Many of us wait, in anticipation all year round to sit at the Seder table. The once a year fancy silverware and china, the prop games for the children are all part and parcel of an action pact, amazing evening. Interestingly, one of the first things we do when we participate at the Seder is proclaim our freedom (Ha lachmah anya). In a poignant moment each individual, dressed in their formal attire, holds the 3 matzos (the middle broken,The piece that remains on the Seder Plate is the “poor man’s bread” over which the tale of our slavery is said. Poor people only eat a small part of their bread — they need to save the rest in case tomorrow there is none. ) placed in a white special made covering with the letters of matzos embroidered on it, and recites, as it is passed around the table, a declaration. “This year we are here, next year (May we be) in the Land of Israel. This year we are slaves, next year (May we be) free!” The proclamation, by each person attending, if one is made aware of the important meaning of the words, enables them to “feel” being free. A special gift given by G-d! It also forces the individuals attending to be a part of the evening Seder. It’s funny, some have a phobia to speak in front of large gatherings, shy away and reluctantly refuse the invitation to say the Ha-lachma’anya. The slightly more bold ones recite the proclamation with a trembling low voice. However, some seem to cherish the spotlight and are unwilling to let go of the matzos so quickly. One sees all the personalities emerge in a night where everyone is scripted into the evening program.
The Seder, though, is never perfect like the ideal Pesach Seder. What is a proper Pesach? THE Seder should include the Pesach and Festival offerings. But “this year” it is not that way.
If we examine the Haggadah more closely, we discover that the Seder also ends with this same theme. “L’shana haba b’Yerushalayim – Next year in Jerusalem.” The reason why our Pesach Seder will not include a Pesach offering this year is because the Beis HaMikdash [Temple] was destroyed. Our Sages teach us that the Second Temple was destroyed because of ‘Baseless Hatred’ (Sinat Chinam). We are taught that the Bet HaMikdash will not be rebuilt until we somehow correct the defect of baseless hatred toward each other. If that is the case, why are we not prompted somewhere during the Pesach Seder to address this sin? If the Seder in fact includes the request that next year we should be in the Land of Israel and in Jerusalem, why are we not told exactly how to take corrective action to make that happen? We should be explicitly taught to remedy our behavior of Baseless Hatred at the Seder!!
Rabbi Yissachar Frand quotes the Ben Ish Chai (Yosef Chaim (1 September 1835 – 30 August 1909) authority on Jewish law and master kabalist) states that indeed there is such a notion in the Hagaddah. He says that this is alluded to by the question which we (for the most part, children) recite at the MA NISHTANA- “Why is it that on all other nights we do not even dip once, and on this night we dip twice?” The Ben Ish Chai suggests that the first dipping on the night of the Seder-KARPAS (into the salt water) reminds us of the first place that “dipping” is mentioned in Jewish History: “And they dipped (Yosef’s) coat into blood” [Bereshis 37:31]. This is the prototype of the sin of Baseless Hatred, which has plagued us throughout the generations and started the spiral down leading to slavery. The second dipping at the Seder (into the Charoset) corresponds to a second dipping that we find mentioned in the Chumash: “And you shall take the bundle of hyssop and dip it into the blood” [Shmot 12:22]. Hyssop is an herb in the mint family with cleansing, medicinal, and flavoring properties, was prolific in the Middle East and was used in a variety of ways. This pasuk [verse] refers to the dipping into the blood of the Pesach offering. That dipping was the first step of painting the door posts and lintels of their homes with the sign of blood — in order to save them from the Plague of the First Born on the night of their deliverance from Egypt. It is no coincidence, says the Ben Ish Chai, that the Torah uses the language of Agudah [bundle (of hyssop)] regarding the second dipping. The word Agudah comes from the root word Igud, which means Unity. Thus, the dipping of unity, which took place at the end of the Jewish Nation’s stay in Egypt, was a remedy for the dipping of Baseless Hatred, which had triggered their descent into Egypt. Perhaps, for this reason, it is why the Sephardic and Central Asian custom is to have the second dipping in the sweet Charoset. This concept symbolizes that we too will emerge from our current exile — which was also triggered by Baseless Hatred — with unity and harmony amongst ourselves.
“French police officers stand guard outside the Hyper Cacher kosher supermarket near Porte de Vincennes”
Anti-Semitism is real!!! It existed then and it exists now. The make-up, attitudes, outlooks of our entire family changed because the Anti-Semitic Bolsheviks threw my grandfather out of a moving train for the one and only reason that he was Jewish. Every family has to deal with their share of this particular grief. Rabbi Frand mentions that Rav Elchanan Wasserman (1874 – July 6, 1941) was a prominent rabbi and rosh yeshiva in pre-World War II Europe. He was one of the Chofetz Chaim‘s closest disciples and a noted Torah scholar) expressed amazement that of all the slanders that the anti-Semites have used against the Jews over the centuries, one of the most recurrent lies has been the ‘Blood Libel’. This is a claim that is not only patently false, but that makes absolutely no sense as well.
The last thing a Jew would ever eat is blood. The Torah has numerous prohibitions distancing a Jew from blood or anything that is mixed with blood. How could it be that we have always been accused of this specific charge?
Rav Elchanan Wasserman suggests that this is a Divine punishment that corresponds to the sin of “they dipped (Yosef’s) coat into blood”. When the brothers dipped Yosef’s coat into blood, that act did something to the system of Heavenly Justice which caused Jews in future generations to be susceptible to the slanderous libel that as if we bake our Matzahs with the blood of Gentile children, G-d forbid.
Unfortunately, Pesach has many reminders of Baseless Hatred. Rav Mattisyahu Solomon points out the irony that the Blood Libel always emerged before Pesach. (The libel claimed that as if the Matzahs were baked with blood; as if the 4 cups of wine actually contained blood, G-d forbid, etc.) Why specifically Pesach? Why did they not say that we dip our Lulavim (palm branches, used on Sukkot) in blood?
The answer is because Pesach is the Festival of Redemption. It is the holiday of “In Nissan they were redeemed and in Nissan they are destined to be redeemed” [Rosh Hashanna 11a]. As long as we have not rectified the original sin that led to the slavery — Yosef’s brothers – Baseless Hatred, which caused them to dip his coat in blood, the blood libel rears its ugly head around the time of Pesach.
THE FOUR SONS AND UNITY
The Haggadah speaks about the famed “Four Sons:” The Wise son, the Evil Son, the Simple Son, and the Son who does not know how to ask. The dialogue of the evil son is particularly interesting. The Haggadah Says: “The Rashah (The wicked son) – What does he say? ‘Of what purpose is this service to you?’ To you (he said), (implying) and not to himself. Because he took himself out of the community, he has denied the basic principles. Therefore, you should strike his teeth and tell him ‘Because of this, G-d did this for me during my departure from Egypt.’ For me, and not for him. And if he was there, he would not have been redeemed. “
Why is the evil son so bad? Why his comments are considered “heretical?” Furthermore, what is the unusual response of striking his teeth supposed to accomplish? In order to get a fuller appreciation of this dialogue, it is necessary to understand the true meaning of the conversation. Therefore, a little background information is needed.
Interestingly, the Seder rides on the shadow of the episode of Yosef and his brothers. Our forefather, Yaakov, was the father of the 12 Tribes of Israel. We find in the Torah that Yosef, Yaakov’s favorite son, was not liked by his brothers. Yosef had dreams about how he would be in an elevated position over his brothers, which he related to his brothers. These revelations combined with other factors that our Sages discuss caused a large rift between Yosef and his brothers. Yaakov was not oblivious to this rift. Indeed, he knew that Yosef distanced himself and was distanced from his brothers, and he attempted to ameliorate the situation.
We find in Bereshit (37:11-14) that the brothers were tending to their father’s flocks in the city of Shechem. Yaakov sent Yosef to check on his brothers. The language that Yaakov used to request this of Yosef is odd. He told Yosef “To check on the peace of your brothers and the peace of the sheep.” Why did Yaakov give this lengthy order, when he could have simply stated “Check on the peace of your brothers and the sheep?” Why a separate sentence for each?
The answer is that Yaakov was telling something more to Yosef than to just check on his brothers’ well being. There are two types of “peace.” There is a type of peace which is merely an absence of war. People do not necessarily get along, nor care for each other. However, as long as one does not bother the other, all is well. This is contrasted to a vastly different type of peace. It is a true peace, where people care for each other. People more than just co-exist with each other: They live together as a community, a collective whole, where all are concerned for each other’s benefit, and where cooperation is the norm, not an exception, not a burden. Sheep are a perfect example of the former type of peace. One sheep does not necessarily care for the others in the flock. As long as any specific sheep gets its food to eat, it will not bother any other sheep. Sheep co-exist with each other. The brothers of Yosef, on the other hand, demonstrated the latter type of peace. They lived together in a unit, caring for each other’s needs, concerned for each other’s welfare. The brothers lived in a harmonious unit, a unit which typified the peace we long for.
Yosef, by acting in the ways he did, was distancing himself from his brothers. His relationship with his siblings was like that between sheep: as long as Yosef did not bother his brothers, they did not bother him, and vice versa. Yaakov knew that it was of utmost importance that this needed a change. Yosef had to realize that he had to make himself a part of the whole. He could not be content with his status as an individual, separate from his brothers. He had to realize how important unity was, and act on this realization. In order to point out to Yosef that his behavior was not as it should be; Yaakov told Yosef “Go, and look at the peace of the sheep. See how they act towards each other. That is how you are acting towards your brothers, and it is wrong! How should you act? Go see the peace of your brothers! They are truly a unified group, where care for each other is of utmost concern. That is how your relationship should be with your brothers!”
The first night of Pesach always falls on the same day of the week as the night of the following Tisha B’Av. 5 months from now we will commemorate another Tisha B’Av (hopefully not, may Moshiach come before than and it would be a happy holiday instead), it is because we did not properly learn the lesson of Pesach. We forget the lesson of the “two dippings”. We can only remedy the sin of Baseless Hatred, symbolized by the dipping in salt water, through the unity symbolized by the bundle of hyssop.
There are many reminders of the connection between Destruction and Redemption. The way that we can emerge from the Destruction that we are experiencing, and merit the Redemption that we so desperately need, is by once and for all remedying “dipping (Yosef’s coat) into blood” by creating its antidote of “dipping with the bundle of hyssop – through one common bundle of unity.”