1) Magid: The recitation of the Hagadah; a fulfillment of the biblical commandment of "Sipur Yetzias Mitzrayim", the retelling of the story of Hashem's taking the Bnei Yisroel out of the bondage of Egypt. Additionally, it is the retelling of how Hashem made us into a holy nation, His children, as stated in the Posuk (Devarim 14:1) Banim Atem L'Hashem Elokeichem, you[the Jewish people] are children to Hashem your G-d.
One who relates the story of Yetzias Mitzrayim with joy and delight is sure to delight with the Shechina in Olam Haba. At the time that Hashem hears His children retelling the story, He gathers all the heavenly bodies and He tells them "Go and listen to my children praising me and delighting in the story of how I redeemed them!" (Zohar HaKadosh Parshas Bo)
2) Women are obligated in the Mitzvah of "Sipur Yetziyas Mitzrayim" as they too were part of the miracle of the redemption. (Shulchan Aruch Siman 472:14)
If a woman cannot recite the entire Hagadah (due to being otherwise occupied with the children or other valid reasons) she should at a minimum recite the following parts: Kiddush, Avadim Hayinu, "Pesach, Matzah and Maror" until Go'al Yisroel and the recital of the ten Makos, plagues. (Mishna Berura Siman 473:64. See also Siddur Ya'avetz.)
Of course, the children should participate to the best of their ability in the recital of the Hagadah, and the adults should gear the "flow" of the evening to the level of the children, as the Torah specifically commanded (Shmos 13:8) "V'Higadta L'Vincha Bayom HaHu, and you shall relate [the story of Hashem's redeeming us from Egypt] to your child on that day [Pesach]".
It is a Mitzvah to give out sweets and treats to the children in order to keep them awake and active during the Seder so they will ask about all the interesting things that are going on during the Seder.
The proper way of retelling the story of Yetziyas Mitzrayim is via "Question[from the children] and Answer [from the parents], thus it is not proper to put the children to bed immediately after "Mah Nishtana" before their questions are answered and they get a grasp of the miracles that Hashem performed for our ancestors on this night. (Shulchan Aruch Siman 472:16 and Mishna Berura S"K 50)
The Hagadah is not recited B'Heseiba, while leaning, rather it is said with reverence and awe while sitting properly. (Shla Hakadosh quoted in Mishna Berura Siman 473:71)
QUESTION & ANSWER CORNER
Reader Submitted Questions of interest on topics related to Halachos we covered, as well as other interesting topic and Answers.
These Q&A are taken from the Q & A pages on the Halacha For Today website.
Although the answers I give to questions are taken directly from the Sifrei HaPoskim, and aren't my own, they are still for study purposes only, NOT for Psak Halacha.
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Reader's Question:
I once learned that if a person has trouble sleeping, reciting the first parasha krias shema repeatedly is a remedy for this problem. Is this a minhag or a halacha? I have many sleepless nights. How many dozens of times should I be reciting the first parsha of krias shema?
Answer:
True, the Rama (Siman 239) does say that one who has a hard time falling asleep should repeat the first Parsha of Shema ,"V'Ahavta Es..." over and over until he/she falls asleep. (Without the first Posuk of Shma ,which should never be repeated over and over. See Mishna Berura on the above Rama).
The Rama doesnt say how many times to do this, he just says "many times". The Kitzur Shulchan Aruch (Siman 71:4) says to do this until you fall asleep.
Other things the Poskim say to do for insomnia is say various other Pesukim or think about a Torah topic.
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זכר צדיקים וקדושים לברכה
Chazal tell us that chometz or Se'or SheBiIsah is the Yetzer Hara (Brachos 17a). Pesach is the time of year that we rid ourselves of him and his evil completely. This begs the question of why is it that we stay away from Chometz for only seven or eight days a year, why do we ever get near that stuff?
The Baalei Mussar say that Matza is called "Nahama D'Asvusa" the bread that cures us. They explain with the following Mashal.
When a baby is born it drinks only the milk of its mother. Mother's milk is completely sterile and loaded with all the vital nutrients that a baby needs during the critical early period of its life. Why then are babies eventually weaned and start to eat other foods that are less than perfect? The answer is that while mother's milk is wholesome and pure it is only a short term solution. In the long term a person needs other nutrients to grow. These nutrients can be found only in foods that are not 100% perfect. But in order to grow to be a perfectly normal functioning adult one needs these nutrients as well and has to find a way to eat them safely. One's diet must be balanced in order to derive benefit from the foods without being harmed. We must choose our foods with the aim to eat the ones that provide us benefit not the ones that give us pleasure or else we will get harmed.
So too while living in a sterile atmosphere is important to cure us and recharge us for seven days a year, living in this environment is not our mission in life. We can't live without a yetzer hara. We are here to stand toe to toe with him and face up to his challenges. This is the purpose of our being in this world. Sure it's safe and cozy on the home front basking in the glow of Pesach but that is not where the battle is won or lost. After our furlough we must go wage war in the trenches. We must eat the chometz and draw out all the benefits and not let it kill us. We must find in our worldly and mundane lives ways to serve Hashem and not fall into the traps in this world. We need to remember that everything here is a tool to reach Olam Haba and not for our own pleasure. Only then can we grow and come back next year to another homecoming celebration where Hashem will once again lovingly care for us and feed us Matza to cure all our injuries and ailments that we suffered in battle throughout the year.
It is not for nothing that Chazal say that Hashem said "Tov" after creating of the Yetzer Tov and when he created the Yetaer Hara Hashem expressed his satisfaction with words Tov M'Od . So enjoy your Pesach "vacation" and eat your Matza because right after Yom Tov is over the Yimei Tov M'Od begin. it's back to business and time to deal with the Chometz.
Important Numbers
