Ha Lachma Anya: An Invitation to Give
One of the important ideas in the Haggadah, spoken of more quietly, is the great deed of stepping out of ourselves and our own needs to perform acts of chessed (kind deeds) for others, even at times when it may be inconvenient.
We see the importance of doing chessed in the very beginning of the Haggadah, as it starts with the Aramaic words of “הא לחמא עניא – Ha lachma anya – This is the bread of poverty that our forefathers ate in the land of Egypt.”
The Chida (Simchat HaRegel) explains why the recitation of the Pesach (Passover) Haggadah begins with these words. Since we are now sitting at the seder with matzot in front of us and it is a time of geulah, redemption (“Bayamim Haheim Bazman Hazeh” – In those days at this time”), we appeal to Hashem (God) to redeem us. On what merit? We are eating matzah, Lechem Oni (bread of the poor – bread that we should have given to the poor so they would also have food to eat), but now, we graciously invite the poor to our Seder by continuing, “whoever is in need, let him come and join in the feast!” We can therefore conclude this paragraph by beseeching Hashem, “Next year may we be in the land of Eretz Yisrael (Israel), as free people!”
When we stop thinking about ourselves, our desires and money, and go out to help others fulfill their needs that may be less than ours, then we become even more grateful to Hashem, because the act of giving fills us with great feelings of happiness – that feeling of knowing we did a mitzvah, whether it was hard or not.
Ma’ot Chittin: Preparing Others for Pesach
Quoting Rabbi Avraham Pam from the sefer “Yom Tov Messages from Rav Pam” he says that the very first comment of the Rema (Rabbi Moshe Isserlis – a top authority on Torah law) to the laws of Pesach (Orach Chaim 429:1) is about the obligation of Ma’ot Chittin, providing food and/or financial assistance to the poor to assist them with their needs for the Passover holiday.
The Chofetz Chaim, who wrote who wrote the famed halachic work Mishnah Berurah, adds that the assistance must be enough to cover the entire eight days of Pesach. How can a person whom Hashem has blessed with wealth sit down with his family at the Pesach Seder (the Passover table) knowing that the pauper next door has nothing to place on his table?
During no other time of the year is this concept more relevant than before Pesach. In fact, the merit of chessed was the catalyst for the redemption from Egypt, as it says (Shemot 15:13), “נחית בחסדך עם זו גאלתה” “With Your kindness You guided the people that You redeemed.” Rabbeinu Bachya says that it was in the merit of loving kindness that the nation was redeemed from Egypt.
The Power of Giving with the Right Attitude
Chessed comes in different forms (I’ll leave this to your imagination) and with different types of people (with family, friends, classmates, co-workers, spouses, students, neighbors, roommates, teachers, mentors).
When it comes to the month of Nissan, throughout the 30 days before and after Pesach, it’s almost certain that you will find yourself doing a chessed, whether small or big, with any of the types of people listed above. The attitude in which you perform the kindness through both body language and words is what makes the biggest difference! Not just the fact that you did the deed, but the frame of mind you have while doing it usually will show on the outside as well, aside from your strong inner emotions and thoughts you have in your mind. The long-lasting memorable impact you’ll have on the person is usually the attitude you had while doing it, because they might have asked you at the most inconvenient time, but yet you still did the deed for them with such an optimistic attitude that showed you had all day for them.
Balancing Personal Preparation with Helping Others
Finding the right balance in both helping yourself, your family, and those outside your family who are more needy can be challenging; On the one hand, you are so eager to prepare yourself in every way to go into the holiday properly. On the other hand, you know it’s a big mitzvah to help out those around you as well whether they are part of your family or they are “outsiders”. It’s really about finding the balance so that there will be harmony all around.
Before it comes time to sit at the Seder table, let us make sure we fulfill the Haggadah requirement of giving to the ani (poor person), specifically making sure they have food for all days of Pesach, so that we can sit down with peace of mind, knowing that we did the greatest chessed of all and they are taken care of.
Chag Kasher V’Same’ach!
Submitted by Devora David
