I want to share another beautiful Hiddush about Ha Lachma Anya.
Previously, we mentioned that the reason we invite guests is because we need to make the Shechina happy. As we said, God’s presence also left Egypt. He was in exile with us. And we make God happy by making the poor happy. The source for this, says the Hasid Yavetz, is that Avraham Avinu left the presence of God to receive guests, so obviously receiving guests is greater than receiving the Shechina. That is what the Gemara says, but how does that work?
The Hasid Yavetz explains that when you leave the presence of God to greet guests, you’re enghancing your Godly experience because you are making God happy. And you will get a greater dose of God’s presence because you went to greet the guests. It is not a contradiction, it is an enhancement. The Hiddush is that this lesson was taught to us by Avraham Avinu on the night of Pesach! The Gemarah says that Avraham took in the guests on the night of Pesach. That’s why it says that a year later, on Pesach, Yitzhak was born.
Avraham went to Lot (and Sedom was overturned) and Lot said he’d give Avraham matzot on the same day- Pesach.
We are taking about Pesach, and it was on Pesach that Avraham Avinu had the first Seder in history, and he invited guests, which caused a Shechina enhancement- which is exactly our lesson.
Furthermore, the question is asked: Why do we say Ha Lachma Anya in the middle of the meal? Everyone is already inside the house. Which guest is coming at that point?
The answer, again, goes back to Avraham Avinu. On the third day of his Brit Milah, it was boiling hot out because God didn’t want to trouble him with guests, and yet Avraham Avinu went out looking for guests.
Why was he looking for guests?
Because he had such a love for Hesed, he went looking for guests even though it didn’t make any sense.
And since we are emulating Avraham Avinu, we invite guests. Where are our guests? Avraham didn’t have any guests available either. But a person that wants to do hesed is not thinking logically. That’s what Ahavat Hesed means.
He was like a guest addict. He needed guests.
There is an added tidbit from the Avne Nezek The three holidays correspond to Avraham Yitzhak and Yaakov. And Pesach corresponds to Abraham Avino. As we mentioned, he is the one that made the first Seder. Avraham Avinu is called the Hagadol Sh’bAnakim/ Great amongst Giants. As a pasuk in Yehoshua says, “Maarat Hamachpela where the Great amongst Giants are buried,” this refers not to the four giants, but to the great giant, Avraham Avinu. He is called a Gadol, and called great because he helped small people, like the sun that shines on the moon.
Therefore, the Avne Nezer says, the Shabbat before Pesach is called Shabbat HaGaddol- the Shabbat of the great one, of Avraham Avinu. Shabbat ushers in the coming week, and so Pesach comes in from Avraham Avinu, the Shabbat before. That’s the whole Pesach. It’s about Avraham Avinu, it’s about hesed, and it’s about realizing a great point, that Rav Wolbe brings down from the Sefer Rokeach, one of the Rishonim: It doesn’t say clearly what Avraham Avinu’s ten tests were, but one of the Rishonim says that one of Avraham Avinu’s tests was that guests were coming- would he keep talking to God or leave? If Avraham had stayed with God and not left, he would have failed his test. The lesson Avraham Avinu taught us in passing this test was that accepting guests is greater than the Shechina. Because that’s the enhancement of the Shechina. When you take care of the poor and the downtrodden and God dwells on the brokenhearted, that is a further Shechina experience, and not a contradiction. Certain things are a contradiction to the Shechina, but Hachnasat Orchim is not one of them.
That is the lesson of Pesach, the lesson of Avraham Avinu, and we emulate Avraham Avinu. On the night of the Seder, we are looking for guests. We are looking for the three angels to come into our home. That is why we say Ha Lachma Anya. We say, “Guests, come in,” What guests?
The imaginary guests that will come in, because we want to have guests so much. Have a wonderful day.