PIRQE ABOT: The ideal Jew

כי ידוע הוא שהמעלה הגדולה אשר אין אחריה מעלה היא שיהיה האדם טוב לשמים וטוב לבריות

מגן אבות לרשב”ץ , הקדמה

Rabbi Shimon Duran (Rashbets, 1361-1444) explains in his introduction to the commentary of Pirqe Abot, Magen Abot, that the reason we study this Mishna before Shabuot, is to prepare ourselves to reach the level of “Hasidut”.

“Hasid” is translated today as pious, or is usually associated with a movement of followers of a prominent rabbinical figure. We will see now how Rabbi Duran defined the concept of “Hasid” in his book. Rabbi Duran quotes the Gemara in Qiddushin 40a saying that we might find a man that is a “tsadiq”, a righteous man, but not a good man. For example, when someone is very scrupulous in his relationship with God, but does not behave well towards his or her peers. Rabbi Duran explains that “the highest level, above which there is no other level, is when a person is good toward HaShem and good toward other people. And when a Yehudi reaches this ideal level he is called “Hasid”. “Hasid”, in other words, is the highest level a Jew should aspire to reach.

Let’s see now how Rabbi Duran describes in detail the characteristics of a Hasid.

1. CONNECTION WITH HASHEM

The ideal Jew must be in permanent contact with God. Since you’re up in the morning until you go to bed at night, you must have the name of HaShem in your lips. Praying three times a day, reciting the berakhot every time you eat, and studying Tora during throughout the day and at night. Rabbi Duran mentions that the epitome (the highest level, the almost “utopian”) connection with HaShem was reached by the “Hasidim Rishonim”, the “old Hasidim” mentioned by the Mishna Berakhot. They used to meditate at length in their prayers, a task that took nine hours of their day. The first element that you must develop in order to be a Hasid is a very strong relationship with God. Having HaShem constantly in your heart, mind and lips. However, if a Jew only dedicates to cultivate his or her relationship with God, he is NOT considered a Hasid, an ideal or complete Jew. There are two other dimensions to be developed to achieve this ideal.

2. INTEGRITY

The Gemara in Baba Qama 30a tells us that the “Hasidim Rishonim”, the same Jews who prayed nine hours a day, were also very scrupulous in their ethical behavior. These Hasidim, the Gemara says, were extremely careful not to steal or to cause any harm to anyone. The example mentioned by the Gemara, incredibly modern, illustrates how did the Hasidim Rishonim get rid of their broken glass or branches with thorns. While normal people would simply hide this type of waste superficially with a little soil, the Hasidim Rishonim dug a hole of at least 1 foot deep, and would placed there the broken glasses and thorns, to avoid causing any harm, even to those who perhaps years later might be working that parcel with their plow. These Hasidim were extremely careful in avoiding any direct or indirect harm or injury to others.

3. GEMILUT HASADIM

The third element that characterized the Hasidim Rishonim was “kindness”, hesed, acts of goodness. Do not forget that the word “Hasid” comes from the word “Hesed”. Hesed means my predisposition to help other people, even if they have not asked for my help. Sometimes Hesed consists in helping others with financial assistance (tsedaqa). Many other times, people need a different type of assistance, which cannot be bought or replace with money: for example, visiting a sick person, encouraging him, and bringing a word of encouragement and hope, is not something you can do with money, but with your “presence”and with your time. The same can be said of nihum abelim, comforting the relatives of someone who has just died. What brings comfort to the bereaved is our presence. Something similar happens when we invite people to our house for dinner on Shabbat, etc, hakhnasat orehim, we do not offer money but company, sharing time together. We do acts of Hesed, goodness, either with our money (tsedaqa) or with our presence and our time (gemilut hasadim).

Rabbi Duran gives us a good definition of what does it mean to be a role-model Jew. On the one hand, building and maintaining an ongoing relationship with HaShem, and on the other hand, being extremely honest, caring and above all generous and sensitive, doing everything in our power to help others, with our means and with our time.

Rabbi Duran concludes: Why should we study Pirqe Abot? Because this treatise of Mishna contains the advices of our sages to become a real “hasid”, the best possible Jew with HaShem and with one’s peers.

Preparations for Pesah, tonight and tomorrow morning

THURSDAY APRIL 21

Owning Hamets, keeping Hamets in our possession during Pesah, is a biblical prohibition. To avoid this, we clean our houses, car, office, etc., before Pesah, removing all Hamets food that can be found there.

Then tonight, when the first stars come out (8.00pm in NY), we do the Bediqat Hamets, i.e., the last inspection for any Hamets food that could have remained in our property.

Bediqat Hamets

How do we do the Bediqat Hamets? With the help of a candle or a flashlight, we look everywhere in our house where we could have brought, eaten or stored foods. We must check especially in the kitchen, and in all areas where usually store food, like the pantry, refrigerator, etc. In the Bediqat Hamets we are looking specially for Hamets food: cookies, crackers, bread, pasta, frozen foods, protein drinks, cereals, and alcoholic beverages made from grain (beer, whiskey, most vodkas, etc).

Remember that one just has to get rid of Hamets that is edible (suitable for human or animal consumption). Medical pills or capsules that are swallowed with water, perfumes, cosmetics, cleaning supplies or any non-food item may be in our possession during Passover, regardless of their composition. Hamets utensils should be kept in a locked place until after Passover.

Cars should be washed and cleaned before the night of the Bediqa. Then they should be searched for any trace of Hametz, usually after we search our homes. We should also search our office or place of work because we often bring food there. If it is not possible to search these places right after we do the Bediqa at home, it could be done early in the morning of the following day.

After the bediqa we keep in a safe place the Hamets that we will be eliminating in the morning, and, in a different place, the Hamets that we will consume tomorrow morning.

Then we say the first Kal Hamira, the formula by which we renounce to our possession of any Hamets that belongs to us and we have not found

KAL HAMIRA DEIKA BIRSHUTI, DELA HAZITEH VEDELA BI’ARTEH, LIBTIL VELEHEVE HAFQER KE’AFRA DEAR’A.

“All Hamets or yeast which belongs to me, that I have not seen or removed, should be considered owner-less as the dust of the earth”

FRIDAY APRIL 22

Bi’ur Hamets (Disposing of Hamets)

In the morning, we can only eat Hamets until the fourth hour of the day (in NY 9.50am). Once we finished eating Hamets, we collect the remains of Hamets from this morning, together with the rest of Hamets we left yesterday, and proceed to eliminate it (=remove it). This can be done by feeding the Hamets to the birds, to fish, or throwing it in a public garbage, or selling it to a non-Jew. Many have the custom to burn the Jamets left-overs, following the ancient tradition recorded in the Mishna, and because Hamets symbolizes arrogance, and by burning it we demonstrate that our souls are clean and purified from pride.

After the removal of Hamets, we proceed to its final nullification (= declaring the Hamets ownerless). And once again we recite the statement of “Bitul Hamets” but more detailed:

KAL HAMIRA DEIKA BIRSHUTI, DEHAZITEH VEDELA HAZITEH, DEBIARTEH VEDELA BIARTEH, LIBTIL VELEHEVE HAFQER KE’AFRA DEAR’A.

“All Hamets or yeast that belongs to me, which I saw or which I did not see, which I have removed or which I have not yet removed, should be considered ownerless as the dust of the earth”

The elimination/removal of the Hamets, in any of its forms, and the renunciation to the Hamets, must be done before the fifth hour of the day. In New York this is about 11.06am.

From that time on, one cannot consume, sell or make any nullification of Hamets.

PESAH, in the Bet haMiqdash

The eve of Pesah, Nisan 14th, was a very busy day in the times of the Bet-haMiqdash. Hundreds of thousands of Jews came to Yerushalayim from all towns of Israel, and were ready to offer the qorban Pesah (=a lamb which was sacrificed in the afternoon, roasted and consumed at night). Those who came from outside of Yerushalayim were staying with relatives or acquaintances, or many times, in a stranger’s home. In general all houses in Yerushalayim were open for all who needed a place to stay, and when there was no more room available, a red cloth would be hanging above the door.

People gathered in family groups called “Haburot” (singular “Habura”). Each Habura, which could consist of 50, 60 and up to 100 people, shared one qorban. The lamb was carried by the evening of 14 Nisan to the Bet haMiqdash by one or two representatives from each Habura, and was sacrificed there. Then the animal was roasted in one piece. At night, already Nisan 15th, people would have the Seder, much like we do today. They read the Haggadah, the Ma Nishtana questions were made, a lot of food was served, including other qorbanot as Hagiga, and all accompanied, of course, by Matsa, and maror. People sat reclined on cushions, like noblemen and aristocrats. Four cups of wine were served to celebrate our salvation, redemption, freedom, and assignment as the chosen people . Finally dinner was served and before midnight, the qorban Pesah was eaten as afiqomán (last meal, or “dessert”). The roasted lamb was distributed among all members of the Habura. Everyone had to eat from that qorban at least a piece the size of an olive (kazait). After eating the qorban Pesah, the Habura recited the Birkat Hamazon, the blessing to thank HaShem for our food.

Around midnight, everyone went up to the terraces of Yerushalayim, and from there, looking at the Bet haMiqdash, which was lit by a full moon, all the people sang the Hallel (Psalms of Tehillim recited in gratitude to HaShem for having taken us out of Egypt). The voices of millions of Yehudim singing the Hallel, all at once, filled the city with an unparalleled melody. The Gemara says that those voices were so powerful that people felt that the terraces of the city were shaking.

After the destruction of the Bet haMiqdash, we have the tradition to put on the tray of Pesah, or que’ará, a shank-bone (among Ashkenazim, a chicken leg) to remember the qorban Pesah. At the end of the Seder we also eat an additional portion of Matsa, the Afiqoman, in memory of qorban Pesah, saying: “[We eat this Matsa] in remembrance of the qorban Pesah, which was eaten once one is satisfied”. We also recite the Hallel, at the end of the Haggadah, after eating the Afiqomán. We recite the Halel twice: first in the synagogue and then at home.

There is another beautiful custom that very few people practice today, which was made in remembrance of that famous Halel that was recited in the Bet haMiqdash. Do you know when people used to bake the Matsot that were used for the Pesah Seder? On Nisan 14th, Pesah eve, in the afternoon. Exactly when the qorban Pesah was sacrificed. This is the ideal time for preparing the Matsot, which is the time the Halot are prepared in a normal Friday. And while preparing the Matsot on the eve of Pesah, people used to sing the Hallel! Today, this tradition is virtually lost, except in some Jewish communities in Yemen and Kurdistan.

יהי רצון שנזכה לחגוג את חג הפסח בבנין בית תפארתינו במב”י, אמן

Read this great article from the New York Times, where a chef DAN BARBER, writes about Matsa Shemura. The Jewish chef, astonished by the special flavor of this Matsa, discovers that the taste is due to the quality of the grain, which is supervised from before the harvest.

Understanding the prohibition of owning Hamets during Pesah

בל יראה

בל ימצא

השבתת חמץ

One of the elements that makes the prohibition of Hamets so unique is that, unlike any other forbidden foods, it includes the ban of its possession. There are three Mitsvot in the Tora related to this prohibition:

1. Bal yera-e, lit. “Your Hamets shall not be seen” (Ex. 13:7);

2. Bal-yimatse lit. “Your Hamets shall not be found in your premises” (Ex. 12:19).

3. Tashbitu, “You shall end [ownership of] your Hamets Pesah eve” (Ex. 12:15).

The Tora sheBe’al pe, the authoritative (halakhic) Jewish tradition, explains that the first two verses, the two prohibitions, are considered one single restriction, that is: “owning” Hamets during Pesah (emphasis on “your”, “you”,). It is forbidden to “own” Hamets, even when that Hamets is not physically IN your house. Maimonides explains this concept: In halakha 4:2 saying:” ….Hamets [food] belonging to a Jew …, even though it is buried, or located in another city, or is entrusted to a gentile, causes him to violate [the commandments]: “[hamets] shall not be seen” and “[hamets] shall not be found.”

We also have a third Mitsva called “tashbitu” which is explained by the Tora shebe’al pe as: you shall end “the possession” of your Hamets before Pesah begins.

In sum, there are two identical prohibitions (a unique and exceptional case in the Tora) and one positive commandment, virtually for the same issue: the prohibition of owning Hamets during Pesah.

Strictly speaking, (and following Maimonides opinion) these three mitsvot could be fulfilled at once just by performing one single act: the ‘bitul Hamets’, that is, renouncing wholeheartedly to the ownership of any Hamets that belongs to me, regardless of where that Hamets is located. By declaring the Hamets ownerless, a person 1. fulfills the Mitsva of “ending the possession of his or her Hamets” and, 2. is avoiding transgressing the two prohibitions of the Tora, even though there might still be Hamets found within his premises.

But this is not what we presently do for Pesah… Why? The Rabbis explained that there might be some practical complications with just “declaring” our Hamets ownerless, while keeping it at home, and that is why they instructed us to physically “remove” all Hamets food from our houses.

What are those potential complications? First, we might declare that we do not own our Hamets anymore, but, if we posses something valuable, a bottle of an expensive whiskey for example, will we really mean wholeheartedly that we renounce to the possession of that Hamets? Second, they said, Hamets is the most common food (think about bread, crackers, pasta, cereals, etc.), so even if we declare our Hamets ownerless, while we keep the Hamets at home, we might end up eating Hamets accidentally…

This is why our Rabbis in the Mishna instructed us to actually remove (“be’ur hamets”, commonly translated as “elimination of Hamets”) all our Hamets before Pesah begins, and to renounce to the ownership of any Hamets we might still have, and have not found (“bitul Hamets”).

Following this instructions, this is what we actually do:

(1) We clean our home, cars, offices and any other properties before Pesah begins to identify and remove all Hamets from them.

(2) We run a final search of all our properties to make sure that we have removed everything Hamets from them (Bediqat Hamets).

(3) We physically dispose of or get rid of any Hamets found in our properties before and during the search (Be-ur Hamets). We can give our Hamets as a gift to a non-Jew, if it is food in good condition, or if we have bread leftovers, for example, we can throw it to the birds or to sea to fish the fish, or burn it or dispose of it outside our premises.

(4) Then, after we get rid of our Hamets we verbally declare that“kal hamira…” whatever Hamets we may still own anywhere, which was not detected during the bediqa and/or was not removed by us, does not belong to us anymore, and from now on it is considered ownerless (hefqer) as the dust of the earth (Bitul Hamets) .

In this way, we fulfill all the Biblical and rabbinical requirements: 1. Searching and getting rid of all Hames from our properties. 2. Renouncing to the ownership of any unidentified and unfound Hamets that we might still have in our premises.

We will explain these steps in more detail BH in the following days.

Getting your kitchen and appliances ready for Pesah (summary)

Sinks and countertops: The sink, countertops and kitchen-tables should be thoroughly cleaned before Pesah from any possible Hamets residue. Since in our days we usually don’t place hot food on these surfaces, and these surfaces are not porous, cleaning them thoroughly would be sufficient. Still, following Rabbi Obadia Yosef z”l opinion, it is recommended to pour boiling water on them as an extra precaution.

Tables: A regular dining table, wood or glass, should be just thoroughly cleaned. It is customary to cover it with a new tablecloth for Pesah.

Dishwasher: Before Pesah, the dishwasher should be thoroughly clean of any visible food’s residue. Then it has to run on an empty cycle with detergent and without dishes. Thus, the dishwasher becomes ready for Pesah use. Rabbi Eliyahu Ben-Hayim recommends to replace the dishwasher’s racks or to use some added base to cover the racks.

Oven: The oven should not be used for 24 hours. Then we must thoroughly clean it before Pesah to remove any possible Hamets residue. Then, 1. if it is a self-cleaning oven, one self-clean cycle will be enough to have it ready for Pesah. 2. if it is not a self-cleaning oven, after we thoroughly clean it, we should run the oven on the highest temperature-setting for about an hour, including the racks. Then the oven is Kosher for Pesah.

Microwave: We should thoroughly clean the microwave before Pesah to remove any possible Hamets residue. Then, we take a bowl of water with some detergent or soap in it and we let it boil inside the microwave for a few minutes, until the microwave walls are filled with its steam. If the microwave walls are porous this vapor would expel all absorbed Hamets residues, rendering the microwave Kosher for Pesah (If they are not, then the walls will not reabsorb any Hamets anyways). If you can’t do this and you need to use a year-round microwave during Pesah, you should cover the food in a container, Ziploc or any other airtight microwavable cover.

We presented the mainstream Sephardic tradition. Many other rabbis, Ashkenazi and some Sephardic, hold different views. Consult your community rabbi.

As an illustration of the different Minhagim, and to better visualize the process of cleaning for Pesah, watch the following videos.

SEPHARDIC TRADITION (2 min.), follows Rab Obadya Yosef’s rulings

ASHKENAZI TRADITION (12 min) Follows cRc Rabbinate (Chicago)

Making Kasher for Pesah the Israel Defense Force's industrial Kitchen (Hebreo)

Making Kasher for Pesah the Israel Defense Force’s industrial Kitchen (Hebrew)

Psychological Hamets

השאור שבעיסה

In addition to the Mitsva of eating Matsa during Pesah, it is strictly forbidden to eat or possessing any food that is or contains Hamets. Why? Beyond the well-known historical reasons, our redemption was so hasty that there was no time to loss, our Rabbis saw in Hamets, the fermentation process that raises the dough, a very meaningful representation. Our rabbis compared Hamets with arrogance and vanity: the dough that raises by itself, with the individual who allows his ego to grow and expand. Arrogance, like Hamets, is simply air, an illusory inflation of the ego.

But why should we think about arrogance vs. humility specifically during Pesah? Because not everyone is at risk of becoming an arrogant individual … A Jewish slave in Egypt, for example, could not afford to be full of himself. The risk of excessive pride is only relevant for a free man. And on Pesah, when we celebrate our freedom from physical slavery, we should have in mind that as free individuals, we could easily fall into a different kind of a mental self-slavery: an addiction to the inflatable aspects of our ego, the “psychological Hamets”.

Modern society, in its tireless efforts to transform us into loyal consumers, contributes greatly to the growing of our ego. By teaching you, very often to be more narcissistic, more self-centered and more hedonistic. It persuades you that you deserve to have not only everything you need, but also everything you want and everything you wish. And if you are wealthy enough to afford it, you can easily become haughty. Feeling that you ARE more than others, because you HAVE more than others.

The Matsa, a flat and unpretentious bread, represents humility. Humility does not mean humiliating myself. Being humble means understanding the true dimension of human life, becoming aware of our inescapable mortality, and recognizing that we are totally God-dependent. Humility is also the essence of self-esteem. Loving yourself, and accepting yourself, is a prerequisite to be at peace with yourself. The arrogant lacks this inner peace. He is insecure. He needs a permanent public praise and applause. He seeks approval, sometimes desperately, in order to compensate for his incapacity to accept his own failures and mistakes.

Only the humble man or woman, the person who does not need seeking the applause of those around him to feel better, is truly free, independent. The humble man is able to admit his mistakes without risking the collapse of his ego. Thus, the humble person is capable of changing and constantly improving. The arrogant person, on the other hand, is psychologically incapable of admitting mistakes, and therefore lacking the ability of change. And since he is not able to correct himself, he ends up adapting (= enslaving) himself to his shortcomings. Arrogance is a tyrant Pharaoh, who condemns our personality to stagnation.

Our Hakhamim explain that arrogance, this mental Hamets, is the main barrier between man and his neighbor. While the humble person knows that every human being deserves dignity and respect and has the right to be heard and understood, the arrogant individual becomes a servant of his own inflated reflection. Arrogance is an silver layer behind a glass, which only allows us see our own image.

Finally, and most importantly, arrogance is also the main barrier between man and God. The proud person cannot conceive “serving God”, rather he expects to “use” God for his or her own benefit. Our Rabbis asserted that from the perspective of an arrogant man: “there is no place in this world for him and for God”. What does this mean? If the reality of this existence is a circle, someone or Someone, must be in the center. In the center of the circle, there is no room for two. The arrogant person lives in the center of his illusory reality, and displaces God to the periphery of the circle. Can you worship God when YOU are in the center?

The most important goal in the life of a Jew is reaching this level of humility: recognizing that HaShem is in the center, and live his or her life accordingly. This is a nothing short of an impossible mission for the haughty individual…

Pesah is an intensive lesson in humility. In the same way we eliminate every crumb of Hamets from our homes, we must erase all traces of vanity from our hearts.

Watch this when you forget how small we are…

The three most important words of the Seder

פסח, מצה ומרור

Raban Gamliel says that there are three fundamental concepts to be mentioned in the Seder to meet the minimum requirement to transmit to our children the story of Pesah: “Pesah”, “Matsa” and “Maror”.

Before explaining these ideas one by one, let us see how they relate to each other. “Pesah” is what HaShem did for us. “Matsa”, is what we, ‘am Israel, did to deserve our freedom. And “Maror” is what the Egyptians did to us. Thus, these three concepts point to the role of the three main protagonists of the Exodus story.

Today and BH tomorrow we will explain these three concepts. Let us start from MAROR

MAROR

As we already explained, Maror reminds us how the Egyptians vilified us, demonized us and made us suffer. Rabban Gamliel says that we should not deprive our children of this painful information. First, because they should know that part of being the chosen people means that we will be exposed to demonization and persecution by other people. Second, because we must preserve the memory of our suffering to positively channel this memory of pain and oppression that our ancestors suffered in Egypt. How? By doing everything possible to avoid others from suffering. Caring about those who have less, and remembering that we should never oppress the weak, or those who work for us. The Tora says: “You shall love [= assist, help and care for] the stranger [= the unprotected, the person who can be abused] precisely because YOU were strangers in the land of Egypt.” And since we experienced firsthand how much the abused suffers, we are better trained to prevent from others humiliation, poverty and hunger. While many of those who were oppressed develop feelings of “revenge”, we teach our children to preserve the memory of our grief so they will make every effort to prevent others from suffering what we have suffered.

MATSA

The Matsa represents what we, the Jewish people, did to deserve our freedom. Sociocultural changes are processes that often take many years, decades and even centuries. But in the case of the Jewish people, all happened in a matter of hours…. בחיפזון HaShem commanded the Jews to take a sheep and keep it with them until the 14th day of Nisan (Pesah eve). Remember that the Egyptians worshiped many animals, because in their minds the animals embodied the powers of the gods. The crocodile or hippo, for example, were worshiped as sacred beings because they embody “strength” and “ferocity”. Sheep, especially the “ram”, symbolized virility and the power of procreation. The Yehudim faced a major challenge: they had to take a sheep, and wait for HaShem’s order to sacrifice it. Remember that we Jews lived immersed in this society for many, many generations, exposed to all kinds of superstitions and fetishism, typical of the ‘aboda zara (idolatry) culture. The 14th of Nisan, God commanded the Yehudim to sacrifice the animal, roast it and eat it. Imagine the psychological difficulty of sacrificing and eating an animal that “your masters” considered “a god”. Remember that slaves, naturally, fear their masters, and how much more should have feared the “masters of their masters”, the animals their masters considered their gods! HaShem wanted the Yehudim to “deserve” their freedom, by showing that they were no longer slaves of idolatrous thoughts. That they have already understood that these animals were “fake gods”, a product of imagination, superstition and manipulation by the cult leaders.

The Yehudim did not hesitate, and in one night, they unmasked the falsehood of idolatry, got it out of their system, and delivered themselves in the hands of Bore Olam.

We could have delayed our departure, after all we were going to leave a land that although it was not ideal, it was very familiar to us. And we were about to travel to the completely unknown. We did not delay our departure. On the contrary: we left fast. With such enthusiasm that we did not care sacrificing eating bread…

The Matsa thus, reminds us that everything was done behipazon, rapidly: in one day we were liberated from Egypt and from their gods, and ready to follow Bore Olam’s guidance. The prophet Yirmiyhau 2:2 reminded us this great merit when he said (on behalf of HaShem): “‘I remember the devotion of your youth, how as a bride you loved me and followed me to the wilderness, [without water, and with no more food than Matsa]”

More ideas for the Pesah Seder

והגדת לבנך היום ההוא לאמור

MATERIAL FOR PASSOVER

√ To find many educational games for children, including a huge list of questions for Pesah you can visit this website.

√ For a beautiful idea to cross the sea at the Seder, and other creative way to make your children enjoy the most special night of the year, see here what Mr Raymond Kassin emailed me yesterday. Thank you.

√ Rabbi David Sutton of New York, sent me his Hagada companion in English, which emphasizes our duty to strengthen our Emuna . See here

√ For more advanced students, I recommend this fantastic commentary on the Haggadah written by Rabbi Don Ytsjaq Abarbanel (1437-1508). See here . This Haggadah begins with 100 questions, or discussion topics (she’arim), which are solved or addressed throughout his commentary. Do not miss the introduction, where Rabbi Abarbanel tells his incredible (and tragic) personal history.

An IDEA for a DEBATE at the SEDER

As we explained yesterday, our mission in the Seder night is to “teach” the Hagada, not only “read” it. To teach the Hagada, among other things, we must make the Hagada relevant, even for those of our guest that might be unfamiliar with Jewish history. We must show that the story of the Hagada is not part of a forgotten past, but surprisingly contemporary. With this idea in mind, we will analyze now a short passage from the Haggadah. This four words paragraph describe the strategy the Egyptians used to enslave us without any internal opposition.

The pasuq says: וירעו אותנו המצרים ויענונו (Deut. 26: 6). Usually this verse is usually translated as “the Egyptians did bad to us”, in the sense of “they treated us badly”. But you should notice that this word yare’u is written in the Hif’il, a transitive verbal construction. When understood in this way this word means: “And the Egyptians did US bad” , in other words, “they made us look bad”, or in just one word” They “demonized” us. As my son Ya’aqob writes in his commentary to the Hagada, Pharaoh “the dictator, singles out the People of Israel as an irrationally evil entity, who is to blame for all the misfortunes of this dictator’s subjects. The propaganda of Pharaoh is nonsensical. Basically, he tells his people: “The other, this People of Israel, is very cunning. We must be more cunning than they are. If not, then if and when we are attacked, the Israelites will join our enemies, out of sheer malice. Their goal in joining our enemies will be to harm us, nothing more. In fact, after they attack us, they will leave the land! “. ‘The Jews are bad’. They are irrationally bad, repeated Pharaoh numberless times… Pharaoh succeeded in eradicating the positive impression Joseph had left on Egypt just a few years ago. Without Joseph, Egyptians would have perished in the worst famine to have ever affected them. At the time, they acknowledged it: “you have saved our lives!”-they admitted to Joseph. But Jewish contributions to society can be forgotten as swiftly as the time it takes for an irrational message of hatred to reach the ears of subjects in a dictatorial system. “

This phenomenon, demonization> anti-Semitism, was initiated by Pharaoh, but was repeated countless times. In 1492 Queen Isabella of Spain expelled the Jews , who had been so instrumental in making Spain prosperous, and who even helped the Queen in the war against the Mores. Before expelling the Jews, we were demonized throughout Europe, not only as “deicide” (murderers of a god) but also as poisoners of wells, usurers, and murderers of gentile children for ritual purposes, i.e. baking Matsot with gentile blood …

In 1506, in Lisbon, Portugal there was a great drought. And the crowd blamed the Jews fro the drought. More than 2,000 Jews were tortured and massacred “for causing the drought.” Unfortunately, the list of episodes of this sort is very, very long. And unfortunately, it did not end there in the Sixteenth Century. Just look at the website: www.memritv.org , and you will see that in the Arab world, Jews are still demonized and accused of all the world’s ills. Here is an example.

Today, this demonization is systematically applied against the State of Israel, which is the “Jew” among the nations of the earth”. Israel is vilified, and falsely accused of all imaginary evils. The rise of anti-Zionism in the world is not, as is often rationalized, the consequence of the “demonic” actions of the State of Israel, rather, anti-Semitism is the cause of the systematic demonization of the State of Israel.

As the reader will appreciate, the subjects and ideas of the Hagada, besides describing our history, are absolutely current and relevant. This was just one example.

Now, when you explain the Hagada and its historical events, do not forget that the main message of Pesah, as we will explain BH tomorrow, is to strengthen our faith in HaShem (Emuna). Despite the demonization, slavery and tortures we suffered, HaShem protected us, saved us from enemies more powerful than us, and rescued us with great miracles.

We must not forget that HaShem is “the main protagonist” of the Seder night. And that’s why the Hagada does not mention Moshe, lest anyone think that a human being saved us and freed us from Egypt. Let us not forget that in every historical event mentioned in the Hagada, the final reference is recognizing and thanking “HaShem”.

How to have a successful Pesah Seder?

והגדת לבנך היום ההוא לאמור

THE MISSION

Friday April 22 at night, and Saturday night April 23, will probably be the two most important nights of the year. During those nights we will fulfill a very special Mitsva: והגדת לבנך, teach our children the story of Pesah.

I think we need to define first our true role in the Pesah Seder. If I had to sum up this idea in one sentence, I would say: “In the Pesah Seder we are not going to read the Hagada, we are going to teach it.” In those two nights, we parents become educators. In the following lines we will explore what can we do to capture the attention of our audience, and teach the Hagada at the Pesah Seder.

DIVIDE AND CONQUER

My first recommendation is to divide the Hagada, so that everyone, children, family members and guests, participate of the Seder.

For that, we must do our homework NOW.

1. First we have to divide the Hagada into sections or texts, like, “Abadim hayinu”, “The 4 sons,” “The 10 Plagues”, etc.

2. Once you divide the Hagada, you have to decide who can be the best candidate for each part of the Hagada. “Ma Nishtana” for example, is obviously a must for the kids. “The 4 sons” can be read, translated and / or explained by an adult. “The 10 plagues” can be played, etc.

3. Once we are clear about our strategy for the Seder we have to send an email, text or whatsapp to each family member and guests, and assign them each part of the Hagada we want them to read or explain.

For the adults, for example, you may want to ask them to prepare a paragraph of the Hagada in Hebrew and English, and briefly discuss some of the ideas of the text. We should recommend them to search material for these texts, asking Rabbis, Tora scholars, and / or searching ONLINE (BH tomorrow I will mention some recommended links). Apart from preparing the texts, adults can also present some interesting subjects such as “Why do drink 4 glasses of wine?, Why do we eat reclined? What does the Haroset represent” ?. etc.

Young children should be asked to sing (and perhaps explain) parts of the Hagada that are usually sung as “Ma nishtana” or “Had Gadya”, etc. A good idea is to ask younger children, from 3 to 7 years old, to draw (before Pesah) some parts of the Hagada, bring their drawings to the Seder, and explain to their audience the significance of their artwork. This will make them feel very important.

THE SEDER MUST NOT BE BORING

Let us not forget the most important premise of tonight THAT CHILDREN SHOULD REMAIN AWAKE UNTIL THE END. We can ask older children to act and play certain parts of the Hagada, for example, the ten plagues. To make “visible” the 10 plagues we can bring plastic frogs, animal masks for beber, ping pong balls for “hail”, black sunglasses for “darkness”, etc.

We can also organize educational games for children, apart from Afiqoman, like a Pesah treasure hunt. But the game has to be brief and limited to the place where the Seder is taking place. I also recommend, especially when there are many children in the Seder, to have 20 simple questions and answers ready, with 20 small prizes, to reward the correct answers. Each time the Seder is about to spin out of control, or is getting bored, or when everyone’s attention is needed, you can ask one of those questions, showing the prize first. In that way you will regain control over the Seder whenever necessary. Examples of questions: “Who can say the 10 plagues? What was the name Moshe Rabbenu’s grandfather? Who can mention 3 foods that are Hamets?”

THE SECRET

I don’t think I need to tell you now what the secret of a successful Seder is. But, just in case you did not notice it, here it goes: anticipation and preparation. We cannot improvise and divide the texts at the Seder night, or expect our guests to participate in an intelligent way, spontaneously, without giving them time to prepare.

Start TODAY, divide the Seder, knowing in advance who will be your guests, divide the roles, organize the plays, the texts, the songs, ask the children to do the drawings, buy the ping-pong balls, etc. and write an email to your guests and family, describing their specific mission.

BH, we will continue tomorrow

If any readers has any other ideas to share, or a link with good educational materials on the Seder, please send it to “rabbibitton@yahoo.com”

Past articles

THE EIGHT MITSVOT OF PESAH

WHAT IS AND WHAT IS NOT HAMETS?

RICE on PESAH

NON EDIBLE HAMETS

REGULAR MATSA vs MATSA SHEMURA

PESAH: Preparing our kitchen for Pesah. Part 1: “Invisible Hamets”

הגעלת כלים

Today, we return to the subject: “Hamets”. During Pesah, we do not use the same utensils or the same dishes we use throughout the year for Hamets. Why? Because although the utensils in which we cook, might be completely clean, without any visible remaining food, the pores and the surface of these utensils absorb the flavor of the foods cooked in them. Thus, if for example I cook meat in a pot, and then in the same pot, after I clean it, I boil eggs, the eggs will absorb some of the taste of the meat. Likewise, when we cook something in utensils used for cooking Hamets, some Hamets flavor will be reabsorbed in the food we prepare for or during Pesah.

It is customary, therefore (and it is the most recommended) having a set of dishes, plates and utensils to be used exclusively for Pesah.

Now, when this is not possible, we can use for Pesah the same utensils we have used throughout the year for cooking or serving Hamets food, after they go through a process known as hag’ala, (a kind of sterilization) to remove residual Hamets that may be absorbed within the walls and pores of these utensils.

Before making the Hag’ala we need to make sure that those utensils are thoroughly cleaned of any visible of Hamets (חמץ בעין). The Hag’ala then would eject the invisible Hamets (בלוע) absorbed in the walls of the utensil. Eliminating these absorbed particles will take place under the same conditions the absorption of these substances occurred (כבולעו כך פולטו). The pores of a metallic surface open up when exposed to heat, and that is when absorption occurs. And the expulsion of these particles would also occur by exposing these utensils to heat.

Examples of hag’ala:

Metal: Metal cutlery such as forks, spoons or knives, must be first cleaned of all visible residue of Hamets. Then, they must be immersed in a pot of boiling water. Then we wash them with cold water, and thus, they may be used for Pesah. Hot water opens the metal pores, allowing the ejection of any absorbed Hamets. The cold water closes the pores again.

Utensils used in cold: Since absorption only takes place at high temperatures, if a utensil was used during the rest of the year to prepare or serve cold food, it can be used during Pesah after cleaning it thoroughly from any visible rest of Hamets. And you will not need to subject it to the Hag’ala process.

Glass: According to the Sephardic tradition, glassware, cups, plates, etc, used throughout the year for Hamets, should be washed thoroughly and then can be used for Pesah without having to submit them to Hag’ala. Why? Because glass is sterile, it does not absorb (does not get impregnated with) any food substance through its pores, and therefore there is no Hamets to remove from its walls. This applies even for those glass utensils that have been used at high temperatures to cook or to serve hot Hamets food.

Notice that this Halakha is very different for the Ashkenazi custom. Some Ashkenazi rabbis as Rama think that since glass is made from sand, glass utensils should be regarded as clay utensils, which are not susceptible to Hag’ala, and therefore cannot be used on Pesah (see below ). Other Ashkenazi Rabbis are more flexible, and allow an Hag’ala process for glassware.Please refer to the rabbi of your community.

Clay utensils, pottery and porcelain (Kele Heres): If these items were used for Hamets they cannot be used for Pesah, because they are not susceptible to Hag’ala. Why? Because the Rabbis of the Talmud considered that clay utensils (there was no porcelain then) eliminate the substances absorbed on their walls in an erratic (= not consistent) way. That is, sometimes it would expel an absorbed flavor, sometimes it will not. And so, they are not susceptible to Hag’ala, and cannot be used for Pesah. Contemporary rabbis believe that regular porcelain utensils should be considered of the same category as clay utensils. (There are other considerations to take into account, for example, if these utensils were used for cooking or for serving food; the temperature of the food served; if the china was not used for a long time; if it is common porcelain or glass coated , etc, etc.).

In all these cases and in cases that have not been explained here, please consult with your community Rabbi for a final verdict.

In the coming days BH we will explain how to make Kasher for Pesah the kitchen (oven, dishwasher, etc).