5779/2019
Every year we go through the motions of the Seder, beginning with Kadeish and ending with Nirtzah. Many view the Ikar of our Seder as Maggid, because it contains the Mitzvah of Sippur Yetziat Mitzrayim.
If we look at the beginning of Maggid, we see that it begins with the paragraph of Ha Lachma Anya which doesn’t doesn’t seem to discuss the story of our Ge’ulah. Instead, it talks about the Matzah, how we should invite people to our Seder, and that next year we should be Bnei Chorin in Eretz Yisrael. This paragraph seems more appropriate to be associated with the prior stage in Yachatz, as it discusses the Lechem Oni that we first unveil on Seder night! Why is this paragraph included in Maggid? Furthermore, why does it make sense for us to invite guests to our Seder once we’ve already started? It wouldn’t make sense for a guest to join us the in middle of our Seder! Who are we even trying to reach with our invitation by reading a paragraph around our table? Only the people who are already at the Seder can even receive the invitation!
Netziv suggests that the purpose of Ha Lachma Anya is to highlight the fact that our Seder is incomplete as long as we remain in the Galust Until we reach our eventual Ge’ulah our Seder is not ideal. The passage itself points out that we should strive for the ultimate Ge’ulah.
However, if we strive for the Ge’ulah, how do we attain it? The beginning of Ha Lachma Anya points out that we invite all who are hungry to come and eat with us - to join us for our Korban Pesach. Therefore, in order to achieve Ge’ulah we need Achdut. Let us all take this message to heart. Chag Same’ach!