The Haggadah Unmasked*, Rabbi Alan Haber

*This article was originally published in The Bat Torah Haggadah, produced by Bat Torah Academy in 5756 (1996).

At first glance, the מגיד section of the הגדה seems somewhat disjointed, or even disorganized. It appears to be a rambling, even random collection of tidbits, all loosely arranged around the common theme of סיפור יציאת מצרים.

Nothing, however, could be farther from the truth. The reality is that מגיד is both organized and systematic, presenting to us all of the elements necessary for fulfillment of the halachic requirement of סיפור יציאת מצרים in a quite effective manner. Unfortunately, many people do not understand this, and therefore wind up reading through מגיד very quickly, perhaps stopping to discuss only a few well-known passages such as the ארבעה בנים and the עשר מכות.  The purpose of this article is to clarify the structure of the מגיד section, and to understand the particular function of each of its component parts.

To fully comprehend this, we must first define the requirements of the מצוה of סיפור יציאת מצרים. The משנה in פסחים (10:4-5) lists eight conditions which must be met for the proper fulfillment of this מצוה:

1) הבן שואל אביו – There must be questions asked. Although the משנה presents this as a child asking questions to his father, the גמרא (116a) makes it clear that if there is no child present, questions must be asked anyway, even by people who definitely know the answers. In fact, one who celebrates the Seder alone must ask himself the questions. Apparently, the very process of responding to questions enhances one’s comprehension.

The specific list of Four Questions which the משנה gives us is quite enlightening. The questions we are directed to ask all relate to the items present on the קערה, the Seder Plate, and their function in the מצוה of סיפור Why do we eat מצה? Why do we eat מרור, etc. The child does not ask “Please tell me what happened in מצרים.” His questions are more focused and practical: “Why is this night different from all other nights?”

2)לפי דעתו של בן אביו מלמדו –  The father must respond to the questions in a manner which this particular child can understand. This means, in essence, that each individual must have a “customized” Seder, tailor-made so that he or she can learn something new on his or her own level. (The widespread practice of adding discussions expanding upon the text of the הגדה is therefore in actuality a halachic requirement).

3) מתחיל בגנות ומסיים בשבח – He must begin with disgrace (a description of the Jews’ humble origins) and end with praise (of Hashem for the salvation He gave us). The גמרא (שם) records two opinions about this: רב says that the גנות, disgrace, which we must describe is “מתחילה עובדי עבודת גלולים היו אביתינו” – “Originally, our ancestors were idolaters”. In other words, according to רב, the גנות and שבח are to be understood in spiritual terms. שמואל, however, disagree, maintaining that the גנות is “עבדים היינו” – “We were slaves”, viewing the topic in material terms.

4) ודורש מ"ארמי אובד אבי" עד שיגמור כל הפרשה – He must interpret (דורש) the פרשה of ארמי אובד אבי, which is written in the תורה (דברים 26:5-9) in relation to the מצוה of מקרא בכורים. This short paragraph tells the story of יציאת מצרים in very brief terms, but we are obligated to study it in great depth, according to the interpretations of our rabbis.

5) פסח, מצה ומרור – He must discuss the specific relevance of these three מצוות to the story of יציאת מצרים. If we think about it, we will realize that by doing so we are actually answering the Four Questions that were asked at the beginning of the Seder: Why do we eat מצה?  Why do we eat מרור?  Why do we dip (the מרור in חרוסות)?  Why do we recline?  (In the time of the בית המקדש, there was also a question about why we eat the קרבן פסח.)

6) בכל דור ודור חייב אדם לראות את עצמו כאילו הוא יצא ממצרים –  He must come to view himself as if he personally left Egypt.

7) לפיכך אנחנו חייבים להודות –  This must lead to a profound feeling of gratitude to Hashem, culminating in the recitation of הלל. (Even though the majority of the הלל is recited following ברכת המזון and the third cup of wine, the משנה says that we must begin it now, during מגיד, prior to drinking the second cup.)

The words of משנה, echoed in our הגדה itself as the introduction of הלל, make it clear that this recitation must not be a purely mechanical reading, but rather an emotional experience coming as a result of the other aspects of סיפור יציאת מצרים:  "לפיכך אנחנו חייבים להודות" –  "Therefore we are obligated to give thanks….:"

8) וחותם בגאולה – He must conclude with a ברכה beginning with the words "ברוך אתה ה'... אשר גאלנו וגאל את אבותינו ממצרים".

When we turn to examine the text of the מגיד section of our הגדה, it becomes clear that we fulfill these eight requirements more or less in the order in which they are written in the משנה.  Furthermore, although the “official” הלל begins at the end of מגיד, if we look closely we can see two other passages of “praise” which are inserted into our text: the short passage beginning "ברוך שומר הבטחתו", and the "דיינו" poem.  I suggest that these “mini-הלל” selections serve to divide the מגיד into three distinct sections.

The first section, beginning with the "מה נשתנה" and ending with "ברוך שומר הבטחתו", consists of the child (or other individual) asking the Four Questions, and receiving a basic answer. The child looks at the odd items on the Seder plate, and sees the various ways in which the meal deviates from the ordinary סעודת יום טוב (e.g., instead of washing to make המוציא immediately after קידוש we are eating כרפס and then pouring a second cup of wine), and he inquires as to the meaning of all of this.

The father gives him a basic answer in synopsis, contained in the paragraph of עבדים היינו (which also fulfills the requirement of מתחיל בגנות ומסיים בשבח according to שמואל). The short answer actually contains two separate statements: 1) We were once slaves to פרעה, but Hashem took us out of there. This is a historical fact, and is necessary to answer the child’s questions, but does not itself answer the question.  2) Had Hashem not taken our ancestors our of מצרים, we would all still be slaves there.  Therefore, it is incumbent upon us to tell the story of יציאת מצרים tonight, even if we are all experts in history.  Telling and discussing the story, and delving into its depths, is a form of הכרת הטוב, gratitude, and the more one discusses it, the better.

This second part is the general answer to the child’s questions about “Why is this night different?” It is different because tonight we have an obligation of סיפור יציאת מצרים. At this point, we have answered the child’s questions in general terms, but have not yet explained the specific things that he asked about.

Following this, we recite several different passages which serve to illustrate and expound upon the requirements of סיפור יציאת מצרים. In essence, we are continuing the point we have just made – that tonight there is aמצוה of סיפור, which is incumbent upon everyone. We illustrate this with the story of the rabbis who sat up all night in בני ברק, discuss the relationship of this מצוה to the more general מצוה ofזכירת יציאת מצרים which applies every single day and night, tell of the Four Sons, and how each one must be taught לפי דעתו של בן, on his own level, and explain how we derive from the תורה that this מצוה applies specifically on this night. Before concluding this section, we recite the paragraph of "מתחילה עובדי עבודה זרה היו אבותינו", which fulfills the requirement of מתחיל בגנות ומסיים בשבח according to רב.

At this point in the process, we have fulfilled the first three of the eight requirements in the משנה. We have heard the child’s questions, and have given a basic answer, following the format of מתחיל בגנות ומסיים בשבח. We have not yet answered the specific questions our child has asked, not can we until we tell him the story of יציאת מצרים in greater detail. Before proceeding, however, we recognize that we have reached a certain stage of preliminary understanding in our fulfillment of מצוה of סיפור, and thus we pause to offer a brief praise to Hashem: “"ברוך שומר הבטחתו and "והיא שעמדה". The second section of the הגדה begins with "צא ולמד" and proceeds until "דיינו". A careful reading of this long section will reveal that this is actually a fulfillment of the משנה’s requirement to study a passage beginning "ארמי אובד אבי" in depth. We quote the four verses one at a time, along with the comments of the מדרש on each and every phrase. In so doing, we describe the historical events of יציאת מצרים in great depth. Towards the end, as part of the explanation of the fourth verse, we engage in a somewhat lengthy discussion about the עשר מכות. Following this, we pause again to offer thanks to Hashem for all that He has done for us, through the "דיינו" poem.

At this point, we are able to return to the child’s original questions, and explain exactly why we do all of the unusual things of this night. We discuss the מצוות of פסח, מצה and מרור, the fifth requirement of the משנה. We then discuss how all of this, the telling of the story and the various observances of the night, are designed to make us feel in each generation as if we personally have gone out of מצרים (the sixth requirement). When we are able to internalize this realization, it must lead us to overwhelming feelings of gratitude. We therefore raise our cups and begin to recite הלל (the seventh requirement and culmination of the final section of the מגיד). We then conclude with the ברכה of אשר גאלנו (the eighth and final requirement).

 It is now clear that, far from being disorganized or disjointed, the מגיד is actually highly structured. A proper understanding of this structure is, as we have shown, essential for proper fulfillment of סיפור יציאת מצרים.