The Use of Symbolism on Leil HaSeder

“In every generation a person must see himself as one who has left Egypt.”¹

This verse from the Talmud is found in the Pesach Hagada, right after the central Magid section of ‘Pesach, Matza and Marror’. There is much discussion on what and how one might see themselves as if he or she was personally redeemed. The rabbis of the Talmud believed we need to attempt to literally experience the leaving of Egypt. Some commentators translate it as to show by physical illustration that we are leaving Egypt. A Chassidic approach asks us to engage in personal exodus from our own slavery to the Yetzer Hara. What all agree on, is that the relevance of the Exodus from Egypt is something eternal and relevant to every Jew; in every generation, as individuals and as a nation.

One of the ways in which we actualize this commandment is through the use of symbols. Symbolism abounds in Judaism. From Tefilin and tzitzit, to the Mezuza – all examples of symbols that are mitzvot – to the colours coding our kitchens to signify meat and dairy, to dress codes in different communities, symbols help us to live and experience our Judaism. Each festival comes with its own unique set of symbols – the shofar on Rosh Hashanah, the four species on Sukkot. However, the rituals of Pesach in general and on Seder night in particular, employ the use of symbolism more than any other Jewish moment. Leill Haseder is essentially a ritual of the symbolic re-experience of leaving Egypt.

In this article we will explore the meaning and purpose behind the seder symbols and see how they take us closer to the abovementioned goal – leaving Egypt.

Physical and Spiritual

When one thinks of Pesach, there are so many connotations that come to mind – cleaning, Matza, the Seder night, and within the latter, the seder plate, the hagada, leaning, four questions, four sons, four cups. Some of these symbols and rituals are in fact mitzvot – eating the matza for example. Yet over the centuries, each and every Jewish culture has added unique symbols and customs of their own – for example, the Yeminite custom to literally march as if leaving Egypt, or the Ashkenazi custom to eat eggs in salt water. The addition of customs can even be found in the Haggadah, when we read that Hillel used to make a sandwich, comprising of the Pesach, Matza and Maror². Individual families may have unique traditions too, which give the seder added personal significance. One of the interesting points of many of these symbols is that some of them require the physical use of our bodies – leaning for example. Indeed the Batei HaNefesh comments that this is what the above quoted verse means- that one must show physical excitement as to his leaving Egypt³.

Freedom is lost when it is taken for granted. Unless parents hand on their memories and ideals to the next generation – the story of how they won their freedom and the battles they had to fight along the way – the long journey falters and we lose our way.” This is what we do on seder night; we educate for our civilization, our Jewish role and values, our future, by explaining and reliving our past.

Many of our Pesach symbols are metaphorical, such as the Four Sons, however the vast majority are actually physical, and used in a very physical way. We engage in sensory experience on Leil Haseder, tasting the bitter herbs, the salt water, imagining the tears running down our faces and onto our lips, the visual representation of the charoset, representing the mortar used to in our hard labour, physically leaning to show our freedom, drinking the wine that symbolizes the four forms of redemption. The list goes on. One may think it would be more important to engage in the discussion of freedom, debates on suffering and slavery. Indeed this too is a central element of the seder – as we see that Rabbis in Bnei Brak stay up all night learning together⁴. However, to really experience, beyond mere discussion, Judaism engages the body. We connect between our intellect, our neshama, and our physical sensations in order to connect to Hashem and our experience as a nation.

Education, Connection to the Past, and Building the Future

The use of physical symbols is very significant in the context of educating children. After being told we are commanded to see ourselves as if we left Egypt, the haggadah goes on to say, “As you should tell your children…”⁵ The mitzvah to relate the Exodus to future generations is mentioned four times in the Torah. Rav Sacks writes, “As Jews we believe that to defend a country you need an army, but to defend a civilisation you need education. Freedom is lost when it is taken for granted. Unless parents hand on their memories and ideals to the next generation – the story of how they won their freedom and the battles they had to fight along the way – the long journey falters and we lose our way.”⁶ This is what we do on seder night; we educate for our civilization, our Jewish role and values, our future, by explaining and reliving our past. For that, we pull out all the stops – the drama, the questions, the physical embodiment of this moment. Through the symbols on the seder plate, the special pillows for leaning, the representation of four children, we engage our own children, encouraging them to be active, to ask questions and to begin to formulate their own Jewish identity.

Jewish ritual plays a huge role in Jewish continuity. Through our rituals and symbols we reconnect to generations before and inspire generations to come. We foster a spiritual and emotional connection to Hashem and to Am Yisrael through ritual and symbolism. Rabbi Fink explains that our rituals give us the opportunity to relive heroic events of our history and give those far gone moments of the past practical relevance in our present: “The Torah gives us the opportunity to recreate, through our own actions, some of the heroic events of Exodus. If God redeemed us in Egypt, Jewish law challenges us to be redeemers, and shows us how to be that. If God lifted up the downtrodden Jewish slaves, the Jewish laws of charity demand of us that we approximate God’s behavior, and show us how to do that. We are commanded to evolve from readers of someone else’s story, into actors, heroes, in a real-life drama, in which we can, again and again, on a day-to-day basis, experience the dramatic narrative of exile and redemption…”⁷

Jewish Destiny

But why is it so important to re-experience leaving Egypt? Why do we need to spend our intellectual energy discussing it all night, and our physical energy crunching through measures of symbolic matza? What is it about Pesach that is so fundamental to Jewish identity? In his book Pneinei Halacha, Rav Melamed explains that on Pesach the unique mission of the Jewish people was revealed, as was the omnipotence of Hashem. It is the connection between Hashem and Am Yisrael that is represented in the Pascal sacrifice, another Pesach symbol, and in the name of the festival- Pesach – which symbolises Hashem’s singling out of the Jewish people. The mission of the Am Yisrael is to make Hashem’s name manifest in this world. Judaism is a ‘this world’ religion – our job is to infuse and find Hashem’s name and role in the very physical world in which we live. This stands in stark contrast to the Egyptians who reveled in their physical world, building master buildings, believing so much in physicality that even when they died, they held onto their physical possessions, and tried to preserve their physical bodies, While Judaism doesn’t attempt to hide from the physical world, it engages it for spiritual purposes⁸. This is so clear in the physical elements of the seder night, as discussed above.

A Web of Interconnectedness

Through the symbols of pesach, a beautiful web of past and future, individual and national, spiritual and physical, is created and experienced. Through them, we see links in the chains, and understand our individual roles in continuing them, as well as the responsibility of Jewish people. What an inspiring use of salt water! May we merit speedily to see the true representation of all the symbols of Pesach in the Beit Hamikdash in Jerusalem!