it's all relative

1. The little discussion in the comments to the previous post regarding inviting non-Jews to Yom Tov meals made me google the question and I was a little surprised at how popular non-Jewish attendance at sedorim seems to be. I guess that in an open society where neighbors, friends, and due to the high rate of intermarriage, even relatives, may be non-Jewish, the desire to share the holiday with others in understandable. On the other hand, Chazal prohibit inviting a non-Jew to any Yom Tov meal (not just a seder) lest extra food be cooked on Yom Tov for their needs, which is not allowed. And so we have an interesting situation: What happens when the desire to be civil, or the desire to not appear chauvinistically hostile towards outsiders, clashes with halacha? A writer in the Jewish Week captures the dilemma nicely, writing, "While there are some traditional restrictions on inviting non-Jews to a Seder (or, to be more specific, feeding them on a festival) these prohibitions are hard to justify in an open, mixed society such as ours. There is internal logic to it from a halachic standpoint, but it makes no sense in a world where a majority of American Jews have non-Jewish close relatives or friends and where this year's hot new Haggadah is the best selling "Our Haggadah: Uniting Traditions for Interfaith Families," written by a Cokie and Steve Roberts." He concludes, "Where there is a moral will, there is almost always a halachic way."

This is too big a topic for erev Pesach afternoon, but it's worth reflecting on. While the author of the article in the Jewish Week is not the Rabbi of an Orthodox congregation, the sentiments he expressed certainly are echoed by segments of the Orthodox world. If not this example, we can find others about which even Orthodox leaders refer to, "...Instances in which a precedent that was once valid has, in the course of time, proved morally objectionable, as a result of which it was amended, so that the law remains “on the books” as a juridical foundation, while it becomes effectively inoperative through legal analysis and moral argument."

I am not comfortable with this argument. It is one thing to find a smach l'hakeil when acting otherwise would cause sever discomfort, embarrassment, financial loss, etc. Accepting a pragmatic solution does not make one a hypocrite. However, it is quite another thing to deliberately seek out that smach l'hakeil simply because of moral discomfort with the values inherent in the halacha's original intent and formulation. It goes without saying that there are many grey areas in between...

2. I am a big fan of matzah brei and it only dawned on me recently that there seems to be no reason to go hungry on erev Pesach when one can enjoy matzah brei already. To make matzah brei you have both iruy kli rishon to cook the matzah and frying; see Sha'ar haTziyun 471:20. Yes, you have a problem according to the GR"A/Rambam (see Sha'ar HaTziyun 444:1). And if you don't eat gebrokts, well, that's your problem.

3. On a lighter note,while waiting in the barber shop yesterday with the rest of the crowd I heard my barber, who is Jewish, give a little lecture on Moshiach. He reminded everyone that when Moshiach comes there will be only one holiday -- Purim -- and no others, not even Pesach. This means no five week break after Pesach with no haircuts, no three week break in the summer with no haircuts -- haircuts all year round with no break!

I guess tzipisa l'yeshu'a is all relative. For the local barber, Moshiach means the chance to give more haircuts. For some people I imagine it means a bigger car and a nicer home. Maybe it means Pesach in a hotel in Yerushalayim instead of cleaning the house.

The Sefas Emes explains that every year there is a new peirush of yetziyas Mitzrayim that enters the world for us to discover. B'chol dor va'dor we re-live yetziyas Mitzrayim because there is a new dimension of yetziyas Mitzrayim that can be experienced only here and now at this moment in time, never before in history.

Before this Pesach all geulah may mean to a person is the a chance to give more haircuts, have a bigger hotel room next year, etc. But all that can change, and we can learn new peirushim, each one of us on our own level. And who knows, maybe we will yet get to see that geulah with our own eyes.