Passover with Dennis Prager (From 2020)

hello everybody I'm Dennis Prager and this is the Passover seder from my home in a very very strange situation as you all know you're all living it as I am living it we are all isolated in our homes and that's the reason that I'm doing this normally I would just be having a Seder with friends I'll tell you about that in a moment because I've had the Passover seder with the same couples for about 25 years one of the members of one of those couples will actually be with me from his home and I'll introduce him momentarily so let me give you a little a little background here about what this is some of you are well aware of what a Passover seder is some of you have never attended one seen one or maybe ever even heard of one and I appreciate that all of you being in this is my way of giving those of you who might not have one a chance to experience it obviously I've never done this before I hope never to have to do it again but that is life and and we have to react positively even through uh difficult things that happen and this is a difficult time there's no question about it so if you're alone I'm particularly happy to be in your life for the next hour and a half or so and if you are with somebody obviously I'm happy to be with the two of you or however many are uh in self uh isolation with you so let me explain what this is Seder actually means order that's all it means order in fact some of you who have ever been to Israel have undoubtedly heard if you've heard any word it's besetter means in order which is the is the Israeli way of saying okay so seder is still is still in the active Hebrew language and it means order I will show you what that is because there's an order to the Seder there are there are specific things that you do in order and I will explain each of them and I will be doing them with you um a very big a very big thing about this is to understand and those of you who are not Jewish will find this particularly interesting the central religious place in Jewish life is not the synagogue synagogue is quite important but it is not the central religious place the central religious place in Judaism is the home and that is where the holidays are spent it is where the Sabbath every week is celebrated yes people go to synagogue on all of these occasions those who those who obviously are observant but it is the home that is the central place so the Seder doesn't take place in a synagogue some people will do it and they'll do it because it might be easier or they want to be with a lot of people because all of that is fine but the vast majority of Jews the vast majority of Jewish history have just done it in their home and they will bring relatives sometimes relatives they haven't seen since LastPass over they will bring friends and they will bring people who may not have a Seder otherwise and that is a very big deal in Passover life to bring people into your seder who otherwise might not have one a person who doesn't have children a person who doesn't have parents a person who doesn't have a spouse whatever it might be so but this is a big deal that's why I'm doing this If This Were another Jewish holiday I wouldn't be doing this but it's so important to be with people at the Passover seder it's so different than doing it alone that I've wanted to make this possible for as many of you as possible next the Passover commemorates The Exodus from Egypt the Jews were slaves in Egypt for hundreds of years God took them out this is the story of that in Judaism there are two Faith pillars this is critical two Faith pillars and I didn't make any of this up this is pure tradition creation and exodus God created the world and God took the Israelites the Hebrews the Jews whatever term you wish to use out of Egypt those are the two Faith bases of Judaism if you remove either you pretty much don't end up with with Judaism over time it just won't work those are there's not a lot of faith stuff demanded in Judaism but those two are pretty sensual God created The World God took the Jews out of Egypt now as regards this Seder uh it's it's not going to be the entire the uh is a is a big is a big book uh and uh I if we said the whole thing we would lose you uh so we're gonna say the highlights as it were and so those of you who are used to every word forgive me on the other hand there's going to be a some amount of Hebrew which many of you are not familiar with so you'll have to forgive me from that aspect we will translate obviously everything said in Hebrew uh but a a a a Passover seder without Hebrew uh is uh not quite the Passover seder that tradition has known okay those are my opening comments and my sidekick as it were a man with whom I have celebrated with his wife and uh with another couple uh the estrons my my producer and the the man who came up with the idea of prageru Alan Estrin and his wife I have celebrated with them how many years is it now 25 would you say no it's actually it's actually 30. actually 30 1990. I'm blown away and by the way we have we have pictures from pre-seder where we would line up whether it was your home or my home uh from from all these years and we've seen it's it's it's the it's a one progression thing every year the same group with additional people from when our kids were very very little indeed in one case my younger boy wasn't even born so uh we we have a tremendous History Dr Stephen marmer is a professor of Psychiatry at UCLA Medical School in Los Angeles and he is in private practice as a psychiatrist in the Brentwood District in the Los Angeles area and as I say whenever he's been on my radio show his patients are very lucky because he is a an extraordinary psychiatrist and an extraordinary man and has extraordinarily powerful values that he brings to uh to his work so and I must say extraordinarily good friends that's right and we could all write a book on the importance of friends all of us who get together all these uh both Sabbath and uh and Passover okay so we will begin here and what you begin with interestingly is a recitation of the Seder a recitation of the order that's actually in this book called the hagama and uh they are uh I'll do it in English and then Steve and I will sing it to you in Hebrew because it is sung the order is actually sung number one is Kadesh which is to sanctify you sanctify the blessing is over the wine then urahat which is purification it is the washing of the hands not to get clean your hands should be clean already uh some Joker sent on the internet the listing of the of all of the things in the order and every other one was was the washing because of the time we're in and everybody's supposed to wash their hands a lot so that's number two number three is carpasses the vegetation which is Springtime of uh rebirth and renewal then uh breaking of the matzah yahats then the most important part this is what it's all about is to tell the story and I just want to say a word about that here if when a people stops telling its children its story it will cease to be that people my fear for America is that Americans have not told their children the story and they're getting a uh almost a perverse recitation of their history and that's very dangerous for the future the one of the biggest reasons the Jews have survived for three thousand years is this that every year for almost 3 000 years they have told the story to their kids and as you will see which is amazing it's always the word we describing the Jews in Egypt and the Jews in The Exodus never they it's always we we were there not they were there then washing of the hands again then the taking out of matzah then maror the bitter herbs I'll explain that then correct the bitter and the sweet then the meal the then the dessert safoon then then thanking God for the meal then the uh the Psalms of Thanksgiving and praise of God and finally Mirza the completion so these are then sung and Steve why don't you do kadeshurukats Maggie rocks [Music] that's one of many Melodies of that and we thank you by the way I do believe that this is one of the few professors of psychiatry in the world who can do that at least at least not at least not in Israel okay right outside of Israel yes basically yes that's a very good point all right next is the uh the second part of this this order of this seder is the the blessing over the wine uh in Judaism uh alcohol consumption has always been allowed but it has always been for reasons of sanctification the purpose of drinking was not to get drunk the purpose of drinking was to celebrate the occasion a holy occasion like the Sabbath or the or a holy Bay like like Passover so I uh we lift the the cup if you're with me and you have any of this please do the same thing and uh Steve it's on page three in our mutual haggata and I will uh I will sing it in Hebrew and just uh meditate if you know no Hebrew or this is totally unfamiliar but uh it's it's so traditional I will be doing it in Hebrew but [Music] um hi [Music] then there is Another Blessing added to this which is very powerful many Jews are familiar with this blessed are you God who has kept us alive and brought us to this time it is said at any great occasion in Jewish life [Music] by the way four cups of wine are traditionally drunk on this evening It's the Most Wanted Jews ever drink one hopes and it is really to just have you know what a great night this is and by the way is a very interesting thing many of you know I'm very big on the subject of happiness I have a happiness hour on my radio show every week there is a law in the Torah in the the the the holiest of the parts of the of the Bible for the Jew the Torah the first five books and it says you shall be happy on your holy days on your holidays so this is particularly appropriate now when we're not in a happy situation with the lockdown and the virus that is uh that is traversing the world but nevertheless that's the law so you have to give it a try you have to try to be happy at least for this holiday all right now uh this is the pouring of the of the water over the hands here and this is because it's a holy meal and even in Judaism we even have a ritual for that it goes three times that's why there were two handles three times over uh the right hand and three times over the left hand all right there we go I might have overdone it a drop okay now we continue and we go to karpas the rebirth and renewal with the uh taking a piece of parsley usually is what it is dipping it in salt water and then saying a blessing over that blessed are you God who creates the fruit of the Earth okay very nice by the way here's the traditional dish can it be seen it's all all visible with the egg with the shank bone with the parsley with the bitter herbs and with the yummy part mcaro said and I'll explain all of that next is I break the matzah I have three matses whoever runs the Seder usually who's ever home it's at so when we're at Steve warmer's home which is frequent he will break the matzah in my home it would was my grandfather who did and I'll explain a great part so you think that there were three mozzes the middle one you break and you uh you keep that and you put the bigger part for the last part of the meal it's called the Alfie Coleman which is a Greek word and the thing is is this is very common in many Jewish homes the the the kids will try to steal quote unquote that officomen that bigger part of the matzah that was just broken from the guy who's running the Seder and then at the end you can't complete the Seder without that peace so they will have a deal the he will say to the kid all right did you I can't find that Alfie Coleman that big part of the matzah the kid will say oh I took it so then the head of the the meal would go okay what would you like for it and then the kid might say I want um I want a bicycle I mean that kid's it's a big deal anyway I got my biggest gifts uh a Passover not not Hanukkah not birthday my grandfather got me a shortwave radio which changed my life that's how I listen to the world one year he got me a typewriter and that's when I started writing so I have the very Fondest Memories of the deal with my grandfather of giving him that matzah back and getting a great gift Steve did you steal the officomen in your house no what happened in our house was that my father would hide it and then we would go looking for it all over the house and whichever one of us found it uh made the same deal oh you know I'll give it back to you okay so he hid it you had to find it right and in our case we had to take it right I get it I get it so did you find it or did a sibling who who found it well I it's embarrassing to say but I found it about seven years in a row and then I had to retire because my brother and sister didn't got no kids they couldn't stand it and but the gifts that I got were little things like a king or a oh oh and then when my sister found it she got like 20 or something like that so it was really uh she made up for the seven years yeah that's right that's right seven years of uh feast and then famine that is so so the explain is perfect to have if my my cohort's going to be a psychiatrist so I understood the psychology was to keep the kids up all night is is that how you read it yes it's to keep them excited uh or if they have somewhat fallen asleep uh as a result of uh you know eating the meal and having you know the the alkaline tide that you get when you get sleepy after a meal uh it was to wake them up and get them excited at least about the end of of the Seder so that uh and it would also be a great adventure but there's another uh if I may give a different an additional interpretation it's that we want the Next Generation always to be looking for what we have offered them we want them to continue to be looking for uh the the Jewish celebrations and the role of the meaning of Passover in their lives so that's another another thing that I like about it but the Practical element was keep them awake practical element definitely keep them awake keep them excited and uh that way they'll sit through it all right that's fantastic okay uh by the way in your uh uh memories of a child of your childhood is the Seder the uh the best Jewish memory no question about it it was the highlight of the year and somehow or other my parents made it uh seem like a great privilege we never felt that we were deprived of bread and pasta and all the other things we always felt oh my goodness for a whole week we get to eat all this special food and uh it was it was just considered the most fun we had my grandparents over we had all kinds of other people over but let me tell you a short story here about the way my father conducted the Seder the in those days we had a first seder with the family on the first night and then the second night he would always invite he was a doctor in a hospital and he would always invite the non-jewish nurses and other Personnel to come to the Seder to acquaint them with Judaism and it went back to a time when he was in turn and he was on call the night the day after Yom Kippur so he came back having fasted all day as is required for an observant person on Yom Kippur and no one had saved him any food uh and so he couldn't break the fast until the next morning so he had an additional uh 10 or so hours of of fasting and the reason was because nobody understood Judaism so he made it one of his missions to uh acquaint all of his co-workers who were not Jewish with Jewish customs and it quickly passed to me to be The Interpreter to help explain to them what was going on so I loved it well I I'm thinking in my own life uh it's a toss-up I really loved the Friday night shabbat meal that was a highlight but you're you're I had the same thing the Seder first of all you saw relatives you never saw otherwise and and uh you know I had one uncle who was completely non-religious he was a secular Jew but but he came for this because even secular Jews tend to go to somebody for a Seder and uh he spent it was hilarious it was it was like clockwork the first half of the meal he got very tired of us going through the ceremonies and he would go held up that's my mother's name you know it was it was really uh her uncle and he go Hilda what are we eating and he would you know just every so often just protest how long we were talking or praying then he'd eat and then after that he went into the the living room which was attached to the dining room and he'd go Hilda give me Tums so half the meal half the Seder he was complaining about not eating and half the Billy was complaining for having eaten too much but these are great memories that that's the stuff of childhood that's wonderful all right yeah if I may tell another quick one uh my grandparents one time we asked them what was what was it like in in Russia when you were kids and they went into a long explanation I'll abbreviate the story and they talked about how uh rough it was and how they escaped from Russia came to America and all their successes and all their failures living through the depression and it was just an amazing moment for the for all of us grandchildren to hear their story it was these are the things that you can't uh they're Priceless that's exactly right and it's a continuity of generations I mean when you think about it outside of a Seder type atmosphere I mean it's obvious grandparents could tell grandchildren their stories and many do but this this is the the perfect opportunity for for such quote unquote storytelling it's it's invaluable all right page five so uh this is so old the prayer here it's in Aramaic the rest of the Haggadah is in Hebrew this is in Aramaic that's how old it is this is the blood the the bread of Affliction as it's called that our parents ate uh in in the land of Egypt called all those in need should come and eat and uh uh we all took this seriously of inviting people who otherwise would not have a Seder that's basically what we're doing tonight in effect so that's a very a very famous part of of the of the prayer okay let's move on here and to the most famous part and that is the youngest person there and I I would say it starts at four or five I mean really young I was the youngest of the two brothers so I I remember singing this these are the the famous uh what are called the four questions and they are why is this night different from every other night that that's how it begins and other nights uh we eat all sorts of things but tonight we only meet this and other nights we do this it's four questions Judaism is built on questions and answers questions and answers and it starts here and it's sung this way the Manish Tana and you uh I I don't know if you saw what I sent you uh Steve the Israel Philharmonic I I got the chills I'm sure you did I did one of the greatest orchestras in the world the Israel Philharmonic knowing that of course Israelis are in isolation like like we are they got members of their orchestras in their homes to play this on the you know some of the greatest instrumentalists in the world to play this and and very few of them are religious as such but it's so basic to to Israeli culture everyone knows the melody everybody knows what the four questions are so uh I don't have to sing it now but it is it is uh uh it is the basis of the evening the kid asks what is this about and the rest of the Seder is to answer that kid's questions you could take it on I'm not a singer me called [Music] [Music] [Music] okay we'll leave it at that that was beautifully done yeah so that's that's that's the way many of you with any background in Judaism would have certainly have heard that okay now this is a great part this is see in in Jewish homes the Seder is is it is a discussion period I mean you you should eat a little before the Seder because there's so much time devoted to discussing themes so here's an example this is from the haggadas not none of this have been made up by either Steve larmer or myself so on page seven and and here's the the the traditional one so I'm going to look here page 74. so there it says it says here that the the the Torah mentions that you should tell your children there were four times the Torah says tell your children about the Exodus it's very important that it's brilliant the Torah you must teach your kids what you're about if I put it in American terms as I said earlier American parents forgot to tell the kids what America is about so kids don't know this is one of the greatest lessons of this tradition so here it's it's uh why does it have so they did a brilliant thing the rabbis who made this up this this almost 2 000 years ago they said well if it's four times listed to tell your children about the Exodus there must be four types of children that you should talk to and sure enough there are there is the wise child The Wicked Child the simple child and the child who doesn't even know how to ask and it then gives you a way to answer their questions now without going through it all and it's it's just fascinating I wondered as a kid why is there no good child wise Wicked simple and doesn't know how to ask where's the good child it only was in my adult life that I realized the wise child is the good child because you can't be good without wisdom you can have all the good intentions in the world but if you're a fool you'll only end up doing bad stuff I I think this is is relevant as as a concept could be for our time that's that's what we have not given over wisdom we've given knowledge but we haven't given wisdom so those are the four types of children it shows that they would ask a different question and this is the way the parent treats that question that was also this is two thousand years ago I mean that's Dr marmor psychiatrist that that I have to believe is impressive that they would tell you two thousand years ago your children are not all the same absolutely uh you know we've talked for for 30 years about the meaning of all of this and its complexity and we've never run out of interpretations uh but uh the sheer uh psychological wisdom of these spiritual Geniuses is beyond belief it's just so impressive yep you have to know you can't raise every kid they're not cookie cutters or kids that's that's a that's a was a great lesson here we go to page nine obviously I'm telling that for Steve mober none of you have the same one that I have and we say here we see I told you it's all we it's never once does it say they we were we were slaves for Pharaoh in Egypt that's what it says in the Hebrew I I wish Americans would say that in 1776 we rebelled and made it and made America we that you have to attach yourself to your past it's not they it's we and God took us out of there with a strong hand and an extended arm this is uh this is this is what this is the beginning of telling the story to kids hey God took us out of Egypt by the way I and I know of course Dr marmer knows this do you know whose name doesn't appear in this Haggadah except only once because he's in the in a prayer Moses doesn't appear in the Haggadah because Moses did not take the Jews out of Egypt God did it's an amazing thing it's it's like telling the story again in American terms it's like telling the story of of the American Revolution and never mentioning George Washington it's these these are just powerful ideas all right let me go into the traditional uh let's see if I want to read to you that uh yes we were slaves to Pharaoh in Egypt and the Lord Our God took us out from there with a strong hand and with an outstretched arm and had the Holy One Blessed Be he that's God not taken our fathers out of Egypt then we our children and our children's children would have remained subjugated to Pharaoh in Egypt now comes a very powerful line which we have gone over all of our lives and even if we were all wise and all of us had great understanding all of us were elders all of us versed in the knowledge of the Torah we would still be obligated to discuss the Exodus from Egypt and every individual who elaborates in the retelling of The Exodus is to be considered praiseworthy it doesn't matter how much you know how brilliant you are you've got to tell the story anyway any thoughts Steve oh yes uh well first of all the serious thought is that it's it it has so many layers and we've we've learned each year the Seder is the same but it's different as we as we find new new angles on it and they say that nobody nobody's exempt from this it doesn't matter what kind of a big shot you are you could be the the world it's world's most famous uh anything uh this is it the action of telling it and transmitting it to the next generation is important now the funny thing is that uh when my mother your your uncle used to want to know when the food was coming my mother would want to know uh how much longer we were going to talk and I would quote this uh but Rob on gamliel says indeed to dwell on it is to be accounted praiseworthy and that would shut her up because of course right it was the one time of the year when they when my parents couldn't tell me to stop talking because the hagada had said The more you talk about it the more praiseworthy that's right yeah you've got the green light thank you thousand years ago yeah I love it but she I love the fact that she had no answer oh no she she capitulated because yeah she recognized the validity of it yeah because it wasn't you Steve it was the TR it was Judaism right exactly all right so now on uh before we go on in in the one you and I have I a very uh very powerful powerful paragraph in the Haggadah foreign and he and he who has uh who stood with our forefathers and us it wasn't only once that somebody arose to annihilate us and then comes this amazing phrase that every knowledgeable Jew is aware of but in every generation somebody arises to annihilate us not to oppress us not to subjugate us not to enslave us to annihilate us and the Holy One Blessed Be he saves us from their hands I and I know Steve knows this well because this when I was a kid and I was a thoughtful kid and I and I remember in high school thinking I don't agree with the rabbis who wrote this I don't I don't think that in our generation for example somebody wants to annihilate us the Germans just did that with the Holocaust and and you know this is only a few years after the Holocaust uh and you know maybe 10 years 10 years 15 years later and um yeah 15 years later and uh I thought no no nobody's gonna want to annihilate us now the world has learned how how horrible that is and I was wrong I was just wrong there is always every generation somebody wants to annihilate Jews that's why anti-semitism something I know a lot about I've written a book on it it's anti-Semitism is unique of all the world's hatreds because only anti-Semitism is annihilationist it's not a matter of subjugating the Jews or again as I said or oppressing them it's annihilating them Iran wants to annihilate Israel they they say it so they they were right two thousand years ago in every generation somebody wants to annihilate us now it then says but God Saves us now obviously God didn't save the Jews in the Holocaust but it doesn't say God Saves every Jew it says God Saves the Jewish people and with all the attempts to annihilate the Jews well we're still around thoughts on that Steve it's so profound uh so many of us like you I thought you know it could never happen again but then it is happening again and uh uh it's it's endless and when when I think that they have gone by the wayside and we're still here for three thousand years people have been celebrating this holiday for 2 000 years in this exact form with the Seder when it was invented in after the destruction of the temple uh and so we're we're it's a miracle and without it's almost enough to make a non-believer believe because we're still here and only we'd only be here with with God's help that's our belief certainly I I don't I don't know any other way to I agree all right I'm going to continue here with the traditional uh we have an abbreviated one on our separate sheets this is the traditional one here so I'm going to read something here so we're again all of this is is answering that kids the kids questions in effect but of course this is for adults too and like here's an example so the Egyptians dealt cruelly with us and made us suffer and put hard work on us so this is just a a way of answering what happened and the Egyptians dealt cruelly with us and then it gives the verse in the book of Exodus where where the Pharaoh said we better get rid of these people and they put task Masters over us and they gave us hard work and then and then what happened after all the recital of the suffering is slaves then in the Haggadah we go and it says and the Lord took us out of Egypt now listen this is really powerful not through an angel and not through a Seraph and not through a messenger instead God in his own glory and he alone and it then quotes the the Torah text the Bible tests and I will pass through the land of Egypt and I will Smite every firstborn and I will carry out judgment there are so many reasons this is important but one of them is because people all totally understandably ask well why was it right when God brought the plagues on Egypt to force pharaoh to let the Jews out about the smiting excuse me the smiting of the firstborn and it's very important God did not tell any Israelite to kill one Egyptian God will do it I will take this moral responsibility I will not have you do any of the quote unquote if you would Dirty Work you ever read on why God Alone did or why that's important well I think that uh your point is that we didn't have blood on our hands but also um to show that uh he's he's the ultimate boss he is The Giver of of life and the taker of life and uh he is superior to all of the Egyptian gods and there's no doubt about it and by the way uh as we will see when we get to the uh to to the plagues I I won't go through it now it is all in my commentary on on Exodus in my book the rational Bible a very a long commentary to make that book clear I show how every one of the plagues was against an Egyptian god beginning with a blood which was the Nile was turned into blood and the Nile was one of the chief gods of the Egyptians the son was the chief God and that was the penultimate plague that was the next to last plague Darkness look at that the one true God of the universe can make the Egyptian god dark this is also profound it's but very few people know how profound it is which is why this is so important the most famous song of the Passover seder is dayenu which means oh that would be enough so for example if God took us out of Egypt that would be enough if he had not split the sea that would be enough uh if he had uh if he had given us Mana in 40 years in the desert that would be enough Diana means that would be enough for us so I'll I'll sing this one and uh just a few of the verses and you at home should sing along anytime you know any of these Melodies yeah we're going to do the plagues uh are we going to go through this yes or after I would I would but the um the order yeah did I miss yeah you know what one second where where are the play what pages 12. that's what I missed it okay yes we should do the plagues first I agree with that now here's a very powerful tradition this is this is every Jewish Home does this you dip usually your pinky into your wine which is the sign of your gladness but you take a drop out for each plague because it teaches the Jew at the Seder still in all the Egyptians were people so we take a little of our joy out every time we mention one of these plagues uh and the lesson is so enormous that after all of this recitation of how the Egyptians made up made us suffer still in all we're not all that celebratory we're taking away from the celebration in in order to uh to identify with their suffering too you did that in your home correct absolutely all right so I'll tell you what we'll do I will uh why don't why don't I do I'll I'll recite it Steve because this is the tradition you recite the ten plagues I'll do one and then you do it in English and so on okay got it all right um blood it's for today uh frogs key meme lice Arrow beasts devil height boils hail albeit Locus Darkness [Music] death of the first born and that's what is done in every at every Seder that is powerful okay so then we're up to the dayenu and um everybody all of you at home who know this sing along with me and I'm only only concerned can we sing together and it'll sound okay or we'll give it a try let's give it a try and Reed will fix it alrighty die die die die die die die die die die die die die die all right we'll leave it for now and but that's that's the the most traditional of all the memories it would be enough for us okay we now move to 15 to the actual uh the heart of the Seder in terms of all of the things that you see here and that is pesach Mata and marour Rabbi gamliel the first century Sage so it's what I'm talking about two thousand years ago who compiled the Haggadah taught those who have not explained these three things during the Seder have not fulfilled their obligation pesach want to read that one Steve when the Great temple of Jerusalem was still in existence our ancestors ate a special sacrificial offering called the pesach the word pesach means to pass over the offering was eaten as a symbol that God passed over the houses of the Israelites as the Torah teaches you shall say this is the pesach offering which we offer to God because God passed over the houses of the Israelites when he destroyed the Egyptians but our homes God saved Mata why do we eat matzah to remember that even before our ancestors doe had time to rise God was revealed to them and saved them as the Torah teaches and they baked the dough which they had brought from Egypt into matzah that's unleavened bread that's the famous unleavened bread it somewhat tastes like cardboard but juice get used to it so there's no bread or any anything that is made from yeast anything that rises for these seven days or eight days depending on what a Jew observes of of Passover no no bread is the most famous part by the way I I do believe there's another reason the Egyptians generally are are accredited with having invented bread and so bread represented Egypt and the need to get Jews away from Egyptian religion and values which were very death oriented is a is a major way of understanding many Torah laws including this one you left Egypt you will also leave their culture their culture was bread centered you will not have bread so that was part of it too and Maro Steve bitter herbs marar why do we eat bitter herbs to remember that the Egyptians embittered the lives of our ancestors with hard labor in mortar and brick and in every manner of drudgery in the field and work them ruthlessly in all their labor now that that's a uh it's an interesting aspect here of the uh of of the Haggadah and the Seder Judaism is a very very physical religion because we are physical beings so you have you want to know what it was like to be a slave here have something bitter and it is bitter you want you want to have uh you know represent whatever you know you want to represent the unleavened bread you will continue forever to have this unleavened bread just like they did we're we're living in in effect in some ways like they did that's that's a uh that is a part of it all righty let's see here you know what let's uh on 16 Steve yes it's so appropriate for the uh the time we're living in now with the with the uh isolation therefore let us rejoice at the miracle of our liberation and sing unto God who brought us From Slavery to Freedom from despair to Joy that's particularly appropriate now from morning to Celebration from Darkness to light from enslavement to Redemption outfitting for the time we're in next we we have the next uh I'm the I do grape juice instead of wine I don't I don't react well to alcohol I don't have a problem with it I mean in other words I don't I don't have a moral problem with it I and I I'm not addicted I couldn't be the amount of alcohol I've drunk in my entire life would not suffice for one day in an addict's life I just don't I get a headache so I do grape juice instead blessed are you God King of the universe creator of the fruit of the Vine do we have time do we have time or shall we skip a bit Israel yes I did I do have that listed as uh have you seen it so okay and then we'll do the duet at the end like we always do yes so where is the page of that it's at the top of yes at the top of seven correct I missed it absolutely okay so take take it away go ahead this is uh this is what is sung at this time [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Music] so hope [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] foreign [Music] and that was a very old Melody from my my childhood and now let's see we go to the second washing of the hands that's right so we're on 18 the two of us so the second washing of bands this time however gets the blessing over the washing of the hands there are a lot of blessings in Judaism so here we go again three on each okay amen amen that was that was the blessing over the matter well over bread over anything that comes from the earth and now we have a special one for the matzah as well which I should have said together with the other one now we eat maror and this is supposed to be strong and I don't know if my wife got a strong one this year not easy to shop this year and the maroor stocks are are low um blessed are you God King of the universe was Sanctified us with the Commandments of tivanu and commanded us amen too strong enough to say the best I'll tell you I don't know if it's allowed but wasabi is about as strong as it gets in my opinion then the inventor yeah thank you the inventor of the sandwich is not what is it Earl the Earl of Sandwich or the Lord of Sandwich what was it right the Earl of knowledge yeah it was actually uh Hillel the sage and the talmud uh so uh he made the sandwich of my Roar and and the um well actually this does yes all right so the Haro set is sort of the mortar represents the mortar of the bricks that's yummy this is uh people may so it's all different sweet fruit foreign okay now at this point it is time to have the meal but obviously if I had the meal first of all you don't want to watch me eat secondly um I want you to have all the time you want to eat so we're going to do the stuff that comes after the meal as well let's go to page 22. all right so the first thing is the third the third cup of wine I mean all right now we go from there to um Elijah's Cup oh I didn't fill Elijah's cup too bad I knew I'd missed something normally there's a cup saved for Elijah the prophet and that's filled to the top with wine and the the hope is that he will come and announce the arrival of the Messiah of the mashiach and the um there's a very uh solemn prayer said at that time that may God um take out his wrath on those on evil Nations which frankly I'm in agreement with me too yeah good good I it's never bothered me yeah it never exactly it bothers it does bother some Modern Jews that prayer but I I don't understand I mean if God is just then wouldn't we want him to take his wrath out against the evil I I don't quite get that all right now um let's go okay so there's actually a the fourth cup then there's hell out well there's wait oh no Halal on 178 I want to sing something can we say uh can we sing aliyahu hanavi uh yes yes absolutely is it on here yes it's the bottom of 20 bottom of 23. okay take it away [Music] I have a little story to tell about this I used to sing this I used to sing this to our older daughter as a lullaby and it worked the trouble is that every time we would sing it at Passover she would start to fall asleep oh wow it really worked it was really cute yeah that is adorable uh now let me see oh yes I knew I wanted to do something here uh so at this point uh a bunch of the of Psalms are sung psalms of praise of God but I wanted to bring one to your attention those of you who are watching this because I have a great story about it and I need to let's see okay not there one moment folks yes uh let's see [Applause] I want to do the one with uh their um I want to tell my Russia story okay here it is yeah so one of this this you'll love this folks this and you can see this reenacted incredibly by a kid acting as the younger me when I was in the Soviet Union uh at the age of 20 or 21 and so this is the story so this is the uh this is one of the Psalms here not us Lord but to your name give honor your kindness and so on and and then it says their Idols are of silver and gold the product of human hands they have mouths but cannot speak they have eyes but cannot see they have ears but cannot hear they have noses but can't smell their hands cannot feel their feet cannot walk they can make no sound with their throats like them should be their makers everyone who trusts in them so I was I was sent by Israel at the age of 21 at the Soviet Union for a lot of reasons they the biggest ones were that I was a Jewish kid and I knew Russian and Hebrew so that I was like the ideal candidate to go to smuggle in religious items to Jews in the Soviet Union at the smuggle out names of Jews who wanted to leave so it was a little dangerous uh but uh it was also obviously life-changing because I I lived I lived for a month in a totalitarian state and met a lot of people who told me a lot of things so in Moscow in my hotel room I was always a character I mean you know you're born a character it's like just it's like your shoe size you're just given it so I would get up in the morning in my hotel room and I would go to the wall and I would say to the wall knowing there were microphones hidden in the room uh and I'd say in Russian to them good morning how'd you sleep this Dennis checking in and then I would sing this song that their idols cannot walk and their Idols do not hear or smell or see because I was in a world of Idols you know there was a Lenin statue every other block and uh I you know I have no idea they probably had no idea what I was seeing and thought I was out of my mind but I it kept me sane ing this particular Psalm to uh to the walls so anyway you could all see it enact reenacted in the movie no safe spaces it's at no safespaces.com this is not an ad it's just you would you would love to see it okay Dennis before you go on I want everyone to know the incredible impact of your visits your visit to the Soviet Union by telling the story of how when the estrons and the marmors and the pragers were in Saint Petersburg and we went to the synagogue we were accompanied by A really lovely young Chabad Rabbi and uh you were recalling that I don't know how many decades earlier you had been there and an elderly man came up to us and sort of crouching with his eyes squinting looked at you and looked closely at your face and said I think I know you weren't you here 35 years ago didn't argue the American Jew who came and talked to us and you know the skin the the hair on the back of my neck and I'm sure all of us just Rose at the recognition of the impact I have the feels when you tell the story yeah that that he recognized me 35 years later yeah but I knew then I I this was the same it's now Saint Petersburg it was Leningrad then and I when I went into the synagogue of course I was the only foreign Jew there many of them had never seen a foreign Jew and they were told by the Soviets that Judaism was dead all over the world because they wanted religion dead I was 21 years old and they said to me can you uh can you participate and lead the prayers and I'm sure they expected me to say gee no you know I don't know I don't even know Hebrew and I said yeah I'll be happy to and I went up there and for Jews and I know this I recited the haftura the the prop prophetic reading of that week of Sabbath and they it was so quiet what they realized was they had been lied to that in fact the Jews were alive and well outside of the Soviet Union that this kid from America could do this could just get up there and read in Hebrew the prophets and chanted properly this changed their lives and the proof as you just said is this man remembered it from 35 years before and I I was blown away myself yeah it was quite something there are a bunch of songs at the end of the Seder that are just terrific so on page 25 is uh is is one of the famous ones it's again this is it's it's devoted to kids the Seder but it's adults love it too but it's a song who knows one who knows two who knows three who knows four so what is one one is God what what is two two are the tablets right two of the tablets that that Moses brought down what is three three are the Patriarchs one is four four are the matriarchs and and and it just it continues that what is five five of the five books of the Torah and it goes all the way up to 13 which is bar mitzvah so you sing this whole thing uh and it's just it's done in Hebrew and and in English and I'm sure in France it's done in French and in Hebrew and uh that's um that's the song that sung then uh uh so we we do it we do it in English and uh so uh let's let's let's try to give it a try here for the beginning should we should we uh do one and two and then skip to two or one and two even it's just fun okay go for it Dennis all right who knows one I know one one [Music] so that's Hashem is the Hebrew for God and then it's a great Melody which continues who knows too I know two two are the tablets that moshab brought and one is Hashem one is Hashem one is Hashem in the heavens and the Earth and then it just goes on and and it's just it's it's fantastic these Melodies are terrific it cracks the kids up it cracks the adults up and you learn a lot every number has a significance the next one is one of the most famous it's about uh it's called adir who on page 27. wait did we have one on 26 no no that's 27 right right so why don't you sing it ah dear Who ah dear who yiv nevae tobacco of him [Music] this is about how God is great and may his house be soon rebuilt and that goes on for uh quite a while and it's a very famous Melody and they cover it goes in uh what they call aliphatical order uh with each letter of the Hebrew alphabet in sequence describing one of God's attributes then there is another one about uh about how uh God again it's about it's a beautiful to praise God and I gotta I have a Melody that Steve fell in love with over the course of our Decades of doing the seders together and uh I'll sing it I'll sing the beginning for you it's really [Music] um it's always touched me this melody foreign [Music] [Music] and then it just continues in that way and it's it's a it's truly uh you know it's a Melody that touches your heart especially as you know it over time and then the Seder ends with a uh with a very funny bizarre uh one about it's called one kid that is as in kid as in Goat just one kid you wanna so one kid just one kid my father bored for for two zuzim one kid just one kid then came a cat and ate the kid that my father bought for two zuzim then a dog a stick a fire and the water and acts they all consume the other one until finally at the very end God consumes them all I've always thought that this is a this is a historical uh review of all of our persecutions we're we the Jewish people are the the one and only the one little kid and the two zuzim are the two tablets of the Ten Commandments but then but then one Empire after another after another first the Assyrians and then the Babylonians and then the Persians and then the Greeks and then the Romans and so forth uh until finally God makes peace that's a good read why don't you give the traditional Melody I think there is only one anyway take it away my father bought for two zoos him and then we would have fun making animal noises then came the cat meow that ate the kid my father bought four twos lose him and so forth uh until we finally I have a uh I'm renowned among our group when we come to the ox and I go then came the ox that has brought us more joy over 30 years than than I can actually measure I I told my younger son that we would be doing this and he asked will you be making the ox out [Music] okay we can start with that then came the ox that drank the water gurgle gurgle gurgle that quenched the fire Sizzle Sizzle Sizzle that burned the stick Wham that bit that beat the dog that ate that bit the cat meow that ate the kid my father bought four twos who's him and then by the time we've had four cups of wine or three yeah you know we've got it all a little bit mixed up and we make mistakes and the kids laugh you know uh this uh as I told our synagogue group I I feel like uh I'm on this Jewish train that started on the on the rails about three thousand years ago and with all the problems right now and they're very they're severe economically and in other ways obviously uh this this this island of this Seder it we're not really living you know at this moment we're living a thousand years ago two thousand years ago three thousand years ago and it I think it induces some peace when you can somehow realize you're part of something so much larger than yourself do you do you feel that oh no question about it that we're the idea that we're doing the the same thing passing to the Next Generation what was passed to us and uh it's it's a it's a mystical spiritual but psychological but I think also real real thing and I feel anchored to something that helps stabilize me when uh the boat is rocking in the current age anchored that's the key anchored that's that's right that's what it's given us and this anchor well uh I hope for all of you this has been meaningful if it's your 50th seder or your first to uh to Steve and I and millions of others this is a a central part of our life and it was important for me to try to bring this to you who most of you don't have one because of the nature of things going on now I hope that a year from now people are healthy people are back to work and people are able without any any ambivalence or ambiguity to just have a truly happy holiday but even in in a dark time these this has to be celebrated this is not comparable in its Darkness obviously to the concentration camps of the Holocaust but even there Jews tried to have whatever they could to mimic a Seder and I understand that it transports you back to uh back to the Exodus I will add if I may that if you really want to know what all this is about I've written the commentary Exodus called the rational Bible trying to sell you a book nobody writes a Bible commentary to make a lot of money but obviously this means a lot to me it means a lot to Dr marmer absolutely yeah no it's clear and we are very lucky that we we found each other and our cohortal nestron and our wives and we'd spend an incredible richness in our lives a combination of God and friends is a pretty powerful combination I wish you all God and friends because that is exactly what you probably most need at this time my friend is Dr Stephen marmer professor of Psychiatry UCLA I'm Dennis Prager of Prager University and of my radio show and it has been an honor to be with you God bless you and goodbye thank you Dennis good night

Channel: PragerU

Views: 6,264

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Id: mOJIA8MSW4Q

Length: 80min 47sec (4847 seconds)

Published: Wed Apr 05 2023