וַיֹּאמְר֥וּ הָעֵצִ֖ים לַתְּאֵנָ֑ה לְכִי־אַ֖תְּ מָלְכִ֥י עָלֵֽינוּ׃
И деревья сказали смоковнице: иди ты и царствуй над нами.
Naftali Seva Ratzon
Shulchan Orech, Tafun, Barech, Hallel Nirtzah: The order of events at the Seder can be understood based on the statement in Talmud: At the end of Yom Kippur, people would face in the direction of the burning alter (in the northern part of the Temple) so that they would be blessed with abundant grain; they would then face in the direction of the menorah (in the southern part of the Temple) so that they would be blessed with ample fruit.117Talmud Yoma In this statement we do not specifically say wheat and grapes, but rather all types of grain and all fruits, as we see in other statements where wheat and grapes are a reference to all grains and fruits. Similarly, in the time of the Temple, the people would bring an omer of barley to the Temple on Passover so that all the grain production of that year should be blessed, and they would bring an offering of bread on Shavuot so that all the fruit of the coming year should be blessed as well. These offering would bring down the abundance and divine blessings from above.
Nowadays since we don’t have a Temple and an altar, the dinner table has become our altar. The offerings which we put out on the table bring the divine blessings from above. The wheat for matzah and the grapes for the wine are now our offerings. This is hinted at the poem which we sing at the beginning of the Seder and the order of events which take place on this night. We say, through the table that was set (in the Temple and now in our home) that was in the tzafon118The word tzafon, north, is a play on tzafun, hidden – the word we use for the afikomen., the northern part of the Temple precincts, and that we now enact through the afikomen (tzafun), may we be blessed, barech, with abundant food from God in the coming year! And Hallel, Nirtzah means, as we recite the Hallel service over a cup of wine, may our offering be accepted (Nirtzah) so that we are blessed with an abundant year of fruit and food! The Talmud says that songs were only sung in the Temple at the time of the libations, the pouring of a wine offering on the altar. Similarly, the Talmud says that one who wishes to offer a wine libation should fill his throat with the songs of scholars; thus when we drink a cup of wine at the Seder it is like a libation.
While we’re on the subject, let’s look at a related matter. The sages tell us that we only sing songs of praise when we offer a wine libation.119Talmud Arachin This is based on a verse: “And the vine said to them: Should I leave my wine, which cheers God and man, and go to hold sway over the trees?”120Judges 9:10 Now this verse suggests that wine cheers both human beings and God, but the Talmud asks – in what way does wine cheer God? The answer is – it cheers God because we sing songs of praise to God when we drink wine and offer libations. And yet elsewhere in the Talmud we find a very different point of view. We are told that Jews find joy on the festivals not in wine but in meat, for men, and in fine clothing for women. It was only after the Temple was destroyed and there were no longer peace offerings that wine became the primary form of religious joy and celebration for us. This would suggest that the two forms of joy are independent and separate from one another – contradicting the verse above which says that God and man both rejoice in wine. In other words, in the time of the Temple, Jews rejoiced in the peace offering but God rejoiced in the offering of libations; after the Temple was destroyed Jews rejoiced in the drinking of wine but since the Temple had been destroyed and there were no offerings and no libations, how could God rejoice?
In the time of the Temple, however, the offering of the peace offering or any other animal offering was always accompanied by the offering of libations – so that God could rejoice in the singing of the Levites. So in fact the two always accompanied one another; when the peace offering was made the people also brought wine which would cause God to rejoice as well.
Nowadays since we don’t have a Temple and an altar, the dinner table has become our altar. The offerings which we put out on the table bring the divine blessings from above. The wheat for matzah and the grapes for the wine are now our offerings. This is hinted at the poem which we sing at the beginning of the Seder and the order of events which take place on this night. We say, through the table that was set (in the Temple and now in our home) that was in the tzafon118The word tzafon, north, is a play on tzafun, hidden – the word we use for the afikomen., the northern part of the Temple precincts, and that we now enact through the afikomen (tzafun), may we be blessed, barech, with abundant food from God in the coming year! And Hallel, Nirtzah means, as we recite the Hallel service over a cup of wine, may our offering be accepted (Nirtzah) so that we are blessed with an abundant year of fruit and food! The Talmud says that songs were only sung in the Temple at the time of the libations, the pouring of a wine offering on the altar. Similarly, the Talmud says that one who wishes to offer a wine libation should fill his throat with the songs of scholars; thus when we drink a cup of wine at the Seder it is like a libation.
While we’re on the subject, let’s look at a related matter. The sages tell us that we only sing songs of praise when we offer a wine libation.119Talmud Arachin This is based on a verse: “And the vine said to them: Should I leave my wine, which cheers God and man, and go to hold sway over the trees?”120Judges 9:10 Now this verse suggests that wine cheers both human beings and God, but the Talmud asks – in what way does wine cheer God? The answer is – it cheers God because we sing songs of praise to God when we drink wine and offer libations. And yet elsewhere in the Talmud we find a very different point of view. We are told that Jews find joy on the festivals not in wine but in meat, for men, and in fine clothing for women. It was only after the Temple was destroyed and there were no longer peace offerings that wine became the primary form of religious joy and celebration for us. This would suggest that the two forms of joy are independent and separate from one another – contradicting the verse above which says that God and man both rejoice in wine. In other words, in the time of the Temple, Jews rejoiced in the peace offering but God rejoiced in the offering of libations; after the Temple was destroyed Jews rejoiced in the drinking of wine but since the Temple had been destroyed and there were no offerings and no libations, how could God rejoice?
In the time of the Temple, however, the offering of the peace offering or any other animal offering was always accompanied by the offering of libations – so that God could rejoice in the singing of the Levites. So in fact the two always accompanied one another; when the peace offering was made the people also brought wine which would cause God to rejoice as well.