Having introduced a number of paradigms, both general and more detailed, we will now combine and integrate many of these ideas into a new paradigm: the Haggadah as a template for the history of the world – past, present and future. This paradigm is quite powerful and will serve to expand our horizons as we go through the fifteen steps of the Haggadah, lifting us up above temporal time in order to give us a prophetic view of where humanity is coming from and an actual experience of where we are going. Once again, we will go through all fifteen steps of the Seder to see how this paradigm unfolds, including a very short review of what happens ritually at each stage. For further explanation of each step, refer back to the fifteen steps of the Haggadah in the above paradigms of personal growth or soulmates.
A Note on Time and Experience in the Eternal Present
The pan-historical paradigm we have developed here is not just an intellectual exercise but is meant to be experienced during the Seder as we transcend time altogether in order to enter into a meta-historical mental space where all phases of time – past, present and future – are in essence happening simultaneously.
Beyond the possibilities of experiencing time as either linear, cyclical or as a spiral, there is a more Divine experience of time that is transcendent and above historical time altogether. This is the way God experiences time, for on a Divine level past, present and future all occur at once. An allusion to this is found in the four letters of God’s four-letter name which, when permuted, spell “being” (havayah). These same four letters can also be rearranged to spell the Hebrew words for past (hayah), present (hoveh), and future (yiheyeh). God is Being itself, transcending and including all times in the transcendental eternal now.
On Pesach night, according to the Arizal, God not only “passed over” (Passover) the Israelite houses marked with blood on the doorposts, but also “passed over” the usual (gradual/linear) manner that Divine light descends into the lower worlds. This “quantum” energy is electrically tangible on Seder night for those spiritually attuned. Along with this infinite light comes the opportunity to plug into a Divine experience of time where all history is reenacted through the fifteen steps of the Seder.
1&2&3) Kadesh U’Rchatz and Karpas – Sanctifying the day, washing our hands in water (without a blessing), and eating Karpas all allude to the utopian state of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. Kadesh and Urchatz respectively represent their initial state of inherent holiness and purity, while Karpas symbolizes the natural bucolic and idyllic utopian setting of the Garden of Eden. The Torah describes Adam and Eve at this point as being naked and unashamed, living freely in a paradise of innocence and beauty.
4) Yachatz – At this stage of the Seder the middle matzah is broken in half. As explained in the previous paradigms, this act of breaking the matzah alludes to the “breaking of the vessels,” the birth of the self or the separation of soulmates, as well as the broken state of exile, slavery and suffering that the Jewish People endured in Egypt, and many other times throughout our long and complicated history.
In our present paradigm, the emphasis is on the exile of Adam and Eve from the utopian state of the Garden of Eden. Theirs is the first, archetypal exile, thus beginning the cycle of exile and redemption described above which will subsequently follow humanity through all of history, especially that of the Jewish people.
Adam and Eve leaving the Garden of Eden also mirrors “the breaking of the vessels,” for just as the initial vessels of creation were too “immature” to hold the primordial pristine lights of creation, so too, Adam and Eve were unable to sustain such a state of perfection due to their own immature and undeveloped psyches.
For the next ten generations, the spiritual path of humanity continued in a downward spiral culminating in the flood which wiped out all of humanity, except Noah and his family. Although they had a chance to begin anew, they too continued to fall deeper and deeper into spiritual exile, until the appearance of Abraham who begins the long and still unfinished work of rectifying the world.
In one of the most dramatic incidents in the Torah, God makes a covenant with Abraham to give him and his children the Land of Israel as an eternal inheritance. Abraham falls into a deep sleep or altered state of consciousness and experiences a torch of fire passing through two rows of animal carcasses divided into pieces, thus it is known as the Covenant of the Pieces. (Genesis 15:1-21). The process of dividing the animals through which he passes is symbolized by dividing the matzah into two pieces in the step of Yachatz. Rashi explains all the various parts of the Torah’s description of this highly symbolic covenant in prophetic terms as Abraham experienced all of history in his altered state of consciousness. It was at this covenant that God revealed the following to him:
“You shall surely know that your seed will be strangers in a land that is not theirs, and they will enslave them and oppress them, for four hundred years. And also, the nation that they will serve will I judge, and afterwards they will go forth with great possessions. But you will come to your forefathers in peace; you will be buried in a good old age. And the fourth generation will return here, for the iniquity of the Amorites will not be complete until then” (Genesis 15:13-16).
Thus, begins the saga of Israel’s future descent into Egypt and eventual slavery and redemption. Yachatz, therefore represents on various levels the “breaking of the vessels” of creation, the exile of Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden, and the redemptive vision granted Abraham at the Covenant of the Pieces where the paradigm of exile and redemption, breaking and rectification was prophetically revealed. The three matzot thus represent past, present and future. The past begins in Paradise, and in the future mankind will return to Paradise (both symbolized by the 2 whole matzot) – it is the middle stage of history which is broken and in need of rectification. This is our current time frame and the context within we attempt to fulfill our ultimate historical purpose.
5) Maggid – This fifth stage of the Seder is when we tell the story of the Jewish people, starting with Abraham until the exodus from Egypt.
Onn the surface, Maggid confines its narrative to a very specific time period: starting with the Patriarchs and Matriarchs, through Israel’s descent to Egypt, including the slavery and oppression they experienced and the miraculous redemption which followed. Yet, since their experience in Egypt is the archetypal paradigm of all of Israel’s many exiles and redemptions throughout history, the telling of this story encompasses all of Jewish (and even world) history.
The end of Maggid relates how Israel was finally redeemed from Egypt, and this joy is tangibly expressed by beginning to sing the first part of Hallel, the liturgical order of God’s praises that we recite on major holidays in all generations. It is fittingly at this point that we drink the second cup of wine.
In the bigger historical picture, this stage of the Seder represents not only the Israelites’ redemption from Egypt, but also the future Messianic redemption predicted by all the prophets throughout history. It is at this point in the Seder that our consciousness transitions from past-remembrance into future-visionary mode. Drinking the second cup of wine brings the fermented secrets of the future into the ripe fruit of the present, and represents the turning of the cosmic tides, the beginning of the Messianic era.
6) Rachtza – This is a second washing of the hands, this time with a blessing, before eating the matzah, marror and the festive dinner.
As discussed above in the previous paradigms, water in Judaism is a means of purification, especially as represented by the mikvah and its experience of rebirth. At this point of the Seder, which, as we said, brings us into the dawning of the Messianic Era, we, too, experience a rebirth into a new reality and a new consciousness. Cleansed and purified from the exile and its constricted consciousness we enter into a new reality, marking the transition this time with a conscious blessing.
7&8) Motzi – Matzah – The word motzi means to “bring out” and is the name of the seventh step of the Seder where we make the traditional blessing on the matzah, which is simply the same blessing as for bread. Following this blessing, we say a second blessing for the particular mitzvah of eating matzah on Seder night.
There are many traditions relating how it will be when Mashiach comes, and especially regarding how long the Messianic Era will last. However, the one thing that all the traditions do agree on is that Mashiach will usher in an unfolding process of increased spirituality, the dawning of a new age of world peace, harmony and cooperation, and a markedly more direct revelation of God’s constant Presence and light in the world and in our lives.
Although at this point of the Seder we have already crossed the threshold into a new world at the beginning of the Messianic Era, it is crucially important to remember where we are coming from. It is here that the matzah, the bread of affliction, is transformed into the bread of freedom. (This paradoxical dual-nature of matzah will be explored more thoroughly in the section on Paradox.)
9) Marror (Bitter Herbs) – Eating the bitter herbs.
Even after redemption and the initiation of a new Messianic consciousness, it is vitally important for a variety of reasons to remember and even relive the brokenness and bitterness of the past. Doing so accentuates our present state of thanks and acknowledgment for getting beyond the past exiles, pain and failure, as well as sensitizes us to others in less-fortunate situations, those who are still in some form of “Egypt” and need an “outstretched hand.”
10) Korech – This step entails eating a sandwich of matzah and marror together dipped in charoset, the sweet concoction of fruit, wine and nuts.
When reflecting on the past from a rectified state of heart and mind, we are able to turn bitter into sweet. Just as the light is always greater when coming from and contrasted with darkness, so too, freedom is so much sweeter after the bitterness of the past. It is therefore at this point we can “sweeten the judgments” of suffering and slavery by looking back at the past with new eyes and a new understanding of why we as a people had to go through everything we did. And yet, we came out all the stronger and more spiritually mature. It is at this point in the Seder that we allow ourselves to bask in a new realization and understanding of all Jewish and world history. Misery takes on meaning, pain takes on purpose, as all mistakes and missteps are reintegrated into our overall journey. Everything we have experienced was necessary to get us to this exact point in time, space and soul – and for that, we give thanks!
11) Shulchan Orech – “Setting the table” and bringing out the feast of the year. We eat and drink as kings and queens, appreciating our freedom and grateful for all we have.
Jewish tradition speaks of the Feast of Leviathan which will take place for the souls of the righteous at some point in the unfolding Messianic future. In the pan-historical paradigm, the feast of Seder night represents this somewhat mysterious and mystical feast.
During the period of Mashiach – progressively, or in some traditions much quicker – physical reality will become increasingly transformed into spiritual energy, until they merge together in perfect harmony. Thus, the physical act of eating and drinking will be transformed into a spiritual act. The Feast of Leviathan represents this fully integrated state of being. (Chassidic teachings encourage this perspective even now, especially on Shabbat, when all physical actions are elevated from the mentality of the six days of relatively mundane existence, and take on the holy glow of the Shabbat.)
12) Tzafun – At this point of the Seder, we – or in most cases – the children find or return the missing piece of matzah, hidden away earlier, after the middle matzah was broken during Yachatz, the fourth stage of the Seder.
The coming of Mashiach, accompanied by an enhanced revelation of Godliness in the world, will correspond to a general increase in the quantity and quality of Torah secrets being revealed to the masses. These secrets are alluded to at the very beginning of the Song of Songs: “The Song of Songs, which is Shlomo’s. Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth; for your love is better than wine.” The word for wine in Hebrew equals seventy, the same value as the word for “secret.” This verse is therefore understood by the Sages as describing the reciprocal connection between Israel’s longing for closeness with God and His willingness to share His deepest secrets from within the Torah. The experience of such mystical revelation is greater than any physical gratification or stimuli the world can offer, and it represents the rarified state of reality in the Messianic Age when the secrets of the Torah will be fully revealed. These secrets, that were previously Tzafun, hidden, are now coming back symbolically with the hidden piece of matzah and being revealed at this stage of the Seder.
More specifically, the “kisses of his mouth” are associated with the “ta’ami mitzvot,” the deeper reasons behind the mitzvot, which are only to be fully revealed by Mashiach. This is a deep intention for eating the afikomen, the hidden piece of matzah, as it is the last thing we eat at the Seder, and its taste is meant to remain with us and transform us. Thus, the flavor or secrets of the mitzvot will stay not only on our lips, but in our minds and hearts as well.
13) Barech – We now recite the traditional grace after meals, showing our great appreciation for not only the food we have just eaten but for all the blessings in our lives. We now drink the third cup of wine.
Although the grace after meals that we say on Pesach is the same as for any other holiday, there is one slight addition towards the end that highlights a further stage of redemption:
“The Compassionate One, may He cause us to inherit that day which is altogether good; that everlasting day, the day when the righteous will sit with crowns on their heads, enjoying the radiance of the Shechinah (God’s Presence), and may our portion be with them.”
This elevated state of consciousness is indicative of the spiritual rewards awaiting those who merit in the age of Mashiach, and poetically represents the transcendental ambiance of the future, now being experienced in the present at the Seder. It is at this point of the Seder that we can visualize and feel this awesome experience in the here and now and be grateful!
14) Hallel – Recited over the fourth cup of wine, Hallel is a further expression of our thanks to God for the redemption from Egypt and all the myriad salvations during our long, mysterious history.
The first day of Pesach is unique in regards to reciting Hallel. In fact, we recite Hallel three times – once during the evening service, once during the Seder and one more time in the morning service. No other day in the year has even two recitations of Hallel, let alone three. Additionally, it is the only time during the year that we recite Hallel in the evening; and we do it twice! The threefold recitation of Hallel expresses the consummate joy of past, present and future.
And finally, the Hallel recited at this point of the Seder is a once-a-year version called Hallel Hagadol, the Great Hallel, due to the unique inclusion of additional readings and especially of segments from the Shabbat prayers. This liturgical link made between Pesach and Shabbat is meant to strengthen our prayer, recited every Shabbat, for the dawning of the time that will be “all Shabbat.” This stage of the unfolding of the Messianic Era represents a further union of physical and spiritual to the point that all existence rises to the level of “all Shabbat.”
15) Nirtzah – At the conclusion of the Haggadah, we pray that all our thoughts, speech and actions throughout the Seder have been acceptable to God. What a beautiful and sensitive way to end any action or event, by taking a moment to seal your experience with mindfulness and compassion. With this final act of awareness, we have reached the fifteenth and final step of the Seder. We have achieved the state of consciousness in which we understand that our actions impact others, and we are duly concerned that they do so in the holiest, healthiest and happiest way possible. We are finally free to strive towards our highest ideals, dreams and potentials.
One More Step into the Future
After the official fifteen-step Seder is finished it is customary to remain at the table and sing a series of songs that over the generations have become part of the Haggadah. The last of these songs is called Chad Gadya, “one little goat”; it is an allegory of the continual cycle of exile and redemption throughout Jewish history in the form of a children’s song that adds one more piece of the story in each stanza. The last stanza reads:
“Then came the Holy One, Blessed Be He, and slew the Angel of Death, that killed the butcher, that slaughtered the ox, that drank the water, that quenched the fire, that burnt the stick, that beat the dog, that bit the cat, that ate the goat, that father bought for two zuzim (coins), one little goat, one little goat.”
In one of the many prophecies of Isaiah (25:8) regarding the future redemption, the prophet says: “He has concealed death forever, and God shall wipe the tears off every face, and the shame of His people He shall remove from upon the entire earth, for God has spoken.”
Ending the Seder with the expressed hope that death will one day be swallowed up forever hints to the Resurrection of the Dead, which will occur at some point during the Age of Mashiach in the seventh millennium, a time of “all Shabbat,” bringing us to the culminating stage of redemption called the World-to-Come. Regarding this final stage of the redemptive process, the Sages asserted that all the prophets prophesied regarding Mashiach, but not the World-to-Come (Sanhedrin 99a). They base their assessment on the following verse: “No eye except yours O God has seen [that which] He will do for one who awaits him” (Isaiah 64:3). This refers to the reward that awaits the righteous in the World-to-Come which will only be revealed after all the changes and revelations of the Messianic era have occurred. Although there has been wide speculation about the spiritual bliss and perfected reality of the World-to-Come, it is well-known as just mentioned that even the prophets, according to the Sages, were not privy to this kind of eschatological revelation from God.
Yet, on Seder night we can all have a glimpse, a taste of this exalted spiritual state as we experience the future already in the here and now. Rebbe Nachman of Brelov translates the term “World-to- Come” as, “the world that is always coming.” By expanding our constricted consciousness and connecting to a more Divine experience, we increasingly free ourselves from the tyranny of time and learn to employ its inherent transformative power to transcend a strict and limiting linear conception of life and progress.
Abraham, the first Jew, was privy to this secret as alluded to in the following verse: “And Abraham was old, coming into days, and God blessed Abraham with everything.” The phrase, “Coming into days,” alludes to Abraham’s mastery of time which allowed him to experience this world and the World-to-Come concurrently.
The pan-historical paradigm based on experiencing all of time through the fifteen steps of the Haggadah is a powerful model, both intellectually as well as experientially. It connects us not only to our past but allows us a glimpse of the future as well. Similar to the way in which, during a peak experience or when faced with danger or death, a person can see his or her whole life pass before them in an instant, so too, by imaginatively reading the Haggadah through this paradigm, we can each rise above the limitations of our normal consciousness and step into a timeless realm where past, present and future are all happening simultaneously, eternally and now.
