Kiddush and Leaning

Kiddush and Leaning:

Have I been a wilderness to Israel?

בעל הבית צריך הסיבה בשתיית כוס של קידוש וטעם הסיבה כתבו שהיא דרך חירות כן דרך בני המלכים להסב, עוד טעם נראה לי שהיא לזכרון יציאת מצרים כדאיתא במד''ר סדר במדבר פ' א' אמר הקב"ה לישראל על שאמרתם למשה למה העליתנו ממצרים המדבר הייתי לישראל, וכי כמדבר עשיתי עמהם בנוהג שבעולם מב''ו שיצא למדבר שמא מוצא הוא שם שלוה, כשם שהיה מוצא בפלטין שלוה או אכילה או שתיה ואתם הייתם עבדים למצרים והוצאתי אתכם משם, והרבצתי אתכם בסיגמטין ר"ל מטות מכובדות שנאמר ויסב אלק' את העם דרך המדבר מהו ויסב שהרביצם כדרכי המלכים רבוצים על מטותיהם. ועל כן גם אנחנו רבוצים בהסיבה בליל פסח על מטות מכובדות לזכר יציאת מצרים:

טעם דלא מקדשין בבהכ"כ בלילי פסח, משום דבשארי שבתות ויו''ט מקדשין בבהכ"כ הטעס להוציא עניים ילי חובתן, משא"כ בליל פסח אפי' עני הנוטל מן התמחוי חייב בד' כוסות וכוס קידוש הוא אחד מהם ויהיה הקידוש בבהכ"נ שלא לצורך.

כתב רבינו שלמה זצ"ל אל תתמה על מה שאין אנו מברכים שעשה ניסים בליל פסח כמו שאנו מברכים בנסי חנוכה ופורים שהרי מסדר והולך בסוף ההגדה למי שעשה לנו ולאבותינו את כל הנסים  האלה:

The head of the household should lean (heseibah) when drinking the cup of wine for Kiddush. The reason for leaning is that this is the manner of freedom; it is also the manner of royalty to lean. Leaning also reminds us of the Exodus as we learn in Bemidbar Rabbah 1:2, "The Holy One said to Israel, You said to Moses: 'Why have you taken us from Egypt? Have I been a wilderness to Israel?' (Jer. 2:31) Ordinarily when a person leaves a palace, is he likely to find relaxation as he found peace, or food or drink in the palace. Yet you were slave to the Egyptians and I took you out of there and gave you a place to rest on a sigmata, that is on a luxurious couch, as is written: "God led the people round about (vayaseiv) by way of the wilderness." (Ex. 13:18) What is vayaseiv? It means 'to cause to lie down' in the way of royalty who recline on their couches. So too, we recline on the night of Passover on luxurious couches as a reminder of the Exodus.

We do not recite the Kiddush in synagogue on the eve of Passover as we do on the eve of the Sabbath and all other holidays. We do it on these other occasion in order to allow the needy to fulfill their obligation of hearing Kiddush. This is not an issue on the eve of Passover when the community is obligated to provide enough wine for the poor for the four cups of wine. Kiddush is one of the four cups of wine - so Kiddush in synagogue is not necessary.

Rabbi Shlomo writes: One should not be surprised that we do not recite the blessing "Who performed miracles" on Passover eve as we do in commemoration of the miracles of Chanukah and Purim. Later in the recitation we say, 'Therefore it is our duty to thank…for the one who did all these miracles for our fathers and for us."  

Commentary: It is customary to lean to the left when drinking the four cups of wine, eating matzah and eating the greens during the seder. The commentary connects the word for leaning, heseibah with the word vayaseiv in Exodus 13:18. God led the people round about - vayaseiv -when He took them out of Egypt. Both words appear to come from the same Hebrew root. Further, the Midrash connects these words with a verse from Jeremiah in which God chastises the people "O Generation behold the word of the Lord! Have I been a dessert to Israel or like a land of deep gloom? Then why do My people say: We w have broken loose and we will not come to You anymore." (Jeremiah 2:31) This verse alludes to the story of the Exodus in which the people of Israel constantly complain to Moses about conditions in the wilderness. Jeremiah is talking about the people of his generation who are also rebellious. The Midrash brings the verse back to the original allusion. God took the people of Israel to the wilderness but rather than taking the people to a place of deprivation he seated them on a luxurious couch and provided them with all their needs. Note that it is always helpful to go back and find the verse in its original context to understand how the author is now using the verse. A sigmata is a Greek word for a semicircular shaped couch used for leaning during a meal. Leaning was a common practice at Greco-roman banquets - this was the basis for our seder custom.  Its name comes from the Greek letter Sigma! It is not uncommon to find Greek words in the Talmud and in rabbinic literature.

The only reason for reciting Kiddush in synagogue is to allow those who were using the synagogue as a place to sleep to hear the blessing. On Passover eve, everyone should have a place to participate in the seder or sufficient wine to fulfill their obligation.

When we read the Megillah and light the candles we recite a special blessing commemorating the miracles that took place on this occasion: "Praised are you…who performed miracles for our ancestors in those days and at this time." Like many other commentators, Rabbi Bondi wonders why we don’t say this blessing on Passover. He suggests that the reason was that we recite a passage similar to the blessing at just before the second cup of wine. Look in your Haggadah and see if you can find it!