Pesach: Mitzvot on the Seder Night - Rabbi Reuven Lauffer

so what have we got we've got we've got five litters on Layla Seder five mid-thought right two of them are deal Rice's two of them come from the Torah and that what are they that is support UT asthma dr is that there's a mitzvah to tell over the story of UTS me trying and a keyless matter those are the two mitzvahs that come from the toilet and then we've got three rabbinical meters one of them is e four cups of wine that need to be drunk although that needs a little bit of a clarification because this year because the first cup of wine is kiddush for friday night as well so it's actually got a dinner being a tour obligation I don't want to confuse anybody too much but whatever it's just it's a little bit a little bit different this year but once or the first rabina committers are four cups of wine and second one is eating the morrow and the third one is hallo so what we're going to do mates are Shem over the next couple of days we're going to look at whimpers we're going to look at the amounts of need to be what needs to be what you know inside of how much time they need to be just to be able to get our bits as down pat but before we go any further there is something which i think is I think it's rather important over here the the first DRI so the first our obligation of say tonight is to tell over the story of easy as me trying what's called sip or you'd see a spare time support comes to the word safer this appear to tell to relate right and it's kind of an important thing it really is because many people they use like they use say tonight as an opportunity again I'm not I'm not I'm not judging I'm not saying anything I just want you to understand as well they use it as an opportunity to have incredibly complicated and complex debates amongst themselves about you know various I don't know language that's used or or different grammatical issues that come up with inside of the story or you know halacha dimensions that are found inside of the gomorian socket and all of that of course is very very applicable and very apt to do and pay stuff but it's not really what we're supposed to be doing on say tonight on say tonight really we just supposed to be telling this story of your TSP tribe for those of us that have children so the it should be it should be as exciting as possible it should be as animated as possible just in order to keep the kids keep them keep them going you know they've got that they've got to be kept in a state of stimulation in order to enjoy the cypriot it's my time that's white you know bahasham I've got married children and I've got younger children and I've got grandchildren and it's a little bit of a juggling act you know to tell over the story if it is but I'm in a way that's going to cover everybody's you know various levels and needs right but it's something which really does need to be done it really does and you know we spoke the other day with for what visual aids but one of the things that we use in order to keep the kids happy and keep them busy is that I have a great big bowl and it gets filled up with chocolates I'd individually wrapped chocolates and whenever anybody says anything you know or you know comes up with a question or comes up with an answer or says something which is neat which is nice they get a chocolate and it is it is astonishing I did my wife when she lays a table so she puts down little little bags for people they can store their chocolates in because the chocolates are not know all of them are power of some of them are dairy right and that becomes like a little bit of a competition to see who's got more chocolates than anybody else and and it's extraordinary the way that it works all the way from you know what my mother-in-law comes for pace up all the way from you know my mother-in-law all the way down to the youngest of the children who are the youngest of the grandchildren are old enough to be able to understand what's going on everybody is involved right everybody's got something to say everybody wants to be a part of what's going on and it works it really it really works it's fantastic the Mishnah Brewer says that you should give out nuts and now his day you know that's for the equivalent to date today's chocolates when I look around my Seder table there enough nuts said of again with so you know we make do with chocolate but it's I can say you know again it's a are you bribing the kids to be involved you bribing them to stick around and try to enjoy themselves yes you are but it's great has nothing wrong with bright brief what it's being done for the right reasons really have and it's it's a lot of fun it really is a lot of fun and you can see that the little ones they're sort of like struggling to find things once they've been to whatever they've learned in guns or they're struggling to find things to say in order to be able to get more you know to get more chocolate and so they come out with a bizarre asst thing but it's fine it's great it's good it really is good so just before we get going this idea cypriot it around that's why it really it's a very importantly really a very important concept it really is that the idea of telling over the story not the idea of getting involved in picking debates about various you know details inside of something but to tell the story as it unfolds and it's it's a whatever I mean it's something that needs to be thought about certainly when you've got different age groups so it's something that needs to be worked out you know so that's what we're doing that's what we're setting out to do on leather say that and interestingly enough anyone who's familiar with the mannish tanner like the asking the four questions you'll see but we'd all kinds of things in order to get the kids to ask I saw the four cups of wine you know kids should ask and that the dipping and everything that we're doing right and only ting matter and it's all there that the kids should be stimulated the kid should be having fun every year my wife goes out and buys you know there are ten plague kits which they're pretty cute actually they come with like plastic frogs and and they come with you know bits and pieces for each one and and it sank it it's fun you know the kid the kids they get going if the kids if the kids are having a good time then it means that we're having a good time as well that's really what it comes down to a successful sailor is a sailor where everybody's enjoyed themselves and everybody's had a lot of fun and you know the more you do in order to make it fun the better it's going to be finished if you I got every day yeah yeah there's a niche what to tell for a little bit too okay Mitzvah is again the midst is regardless regardless of who's sitting there is support UT as me trying to tell over the story of its the asthma treatment I heard from two extremely great rabbis both of the independently of each other that they what they do in their say tonight what they do even when they've got lots of adults over there they tell over the story and they they gather together midrashic texts that are you know that are thought-provoking and they throw them in and that's what they do no they don't they don't get involved in you know philosophical theological discussions about things but they tell of a story and the run bomb of course rules very famous run bomb for rules that if you if there's only two people in the both family for all in one of them's got answer questions the other one's got our answer and that's it you know support you tease me time it's time it's time to tell the story yeah what is just you by the secret I do ask the questions yeah you need to ask the questions as well interesting me enough out loud yeah cuz I'll cuz I'll say that answers without questions are as incomplete as questions without answers and that means that even you know again that there's an obligation to tell over the story of you teased for trying but if you don't the four questions what are they doing they're laying down the framework with inside you're going to be able to tell the story if you'd see us meet right right of the exodus from Egypt so even if you by yourself you should you should do that and it's great really it's a beautiful thing to do it really is you know just sort of bring us back to basics and to let us remember exactly why it is that we're that we're going through the whole commemoration with you know it's interesting that say tonight is not just a commemoration or something that took place 3,300 years ago but it's you know say tonight has the power within it that kayak within it to be able to first be able to tap into what's called the holy SH and got all of the month of tension and it's something you know something that we need we really need to be holding onto it tight I saw a beautiful beautiful vote the you know the egg the boiled egg that said that the roasted egg that sits on the seder plate and then there's an egg that's eaten by everybody so the simple chat is that the the egg is representing the Corbin cranky go which was the the festive Corbin the festive offering that was brought to the temple the there were two there were two offerings that were brought on Pesach night one was a pacer hovering one was a regular Corbin hug ego which was just a festive offering that was broad every time there was a festival you had to bring one and instead of using a piece of meat which is what we do for the corn pays off we use a an egg why an egg so one reason that's brought down for using an egg is because say tonight and tish above night which is the night of the destruction of the two temples are always on the same night so this year right this year say tonight is going to be on not so sure is going to be on Friday night sorry I'm Chavez night so Tish above instead of being on Friday night because we don't fall son Chavez it's going to be pushed off the naughty showers but it's always the same day and eggs are a sign of mourning any any round food it's a sign of mourning like the idea Russia explains when he talks about the lentils that were even a bagel even a bagel right there deserting there's a custom there's a how local that when somebody begins to sit Shiva LaLanne we should know about these things that that they year that they're given a meal the first thing that the given is a meal by somebody else they shouldn't prepare it for themselves and normally its food made up of something rounds over a bagel and eggs that famous lentil dish that Yakov was busy cooking up to give to you talk was because Abraham had just died and he was sitting Shiva a lentil our little round things rashi explains that we have two reasons first of all there's no opening so it's like the that other the motor is sitting without the ability to be able to express himself properly and aside from that it's at the circle of life right and the eggs are there in order to to commemorate that idea of the the circle and the cycle of life however Rob labeler ager who was actually the grandson of one of the greatest rabbis who lived in the previous generations the grandson of Robbie akiva eiger and if anybody here is you know interested in a little bit of a little bit of historical you know historical information rev labeler ager was actually a Hasid which was completely and completely absolutely unexpected because rebbi akiva eiger his grandfather was was verint lee against has he dueled him together with Avila gone they were the two that stalwarts against cassie dirt and yet his grandson became accosted what what you know took place in one generation already two generations later Cassie doc was already mainstream and it's a you know considered to be a perfectly acceptable approach to alva data chef roblé blur ager offers the most incredible the most incredible idea he says like this the shaman the heavens opened up from pesach night from lela seder all the way through until shevat the heavens are open waiting for after the hour to tap into a college bar calls presents a serious Oliver the whole of the spirits are now he says they're there and again the idea of counting and the idea of reaching up step by step and the knowledge he's again in Kabbalistic terms and knowledge that the gates are over wide open which was nothing stopping you from making that connection and he says everything is dependent upon waters depend upon us which means that we can go on to Leila Seder and come out a letter said are completely untouched and you know kalila nothing has happened to us we're not we haven't grown we haven't moved or a person can go into a lettering can come out like something else altogether and he says that symbolized by the egg and an egg you've got no idea whether an egg is going to be fertilized it's not going to be fertilized right you can you've got this egg and a halide or a person could start off Layla Seder in egg it was the egg like form egglings what potential right a person is pure potential at the beginning of the Seder and if he doesn't if he doesn't connect to the state of properly so he's going to end up at the end of the sale is gonna be like a hard-boiled egg that's what he's not into himself and the other alternative is that he's going to turn into something else altogether is going to turn into something well a rooster you know somebody who's able to raise himself up waking himself up right what was it softly doing me soon mr. the month of gula the month of redemption right tackle and is all about the concept of destruction right we more the destruction of the temple this awkward zone tacklin is recited in the morning distractions have took place in the summer night the vows of love right we're moving into this Sun now so a few months time unfortunately great to a bonus unless you get going and do some dabbling right and bring the Machir then we're going to have to go through Tish above again but if you you have no pressure right believe you doesn't properly then the chef will come and emits a shanty she was going to turn into a yomtov there'll be lots of food and I don't know maybe not yoga look you know there'll be other fingers their little issues yeah goodbye sham here so you got something to Davenport right commentator has always needed the Corbin cogito is represented by the egg but lamesa in the in the temple it was more meat there was a lot of you say tonight was a carnival fest lots of meat was being eaten pays off interestingly enough you know place of night is is one of the few times where even people that didn't normally eat meat right they were obligated during temple times to eat the quadrant pays off and then we had to it because eyes worth of meat so it's it's interesting I once had a tablet who was a he was a vegetarian shouldn't happen to anybody but you know whatever he was a vegetarian and he he was a vegetarian actually for humane reasons he he felt that it was it was terrible the way that animals were treated the truth of the matter is very often it's true unfortunately but when he started learning about the more the more mystical dimensions of the idea of eating meat and the idea of learning how to control you know that we are we're at the top of the pyramid that I college ball from created and that we've got to learn how to control and to look after those that have below us so he decided that he was going to start leading meet on yomtov that was his right so you didn't meet me the rest of the eighth inning me but I'm yomtov he would eat meat not just some place after on so cotton shovel water as well and that was it like his way of connecting together with what it was that he was that what it was that he was learning but I remember him the first time that he heard that on pays off everybody had to eat some of the korban pesach and then being horrified it was I know what do you mean what do you mean what about people that don't want to eat me what about them so I guess in Temple times the idea of eating meat was something which wasn't so as abhorrent as it is nowadays for some people if you that was better back over I imagine I imagine so I mean ever like everything you know it's all turned into this mess mass production and it's all it's all rather it's all rather disturbing actually what's going on I do i do think that that as Jews I think we should be concerned about the way that animals being treated and I think we should be careful to try to try to you know buy things coming from places where perhaps animals are treated better than there are in other places but although I either a brother who's a farmer and he says that you know a lot of us a lot of this stuff that you read about as being in a free-range and he says it's not it's not really the way that it sounds exactly you know if you imagine so like some chicken that's living in freedom and it just happens to end up on your dinner plate it's not it's not quite like that it really isn't it's secret after but that's you're not only looking for something that this it's kasia you do something that's green I I think I I I think I think personally I think that yeah there should be there really should be two dimensions is there is a dimension of the kashrut right which means that if i'm looking for something which is you know mahajan's something which is on a higher cash root level right and all all the various you know all the various details every single one has been taken care of that's one thing right but I do also think that we should be looking for food that's coming from meat that's coming from places where they're being treated animals being treated better than just you know battery farms where they're all squeezed in its really y coordinate from the foolish when you read about things like her ya know for sure as something behind it even if the show absolutely the life s first of all no aquos you know rock was told that he has to look after all the animals when he's in the what is in the ark on top of that we've got mitzvahs that that are applicable up to and including today some new ones animals needs to feed his animals before he feeds himself that's a hollow cur right it's as simple as that I there's a concept called tar lavalley higher I'm not causing not causing anguish to animals now again not to be misunderstood it doesn't mean that we can't eat animals we can but we've got to be careful how we treat them that's all we both it from sorry Polly fun it's an interesting question can you benefit I mean the truth in those we probably all do right which means i love alekhina means a we if you're i I don't I don't know what goes on when you like with a shoe we wear leather shoes leather belts right I don't know what's going on before before it gets into the shop as a pair of shoes what's happened to this animal I don't know so is it permissible to you know to benefit from taliban a time yes it is is it correct to I don't know that's that's a debatable so it's not it's not Cassius yeah sure that's okay don't done shopping malls problem again there's no there's no there's no one it needs to go from what so there's no there's no obligation there's no obligation to to have a main to have the shoes or belts that are made out of leather from animals that have been slaughtered that's not a necessity right and that's why it's okay to wear I don't know alligator alligator belts and you know ostrich shoes and I'd everything Adam are running out of exotic animals but you know you get the idea which means alias that you are you ask for speeding meet ornella say there's somebody somebody who doesn't eat meat nowadays so again it's not it's not such a big deal anymore because we're not talking about dear Isis it's not a tour obligation there's no--there's on temple we can't we can't offer up the the cordon pacer unfortunately mr. Shen the chef will come and that will take care of that and and what what's going to happen I don't know there's an interesting thing Roth cook revival me talk is of the opinion that too when the Machir comes we'll stop eating animals and the only the only korba not that will be offered up will be called were not that are at meal offerings as opposed to animal offerings mineral yeah minister offerings won't Corbin tuyo we said first of all they want me there will be accomplished artists they won't be a sin offering because when we shout comes we want this inning which it it looks pretty upset about that on leather on leather say that you can't eat roast meat alright though we shouldn't make the mistake of thinking that we're eating the corn Pesach so I'm let us say that even though we meet on let us say de it shouldn't be roasted it can be baked it can be it can be boiled but it just shouldn't shouldn't be roast right regardless of what meat it is don't know whether it's chicken or whether it's lamb or beef make some difference I'm just a little bit just so nobody should make the mistake of thinking that what we're eating is a corpsman pacer yeah right we can't eat the corn tastes I can tell them to share until until the basil move is bill so it's a sham right although will experience there's still time to experience it's here right if why should I we just start doubling probably that's all why is not bringing the carbon pesach partial the colors oh there's only two I say that yeah this is fascinating there at that first of all what what what is what is caress correct so with batteries for words the other winged in Windows it's that there are three different there are basically three different categories of Kirk we do we spoke about us the other day what color suit comes in three different categories the first category of choruses somebody who dies without children the second category of cars are somebody dies or a young very young is before the age of 60 and the third category of courage which is something which is apparently that's something which is absolutely awful is a complete and absolute detachment of the soul after death which means that here in the physical world the person can be married and he can have children and he can live a long life lived to be 120 but when he leaves the world his soul becomes completely and absolutely detached from everything in a in a state doesn't go into out of habit it doesn't go into Gehenna it doesn't suffer but it's in a complete and absolute state of a nothingness which it which is apparently this is for the soul is the worst possible thing that could possibly be there resurrected sorry will this seguros retro description no it's just in a state a state of limbo i don't i don't know much raise your speech huh please something like that some kind of spiritual dimension of space whatever whatever it means i don't know right but the soul is aware of where it is and what's going on in the soul that the soul is in nothing can be done it's apparently something absolutely absolutely terrible I've never get up yeah I mean ordered well it's something you have to no it's not I mean you know I know chorus are the other way around 11 of the one of the manifestations of Korres is a person not having children that does not mean that somebody who doesn't have children is being punished with chorus it's two different things right somebody's not having children yet either either it's because I college boho this person has been judged and it's been found guilty of a carrot at some kind of correct punishment or it means that i crush but was a different reason why these people are not having children don't don't make them a set again it's it's like we're dying early as well people die before the age of 60 are not necessarily people who are being punished with carrete but that one of the punishments that correct has the courage is normally only for negative mitsis right people have transgressed negative mitzvahs not all of them again there's a list a lot of them are to do with arias with with you know forbidden relationships 34 look so the gift chorus and to positively there are only there are two positive mrs. that a person doesn't do them then the person gets courage one is bris milah which is circumcision and the other one is corbin pace of bringing the korban pesach offering to the temple so the proportion of course you know where there are a lot a lot a lot a lot of literature's been written about these two different things the the thing that connects them together and actually something very fascinating the brit milah is your individual connection to god I'd every every Jewish male at the age of eight days old is supposed to have a bris milah like that bris milah is called an ought to sign between ourselves and God all right and if a person doesn't have a bris milah when he's eight days old so the the you know the obligation now rests on the first opportunity that so for example its deal with a simpler case where the child is not well enough to have a bris mineral eight days old so the minute the child is well enough the Brits Miller is done all rights are very often when children are born they a yellow right they have to on this and if the number is too high so you gotta wait for the bilirubin to come now and once it comes down to a low enough level than the bris milah will be done and it could be on the ninth day it could be on the twelfth day you just gotta wait right when it comes down the minute it's low enough bris milah takes place if a person wasn't given a bris milah at all for whatever the reason right his parents never gave him a bris milah so that locker is that it's incumbent upon the beast in of the city to take care of it if they don't take care of it then when the child turns 13 it becomes his obligation to take care of it most 13 year old children are not aware of the fact if they haven't had a bris milah it means they presumably haven't been brought up with a very Jewish identity but the minute they become old enough the minute they become aware enough so they should really be getting a bris milah there are interesting halacha dimensions and legal dimensions a child who's under the under the age of 18 who wants to have a bris mean he's found out that he's Jewish u17 bris meeting with his parents don't want him to have one so that child would have to wait until he's 18 to be able to have a bris milah done because up until then he's in his parents jurisdiction legally and it would be illegal to do a bris Miller on the child even though holistically it would be the correct thing to do but whatever I mean that that's why it's a lot more complicated than most of the legal systems what the legal system is just following one you know one thing but if you're if you're out of that you're out of Israel let's say you in the state a child under the age of 18 is a minor and these honorees parents jurisdiction if the parents don't want to tell a bris min of any kind of a bris milah to legal it's illegal to give him one right and the child would have to wait till he's 18 you're Priscilla is your sign of your personal relationship with God the korban pesach the pace are offering is US national sign of belonging to god there's a fascinating rushy rushy goes out of his way in the foolish to where the Commish says a winner yet when a convert converts so he takes upon himself all of the myth says right and Rashi goes out of his way to explain that when a convert converts he does not bring a cordon pace after the temple but he waits until pace of time and brings it together with everybody else right now it's an interesting insight because obviously according to logic the minute somebody converts they've now become a part of the Jewish nation if they become a part of the Jewish nation they need to bring their cotton pesach to be right to be included and Russia is just saying it's true that really is the obligation but what's the problem cool please I could only be brought on say tonight that's it right and say tonight is a time we should be set aside by God has been the fifteenth of New Sun and that's why a convert who converts as he converts a day after pesach he's we have to wait a whole year to be able to bring his cord and pay stuff together with everybody else and have his national that national I a sense of national identity so it's interesting that chorus which represents cutting cutting off right being cut off from something and each each one of those three categories that we spoke about all the form of being cut off so someone who doesn't have children or someone who dies early or the worst of all that the soul being cut off but they're all you know I think that chorus in English is translated as excision yeah right exigent means that the that's it you're not a part of something anymore so it's fascinating that the only two mitzvahs that are positive knitters which carry the punishment of curries are the two mitzvahs to do with our belonging connecting Bruce Miller is connecting into the individual fashion and corn pay starts of connecting in a national fashion after we get the temple are all of our congressmen have a brace that must be considered for the Jewish people now I don't think so or Melissa powers views yeah yeah for sure anybody anybody who converts according to Jewish law is considered to be one hundred percent Jewish which means when the inmates are shown with me chef comes at a temple is gonna be built by going to be they're going to be as much a part of the Jewish nation as everyone else's then I don't have to bring an extra carbon too huh I think so so when it says on the card bring a carbon to become to reduce conversion that's the qualification that's no it's talking about its talking a wedgie talking I was talking about a Time in the temple when a convert wanted to convert so they would be able to bring a cornet was he at the end of the process right after they've been to the mikvah and after they made the broker and after if it was a man after they had a bris milah they would then bring a Corbin to the temple which is now it's now like joining into the temple service but it's not a cordon pace article the pez actual is going to be brought only at pace of time the beauty of pace if you wanna if you want to describe pays off in one word so really i think the description of pizza most people would say freedom but i think paisa can in one word is nationhood right we become a nation we leave we become God becomes our ruler we become an a nation it's interesting that the first person to call the Jewish people in Tommy's peril yes he sees what we don't see right he sees us as an army Caesars already having become something which is a more cohesive unit and and nationhood is all about belonging it's just most incredible thing he says there's one thing that doesn't change from the beginning of soda night until the end with with slaves we start off as being staged to power and then during the Sato we end up being staged wash em I've dayish em that's what we call ourselves slaves of us you