Mah nishtana?
Apr. 20th, 2008 03:57 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
khaosworksDeuteronomy 6
4 Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD:
5 And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.
6 And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart:
7 And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.
8 And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes.
9 And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates.
...
20 And when thy son asketh thee in time to come, saying, What mean the testimonies, and the statutes, and the judgments, which the LORD our God hath commanded you?
21 Then thou shalt say unto thy son, We were Pharaoh's bondmen in Egypt; and the LORD brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand:
22 And the LORD shewed signs and wonders, great and sore, upon Egypt, upon Pharaoh, and upon all his household, before our eyes:
23 And he brought us out from thence, that he might bring us in, to give us the land which he sware unto our fathers.
24 And the LORD commanded us to do all these statutes, to fear the LORD our God, for our good always, that he might preserve us alive, as it is at this day.
25 And it shall be our righteousness, if we observe to do all these commandments before the LORD our God, as he hath commanded us.
Exodus 12
26 And it shall come to pass, when your children shall say unto you, What mean ye by this service?
27 That ye shall say, It is the sacrifice of the LORD'S passover, who passed over the houses of the children of Israel in Egypt, when he smote the Egyptians, and delivered our houses. And the people bowed the head and worshipped.
We eat matzoh only on this night to remember that in our haste to escape from Egypt, we could not wait for the bread to rise and so removed it from the ovens while it was still flat.
We eat maror on this night so that the bitter taste of these herbs will remind us of the bitterness of slavery.
We dip, twice, on this night - greens in salt water and maror in charoses - the first to replace tears with joy and gratitude, the second to sweeten the bitterness of suffering and loss.
We recline on this night because, at the time of the Exodus, slaves consumed their meals standing, or, at best, sitting upright: the right to recline at mealtimes was the privilege and a symbol of a free man.
Had we not escaped the tyranny of the despot Pharaoh, we and our children might still be enslaved, deprived of freedom and dignity. Through these special foods and rituals and by the recounting of the Exodus story, we hope to refresh our understanding and teach the significance of the freedom we so dearly cherish."
Each of us has been a slave in Egypt,
Soaked straw and clay with sweat,
And crossed the sea dry-footed.
You too, stranger.
This year in fear and shame,
next year in virtue and in justice.
4 Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD:
5 And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.
6 And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart:
7 And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.
8 And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes.
9 And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates.
...
20 And when thy son asketh thee in time to come, saying, What mean the testimonies, and the statutes, and the judgments, which the LORD our God hath commanded you?
21 Then thou shalt say unto thy son, We were Pharaoh's bondmen in Egypt; and the LORD brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand:
22 And the LORD shewed signs and wonders, great and sore, upon Egypt, upon Pharaoh, and upon all his household, before our eyes:
23 And he brought us out from thence, that he might bring us in, to give us the land which he sware unto our fathers.
24 And the LORD commanded us to do all these statutes, to fear the LORD our God, for our good always, that he might preserve us alive, as it is at this day.
25 And it shall be our righteousness, if we observe to do all these commandments before the LORD our God, as he hath commanded us.
Exodus 12
26 And it shall come to pass, when your children shall say unto you, What mean ye by this service?
27 That ye shall say, It is the sacrifice of the LORD'S passover, who passed over the houses of the children of Israel in Egypt, when he smote the Egyptians, and delivered our houses. And the people bowed the head and worshipped.
"Mah nishtanah ha-laylah ha-zeh mi-kol ha-laylot? Why is this night different from all other nights?"This night is different from all other nights: because we were slaves to Pharaoh in Egypt. Because we were brought forth from there by God with a mighty hand and outstretched arm. Because we are thankful and because it is our duty to keep the commitment to freedom ever present in our memories and in our lives. So that we will always remember and never forget.
On all other nights, we may eat chametz and matzah. On this night, only matzah.
On all other nights, we eat many vegetables. On this night, maror.
On all other nights, we do not dip even once. On this night, twice.
On all other nights, we eat either sitting or reclining. On this night, we all recline."
We eat matzoh only on this night to remember that in our haste to escape from Egypt, we could not wait for the bread to rise and so removed it from the ovens while it was still flat.
We eat maror on this night so that the bitter taste of these herbs will remind us of the bitterness of slavery.
We dip, twice, on this night - greens in salt water and maror in charoses - the first to replace tears with joy and gratitude, the second to sweeten the bitterness of suffering and loss.
We recline on this night because, at the time of the Exodus, slaves consumed their meals standing, or, at best, sitting upright: the right to recline at mealtimes was the privilege and a symbol of a free man.
Had we not escaped the tyranny of the despot Pharaoh, we and our children might still be enslaved, deprived of freedom and dignity. Through these special foods and rituals and by the recounting of the Exodus story, we hope to refresh our understanding and teach the significance of the freedom we so dearly cherish."
Each of us has been a slave in Egypt,
Soaked straw and clay with sweat,
And crossed the sea dry-footed.
You too, stranger.
This year in fear and shame,
next year in virtue and in justice.
- — Primo Levi
