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This popular publication contains a full translation of the Sephardi form of the Haggadah, as well as authoritative instructions for the Seder and a complete guide to the laws and customs of Pesach, according the the Sephardi rite. Accompanying the text is a commentary based on traditional sources, including some of the author's novellae.
The illustration shows the front cover (centre) of the Third Edition (1998) as well as two of the oriental-style plates, by the author.
The following thoughts are an elaboration, by the author, of an idea outlined in The Sephardi Haggadah.
Why should the Haggadah, the rest of which is written in Hebrew, open with a stanza in Aramaic?
Other prominent examples of Aramaic in the Hebrew Liturgy which come to mind are: Kaddish, Kedusha,
Berich Shmeh and Misheberach prayers for the sick.
Bible scholars may suggest "evolutionary" solutions to questions of this type and think they have
done away with the questions, but to the Jew who believes in Providence, every step of Evolution
itself is part of the Divine plan. Therefore, regardless of how it may have come about that these
items of liturgy are in Aramaic rather than Hebrew, we are justified in asking why it has been allowed to come about.
An elusive comment by Kol Bo contains, I believe, a possible answer. Because of their elevated nature some
prayers simply have to be in Aramaic...
The Midrash tells us that when The Holy One hears the words of Kaddish--a communal plea for the speedy coming of the Messiah--
he "nods his head" (so to speak), sad that despite this beautiful prayer the exile must continue. If the angels surrounding him
were to realise that it was the kaddish which was causing Him sorrow, they would prevent it reaching Him. However,
angels understand only Hebrew--the holy tongue (created, we are told, with the world)--not
Aramaic. Hence it is only by virtue of it being in Aramaic that this prayer "reaches G-d".
What is the significance of angels "not understanding" Aramaic?
And while we're at it:
What on earth is an angel?
While trying to remain as figurative and unprovocative as possible,
let us look at a few things Jewish tradition tells us about angels:
- an angel has only one leg ("ragleyhem regel yeshara")
- an angel performs only one function (this, we are told, is the reason that three arrived at Abraham's
tent: one to heal him, one to predict the birth of Isaac, and one
to destroy Sodom).
- angels "stand" whereas man is a "walking" being. Also, as we have seen,
- angels understand Hebrew but not Aramaic.
An angel "stands" where it is put, in the sense that it cannot have "different positions" on an issue.
Man, on the other hand, is constantly "moving", seeing things from different
angles, and even when standing on one spot, is actually standing in two slightly different places
at the same time (right foot, left foot)!
This is the human condition, and it is not for nothing that we have been given stereoscopic vision, which enables us to view
the world in three dimensions, by virtue of seeing it from two different perspectives simultaneously!
Angels are the Almighty's "true" messangers. They stand where they are put--figuratively. They cannot contain conflicting
opinions. They always perform faithfully the (single) function they are given.
Man, on the other hand, constantly sees things from two points of view, both literally and figuratively. He does not always
do what is "expected" of him, even when he realy wants to and knows it is right.
Similarly, Hebrew is a language of "absolute" Truth, created by G-d before the world. When words are related in
Hebrew it is because there is an absolute connecton between them. Other languages, however, are human
developments, and represent the non-absolute connections attributed by human perception. Aramaic is in a way the worst
of these, being as it is a mixture of "absolute" (Hebrew) and "relative". Hebrew is the language of angels; Aramaic is
the language of the human condition.
When we make a great communal declaration like Kaddish--expressing our fervent desire for the speedy coming of Mashiach, we are making
a declaration which our own actions contradict. Do we really behave as if we
want the Messiah to come? Haven't our own actions, this very day--perhaps a few moments before entering the synagogue (or even in
the synagogue)--demonstrated that we are more interested in this world than the next?
We cannot honestly submit a prayer like this in Hebrew. This--I believe--is the inner meaning of saying the "the angels
would prevent it reaching Him": the TRUTH would destroy the prayer!
However by saying the prayer in Aramaic we acknowledge that though we really do believe in and desire
what we are praying for our actions to do not always reflect that. We are acknowledging our human frailty.
Once they are without pretensions, our greatest prayers become acceptable.
This is the secret of Kaddish, and also--I think--of Ha Lachma Anya which opens the Haggadah.
As for the Misheberach said for the sick, this is even more curious as it opens in Hebrew and moves to Aramaic in
mid-prayer.
I was once at the site of a serious accident in Israel, and had to call for aid. In the horror
and helplessness of the moment I forgot how to say "help" in Hebrew and called it out hoarsely
in English , my mother tongue, for a
few moments before coming back to myself and functioning in Hebrew.
I do not pretend to know how or by whom this prayer was coined, but I like to think of the rabbi who first said it
beginning confidently in the Holy tongue and then--suddenly overwhelmed by his own humanity and frailty
--reverting
humbly to bless and pray for the healing of his fellow man in the common "vernacular"--the language of the human condition.
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