June 26, 2026 Categories: Featured / Parsha / Torah
Holiness of the Seder
On the night of the Seder, something awesome occurs which happens only once a year. The Chid”a cites the Zohar that by the Seder, Hashem Himself comes to each Jewish home with His pamalya, his holy retinue. The closest we come to such a holy visit is on Succos when the Ushpizin visit us. But, only on the night of the Seder does Hashem Himself appear in our homes.
The Arugas Habosem says this is the reason why we start the Haggadah with Ha lachma anya in the Aramaic language for the Gemara says in Shabbos (12b), that one shouldn’t pray in Aramaic for the angels are intermediaries and don’t understand Aramaic. We deliberately start the Haggadah in Aramaic to show that on this night we don’t need the assistance of the angels since Hashem is there Himself. The new Haggadah, Mah L’maisah, says this is why we finish the Haggadah with Chad Gadya, which is also in Aramaic, to emphasize that Hashem is with us throughout the Seder, from beginning to end. The Chozeh M’Lublin, zt”l, zy”a, says that the song Chad Gadya is actually a lachash, an incantation, against the ayin hara, the evil eye, for the angels are jealous of the special attention that we are getting from Hashem on this night.
This is also one of the reasons why we wear the white kittel during the Seder. The kittel is reminiscent of the bigdei lavan, the special white garments that the kohen gadol wears when he goes into the Kodesh Kodashim, the Holy of Holies on Yom Kippur where if he is worthy, he also meets up with Hashem.
The Chid”a warns us that since on this night there is such a great opportunity of Holiness, the yetzer hara matches it with a ferocious attempt to wreak havoc in the home to snatch away the awesome benefits of the evening from us. He recommends that a person should make a firm commitment with oneself not to get angry or fight with the family no matter what situation arises. The Chid”a says this is alluded to in the Seder “table of contents” when we say Motzi Matzah. The word matzah also means strife and therefore it is a directive to evict any kind of fighting from our home the entire evening.
Forewarned is forearmed. So if someone forgot to buy the parsley or celery for karpas, if the beautiful kos shel Eliyahu was misplaced and can’t be found, if someone is impatient and argues “Let’s get to the meal and then we’ll say the divrei Torah,” (we know that never happens!) be patient and don’t lose your cool.
In the same vein, the great Pele Yoetz recommends that at the beginning of the Seder (if the cumulative effects of the mad rush of Pesach preparations catch up with you and you feel tired and perhaps even a little irritable) after Kiddush, you can drink something like a coffee to make the evening easier and more productive. This is especially appropriate considering the Chid”a’s warning not to get angry, since Rabbeinu Tam writes in his Sefer HaYashar, and so too the Sefer Chasidim warns, that one who is hungry is prone to anger. (In contemporary circles, this condition is sometimes referred to as ‘hangry.’) It has been my personal custom, at certain Sederim when I find myself bushed, to have a cup of J&J Capuchino right after Kiddush. (Please note: I do not make a shehakol since the borei pri hagafen covers all liquids, but I do make a borei nefashos afterwards. Another word of caution: you do not want to take this snack after karpas for you don’t want to say a borei nefashos since the borei pri hadamah on the karpas is supposed to also cover the maror later on. So, you don’t want a borei nefashos to negate it.)
Another reason why the yetzer hara is firing on all cylinders is that of the entire year, the Seder night is the greatest opportunity we have for teaching our descendants. The Maharil proves this by saying that the night of the Seder is the only time of the year that we invest in all kinds of machinations to make sure that the children don’t fall asleep. From the minhag of giving nosh to the children at the beginning of the Seder to allowing the ‘stealing’ of the afikomen and doing other unusual things, we strive mightily to keep the children awake on this most important of nights.
Just like Rabbi Frand, Shlit”a, famously said, “Since we know the satan is given permission to wreak havoc in a Jewish home on erev Shabbos, the smart person says to him or herself, “I won’t let myself get angry because I know it’s just the wiles of the yetzer hara.” This should be our mindset on the Seder night as well.
A story is told about the great Rav Hutner, zt”l, zy”a, who was by nature a very clean and orderly person. As he was sitting by the Seder table in his pristine white kittel, someone clumsily knocked over a cup of wine and horribly stained Rav Hutner’s kittel. Rav Hutner calmly responded, “A kittel on Pesach night without wine stains is like a Yom Kippur machzor without tears.” Such a response comes from mental preparation not to allow oneself to lose their equilibrium, come what may.
Rav Leibel Eiger, zt”l, zy”a, gives an interesting reason for the custom of eating an egg by the Seder. He says that the essential purpose of the egg is to bring us a chick. To do so, the mother must sit on it and warm it so that the egg can hatch. So too, the holy Seder night can produce for us and our families’ awesome results but it’s only if we take the time to “warm ourselves up” to be prepared for the unprecedented opportunities of the evening.
In the merit of making for our family a holy Seder, may Hashem bless us with long life, good health, and everything wonderful.
Transcribed and edited by Shelley Zeitlin.
