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Why Don’t We Say A Bracha On Maggid? ‐ Jeremy Morgan (8th Grade)

Maggid, the storytelling section of the seder, is the part in which we fulfill the actual mitzvah of reliving and
retelling the story of yetziat mitzraim. Therefore, why is there no bracha made on Maggid, considering it is an
actual mitzvah?

Rabbenu Yerucham’s opinion on this matter is that the Kiddush made prior to the seder is ‘zecher yetziat mitz-
raim’, ‘in memory of leaving Egypt’, and counts as the bracha on maggid. Another opinion is that there’s a con-
stant mitzvah of sipur yetziat mitzraim, telling the story of leaving Egypt, so there’s no discrete time frame
within which you’re supposed to do it, so it is limitless. We do not make a bracha on giving tzedaka, for exam-
ple, due to the fact that it is limitless both in time and amount. Not only is the mitzvah of sipur yetziat mitzraim
limitless, but we’re encouraged to do it as much as possible. The torah says ‘ חבושמ הז ירה הברמה לכ ’ meaning
the more one speaks about the Exodus, the better. Therefore, we do not make a bracha on Maggid because it
would limit the mitzvah to a specific time, undermining the point of the mitzvah.

The Pri Chadash gives another explanation, saying that having a bracha before maggid would be self destruc-
tive to the mitzvah. There is a mitzvah to retell the story of yetziat mitzrayim, so once you say the bracha, “ לע
”… םירצמ תאיצי רופיסyou have essentially already fulfilled the mitzvah, therefore precluding the need to
actually say maggid.

I believe there is a valuable lesson we can take away from this question. Yetziat mitzraim is one of the basic
tenants of our belief system, and it is larger than any one particular mitzvah. Our whole relationship with G-d is
predicated on the fact that G-d took us out of Egypt, and in fact while we highlight it at the seder, it is the basic
theme of our everyday life. Therefore, we do not make a bracha on maggid, because it’s not limited to one act;
rather it is something that we should be thinking about all the time.

1st Grade