02 Apr WHO READS THE HAGGADAH?

I. Three Seder Practices
Generally speaking,
when it comes to the
Pesach Seder, people
know the details of their
own family’s practices
but not those of many
other families. From conversation, they
might know what different people eat for
marror but not necessarily when they stand
and sit, how they engage in conversation, in
what format they conduct the Seder. In an
informal survey, I have found three ways in
which families read the Maggid section of the
Haggadah. In some families, only one person
reads the text — the Seder leader, usually a
grandfather or father — and everyone else
listens quietly and follows along in the text.
In other families, the Seder leader reads the
whole text while everyone else reads along
together, albeit in a quieter tone. And in some
families, people take turns reading from the
Haggadah. This all reflects a halachic debate.
However, the Gemara seems to imply only
one of these practices. When discussing
whether a blind man is obligated to say the
Haggadah, the Gemara (Pesachim 116b) says
that they asked the Rav Yosef’s students who
said the Haggadah in his home and the students
answered that Rav Yosef said it, even though
he was blind. Similarly with Rav Sheishes,
who was also blind. It seems to have been the
practice that one person read the Haggadah
for everyone at the Seder. Rashbam (ad loc.,
s.v. ke’ein) and Tosafos (Megillah 19b, s.v.
ve-Rabbi Yehudah) say that Rav Yosef and
Rav Sheishes were fulfilling the mitzvah for
others (being motzi them).
This would imply that it is proper for the
Seder leader to read the text while everyone
else follows along silently. And, indeed, the
Vilna Gaon (Ma’aseh Rav 191) and Rav
Shneur Zalman of Liadi (Shulchan Aruch
Ha-Rav 473:24) say that one person reads
the Haggadah and fulfills the mitzvah for
everyone listening. Rav Shneur Zalman
offers a reason for the practice.
II. One For All
The general rule is that when people can
fulfill a mitzvah together, that is better than
each individual doing the mitzvah alone.
“Be-rov am hadras melech,” the King is
glorified in a larger crowd. For example,
all other things being equal, it is better to
pray with a large group than a small group
(Mishnah Berurah 90:28). Similarly, when
multiple people need to recite a blessing, it is
better for one person to say the blessing out
loud and everyone else to listen and answer
“Amen” than for everyone to say the blessing
on their own (Mishnah Berurah 213:17). For
this reason, Rav Shneur Zalman says that it is
best for the Seder leader to read for everyone
and fulfill the obligation for them while they
listen.
Rav Avigdor Nebenzahl, in his Haggadah
commentary (Yerushalayim Be-Mo’adeha,
Pesach, pp. 56-57), says that those who
observe this practice — that the Seder
leader reads for everyone — should have
intent (kavanah) for the reader to fulfill the
obligation for (be motzi) those listening and
the listeners to fulfill their obligation through
the leader. But he also notes a different
practice, in which everyone reads along
quietly with the leader. If it is clear from the
Gemara, commentators and codes that it is
best for one person to read the Haggadah,
why would this other practice emerge?
Rav Yosef Karo (Beis Yosef, Orach Chaim
183) quotes Medieval authorities who say
that with long blessings, it is best for each
person to recite the blessings along with the
leader. Rav Tzidkiyahu Ha-Rofei (Shibbolei
Ha-Leket 39) quotes Rav Avigdor who says
this with regard to the grave after meals.
Similarly, Rabbeinu Peretz (quoted in
Orechos Chaim) says that everyone should
recite the grace after the meal quietly because
it is very hard to focus on someone else’s
recitation of a long blessing. Rav Ya’akov
Ben Asher (Tur, Orach Chaim 59) quotes a
responsum by his father, Rabbeinu Asher
(Rosh), that similarly even if the prayer
leader says the blessings before Shema
out loud, each individual should the
blessings on their own because you cannot
concentrate for so long on every single
word that someone else is saying.
III. All For One
This would seem to be a good reason
for everyone to read the Haggadah
quietly with the Seder leader. Indeed,
we find some authorities recommending
this practice. Rav Shmuel Kamenetsky
(Kovetz Halachos, Pesach 26:18) says
that despite the implications of the
Gemara and later authorities, it is best
for everyone to read the Haggadah along
with the leader, although he does not
explain why. In footnote 21, the editor
quotes Rav Yosef Shalom Elyashiv who
likewise recommends that everyone read
the Haggadah. Perhaps their reasoning
follows the above logic.
However, this was anticipated by the
author of Seder Ke-Hilchaso (quoted in
Ma’aseh Rav, Jerusalem 1987 edition,
sec. 191 n. 17). He offers two responses
to this objection. First, the Gemara
(Megillah 25b) says that even though we
normally say that people cannot hear two
voices at once, Megillah is different. You
can fulfill your obligation by listening to
one of multiple readings going on at the
same time because people enjoy it and
can focus on a reading. Similarly, the
same can be said about the Haggadah and
therefore people can pay attention for a
long time. Additionally, blessings have many
parts that if you miss any of them, you do
not fulfill your obligation. The Haggadah is
different. You can miss almost all of it, you
can space out or doze off, and still fulfill your
obligation. Some parts are required but very
few. Therefore, it is easy to pay attention to
the bare minimum of the Haggadah. (Rav
Nebenzahl, ibid., adds that even according to
this practice, everyone should say Hallel on
their own.)
Perhaps this second explanation also helps
us understand the practice of those who take
turns reading the Haggadah. If the reader
fulfills the obligation for everyone, then it
only has to be one reader at a time. Different
people can read different passages to which
everyone listens. Rav Ya’akov Ariel (Ohalei
Halachah, Pesach, p. 104) is concerned
that people might get bored and space
out. Therefore, he recommends that either
everyone read togetherat the same time or
people take turns. This engages everyone in
the mitzvah of telling the story of the Exodus.
However, there is a view that women
have only a rabbinic obligation to read
the Haggadah while men have a biblical
obligation (see Pri Megadim, Eshel Avraham
479:2). While others disagree about women,
everyone agrees that a child has at most
a rabbinic obligation. Most parts of the
Haggadah are not obligatory and if you
miss them, you still fulfill your obligation.
Therefore, perhaps it is best that a man (or the
Seder leader) read the key Haggadah passages
(Avadim Hayinu and Rabban Gamliel Hayah
Omer) or that everyone read those passages
quietly along with the main reader (Halichos
Shlomo, ch. 9 n. 214).
Every family has their own ways of doing
things. May we continue celebrating Pesach
according to our family customs, while eating
the korban Pesach in a fully rebuilt Jerusalem