This teaching is one of the earliest values instilled in us as children and an anthem of our youth. Yet over time, what begins as a simple and essential lesson often fades, replaced by a growing focus on individual ownership and personal needs. 

Pesach is the archetypal intergenerational holiday, where we celebrate the continuity of the Jewish people from “generation to generation”, and gather amongst family and friends at our seder tables. It is on this sacred night that we renew our commitment to our responsibility to pursue sharing with others. 

In many ways, Maggid is the centerpiece of our seder nights and the holder of much of the intergenerational nature of the holiday. If Pesach is the holiday of the Jewish story and peoplehood, then Maggid acts as the storytelling anchor where we partake in the telling of the exodus story and signify our transformation into a collective nation. Yet, greeting us at the beginning is the peculiar passage of Ha Lachma Anya. 

“This is the bread of oppression our fathers ate in the land of Egypt. Let all who are hungry come in and eat; let all who are in need come and join us for the Pesah.”

Multiple questions come to mind about this passage. Why are we just now inviting others in after we have already begun, and not commence the whole seder with Ha Lachma Anya? Is this not an empty or meaningful declaration of hospitality? Why would we offer the supposed........

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