PREFACE TO THE “HAGGADA OF THE JEWISH IDEA” The purpose of the Haggada of the Jewish Idea is not to add yet another Haggada to the collection of Haggadot already available to the public. Its purpose is rather to present the concepts of the authentic Jewish Idea in general, and in particular the concept of faith in G-d, on this holy night of the year: the Seder night, which was ordained as the night which would define the faith of the Jew. There is no task more important today than that of rectifying those most fundamental Jewish concepts, including – indeed, in particular – among b’nei Torah, Torah scholars. For indeed, on one hand the long exile has caused us to forget the very soul of Judaism and the Jewish idea; and on the other hand, foreign cultures have penetrated deep, including into the halls of Torah, and have emasculated our ideology. So widespread have these phenomena become, that few today are capable of differentiating between chametz and matza, between Jewish ideas and foreign ideas.
Similarly, at the core of the necessity for this Haggada stands the fact that many Jews sit at the Seder table in order to fulfill the mitzvah of the night, to recount the Exodus from Egypt, but find themselves entirely dependent upon “vorts” which have only the slightest of connections with the message of Pesach, or indeed the teachings of Judaism in general. I hope that this Haggada will serve to aid all who are interested in expounding on the Exodus on the Seder night. "And all those who labor in it greatly are praiseworthy."
This Haggada was written according to the principles which I learned from my father and teacher of blessed memory, may God avenge his blood. Having said that, I have cited as primary sources his various books (in particular The Jewish Idea and the series of commentaries on the Bible, Perush ha-Maccabee) only when I quoted from them directly, or when I set forth an idea according to a specific source in his writings; however, I have not cited my father's works when I concatenated several different sources, nor when I expounded upon a general trend of thought which appears in his writings. Having said that, it is important to emphasize that almost the entire commentary is based upon his words, and of course upon the principles of his teachings. And I hope that my work will cause no one to stumble.
During the months of work writing this commentary, I was "honored" to be harassed by the authorities, especially when they chose precisely this time to carry out an intensive interrogation against me; I was accused of the "crime" of writing various commentaries on the Torah - "incitement" by their definition. Indeed, even this very work was saved from falling into their clutches by the grace of G-d; I was but a step away from being forcibly prevented from publishing this commentary in time for Pesach of this year 5757 (1997). However, it was precisely this fact which ultimately gave me the added strength and impetus necessary to complete this work, to publish this Hagadah, and to spread the authentic Jewish Idea among the Jewish People - in spite of those who desire to delegitimize and to ban the truth, and to prevent us from speaking that truth.
I conclude with the prayer that all those who study and learn this work will be enriched, and will be brought closer to the clear and straightforward concepts of Judaism in general and of Pesach in particular. I also pray that it will encourage them to study and to relate to the authentic concepts of Judaism throughout the year.
Binyamin Kahane
Adar II 5757 (March '97)
Author’s Introduction to the Haggada
The recitation of the Haggada and, indeed, the entire Seder Night, has a clear purpose: to transmit the faith in Hashem, the God of Israel, from father to son, from generation to generation. The Jewish faith is based upon the undeniable tradition, passed from the father – who saw with his own eyes the great miracles of the Exodus from Egypt and the Divine Revelation at Mt Sinai – to his son and his sons’ sons, for all generations. This tradition teaches us not only the existence of God and His unlimited, infinite power; it teaches also that He chose us and loves us, that He wishes only for our good, and yearns to redeem us. God demonstrated this by taking us out of Egypt – us and not any of the countless other nations who were subjugated there, even though we, too, were idol-worshippers, and even though the majority of us did not even want to leave there[1]. But God, who had long since chosen the Patriarchs unconditionally and irrevocably, decided that the time had come to fulfill His oath to Abraham This is the meaning of the statement that every person is obligated to see himself as if he personally had gone forth out of Egypt. When all the children of the nation receive from their fathers a clear and detailed tradition of what all 600,000 Israelites saw with their own eyes – regardless of how many years have passed since then – then every detail is as true and as clear as if we saw it with our own eyes. We thereby know that Hashem, our God, the God of Israel, Who desires us, does indeed exist. Moreover, even in the worst of situations we can be encouraged by His unconditional promise to redeem us a second time in the sight of all, just as He did in the days of the Exodus, when He promised and fulfilled His promise. This is what obligates us to be faithful to Him and to fulfill His will. The obligation that you shall tell your son (Ex. 13:8), and the Seder night in general, are based upon these principles; we will return to them and detail them in our commentary to the Haggada, each one in its place.
We will conclude this Introduction with the words of the Rav, commenting on the verse in the sight of all Israel (Deut. 34:12):
In the sight of all Israel. This is the foundation of Judaism. Those signs and wonders, the mighty hand and the great terror, the entire episode of slavery – all were done deliberately in the sight of all Israel, so that they would be present personally, as active participants as well as witnesses to God’s existence and strength. Great though Moses was, it was not on the strength of his greatness that Israel knew of God’s might and existence. This is in contrast to all the other nations and religions, who base their faith on the words of one man or a small group of men, who “saw miracles”. In our insane world, any trickster, any false prophet, can easily arise and influence people, convincing them that he is the messenger of some higher power. There is no shortage of lunatics and wretches who will follow him, in a desperate search for “truth” and “security”. And this is especially easy in a confused generation that has lost its spiritual way, when all the values in which they and previous generations believed have been proven to be delusions and falsehood. Such was the case in the days of the false prophet who founded Christianity[2], and in the days of Mohammed, the false prophet who invented Islam. Both of them came with false declarations, whose sole basis was full trust in in themselves personally. But never in the whole world has there arisen a person who came in the name of God, who proved himself with miracles and wonders so numerous, and so wondrous, and for so long a period. Moreover, these were all performed in the sight of all Israel: both before their eyes – they personally saw these miracles, without having to believe in some intermediary between them and God; and also all Israel – not just a chosen few, or elders, or select individuals, but all the Jews – men, women, and children, saw all the terror Egypt, and at the Red Sea. Even a slave-girl at the Red Sea saw wonders that even Isaiah and Ezekiel and all the other prophets did not see (Mechilta, Shirata 3). Similarly, when they stood before Mount Sinai, they heard the voice of Hashem speaking to them directly.
(Perush ha-Maccabee, Deuteronomy p. 476)
[1] The Torah (Ex. 13:18) describes the Jews as having left Egypt חֲמֻשִׁים, chamushim (“armed”). Homelitically, the word חֲמֻשִׁים is linked with חֲמִשִּים, chamishim (“fifth” or “fifty” – spelt exactly the same in Hebrew); thus, only one-fifth of the Jews left Egypt; some say one in fifty; and some say, one in five hundred (Tanchuma, Beshallach 1; Yalkut Shimoni, Bo 208, s.v. והיה כי יאמרו). Rashi, commenting on Ezekiel 20:8, says that those who rebelled against God in Egypt and refused to listen to Him, those upon whom He poured His fury, were were the evil-doers, the majority of Jews, who died in the three days of darkness, as the verse says, ‘and chamushim the Jews left Egypt’. Some say only one in fifty left, some say only one in 500 left. The same idea is set forth in the Mechilta de-Rabbi Yishma’el, Pis’cha 12, s.v. וישתחו; Beshallach 1, s.v. וחמושים. [2] Referred to in Hebrew as יְשׁ"וּ, Yeshu, which is the acronym of יִמַּח שְׁמוֹ וְזִכְרוֹ, yemach sh’mo ve-zichro (“may his name and memory be eradicated”).