The Bread of Miserliness

Lechem Oni

The Bread of Miserliness

לפרש הלשון בארעא דמצרים ולא אמר כד נפקו ממצרים. שמעתי מאא''ז הגאון מר''ה א"נ הערץ שייער זצ''ל להמשיך כל הפסקא , דאיתא בזה"ק בפסוק אל תלחם לחם רע עין, באחי יוסף הכתוב מדבר בשביל שנהנו מסעודת יוסף הצדיק במצרים והמצריים היו רעי עין ע'כ נענשו שהיו בגלות מצרים והנה לחם רע עין נקרא לחם עני לזאת מרמז כהא לחמא עניא די אכלו אבהתנא ר"ל השבטים בארעא דמצרים בסעודת יוסף וזאת היתה הגרם שהמצרים ג''כ האכילונו לחם עוני וגם היום עדיין אנו אוכלים לחם עוני לזכרון זאת אבל באמת אנו צריכים לתקן מה שחטאו אבותינו. ואנו מראין בזה שאנחנו אינם נוהגין מדת רע עין. כי טבע הרע עין כשמסרב עני לסעוד אצלו מראה לעני  שרוצה שיאכל עמו ואמור לו פעם אחד אכול עמי. וטבע העני לסרהב עצמו בפעם ראשון ואז הרע עין אינו מפציר ממנו עוד הפעם כי יראי פן באמת יאכול אצלו והוא צר עין לכן ירף ממנו ולבו שמח כשמעו מהעני שאינו רוצה וזהו גניבת דעת ומדת רע עין, לא כן מדת

ישראל רחמנים בני רחמנים אנו מסרהבין הענ י בטוב לב וכשהעני מסרב בפעם ראשון אזי מפציר לו עוד הפעם עד שהעני יאכל עמו ע''כ גם אנו אומרים בכפל לשון כל דכפין וכל דצריך שאנחנו מסרבין את העני בלב טוב ובשמחה לא כמדת רע עין. ובכוח זה אף אם השתא הכא נזכה לשנה הבאה בירושלים בארעא דישראל בזכוח הצדקה שאנחנו עושים בשמחה ובתמים כדכחיב ציון במשפט תפדה ושביו בצדקה דפח"ח. ומהאי טעמא נראה לי תקנו הך פסקא בבבל ומתחיל בגנות במצרים אכלו לחם עוני וכ' ומסיים בשבח לשנה  הבאה בני חורין :

Translation:

Why does the Haggadah say, "(This is the bread of poverty which our ancestors ate) in the land of Egypt" instead of "(This is the bread of poverty which our ancestors ate) when they left Egypt?" I learned the following explanation from my grandfather, Rabbi Abraham Naphtali Hertz Sheier. The Zohar explains that the verse, "Do not eat of a stingy man's bread," (Proverbs 23:6) applies to Joseph's brothers. The Egyptians were resentful of them because they were invited to eat at Joseph's table during the years of famine. (They were resentful of Joseph and his brothers for not sharing the great wealth of Egypt.) And so, the Egyptians punished them during the exile by feeding them Lechem ra ayin, "a stingy man's bread." Another term for this is lechem oni.   We hint at this explanation when we say, "This is like the lechem oni, the miserly bread, which our ancestors at in the land of Egypt." That is, when the tribes were in Egypt at Joseph's table. (The miserliness of Joseph's brothers) caused the Egyptians to feed us lechem oni. Today we eat lechem oni as a reminder of what happened in Egypt.  We must repair our ancestors' sin, and show that we do not act in a miserly fashion. By behaving with hospitality and generosity, we show that we are no longer miserly. 

A miserly person invites the needy person to his table but extends the invitation only once. He knows that the needy tend to turn down such an invitation. The miser says nothing more because he is afraid that if he asks again, the poor person might accept the invitation. He is happy when he hears that the needy person has turned down his invitation - his actions are really deceptive and miserly. 

This is not the Jewish way. Jews are a compassionate people, children of compassionate people. They coax the needy person to join them at the dinner table. When the needy person turns down the invitation, they asks again and again until he agrees to join the meal. That is why, the language of this passage is doubled: "All who are hungry come and eat; all who are needy come celebrate the Passover." Similarly, we need to coax the needy person with a generous heart and joyfully.

"Now we are here," in exile but (but by showing generosity and hospitality) "next year we will be in Jerusalem in the Land of Israel." It is through the merit of Tzedakah joyfully and purely performed that we will be redeemed, as it is written, "Zion shall be redeemed through justice and her repentant ones through tzedakah." (Is. 1:27) The words of his mouth are truly fine. It is for  this reason that the sages decreed that this passage should be in Aramaic, and that it should begin with disgrace, "In Egypt they ate the bread of miserliness," and that it should end with praise, "Next year may we be free."

Explanation:

Lechem Oni first appears in Deuteronomy 16:3. In the NJPS translation it is translated as "the bread of distress." It is translated in a variety of other ways: the bread of affliction, poor bread and the bread of persecution. Rabbi Bondi understands this expression in a different way: "miserly bread." He  connects it to the story of Joseph. Having brought his family down to Egypt during the years of famine, Joseph allowed Jacob and his family to eat at his table. While other people were impoverished by Joseph's economic policies, the children of Israel lived in comfort. It is no wonder that the Egyptians resented Jacob and his family. When Joseph and his brothers died, the Egyptians took vengeance on them and impoverished them, feeding them "miserly bread" as payback for the years of poverty the people of Egypt endured during the famine.

This was the sin to which Rabbi Bondi refers. It is now our obligation to 'repair' the sin committed in Egypt by being especially generous and hospitable in our dealings with others. Rabbi Bondi distinguishes Jewish hospitality from that of their neighbors (we might take exception with this judgment of Jews and gentiles). The Jewish way is not simply to invite someone and leave it at that. One should coax them until they agree to come; one must do so with a joyful heart.   

Thus when we say, "This is the lechem oni which our ancestors ate in the land of Egypt, we are reminded both of Israel's sin in not being generous in their dealings with Egypt and the way in which the Egyptians punished them  for their miserliness. It is a reminder to redeem the world through justice and tzedakah by sharing with others.