One might ask, why do the sages, ob’m,³⁶ arrange the Haggadah with questions and answers?³⁷ We are taught: “If he has a son, etc, if he has a wife she should ask him, and if not, he should ask himself.³⁸ When a person studies something difficult and then arrives at a satisfying solution, the answer stays with him and never leaves him. The Exodus from Egypt is the root and essence of all the commandments. Therefore, “Even if we are all sages, all discerning, elders,and knowledgeable about theTorah, it is incumbent upon us,” to analyze the Exodus with all our intellectual tools in order that it be completely set in our minds and not leave us. Concerning p’shat, one might say, “A verse never leaves its literal meaning.”³⁹ Because Scripture states, “And when, in time to come (machar), your child asks you, saying, ‘What does this mean,” (Ex. 13:14) and also, “And when your children says to you, ‘What do you mean by this rite,’” (Ex. 12:26) it would appear that questions are preferable in the eyes of God. The word machar does not mean ‘tomorrow's here but (as translated above) ‘some time later.’ It implies that the answer to the child will come whenever it will come because God wants the child to find the answers to his/her own questions. That is why the sages saw fit to fashion Haggadah in the form of a question (and answer). Or it might be because they understood that any question is fitting to God, as we see from the simple child who asks, “What is this?” Therefore, they organized the Seder so that even a single person who is a scholar must ask himself, even if there is no basis for asking. Anyone who asks should not be embarrassed to do so. Why do we ask these questions rather than others? If the purpose of the questions is to teach us about the subjugation as with the case of matzah and maror, then why ask, “Why…do we recline?” And if the purpose of the questions was to teach about both slavery and freedom, why doesn’t the passage also mention drinking four cups of wine? We are all obligated to drink four cups of wine, as we are taught in the Mishnah, “Even a poor person, should not have less than four cups of wine.”⁴⁰ There is yet another reason to ask about wine. (According to the Mishnah) We just poured the second cup of wine before reciting theMah Nishtanah.⁴¹ The child should be asking questions about the things that they have just seen and not things that they are going to do after reciting the Haggadah. (Amnam) However, Mah Nishtanah can be explained in the way we interpreted the first passage in the Haggadah. The leader of the Seder comes to comfort those who are suffering through this long exile. The leader asks, “Why is this exile which is also called, “this night,” different from other nights/exiles?” As is written, “Morning has come and also night,”⁴² (Is.21:12) of all the exiles that have passed. (He then explains the way that this “night” is different from all the other “nights.”)⁴³

1. “Know that during the other nights/exiles through which we have passed, we consumed chametz and matzah, after being redeemed. Chametz and matzah are allusions to the good and evil inclination; that is, one who is ruled by a good or an evil inclination. But when we escape the exile on this night/exile, it will be because we are entirely ruled by the good inclination and the evil inclination will be completely banished. Thus, the shin on the word sh’bechol means bishveel - ‘because’ or ‘for the sake of:’ because of other nights/exiles we continue to eat chametz and matzah but at the end of this night/exile, there will only be matzah/the good inclination.
2. There is another reason why this night/exile is longer than all other exiles. “On all the other nights/exiles we ate all types of vegetables…” This can be understood based on Perek HaSefinah: (Baba Batra ch.5) “In the world to come, every righteous person will be burned by embarrassment at the size of the canopy of the other.”⁴⁴
3. This is referring to a type of jealousy that is permitted in this world. It is the type of jealousy that increases a sage's desire for wisdom.⁴⁵ This is the type of jealousy which the righteous experience in the Garden of Eden from the canopy of his fellow. It will not be considered the bad type of jealousy that causes pain from the honor bestowed on his fellow. Rather the sage experiences pain because he did not increase his commandments and good deeds in this world so that he would merit what his colleague merits in the world to come. Because of this suffering he will n0w merit a greater reward. This is what is stated: On all other nights/ exiles we eat all other all types of vegetables (yirakot/יְרָקוֹת); that is, that cause us to experience jealousy, both good and bad, for jealousy causes a person's face to pale (morikot/מוֹרִיקָה).⁴⁶ both come from the same root hebrew word - yarak “But on this night, maror,” we experience (good) jealousy which is like maror because there is no vegetable as bitter as maror.⁴⁷ - the jealousy that a sage feels at the level of good deeds and commandments of his fellow.
4. Further, “On all other nights we do not even dip once…” Dipping/matbilim is related to tevilah/immersing*.* This is meant to suggest that the troubles of the other nights of exile did not require us to immerse ourselves even once, while the suffering of this exile requires two immersions, one for the body and one for the soul which takes place in Gehinnom.⁴⁸
5. Further, “On all other nights we eat either sitting or leaning…” There are those who experience part of the pleasure of the world to come such as people who rejoice in the Sabbath, which is one sixtieth of the world to come as well as those who participate in intimate marital relations. “But on this night, all of us lean…” since all of us will merit this rejoicing. And since all the things that have been mentioned need to be free from dross and impurity, God causes us to suffer and lengthens our exile so that this good will be experienced by all of us in the future. (Od) It is also possible that the question (Mah Nishtanah) should be understood according to its plain meaning: “How is this night/exile different,” and it is answered with the differences that are mentioned, “On all other nights….” - all the other exiles, we eat chametz and matzah, etc… and the other differences that are mentioned here. The Maggid understands that this exile/night is different from the other nights/exiles because there are four things that cause suffering to those living through the present exile.⁴⁹ First, we suffer because “there are those who rise up over us in every generation to destroy us;” if we were redeemed we would be free of such suffering. Secondly, during the present exile our evil inclination incites us and causes us to sin against our Creator; if we were redeemed we would certainly not be harmed by the evil inclination. As the sages say, in the future, the Holy One will capture the evil inclination and slaughter it.⁵⁰ Third, during the present exile we do not receive an immediate reward for performing the mitzvot, and for most people waiting for a reward in the world to come is a, “Hope deferred that sickens the heart.” (Isaiah 21:12) Fourth, the wonders are hidden during this night/exile. The Haggadah frames the question according to these four causes that make the present night/exile so harsh. If you ask, “why is this night/exile so much more harsh than all the other nights/exiles,” it is because of these reasons.
6. During the other exiles God did not wait until we had completely removed the evil inclination ( compared to chametz) to redeem us, but during the present exile, redemption won’t come about until we completely remove the evil inclination. Rather, God knows that we are still consuming chametz - there are some who are sometimes ruled by the evil inclination and sometimes by the good inclination - this did not stop God from redeeming us in the past. But during the present exile/night, until we only consume matzah and we completely remove chametz/the evil inclination from our midst we will not be redeemed.
7. The other nights/exiles were different because we were allowed to eat all types of vegetables. That is, we experienced all types of bitterness from various sources. But during this night/exile, we cannot be redeemed until we experience the most harsh type of bitterness. It is a bitterness caused by the length of the exile and also because of the disgrace that we experience that is caused by the filth and refuse. (Lam. 3:45) Such bitterness clings to our souls and it is bitter beyond comparison.
8. Further, on all other nights/exiles we did not even have to immerse even once… Why is there such a big difference between this exile/night and all the other exiles/nights? During all the other exiles, there was no confusion about when we would be redeemed. During the exile in Egypt we knew that subjugation would not last more than four hundred years, and the Babylonian exile was only seventy years. This is the meaning of the expression, “We did not immerse (matbilin)” - this means we were not confused.⁵¹ - between immerse and confuse is not clear to me. The linguistic connection seems to be more related to the second expression תִּפָּ֣עֶם רוּח֔וֹ, “his spirit became agitated.” Maybe the idea here is that we are extremely agitated. Afilu pa’am achat,”Even one time” - this expression is borrowed from the expression tipa’em rucho, תִּפָּ֣עֶם רוּח֔וֹ, “his spirit became agitated.” (Gen. 41:8) But during the present exile, we are doubly agitated, firstly because we might not merit redemption and secondly, there might be other forms of suffering that will yet take place.
9. Finally, “On all other nights we eat either sitting or leaning.” One who is leaning, does not have it in his mind to suddenly stand up, unlike the person who sits upright, without leaning. As the sages say, “If they were reclining, one recites a blessing (standing) on behalf of them all,”⁵² since it is their intention to remain together until the end of the meal. Therefore, when it says, “On all other nights we eat either sitting or leaning,” it means, sometimes they would sit without leaning as if they were prepared to rise in redemption and sometimes they would lean like ones who were napping, having despaired of being redeemed. As the sages say,⁵³ “Balshazar calculated and erred, Achashveros calculated and erred, Daniel calculated and erred, as it says, “In the first year of his reign, I, Daniel, consulted the books concerning the number of years that, according to the word of Adonai that had come to Jeremiah the prophet, were to be the term of Jerusalem’s desolation— 70 years.”(Dan. 9:2) When they were close to the allotted time they would sit upright without leaning like someone who is ready to get up. While some regularly leaned when they ate, like the great majority of the Jewish people *in Babylonia and in Spain,*⁵⁴ others were also sitting upright because they were prepared for the imminent redemption. “But on this night/exile all of us were leaning…” because we don’t know how long this exile will last. To all of these matters we answer with light words⁵⁵ 1:13:1 This one ate light foods and he was harmed… The answer provided by the Haggadah is easy to digest though it contains great depth. that includes many matters. We begin with, “We were slaves in Egypt…” In other words, all of this has happened because we were slaves to Pharaoh in Egypt and God took us out from there before the allotted time with great strength and a mighty hand as shall be seen. Actually God wanted to wait so that God could remove all the oppressors so that the Israelites would never have to be in exile again.

footnotes: ³⁶ Of blessed memory - this abbreviation will be used throughout this essay. ³⁷ Rabbi Foa is not only talking about the Mah Nishtanah. Other questions appear in the Haggadah as well: the four sons and Rabban Gamliel’s statement as well as Echad Mi Yodea. He also quotes the Talmud where we are told the Seder must begin with a question. See Note below as well. ³⁸ BT See Pesachim 116a. This is not the first time that Rabbi Foa appears to paraphrase the Talmud text. I believe this is the passage he is quoting: תָּנוּ רַבָּנַן: חָכָם בְּנוֹ — שׁוֹאֲלוֹ. וְאִם אֵינוֹ חָכָם - אִשְׁתּוֹ שׁוֹאַלְתּוֹ, וְאִם לָאו - הוּא שׁוֹאֵל לְעַצְמוֹ, וַאֲפִילּוּ שְׁנֵי תַּלְמִידֵי חֲכָמִים שֶׁיּוֹדְעִין בְּהִלְכוֹת הַפֶּסַח — שׁוֹאֲלִין זֶה לָזֶה. ³⁹ BT Shabbat 63a, Yevamot 24a, Rashi - ואע"ג דדרשינן ליה לדרשא מידי פשוטו מיהו לא נפיק לגמרי: Even though we interpret a verse homiletically, it still has its literal meaning. ⁴⁰ Mishnah Pesachim 10:1 ⁴¹ As the Seder is presented in the Mishnah. ⁴² Isaiah 21:12 See Abarbanel ⁴³ In other words, the four statements that follow, “How is this night different,” are not answers to the question but explanations of how this night/exile is different. ⁴⁴ Baba Batra, Ch. 5, BT 75a Rabbi Ḥanina said: This teaches that each and every one is burned from embarrassment at the size of the canopy of the other, and says: Woe for this embarrassment, woe for this disgrace, that I did not merit a canopy as large as his. אָמַר רַבִּי חֲנִינָא מְלַמֵּד שֶׁכׇּל אֶחָד וְאֶחָד נִכְוֶה מֵחוּפָּתוֹ שֶׁל חֲבֵירוֹ אוֹי לָהּ לְאוֹתָהּ בּוּשָׁה אוֹי לָהּ לְאוֹתָהּ כְּלִימָה ⁴⁵ When scholars are jealous of the level of knowledge of their colleagues it causes them to work harder to increase their level of understanding. ⁴⁶ The word yirakot is connected to morikot ⁴⁷ It is referring to kinat sofrim ⁴⁸ Originally the name of a location outside of the old city of Jerusalem, Gehinnom later came to be associated with Hell, or the place to which we go to make atonement for our sins after death. See: Gehenna - Wikipedia ⁴⁹ In other words, why are all these differences necessary on this night… ⁵⁰ Source is unknown. ⁵¹ The connection between the words murbavim and matbilim ⁵² Mishnah Berachot 6:6 See Sefaria Commentary by Rabbi Joshua Kulp: If they are reclining, one blesses for them all. If they are reclining, then they are eating a formal banquet together and one person can bless on behalf of them all. ⁵³ BT See Megillah 11b - 12a ⁵⁴ Italics are mine - this comment is telling and meant to be a criticism of the Jews who left Spain - they were unprepared for redemption or for their exile. ⁵⁵ See Kohelet Rabbah