27 Mar PESACH: BITTERNESS AND KINDNESS

Toward the end
of Maggid – the
main section of the
Haggadah, when
we discuss Yesiat
Misrayim in fulfillment
of the obligation to
speak about the miraculous Exodus from Egypt
on this night – we cite a Halachic ruling of
Rabban Gamliel regarding the obligation of
the Seder. Rabban Gamliel stated that one must
discuss at the Seder the meaning of the Korban
Pesach, the Masa, and the Marror, and if one does
not, then he does not fulfill his obligation. At my
Seder, when we reach this point, I make sure
that everyone who had left the table – such as
the women arranging the food in the kitchen –
returns to the table, and that this passage is read
in both in Hebrew and English, so that it will be
clearly understood by all.
One of the questions that arise regarding this
section is its sequence. Rabban Gamliel lists the
three Misvot which must be discussed in the order
of Pesach, Masa and Marror. Seemingly, this
order is incorrect; the Marror should be discussed
first. After all, the Marror commemorates the
bitterness of slavery, whereas the Korban Pesach
commemorates the miraculous plague of the
firstborn on the night of Yesiat Misrayim, and
the Masa commemorates our ancestors’ hasty,
frantic departure from Egypt. Quite obviously,
Beneh Yisrael first experienced the bitterness of
slavery, and then the miracle of the plague of the

firstborn. The correct order, therefore, should be
Marror, Pesach, Masa. Why did Rabban Gamliel
move the Marror to the end of the list?
To answer this question, we need to revisit the
meaning and significance of the Marror.
The Gemara instructs that the best option for
Marror is “Hasa,” which we call Romaine
lettuce. Although this lettuce is not particularly
bitter, it is the preferred choice because of its
name – “Hasa” which alludes to the fact that
“Has Ha’Kadosh Baruch Hu Alenu” – Hashem
had mercy and compassion upon us.
This seems very strange. If the entire purpose of
the Marror is to remind us of the “bitterness,” the
pain and suffering that our ancestors endured,
then why would we associate the Marror with
compassion? Hashem’s compassion was shown
at the time of Yesiat Misrayim, not during the
years of bitterness. Why, then, do we want the
name of the vegetable used for Marror to allude
to Hashem’s mercy?
The answer is that, indeed, the “bitterness” of
slavery was an expression of Hashem’s mercy
and compassion.
To understand how, let us consider an analogy to
mortgage payments. A person with a mortgage
can choose different payment plans. One
possibility is to pay small, relatively easy sums
each month, for a lengthy period of time. But he
could also choose to “tighten his belt,”, cutting
back on other expenses so he can afford to pay
more of his debt each month. This way, he is
able to get out of debt faster.

For reasons we do not fully understand,
Hashem had told Abraham Abinu that his
descendants would endure a 400-year period
of slavery. However, Hashem saw that Beneh
Yisrael would not survive such a lengthy period
of exile. Beneh Yisrael were submerged in the
impurity of Egypt, and had they remained there
for 400 years, they would have plummeted
to the lowest depths, from which they could
not recover. Hashem therefore decided to
increase the “monthly payments,” so-to-speak,
by intensifying the workload, so they could
leave 190 years early – after just 210 years of
slavery. The suffering the people endured during
those 210 years amounted to the suffering they
were to have experienced over the course of 400
years of bondage.
It turns out, then, that the “bitterness” was a
crucial component of the redemption from
Egypt. Beneh Yisrael were able to leave Egypt
only because they suffered not only exile, but
“bitterness,” such that 400 years’ worth of exile
was condensed into 210 years. Had this not
happened, they could never have been redeemed.
This easily explains why we eat “Hasa” as our
Marror – because the bitterness commemorated
by the Marror was indeed a manifestation of
Hashem’s boundless kindness and compassion
for His beloved nation.
With this in mind, we can return to Rabban
Gamliel’s statement. He listed “Pesach, Masa,
Marror” in this sequence because it was only after
the “Pesach” and the “Masa” that Beneh Yisrael

understood the nature of
the “Marror.” While they
were suffering, everything
appeared “bitter.” But later,
in retrospect, after they left
Egypt, they understood
that the bitterness of those 210 years allowed
them to “pay” their “debt” more quickly, which
was critical for their survival as a people. We
therefore discuss first the Korban Pesach and
Masa, the redemption from Egypt, and then
we are in a position to properly understand
the Marror, the indispensable role played by
the “bitterness” of slavery in the process of
redemption.
This might also be the reason why we dip the
Marror in the sweet Haroset – to symbolize the
fact that the bitterness of slavery was actually
“sweet,” as it ensured our ancestors’ survival
and eventual redemption.
This is something we must remember during our
own “bitter” periods, when we face challenges
and hardship. At the moment, we see nothing
“sweet” or beneficial about the difficult situation
that we are experiencing. But we must trust that
this “Marror,” as “bitter” as it feels, is actually to
our benefit. As regarding our ancestors’ bondage
in Egypt, Hashem is acting kindly toward us
even when we endure hardship. This belief helps
us remain strong and confident even in life’s
more challenging moments, as we will trust that
everything we are going through is, in truth, to
our benefit.