The Rebbe's Haggada: 80 Years (1946-2026)

00:01 This is behemshech in continuation to the earlier installment regarding the Rebbe's elaboration on the manner of reciting the Haggadah, and why the words Chasal Seder Pesach are not found in the Chabad Haggadah. We now continue with installment number seven, where we will elaborate on the Haggadah with the Rebbe's commentaries, which was published in the year Tav Shin Vav, nineteen forty-six, and on its various editions. Firstly, this is based on a compilation of various articles which were written by noted and esteemed writers on various occasions. The articles were written by Harav Shlomo Ze'even, who is very famous for the Encyclopedia Talmudis, which he began, and today it's a whole institute, encyclopedia on the Talmud, and more sefarim on Halakha, et cetera. And by Harav Chananya Eisenbach, and Yibaruch Hayim Tevim, Harav Tuvia Bloy, and Harav Meir Madan. His article was published in the Machanoyim in Tav Shin Yud Zai in nineteen fifty-seven, and all this is translated here into English. Firstly, the name of the Rebbe's Haggadah is Haggadah Shel Pesach im Likutim Minhogim Betaymim, which means Haggadah Shel Pesach with a compilation, a selection of customs and reasons. And now we're gonna be reading from the various articles which were written regarding to the Rebbe's Haggadah. That modesty which motivated the Alter Rebbe to refer and entitle his name-- sefer with the name Likutei Amorim, as the Alter Rebbe modestly writes that the name of the sefer is Likutei Amorim, as it would merely be just a collection from different sefarim. The same modesty motivated

02:32 his successor in the seventh generation, the Rebbe, to refer to one of his sefarim beshem Likutim Minhogim Betaymim, that it is a compilation, a collection, a selection of customs and reasons. True that the name Likutim Minhogim Betaymim is similar to the name of the Tanya, which is Likutei Amorim, and it brings out a very modest impression. On the other hand, it is not at all as in Tanya, likewise in the Haggadah, any deception in the quality of the sefer. Now we're gonna speak about the cover of the sefer. The highlight of the appearance of the Haggadah was primarily also being the Rebbe's first sefer that was accompanied with a directive for generations, a directive that came from the previous Rebbe. In the series of publications of Ma'aleh Cheseid LeChasidim, which is the Lubavitch publishing house of Sefarim Niglei Dachasides, there were heichalos, chambers designated for each one of the Rebbeim, beginning from the Baal Shem Tov and the Mezritcher Maggid, and the Alter Rebbe, the Ba'al HaTanya, the Ba'al HaSulam, is the Heichala Shlishi, and so on to the Rebbe. Every one of these heichalos sefarim, the covers of the sefarim, were designed by the previous Rebbe with a certain frame. Every Rebbe has a design on the sefer, a specific frame that the previous Rebbe chose, et cetera. When the previous Rebbe was asked by the Rebbe what cover should he use for his Haggadah, and the previous Rebbe responded, "My father, the Rebbe Rashab, was an inward person. You are likewise an inward

05:07 person. It would be appropriate that the Haggadah should be published with a cover, with a design on the cover as my father's sefarim." Maskunthe, speaking now about the structure of the sefer, in one of the articles, uh, uh, written by Rav Meir Madan, he writes as follows: "The Haggadah is small in quantity and surprises the readers because of two aspects. One, the huge abundance of sources from our sages and from Rishonim and Acharonim. It is difficult to understand how such a huge abundance is absorbed in such a thin, skinny sefer of forty-seven pages." Which is mostly the text of the Haggadah, and less than that, the words of the compiler and the editor. The second inyan, which is in a sense surprising, the fact that the author is a Hasidic Rebbe, at the present, the Rebbe and leader of Chabad Hasidim throughout the world. Here, he is revealed in his Haggadah as a scientific researcher who amazes the reader with his vast knowledge, common sense, scientific analysis, and the ability to inquire into sources, various versions of earlier and latter times, and of Psutty Shal Mikra, and all this in a short format, concise and accurate . In one of the articles, it's mentioned that the sefer consists, number one, sources for the sections in the Haggadah and how these sources were developed in the way it's being recited over the course of the generations. Secondly, the halachas, the laws of the night of the Seder in a very concise manner. Third of all, reasons

07:30 and sources for the halachas and customs of the Seder. Four, answering questions which are raised in regards to the version of the Haggadah in a very scientific way. Chadav hachalaka, sharp and smooth. Five, the Minhagim Chabad for the night of the Seder. Six, explaining the reasons and sources of the difference between Chabad and the other customs and versions. And finally, seven, an explanation on the Alter Rebbe's instructions which are accompanied in the Nusach of the Haggadah and their sources being cited. These seven sections are not in, in a separate format, but they're all combined together. Whatever is needed at that piece of the Haggadah, the Rebbe reflects it in some of the seven or even all of the seven according to the sequence in the Haggadah, according to the order of the Haggadah, in accordance to what is needed to be mentioned at that point. In many letters, we find the Rebbe's responses in a way of pilpul and shakla v'tarya, going into elabora-ation, in a great elaboration, and discussing the inyan why the Rebbe worded a certain comment in a certain way in the Haggadah. We will, im yirtze Hashem, continue in the next installment. This is behemesek in continuation to the earlier installment regarding the Haggadah with the Rebbe's commentaries, which was published firstly in the year Taf Shin Vav, nineteen forty-six, and its various editions. We now continue with installment number eight, discussing additional reviews on the Rebbe's Haggadah. F-First, a brief list of the various editions which appeared of the Rebbe's

09:58 Haggadah. In the year Taf Shin Vav, as mentioned, nineteen forty-six, was the first edition of the Rebbe's Haggadah. In the year Taf Shin Chaf Gimel, nineteen sixty-three, noting the hundred and fifty years since the passing of the Alter Rebbe, the Haggadah was republished with additional pirushim, mekiras, v'chol. In the year Taf Shin Lamed Gimel, nineteen seventy-three, the Haggadah was published with additional hisorfus supplements. They consisted of three different inyanim. A compilation of the Rebbe's explanations which were delivered at the farbrengens of Pesach, and they have a shaychas, they relate to the inyanim of the Haggadah. Two, customs of Chag HaPesach which are in the Sefer HaMinhagim, Sefer HaMinhagim Chabad, the customs of Chabad. And three, Michotov and Klalim, messages that the Rebbe would send on an annual basis in honor of Pesach. And four, a hadran, a siyum, a conclusion that the Rebbe made on the tractate of Masechet Pesachim. And from then and on, this Haggadah was published in many editions. To date, the Haggadah consists of two volumes. We continue now with reviews, additional reviews on the Rebbe's Haggadah. The Chabad Haggadah is unique in its kind. This is the Haggadah shel Pesach with the title Likutei Minhagim VeTimim, Compilation- Of customs and reasons. This Haggadah comes and is expressed in the Nusach and it, and the customs, but not in commentaries or sermons or insights. This is not what the Haggadah was intended for, and this is not the intention of the author. But from an aspect of minhagim v'timim, customs and

12:42 reasons, and on that we can also add halachas and sources, and primarily the sources. This is then a wonderful Haggadah. There are very few like this Haggadah, and it is appropriate for every Yid, for a Hasid as well as for a non-Hasid. It is a pearl in the Haggadah literature. In a short, brief manner, for every paragraph, sentence, or expression in the Haggadah, we are given the sources from Rishonim and Acharonim with the summary of the laws and customs which relate to the specific section of the Haggadah, combined with appropriate commentaries compiled from a selection of Rishonim and Acharonim. And as the quote that a study hall, a Beit HaMidrash, ein Beit HaMidrash b'lichidush, is never without a chidush, a new innovation, the author contributes new pirushim and reasons on his own, of them in halacha, in Kabbalah, and in peshat, the literal meaning of the Haggadah. In regards to customs, there is a great deal and stress in the minhagim of Beit HaRav, in the customs which the Rabbeim themselves practiced, and they are mentioned in this Haggadah. Of them, there are customs which all Chassidim Chabad practice. They conduct themselves and follow these minhagim, and there are minhagim selected exclusively and practiced by the Beit HaRav, by the Rabbeim themselves. Indeed, everyone who takes the Haggadah at his hands and looks into it, and surely when he learns it with greater depth, he immediately sees for himself a unique production in its kind. Looking from the perspective of the wide scope, what is

15:09 included in this Haggadah, and also in the concentration on different matters in the Haggadah, in the organizational manner, in the accuracy, and also in the innovation. And all this, when combined together, it is an exceptional masterpiece. What was the reason that the Rebbe saw a need to make this Haggadah? It is figured by Chassidim that this could be based on the words of the previous Rebbe in a talk which he delivered on Pesach Tov Shin, Dalet Tov Dalet Shin, nineteen forty-four. The Friediker Rebbe said as following, "My father, the Rebbe Rashab, said that in these evenings of Chag HaPesach, before a person does something about the matters of the Seder, darf men a kukt in a Seder. One needs to first check in the Seder to know exactly what to do." So we conclude this article that the Rebbe checked for us in the Seder, and he was mezakeh, he merited the whole Am Yisrael with a complete picture of details and details of details of the words of our sages and the literature of the Rishonim and Acharonim, combined with the Sifrei HaKabbalah and Chassidus, and primarily the specific directives as one should conduct himself in a manner that it is clear, organized, and a prepared table for everyone who sits down at a Seder this sacred evening. We will, im yirtzeh Hashem, continue in the next installment. This is Behemshach, in continuation to the earlier installments regarding the Haggadah with the Rebbe's commentaries, which was published in the year Tov Shin Vav, nineteen

17:35 forty-six, and its various editions. We now continue with installment number nine, taking a closer look how the Rebbe followed the Haggadah and a glimpse into the Rebbe's Haggadah. The following is based on interviews published by the monthly Chassidishe Der Herr. The Rebbe's own use. The Rebbe himself would make much use of the Haggadah, both the instructions that the Alter Rebbe wrote when he compiled the Seder and Haggadah, and the explanations as well. Rabbi Yisroel Shmatkin related At the Seder, the Rebbe would set up the Korech while standing, and he would recite all of the instructions from the Haggadah before doing each part. When the Rebbe would recite the first words of the Alter Rebbe's instructions, putting together the Korech, he would hold on to the matzahs. While saying which is the matzah on the bottom, he would hold the bottom matzah and let go. Then continue with all of the matzah which is right above it, then let the middle one go, and then conclude with the top matzah, which is the When it came time for Urchatz, Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak often said the Rebbe would also read the instructions for Karpas because one is not supposed to make a hefsek speak after washing. The same would be by the synonym of matzah, maror, and korech. Before washing his hands, the Rebbe would recite all of the instructions through korech. The Rebbe's Haggadah was printed in a different format in those days. In those Haggadahs, the text was printed along an entire page, and then

19:41 on the next page or two were the Minhagim and explanations. During the Seder, we would see the Rebbe recite an entire page quickly, and then while waiting for the Makri to reach the end of the page, he would peruse the explanations that he had written on the next page, as well as look into the Siddur HaAriza"l which the Rebbe would have at the Seder. When the Rebbe would look back in the Haggadah, Rabbi Yankel Katz, the Makri, would a-already be halfway through the next page. And then again, the Rebbe would read through the entire page and then go back to the Minhagim. As an introduction to what follows, as mentioned, a glimpse into the Rebbe's Haggadah. Over the centuries, there has hardly been another Sefer in all of Jewish teaching that has as extensive and lengthy commentary written about it like the Haggadah Shel Pesach. Among all these writings, one small commentary stands out above the rest, the Rebbe's Haggadah, which he humbly called Haggadah Shel Pesach im L'kutey Minhagim V'taymim, a Haggadah with a compilation of customs and reasons. But a mere reading of this magnificent work reveals a depth of explanation and clarity unparalleled anywhere else. And this follows with a story. Rabbi Avraham Hersh Cohen was a Lubavitcher Rav who, as a yungerman, studied in the Kollel Maayei Hasha'arim, a Kollel in Yerushalayim, which included all kinds of yungerleit, Lubavitcher, Pelesher, and non-Chassidim. Rabbi Yosef Zvi Segel related the following: Rabbi Avraham had a tremendous koch, very excited and very involved in

21:51 the Rebbe's Haggadah ever since it was published in Tav Shin Vav one thousand nine hundred and forty-six. Every year, starting around Purim time, thirty days before Pesach, he would begin studying it in depth for two hours every day. Rabbi Hersh Kopshitz, a well-respected lamdan, also studied in the Kollel. And when he saw Rabbi Avraham Hersh, Rabbi Avraham Hersh expending so much effort on the Haggadah, he said to him, "Why should a Talmid Chacham like you study this Haggadah so much?" Rabbi Avraham answered the following, "Let's sit down for a few minutes and learn one piece, even just one question together." They began learning a part of the Haggadah where the Rebbe discusses the four questions of the Seder night and why the question of Mesubin, why we lean on this night, comes last. The GRA answers the question in a certain way, but the Rebbe questions his answer and leaves things with tzorech iyun gadol, meaning that it is a very serious question and need a response. Rabbi Kopshitz tried to come up with an answer for the GRA but wasn't successful. So he asked if he can borrow the Haggadah for a day. After realizing that the question was indeed a strong one, he decided to take it to Rabbi Yitzchak Zev Soloveitchik, also known as the Brisker Rav, or by the name of his Sefer, the Chiddushei HaGriz. The next day, Rabbi Kopshitz reported that he had sat for a long time with Rabbi Soloveitchik trying to come up with an answer, but

23:43 the effort had proven unsuccessful. Rabbi Soloveitchik asked if he can keep the Haggadah for a few days. After a few days had passed, Rabbi Soloveitchik told him the following: "I have several answers, but the question remains a question," meaning that the answers weren't sufficient to truly resolve the issue. Rabbi Soloveitchik added that he had spent some time looking into other things that the Rebbe wrote in the Haggadah and said, "I knew that he is a lamdan, but I had not imagined that it was to such an extent." We will, im yirtze Hashem, continue in the next installment. This is the hemshich in continuation to the earlier installment regarding the Haggadah with the Rebbe's commentaries, which was published in the year Tav Shin Vav nineteen forty-six, and its various editions. We now continue with installment number ten in shedding light on two selected insights of the Rebbe in his Haggadah. The first topic is: What does Haggadah mean? The origin of the name Haggadah. As mentioned above, the Rebbe selected pirushim in the Haggadah from am-among many Rishonim and Acharonim, and he left many out. Sometimes he brings only one explanation when many others exist. From the Rebbe's correspondences, we see that this was done with a tremendous precision, that if something was omitted, there was a very good reason for that. For example, around the time that the Rebbe's Haggadah was published, Dr. Aaron, Aaron Hillman was writing articles in the Sinai Magazine about the Haggadah, and he included his notes on the Rebbe's Haggadah.

25:58 One of them was regarding the name Haggadah Shel Pesach. The Rebbe cites three explanations for the name Haggadah, but Dr. Hillman felt that there was a better explanation. As the Rebbe himself notes multiple times, most of the Haggadah is built as a midrash on psukim, hence the name Haggadah is the midrash of Pesach. In a letter, in the Rebbe's Igrot Kodesh, Volume 2, page 264, the Rebbe responded to him that this was difficult to accept. According to this explanation, the term only applies to one section of the Haggadah, from Avadim Hayinu until V'Neimar Lefanecha Halalucha. And the Rebbe says that is not what it stems from, the Rishonim and Acharonim. The implication is that the entire Haggadah is called the Haggadah, not only the section that explains psukim. Dr. Hillman also felt that the Rebbe had missed a better explanation for why the four cups of wine isn't included in the Ma Nishtana. And there too, the Rebbe responded that his explanation wasn't sufficient. From these letters and others, we see how much precision the Rebbe invested in every word of the Haggadah, and also in what he left out. A second topic, a Rashi which was long misunderstood. After Mincha Ner Pesach, we read a description of the Korban Pesach in the Beis Hamikdash, which took place on Ner Pesach. In the description, it tells us that as the Yidden were bringing the Korbanos and bringing them to Mizbeach, Hallel was read. The Rebbe adds a very short note, quoting the Tosefta, that the

28:06 Leviyim were the ones who were reading the Hallel. The four-word comment is one of the most famous sugyas in the Rebbe's Haggadah. It began with a letter from Rabbi Ze'ev, who asked the Rebbe, among other things, why he had omitted the opinion of Rashi on the subject, that Hallel was recited by the Yisroel, not by the Leviyim. In two fascinating letters, which were published in the Igrot Kodesh of the Rebbe, Volume 2, page 241 and page 260, the Rebbe explains at length that the opinion of Rashi has been misunderstood, and that although a superficial reading may leave a different impression, Rashi had never meant to deviate from the Tosefta and say that the Hallel was read by the Yisroel. It is interesting to note that in this issue, which is the Chidush HaDehr of Nisan, 5780, 2019, the Rebbe stands against the commonly accepted versions of many Acharonim, including the Melech HaShlema, the Ma'ari Kurkes, the Minchas Chinuch, the Rogatchover, and others. We can add at this point an article that was just published this previous week in the K'lal Chabad, in the issue 2006, on page 44. A new discovery, a sefer which is Teshuvas HaRash on Sukkah, the tractate of Sukkah, 54a, where he states very clearly that it was recited by the Leviyim. And it's interesting to note because the sefer was never published before. Nevertheless, the Rebbe insistently held that this is also the pirush in the commentary of Rashi, that the Hallel was recited by the Leviyim. We'llcontinue in

30:26 the next installment. This is in continuation to the earlier installments regarding the Haggadah with the Rebbe's commentaries, which was published in the year 5705, 1946, and its various editions. We now continue with installment number 11, and we'll focus on one last additional insight of the Rebbe in his Haggadah. In the Haggadah, there is a quote from Chumash Moshe, Parashat Moshe Chapter one, speaking about the slavery in Eretz Mitzrayim. And actually it appears in two verses. One is, In English, the Mitzrayim enslaved Am Yisroel with crushing labor. And the next verse, they embittered their lives with hard labor, with mortar and with bricks, and with all kinds of labor in the fields. All the work that they made them do was crushing labor. Now we continue with the article. In the Alter Rebbe's Haggadah, both of these psukim verses are cited in full. In almost all the other Nusachois versions that the Rebbe checked, he did not find anyone who brings the second pasuk as well. A major point of focus of the Rebbe's Haggadah is to explain the Alter Rebbe's version of the Haggadah, and there are some scholars who argue that this was in fact the Rebbe's only focus in writing it. The above is one significant example of this. The Rebbe's explaining how it is possible that for over a thousand years, a pasuk had been lost in all of the Haggadahs used throughout the Jewish world. The Rebbe's explanation is two-pronged. First, he explains that the pasuk is so crucial to the

33:02 description of Golus Mitzrayim that it is impossible that the Sifri and the author of the Haggadah did not include it. If you're trying to describe the back-breaking work that the Yidden were forced to endure in Mitzrayim, how can you omit the very pasuk that describes it in detail? But that still leaves a powerful question. If we cannot find a single Haggadah in history that included this pasuk, isn't that the biggest proof that it was never included? To answer this question, the Rebbe helps us picture how the Haggadah was transmitted through the generations. In the beginning, the Haggadah was written and copied by hand. When you copy things by hand, you often try to keep things as brief as possible. In order to keep this piece short, the copier of the text copied the first and last words of these two psukim. So this paragraph, became one line, which means the beginning of the first pasuk, and concluding with the word befarech. But befarech is a conclusion of two separate verses. As we go on further, but there was only one problem. Look again, that same shorthand could also be used if you were copying the first pasuk on its own, Some very early scribes indeed made this very mistake and believed that the abbreviation was referring only to the first pasuk. This mistake was then copied throughout all the later editions of the Haggadah, and it was more than a thousand years before the Alter Rebbe returned the pasuk back to its rightful place. And

35:40 finally, in summing up the Rebbe's commentaries on the Haggadah, we can say the following. People have tried to characterize or define the Rebbe's Haggadah, but in truth, that is an impossible endeavor. As one of the Rosh Yeshivas we interviewed commented, "Try to define Talmud Bavli, the Babylonian Talmud. You can't. The only way to have a taste of Gemara is by going ahead and learning it in depth. You cannot define the Rebbe's data. You can only know it by experiencing it," quote-unquote. However, in order to provide a taste of the depth that can be discovered, we have collected, and this is the Chassidishe Der Heer and the editors describing their research in the articles which were published in regards to the Haggadah, as we quoted in the last few installments, that we have collected a few short explanations from scholars who are experts on the Rebbe's Haggadah. It should be noted that these have been boiled down to their most fundamental points, and in some cases, we were only able to include references of the explanations themselves. To gain a real comprehension, they should be read in their original form. This is not a representative sample of the sugyas that were written on each passage of the Haggadah. It is a mostly random selection of a few pieces that we felt may interest our readers. We hope that this will provide some inspiration to learn the Rebbe's Haggadah, every individual on his own level, whether that means opening it up and studying it on its own,

37:43 which in itself is a fascinating learning experience, or on a deeper realm, by studying the sources and uncovering more and more insight.