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these 3 things at Pesach (seder) has not
fulfilled the obligation: Pesach (the lamb offering); Matza; & Maror.
Of course, we know that these three rituals
formed the basis of Chag HaPesach. Today, because
we have not yet rebuilt the Bet HaMikdash, only
the eating of Matza remains a Torah Mitzva among
the three; the Maror is a Rabbinic commandment, &
we have no lamb offering at all (Magid,
re-telling the story of the Exodus, is the only
other Torah Mitzva still in force).
Yet it seems strange that the Ba’alei Hagada
placed Maror at the end of the sequence! I would
have thought that Maror would have preceded the
other items. After all, historically &
chronologically speaking, we first endured the
bitterness of Egyptian servitude for more than a
century (117 years, to be exact) & only then did
we go & prepare the Matza & partake of the lamb
offering! The message should have been: struggle
through the hard times & you will merit to live a life of prosperity & peace.
Furthermore, at the Seder itself, the order of
eating was Matza-Maror-Pesach (lamb). So what is
the idea of placing Maror at the end of the process?!
Rav Shimshon Rafael Hirsch comments that it is
davka the suffering & the self-sacrifices we
make, in order to fulfill Hashem’s decrees, that
"validates" our adherence to Mitzvot. Quoting
Rashbi in Gemara Brachot, he says that the 3 most
important things we are given – Torah, Eretz
Yisrael & Olam Haba – are only attained &
acquired via yisurin, hardship. Mesirat Nefesh is the litmus test.
And so, when judging as to whether or not we
deserve these gifts & their rewards, G-d looks at
how we related to them: Did we learn Torah only
when it was convenient, accessible or
comfortable? Or did we go to shiurim in all kinds
of weather, sweat over a tough Tosfot, take out
valuable time from our hectic schedule to study?
Did we come to Israel - & stay in Israel! – when
the going was tough, when our salaries were
lowered, when our family begged us to stay back;
& did we live a life directed to a higher cause;
often giving up some of our "creature comforts;"
trading temporal life for eternal life?
The final verdict hinges on how we reacted to the
bitter experiences that life threw, or throws at
us; that will be the truest barometer of just how
devoted we are, & were, to the ideals Hashem
requests or demands of us. Maror, then, is the
"bottom line." It is our determination to "do the
right thing" in the very bitterest of moments
that is telling; & that is what will turn that every Maror into sweet reward.
