It’s Not Just a lot of Talk
And you shall tell your son on that day, saying: It is because of that which Hashem did for me when I came forth out of Egypt. (Sefer Shemot 13:3)
- The seder centers on recounting the story of our redemption
The central mitzvah of the seder is recounting the story of our redemption from Egypt. Other commandments are fulfilled at the seder. We eat matzah and marror. We recite kiddush. However, all of the performances are wrapped into our retelling the story of our redemption.
Our discussion of our redemption fulfills the obligation expressed in the above passage. We are required to relate the story to our children. Although, the passage is not very specific regarding the manner in which the account must be communicated, the Torah does establish specific requirements for the manner in which the mitzvah is to be fulfilled. These requirements are the foundation of the Haggadah and the seder.
And you shall speak and say before Hashem your G-d: A wandering Aramean was my father, and he went down into Egypt, and sojourned there, few in number; and he became there a nation, great, mighty, and populous. (Sefer Devarim 25:5)
- Guidelines for retelling the story
One of these requirements is that the story must be communicated through the study of relevant Torah passages. One would expect the Sages to select the Torah's account of the exodus that is contained in Sefer Shemot as the text for the seder. They did not. Instead, they selected an abbreviated account of the events that is recited by the pilgrim who brings his first fruits to the Bait HaMikdash – the Sacred Temple. This selection opens with the above passage. The Haggadah contains a passage by passage analysis of this brief section of the Torah. Each passage is read and then analyzed based upon midrashic interpretation.
During the early post-Talmudic era a practice developed to replace this portion of the Haggadah with the relevant narrative from Sefer Shemot. This seems to be a reasonable innovation. The Sages of the era – the Geonim – condemned the practice. There are a number of reasons for the reaction of the Geonim. One was that they suspected that the practice was rooted in the Karaite tradition. The established text of the Haggadah is composed of a short text from the Written Torah which is explored and developed through a midrashic analysis from the Oral Torah. The Karaite tradition accepted the Written Torah but denied the authenticity of Oral Tradition. Replacement of the established text with a text completely from the Written Torah suggested to the Geonim a rejection of the Oral Torah.
Another reason for rejection of this innovation is that the Torah requires that we retell the story of redemption through Torah study. Torah study is not achieved through mere reading of passages. Instead, the passages must be studied and analyzed. This requires consideration of the passages from the perspective of the Oral Torah. Therefore, the reading of a set of passages from Sefer Shemot does not fulfill the obligation of retelling the events of our redemption.[1]
We were slaves to Paroh in Egypt, and the L-rd, our G-d, took us out from there with a strong hand and with an outstretched arm. (Pesach Haggadah)
In the beginning our fathers served idols; but now the Omnipresent One has brought us close to His service. (Pesach Haggadah)
- Humble beginnings leading to great achievements
Another requirement for fulfillment of the mitzvah of retelling the events of our redemption is that we begin our account by describing the humble origins of our nation and complete it by describing our achievements.[2] This requirement addresses the style or the manner in which we retell the story. However, this requirement does not address the issue of the material that must be included in the account.
This issue is disputed by the Sages. According to Rav, we are to begin by acknowledging that our ancestors – Avraham's father and those who preceded him – were idolators. He requires that we use the second of the above texts. According to Shmuel, we begin by describing our servitude to Paroh. His text is the first of those above.[3] Our Haggadah accommodates both of these opinions. First, we fulfill our obligation as required by Shmuel. We explain that we were slaves to Paroh and Hashem rescued us. Later in the Haggadah we accommodate Rav's position. We explain that our ancestors were idolators and now Hashem has drawn us into His service.
Shmuel's position seems more reasonable than Rav's. Pesach recalls our redemption from Egypt. Shmuel's text focuses exclusively on this theme. Rav's text begins with Terach – Avraham’s father. What relevance does Terach's idolatry have to Pesach?
The first step in understanding this dispute is to better understand Rav and Shmuel’s common ground. As explained above, Rav and Shmuel agree on the style of the narrative. It must begin with a description of our humble beginnings and conclude with an account of our achievements. They disagree on the starting point to the narrative. Why are we required to begin by recounting our humble origins?
4. Recounting our redemption and recognizing the role of Hashem
The objective of the mitzvah to retell the story of our redemption is not to merely preserve our historical memory of the event. Instead, our objective is to renew our awareness of the providential role in our development into a nation. We tell the unlikely story of a nation's emergence from obscurity into greatness. We describe this process as an expression of Hashem's providence and not as an accomplishment for which we can take credit. We recognize that what we have achieved is not through our own might, wisdom, or endeavors but a result of His kindness and providence.
5. Nationhood: Political autonomy and national destiny
Now, the dispute between Rav and Shmuel can be better understood. According to Rav, we emphasize the providential element of our emergence into nationhood. We demonstrate the presence of the hand of Hashem by directing our focus upon our redemption from Egypt which provides the clearest evidence of Hashem's role in our development.
Rav requires that we begin our story from before the emergence of our Patriarchs. His account differs from Shmuel's in two ways. First, Shmuel's account deals with our development into a nation in the political sense – our liberation from the oppression and domination of Egypt. Rav's narrative deals with the broader issue of our development into a nation with a unique spiritual destiny and mission. It describes our journey from idolatry to the Sinai Revelation and its covenant.
Our rescue from Egypt is included in Rav’s narrative. It is an essential element. Only through our redemption was our spiritual mission realized. The miracles of our rescue demonstrated to the emerging nation that Hashem is the omnipotent Creator. This experience and the realization it engendered prepared the nation to achieve its spiritual destiny at Sinai. In short, the story of our redemption is told from a teleological perspective. In this context the meaning and reason for our redemption become part of the narrative.
Second, Shmuel's account emphasizes the miraculous element of our rescue from Egypt. Rav's narrative, because of its breadth, places less emphasis on the overtly miraculous. The miracles of our redemption from Egypt are contained within the broader narrative of our spiritual journey.
6. Focus on the miracles of redemption or on the meaning of redemption
Now, the dispute between Rav and Shmuel can be better understood. Both agree that our objective on the seder night is to retell the story of our redemption and to recognize that our freedom was given to us by Hashem. However, Rav and Shmuel differ over the emphasis. Rav's focus is on meaning and context. Our redemption can only be appreciated and understood when placed within the context of our national destiny and mission. Therefore, although our objective on the seder night is to relate the story of our rescue from Egypt, we can only accomplish our task fully by describing our rescue as an essential step toward achievement of our spiritual mission.
Shmuel responds that our emphasis must be on recognizing the miraculous. We tighten the scope of the narrative in order to sharpen the focus. The teleological element is important but it is not emphasized. It cannot be permitted to distract the seder participants from the role of Hashem in our emergence as a nation. We begin with our bondage in Egypt. We describe the miracles of the plagues, the destruction of our oppressors and emphasize Hashem's mighty hand and outstretched arm.
In other words, Rav and Shmuel agree that the seder discussion is about our redemption from bondage. They disagree over how we prioritize two conflicting objectives. In order to fully understand the significance and meaning of our redemption, the scope of the discussion must be expanded to incorporate its teleological aspect. However, this broader discussion can distract the participants from recognizing the miraculous element of our redemption. Rav prioritizes achieving a deeper understanding of the redemption from Egypt. Shmuel prioritizes recognition of the miraculous nature of the redemption.
[1] Rav Yosef Dov Soloveitchik as retold by Rav Yisroel Chait, Taped lecture.
[2] Mesechet Pesachim 116a.
[3] Mesechet Pesachim 116a.