Ha Lachma Anya

Atara Cohen

הָא לַחְמָא עַנְיָא דִּי אֲכָלוּ אַבְהָתָנָא בְאַרְעָא דְמִצְרָיִם.
כָּל דִכְפִין יֵיתֵי וְיֵיכֹל, כָּל דִצְרִיךְ יֵיתֵי וְיִפְסַח.
הָשַּׁתָּא הָכָא, לְשָׁנָה הַבָּאָה בְּאַרְעָא דְיִשְׂרָאֵל.
הָשַּׁתָּא עַבְדֵי, לְשָׁנָה הַבָּאָה בְּנֵי חוֹרִין.

This is the bread of affliction which our fathers did eat in the land of Egypt.
Let all who are hungry come in and eat;
let all who require come in and celebrate the Passover.
This year we celebrate it here, may we celebrate it next year in the land of Israel.
This year we are in exile, next year we may be free.

Magid, which is the fifth and longest step of the seder is opened with the paragraph “Ha Lachma Anya”. The main message of Ha Lachma Anya is to let anyone who doesn’t have a place to go to come into your home to celebrate Pesach with you. As well, even though we might now be in exile, there’s still hope that next year we can be redeemed and singing this very song in the holy land or Israel!

Being that Ha Lachma Anya is the opening song for maggid in the Hagaddah, the “smart one” or “chacham” asks why we don’t recite a bracha before we read it since Pesach is written in the torah as a positive commandment. Even more so, we recite a bracha before reading the megillah on Purim, and the holiday of Purim is not even mentioned in the torah!…How come we don’t recite a bracha prior to reading maggid?

According to the Rif, there is no need to make a specific bracha for telling the Pesach story at the start of maggid before saying Ha Lachma Anya. This is due to the fact that the recognition of the miracle in Egypt was already mentioned at the start of the seder during the first step of “Kadesh”. In Kadesh, it says “A remembrance for the exodus from Egypt,” therefore we are exempt from making another bracha specially for reading the haggadah and for the start of maggid, since we fulfilled our obligation during Kadesh.

Next, the one who “doesn’t know how to ask” or “Sheano Yodaya Lesh’ol”, questions why we raise the Seder plate and Matzahs while reciting Ha Lachma Anya, but then remove it after singing it?

According to the Kimcha Davshuna, its to encourage the children to ask questions, leading into “Manishtana”. On all other nights we eat what’s been placed right in front of us, but on this night the plate is removed from the table! This causes children to get involved in the sedar and become a part of it. Especially those who don’t know how to ask, this is the moment where they can point out something unusual. As well, they can become a part of the seder, without feeling hesitant or unsure of how to ask a question.

Furthermore, the “simple” or “Tam” child is confused regarding the words “all who are hungry come and eat”. He questions about those who are poor and need somewhere to go, but are embarrassed to take an invitation or ask to join a seder that they have no connection to…?

According to Ephod Bad, he says to look around your surroundings and if you see anyone wandering around the streets, definitely invite them in, despite of the shame they may be feeling. Even though many times poor people can feel humiliated to accept an invitation to a seder because of their poverty, we learn here through the holiday of Pesach that everything truly comes from Hashem. By the poor person joining their seder, your just adding another person to enjoy the beautiful seder all given from Haashem. As well, everything we have was “passed-over” to us. Therefore, poor people should not have shame accepting an invite to a seder because first, they will be fulfilling the mitzvah of Pesach. Second, Hashem has a plan for everyone so even if times seem tough, everything will work out in the end. By keeping and fulfilling the mitzvah of Pesach, it will help put you on the right track to getting out of the dark whole and finding light on the other side.

Lastly, the “Rasha” or “bad” child, harshly asks how there can be any hope to be in the land of Israel next year celebrating Pesach, if they are living in exile now and have been living like that for thousands of years?! There’s no chance of ever getting to be in the land of Israel…It has always been a permanent struggle.

According to the Ephod Bad, having a negative attitude won’t get you anywhere. By trying to find hope and good in everything, that’s what will bring us to Israel next year! We are currently living in exile as slaves because we are too focused on materialistic items and don’t have the right mindset developed yet. But, all we can do is hope to strive to get past the foolishness and ignorance behviours of ours. When the time comes and our mindsets of the world are correctly developed, thats when Mashiach will come and we will no longer be living in exile. Therefore in Ha Lachma Anya we say that even though were in exile now, next year we want to work on getting better so we can celebrate in Israel and be redeemed.

Overall, I can connect the main message of Ha Lachma Anya to my own life. After gaining a deeper understanding of Ha Lachma Anya, I know that before both sedarim this year, I will look out for any poor people or anyone that doesn’t have a place to eat the seder and invite them to my own seder. As well, this has truly reminded me that everything comes from Hashem. It has taught me to really appreciate what I have and be happy with it and be thankful that I have a place to celebrate my sedarim at. Additionally, Ha Lachma Anya has taught me to have hope that even though this year we may not be in Israel, with Hashem’s help we can work to bring mashiach and B”H be celebrating all together next year in the land of milk and honey.