Pesach Story in six and a half minutes

I believe this is edited from an American Mini Series some years ago.
If anyone can give me more information about it I'd be obliged.
It's very dramatic. It sent a tear to my eye.

ENJOY!

Four plus hidden one in the Haggadah Updated!

In honour of parshas Bo I have updated my post on the topic of "Four plus one hidden in the Haggadah" with a new 4+1

See updated post here:

http://rebmordechaiwrites.blogspot.com/2009/04/four-plus-hidden-one-in-haggadah.html

If you know of any other 4+1s in the Haggadah that I have not mentioned then please let me know.

A Pre Seder Declaration

I read this out to my children last year. I was in tears, my wife and guests were in tears. It is very powerful and I believe sets the right mood for the Seder.

(Based on the introduction in the Haggadah "Touched by the Seder" by Rav Yechiel Spero)

I know my dear children that you are so excited. You have been waiting to get your father's attention. You have been waiting to give your divrei Torah which you have prepared. You are waiting to steal the Afikoman and not get into trouble.

Tonight you can stay up late! Tonight I will try my hardest you keep your attention my precious children, with stories, games, even sweets and nuts!

It is a thrilling night where special things will happen. It is a night that you children will remember for the rest of your lives. It is a night which you will speak about when you will be fathers and grandfathers at your own Seders.

In my heart I thank Hashem for His gift of cherus, for my family around the table and the opportunity to let my children see the incredible beauty of Torah in this world. Tonight children I know that your minds and hearts are open and ready to breath in my words of Torah. May you, with Hashem's help, discover through me, who you are and what the purpose of life is.

I have to tell you that you are Hashem's special chosen children and that He will always love you, no matter what. One day soon, we will open the door for Eliyahu HaNavi and hear the sound of the Shofar and you will see my dear children – "You will see! I told you this day would come, that Hashem keeps His promises".

People will be shouting in the streets, "The Moshiach has arrived!" You will all watch with wide eyed astonishment as those who could not walk will dance, those who could not talk will sing and those who were sick will wear healthy smiles. Children who were estranged from their parents will hug their mothers and fathers who cried bitterly for them. Those who have passed on will live once more. Zeidies and Bubbies who you and I have never known will come and hug and kiss us and we will dance, sing and rejoice together. Hashem will turn our tears into tears of joy. Now, let us begin the Seder.

Four plus a hidden one in The Haggadah

Each year at the Seder, my family try and find as many "Fours plus a hidden one" as we can within The Haggadah.

Previous lists have included:


Arba Kosos

The Four Cups of wine which represent the four expressions of Geula (Redemption) with which Hakodesh Baruch Hu took us out from Mitzrayim.

Shemos 6:6-7 contains the words:

Vehotsasi, Vehitzalti, Vegolalti, Velokachti.

Therefore say to Bnei Yisrael, 'I am Hashem. I will take you out from under the burdens of Egypt, and I will save you from their enslavement. I will redeem you with an outstretched arm, and with acts of great judgements. [Shemot 6:6]
I will take you to Myself as a people, and I will be to you Elokim. You will know that I am Hashem, your God Who is bringing you out from under the burdens of Egypt. [Shemot 6:7]

The fifth hidden expression is VeHavasi, found in the next pasuk.

I will bring you to The Land regarding which I raised My hand [in oath] that I would give to Avraham, Yitzchak and Ya'acov and I will give it to you as an inheritance. I am Hashem. [Shemot 6:8]

This fifth expression is represented at The Seder by The Kos Shel Eliyahu Hanavi, the cup of wine which we don't drink which is the simon of the Geula Shlema (The Final Redemption) and Yamos HaMashiach (The era of Mashiach) which is yet to come.

The Five pasukim that the farmer is commanded to say whilst bringing the Bikkurim

Devarim 26:5-9 describe the mitzvah of Bikkurim. From the festival of Shavuas and onwards the farmer has a mitzvah to bring Bikkurim (his first fruits of the season) to the Beis HaMikdash and presenting them to the Cohanim. Whilst laying a hand upon the Mizbeyach he must relate the story of Yetzias Mitzrayim (the exodus from Egypt) to Hashem. As an introduction to this mitzvah in Devarim 26:3, the Torah uses the same word "Higadeti" - "telling the story" (of Yetzias Mitzrayim) as the pasuk in Shemos 13:8 "Vehigadata LeVincha" - "and you shall tell the story of Yetzias Mitzrayim to your son" which is the basis for our mitzvah on Leil HaSeder.

The story is told in five pasukim:

Devarim 26:5 "The Aramean sought to destroy my father. He (Yaakov) went doen to Epypt and dwelt there with few number. There he became a nation great, mighty and numerous"

Devarim 26:6 "And the Egyptians ill-treated us and they opressed us and imposed upon us hard labour"

Devraim 26:7 "We cried out to Hashem, God of our ancesters. And Hashem heard our voice and saw our affliction and our toil and our opression"

Devarim 26:8 "And Hashem brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm and with great visions, signs and wonders"

Devarim 26:9 "He brought us to this place [Eretz Yisrael] and He gave us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey"

Now instead of using pasukim from Sefer Shemos, the Haggadah actually uses these same pasukim in Devarim as the highlight to Magid as part of the fulfillment of the mitzvah of Vehigadata LeVincha.

Just as there are four cups of wine paralel to the four expressions of Geula with the fifth undrunk cup paralel to the fifth expression of Geula which is left out of the Haggadah.(See above) so too are there five pasukim in sefer Devarim but only the first four are quoted in the Haggadah. The fifth is missed out.

Both of these missing pasukim,  in Shemos 6:8 and in Devarim 26:9 complete the story by telling us that Hashem brought us to Eretz Yisrael.

The Four Questions

The four questions are:

Why is this night different from all other nights?
On all other nights we eat Chametz and Matzah; on this night only Matzah?

On all other nights we eat all types of vegetables; on this night Maror?

On all other nights we do not dip even once; on this night twice?

On all other nights we eat sitting up or reclining; on this night we all recline?

The fifth hidden question is the question which was removed from our Haggadah after the churban (The destruction of the Beis HaMikdash – The Holy Temple).

On all other nights we eat either roasted, boiled or cooked meat; on this night, only roasted?
(See Mishna Pesachim 10:4)

This question obviously refers to the korban Pesach – The Pesach offering, the delicious BBQ, eaten with Matzos, lettuce (Maror) and BBQ sauce (the charoses) which we cannot unfortunately eat until the Beis HaMikdash is rebuilt (may it be done speedily in our time).


Arba Banim

Everyone knows about the four sons, each very different from the others:

The Chacham (the wise son)
The Rasha (the evil son)
The Tam (the simple – straight forward son)
SheEino Yodaea Lishol (the son who does not even ask anything).

To each you must tell them about Hashem and how He took us out of Mitzrayim and why. However, each son must be told in a unique way, tailor made for each's level of understanding and spiritual level; There is no "one fits all" answer when we are performing the mitzvah of Vehigadata Levincha (Shemos 18:3).

By his question, you know that the Chacham wants to know everything so you tell him everything right up to the last halacha.

The Rasha is physically at the table but he isn't really asking a question at all. He is making a statement which expresses his wish to be excluded from the mitzvos of the night. He has made up his mind and now it is closed. You give him what he wants. There is no point in talking to him, he isn't listening. Therefore you don't speak directly to him as he has excluded himself. Instead you speak to the others at the table in the hope that he is perhaps listening, if only slightly.

The Tam has a simple straight forward question. Ma Tzos? This could mean that the son knows absolutely nothing and is simply pointing to the Matsos and saying "what's this?". He may not even be asking a question at all. He may actually only be saying "Matzos" as he points to the crackers on the table in order to show that he at least knows their name although he has no idea what they are. On the other hand, The Tam may be a Talmid Chacham – a Torah Genius. He doesn't ask the long complicated and drawn out question of the Chacham (who's question is designed to impress his father with his knowledge). The Tam may even be on a higher level and contained in the simple but all inclusive question "Ma Tzos?" is the desire to be taught everything. It is your job to really get to know the Tam and find out who he really is.

The fourth son, the one who cannot or will not ask any questions, is the most problematic. It is very difficult to know what the right thing to say is, to the son who will not interact with you. Therefore the Ba'al Hagaddah tells you that you must first open him up with love and only then will you get to know who he is and where he is coming from. He could be another Tam? He could be another Rasha? There is simply no way of knowing until you get him to open up.

So where is the fifth son to which you must tailor your knowledge to? At least the Rasha turned up at the Seder, if only to scoff. The fifth son hasn't even bothered to turn up. He is the lost (hidden) son to whom you must reach out and offer your unconditional love, whenever he decides to return.


The Five Rabonim

The Haggadah tells us that there were five Rabonim, Rabbi Eliezer, Rabbi Yehoshua, Rabbi Elazar Ben Azaryah, Rabbi Akiva and Rabbi Tarfon who were reclining at the Seder. How do we know that they all considered them selves on the same madreigah (the same Torah level)? Because we have a halacha that a student is not allowed to recline in the presence of his Rav. Being that they were all reclining, this tells us that none felt subservient to the other. This is puzzling as we know that Rabbi Akiva was the student of these four other Rabonim. It is also puzzling why these four teachers decided to visit their student for the Seder. It should be the student who visits his Rav on Leil HaSeder! The answer to this puzzle can be found in Gemorah and Midrash. We know that Rabbi Akiva has already raised the spirits of these same four Rabonim once before. When they visited the ruins of the Beis HaMikdash, the four Rabonim cried when they saw a fox walking about the ruins. Rabbi Akiva laughed with joy. He told the others that this fox was the fulfilment of the nevuah (prophesy) of the Navi. Rabbi Akiva then concluded that if this nevuah had come to pass, so will all the rest and some day the Beis HaMikdash will be rebuilt and Hashem's people will return to their land. The Seder took place a mere eight months after the Churban. Death and destruction lay everywhere in the land. The four Rabonim knew that if they were to fulfil the mitzvos of simcha and praise to Hashem, there was only one person who could inspire them to do these things. That's why they went to Bnei Berak. Rabbi Akiva was like a streak of lightning (berak) where all around was darkness. So this is actually a story about the four Rabbonim and the hidden one, the student Rabbi Akiva who they called Rebbeinu, our teacher!


The Five statements of power of Hashem with which He carried out the Makos

Just before the song Daiyenu, we have the conversation of the three Rabonim, namely, Rabbi Yossi HaGlili, Rabbi Eliezer and Rabbi Aikva. (See my previous post on this section). Rabbi Eliezer finds four statements of power with which HaKodesh Baruch Hu carried out the makos (the plagues) but Rabbi Akiva finds a fifth hidden one.

There are of course many other Fours plus a hidden one within the Haggadah. If you know of anymore, please leave me a comment.

The Four Yorkshiremen and the Three Rabonim

Just before the song Daiyeinu in the Haggadah we have the conversation of the Three Rabonim. The section reads as follows:

Rabbi Yossi HaGlili said: "How do you know that the Egyptians were struck by 10 plagues in Egypt and 50 plagues at the sea? Because regarding the plagues of Egypt it says: 'The magicians said to Pharaoh, this is the finger of Hashem' [Shemot 8:15]. While at the sea it says: 'And the Jewish People saw the great hand which Hashem had used in Egypt, and the people feared Hashem, and they believed in Hashem and in Moshe His servant' [Shemot 14:31]. How many plagues did they receive with the finger? Ten. Therefore if in Egypt they received 10 plagues then at the sea (when smitten by Hashem's hand) they must have had 50 plagues."

Rabbi Eliezer said: "How do we know that each plague which the Holy One, blessed be He, brought upon the Egyptians in Egypt, actually consisted of four plagues? Because it says: 'He sent forth upon them His burning anger: wrath, fury and trouble, a group of avenging angels'' [T'hillim 78:4]. Each plague was composed of 'wrath' – one, 'fury' – two, 'trouble' – three, 'a group of avenging angels' '– four. Therefore, the Egyptians were smitten with 40 plagues in Egypt and with 200 at the sea."

Rabbi Akiva said: "How do we know that each plague which The Holy One, blessed be He, brought upon the Egyptians in Egypt, actually consisted of five plagues? Because it says: 'He sent forth upon them His burning anger, wrath, fury and trouble, a group of avenging angels' ' [T'hillim 78:4). Each plague was composed of 'anger' – one, 'wrath' – two, 'fury' – three, 'trouble' – four, 'a band of messengers of evil' – five. Therefore the Egyptians were smitten with 50 plagues in Egypt and with 250 at the sea.

In order to understand what is going on here let me draw your attention to one of Monty Python's funiest sketches - "The Four Yorkshiremen". Here is a YouTube link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xe1a1wHxTyo

The script goes as follows:

Four Yorkshiremen Sketch Monty Python

The scene: Four well-dressed men sitting together at a vacation resort.

Michael Palin: Ahh.. Very passable, this, very passable.

Graham Chapman: Nothing like a good glass of Chateau de Chassilier wine, ay Gessiah?

Terry Gilliam: You're right there Obediah.

Eric Idle: Who'd a thought thirty years ago we'd all be sittin' here drinking Chateau de Chassilier wine?

MP: Aye. In them days, we'd a' been glad to have the price of a cup o' tea.

GC: A cup ' COLD tea.

EI: Without milk or sugar.

TG: OR tea!

MP: In a filthy, cracked cup.

EI: We never used to have a cup. We used to have to drink out of a rolled up newspaper.

GC: The best WE could manage was to suck on a piece of damp cloth.

TG: But you know, we were happy in those days, though we were poor.

MP: Aye. BECAUSE we were poor. My old Dad used to say to me, "Money doesn't buy you happiness."

EI: 'E was right. I was happier then and I had NOTHIN'. We used to live in this tiiiny old house, with greaaaaat big holes in the roof.

GC: House? You were lucky to have a HOUSE! We used to live in one room, all hundred and twenty-six of us, no furniture. Half the floor was missing; we were all huddled together in one corner for fear of FALLING!

TG: You were lucky to have a ROOM! *We* used to have to live in a corridor!

MP: Ohhhh we used to DREAM of livin' in a corridor! Woulda' been a palace to us. We used to live in an old water tank on a rubbish tip. We got woken up every morning by having a load of rotting fish dumped all over us! House!? Hmph.

EI: Well when I say "house" it was only a hole in the ground covered by a piece of tarpolin, but it was a house to US.

GC: We were evicted from *our* hole in the ground; we had to go and live in a lake!

TG: You were lucky to have a LAKE! There were a hundred and sixty of us living in a small shoebox in the middle of the road.

MP: Cardboard box?

TG: Aye.

MP: You were lucky. We lived for three months in a brown paper bag in a septic tank. We used to have to get up at six o'clock in the morning, clean the bag, eat a crust of stale bread, go to work down mill for fourteen hours a day week in-week out. When we got home, out Dad would thrash us to sleep with his belt!

GC: Luxury. We used to have to get out of the lake at three o'clock in the morning, clean the lake, eat a handful of hot gravel, go to work at the mill every day for tuppence a month, come home, and Dad would beat us around the head and neck with a broken bottle, if we were LUCKY!

TG: Well we had it tough. We used to have to get up out of the shoebox at twelve o'clock at night, and LICK the road clean with our tongues. We had half a handful of freezing cold gravel, worked twenty-four hours a day at the mill for fourpence every six years, and when we got home, our Dad would slice us in two with a bread knife.

EI: Right. I had to get up in the morning at ten o'clock at night, half an hour before I went to bed, (pause for laughter), eat a lump of cold poison, work twenty-nine hours a day down mill, and pay mill owner for permission to come to work, and when we got home, our Dad would kill us, and dance about on our graves singing "Hallelujah."

MP: But you try and tell the young people today that... and they won't believe ya'.

ALL: Nope, nope..

These four men are obviously playing a game here entitled “Who can outdo the other by exaggerating about how awful their childhood was". The Three Rabonim are effectively playing the same game but in reverse. Each one tries to outdo the last with praise for Hashem. They are playing this game in fulfillment of the mitzvah mentioned at the beginning of Magid:

וַאֲפִילוּ כֻּלָנוּ חֲכָמִים, כֻּלָנוּ נְבוֹנִים, כֻּלָנוּ זְקֵנִים, כֻּלָנוּ יוֹדְעִים אֶת הַתּוֹרָה, מִצְוָה עָלֵינוּ לְסַפֵּר בִּיצִיאַת מִצְרַיִם. וְכָל הַמַּרְבֶּה לְסַפֵּר בִּיצִיאַת מִצְרַיִם הֲרֵי זֶה מְשֻׁבָּח

And even if all of us were wise, all men of understanding, all elderly, all of us knowing the Torah, there is still a Mitzvah upon us to tell about the Exodus from Egypt. And whoever elaborates on it is praiseworthy.