TELLING THE STORY
If you are a child of God; you are an important part of the story of God.
You are one of the people that belongs in this story that we tell each other year-after-year.
It is an annual event we can never forget.
Maggid is the telling of the story.
This is the most important part of the Passover Seder.
In Hebrew the word Maggid means “narrator.” The person telling the story, or the narrator is actually the Maggid; but this section of the Passover has also been called The Maggid for a long, long time.
Pesach is a story of freedom and redemption. The Hebraic word for Passover is “z’man heyruteinu,” and it means “the season of our freedom.”
In the Maggid we learn how we all can come to spiritual redemption and freedom from mental as well as physical slavery. In the Exodus, which the Maggid describes, the nation of Israel was being prepared by God to receive the Torah on Mt. Sinai.
After we leave this story we too will begin 50 days of letting God prepare our hearts to receive His Holy Spirit. It all starts tonight; with the Maggid and the telling of the story of the Exodus.
MOST IMPORTANT PART OF THE SERVICE
Again; Maggid is the most important part of the Passover Seder. Everything in the Seder revolves around the telling of this story. If you are going to leave any portion out of the Seder; never make this the one that is forgotten. It is a story that God has commanded His people to always remember.
The narrator isn’t just telling any story; he/she is telling THE story.
We speak of the story of God’s Family and how it grew into such a great family. It is the old, old story of how God lead the Israelites out of the bondage of slavery in Egypt under Pharaoh into freedom, and eventually into The Promised Land.
You can tell the story in any form or fashion that you like; the point is to TELL THE STORY.
Never stop telling the story.
This is the story that all stories grew from.
THE STORY OF ALL STORIES
One of the core messages of the Passover seder is “v’higad’ta l’vin’chah” – “you shall teach your children the central narrative of our people, that we were slaves in Egypt and now we are free.”
Most traditional narrators will recite a short paragraph called the Hah Lachma Anya. This describes the matzah as “the bread of affliction” and an invitation is given for all who wish to observe the seder to come and join in.
These are the words of the Hah Lachma Anya in English:
This is the bread of affliction that our ancestors ate in the land of Egypt. Anyone who is hungry should come and eat, anyone who is in need should come and partake of the Pesach sacrifice. Now we are here, next year we will be in the land of Israel, this year we are slaves, next year we will be free people.
WHY IS THIS NIGHT DIFFERENT?
At this point; the narrator will ask a loaded question:
“Why is this night different from all the others?”
The narrator will give four questions to the youngest child at the table, and he/she will allow the child ask the questions. The rest of the telling is basically an answer to all of the four questions.
These are the four questions:
1. On other nights we eat leavened foods and matzah; why on this night only matzah?
2. On other nights we eat all vegetables; why on this night only bitter herbs?
3. On other nights we don’t even dip once; why on this night do we dip twice?
4. On other nights we eat and drink sitting down; but on this night we eat and drink reclining.
All together the four questions are called Ma Nishtana in Hebrew.
Do you know the answers?
You should actually look for them in the telling of the story; but here they are spelled out for you today:
ANSWERS TO THE FOUR QUESTIONS
1. This eating of the matzah commemorates how the people were in such a hurry to leave Egypt that they could not wait for their bread to rise. They made matza instead and we still do the same today. The symbolic meaning of the matzah tells us when we look at the flat appearance that it is deflated. Matzah represents the humility of poverty and slavery and is appropriately called “the bread of affliction.”
2. The bitter herbs are symbolic of the bitterness and difficulty the people of God experienced as slaves while they were living under Pharaoh’s rule in Egypt.
3. Dipping food was a luxury reserved only for royalty and the high-class Egyptians. This expresses our freedom from bondage and explains that we have been delivered and are no longer slaves. Dipping in the salty water symbolizes the bondage of slavery; but dipping in the charoset symbolizes the luxury of freedom and the sweetness of redemption.
4. Reclining was what a free man did when he ate his meal in luxury; slaves had to eat standing up. We are no longer slaves! We are free.
All of this questioning helps to hold the interest of the children; but also it is meant to help celebrate our own personal transition from slavery to freedom. What marks the difference between a slave and a free person more than the freedom to ask questions?
At one point the narrator might speak of four sons within a family.
THE FOUR SONS
These four sons are said to describe four different types of children who are present at the Seder. Instructions are offered by the narrator as to how these four sons should be taught the story of the Exodus. Whatever story is used, the traits of being wise, wicked, simple and silent are discussed as types of personalities and we are instructed on how to teach different types of personalities through the stories of these four sons. There are many different stories around these sons and many different interpretations. We will look at one of them today.
THE FOUR TYPES OF CHILDREN
It is noted that one son is wise, one son is wicked, one son is simple and one son is silent. We are going to rearrange the order of these sons and discuss how they could all actually be one person at different stages in their life.
THE SILENT CHILD
As we look at the child who did not know how to ask a question we might think of babies and toddlers. They can’t talk yet! They are still learning. Maybe this is their first Passover ever and ALL of it is new. This child can still sense the element of the seder through tasting the food, looking at the table and the plate and listening to the speaker. They can taste the salt water. The matzah might feel rough when they touch it. Though this child is too young to ask a question; the child can still celebrate with the rest of the family.
THE SIMPLE CHILD
When we think of the simple child; we might think of the elementary aged children. These children are just learning about the story of the Passover. These little children love special occasions and events. They are curious, but may be overwhelmed at times. This child can ask and answer SOME questions, for example they can tell you what they DO know about this holy day. That would be great for them to add to the service. They might know what some of the foods on the seder plate are about and some of this food might have special meanings to them. Let them say what they know. This child might be able to participate in leadership in more simple ways; such as passing out the Haggadot (prayer books.)
THE WICKED CHILD
The wicked child might actually be a child who has now reached the pre-teen stage of life; or even a teen. Pre-teens and teens question everything about life. They challenge the rules at times. They even question why they are forced into participating in this old family tradition. This age group might be searching for the true meaning of this Seder; we could ask this age to explain to us whether or not they sometimes feel like a slave. Are there also times when they feel free? What would this child say are the ten plagues of the modern day world? We will take into consideration that this child is still growing and might make a few mistakes along the way. Also, they might add some insight that we never thought about before.
THE WISE CHILD
Now we will consider the wise child. Perhaps this child is a full-grown adult. They have passed through the journey of adolescence and have come safely out on the other side. We will ask this child about his freedom. What are his world views now? One day he will sit at the head of the table with his own family. Perhaps we will invite him to lead us in part of this service so that he will have some practice for those days to come. They will arrive too soon. He must be ready. Perhaps all of these phases of the four sons have helped him to get ready. Each phase has its own reasons and importance.
DIFFERENT PLACES IN THE JOURNEY OF LIFE
As we look at all four of these sons; we can see some of ourselves in each one. Each person at our table is at a different place in the journey through life; we must love and respect each other in every phase. As we look at each son we will remember that there is a time and a season for everything, We will give grace and forgiveness and allow healing and blessings to be a part of the life that we all share together.
REMEMBERING THE PLAGUES
Next In Maggid and the course of telling the story, the narrator will recite the Ten Plagues that God inflicted on the Egyptians. While they are recited out loud, it is common to remove a drop of wine from one’s cup with a finger and place that drop upon a napkin. As the wine in our cups slowly goes down, we see that this symbolizes the diminished joy and the suffering that was necessary for the people on their way to freedom.
DAYENU SONG
After the plagues are recited, with the people repeating each one after the narrator, a song called Dayenu is sung as a poem of gratitude to God for all the kindness He bestowed upon the people during the Exodus and the time that followed.
Some extra time for Praise is often given after the telling of the story.
LET THE STORY TRANSFORM YOU SPIRITUALLY
While Pesach (the Hebrew word for Passover) is “z’man heyruteinu,” “the season of our freedom;” it is also a festival that speaks of spiritual redemption.
We see and observe how God’s people were freed from mental as well as physical slavery. It was as a physically and spiritually free people that the Israelite nation prepared to receive the Torah on Mt. Sinai.
We too are physically and spiritually free to open our hearts and receive the purposes and the destinies that God has proclaimed over us.
Once we know the story; the story comes to live within us and it begins to transform us, through every phase of life, into God’s sons and a kingdom that will live forever and ever.