Page 60 - RMBA Upper School Haggadah 2018
P. 60
Point to the Marror
ַו ְי ָמ ֲררוּ ֶאת: ֶשׁ ֶנּ ֱא ַמר, ַﬠל שׁוּם מה? ַﬠל שׁוּם ֶשׁ ֵמּ ְררוּ ַה ִמּ ְצ ִרים ֶאת ַח ֵיי ֲאבוֹ ֵתינוּ ְבּ ִמ ְצ ַרים,ָמרוֹר ֶזה ֶשׁ ָאנוּ אוֹ ְכ ִלים
ְבּ ֹח ֶמר וּ ִב ְל ֵב ִנים וּ ְב ָכל ֲﬠ ֹב ָדה ַבּ ָשּׂ ֶדה ֶאת ָכּל ֲﬠ ֹב ָד ָתם ֲא ֶשׁר ָﬠ ְבדוּ ָב ֶהם ְבּ ָפ ֶרך,ַח ֵייהם ַבּ ֲﬠ ֹב ָדה ָק ָשה
Why do we eat Marror? For the reason that the Egyptians embitter the lives of our ancestors in
Mitzrayim, as the Torah states: “And they embittered their lives with servitude, with mortar and
bricks without straw, with every form of slavery in the field and with great torment.”
Pesach, Matzah, Maror - Rina Yanowitz (9th Grade)
In the middle of the Magid sec on in the Haggadah, we men on Pesach, Matzah, and Maror.
They are so pivotal to the seder message, that if you do not men on them, then you do not
fulfill your obliga on. According to Rabban Gamliel one must recite the following three
ques ons : What is the meaning of Pesach?… What is the meaning of Matzah?… What is the
meaning of Maror? However, the real ques on is why does the author of the Haggadah
ques on these obliga ons instead of simply introducing each, including their meanings?
Rabbi Yitzchak Elchanan Waldshein explains that the verses in the Haggadah are teaching us a
fundamental lesson about educa on. Ques ons s mulate the mind and cause people to be
open minded and think for themselves. Asking these ques ons at the seder table allows us to
intellectually challenge ourselves and peers. Once everyone is engaged in the discussion and
expresses their opinions and answers, they are more likely to pay a en on in order to compare
and contrast their answer with the one wri en in the Haggadah. The answer then stays with the
listener longer and engrains itself deeply into his mind and his heart, leaving a las ng
impression that won't be forgo en.
Pesach, Matzah, and Maror - Hailey Morgan (6th Grade)
I would like to suggest a common theme that runs through the concepts of Pesach, Matzah, and
Maror. Pesach refers to Hashem passing over all the houses of the Jews in the plague of the
slaying of the first born, but how did He know that the house was that of a Jew? Hashem can
make whatever He wants happen, so if He wanted to pass over all the Jewish houses and yet at
the same me give the Egyp ans a plague, then so be it. This is part of Hashem’s exac ng
rulership over the world.
The Matzah has to bake for 18 minutes, no more, and no less. If the Matzah is in the oven for
even a moment longer, than it is Chametz. The Maror represents slavery and bi er mes. More
specifically, when the Jews were slaves in Egypt, it was a very hard me for them and they had
bi er tears. However the Torah records that the Jews’ bi erness instantly turned to joy when
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