A Practical Guide to Running a Seder: Insights, Ideas and Inspiration

okay okay good evening everyone thank you so much for being together with me I hope we're working across all the platforms I'm so glad that you joined us I know that many people this year find themselves in the unusual circumstance re like I said trying to work out at the Technology many people find themselves in the unusual circumstance of running or leading a seder we have taken for granted for many years of our life the ability to join together with friends with family to be taken away to go away to congregate together and there are many who have been in the position of being sort of passive spectators who have been participants at a seder who find themselves this year in the lead role so I wanted to do with our time together tonight is not reinvent the wheel my goal is not to provide you with highfalutin complicated intricate halakha discourses or biblical exegesis trying to dissect and analyze the core text of the Haggadah the goal is not anything like that but rather the goal is really something quite simple the goal is simply to provide some conversation piece to give some of the tools to be able to lead a conversation at the Seder which is what the Seder is meant to be the way the Seder was meant to be conducted the Seder certainly is an educational evening its opportunity to connect with our family with our friends and many even find themselves this year simply trying to connect with themselves with our core with our root returning to the best of who we are to really enter an authentic conversation with ourselves it's not fancy geometry is it's not arts and crafts projects it's not 17 different opinions it's not how logic analysis it's simply a conversation about freedom that is what the Seder is meant to be that is what the Seder is all about in fact it becomes I love a check the Rob's grandfather the great rapine brisker says that the format that differentiates the Seder night from the commandment the obligation to speak about UTS Mitt Romney entire year long he gives three or four differences between sate or night and the rest of the year but one of the core is that the point of the night is to have a conversation it's an experience we're reviewing we are reliving in history we're trying to inform and inspire our present to mold and shape our future we have a incredible opportunity this year this crisis has presented also an opportunity this has been pointed out by many that in this year in which our children have not been in school they've still been attending school virtually but they haven't been the physical presence on the campus with their teachers they don't come home necessarily with the same Haggadah is the same level of DeVry Torah the same fancy projects that often as incredible as they are and as indebted as we are to our amazing educators can sometimes be a distraction from what the Seder is meant to be normally when I talk about this every year I say you know designate I'm at one of the lunch meals to review your child together they brought home to review their arts and crafts projects but that's not what the Seder is all about in fact over Jakov kamenetsky mostly Yaakov my friend rabbi bound pointed this out to me several years ago points out it karma so Celilo agency prettiest Mitzrayim shea teal authority of allah bless apple of know the core Mitzvah is for parents to teach to educate to transmit the story to tell the story to our children when teachers have done such an amazing job to a degree that they've robbed us of that Mitzvah of that opportunity so in this unusual year that we find ourselves it's unusual in some ways it's unfortunate but it also provides the opportunity for us to take the role in the place that we were always meant to take it's a painful year it's a year in which as we said we're not necessarily surrounded by the people that we've become accustomed to have the Seder with that we've counted down that we look forward to that we anticipate that we have the excitement it's an unusual year in that sense but I want to share with you my friend or sorry Alma let's key who was a Rovin Hina Park Edison had a beautiful insight which I encouraged and he wrote up and he sugar with me and I want to share it with you the shotgun our consummate our iron base tells us you solder chicano Yaffa became non kitty Coco that say tonight is different where Majesty were royalty what aristocracy no matter what we're going through no matter what threats no matter what we face no matter the economic financial challenges even god forbid Alice challenges on this night we experience freedom and liberty on this night we're royalty on this night we set aside all of our problems and all we are is in the loving embrace of a sham who we know with his incredible Providence is guiding our lives and therefore we celebrate as majesty we display it it's something we demonstrate literally and physically not because we are faking not because we are acting but because it's authentic and real even if it's only for a few hours if it's only for that night and one of the fulfillment services the show cannot raise your Saddler Sultana Yaffa McCaleb naan khatai coho you have to decorate your table beautifully according to your means some have fancy crystals silver gold china some have the most magnificent Pesach decor which defines their table and elevates the entire experience mr. Brewer the hub line writes that even though throughout the entire year we are encouraged to live modestly on the Seder night we bring out our finest and in fact osama Zalman Arabic as an example who was uncomfortable displaying any form of materialism opulence wealth any sort of pleasure reserved those fancy dishes he had a beautiful chair that was gifted to him it sat in the corner of the whole year and the only time he used it was on the Seder night this is a night you sad they're awesome Johanna we organized our table with Calum now what are those Calum nine-seven Milewski quoted about on the attainment that Sal who for him was the most modest humble giant that we've had in the last century he lived in one room on the most modest furniture and one year when he fulfilled the statement of the chauffeur Narok to bring the core to his table his decor was not gold it was not silvery the core was a new safer here just printed he has just published Yamal IPT Lusaka for him the greatest decor that enriched and elevated the greatest expression of his royalty was his new safer he's not the first to say vermin destroy accounts many who came before great Torah scholars who would place their work of scholarship who would place what they had written on the table to represent their calum not em they were not defined by beautiful things they were defined by the beautiful contribution of Torah but here's rabbi molesky's point with this we'll get into the Haggadah and we'll get into the Seder night with this amazing amazing suggestion he offered this year he said you know this year that so many of us find ourselves not with our children or grandchildren not with our parents or grandparents or not with our siblings nieces or nephews even those who don't yet have their own family so how can we how can we be with them even when we're not what are the Kahlan nuttin he said go to your walls and take the pictures down go to your albums and take out the pictures and put them on your table the decor this year doesn't have to be anything fancy of China silverware or crystal the decor should be the incredible people of our lives they are the Calum they are the great accomplishment they are our legacy they are our pride they it's what make us royalty they are what enrich our lives and make us in fact rich and I thought it was such a beautiful suggestion I want to thank him for it and I wanted to begin this evening with it that the Calum not in the beautiful accoutrements the beautiful decor the beautiful possessions that we have our legacy are not the things but are the people and even when we're not with them in person we can be with them in spirit and how beautiful our table will be if we look around the table and see sitting at the table with us are the people when we miss the most okay so with this let's let's begin I have our guns in front of me I hope you have I've got in front of you and a pen and some paper because I want to provide you really as I said not fancy not complicated I'm not trying to impress you I want to share with you and I do it my Seder both some of the practical guide for those who are really leading this for the first time as well as some of the conversation starters because the whole Seder should be not a platform from impressing others with your dear vidura or you our ability to do numerology the whole Seder is a platform to stimulate conversation to provoke transformation to be able to walk away and be different than the way that we came revive from shore and a safe public I Farley bow says Manish Donna we're not skipping to that but mannish town is not mannish Donna halala so what's different tonight but Manish Donna are you daily Hallie Liza how will we be different because of tonight the Seder should be an evening that is a catalyst that is a stimulant an evening that launches us into the rest of our year to have tasted freedom to release ourselves from whatever are the addictions the bondage the shackles that which is holding us back and it's not fancy doctoral which are going to do it it's provocative stimulated passionate inspired emotional conversation and therefore that's what informs the kind of debris toda I share at my Seder and what informs what I'm going to share with you tonight so we begin appropriately at the very beginning the Seder begins in my home again I'm showing with you our customs not to suggest or impose them upon you but we begin by singing the Samana has say their kadai sure hot carpaccio cots we sing the other one Cod they sure crowd Scarpas yeah cuts both versions it gets the children excited it gets all of us into it it brings music to the table at the beginning song which we know is something that really emotionally moves us and jump starts us but it does much more than that why are beginning by invoking Seder I spoke about a few weeks ago when I gave a share that's still available online at length but to give you the 60-second version of it we are celebrating our night of freedom we sit down at that Seder and we're dressed in our finest and we have our finest including our possessions and our legacy the image and pictures of the people we come to celebrate freedom and liberty and emancipation now if you think about it for a moment when kids are done with school when school lets out when college is over and you have what they call Balazs Spring Break what is Spring Bank defined by no rules no boundaries no regulations no restrictions someone who wants to celebrate a real freedom experiences that freedom by letting loose and letting go having no boundaries and no borders what do we do we say so you know what freedom is seder order because discipline equals freedom when you're disciplined with your money you have freedom with your finances when you're disciplined with your you have free time when you're disciplined with your eating you have the ability to lead a healthy life discipline doesn't will restrict freedom discipline leads to freedom discipline is freedom so what do we do we sit down at the table and point this out again each of these are conversations each of these can provoke long conversations we don't need to go deep into the night we're not competing who had the longest Seder but each one of these and you could divide across the two nights and the other meals of Pesach each of these are meant to be conversation starters is freedom no rules or is having more rules and restrictions in fact enable us does it liberate us to be able to be free to live our most enriched lives and our best lives yet so we begin we sit down and what's in front of every participant it's where it will go into a board meeting we have the new minutes the old minutes good and welfare and we sing it new men it's old minutes new men it's old men as good and Welfare Kadesh were cuts it's bizarre but it's not discipline equals freedom being organized that is it reviving Shorin is our God that has another suggestion he says you know why we begin with the C money I say there because we want to understand that in our world in our lives individually and collectively nothing happened out of order even though our world even right now seems so upside-down and we don't understand why Yosef had to go to mitzrayim and Yaakov followed that brought the 70 souls to Egypt that grew into a nation who were in bondage for 210 years that only later were able to be freed why was it so why did it have to happen in this order why did it have to happen in this way we begin the night by declaring that the world the Seder Olam because there's more allah the almighty runs the world and he runs the world in this order we meet the person we're meant to marry in its right time we have that child when it's meant to be we find that right job when it's the right time there is a seder there's an order to the world and just like our evening is going to be informed by order so to the world follows the order that a Shem has for it so we begin with the c-money our Seder and then we launch the Seder the very first thing we do at the Seder the first of this formula of steps that we're going to follow of our agenda item number 1 is kiddush only we don't call it kiddush what we call it at the seder not kiddush item number one we call Kaddish why do we call it Kaddish it's a very funny formulation ravelli sedan the founder of the Molina movement in Israel the receiver of the machine an ally and he's our God that he points out it doesn't say kiddush it says Kaddish because you know how the night starts by being Mikado's ourselves it's as if we declare we turn to the other participants at the Seder if we're alone or even if with others we turn to ourselves when we say Kaddish sanctify yourself elevate yourself be holy maybe until now you've been distracted you've been overwhelmed by the cleaning by the preparation by everything that needs to go into getting ready for Pesach but you know what the moment has arrived this is the time that we've been doing all that for so it's not just about reciting Kaddish we're not discharging an obligation by reading a text rather it's about Kadesh sanctify yourself this is going to be a sanctified time the next few hours that we're going to be together Kaddish we're sanctifying this time we're sanctifying the space there are no distractions and there is no virus and there is no pandemic and there is no worry and fear and there are no are challenges there's not our failures there's not our fears all there is right now is Kaddish sanctify this time sanctify this space sanctify this moment saddam points out that the word Kaddish appears not in the plural even though there may be many at our Seder it appears in the singular Kaddish and it gives two reasons why number one because you know what's going to bring about the redemption if we want this night of redemption to revisit and repeat the original redemption what will bring it is a sense of unity of being together of being united you know my friend Beth kamenetsky pointed out to me that even a lile Airlines is not flying to Israel right now there's only one airline flying to Israel right now and it's called United because if we want the Google I would want to be brought to Israel we need together to be united so in the singular it's Kaddish be United that is the mission the statement of the evening if we want to experience the redemption that we're telling that whole story and reliving tonight Kaddish we need to see ourselves as one but then our sedan says there's a second understanding Kaddish isn't a singular because the person should realize and to themselves if I want that Redemption you know upon whom it depends on me I can't rely or lean or to depend on others I can't simply say I'm not worthy I'm not important I'm not capable I'm not competent someone else will have to be the catalyst of the redemption no Kaddish it's up to you in the singular every one of us I think about this virus and pandemic and the way we're behaving and of each person says you know I can violate the rules I don't have to socially distance I can overstep the boundary because Who am I and what am I and it'll be fine now if each person says that then the pandemic will literally destroy us all everyone has to act and behave and not only think but actually execute as if it all depends because it all does depend on us Kaddish on each one of us in the in the singular oh sure and as I got the points out that normally we say sir my rava assay tove first we distanced from the evil and then we do the good really or cots should come before Kaddish really we should wash our hands cleanse ourselves so to say and then we should sanctify ourselves in fact what do we do for darling the halacha know close to Fela is first you have to wash your hands and then you go into Dobbin so why don't we do workouts and then begin the Seder with Kaddish so Asher says because tonight is so holy tonight is so unusual tonight just like when we left Egypt we jumped those 49 levels of Toma we experienced the sanctity and a holiness that night we revisit that energy in that capacity each year Seder night we don't have to first do workouts or mehron before Kaddish before the positive we can begin by sanctifying ourselves even it before we are there lastly and Kaddish that may seal off the intimates a rabbit says you know I we begin the Seder night with a glass of wine of course because it's young TIFF and you have to make kiddush why are we beginning this Mitzvah four cups of wine the presence of the four cups of wine which of course corresponds with many things we shared this matzah Shabbos and eyeshadows dagoba russia the you shall me and the down ii embody toast those quote many reasons where we get the number four but what's with the wine four cups of wine listen to this is Bitzer he says you know where we get wine wine comes from a grape and you know how you get the wine from the grape somebody steps all over it so a grape is delicious a ripe grape sweet it's beautiful looks be smells beautiful it tastes delicious but you know what's even finer you know it's even more valuable that which is inside that which is most fine comes out when someone steps on it our people have been stepped on we've been trampled on by our enemies and adversaries we've been stepped on and trampled on by this world by nature and our challenges and you know when we get stepped on it only makes us stronger it makes that which is sweeter and even more precious come out and that is the story of Pesach that is the story of our people no matter how many times were stepped on or were trampled on will be even stronger we come out even stronger as a result we make the Bravo with kiddush of Saffiano and her saddam points out chef Jana big yeah no this moment we're so grateful and we're so appreciative and we thank Hashem that were so blessed to have arrived at this moment each moment is unique each moment is special each moment demands and deserves a chef you know a sense of appreciation and again each one of these can be elaborated on each one of these is enormous conversation I'm just giving you the rush a crock and I'm giving you the little pieces to begin to have those conversations in your own way but how do you say chef the under this year in some way chef e I know that we came to this time what a terrible time but another way chef Leon oh wow if I met my Seder if I'm home and I'm healthy if I'm breathing if I'm alive chef Leon knew how sacred is this moment how much I will appreciate it how much I will never take it for granted how special it is now what is your posture when you say it when you drink the four cups when we drink the cups of wine and when we eat the matzah wheat the afikomen the halacha is it has to be done it has ceiba you have to lean you have to recline to your left you have to lean and recline according to her my soul of a chick actually onto an object not just into the air I spoke about the myth of a saber last night there's a shear online why you told her away from gorg but the shear I recently gave on has saber at length but I'll just share this one thought you know the composer of the song lean on me passed away and I saw an article my friend avi finer sent an article to me that many during this coronavirus have been drawing strength from that song lean on me I think that of all the reasons that are offered for his saber it is a display of freedom and our stock receive oil tea are able to eat while reclining to me one of the deep reasons for his saber this year is the image that while we lean will mm if he were to withdraw or pull away we would fall flat on our face then not only the Pesach night but really every day and every night we are leaning on him and if people were not there we would absolutely we would absolutely disappear so so far we've done Kadesh and workouts why in that order workout for washing our hands I'm sure you've seen the funny meme that this year the Seder is not so funny meme this year the Seder is Kaddish or cut scar power cuts yeah cuts or cuts and so on and so forth we're washing our hands 20 seconds at a time the significance of washing takes out an even stronger and greater meaning for us in this year after Orkut comes of course Karpis kiddush by the way again I want to give some practical suggestions in my home we all sing these C Mon them together Kaddish or cots and then we say kiddush I tell everybody at the Seder men women adults and children raise your glass literally if you're a righty in your right hand if your left in your left hand you fill the glass to the top with wine with grape juice you have to have a minimum measure a reverse and drink the majority of that cup while you are reclining according to many if a person is incapable of drinking wine grape juice can fulfill it as well according to others put a little bit of wine in the grape juice but we all raise the glass and we say the kiddush together out loud we conclude the kiddush HFE I know we sit down we drink it while we recline we then continue with the or cots where the water is brought to us it's a sign again of royalty that someone goes around bringing the water a cup a towel you do not make a bracha this is not the wash and we're doing for bread it's the washing we're doing before the car bus and there's a reason we wash before we eat before we eat a vegetable this is not a practice we're used to in our time but it is a practice in temple times and it is not only reminiscent and nostalgic for when it was but it's also anticipating and longing for when it will be again which brings us up to the carpus there are different customs for cardbus some have parsley some have potato thereby tight sets out and elizabeth famously used to have a banana because he said the purpose was to get the children's curiosity whatever amount you're using whatever your ingredient you're using for karpas be careful not to eat too much by this time in the Seder already if a person wasn't careful to eat enough on Erev Pesach one is already hungry and is anticipating how long they'll go till they II and you're tempted to down a few potatoes or to mix some of the potatoes you're so hungry and desperate you'll even eat a bunch of that parsley be careful though a lot is you should not eat more than a Casillas because that might mandate you're making a broth ha Crona and then if you make a broth runner you might have to make a noob or a pre Adama on the morrow we don't want to get into that whole logic question and therefore we eat less than that amount of Karpis why are we eating carcass why are we dipping Karpis so of course simply we're trying to invoke the curiosity of the children we want them to ask but there's something so much more meaningful and so much deeper the Rambam Maimonides has a commentary on the side in ofus comments of matzah named Rubino manoa and the remaining monarch there says the following beautiful beautiful reason i say every year at my seder i hope you'll say that yours because it is a critically important point to be made and a conversation to have at the seder Karpis Ezra bein a menorah comes from the words karpass kiss onus passing you remember the story why is it important at this point of the Seder to remember this story the Seder is about freedom it's about liberty it's about leaving Egypt leaving Egypt historically and leaving the Egypt of our lives but says rubbing him I know if you know before you could talk about leaving Egypt you have to begin by talking about how we got into Egypt how did we get there to begin with why would we there that's not our place that's not our land Israel is our land Eretz Kanaan Eretz Israel so how did we get to Egypt to begin with you know how we got to Egypt sin us clean and baseless hatred because a Jew hated another Jew a Jew marginalized and judged and called the name a Jew dismissed and was superior and critical and condescending towards another Jew Joseph and his brothers had tension and friction had conflict they resulted in the brothers selling Yosef down into slavery what was that fight where did that tension hit its climax over the Katona's pass him over that coat of many colors and what did the brothers do with that coat when they threw Yosef down inside pit they took that coat and they dipped it in the blood of a goat and they brought the blood the coat to the Father to Yaakov and said we found this we discovered this clearly something happened to our brother we don't know where he is but were fearful that he was killed by a wild animal how do we begin our Seder by taking carp asks on his passing and dipping it into salt water we are reenacting that dipping into the blood that began our descent into Egypt before we can talk about our ascent out before we could talk about achieving redemption and freedom we have to be reminded of how we got there to begin with it's so important because that's tempted as it is on Seder night to dwell on the good on the sweet and the freedom and on the redemption we would be foolish and we would be self-destructive not to think about and not to focus also on the mistakes we made and how we got there to ensure that we don't do it again because as much as we have evolved and developed as much as we have progressed and grown in the centuries and millennia since these original stories things have stayed the same how much synonym how much baseless hatred is there still within our Jewish people the Seder night is a reminder of ridding ourselves and we have this many places at the Seder now is not the time whether it's the fact that we dip egg or the presence of the egg at the table the round egg reminds us whether it's the notion of the of the connection on the calendar between Seder night and tea Shabab which always happened the same day of the week each year because there is a connection between the two even while we are talking about freedom and redemption we are mindful about how we got into slavery that cause of sin as Keenum we pledged and we promise that we need to stop it and that informs a lot of the Seder your even where we go next okay so we've eaten our car pass whatever the ingredient you eat make sure you have less than that measure again I am I Seder I get everybody involved and I announce we're going to recite the Bravo boy I pray Adama together and then we're going to eat the carpus together sometimes that's a dharam your different corners of the Seder going at their own pace and in my experience you lose everybody part of the night again we talked about Kaddish it's unity it's being together it's being a family so we should be synchronized to the best of our ability and I tried to therefore invite everybody to say kiddush together to make the broth out loud together Burpee Adama even if you already ready you got the salt water before your sibling and lying people down you wait put it on your plate they make the Braco together we dipped and we dip together and make the Braco together we eat together of course the carpus is not eaten buffet but we're not even while leaning because it is reminiscent of something I said the the dipping it in the salt water not something which is happy what comes next kadai shortcuts car pass you got it yeah cuts we take the middle matzah and we break it we have three Matz's what are the three masses correspond with our meats we can Yaakov or Cohen levy nice throw there are many traditions about what the masses correspond with I read an article once that a fourth matzo there was a tradition several centuries ago about a fourth matzo why would you have a fourth Matz if it was unnecessary that matzo was called the Matz of Suffolk you know why you had a fourth matzo because you anticipated and you knew and you were ready that one of the masses was going to break one of the problems when you come into the Seder night is you expect everything to happen perfectly the kid though is gonna remain white the tablecloths gonna remain white everyone's gonna get along everyone's gonna take their turn everyone's gonna sing in harmony everyone's gonna cooperate it's gonna be the most memorable amazing night and that is never ever going to happen things will spill things will break people will fight people will pass out from the wine the tension things are going to break so we have a matzah already in reserve because we anticipate and we know and we already this is one of the reasons a custom in Kyle a break a glass under the chuppah because at that moment that everything feels so right and seems so right and feels like it can never break we break a glass to tell you you you're fastening kalyan writing room you need to know that in life things are going to break if you know that and you're ready for it you can endure if you think it's always going to be perfect it's going to bring you down you're going to crumble so we have the three months as we take the middle knocks out and we break it yeah we break it into why are we breaking that matzah into so the simple understanding is because Matz has two names Matz is called Lacan only the bloody bread of the poor man which we understand in two ways either the bread of the poor man or left I'm shown him a lot varam holiday the bread upon which we say a lot we say the whole Seder we give a lot of different Torah how is matzah the bread of the permian so the simple understanding is that the poor man has to ration their bread as we're doing with our medical resources tragically in our time who would think in the 21st century with all of our prosperity would be rationing anything but the poor person has to ration resources so they break their bread in order to eat some now and save some for later and that's how it's the lekha mony but if I solve a Czech understood it differently or my celibate said the poor man beep or materially financially but he's wealthy in his or her generosity you know why he or she break it in half because they're willing to share their other half with someone else what's the antidote to the carpus and the dipping in the tears what's the antidote to the center screen um a vast Kingdom baseless love when I'm willing to share what I have with others we'll get into that in a moment and howl off my Anja where my syllabic said the yeah cots is the unnie the poor man being willing to share in fact the half of time says this itself was the merit the catalyst through which we had the redemption Torah tells us that we were told to borrow Ishmael have a person should borrow from their friend in Egypt and only after we borrowed from one another did we merit to leave and the simple understanding is that we borrowed from the Egyptians on our way out it became our wealth but why does it say your friend Raya Raya is only your brother so why would it say ray all the hobbits crime says it's not talking about the Egyptians that's separate and apart it meant before we could leave Egypt a slave you see a slave mentality says whatever I have is only for me I have to hold on to it desperately I had to cling to it I have to hide it I can't let anyone say and I'm certainly unwilling to share because the slave the indigent the poor person who doesn't know what they're gonna get next holds on and keeps it close to the chest the free person the person is truly free is willing to share what they have with others so the Ani like I'm Oni might be poor financially economically but they are rich in their generosity sometimes says we borrowed one from another just to experience lessen even in Egypt before we left because again the antidote to Synod is love the willingness to share and to be generous with one another that's what we say in the pasta connacher nelisa bahasa ha i'm zuga alta it was in the merit of the Hesed that got alta that we were redeemed and that we were able to get out so two reasons why we raked the matzah even the poor person has to ration and save for later or a higher reason a higher level is the poor person might be poor financially but the poor person is able to share what they have with others shalom acaba has another answer he says you know why we break the middle matzah because even as we sit down to experience our freedom and I hope this resonates so deeply with me this year I hope it does with you the such brokenness in the world the stories the flow of obituaries of death announcements it's you know robbing mascots my dear colleague and friend said this is what would be a Kiva must have felt like to see great Robin intermedia common individuals men women should it's unbelievable we were living in broken times we ourselves are broken like the image of that matza Sandra slow-mo who makes the matzah whole we break the matzah and we have the bigger part and we have a smaller part we set one aside we put inside and the other becomes our afikomen we break it in two and the bigger part we hide and we save for the afikomen the smaller probably put back into our into our matzah cover together with our other masses who is the one who's going to make them mats a hole who brings back the afikomen it's the children when we feel broken and we look at a world with brokenness when this brokenness in the world or brokenness in our family or a sense of brokenness within ourselves it is the children it is the optimism the hope the positive nature it is the children that gives us faith and that brings us back and makes this whole that is Johan's Kadesh hots carpus yeah cots brings us to maggot I want to make an important comment about maggot l'chaim can yes quiche Lita has a Haggadah and it's a God that he says the following Magid is the longest part of the Seder and it is the dangerous part of the Seder it's dangerous because we have the great risk of losing people this is where many of them fights happen everyone come to the table with their countless debater and of course this isn't the best scenario Halla why we should continue to have many people out the tail rotor table Halla why they should have many divert order to deliver so we're tempted to say you know what column our bomber is about the more the better we're gonna stay here all night look I'm Kenny eski Saha Tora one of the good ole a hot door of our generation this is what it says in his eye Goodman you ready during Mugabe of crime interrupts only to add a few short explanations and does not allow anyone to interrupt him he says the author of that God established Atlanta by God and we should not add to it there'll be plenty of time afterward for explanations in the Torah and we can discuss the Exodus for that limit your highness recital of Magha does not take longer than 1/2 hour that's right you heard me right when her crime goes to show the morning after the Seder he loses the game each and every year of who who has the longest Seder who goes the deepest into the night why do I share that with you not because we're racing to finish maggot as quickly as we can I share it with you for two reasons number one because there are people who are listening right now and there are people who are in their homes not listening but who simply this year will either be alone or couples will be by themselves and they don't have children to deliver a long lengthy debate or discourse they don't have someone with whom to have a conversation and a dialog how long can your monologue with yourself really last and I want you to know if maggot goes quickly if your seder ends the one who authored the Haggadah told us what we need to say don't feel guilty don't feel bad don't feel regret don't feel inferior you know less than refined can have ski if your Maggie takes you half an hour and if your seder ends on the early side I'm not encouraging it and I'm not requiring it but I'm saying don't feel bad about it everyone needs to know particularly those who may find themselves alone Maggie does not need to go on what we need to say it's right there in the Haggadah stick with it and you're covered and you're good to go but it also again reminds us that our mission of the evening is not to dwell on each part and get into complicated convoluted different Torah our goal is to say these words to be moved by their themes and to be stimulated by their conversation that we can have over the meal itself or when the Seder is over or we forget it's like everyone in front waits we put everything we've gotten to the first Seder by the second Seder we're still just eating the leftovers and delivering the leftovers and the rest of Pesach nobody's got anything left to say it's not the way it's meant to be this is a magnificent holiday and these themes and energy are enriching throughout the whole holiday so ration save delegate allocated to be able to carry you all the way through that's a word of introduction Nagin begins with how Lokmanya how much Melania is written in the Aramaic when was it added to the Seder and why is it an Aramaic I told you I want to get moving through the maggot and through the Seder I want to share with you the themes for your conversation not the details but in this house of mine and those are all important questions for another time but in this holler from Chania we talk about the fact this is the bread of the floor person that our forefathers ate in Egypt called if money is a vehicle whoever is hungry let him come and eat now this is the most disingenuous invitation in any year it is certainly the most disingenuous invitation this year not only are we not opening our door opening our window making a phone call putting on social media not only are we not in fact inviting any guests we would slam the door in the face and any guests who would show up who would arrive this is an unusual year one of my havi remand cabooses texted me yesterday and I'm not posing this question now because I don't wanna get us all into trouble but some of the halacha of yontiff of cooking and of the Malacca that we do on yontiff comes from a principle called Howell since the guest could arrive any moment and I need to have enough for him therefore how well I am allowed to do what about in a year where across the globe no guests are welcome no guests are allowed does that impact our holic practice today I'm not putting it out there because I don't want to cause problems even if he did my he does want to cause problems he just mentioned it in terms of the in terms of the halacha so this is a disingenuous invitation in any given year but particularly this year our windows are closed our doors are locked nobody hears I say anyone who's hungry with such grace that kanockers anyone who's hungry come and eat cold it's a severe stuff anyone who needs coming off of the carbon Pesa the basal avian is I gotta says we're not talking to people on the outside we're talking to ourselves you know who's hungry and you know who means the place ah you and me we're desperate for redemption for gula for temple times we will be observing Pesach not in its non-ideal way we're desperate to return to the ideal observance of Pesach where yes a vehicle the carbon paths I had to beat nyla sova you had to eat the carbon test the sacrificial Pesach while you were full that's why we say anyone who's hungry come eat and be full whoever needs come have the Pesa because we're not really referring to anyone here in this world we're referring to a time when we will once again be able to offer the carbon peso but it means something else even in a year like this and this is such an important and powerful message it means the following and many have this comment it means you know what freedom is when you're willing to share what you have with other you're not inviting others because you literally think someone's going to knock on your door and you're going to share with them you're inviting others because you're beginning your Seder by making a statement world God myself look at all that I have look at my China my silverware my crystal look at my pictures of my kinder luck on my an o'clock look at my swaram look at all that I have look at my good health you know all that I have I am willing and eager and able to share it with others you see when you're stingy and when you're cheap and when you're unwilling to share then you're not really free you're enslaved to your possessions your enslave to your bank account you're enslaved to that which you have but when you look at that which you have whether it is a lot or a little and you say you know whenever I have is a blessing and so much so I'm willing to share it with others then you've truly set yourself free it's a night of freedom we set ourselves free through this declaration that I'm eager and willing to share what I have with others and how important is that message for this time when there are so many who have less no matter how little you have and are we willing to share what we have or are we buckling down and holding it close to the chest and acting in a stingy fashion are we giving mostly Tim are we giving Tom clay shabbos are we ensuring everyone has four cups of wine and everyone has matzah and everyone can make a stater this year even if we're not sure where our next paycheck is coming from but if we have the ability to give are we giving in some way because that display that declaration of code if any is a vehicle whoever needs come to me that is the very way in which we declare our sense of freedom again this is such a critically important conversation piece if you're stingy and cheap if you're not generous then you're a slave to what you have but if you look at what you have and you're willing to share it then you own it it doesn't own you then and only then are you really free what a great conversation piece to have we move on to the - Donna - Donna I left out a few things boop-boo-boo-boop it doesn't matter so I sent my specify socks the ability to speak we're gonna be here all night and I don't want to be I want to get you out with some great conversation pieces - Donna - Donna so what is the - Donna you surely not only managed on our why is tonight different but managed Donna on your day how line lines their what will be different because of tonight not only why is tonight different but what will be different as a result of tonight is also part of the Manish Donna remar Weis Ashley - Laurie of Arabian is Memphis Asha Haggadah points out that if you look at all four of the Manish downer questions all four have suresh effort they have one root namely avodah or harris slavery or freedom she booed or gula but or redemption all the contrasts in the Manish donna are all emphasizing and expressing this theme we know we're doing it in order to get the children interested get the children active I tried to teach my six month old grandson - Donna Anna walk - Spanish Shabbos it didn't go very well as precocious as I think he is but the idea is that the youngest person asked mash Donna again just giving you the insight into my Seder we begin with the youngest person but we make our way all the way up often my father he should be healthy for many years and rejoin us for the Seder please God in coming years sings the Manish donna in Yiddish sometimes you've had it sung in Spanish and Portuguese and French it's a wonderful way to get everyone's interest curiosity to get some livelihood back into the sailor by singing the mannish Donna in different languages so the - time is sung and then we respond - Donna's question-and-answer which is what the Seder is all about even a person those of you who will be having the Seder all alone still do it in a question-and-answer format would you speak so much to the pedagogy of the evening it's a educational evening we learn from questions and from answers Judaism has never shied away from asking questions and here's another conversation piece for the night not to get stuck at Mount understand there's a long way to go but you know Roberto Wade who is a fascinating rabbi in Israel tour guide at yad vashem rabbi himself is a convert he was rising in the ranks of Christianity maybe you've heard him tell his story and as he rose in the leadership of the church he was filled with many questions about Christian doctrine and he describes in his own story that he went to one of his superiors it wasn't the archbishop but it was somebody very high up in the church and he said here are all my questions about the the the New Testament and Christian doctrine and and Christian I don't understand and he was so when his superior turned to him and said you know I have the very same questions they said that's wonderful what are the answers help me help me I'm stuck so his superior turned to him and said you know what I do when I have those questions I get down on my knees and I pray that they go away and he was so disturbed and so disappointed he continued to explore and he found Judaism Judaism says questions we love questions we embrace questions were never afraid of questions questions are the best it was a great Nobel prize-winner who in his obituary New York Times told the story then how do you become a Nobel Prize winner science because when his mother sent him to school everyone else's mother said did you answer good answer in class today his mother said to him did you ask a good question in class today we are people of questions we learn from questions our night is defined by question answer question answer it's the format the pedagogy the platform of the evening Manesh Donna we encourage questions there's no questions we're afraid of science and Torah morality and ethics the world and its culture and mores it's important to tell the next generation our children and ourselves that there are no questions that we're afraid of we may not have the answers but we're not going to get on our hands and knees they pray they go away we're simply going to continue to look until we find them so we begin to give that answer we sing I've Adam how you know hi Inu we sing avid mie know that's the term we use in my home the father or the leader of the Seder is the one who responds that first section but then we encourage everybody to sing along and to say all the parts I'll tell you again in my home I say I whisper in an undertone the whole parts of the Haggadah as if it is a text in a liturgy but we go around the table men women children to each take turns leading the Haggadah I don't force anybody but I ask everybody it's a way to involve everybody include everybody everyone should be participating and contributing to the Seder you don't want to make anyone nervous or intimidated to put them on the spot maybe you want to ask in advance whether maybe you are very wise you know to go in order there's big selection small sections hard words easy words songs everyone knows and the parts people don't know but to go around and particularly children to get everybody to realize that they have a place at the Seder they have a contribution but there's some mark for them to make on the Seder so we answer other than my you know what is our answer of a Mayan I know we're only avid in my uniform for minutes in we're gonna try to pick up some pace here and feel free to drop out anytime you want that's not a luxury you have at my actual Seder but it's one that you have tonight so I'll add in my you know what is our answer I've already my units the motor records that Maskull universum assigned the shock our Seder follows a certain order we begin with something disparaging about ourselves self-deprecating and then wrist wrap we conclude with something which is praiseworthy so what is it that we're saying that starts negatively and that ends positively why don't we do it in that way so Robin Schmo will have a debate is it that we begin abide in my you know we were physical slaves and then we end but God you took us out or is that we begin Mithila of their motors on how you ever said he knew that we began as idolaters and then we discovered monotheism we discovered you God what is that debate what a robbing shmoop excuse me arguing about sorted by sacks Lord Sachs and there's tremendous I've got the suggests that what they're arguing about is what is the core transition or liberation of the evening is it the physical component that we went from physical bondage to physically free or is that the spiritual the metaphysical transition from being enslaved spiritually idolaters to the journey of discovery of God metaphysically the spiritual discovery which is the core which is the emphasis if you think about it for a moment why are we starting with something negative and here is such an important important message for all of us and another conversation piece for your meal over the course of Pesach not only are we not afraid to tell questions in Judaism we're also not afraid to share and to give access to our children to the parts of our lives that are not entirely praiseworthy now that doesn't mean to suggest that we air our dirty laundry in public and it doesn't mean to suggest that with pride we share our mistakes and our indiscretions but it means that you know that notion so much of the challenge of addiction today I was talking to an addiction specialist a couple years ago and he said that you know Shane disappears in public when people are willing to - many are walking around with this giving this impression that my life is perfect the whole social media phenomenon where I post the most amazing pictures of my of my vacation remember those things where people were able to go away and go on vacation or post amazing parts of my vacation or my amazing Pesach or my amazing birthday or am i amazing simply we leave out all the parts in between and you know what that does it generates in others a feeling of inferiority it generates and others a feeling of why is it my life so perfect but the more that we are able to and willing to share with others that we're putting out perfect and our lives are imperfect the more that people don't feel that pressure and the healthier we all become and therefore masculine begin Osen messiaen boishakh we don't project or give the misimpression to anyone that our life has been linear we didn't start out on the journey exactly where we find ourselves now we've been on a track of growth and self-improvement and who we are now is only the result this is the entire not now the discussion of hagiography as opposed to biography the genre of literature that doesn't just have a story of arghya Dola is throw that they were born perfect that they were came out of the womb knowing Shas and having perfected their character but the genre of literature that says you know they struggle with this they were imperfect in that way and they worked on themselves and they conquered it master begin assume messiah shock is part of the ethos of the seder because we're communicating to ourselves in the next generation what an important conversation piece about that it's okay not to be perfect we're not proud of our imperfections but it's okay it's okay to be on a journey it's okay to make mistakes it's okay to be on this path of always trying to grow that's part of our very story all right I know vanna vanna vanna mushy by the Mayan on the power of a Mitzrayim we say that you know had God not taken us out we would still be over 3,000 years later would still be enslaved in Egypt come on no we wouldn't we know a socio-political change in the world the odds that we would still be in Egypt are very small so what does it really mean what are we really saying I'm actually looking at one of my favorite I got is right now I serve on chef Achatz now I go there of Zombo Ruskin I love this I garden here he says the following what it really means God have you not taken us out it means not physically would still be enslaved but you know we have a uniquely Jewish culture perspective view of the world ethic we would be like the rest of the world we'd be like everyone else had you not taken us out we would simply workship pop culture we would simply subscribe to the same fans we would simply have the same ethics and ethos and more ease but we have uniquely Jewish we have our total perspective that God gave us divinely and that's only because he took us a call a marvelous a is miss Ryan whoever speaks more horizon Shuba the home light is all about speaking the night is all about the mouth Cody bore we speak and we eat the max of the MER it's eating its speaking it's what goes out it was come in why because that's freedom freedom of speech freedom of speech is not the ability to say anything I want to say freedom of speech is the ability to speak freely a slave has to be very careful of every word they say a slave has to be very measured we have the ability to speak pass I says this fast emissaries I'll pass our kids name comes from pear sack deburr was in Gullah speech was an egg style and when we were liberated when we were taken out pet sock we rediscovered this capacity to speak and boy do we speak and the more we speak and Pesa the better call a marble in Lusaka the more we speak the better again remember we're taking turns reading my sublevel Asura Bistro verb Lebanese area it'll be Kiva repeat our phone these great sages these great rabbi show you my super by Bnei Brak they're eating the meal they're celebrating Pesach and Bnei Brak and they were this is now an illustration this is an example we just said it's so important to elaborate on the story of our Exodus that we now illustrate that with an example these great rabbis who did exactly so in Bnei Brak so much so that they lost track of time and they had to be reminded it's time for krishma why are we telling the story it's an illustration but it's something so much more than just that the artificial funding is our God though I've said a man is a God there's many others which pointed out where were they you know the Kiva wasn't the nasi web allows there to be sharable laws have been Azaria became her avatar phone why are they in Bnei Brak they should be in Bnei Brak they should be where the nasi is at the time why are they in Bnei Brak so they all point out you know why they're in Bnei Brak again this is such an important insight for our time for this particular year who lived in a B'nai Brak out of that list of great rabbis which one of them lived in Bnei Brak rebbi akiva and who is Ruby Akiva he is the eternal optimist positive thinking Rubick even everyone else cries they see a fox the Akiva sees the beginning of the fulfillment of prophecy Ruby he gets the late start on life but he's never negative he's never pessimistic he's never fatalistic he's never hopeless he's never despondent rebbi akiva is the symbol the message of hope of positivity even as his skin is being flayed from his flesh even as he's being killed by the Romans really Akiva in that worst moment come on des I would recommend on top of all that everything God does is for the best what was going on in that year and at that time it was the time of Roman oppression and persecution and they needed a message of hope and optimism there was a plague a pandemic they faced a threat where did they go Rabbi Akiva where do we go in our Seder to the image the symbol of Rabbi Akiva Elia who Nov we spoke about moti shabu-shabu said God loved Russia could find it on YouTube the notion of a plane with the notion of optimism of positive thinking they were in Bnei Brak specifically because that's where rebbi akiva was the next paragraph is deeply meaningful for me because it's exactly how I feel every day or any convention Mashona I feel and look like I'm 70 years old and the story of her husband is re what exactly is this limit not for now we continue bora hamakom we have a song maybe you have it barack who there's a song bora hamakom what's this bharatham welcome where does it come from reversal of a chick says Baraka mahkum who is the mahkum bora blessed is the mahkum bara who who is this maqam service elevated says now that we began by talking about our past which included slavery this ending this very noble past we were physically slaves and we were idolaters but now we've hinted to the fact that we were redeemed we broke through we have the freedom the freedom to now be willing to share what we have the freedom to be able to speak freely so bara who this is now a transition to gratitude because another we've spoken about a theme of freedom one thing my freedom is our ability to be generous if you're not generous you're in slaves to what you have you're only free if you're willing to share freedom is the ability to speak if you can't speak you're enslaved and a third theme of freedom is gratitude you're only really free when you're capable of being grateful because implicit in every expression of gratitude is an admission I needed it and I benefited from someone her her famously says that the word homo de Meaux della moda owl when I'm grateful I'm making the mission that I needed you and I benefited from you and so real freedom is the ability to express gratitude to feel a sense of gratitude which is one of the significant themes of the whole night what is Baraka Malcolm listen to this beautiful insight I'll grab myself a check he says Baraka Marco means you know you know who my place is right now we're confined to our homes quarantined in Israel and Pesach for the first time since the night of utsa mitzrayim lay it so easy should be passed off base a at M low say to usually pass second base so the pass again schmoes yet base hot days says God told us no one can leave their home Bibi Netanyahu declared today that in Israel no one's allowed to literally leave their home on Seder night it's it's again Who am I and what am i but it's hard to not feel there's something much bigger than ourselves happening and happening this year Pesach maybe they thought that during the Black Plague and during other dark crimes in Jewish history too but for the Jewish people to have sovereignty in our homeland and and to be told as a Jewish people that the exact same time rotate to each leap s off base so you can't leave your home so we're confined to our homes on the one hand but do our homes define us what about a person is homeless is a person who's homeless also have no identity so you know what the answer is herb a salad a chick bara hamakom why do we call God ha makom because he is our place as long as we are connected to him as long as we have faith in him as long as we feel his presence in our life we have a place in this world our address is not just our zip code our address is not just where we get our mail our address is hamako Hashem he is our place as long as we are connected to him and as long as he is within us finding expression in this world through us then Baraka mahkum he is our place but alternative later by selling HTML has explained the word mock Rome has a negative connotation the word mahkum we use when a person is sitting Shiva I'm a community miss him when a person experiences a loss financial or god forbid of much worse we say Baraka McComb where does that come from McComb is the word that we use to describe when we don't feel the chemin hat / Bernard Weinberger's that's a low recently passed away and as Agatha points out the mahkum is the word we use when we don't feel close to the opposite of the rubs insight so for example it says when they're coming to the arcade the virus and Mark O'Meara Hoch Avram saw the place from far away he was asked to slaughter his own son God didn't feel so loving and affectionate and accessible in that moment God felt like he was far away mahkum is the word that we use to think about him to talk about God when he is when he's a sense of his being far away so why are we talking about God being far away because true we're about to talk about four sons but one of those four sons is the Russia and the notion that one might have a Russia it's hard to feel and appreciate and see God in that moment so this paragraph is the beginning of a feeling of of appreciation of gratitude and of the recognition of the good in our lives it's also a form of a beer casa Torah we're about to begin the the core central part of magadh is really all about biblical exegesis we're going to take the section of the Haggadah which comes from the Torah and we're going to extrapolate we're going to share an analysis of it so what you have to do before you learn Torah you recite be recepttura and bara imambara who barks on a scintilla when you throw to a degree is a form of a maraca Tora Bora Bora cetera and we talked about the four sons who are these four sons so first of all it's noteworthy that not who is that to say to the four sons but which one's not at the table the Russia makes it to the Seder there's a fifth son a fifth daughter the one who doesn't even make it to the Seder the one who has so little interest the one who walks away the rush is a fascinating character we want to give a shout as a gobble drush all about trying to identify who is the Russia what is the Russia there's a Russia in all of us the Russian why since I got the rights that when the Russia asks my hello does okay I'm what is all of this to you he says every one of us when we look at the minutia the details of the falak I've told and we say ah what does this really matter why does God really care what is all this halacha that's the inner voice of a Russia in us asking that so there is an opinion that says all four of these are found in us there's an element of us that that expresses itself in all four of these personalities and all four of these characters alternatively the rabbi sacks says these represent four stages of our life our life can be tracked by these four stages of being young an adolescent rebellious adult all four of these but it's an interesting conversation who are the four and where is the fifth why is the fifth one not really there who is this Russia again we go around we take turns leading and reading and it's always a fun exercise whose turn it is in my house who gets to read the huffin and who gets to read the Russia is always a fun time in my in my house the Russia what do we do to the Russia the Russia because he takes himself out hockey escena we blunt his teeth from quota I see the show rubbish a teaching what it means is the Russia asked mama does us like him no one's really a Russia inside every Jew is the pintle yet is the holy spark the holy the holy a sense of a Jew nobody's really that that Russia so what are we doing inside every one is a Shin ha KS Xin of blunt his teeth says reps Roma means ha KS sheen of knock the letter Shin out of him the Shin has three arms a letter Shin Avram Yitzhak and Yakov inside every Jew is a pintle a year is a Holy Spirit and we're trying to knock out of that Jew is the pintle year there are layers of cynicism there are layers of sarcasm there are layers of hurt there are layers that cause us not to want to be turned on to Judaism to ask my brother's lehem our mission our goal is hockey as she naav we knock out that letter Shin the she knob we knock out the shin dong-bin skin yak of the Pinta lead from him we then continue until over the others are I you ever say no we began as idolaters this is the alternate to a Vadim high you know as the answer to manage Dhamma that we began as idolaters and we talk about what that means what are we worshiping in our life you want a conversation piece this is one that we try to have in our home Ovid mi you know what do we worship what do we value whom are we worshiping what is slavery and what is freedom if I can't start my day without my overpriced triple vanilla caramel latte from Starbucks and I go into debt because I can't afford it but I'm addicted to Starbucks as my vice in the best case scenario or I'm addicted to something else even worse what what is freedom is freedom the ability to walk freely are we free right now even while can find within our own homes do we have freedom because we can do tested do we have freedom because we can be grateful do we have freedom because we can share what we have do we have freedom because of how we choose to behave than what we do in our homes or is the fact that we're all confined to our home take away our sense of freedom so essentially what I'm suggesting is that this is a point in the seder it's killer of their voters are you saying no what do we worship what are we addicted to what are we bow down to celebrities athletes the mighty dollar isn't it interesting how all that's been removed from us there is no NBA playoff and there are no NFL there is no major league baseball and there is no golf term the master study announced they're gonna happen in November that's like moving pace after November Lahab deal like incomprehensible but the sports world has been taken away from us entertainment no new entertainments being produced or or or created right now so if those things defined in us and we were addicted to them can we live without them what are we worship what are we bowing down to versus what are we free is it physical freedom is it emotional freedom is an existential freedom how do we define slavery how do we define freedom what is it what is it really all about we then now get into the biblical exegesis a little bit we begin barnacleman have to possibly acknowledge that God fulfilled and kept the promise that he made to the Jewish people he was officially saccades he thought about the end what is that case what is that end and many beautiful insights not for now and then we get to mahisha aMDA we lift our glass and again I'm giving you the image of my Seder everyone we've been rotating going around parts of it we take turns leading other parts we say and sing all together there are times that we cover the mats items that we uncover the matzah just to look at your Haggadah to know when to do what at this point we uncover I'm sorry we cover the matzah and we lift our cup and we lift our cup while we sing the Hisham delano say no I will spare you from singing it right now the Hisham dalabo say no Vilano that this thing stood for our forefathers and for us shallow a fad Bovada model and makalah say no it wasn't one time in our history that they start to destroy us behold our beador in every generation they stand against us in order to eliminate us and God comes and rescues us from their hand this is such an important paragraph why what's it all about why are we lifting the cup so de batalla radensky and it's our God I quote some what's the word V he the he this thing Shonda Lavoisier no it's what stood for our forefathers this V he what is it that stood for our forefathers what is it that stands for that stands for us so the marshawn says you know what that he is the fact that we're lifting our Cup the fact that we don't drink stamina the fact that we only drink kosher wine this was put in place why in order to say that the Jewish people have to protect ourselves from assimilation we protect ourselves from intermarriage the Hisham the lava sea no when the nations of the world were either hating us and trying to destroy us with hatred or equally could destroy us with love you know America as great and as blessed as a country as it is you see the assimilation intermarriage rates and you see that they weren't able to eliminate destroys in Europe with hate but they're able to eliminate and destroy us with love by allowing us to integrate allowing us to assimilate the he we lift the cup and we save the he this cup the idea that I only drink kosher wine all wine is kosher so I'll just from grapes what's not kosher about it if it's produced from a non Jew without Jewish supervision that's what makes it non kosher the fact that we insist on preserving our boundaries and president that we not we appreciate the secular world we contribute we interact which are the benefits other of course but at the same time we realize that we are a Jewish people and it's that commitment to to confront the simulation the vision the lifting the cup is what stood with our ancestors and it's what stands for us that's the first explanation that is the mash em I want to tell you the explanation of this fast Ennis I love this shot listen to this fast Emmis he says you know to the evesham the law was saying it was shallow a hut Bovada a Madalena Mahalo say no shallow a Fed bill vada shallow Assad when we're not united when we're not unified when we're not one shallow cut bill vote for that reason alone I'm Madalena Mahalo say no when we're not united when we're fighting with one another when we're competing when we're condescending when we're judgmental when we're taking each other down when we're dismissing one another that alone is reason for our destruction since this famous it's a night of unity dish in the singular fly to Israel ion United it's a night of unity shall our hot bill vada because we weren't united alone but that alone I'm not Elena look Hollis a new what an important comment of this famous oarfish economics our God has another interpretation he says you know what that he is this is a tough one to swallow but it's also very true in our time the vahish on the labas a new you know what has protected us through the generations anti-semitism anti-semitism protected us anti-semitism threatens to destroy us the answer is when we forget were Jews the nations of the world remind us when we try to integrate when we try to drop what makes us different and distinct the nations of the world come at us and we've seen it in the modern spread of anti-semitism that before the coronavirus was the biggest threat that we face this pace saw was this resurgence of anti-semitism do you how many secular Jews would forgotten their Jewish said you know if anti-semites want to take me down I'm gonna wear a high around my neck I'm gonna put a mezuzah on my door I'm gonna rheic Splore my sense of Judaism the he is anti-semitism has stood for us as horrible and is terrible and is difficult and as much as we have to fight it it also has to a degree protected us because it's protected us from fully in assimilating we then put down the cup and we reveal the uncover the masses again and now we break into the story of the first anti-semite we referenced anti-semitism so again it's a conversation piece anti-semitism of course is bad and of course we're trying to confront it and eliminate it but is there any good that comes from anti-semitism what does anti-semitism is impact ultimately on us aside from threatening us can we leverage it I think we're missing a huge opportunity we should be exploiting anti-semitism and leveraging it to try to reach out to a unaffiliated Jewish population and say if you want to forget your judaism anti-semites won't let you they hate you because you're Jewish it's worth at least looking into why you're Jewish we should be leveraging it the Hisham does a great point to have that conversation and then we continue with the first story sale Ahmad my vacation love on our army lovin wanted to destroy love and be cash lock whereas our coal he wanted to get rid of everything it's only one problem go back to the Torah doesn't say anywhere that lovin wanted to get rid of us that love and wanted to destroy everything so what is that talking about and why is he our example of an anti-semite again we're going around taking turns reading and making our way through this through this section I'm saying that by a Hisham the guy I'm gonna read it quickly just as most of us do at our own Seder even though they're such beauty and each one of these we recording a puss lick and then we're invoking the rabbinic tradition now why is that important and also because part of Judaism part of the state of your night is all about miss Sora it's all about tradition it's not just about our written Torah it's also about our oral torah and it's also about the traditions that we have from one another so we are quoting a PASOK and then we're invoking kazow pus lacasa pasta kazar why because we're trying to show our commitment not only to our biblical torah but our commitment to our messiah as a whole and as our tradition as a whole we are flying we're making good time we're gonna get to the meal soon stick with me we're going until we get to damn via a service in recession what are we talking we're up to the Marcos boom we made some good time there welcome thanks for staying with me the Marcos we're up to the Marco's my screen is frozen I don't know if anyone is still with me where'd he go Oldenburg shake your head if you're still here he's frozen salad anybody still with me still with me I can't tell I'm gonna keep speaking and if you're not then I am fulfilling something to save it to yourself so we're up to the Makos we're up to the plagues the plagues are not frozen okay thank you we're back we're back the plagues the plagues are a highlight for many of the Seder we get to dip our finger and take out the wine because we don't the Ruggero we don't take joy in the pain of others you know it's an opportunity to get the children involved like you we have props at our Seder we try to involve the children with with props throwing frogs everywhere and putting on the masks and re-enacting and all the props you got to put in time the more time the more preparation you do for your Seder the more meaningful and transformational your shader will be if you can think in a Russian and be exhausted and sit down and all of a sudden come up with something meaningful you're too late to the game it's all a matter of the preparation we put in in advance so this is an important point by the way to talk about that do we take during the downfall of our enemies do we celebrate in the targeted assassination of a terrorist do we celebrate is it something that we celebrate or something that we hesitate so we take out a little wine and what does that mean for us and the way we react when we hear about an enemy who was brought down and alight the part I want to bring your attention to is right before we go through the fun we sing dance our day uh frogs hear frogs they're frogs are jumpin everywhere and when we go through all of them before we do that we invoke Rabi who does brilliant contribution what is Ruby who does brilliant contribution rub you who died I know Saint by hem C Mon him rub you who that came up with a great acronym brilliant mine it's aa a - Dhaka oh wow what an acronym what an acronym that's a brilliance of rebbi akiva everybody who da big deal right the most unsophisticated ignorant person could look at them and say okay darlin sadi off the table i in doubt what is the big deal what is his contribution so listen to this insight from the abide by now the barber now says and this is again so important for our own understanding and so important as a conversation piece the ax bar banal says the following when Moshe comes and confronts Peres and tells him I'm here representing God I'm his agent you gotta let the people go power tongues too many says three things I know not God who is God that I should obey Him all one sense but three distinct things most para que pussing base I don't know God who is God why should I obey him says the ax bar Bernal these are three statements of heresy number one I know not God he's questioning the very existence of God para thinks he's Danny he's God who's got number two who is God he's questioning that God is involved in supervising human events what does God know if there is a God he's the first cause he's the Creator he's the omnipotent what does he have to do with daily life down here on earth and number three that I should obey Him he's questioning God's power and ability to express Providence to change the course of nature so Peres was rejecting three axioms of faith he says who is this guy I don't believe in God and if there is a God who created the world I don't think he really knows he cares about what's going on down here and if he knows or cares about what's going on down here he's not really intervening or interfering he's not really showing Providence what's going down says the bar bunnell review who duh it's not the acronym it's the groupings that saw a - behalf the Makos are a curriculum to teach peril and respond to each of these three statements of heresy the first that sac comes to prove the existence of God in the first plague M says in order that you shall know that I'm God the second group a - comes to demonstrate God's role in human events the fourth plague which is the first of the second group he says in order that you will know that I'm God in the middle of the land and the third that I have comes to demonstrate God's mastery over nature in the seventh plague which is the first of the last group he says in order that you will know that there's none like me in all the land it's a brilliant - Bob bunnell and it's obvious now from the look of it you go back and you look at them so what review that was saying was don't read the 10 as 1 unit of 10 read it as a 3 the talk - by 5 each of these groupings is a response to Paros challenges the first plague in each group motion meets peril in the morning outside the palace the second plague in each group moisture comes to the panels to see Paro and the third plague in each group Moshe performs the plague without meeting power first so again all of this is a response the power isn't rejection both the way he groups it as well as the as well as the place and the timing the expression so these are the plagues and it's an opportunity to talk about plagues particularly this year where we feel like we are living through one when nature seems intervened when nature is not going its way is that is that a Shem is that nature is there nature outside of Hashem what does that really mean this is a place to have this whole conversation which brings us up to pestsof matzah and maro perak mats and more I skipped a you know hold on first it brings us up to Diana Diana is very important not only is a great song we bring everybody back died I know that I you know why is Diana so important the jeno is sorry the jeno is so important but the aim is also very peculiar each stands up they enter you read and you sing and you look at me say come on if you just this then d'ya know it would have been enough come on it never would be Diana so there's a beautiful insight that Diana doesn't mean it would have been enough it obviously would not have been enough that you know means it's enough to be able to express gratitude what comes after Diana Howell each of these is enough to sing hollow on each of the siz enough of a reason to say thank you to you so what does it mean what does it mean to be able to say thank you are we only willing to say thank you when we get it all are we only willing to say thank you on the big things or are we willing to even say thank you on what I feel like and what seem like the small things in our lives also what are we willing to say thank you for are we able to say thank you only when we're free can we express a sense of gratitude but there's another sense of diony which i think is also very relevant for this year that word day a new common word die which means enough dr. Norman lamb it should be well and his Ogada talked about when I shall created the world the elements were fighting for the domination and I shall turn to each of them and he said die it's enough Shyamala olam die shall die is one of his name's he said to the world it's enough freedom is the ability to say I have enough when you crave more and want more when you always need more and you're driven for more then you're not really free but when you have the ability to say you know what I look around at what I have and while I wish I had more and while I work to have more but while I have died Diana it's enough for me to feel grateful do we have the ability to say Diana are we ever satisfied or do we always need more in this year do we look at what we have with a deep sense of appreciation that what we have so many others what they would give for to be able to have it we can tell you with pesto mats I'm Arabic and we all teachers you have to say these three things if you don't say these three things then you're not yo saying and again there are different min huggin we're still going around rotating who's leading what pass off pass off you don't point to anything because r0 on our Seder Plate is not actually the and pisaq and not to give that misimpression we don't point matzah we point to the matzah and murderer is an action Haggadah which has a picture during murderer the ball a seder the one leading the Seder is pointing during murder to his wife I don't recommend trying that at home it's been tried and it didn't go well but more you point to the Marat so don't point to anyone in particular we point because we're demonstrating these three are present now I bring you to a fascinating question and another great conversation piece Pesach matzah and murderer Fermi gamma Leo gives us this formula it says lo Yahtzee like Allah so first of all what exactly have you not fulfilled if you didn't say these three things which obligation did you not fulfill he says if you don't say these three things you haven't fulfilled your obligation what obligation not for now my bigger question is this the right order if I told you passed up Mattson Mara put him in an order what would you have done Mauro matzah Pesa or murder pesarattu certainly you would have put Mauro first why Mara is about the bitterness of our experience in servitude murder is all about the bitterness of the slavery why is Mara at the end why is the past aftermath and murder it should be more or Pesa and matza so there are a lot of reasons which are given but the most significant and meaningful to me is the idea that never make the mistake of thinking that when you get to the point of matzah you're done with the murder in your life to really be free and to really be faithful doesn't mean that you expect everything to be smooth and flawless you have to anticipate and know there will be more again in your life even after the matzo we don't celebrate freedom we don't experience this royalty we don't express our gratitude on condition that it's smooth sailing from here it's pesarattu and we're going to encounter Mauro again we have an oscillating narrative ups and downs good and bad and we're not afraid to share it all some begin with some assignment we start with the bed and here we anticipate the morrow again because the morrow also has a place in our machine and we realize the life is not going to be smooth sailing from here we're going to continue to encounter that morrow yet again the holder mode or hive of them in every generation a person is obligated now leros Assad someone to see ourselves but the Rambam is gear so there are mom's version is la Jara sis at smell to demonstrate to physically show that we are free and then we continue now with the hallo we say the first part of howl howl is booking up into 2 F for the holla beforehand for the holla after the meal the holla before the meal corresponds with all the redemption of the past that we're celebrating and talking about and the howl that comes after the meal is all about the gratitude we're going to have for the redemption that we anticipate experiencing in the future what are you grateful for what are you sitting halal for how do you express your gratitude what do you appreciate in your life tell your story to the other people or if you're not with anyone even if you're alone say your story out loud tell it to yourself revisit it we tell it tell it to a Shem and express your appreciation to him within your narrative and oscillating narrative and how it brings you to the point of hallo where is your hive of them lyricist arts mom to see yourself as if you left me left with time now we say min on Nate sir yeah me nah mate sir from the straits from the narrow place minimis rhyme its rhyme is a place of narrowness we've all been there we've been scared we've been frightened we've been worried and we've been hopeless but Hashem has rescued us where is our story of matzah and Mauro and Pesa that leads us into our Hallel don't hold it back don't hide it the strength of a family and the strength of the unit of the family is only as good as their familiarity with the family narrative and the best family narrative is not the family narrative which only goes up its the isolating family narrative it's the one that says we had good times and we had bad times and I'm not ashamed or afraid to tell it all and I say it with hallo with appreciation that wherever we were and whatever we've overcome has brought us to where we are we begin to save the hallow we then make the Braja on the second cup of wine with a sugar Allah knew I share gallon oh and gallon you saw God it was the Redeemer who took us out again I always announce in my own don't forget you have to fill up you have to drink most of your cup you can't speak until you've had most of your cup and you drink it while reclining leaning to the left we washed our hands everybody goes to wash and then we begin the mode see Mozza first the kid then still the afikomen and we come back matzah matzah has a whole process of taking the two whole ones and you hold the third one then you put the third one down you make the Broca's of a matzo lefm and I shake Alicia no Allah kilos matzah the BFS admits are on the eating of the matzah and you have to eat it cuz I said the matzah within a certain requisite amount of time and while leaning making sure that everyone has your Seder has enough of it in order to eat it we then eat the morrow make the broth on the morrow I laugh a lesson tomorrow we're not making a new Adama it was covered from the car passes and you didn't eat too much and have to make a broth Rona earlier in the Seder you make the broth on the morrow you don't recline mara is of course bitterness and then we do Zack Lamech - gala we invoked the hill of sandwich why are we invoking the hell sandwich we once gave an entire showers a gold rush' about the hello sandwich but dr. Norman lamb and is that God that has the idea that for hill a life is about simple synthesis it's not that we have the matzah and we have the morrow er it's not that life is either defined by bitterness and and darkness or by redemption and light often they're intertwined right now we're going through a crisis but the crisis is laced with sweetness the bitterness is laced with sweetness they're not independent they're not segregated they're not distinct from one another but for hello there's a synthesis between the two he would combine them and unite them in the sandwich with the recognition that really in our life often there is the presence of both at the same time it's an interesting thing about Scheckter points out in his Haggadah our hero british actor that we said half a holla before the meal half a halal after the meal and now we're interrupting how to have a meal you know how to interrupt i'll to have a meal so it must be that the meal itself is part of the expression of how well what we talked about during the meal is a fulfillment of the hallo this is not a meal which is a relief from the Haggadah oh thank god close that god i put it away get rid of the cops get rid of everything finally we can eat a meal and be normal and talk about what we want to talk about no this is one of the critical steps of the seder it's one of the Semana it is part of the Haggadah and this is how logically significant it's not a half sick in my Halle before and after because my meal is filled with meaningful conversation I continue to express these themes and have this dialogue and experience freedom as part of my very meal it is the equivalent of a sudha of a carbon toda this is when we left Egypt we met all four categories of people who survived something and they need to respond with a sense of gratitude we meet all four of those categories of people this meal says their shefter is the meal of a carbon toda and therefore it's not a holic interruption between two Howells but only if we're having the right type of conversation only if we're eating the meal in the context of the Seder and the 'cimmanon and don't god forbid see it as a break from it of course then we have the afikomen which is the next step of the Haggadah Safin we have the AFRICOM and it's the children who bring it back different customs different families many emphasize that we don't ever talk about stealing the afikomen stealing is not something that we ever condone or ever support language matters crime ken esq is very careful never to say you would announce yeah yeah cuts with crime announces in our family we do not steal the AFRICOM and we do not educate our children to steal he places the afikoman at his side and understandably no one takes it and our family everyone takes it and they fight over who gets to take it and it gets to therefore get the afikomen prize but still words matter and we should be careful not to use that word stealing and come up with some other way to describe that experience where'd that custom come from it's not to talk about that we want to give a shout to go to Russia about the afikoman Epicurean it's Greek origin and why we have this notion of taking it and hiding it looking for it recovering it and what that has to do with Redemption all for another time we've eaten the afikoman that is eaten by a bar while reclining make sure that you eat enough of it and each member of the table of the of the Seder gets the amount that they need to eat of it and then we and then we bench we say the benching and at the end of the benching and we conclude the benching on the third cup of warning the third cup of wine normally only the leader of the benching makes the bracha we bench as we've been doing for the whole log of that in my home everybody says the benching together out loud and then we all sing the henna Nemo kinoma zoomin we drink the third cup and we lean and we recline while we drink the third cup now you're allowed to eat or drink between the first and second second and third third and but the third and fourth you're not allowed to interrupt you can't either drink and usher Weisen is Memphis Asha Haggadah says the reason is between because you can't make a break the four cups correspond with the four languages of gula and that fourth language was the notion that Hashem took us tyrosine I the idea that he gave us the Torah we can't separate out the experience of the physical Liberty from becoming transformed to a covenant of community you don't interrupt between the third and the fourth cup we now continue with the Halal that comes after this is a hallow which is projecting we've now left the world of the past and in the present we're already anticipating the future Seder night is an entire timeline that we're living on the past the present in the future all simultaneously we've expressed our gratitude and we've relived and re-enacted the past we are informing our present through our anticipation for that future this is a howl that goes on the future again and my family we sing the entire howl out loud including a howler garlicky the olam costos we come up with another tune each night each year who gets the lead and we go down the list of the Keeley olam costos we sing and we say I get to be my fulfill my dream of being the cousin at least that one night of of Pesach we finished the hollow and we're up to the fourth cup of wine fourth cup of wine again everyone has to drink the right amount in the right posture without talking and interrupting we make a broth off Rona on that fourth cup and Neera Neera means we hope that what we've done has been acceptable to a chef a sauce either Pesa Hashem we hope that what we've done is acceptable to you but I've skipped the cup of and you know I'm sorry one second I skipped the cup of le o go backwards for a moment Sorry Sorry Sorry there's a show from us Sorry Sorry Sorry after mentoring him after the third cup we say Schmo camasta why because if we are anticipating our future Redemption and longing for it we ask God to avenge our the way our enemies have treated us Hamas caligo him to protect us we open that door we welcome to Leo that statement of optimism we are the L Yahoo that's why I was able to be at every Seder because we commit to be the elia who that voice of Hope of faith of optimism within our homes we sing Elia or Navi we fill his cup which is a modern innovation again we spoke about it at length this past month Shabbos and you can catch it or watch it online if you like so that was all after benching the third cup then we say the Hallel and then when we get to the fourth cup near top we hope what we said was acceptable to Hashem and we sing lashena hubbub you shall I'm anticipating our gula we end with these six poems which are all anonymous we don't know their authorship what are they doing here they have one common theme they're all about optimism and all about hope they're all about our future but my friend is a beautiful insight into F had me or daya he says you know if a person has cultivated within them an instinct of faith in I muna then they know that numbers a person who loves stock market knows numbers a person you know sports knows the RBI's the person who knows whatever we associate numbers with whatever we hold most dear this song about who knows one academia daya this list of things are the things which we should hold most dear and therefore should be most instinctive and intuitive to us we should so easily be able to spit it back but all these songs really are songs that reflect our sense of hope our sense of optimism about the future so I hope tonight and I apologize how long we went but we offered some insight most significantly some conversation pieces that's really the most important and keep a list of each of these first night's second night all eight days try to stimulate these conversations freedom is sharing freedom of speech freedom is gratitude what does it mean freedom what am i enslaved to what do I worship what do I bow down to all of these different concepts within our lives the Seder is not supposed to be something about the past the Seder is supposed to be something that transforms us not Manish Donna Hal I Eliza but hopefully if we were successful and we walk away Manish Donna are you day how has a interest if we are successful we walk away saying we will forever be different because of this night thank you so much for joining me wishing everyone they found Kush of us iMac please God we should be together together