One-Page Learn · The Halachos at a glance
הלכות חמץ ומצה
Chametz u'Matzah 7
Sefer Zemanim · The mitzvah of telling the Exodus story: the Haggadah, the four cups, reclining, charoset, and maror
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CUPS OF WINE, NEVER FEWER, EVEN FOR THE POOREST
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WORDS YOU MUST EXPLAIN: PESACH, MATZAH, MAROR
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SPECIES THAT QUALIFY AS MAROR
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LOG OF WINE, THE MINIMUM SIZE OF EACH CUP
7:1-4The Telling
- Everyone tells. A positive Torah mitzvah to relate the miracles of the Exodus on the night of 15 Nisan, even with no son to ask, even among great sages; elaborating is praiseworthy (7:1)
- Fit the listener. A father teaches according to the son's mind: to a young child, "we were slaves like this servant, and God took us out to freedom"; to a wise son, the whole history and its miracles (7:2)
- Provoke the question. Hand out roasted seeds and nuts, snatch the matzah, remove the table early, so children ask "why is this night different"; a person alone asks himself (7:3)
- Disgrace to praise. Begin with Terach's idolatry and "we were slaves," end with the true faith and the freedom, expounding from "An Aramean sought to destroy my ancestor" (7:4)
RememberThis story may not be delivered as a lecture; it must be pulled out by questions, even if you must ask them of yourself.
7:5-6The Demand
- Three words or nothing. Whoever does not mention Pesach (God passed over), maror (the Egyptians embittered), and matzah (the redemption) has not fulfilled his obligation (7:5)
- Present yourself free. In every generation a person must present himself as if he, himself, has now left the slavery of Egypt: "He took us out from there" (7:6)
- It is personal. "Remember that you were a slave": as if you yourself were enslaved, went out to freedom, and were redeemed (7:6)
RememberThe Rambam writes "present himself," not merely "see himself": the freedom must be visible at the table.
7:7-10The Free Man's Table
- Recline and drink. Therefore one eats and drinks this night reclining like a free man; men and women alike drink four cups, and the number may not be reduced (7:7)
- Dignity is subsidized. Even Israel's poorest, sustained by charity, does not eat until he reclines and receives four cups; reclining on the right side, on one's back, or forward does not count (7:8)
- When it counts. Reclining is required for the kezayit of matzah and the four cups; during the rest of the meal it is praiseworthy but optional (7:8)
- Each cup has a job. The wine is mixed with water for pleasant drinking; each cup carries its own blessing: kiddush, the Haggadah, grace after meals, the completion of Hallel; between the third and fourth one does not drink (7:9-10)
RememberTonight the charity fund pays for royalty: four cups and a cushion are needs, not luxuries.
7:11-13The Tastes
- Charoset is mortar. A rabbinic mitzvah: dates, figs, or raisins crushed with vinegar and spices to resemble the clay of Egypt, placed on the table (7:11)
- Maror rides on the Pesach. By Torah law bitter herbs have no independent mitzvah, only alongside the Paschal offering; eating maror alone tonight is by the words of the Sages (7:12)
- Five species. Romaine lettuce, endives, horseradish, date ivy, wormwood; a kezayit of one or of all combined fulfills it, with moist leaves or even a dry stem (7:13)
- Bitterness must stay bitter. Boiled, pickled, or cooked herbs are invalid for maror (7:13)
RememberThe sweetest dish on the table is shaped like clay, and the bitter one is invalid the moment it stops tasting bitter.