לימוד פסח כיתה ז' - מה נשתנה?

(4) They mixed [poured] the second glass of wine, and here the son asks his father. If the son is not able to do so his father teaches him. 1. Why is this night different from all other nights? On all other nights we eat chametz (leavened products, like bread) and matzah but this night we only matzah. 2. On all other nights we eat all types of vegetables but on this night we only eat maror (bitter herbs). 3. On all other nights we eat roasted, stewed or boiled meat but on this night we only eat roasted meat. 4. On all other nights we dip vegetables [in a liquid] once but on this night we do this twice. And, the father teaches his son according to his abilities.

What differentiates this night from all [other] nights? On all [other] nights we eat chamets and matsa; this night, only matsa? On all [other] nights we eat other vegetables; tonight (only) marror. On all [other] nights, we don't dip [our food], even one time; tonight [we dip it] twice. On [all] other nights, we eat either sitting or reclining; tonight we all recline.

(1) God called to Moses and spoke to him from the Tent of Meeting, saying: (2) Speak to the Israelite people, and say to them: When any of you presents an offering of cattle to God: You shall choose your offering from the herd or from the flock. (3) If your offering is a burnt offering from the herd, you shall make your offering a male without blemish [a small mark which wrecks the appearance of something]. You shall bring it to the entrance of the Tent of Meeting, for acceptance in your behalf before God. (4) You shall lay a hand upon the head of the burnt offering, that it may be acceptable in your behalf, in expiation [making amends for wrongdoing] for you. (5) The bull shall be slaughtered before God; and Aaron’s sons, the [Israelite] priests, shall offer the blood, dashing the blood against all sides of the altar which is at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting. (6) The burnt offering shall be flayed [have its skin removed] and cut up into sections. (7) The sons of Aaron the [Israelite] priest shall put fire on the altar and lay out wood upon the fire; (8) and Aaron’s sons, the [Israelite] priests, shall lay out the sections, with the head and the suet [hard, raw fat near the kidneys of an animal, which Jews traditionally do not eat], on the wood that is on the fire upon the altar. (9) Its entrails [intestines or other organs] and legs shall be washed with water, and the [Israelite] priest shall turn the whole into smoke on the altar as a burnt offering, an offering by fire of pleasing odor [smell] to God.

Why does one remove the table [in the olden days people would eat on couches around a sort of removable coffee table]? The school of Rabbi Yannai say: So that children will recognize that this has happened and ask about it. Abaye [when he was still a child] was sitting before Rabba. He saw they were removing the table from before him and he said to them: But we have not eaten yet! Why are you removing the table?! Rabba said to him: You have exempted us [freed us from the obligation] from saying Ma Nishtana!

(2) ... Rabbi Nachman asked Doru [his servant] on Pesach eve what a servant should do if his master not only frees his servant but also rewards him with great wealth. Doru answered: “He should thank him and praise him.” Rabbi Nachman then told Doru, You have exempted us from saying the Mah Nishtanah” and he continued with Avadim Hayyinu.

Why did Doru's answer exempt Rabbi Nachman from reciting the Mah Nishtanah? We learn from this story that the purpose of Mah Nishtanah is to encourage us to praise and give thanksgiving to God for all his acts of beneficence [goodness, mercy and kindness]. That is why there are so many different practices that help us to remember the miracles and wonders which took place when God brought us from slavery to freedom. ...

(2) Regarding the statements in Mah Nishtanah: The questioner sees that on this night we do certain things that make us look like free people, royalty, worldly counselors and wealthy nobles, and other things are the opposite, that make us look like humble and contemptible slaves. On the one hand we say, “On all other nights we are not obligated to dip even once but tonight we are obligated to do so two times” This makes us look like free people and noblemen since, like nobles, we eat our foods with all types of dips, like the fine foods of the wealthy. On the other hand, we do something the opposite, “On all other nights we eat leavened or unleavened bread; tonight we are obligated to eat unleavened bread.” This certainly looks like slavery. Matzah is the bread of affliction [pain or harm] as well as the food of slaves and laborers [workers] as I have said. Similarly, on the one hand, “On all other nights we eat all types of vegetables; on this night we only eat bitter herbs.” We eat the bitter herbs, another sign of slavery and suffering. On the other hand, “On all other nights we sitting or leaning but on this night we all lean. This makes us appear as free people since all of us, young and old, eat while leaning with great honor. On this night, then, we have two things that symbolize freedom: dipping and leaning. We also do two things that are the opposite of them. There are two of each because of the principle of Jewish law; testimony [a formal statement given in a court of law] must be based “on the testimony of two or more witnesses...” (Deut. 17:6) The Mah Nishtana brings two witness for slavery and two more witnesses for freedom. ...