayer suggests , it wil lbe an ag e in Iyhich there wil l be an end to those who do not care about

Isra(>l's tear'hings and ~ , h o mock her role in the world.

ThLl ~ c i t a t i o n of Shefoch chamateclla is accompanied by a

unique custom: the operllng of the door. I t i s so ancient a practise that



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,,'e do not know i t s orig inal reason, an d ca n only sppculate . Some say tha t

i t i s a reminder o f the old proceduro o f opening the g ~ t e s o f the Temple

f o r the pilgrims exactly a t midnight; others ,hat i t was d precaution

agai n st slanderers ana apostates who might be standing behind the door .

The r everse , though , i s more l ike ly: the Jews in E g ~ p t a t the f i r s t seder

o f a l l time were in fear and were forbidden to open the door and go out .

We throw the door o p ~ n to demonstrate our confidence in the futur( - to

show tha t we do not fear ou r enemies. And we express our fa l th that a t

some seder night in the fu t ure we shal l open the dcor to welcome the

pro phet Eli jah , announcing t he coming of the Redeemer. (y .G.)

What i s Had Gadya doing there a t th e end o f th e FJaggada? We have

had a l ovely seder, we ha ve come out o f f,'gypt, I,'e are fee l ing rea l ly

good - and then we sing th is song about the law o f the jung e , what

swa l lows up i s sl·;allol·:ed up , a song with a varie ty o f jo l ly tunes but

wi th t he uneasy theme that there i s af t e r a l l no real securi ty .

Added to the seder in a furthe .r at tempt to keep the children a wake I

t he son gs are insp ira t ional or educational: touchingly simple p.l'aises

o f God l ike Ki Lo Na'eh o r s tra igh t teaching l i ke 'who knows One?',

Bu t wha t i s the purpose o f including /lad Gadya?

The keenest minds were puzzled. There i s a huge l i t e ra ture on

t he meaning of Had Gadya, and whyit

forms the cl imax to the Hagg ada.Four t i n c t catagories o f in terpre ta t ion , each in teres t ing in i t s

own way, have been suggested.

[1 ] Fa vouri te among them i s the al legor ica l . The innocent ki d symbolises

the J e ~ t l i s h people; God i s I fa ther ' , 110ses an d Aaron are the two zuzim.

The c a t i s Assyria , the dog Babylonia, the s t ick Persia and so on to the

Greeks and Romans. All the oppressors o f I srae l perish on e by one, s o

tha t b y the end the vict im, Israe l , i s the so le surv ivor . A more sub t le

hi s tor ica l explanation views the ca t as Egypt - boLh s ly op er ato r s .

The do g i s Amalek, at tack ing peaceful passers-by. The f i re i s the ' auto

da- fe ' in which vict ims of the Spanish Inquis i t ion were burnt to death.

[2] Identi fy ing the verse with b i b l ~ c a l inc iden ts i s an obvi ous way o f

e xplaining the song. Thus: Joseph i s the kid sold into slavery. The s t ick

i s Mo s es ' s ta f f ; the f i re i s that which was used to melt down the ornamentsfo r the Golden Calf. For each f igure a counterpart in Chll1nash i s found ,

until God, in TorLih and 8aggada al ike , redeems His people .

(3] A philosophical treatment also y ie lds a rich h a r v ~ Rangjng from t he

p urely specula t ive - what was the dog's motive in i:Jrtacking t he cat? -

t o the fundamental - does D i v i n ~ Providpnce invariably use a w'cked

i nstrumen t to execute judgement on the hTicke(7? - abundant food for thought

i s provided . This i s not a point less pastime . The basic theme o f Had

Gadya - as you trea t others , they 'wil1 t rea t you - i s no t an abS(;l:act

princ ipIe but a auiding rule o f socia l llehaviour.

(4) Or. a sp i r i tua l leve l the song o f f ers a sterner cballenge. Tnp specia l

soul o f men comes to him from above. But degenerarion may comc in s t ages

from innocence to animal desire to burning passion to sp i r i tua l ex t inc t ion .

Viewed as imagery of the sou l , Had Gadya teaches tha t eventual ly account

has to be made tor thcy v.'ay we hnve t rea ted our own souls .

So which i s i t? A cruel nursery-rhyme 0 ,'J deeply sp in tua l hymn ?

On the seder night when so many quest ions a re asked, one more a t the end

i s not amiss . And 1..11 discussing the a n S ~ / e r , there r i ses to the fore the

de s t i n y o f o ur people , and the debt we owe Him who all-lays, in trouble ,

in the end, brings us out. (C.H.]

'::?if' u:.....: I, 'I .... I ib '_1ai - 1 ~

..



Next year l e t us celebrate Pesach together

in ,a Jerusalem rebui l t and a t peace. In the

meantime, le t us help on e another to bring

tr.a't next yea!.' a I i t t l e nearer.

We are COmmitted to educat ion, not o n l ~ for

i t s own sake, but because wi? bel ieve that

no-one can enjoy h i ~ Judaism to rhc f u l l

without understanding what be i s doing an d

why. [..earning i s th s greatest o f tile

commands because learning leads to doing,

and doing l e ad s to a ne w sense o f l i f e .

Fo r th i s we need your belp. In two hrays.

Firstly: we want to know what.. you want to

learn about , what you want us to wri te

about: the subjec t s , the leve l , the s ty le .

Secondly; well ,secondly, we need funds.

Our prlncip le I S simp12. We do not want

to be an item on anyone's de f i c i t Each o f

our projects td J 1 be done in the simplest ,

cheapest way. And each will carry a

dedicat ion. I f uo u would l i k e to dedicate

d future volume. in t"hole or .l n part we

cail thir.x. o f fer..' mOTc; effectivf" t"ays o fconferring mer;.t o n the COmmtl/l1 ty . You

would be helpiJ1fJ to bring Jewish learnil:g

i n to thousconds 0 - homes. I f you t"ould 1 ik e

to help 1n ~ l c h e I of t h e s ~ two ways, please

contact Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, a t 31 Dunstan

Roao, NWll {455-84J5].

And l e t ' s learn togetheL . . .

Documents

We were slaves.pdf