Page 91 - RMBA Upper School Haggadah 2018

From the second night of Pesach, we start coun ng the Omer, a 49 day count leading up to the
Jews receiving the Torah at Mount Sinai. This is to show the connec on between the
redemp on from Egypt and the Jews receiving the Torah, proving Rav Soloveitchik’s answer. As
we count the Omer upwards, we are preparing once again for the receiving of the Torah, just
like our ancestors did many genera ons ago.
We refer to leaving Egypt as the Geula, redemp on, but maybe there are two different types of
redemp on that happened to the Jewish people. Perhaps the Jewish people not only
experienced a physical redemp on from Egypt, but also a spiritual redemp on when they
received the Torah. This is able to show the nexus that has remained, and will remain, between
the story of Pesach and the Jewish people receiving the Torah. The Rav could be right in saying
that the only reason Hashem took the Jews out of Egypt was to give them the Torah.

Other Important Halachot of Pesach

Maot Chitim - Ephraim Vorzman (10th grade)
The Halacha of Maot Chi m, or se ng aside wheat so the poor can have Matzah, is one that,
while it has significant importance, is usually glossed over. There are mul ple reasons for this,
mainly because when learning about Pesach we normally limit our studies to the Seder night
and its laws.
But as always, when one looks deeper into Halachot, there are problems that we find. We seem
to have a contradic on of two Halachot: We set aside wheat to give to the poor so they can
have their own Seder, but on the Seder night, in “Ha Lachma Anya,” we invite all to come join
our meal. So, the ques on arises: which is greater, allowing the poor to have their own Seder or
le ng them join ours?
The obvious answer would be that Maot Chi m is Tzedakah and there is no contradic on
between the two. However, as always in Halacha, it is never the obvious answer that wins out.
The Rama states regarding whether or not Maot Chi m is subject to the regular laws of charity
that it is not, in fact, a form of charity, but rather as special Halacha for Pesach. One might say
that that’s absurd and that of course Maot Chi m is charity! If not, then what is it, as there must
be some other reason for this Halacha.
The answer is a point that is central to the Holiday: we both provide for them and invite them
for the purpose of comba ng slavery. In Maot Chi m, we fight slavery by gran ng the poor
autonomy, and in “Ha Lachma Anya” we are helping them, if only for one night, be er their
situa on from their financial slavery. The lesson is simple: we must combat this slavery, whether
it be economic, poli cal, or social, in any way we can.

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