Hagaddah Thoughts 5769 II
Homiletical explanations abound for why kiddush is the first part of the Seder; how we go back in time, set context, recognize that we are holy at the outset, etc. I think the bottom line is that it’s the time of the mitzvah of kiddush.
j
Having served as rabbi in a hotel setting for the past nine years (and gearing up for another wonderful year) I am keenly aware of the fact that we wait till the proper time to say kiddush. People, particularly senior citizens, get restless, hungry, and have legitimate health concerns. And yet. We wait for the nightfall of every holiday and only then induct the holy occasion with kiddush. (There are specific reasons why, perhaps, on Pesach it makes sense to wonder regarding the timing of kiddush. The fact is that we have a full line up of activities, and that these may add up to an interruption-hefseik between kiddush and the hamotzi/meal. Still, the clear psak is that we do start with kiddush and that its billing as the first mitzvah of any Yom Tov overrules any other scheduling concerns).
u
This is similar to a few words in a seemingly unrelated Gemorah that sometimes go unnoticed. As dramatic as the story of Rabi Akiva’s death and how his final words are those of the Shma – the real reason why he said Shma before he was murdered was because it was the time for the mitzvah. The Gemorah states explicitly that as he was taken out to be killed it was the time for the saying of the Shma.
בשעה שהוציאו את רבי עקיבא להריגה זמן קריאת שמע היה, והיו סורקים את בשרו במסרקות של ברזל, והיה מקבל עליו עול מלכות שמים. אמרו לו תלמידיו: רבינו, עד כאן? אמר להם: כל ימי הייתי מצטער על פסוק זה בכל נפשך - אפילו נוטל את נשמתך, אמרתי: מתי יבא לידי ואקיימנו, ועכשיו שבא לידי לא אקיימנו? היה מאריך באחד עד שיצתה נשמתו באחד. יצתה בת קול ואמרה: אשריך רבי עקיבא שיצאה נשמתך באחד
(It's interesting food for though that on the Seder night we tell the story about Rabi Akiva and his interrupting the mitzvah of telling the story of Yetziat Mitrayim when he is informed that it is the time for the mitzvah of Shma. There seems to be something profound about Rabbi Akiva and his saying Shma at its proper time.)
posted by rabbi neil fleischmann @ 11:59 PM
4 Comments:
Wow, I never thought of that...and to be able to be level headed and thinking of the correct order of mitzvot at the time of Petirah...what a level. I'm feeling like if I ever make it to the finish line of being prepared properly for Pesach it will be an amazing feeling! It's like a hard challenge accomplished...almost like fullfilling the need to feel as if we were slaves going out of mitzrayim ( our chametz life ) to freedom Pesach...If one accomplishes that goal then he has reached the proper poing of kdushah....hence time for kiddush?Have a wonderful Pesach...hope that this is your best year ever! ...and as always thanks for making me think!
poing should have read point, sorry, still have asleep...got to go clean...and miles to go....
still have should have read still half...better quit now...sorry for taking up so many comments...
Here's how the Yerushalmi Berachos relates the story. R' Akiva laughed. Turnus Rufus questioned him. (The phrasing of the question is also interesting, but not for now.) R' Akiva answered that all his life he's been waiting to fulfill בכל נפשך, and now he has the chance to fulfill this mitzvah, and at the same moment the time has come to fulfill krias shema, and he was able to concentrate his mind despite the pain and fulfill the mitzvah properly, so of course he's full of joy, and that's why he laughed.
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