Dear B’nai Shalom members, friends, and families:
Knowing full well that Jews all over the world are now busily occupying themselves with all of the Pesach preparations and necessary cleaning and changes to our homes, I share the following with you to help make the upcoming Pesach holiday as understandable, meaningful, and enjoyable as possible.
In most years, on the night before the first seder, we typically perform the “Search for Leaven,” the “Bedikat Chametz.” Because this year the first seder is on a Saturday night, we conduct the Bedikat Chametz on the preceding Thursday night, not on Shabbat.
It is interesting to note that the bracha (blessing) before the search is on the “destruction” of the chametz, once found, and NOT on the “searching” because the point of this ritual IS on the symbolic “destroying/disposing” of the chametz. The search for the chametz is simply a means to the end in which we make the point of disposing of the chametz through its destruction.
Other than that which would be helpful or instrumental in the search, there should be no extraneous conversation during
the search since the search itself is the aforementioned means towards completing the mitzvah of “destroying” (disposing of, in a permanent manner…) the chametz.
Aside from reciting the formula for the search for chametz which is in Aramaic, because this directive and important tradition is to be understood, it can and should also be said in language of understanding, presumably English for most of us.
There are four names for the upcoming holiday, including the name: “Pesach” (the “passing over”). In the Kiddush of the Seder nights, we recite two of the identified names of this holiday: “Chag MaMatzot,” (the holiday of matzah) and “Zman Cheiruteinu,” (the time of our freedom). These are both fundamental signs and symbols of the Pesach holiday.
When we drink the wine at the Seder and when we eat the matzah, we lean on our left side. This is a sign of our freedom; that we do not need to sit straight up, erect in conforming to the commands of the task masters, controlling every aspect of our daily lives as slaves.
The leaning to the left, as opposed to the right, is a health matter, helping digestion and avoiding coughing or choking.
We do NOT lean when eating the maror (the bitter herbs) since they do NOT represent our freedom but rather, a reminder of our slavery before our becoming free.
After we complete the portion of the Seder where, within the text, we explain the Pesach (represented by the shank bone), the matzah, and the maror (the bitter herbs), we should continue with the same focus and intentionality to the very next portion, in which we declare: “V’higadta L’vincha,” “…and you shall speak about the Passover episode to your children,” assuring that throughout the epochs of every family, the importance and the meaningfulness of the entire Passover story will be handed down from one generation to the next. This is just as much as a part of the previous symbolic obligations of explanation.
Typically, red wine is considered the most preferred by the Sages since red wine has been the traditional sign of joy and celebration throughout the years. However, if one enjoys a different type of wine, even a white wine, it is acceptable for use throughout the seder for each of the four cups of wine. This is especially true if the alternative type of wine will be enjoyed at a much higher level than if one forced oneself to consume the less-enjoyed red wine.
A person who CANNOT drink wine or any alcoholic beverage can fulfill his/her obligation for the consumption of the four cups throughout the Seder with kosher for Passover grape juice. This would not be the first choice of selection for someone who is capable of drinking wine but certainly is a viable option for those who cannot drink wine or alcoholic beverages.
Because the Hallel prayer is recited on occasions when we celebrate the salvation and redemption of the Jews, it is included as part of the Seder service.
The particular chapters of Psalms (113–118) chosen to express praise and our gratitude to G-d are clearly part and parcel of the Exodus story and therefore a natural theme of the Seder. Its inclusion in the Seder is an essential part of
“telling the story.”
The Talmud explains that the Hallel mentions five topics of redemption: 1.) The Exodus from Egypt, 2.) The crossing of the Red Sea, 3.) The giving of the Torah, 4.) The resurrection of the dead, 5.) And the birthpangs of the final redemption.
The Talmud proceeds to explain where in the Hallel each of these topics is mentioned—explicitly or via allusion.
The Exodus from Egypt; The crossing of the sea; And the giving of the Torah; are all mentioned in the first two chapters of the Hallel.
At the Seder, after reciting these two chapters, we say the Bracha: “Asher Ge’alanu” (“who has redeemed us”) blessing, and we eat the matzah—both of which commemorate the miracles and redemptions of the past.
The Shabbat prior to Pesach is always known as “Shabbat HaGadol,” “The Great Shabbat,” which we celebrate with special prominence as the day on which the reality of the Jews’ Exodus from Egypt was revealed and realized.
With wishes to all for a Chag Pesach Kasher v’Sameach,
Rabbi Dr. Yaacov Dvorin