רַבָּן גַּמְלִיאֵל הָיָה אוֹמֵר: כָּל שֶׁלֹּא אָמַר שְׁלֹשָׁה דְּבָרִים אֵלּוּ בַּפֶּסַח, לֹא יָצָא יְדֵי חוֹבָתוֹ, וְאֵלּוּ הֵן: פֶּסַח, מַצָּה, וּמָרוֹר. רַבָּן גַּמְלִיאֵל Rabban Gamliel would say:
Anyone who does not say these three things on Pesaḥ
has not fulfilled his obligation, and these are they:
PESAḤ, MATZA, AND BITTER HERBS.
פֶּסַח שֶׁהָיוּ אֲבוֹתֵינוּ אוֹכְלִים בִּזְמַן שֶׁבֵּית הַמִּקְדָּשׁ הָיָה קַיָּם, עַל שׁוּם מָה? עַל שׁוּם שֶׁפָּסַח הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא עַל בָּתֵּי אֲבוֹתֵינוּ בְּמִצְרַיִם, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: וַאֲמַרְתֶּם זֶבַח־פֶּסַח הוּא לַייָ, אֲשֶׁר פָּסַח עַל־בָּתֵּי בְנֵי־יִשְׂרָאֵל בְּמִצְרַיִם בְּנָגְפּוֹ אֶת־מִצְרַיִם, וְאֶת־בָּתֵּינוּ הִצִּיל, וַיִּקֹּד הָעָם וַיִּשְׁתַּחֲווּ. The
PESAḤ
is what our ancestors would eat while the Temple stood:
and what does it recall?
It recalls the Holy One’s
passing over (Pasah) the houses of our ancestors in Egypt,
as it is said:
“You shall say:
‘It is a Pesaḥ offering for the LORD,
for He passed over the houses of the children of Israel in Egypt
while He struck the Egyptians,
but saved those in our homes’ –
and the people bowed and prostrated themselves.”
אוחז המצה בידו ומראה אותה למסובין: The matzot are now lifted:
מַצָּה זוֹ שֶׁאָנוּ אוֹכְלִים, עַל שׁוּם מַה? עַל שׁוּם שֶׁלֹּא הִסְפִּיק בְּצֵקָם שֶׁל אֲבוֹתֵינוּ לְהַחֲמִיץ עַד שֶׁנִּגְלָה עֲלֵיהֶם מֶלֶךְ מַלְכֵי הַמְּלָכִים, הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא, וּגְאָלָם, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: וַיֹּאפוּ אֶת־הַבָּצֵק אֲשֶׁר הוֹצִיאוּ מִמִּצְרַיִם עֻגֹת מַצּוֹת, כִּי לֹא חָמֵץ, כִּי גֹרְשׁוּ מִמִּצְרַיִם וְלֹא יָכְלוּ לְהִתְמַהְמֵהַּ, וְגַם־צֵדָה לֹא־עָשׂוּ לָהֶם. THIS MATZA
that we eat:
what does it recall?
It recalls the dough of our ancestors,
which did not have time to rise
before the King, King of kings, the Holy One, blessed be He,
revealed Himself and redeemed them,
as it is said:
“They baked the dough that they had brought out of Egypt
into unleavened cakes, for it had not risen,
for they were cast out of Egypt and could not delay,
and they made no provision for the way.”
אוחז המרור בידו ומראה אותו למסובין: The bitter herbs are now lifted:
מָרוֹר זֶה שֶׁאָנוּ אוֹכְלִים, עַל שׁוּם מַה? עַל שׁוּם שֶׁמֵּרְרוּ הַמִּצְרִים אֶת־חַיֵּי אֲבוֹתֵינוּ בְּמִצְרַיִם, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: וַיְמָרְרוּ אֶת־חַיֵּיהם בַּעֲבֹדָה קָשָה, בְּחֹמֶר וּבִלְבֵנִים וּבְכָל־עֲבֹדָה בַּשָּׂדֶה אֶת כָּל עֲבֹדָתָם אֲשֶׁר־עָבְדוּ בָהֶם בְּפָרֶךְ. THESE BITTER HERBS
that we eat:
what do they recall?
They recall the bitterness that the Egyptians imposed
on the lives of our ancestors in Egypt,
as it is said:
“They embittered their lives with hard labor,
with clay and with bricks
and with all field labors, with all the work
with which they enslaved them – hard labor.”
בְּכָל־דּוֹר וָדוֹר חַיָּב אָדָם לִרְאוֹת אֶת־עַצְמוֹ כְּאִלּוּ הוּא יָצָא מִמִּצְרַיִם, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: וְהִגַּדְתָּ לְבִנְךָ בַּיּוֹם הַהוּא לֵאמֹר, בַּעֲבוּר זֶה עָשָׂה יְיָ לִי בְּצֵאתִי מִמִּצְרַיִם. לֹא אֶת־אֲבוֹתֵינוּ בִּלְבַד גָּאַל הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא, אֶלָּא אַף אוֹתָנוּ גָּאַל עִמָּהֶם, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: וְאוֹתָנוּ הוֹצִיא מִשָּׁם, לְמַעַן הָבִיא אוֹתָנוּ, לָתֶת לָנוּ אֶת־הָאָרֶץ אֲשֶׁר נִשְׁבַּע לַאֲבֹתֵינוּ. בְּכָָל דּוֹר וָדוֹר GENERATION BY GENERATION,
each person must see himself
as if he himself had come out of Egypt,
as it is said:
“And you shall tell your child on that day,
‘Because of this the LORD acted for me
when I came out of Egypt.’”
It was not only our ancestors
whom the Holy One redeemed;
He redeemed us too along with them,
as it is said:
“He took us out of there,
to bring us to the land
He promised our ancestors and to give it to us.”