A Post Script to Ha Lachma Anya

A Postscript to Ha Lachma Anya

K'ha lachma anya, we have seen, is invitation to join the family for the celebration of Passover. Are there limits or boundaries in who should be invited? The following explanation of Ha Lachma Anya is not pleasant or something we might agree with today, but it is part of the commentary, so I am including it here. Remember that he is writing at the height of the emancipation in Germany and at a time when Non-Orthodox forms of Judaism were beginning to flourish In Germany. Also, Jews were living and interacting with their non-Jewish neighbors. Rabbi Bondi has just finished speaking about the importance of hospitality but he now places limits on who can and should be invited to one's Seder. Jews who deny Judaism should not be invited to partake of the Seder. No doubt, members of his community had family who had become Reform Jews or had become assimilated into German Society. Some might have actually converted to Christianity, for convenience sake. For Rabbi Bondi, they had no place at the family table on Passover night.

אך כוונת הך פיסקא דכהא לחמא שאף שצריך להזמין בביתו אורחים לאכול עמו עכ''ז מוזהר שלא להזמין אלו אורחים מבני עמינו הכופרים  או לאורחים שאינם מב"ע ומאחר שהיו בגלות בבל ולא יכלו לומר כן בפירוש מפני סכנה לכן הטמינו זאת ברמז ותקנו בזה הלשון סתם כל דכפין ייתי ויכול ושלא יטעה השומע בכוונתם לכן אמרו די אכלו אבהתנא והיינו בני ישראל אשר גם אבותיו היו במצרים ואכלו זה הלחם

עוני לאפוקי שלא מבני עמנו גם שלא לטעות כמו שמסרבים גם הכופרים לכן אמר וכל דיצריך ייתי ויפסח וזהו לא שייך בכופרים כי מקרא מלא דבר זאת חקח הפסח כל בן נכר לא יאכל בו ואחד ישראל שנתנכרו מעשיו ואחד גוי במשמע. אך השתא הכא בגלות בבל וצריך להסתיר הדבר לא לומר בפירוש אבל לשנה הבאה בארעא דישראל נוכל לומר בפירוש כל דכפין מישראל ואם תקשה התינח בגלות בבל היו מוכרחים להסחיר הדבר בסוד אבל עתה אין אנחנו עוד דבבל ולמה לא נאמר בפירוש ועוד האיך יאמרו בני ישראל היושבים בא"י בזה הנוסח השתא הכא לשנה הבאה בארעא דישראל הלא גם עכשיו הם בא"י אכן נוכל לומר הא לן והא להו. השתא הכא, לבני בבל, השחא

עבדי לבני א"י ודו''ק ולגבי דידן בוודאי נוכל לומר שתיהן כי אנחנו בח"ל ואכתי עבדי אנן וק''ל.

Translation

Even though the purpose of the passage, K'ha lachma anya, was to invited guests into ones home for the Seder meal, one should be cautious not to invite Jewish guests who have denied their faith or gentile guests. Because this passage was added to the Seder while the Jewish people were living in Babylonia, they could not say this explicitly; it was dangerous to do so. Therefore, they only alluded to it. They decreed that the person should simply say, "All who are hungry come and eat;" so the listener wouldn’t misunderstand his intentions, first they would say, "Which our ancestors ate." That is, the invitation was only for fellow Jews whose ancestors were in the land of Egypt and who ate the bread of affliction.  It was meant to exclude anyone who was not a co-religionist. Also, so as not to mislead those who heard the invitation, they said, "All who need to observe the Passover…" excluding those who rejected the faith of their ancestors. That is why they said, "All who need to observe the Passover."  

The passage, "All who need to observe the Passover…" need not refer to those who deny the faith since we have an explicit verse that excludes them from participating in the Passover Seder: "This is the law of the Passover offering. No stranger shall eat of it." (Exodus 12:43) This applies both to Jews who are alienated from their faith and to non-Jews. 

The passage goes on: "Now we are here" in the of Babylonian exile and we cannot say this explicitly; "But next year we will be in the land of Israel," where we can say, "All who, among the Jewish people, who are hungry…"

It was in Babylonia  that our ancestors were forced to hide their true sentiments about who was invited to the Seder. So why can't we say what we think more explicitly now that we are no longer in Babylonia? 

Also, what do the final words of this passage mean for those who are already living in the land of Israel?  How can they say, "Next year may we be in the land of Israel." One of the final two passages applies to those living in the land of Israel and the other to those who are not in the land of Israel.  Those in the exile say, "Now we are here; next year in the land of Israel." Those in Israel say, "Now we are slaves; next year may we be free." 

For us today (living in the Diaspora) both statements are relevant: Next year may we be free and in the land of Israel.