Obligation to Tell the Story of the Exodus/2
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Obligation to Tell the Story of the Exodus
Exegetical Approaches
No Biblical Obligation
There is no Biblical obligation to tell the story of the Exodus on Pesach night. The verses which seem to obligate one are understood to refer to either cognitive actions, other days of the year, or parts of other obligations .
Sources:Perhaps R. Saadia, Bahag, R. Eliyahu HaZaken, R. Shelomo b. Gabirol, and the Yereim,1 ?Ritva
Shemot 13:3 – "זָכוֹר אֶת הַיּוֹם הַזֶּה" – This approach might dismiss this verse as a source for the obligation on several grounds:
- זכירה בלב – The verse uses the verb "זָכוֹר" rather than "אמור" (or the like) and thus might refer to remembering in the heart and not recounting via speech.
- Heading – It is also possible that the phrase should be understood as a heading for what follows. It commands the nation to "commemorate the day you left Egypt" and the rest of the unit then explains how to do so: don't eat leavened bread, do the Pesach service, and celebrate Chag haMatzot for seven days.
- Obligation for the rest of the year – In addition, it is not clear if the verse refers to remembering specifically on Pesach or throughout the year. See Mekhilta DeRabbi Yishmael who reads this phrase as being the source for remembering the Exodus daily.2
Devarim 16:3 – "לְמַעַן תִּזְכֹּר אֶת יוֹם צֵאתְךָ מֵאֶרֶץ מִצְרַיִם כֹּל יְמֵי חַיֶּיךָ" – These sources would likely reject this verse as a source since the word "לְמַעַן" suggests that the remembering mentioned in the verse is not a commandment in and of itself, but simply the purpose of the obligation to eat matzah mentioned earlier. In addition, the verse speaks of remembering rather than telling, and specifies that this commemoration should take place "כֹּל יְמֵי חַיֶּיךָ" rather than on Pesach night specifically.3
Shemot 12:27 / 13:8 – "וַאֲמַרְתֶּם זֶבַח פֶּסַח הוּא"/ "וְהִגַּדְתָּ לְבִנְךָ... לֵאמֹר" – These verses explicitly mention speech4 and clearly refer to Pesach night. However, as they both speak of the recounting as accompanying the eating of the Pesach sacrifice, these sources might suggest that the telling is subsumed under the larger mitzvah of eating, and therefore does not constitute its own obligation. Alternatively, the recounting is simply the purpose of the eating and therefore is a קיום המצוה but not an independent obligation.
Shemot 13:13 – "וְאָמַרְתָּ אֵלָיו בְּחֹזֶק יָד הוֹצִיאָנוּ" – Though this verse directs one to verbally speak about leaving Egypt, its context is not Pesach, but the redemption of the first born. The verse only directs one to tell the story if a child asks about the ceremony. It says nothing about any obligation on Pesach night.
Devarim 6:21 – "וְאָמַרְתָּ לְבִנְךָ עֲבָדִים הָיִינוּ" – The context of this command is also unrelated to Pesach. It speaks, instead, of a general obligation to explain to one's children that the reason to keep Hashem's commandments is the fact that He freed the Israelites from slavery in Egypt.
Cognitive /active/ verbal
"כל המספר"" versus "כל המרבה לספר"
Telling Through Eating
The obligation to tell the story of the Exodus does not necessitate a verbal retelling, but is rather fulfilled through the act of eating the Pesach sacrifice. By eating the lamb with matzah and maror, one re-enacts the original Pesach thereby effectively recounting the essence of the story.
Sources:Rosh
Source for the mitzvah – According to this approach, the verses in Shemot 12:26-27, Shemot 13:3-8 and Devarim 16:1-3 which speak of remembering the Exodus as one offers the Pesach teach that the mitzvah is action-oriented and the recounting takes place through the act of eating itself. The language of "וַאֲמַרְתֶּם זֶבַח פֶּסַח הוּא לַי"י" or "וְהִגַּדְתָּ.... לֵאמֹר" is not understood literally to refer to verbal expression, but to the conveying of information.
Rejection of other verses – The verses in Shemot 13:14 and Devarim 6:20-21 make no reference to the Pesach offering and thus cannot be understood as a command to recount the story through eating. However, they also do not obligate any retelling on Pesach at all, referring instead to speaking of the Exodus during other occasions during the year (when redeeming a first born and when teaching children about the import of Hashem's mitvot.)
Comparison to other mitzvot – The Rosh compares the obligation to remember the Exodus when eating the Pesach to other mitzvot which similarly commemorate the Exodus, such as redemption of firstborns or celebration of shabbat and holidays. In each case one need not actively speak about the Exodus; the fulfillment of the mitzvah itself serves to commemorate it.
No blessing on haggadah – The Rosh explains that there is no blessing made over the haggadah since it is
"כל המספר"" versus "כל המרבה לספר"
