Ha Lachma Anya ("This is the bread of affliction") is a declaration that is recited at the beginning of the Magid portion of the Passover Seder. Written in Aramaic, the recitation serves as the first explanation of the purpose of the matzo during the Seder. [1]
Although portions of the Haggadah quote the Torah, scholars trace the origins of the Haggadah to the Talmudic era. [2] [3] Specifically, scholars have identified two major versions of early Haggadot: an Eretz Yisrael version and a Babylonian version. [2] Modern Haggadot are based on the Babylonian version, the earliest complete copies of which are found in the siddurim of Rabbis Amram Gaon and Saadia Gaon. [4] Over time, Ashkenazic, Sephardic, and Mizrahi "sub-versions" developed; however, "there is relatively little difference in the basic text of the Haggadah within the descendants of the Babylonian versions". [5]
According to Rabbi Yaakov Lorberbaum's Ma'aseh Nissim, Ha Lachma Anya was first recited after the destruction of the Second Temple in Jerusalem; according to Maimonides, Ha Lachma Anya was not recited before the Temple was destroyed. [6] Shibbolei ha-Leket states that Ha Lachma Anya was instituted in Israel, while the Malbim and Ra'avyah trace the origins to Babylon. [7] David Arnow notes that some sources state that Ha Lachma Anya originated during the Gaonic period (circa 750-1038 CE), while others trace it back as far as the first or second century CE. [8] Some medieval Haggadot added the phrase "we left Egypt hastily" (biv'hilu yatsanu m'mitsrayim) at the beginning of Ha Lachma Anya. [8]
Some Haggadot say K'Ha Lachma or Ha K'Lachma, [9] "This is like the bread of affliction", to indicate that the matzah at the Seder is only a replica of that which was eaten by the Israelites in Egypt. Professor David Daube suggests that the wording, “This is the bread” might be misread as a hint of the Christian doctrine of transubstantiation, so some texts altered it to “This is like the bread”. [10]
During the Magid portion of the Passover Seder, participants retell the story of the Exodus from Egypt. [11] The Magid begins with the uncovering and lifting of the matzah on the Seder table and the recitation of Ha Lachma Anya. [12] [13] The words Ha Lachma Anya are written in Aramaic, [14] and it begins with the proclamation that "this is the bread of affliction that our ancestors ate in Egypt". [15] This recitation is based on Deuteronomy 16:3, which states that "[y]ou shall eat unleavened bread, bread of 'ani' (distress) — for you departed from the land of Egypt hurriedly", and the recitation serves as "the first official explanation for matzah in the Hagaddah". [1]
Abravanel teaches that Ha Lachma Anya should be recited at the entrance to the house, with the door open, so that paupers can hear the invitation and enter". [6] Sol Scharfstein also notes that in times past, the head of the household would go out to the street to say Ha Lachma Anya, thus inviting poor people to join him at the Seder. [16]
Anisfeld, Mohr, and Spector have suggested that Ha Lachma Anya adds "a sense of immediacy and urgency to our telling" of the story of the Exodus, and that the recitation "establishes the intimacy of our connection to the ancient Israelites" because participants in the Seder will "eat the same bread they ate" and will "experience the taste and texture of their lives as slaves". [15] Zion and Dishon have also suggested that the reference to matzah in Ha Lachma Anya "is a memorial not of liberation, but of slavery". [1] Isaacs and Scharfstein have also stated that the process of beginning the Magid by looking at matzah "is a visual reminder of events in Egypt" and that the Ha Lachma Anya "also stresses the importance of opening one's house to the poor and sharing one's meals with them, because it is through such generosity that one can aspire to redemption". [14] [16]
| Aramaic [17] | Transliteration [18] | Translation [19] |
|---|---|---|
הָא לַחְמָא עַנְיָא דִי אֲכָלוּ אַבְהָתָנָא בְּאַרְעָא דְמִצְרָיִם. כָּל דִכְפִין יֵיתֵי וְיֵיכֹל, כָּל דִצְרִיךְ יֵיתֵי וְיִפְסַח. הָשַׁתָּא הָכָא, לְשָׁנָה הַבָּאָה בְּאַרְעָא דְיִשְׂרָאֵל. הָשַׁתָּא עַבְדֵי, לְשָׁנָה הַבָּאָה בְּנֵי חוֹרִין. | Ha lachma anya di achalu avhatana b’ara d’mitzrayim. Kol dichfin yeitei v’yeichol, kol ditzrich yeitei v’yifsach. Hashata hacha, l’shanah habaah b’ara d’Yisrael. Hashata avdei, l’shanah habaah b’nei chorin. | This is the bread of affliction that our ancestors ate in the land of Egypt. All those who are hungry, let them enter and eat. All who are in need, let them come celebrate the Passover. Now we are here. Next year in the land of Israel. This year we are enslaved. Next year we will be free. |
Matzah, matzo, or maẓẓah is an unleavened flatbread that is part of Jewish cuisine and forms an integral element of the Passover festival, during which chametz is forbidden.
Passover ; Biblical Hebrew: חַג הַפֶּסַח, romanized: Ḥag haPesaḥ) is a major Jewish holiday, one of the three pilgrimage festivals, that celebrates the Biblical story of the Israelites' escape from slavery in Egypt. Pesach starts on the 15th day of the Hebrew month of Nisan which is considered the first month of the Hebrew year. The Hebrew calendar is adjusted to align with the solar calendar in such a way that 15 Nisan always coincides with Sunday, Tuesday, Thursday, or Saturday. The Hebrew day starts and ends at sunset, so the holiday starts at sunset the day before. For example, in 2023, 15 Nisan coincides with Thursday April 6. Therefore, Pesach starts at sundown Wednesday April 5. The word Pesach or Passover can also refer to the Korban Pesach, the paschal lamb that was offered when the Temple in Jerusalem stood; to the Passover Seder, the ritual meal on Passover night; or to the Feast of Unleavened Bread. One of the biblically ordained Three Pilgrimage Festivals, Passover is traditionally celebrated in the Land of Israel for seven days and for eight days among many Jews in the Diaspora, based on the concept of yom tov sheni shel galuyot. In the Bible, the seven-day holiday is known as Chag HaMatzot, the feast of unleavened bread (matzah).
The Passover Seder is a ritual feast at the beginning of the Jewish holiday of Passover. It is conducted throughout the world on the eve of the 15th day of Nisan in the Hebrew calendar. The day falls in late March or in April of the Gregorian calendar; Passover lasts for seven days in Israel and eight days outside Israel. Jews traditionally observe one seder if in Israel and two if in the Jewish diaspora. The Seder is a ritual involving a retelling of the story of the liberation of the Israelites from slavery in ancient Egypt, taken from the Book of Exodus (Shemot) in the Torah. The Seder itself is based on the Biblical verse commanding Jews to retell the story of the Exodus from Egypt: "You shall tell your child on that day, saying, 'It is because of what the LORD did for me when I came out of Egypt.'" At the seder, Jews read the text of the Haggadah, an ancient Tannaitic work. The Haggadah contains the narrative of the Israelite exodus from Egypt, special blessings and rituals, Talmudic commentaries, and Passover songs.
The Haggadah is a Jewish text that sets forth the order of the Passover Seder. According to Jewish practice, reading the Haggadah at the Seder table is a fulfillment of the mitzvah to each Jew to tell their children the story from the Book of Exodus about God bringing the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt, with a strong hand and an outstretched arm.
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Over the matza and the second cup of wine, we tell of the Exodus in answer to children's questions.
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