Rabbi Freedman’s Shabbat Message

 רַבָּן גַּמְלִיאֵל הָיָה אוֹמֵר: כָּל שֶׁלֹּא אָמַר שְׁלֹשָׁה דְּבָרִים אֵלּוּ בַּפֶּסַח, לֹא יָצָא יְדֵי חוֹבָתוֹ, וְאֵלּוּ הֵן: פֶּסַח, מַצָּה, וּמָרוֹר

 Rabban Gamliel used to say: Whoever does not discuss three things on Pesach has not observed the Seder properly.  They are the Korban Pesach (the sacrifice and consumption of the Paschal Lamb), the Matzah (the unleavened bread) and the Maror (the bitter herbs eaten on Seder night).

 This extract from the Haggadah is, to say the least, somewhat unusual.  We have many mitzvot, for example, we are commanded to place mezuzot on our doorposts, we are directed to wear tallit and tefillin, we are instructed to light Shabbat candles, and we are expected to give tsedaka.  In these examples, and many others, the expectation is that we fulfil the mitzvah, nothing more and nothing less – no one suggests that before we put a mezuzah on our doorpost that we must bring the family together to discuss the finer points of the ritual, similarly with lighting Shabbat candles – in most homes, the Ba’alat Habayit simply places candles into the candlesticks, lights them, covers her eyes and says the blessing – she doesn’t arrange a seminar for all the family to confer, to debate, to explain the meaning behind this weekly ritual.  So why when it comes to Pesach does Rabban Gamliel insist that we sit and deliberate on these three mitzvot before fulfilling each one according to the law?

I will offer two answers to this question, one based upon our ancient texts, the other of a more contemporary nature.

The first possible response is based on the text of the Torah itself.  From ancient times, the Israelites, later the Jews, read their sacred texts and understood that the celebration of Pesach and the commemoration of the Exodus demanded two complementary actions. 

A close study of Exodus 12 reveals the nature of these two actions. 

First, the Israelites were told to replicate the rituals originally observed by the Israelite slaves in Egypt, but then the Torah added something new and unfamiliar, that regarding these particular rituals, we should expect to be quizzed by our children, and that being the case, we should always be ready on Seder night to answer their probing questions with relevant and accurate explanations.  From the very outset of Jewish history, in the words of Rabbi Sacks, ‘a connection was drawn between eating, asking and discussing.’

Why Jewish children would be particularly inquisitive regarding the Pesach customs, and not necessarily others, is not explained – but it has become a self-fulfilling prophecy – and every year our children surprise us with their interest and excitement.  It is no surprise therefore that hundreds of different Haggadot have been published over the years with a wide variety of commentaries to assist us in making the Seder a meaningful experience for our children and grandchildren.

A second explanation of Rabban Gamliel’s instruction has some relevance to the current difficulties facing the Jewish people. 

Firstly we need to identify Rabban Gamliel – no easy task.  Some consider this was Rabban Gamliel the Elder who lived in the first half of the opening century CE.  Some, however, are of the opinion that the Rabban Gamliel mentioned in our Haggadah was in fact his grandson, Rabban Gamliel II, who was alive during the destruction of the Temple by the Romans in the year 70 CE and became the Nasi, the spiritual head of the community in Judea, around the year 80 CE (see Rabbi Chaim Yosef Dovid Azulay in his Haggadah Simchas Haregel). 

Either way, Gamliel lived during a time of existential crisis. 

The Romans with their military aspirations together with their pagan philosophy were intent on destroying Judaism as well as a certain self-belief among the Jews that they were indestructible.  Their agenda was to destroy Jewish independence, erase Jewish self-confidence, expunge Jewish culture, exile the people from their own land and curtail Jewish influence internationally. 

Faced with such threats, Rabban Gamliel understood that at that moment in history, the Jews could not fight against the Romans using conventional weapons – he understood that in place of military strength, Israel required a different form of defence, one which could sustain a people throughout many years of suffering and exile.  Israel was to be armed with a unique self-awareness of their God-given role in the history of civilisation. 

Only through education, and the subsequent knowledge acquired, could the Jewish people survive this onslaught by such a brutal enemy.  When Jews were fully acquainted with their history as well as their destiny – Rabban Gamliel was certain that they would outlive even the most powerful of empires. 

To ensure this, he proclaimed through his teaching in the Haggadah that the concepts of slavery and freedom as expressed through the Korban Pesach, Matzah and Maror – should be deliberated upon annually, so that Jews should never forget the blessings that come with freedom and independence. 

He was right – two millennia after he made his famous statement – the Jewish people returned home and began to rebuild their lives after the Shoah and advance Jewish culture and Jewish self-determination in a way that had not been seen since Biblical days. 

How ironic that since October 7, Israel has again been fighting for those same freedoms that were lost during the life of Rabban Gamliel.  Once again a barbaric enemy has risen against Israel intent on destroying Jewish independence, erasing Jewish self-confidence, expunging Jewish culture, removing the Jewish people from their own land and limiting their influence in the Diaspora.  We have lived through an ordeal, we stand accused of heinous crimes, we face mounting anti-Semitism – and yet we take inspiration from Rabban Gamliel – we will never give up, we will never give way – but will eventually conquer, not only our enemies on the battlefield, but also those on the political left, on the far right, in the media and in the universities.

Rabban Gamliel was correct when he suggested that only through honest discourse will the truth materialise.  It was Franklin Roosevelt, in his State of the Union address on January 6, 1941, who spoke of four freedoms, Freedom of speech, Freedom of worship, Freedom from want and Freedom from fear.  One day the world will come to appreciate that it is for these freedoms Israel is sending its brave young soldiers into battle.

We read within the Dead Sea Scrolls, many of which coincidentally were written and hidden away during the lifetime of Rabban Gamliel, that one day there will be an apocalyptic battle between the forces of light and darkness (see the scroll known as The War of the Sons of Light against the Sons of Darkness).  That is precisely what we face today.  May Israel, a beacon of light and good overcome the demonic forces of evil, and may Israel’s future, intrinsically linked to our own, be filled with blessings of peace and tranquillity. 

 Chag Sameach

Rabbi David Freedman