Last year, one of the loyal readers of this blog, Gary Greenberg, told me that I need to send out the commentary on the Haggadah much earlier than I usually do, so now, two weeks before Pesach, I am announcing that the 2025 version of my commentary on the Haggadah (PDF file, 120 pages, including references, 1.5 spacing) is available to anybody who wishes to read it. Also, very kindly, last year after Pesach, Gary Greenberg carefully went over last year’s version and pointed out several mistakes, which has improved the commentary. Thank you Gary. Below is the Table of Contents to the current commentary. If you are interested in receiving the file, send me an email, ajayschein@gmail.com, and I will send you the file (for free, no ads and no requests for donations). I wish everybody a chag kasher ve-samaech and good health.
In addition, unrelated to the commentary, as part of the Seder, we should all pray for peace in the land of Israel, the safety of our soldiers and the return of all of the captives from Gaza.
Andrew Schein
Table of Contents
Introduction to the Haggadah
Bedikat hametz
Two systems of removing hametz from
the house: Burning and annulling
Hiding bread in the house before
doing the bedikat hametz
The blessing on bedikat hametz
The Seder plate
The history of the Seder plate
How many matzot are needed at the
Seder?
The mnemonic of the Seder
How is one to sit at the Seder:
Hasibah (Not leaning)
What does the word hasibah mean?
Do women need to do hasibah at the
Seder?
Kiddush
The four cups of wine
The four words or verses of
redemption (parshanut)
Karpas
Why is karpas part of the Seder?
How much karpas should a person eat?
Dipping the karpas
Yachatz and ha lachma anya
Is there a connection between
reciting the sentence that begins with the words, ha lachma anya and yachatz,
the breaking of the matzah?
Raising the Seder plate and uncovering
the matzah when reciting ha lachma anya
The third sentence in the paragraph
of ha lachma anya and living in the land of Israel
Maggid
The obligation to re-tell the story
of the exodus from Egypt
Structure of the Maggid
Mah nishtanah: Covering the matzah
by the mah nishtanah
Mah nishtanah: Popularity
Mah nishtanah: It’s source
Mah nishtanah: Who says the mah
nishtanah?
Mah nishtanah: How many questions
compromise the mah nishtanah?
Mah nishtanah: The order of the
question of the mah nishtanah
Mah nishtanah: The answers
Lowly states: We were slaves and our
forefathers were idolaters
The four words of baruch and the
four sons
The four sons: Why four?
The four sons: How can one identify
the traits of each son from the verses in the Torah?
The four sons: The answers to the
evil son’s question
The four sons: The answer/ statement
to the son who cannot ask a question
The flow of the Haggadah from Rav’s
understanding of the change in our status to the interpretation of the verses
in Devarim
The descendants of Avraham
Lifting a cup of wine and covering
matzah twice during Maggid
The drush: Introduction
The drush: Devarim 26:5 - Arami oved
avi (parshanut)
The drush: Devarim 26:5 - Va-yered
mitzraymah
The drush:Devarim 26:5 - Va-yagar
sham
The drush: Devarim 26:5 - Va-rav
The drush: Devarim 26:6 - And the
Egyptians with evil intent treated us harshly
The drush: The first half of Devarim
26:7 - We cried to G-d
The drush: The second half of
Devarim 26:7 - And G-d saw our affliction and our burdensome suffering
(parshanut)
The drush: Devarim 26:8 - The plague
of the firstborn Egyptians (parshanut)
The drush: The anti-Christian drush
on Devarim 26:8?
The drush: Devarim 26:8 - Sixteen
drops of wine
The drush: The ten plagues
The drush: Dzach adash beachav
(parshanut)
R. Yosi ha-Galilee, R. Eliezer and
R. Akiva
Dayenu
Rabban Gamliel
Matzah (parshanut)
Maror
A new song?
Dividing Hallel
Differences between reciting Hallel
all year round and by the Seder
The blessing at the end of the
Maggid
Matzah
How much matzah does one need to eat
by the Seder?
Shemurah matzah
Charoset
Eating eggs by the beginning of the
meal
Afikoman
The history of the term afikoman
Eating the afikoman before the
middle of the night
Shefokh hamatcha
Hallel after birkat ha-mazon
Birkat ha-Shir
Hallel ha-Gadol
Songs at the end of the Seder
Seven songs
Ehad mi yode`a?
Chad gadya: Is there a message?
Chad gadya: Good and bad characters
Bibliography
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