Can we sit at the Pesach Seder and speak of our unwavering faith in Hashem while doubts weigh on our shoulders? Can we wax poetic about His guidance when life has not unfolded as we had hoped?These weighty and even melancholy questions are addressed by the author of the Haggadah himself.
Before delving into the main section—where we present answers to The Four Sons and recount the story of Yetzias Mitzrayim (the Exodus from Egypt)—we recite the phrase:
“Baruch HaMakom, Baruch Hu—“Blessed is HaMakom (Hashem), blessed is He.”
Rabbi Shimon Schwab (“Rav Schwab on Prayer,” p. 549) highlights that the name HaMakom is typically associated with sorrowful moments, such as the expression of comfort to a mourner:
“HaMakom yinacheim eschem—May HaMakom comfort you.” Why, then, is this term used in the Haggadah?
Rabbi Schwab explains that the author of the Haggadah envisions people sitting at their Seder tables under less-than-ideal circumstances. Some may carry doubts; others may be grappling with unexpected challenges. Instead of ignoring these struggles or pretending the questions don’t exist, the Haggadah acknowledges them.
We begin with a powerful reminder: Even when we do not understand, HaMakom—Hashem, the Omnipresent—is with us.Where, then, do we turn for clarity? The Haggadah continues:
“Baruch she’Nasan Torah l’Amo Yisrael, Baruch Hu—Blessed is the One Who gave the Torah to His nation, Yisrael; blessed is He.”
The answers are in the Torah. Through learning, we deepen our understanding.
As we read in Tehillim (19:8):“Toras Hashem Temimah, Meshivas Nafesh—The Torah of Hashem is perfect; it restores the soul.”
Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch translates this to mean that the Torah is all-encompassing—it addresses the questions that burden the soul. Even if answers do not come immediately, the Torah is where we turn in our search.
How can we sit at the Seder with questions of faith? How can we engage in discussions of Emunah when we ourselves struggle? Perhaps the real question is—what else is there for us but to wrestle, to question and to seek?
Rabbi Noah Whittenburg is the Assistant Rabbi of Congregation Ahavas Achim in Highland Park, NJ and also teaches at Bruriah Yeshiva High School for Girls in Elizabeth, NJ. Previously he served as the assistant rabbi at Beth Jacob Congregation in San Diego, CA and as a rebbe at the Southern California Yeshiva High School. He was a Kollel Fellow in the Torah Mitzion Kollel at Yeshiva University, a Middle School Rebbe at the Rabbi Pesach Raymon Yeshiva in Edison, and a rabbinic intern at Congregation Eitz Chayim of Dogwood Park in West Hempstead and the Roslyn Synagogue in Roslyn.
