The paradox of the Pesach symbols - opinion

• Published date: 21 April 2024
• Author: KENNETH BRANDER
• Publication title: Jerusalem Post, The: Web Edition Articles (Israel)

And yet, this year the joy of the holiday will be colored with grief, sorrow, and anxiety. There are so many empty chairs at so many Seders – some for reservists back on the frontlines, some for the remaining hostages, some for those who remain in hospital for their injuries or in hotels as their displacement continues, and yet more for all whose lives have been taken from us on and since October 7

The weight grew even heavier last weekend, as Iranian cruise missiles and drones rained down on our cities, striking fear into the hearts of Israelis across the country. This latest escalation in Iran's campaign to destroy our nation threatens our very existence and instills even greater anguish in the minds of our already overburdened children.

How are we meant to focus on the festival's messages of freedom, peoplehood, and redemption in the face of the overwhelmingly tragic and terrifying events of the last six months?

The symbols of Passover hold the answer

Perhaps the answer lies in the duality of the Seder's narrative and of its symbols themselves.

The Mishna in Masechet Pesachim (10:4) presents the framing through which we are commanded to read the Exodus narrative: Matchil bignut, umisayem bishevach ("opening with shame and servitude, and ending with praise").

In order to fulfill the mitzva of sippur yetziat Mitzrayim, of telling the story of our release from bondage in Egypt, we must begin our retelling by recounting the servitude itself, and only then make our way towards redemption.

This framing, making space for both the servitude and the redemption, plays out in the symbolic items on the Seder table as well.

The matza we eat is presented twice in maggid ("recounting") – first in the ha lachma anya ("the bread of affliction"), seeing in the matza the bread of affliction eaten while our ancestors were enslaved in Egypt, and then again at the closing of the maggid section, where the matza celebrates redemption, reminding us of the hurried departure from Egypt, which left the Jews with no time to allow their dough to rise.

The same goes for the maror, the bitter herbs. The Mishna (Pesachim 10:5), cited in the Haggadah, attributes the maror to the bitterness of slavery (Shemot 1:14), yet Rav Chaim ibn Attar, in his masterful commentary Or Hachayim (Shemot 12:8), sees maror as a way to accentuate the taste of the korban Pesach ("Passover sacrifice") eaten with it.

Even the maror has a dual purpose, focusing on both dimensions of Passover: the enslavement...