Haggadah Overview

On the first night (or two outside of Eretz Yisroel) of Pesach, we have what is known as the Seder. The order of how things are done are written in what is known as the Haggadah Shel Pesach, or Haggadah for short. Nowadays, there are two positive commandments and three rabbinical involved in the seder. Seder night is a special time for imbuing ourselves with emuna. It is a time when we must relive the journey of the Jews as they were in and left Mitzrayim and pass on this experience to our children.

The need for focusing on the important theme of the Haggadah

There are certain underlining themes that must not be forgotten throughout the seder – chief amongst them is the exodus from Mitzrayim. People often spend time at the seder on peripheral points and get carried away discussing these. Example, towards the beginning of the seder it brings that R’ Elozor said i was like seventy and the Gemora Brochos tells us how a miracle happened when he was selected to be the Nosi at the young age of eighteen that he suddenly grew a large white beard keeping him the appearance of a seventy year old. Image the child hearing this story. The rest of the seder his mind is focused on this amazing phenomenon and the story of the exodus is missed.

Another important note is that children come home with lots of vorts on various parts of the haggadah. This takes up a lot of time. Whilst it is important to give them attention, this particular set up could be reserved for the other Pesach meals. The theme of Seder night is question and answer. The focus should be on the father running the show with doing actions (like removing the seder plate and the like) to evoke the children’s questions. The father should say things and get the children involved in reliving the exodus from Mitzrayim by giving information that leads to discussions and questions.

Some important themes

The most essential theme to remember and discuss is the unique and personal involvement of Hashem to the Jewish Nation. This is primarily seen in the answer to the four questions – in Avodim Hoyinu. The Jewish Nation was in danger of extinction, G-d forbid, but they were miraculously saved by Hashem. The Haggadah comes to bring out how Hashem’s miraculous intervention is seen throughout history – starting with Avrohom Ovinu.