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Subject: The Basics of Passover
Date: Thu, 18 Mar 1999 14:52:13 -0800
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Subject: The Basics of Passover
========================================================================
WZO Student and Academic Department
Jewish University In CyberspacE (JUICE)
juice@wzo.org.il birnbaum@wzo.org.il
http://www.wzo.org.il
==============================================================
Course: JUDAISM: THE BASICS
Lecturer: Rabbi Reuven D. Sutnick
PESACH AS A BASIC
Starting this week, I want to deal with the holiday of
Passover, first with the special dietary laws and next week
with the Passover Haggada. By definition, PESACH is the
pilgrimage holiday which celebrates our deliverance from
Egypt. As the Haggada recalls, "we were slaves unto Pharaoh
in Egypt, and G-d took us out with an outstretched arm and a
mighty hand." But to begin, we have to do a little exercise --
on a chart -- to try to reference for just how much of a BASIC
Passover is.
PESACH, A HOLIDAY
Passover is one of the three pilgrimage holidays commanded by
the Torah. Its historical basis lies in the following: on the
15th of Nisan G-d took the Jews out of Egypt and on the 21st
He split the Red Sea, allowing us to escape the Egyptians in
pursuit. Therefore, between these dates each year we celebrate
Israel s redemption from Egypt. The 1st and 7th days of the
holiday are full holidays, with the intermediate days enjoying
semi-holiday status. In the Diaspora, the 1st, 2nd, 7th and
8th days are full holidays.
There is also a special festive meal known as the SEDER at
which the Haggada, the story of Passover, is recited in
fulfillment of the commandment from the Torah. MATZAH, MAROR
(bitter herbs) and the 4 CUPS are consumed, again in
fulfillment of the requirements of the holiday. In the
Diaspora, Jews perform the Seder twice, on the 1st and 2nd
evenings of the holiday.
DIETARY LAWS and RESTRICTIONS
The single law which does the most to define Passover, the
Feast of Unleavened Bread ("Chag HaMatzot") is actually the
negative command not to keep leavened substance during the
holiday. The commandment is prescribed twice with the Torah's
harshest punishment set out for its abrogation:
Seven days there shall be no leaven found in your houses; for
whosoever shall eat that which is leavened shall be CUT OFF
from the congregation of Israel ... (Exodus 12:18 ff)
.. and there shall be no leavened bread seen (for seven days)
with you, leavened bread shall not be seen in all your
borders. (Exodus 13:7)
Specifically, CHAMETZ, or leavened products made from one of
the five grains -- wheat, barley, oats, rye and spelt -- are
prohibited. If water came into contact with one of these
grains, the resulting food cannot be eaten, seen, found or
owned during the holiday.
On the up side, we are commanded to eat MATZAH -- unleavened
bread -- for the seven days of the holiday.
Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread ...
(Exodus 12:15)
In the first month (Nisan) on the 14th day of the month, you
shall eat unleavened bread... (Exodus `12:18)
The apparent contradiction in the two verses is resolved in
that we MUST eat Matzah on the first day only (second day as
well in the Diaspora).
We are also commanded to eat two other foods as part of the
celebration of the holiday, vis. BITTER HERBS and the meat of
the PESACH SACRIFICE. The later is no longer in practice among
Jews, although the Samaritans living in Israel continue to
slaughter and eat the Pesach Sacrifice until this very
day. In fact, the Samaritan sacrifice of the paschal lamb is a
tourist attraction here in Israel. I saw it personally about
twenty years ago. They do it the way it was done when the
Temple was standing. The Torah prescribes that the paschal
lamb be eaten with Matzah and Bitter Herbs as a kind of
sandwich.
But anyone who has made preparations for a strict Passover
themselves or seen it done by conscientious Jews, knows that
the avoidance of "chametz" or leavened substance is the key,
tangible concern of the holiday. We clean the house thoroughly
and put away dishes and pots which are used during the year.
We bring in kosher for Passover replacements. We use up all
leavened products and bring in special products prepared under
special supervision for the holiday. Certain types of foods
which are not actually "chometz" are avoided nevertheless --
just to be sure. And all of this derives from the prohibition
of "chometz."
MATZAH, A BASIC HISTORY
I mentioned above that Pesach is the pilgrimage holiday which
celebrates the historical event of our deliverance from Egypt.
Matzah, unleavened bread, has its special historical meaning
within the story of the Exodus. We read:
And they (the children of Israel) baked unleavened cakes of
the dough which they brought out of Egypt , for it had not
leavened... they were driven out of Egypt and could not delay
..
(see Exodus 12:37 ff.)
In the Haggada for Pesach, the historical account of the
Exodus which is recited at the SEDER, the question is asked:
"Matzah, what is the reason?" The Haggada offers the verse
above as the reason for the commandment to eat Matzah on
Passover. It is as if the event of our not being able to bake
bread properly gave G-d the opportunity or justification to
command the central ritual of the holiday. This is very
strange!! That we celebrate the holiday because of the G-d
initiated Exodus, or because of the wonders wrought by G-d in
Egypt, or because G-d fulfilled His promise to Abraham --
these are the kinds of reasons that make sense in a G-d
oriented religion. G-d acts and it impacts on us! But here,
the origin of a commandment which brings with it the most
serious of all punishments for non-observance is the curiosity
of our human input. I mean, can you imagine what Pesach would
look like today if the fleeing slaves had grabbed plastic
wrapped, sliced white bread on the way out?
R. Kasher, in his commentary Haggada Sh'leima, says that G-d
foresaw that the Jews would not have enough time to bake
proper bread, and therefore commanded us to eat Matzah in
light of what would happen in the future. This explanation is
supported by the fact that Matzah is commanded in Exodus
12:15, while the reason is given in 12:37 -- after the
command. But even so, whether the reason is because of what
happened to us or because of what would happen to us, our
experience is particularly formative.
PASSOVER: THE GREATEST STORY YOU'LL EVER TELL!
Ted writes:
The redemption from Egypt is symbolic of our own personal
redemption, and our personal redemption comes through the
Messiah. As Job stated concerning the Messiah:
For I know that MY REDEEMER liveth, and that he
shall stand at the latter day upon the earth: And though
after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh
shall I see God: (KJV Job19:25-26,emphasis added)
Additionally, our redemption from Egypt is a type
and a shadow of our redemption by the Messiah who is to
come in the latter days.
How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet
of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace;
that bringeth good tidings of good, that publisheth
salvation; that saith unto Zion, Thy God reigneth! Thy
watchmen shall lift up the voice; with the voice together
shall they sing: for they shall see eye to eye, when the
Lord shall bring again Zion. Break forth into joy, sing
together, ye waste places of Jerusalem: for the Lord
hath comforted his people, he hath REDEEMED Jerusalem.
The Lord hath made bare his holy arm in the eyes of all
the nations; and all the ends of the earth shall see the
salvation of our God (KJV Isaiah 52:7-10, emphasis added).
This is a wonderful contribution to a discussion which
probably does not have a definitive conclusion. Ted is
struggling with two definitions, PERSONAL redemption and
NATIONAL redemption. He structures a definition whereby
national redemption is a "type and a (fore)shadow(ing)"
of personal redemption. And this is certainly supported
by the passage from the Haggadah which reads: "A person
must see himself as if he PERSONALLY left Egypt" -- that
is, as if he had personally participated in the great
national redemption. Good thinking!
I would add that you can also see in the classical
discussion of redemption two discrete definitions which
should not be mixed. In his excellent answer, Ted quotes
from Job -- who fails to mention Israel, Zion, Jerusalem,
eyes of nations or any other indicator of a national
context. He quotes from Isaiah -- who fails to mention
worms, bodily decay or any other indicator of a personal
redemption from death. To me, the unique and definitive
aspect of Jewish Messianism is the promise of national
redemption -- even when human history winds down.
BASICALLY, as Jews, our personal entity takes on meaning
as we take part in the national entity. And by the way,
this makes sense.
THE PASSOVER STORY
At the SEDER meal, the central event of the holiday
celebration of Passover, we read the HAGGADAH -- "The
Telling (of the story of the Exodus)". If you're advanced
in age -- like me, oy!! -- you remember the Manischevitz
Haggadah pamphlets from the old days. Fortunately, their
wine has gotten better and equally fortunate, these days,
you have many more beautiful and highly instructive
Haggadahs to choose from for use at your Seder. I am very
impressed by the ArtScroll Haggadah, which has a
commentary based on the traditional comments. But there
is no shortage of worthy purchases. I try to buy at least
one new annotated Haggadah each year to add to my
collection. I heartily recommend starting a Haggadah
collection if you don't already have one.
Did you know that there have been more commentaries
published on the Haggadah than any other Jewish book?!?
Did you ever think about what drives this multi-thousand
dollar industry? Why should we be so concerned with
telling the story of the Exodus, and why has this concern
generated such an extensive corpus of commentary
literature?
Retelling the story of the Exodus is actually one of the
613 commandments.
And thou shalt tell thy son in that day, saying: "It
is because of that which the Lord did for me when I came
out of Egypt."
(Exodus 13:8)
The Hebrew for "thou shalt tell" is V'HIGAD'TA, which is
based on the same root as the word HAGGADAH -- "telling."
The significance of "that day" is clear -- it refers to
the holiday of Passover. In other words, it is a
commandment from the Torah TO TELL the story of the
Exodus on the holiday which celebrates the Exodus. Of
course, this does not explain how the Haggadah we read
came to take its definitive form. When we refer to the
Haggadah, more or less, the text is the same across the
Jewish globe. Think of it: the text is so well
entrenched that even the folks from Manischevitz (who are
wine-makers and not Rabbis) were able to give us a
reliable edition.
The truth of the matter is the Haggadah is based on an
ancient Midrashic (legendary compendia from the Rabbis of
the Talmud) text which forms the core of the Haggada we
read to this day. The four questions, allowing for some
variances, derive from the 10th Chapter of the Talmud,
Pesachim. The rituals of the Seder are expounded in the
same Talmudic tractate. In fact, some of the Haggadah's
component texts date to the Biblical period. Psalm 114
which is read before the meal, makes specific reference
to the Exodus from Egypt. According to Professors
Finkelstein and Goldschmidt, Psalm 114 may have been
composed especially for Passover use. In short, our
Haggadah is an extremely ancient and revered text, parts
classical Rabbinic and parts Biblical. The ancientness of
the text, therefore, explains how it came to take its
definitive form.
Yet -- there is another trend -- the trend towards
commentary. The Haggadah has generated a mass of
commentary literature which stimulates discussion and
expansion, theoretically and during the recitation at the
Passover Seder. In the Haggadah itself we read the story
of R. Akiva and his colleagues who were celebrating the
Seder in B'nei Brak and passed the entire night
discussing the Exodus. If they were all saying the same
thing, what took them so long? Obviously, the commandment
to tell the story of the Exodus involves RECITATION and
EXPANSION.
THE NUMBER FOUR
Here is something you might use directly or as a pattern
for putting together your own comment for the Seder. A
NUMBER of years ago, I began to wonder about the rather
unusual number FOUR which crops up a number of times in
the Haggadah. Take a brief look through the Haggadah and
you will see what I mean. But there are many numbers in
Jewish lore which have much greater significance. Ten,
for example, is the number of commandments on the Tablets
given to Moses at Sinai. It is the number of men required
in a ritual prayer quorum, a minyan. Seven is number of
days of creation. The Sabbath comes on the seventh day of
a week of seven days. There are seven weeks between
Passover and Shavuot. There are seven years in the
Sabbatical cycle. Twelve is the same way. There are
twelve months to the year, twelve tribes in Israel,
twelve tails in the fur hat some Chassidim wear. These
are all numbers which are normally associated with
completeness.
But on Pesach, the number four is the central numerical
symbol. On Passover we drink four cups, ask four
questions, talk about four sons. There are four verses to
the passage which forms the Scriptural basis for the long
Midrash of the Haggadah (Deuteronomy 26: 5,6,7 and 8).
But how did four become the organizing motif? Somewhere,
there must be some definitive expectation that led the
Ba'al HaHaggadah, the redactor, to infuse the Haggadah
with fours.
Actually, if you look at the passage of the "Four Sons"
you will find the answer before you. In this section, the
Haggadah says the "Torah speaks of four sons" who ask
questions about Passover in different ways. By virtue of
how each son phrases his question, he earns the label of
wise, wicked, simple or one who does not even know how to
ask. An important detail comes out: the Haggadah says the
TORAH speaks of four sons. If we read quickly, we might
not understand that the Haggadah is using a language
borrowed from the Torah to personify four sons -- these
are not the Haggadah's words. The quotations are:
When your son shall ask you saying: 'What are these
testimonies and laws and ordinances which G-d has
commanded you.'
(Deut. 6:20)
And it shall come to pass when your children shall
ask you: 'What do you mean by this service?"
(Exodus 12:26)
And it shall be when your son asks in the time to
come, saying: 'What is this?'
(Exodus 13:14)
And you shall tell your son in that day, saying: 'It
is because of that which the Lord did for me when I came
out of Egypt.'
(Exodus 13:18)
If you look carefully at the Haggadah, you will find that
these are the words which the Haggadah puts figuratively
into the mouths of four different sons. Why FOUR sons?
Because there are four passages in the Torah which
mention the commandment to tell the story of the Exodus.
This is the basis of four as the central numerical and
organizational motif of the Haggadah.
After all, we have four questions. But isn't that
strange? If we are supposed to behave in a way that
encourages the children to ask questions about the
holiday and the Exodus, would we willingly adopt such a
limitation? If we are supposed to stay up all night
discussing the Exodus like R. Akiva and his colleagues,
would four questions last the night? The Haggadah is
preoccupied with fours.
The Talmud Yerushalmi mentions a NUMBER of reasons FOUR
establishing FOUR cups during the Seder. Guess how many?
(The cups) represent four terms used for redemption in
Exodus 6:6-7: V'HOTZEITI, V'HITZALTI, V'GA'ALTI,
V'LAKACHTI.
...representing the four times a cup (KOS) is mentioned
in the story of Pharaoh and the wine steward.
(Gen:40:11,13)
... representing the four kingdoms to which Israel was
enslaved: Kasdim, Medea, Greece and Rome, and it is
hinted in verses that they are caused to drink from
four cups:
'Take this wine-cup of anger, and cause to drink
from it all the nations.'
(Jeremiah 25:15)
'Bavel was a golden cup in the Lord's hand which
made all the earth drunk.'
(Jer. 51:7)
'Upon the wicked will He rain coals, fire and
brimstone, and a scorching wind shall be the portion
of their cup.'
(Psalms 11:6)
'For in the hand of the Lord there is a cup, with
foaming wine: it is full of a mixture, and He pours
out of the same; but its dregs shall all the wicked of
the earth drain and drink.'
(Psalms 75:9)
(The Meiri notes that these verses are the reason we
recite in the Haggadah, "Pour out you wrath against the
nations," which incidentally gives that ritual a
connection with the number four.)
... representing the four cups of punishment that G-d
will give the nations of the world to drink, which
stand over and against the four cups of consolation
which He will give Israel, in accordance with the
verses:
'The Lord is the portion of my inheritance and my
cup.' (Psalms 16:5)
'I will raise the cup of my salvation(s).'
(Psalms 23:5)
(Here, the curiosity of the Hebrew grammar implies
four cups. You will have to check the original to
understand the way the verse is explained.)
What should be of particular interest to us in the
reasons given by the Talmud Yerushalmi for having four
cups, is that they offer a connection between punishment
of the nations that have enslaved us or otherwise harmed
Israel -- and our salvation. Our cup of salvation is a
parallel to their cup of punishment. This all brings an
element of vengeance to the Seder. In fact, the tension
between vengeance and pathos is a theme in the Seder --
for example, when we list the 10 Plagues, we remove ten
drops of wine from our cup so as to diminish our joy.
What am I telling you all this stuff FOUR? Simple. The
Haggadah is a truly wonderful document to study, but if
you get your studying done early enough, you can greatly
enrich your Passover experience!
***************************************************************
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