The Essence of the Matter with Sarah B., 21-04-16, Second Hour – Galey Israel

Table of Contents

• Program opening and presentation of the question about legumes
• The source of the custom forbidding legumes and attitudes toward it
• Halakhic conclusions and the dispute over changing customs
• Examples of new customs and the argument over rationale versus “atmosphere”
• The distinction between gebrokts and legumes
• Tradition, minimalist Jewish law, and a quote from Rav Hai Gaon
• “And it is this that has stood” and the transition to a broadcast about a huge Passover Seder
• The Passover Seder for 480 lone soldiers in Givat Olga
• Testimony of a lone female soldier: Michal Andreyeva
• Suggestions for intermediate-days outings from the Nature and Parks Authority
• The “Amah Biyar” trip in Kfar Etzion and its connection to Jerusalem and the Temple
• An idea for the Haggadah: questions as constitutive of faith
• Closing the broadcast and Torah thoughts on the commandment “and you shall tell your son” according to Maimonides

Summary

General Overview

The program “The Essence of the Matter” with Sarah Beck on Galei Israel deals, on the eve of Passover, with the controversy over the Ashkenazic custom of forbidding legumes on Passover. Rabbi Dr. Michael Abraham calls for examining customs that lack any rationale and considering leniency when they cause conceptual or educational harm, while Rabbi Chaim Navon emphasizes the antiquity of the custom and the central role customs play in shaping religious life and Passover itself. Later, the program shifts to practical holiday content: a huge Passover Seder for 480 lone soldiers, suggestions for outings and intermediate-days events, and an idea for the Haggadah about the role of questions in building faith, alongside a closing Torah thought summarizing the commandment of “and you shall tell your son” according to Maimonides.

Program Opening and Presentation of the Question About Legumes

Sarah Beck introduces the second hour of “The Essence of the Matter” and poses a question to listeners busy with holiday cleaning: are legumes actually leaven, and what does a Passover certification saying “without concern for legumes” mean? She suggests that maybe the time has come to remove the great fear surrounding legumes, and she hosts Rabbi Dr. Michael Abraham and Rabbi Chaim Navon in order to clarify the source of the custom and its meaning.

The Source of the Custom Forbidding Legumes and Attitudes Toward It

Rabbi Chaim Navon states that legumes are certainly not leaven, but Ashkenazic communities have a very ancient custom forbidding the eating of legumes on Passover, and nobody really knows where it came from. He describes sources from the late Middle Ages, the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, that already refer to it as an ancient custom and offer various reasons without knowing the actual source, and he presents it as a custom that is respected and even cherished as part of the customs of the Jewish world.

Rabbi Dr. Michael Abraham says that he too does not know exactly where the custom originated, and he raises the common hypothesis that in certain periods in Europe wheat kernels or grain may have become mixed into legumes. He distinguishes between a custom and a concern that arose because of circumstances, and compares it to a joke about the Rebbe of Gur and a broom near the Hanukkah menorah, to describe how a temporary concern turns into a fixed practice. He rejects terms like “the decree of legumes” or “the enactment of legumes,” and says there is no reason to forbid something that the Talmud explicitly permits and that has no source in the Torah; he defines it as nothing more than a concern about leaven.

Halakhic Conclusions and the Dispute Over Changing Customs

Rabbi Dr. Michael Abraham says the reaction to winds of change is hysterical, and he calls on people to stop surrendering to it in an extreme overreaction. He says that he himself is Ashkenazic and over the years has been “cutting corners” more and more, even “happily deteriorating” in his attitude toward legumes. Rabbi Chaim Navon says he does not understand that conclusion, because Rabbi Abraham himself admits he has no idea what the source is, and the hypothesis about mixing with leaven is only speculation in the language of “perhaps.” He cites research by Professor Ta-Shma rejecting that explanation and claiming the basis lies elsewhere. Rabbi Navon quotes one possibility Ta-Shma raises: concern for the opinion of Rabbi Yohanan ben Nuri, according to whom even rice can become leaven under certain conditions, and he stresses that there are many possible explanations for the custom’s origin.

Rabbi Navon rejects the comparison to the joke about one person’s private stringency and argues that this is an ancient custom that already existed in the Middle Ages, and that for many generations this is what Passover looked like for Ashkenazic Jews. He argues that trying to shake off customs will leave behind a thin Judaism without the flavors, aromas, and styles that shape Passover, and he compares it to the custom of reciting Kol Nidrei, which is later than the legumes custom but inseparable from Yom Kippur. He concludes that someone raised in Sephardic communities will continue eating legumes, while someone raised in Ashkenazic communities, for whom Passover means no rice, will not eat them.

Examples of New Customs and the Argument Over Rationale Versus “Atmosphere”

In a discussion about customs such as putting a rag over the faucet so that crumbs do not get in, Rabbi Chaim Navon argues that there is no ancient custom like that and that it is obviously a local invention, while Rabbi Dr. Michael Abraham says this custom is more widespread than people describe and that antiquity is just a matter of time: if not now, then in another hundred years it too will become an “ancient custom.” Rabbi Abraham rejects the comparison to Kol Nidrei, arguing that Kol Nidrei has a clear and sensible rationale, whereas legumes are a custom that we all understand to be baseless, and that even if there once was some rationale, it could not have been anything other than concern about leaven or the prohibition of adding to the Torah.

Rabbi Abraham says he sees some value in preserving tradition, but thinks people exaggerate it, and that the “holiday atmosphere” is not as central to him as Jewish law. He argues that customs have to be examined critically when they cause harm, and he defines that harm as people perceiving the system as anachronistic and irrelevant when it deals with things that seem absurd, especially when a significant portion of the effort on Passover is devoted to legumes more than to actual leaven.

The Distinction Between Gebrokts and Legumes

Rabbi Dr. Michael Abraham says he makes a distinction between gebrokts and legumes, and notes that he does eat gebrokts, following the custom of his home. He describes gebrokts as a concern that some flour may have remained and could become leaven through soaking—a remote but possible concern—whereas legumes, in his view, are simply absurd.

Tradition, Minimalist Jewish Law, and a Quote from Rav Hai Gaon

Rabbi Chaim Navon says there are two different ways of looking at customs and at Jewish law, and he offers an example: according to a minimalist approach to Jewish law, one could finish the Passover Seder in an hour, including the meal, and someone who said just one sentence of Rabban Gamliel would have fulfilled the obligation of the Haggadah, with everything else optional. But, he says, nobody actually lives that way. He argues that the claim that people belittle Judaism because it includes customs is nonsense, and he cites Rav Hai Gaon: we do not obey the customs of our ancestors because that is what is written in Jewish law; rather, we obey Jewish law because father said that this is what we received at Sinai.

Rabbi Dr. Michael Abraham sums up by saying that he keeps Jewish law because we received it at Sinai, but these customs never got anywhere near Sinai, not even by a hair’s breadth, and he opposes mixing together customs that have no source and no rationale with Jewish law. He says there are customs that do have value and he observes them, but there are customs that do not have value and whose damage on the street has to be examined, and he argues that sages throughout the generations even canceled laws established by a religious court when the rationale disappeared or when harm was caused.

“And It Is This That Has Stood” and the Transition to a Broadcast About a Huge Passover Seder

After the discussion ends, “And it is this that has stood by our ancestors and by us” is played several times, and the program moves on to the next topic with a promise of a conversation with someone organizing a Seder for four hundred and eighty people.

The Passover Seder for 480 Lone Soldiers in Givat Olga

Lior Ben Haim, manager of the vacation village of the Association for the Soldier and the Libby Fund, describes hosting 480 lone soldiers out of 6,300 in the IDF, and speaks about over a week of logistical preparation, including receiving goods, decorating, ordering gifts, and kitchen preparations on a large scale, including a truckload of matzot. He says that the Chief Rabbi of the IDF Manpower Directorate is running the Seder “with an uplifted hand,” together with a team of yeshiva students who held more than ten vocal preparation sessions so they could sing the entire Haggadah service together. He notes that six afikomens will be hidden, though he will not reveal how, and adds that every soldier will receive a gift worth more than 500 shekels. He thanks the Association, the Libby Fund, and Canadian Jewry, which donated the money to make the Seder happen.

Testimony of a Lone Female Soldier: Michal Andreyeva

Michal Andreyeva, a Border Police combat soldier, says she is 21 years old, lives in Haifa, immigrated from Russia three years ago, and serves as a commander in a company in Hebron in the area of the Cave of the Patriarchs, where she has been for two years and took part in Operation Protective Edge. She describes a daily struggle to make sure civilians feel safe and comfortable on the worshippers’ route to the Cave of the Patriarchs, and says she is stationed at a checkpoint connected to that route. She says she has no fear, only love for the country, and explains that her parents in Russia know she is in Hebron but do not know everything that happens there, and she does not tell them everything so they will not worry. She describes herself as a lone soldier with no family in Israel, but says that in her heart she does not feel alone because the commanders take care of her and she has soldiers under her command. Lior Ben Haim says he is looking forward to hosting the Border Police fighters and promises surprises and special experiences.

Suggestions for Intermediate-Days Outings from the Nature and Parks Authority

Etti Koryat Aharon, director of audience and community outreach for the Northern District of the Nature and Parks Authority, describes speaking from the Yehudiya Reserve in the Golan, with a view of the Kinneret and passing traffic, and emphasizes that the recent rains created an especially green landscape for Passover. She recommends a nighttime event at Beit She’an National Park on Sunday and Monday, from six in the evening until eleven or twelve at night, with the experience of a preserved Roman city, melodies, colorful stands, Roman soldiers, harp music, and guided tours, and she describes the city illuminated at night. She also recommends an evening activity at Beit She’arim National Park with klezmer musicians and ancient melodies, a visit to underground caves, and encounters with figures from the past. She adds a recommendation for lodging at Ma’ayan Harod and Kokhav HaYarden, as campgrounds with water for wading and views of the Gilead Mountains and the Jordan Valley.

The “Amah Biyar” Trip in Kfar Etzion and Its Connection to Jerusalem and the Temple

Yaron Rosenthal, director of the Kfar Etzion Field School, recommends an easy trip with lots of water and a bit of underground “crawling” at Amah Biyar. He says that in central Israel there was an average amount of rainfall, but in Gush Etzion there was a lot, so it is still green, and the Biyar spring is flowing impressively, with water about 60 centimeters high for a ten-year-old child. He describes a waterworks system with an underground tunnel 2.8 kilometers long, of which visitors walk about 100 meters, and explains that the investment in the Hasmonean and Herodian periods was intended to sustain Jerusalem and the Temple as a capital city and a magnificent sanctuary in the Second Temple period.

An Idea for the Haggadah: Questions as Constitutive of Faith

Rabbi Amir Mashiach says that Passover is a day of transmitting tradition and telling the story of the Exodus from those days into our own time, and he brings from the Zohar that matzah is “the bread of faith,” and therefore faith has to be clarified through an ancient tradition. He says the Haggadah is built around asking questions, from “Why is this night different?” to “The Torah speaks of four sons,” and each one asks in a different style. Sometimes the questions are hard and piercing, but the message is that a question is what constitutes faith. He quotes David Hume from the seventeenth century, from “Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion”: “For a learned man, to be a philosophical skeptic is the first and most essential step toward becoming a true believer,” and concludes that the Passover Seder teaches us to ask in order to deepen faith and pass it on to the next generation.

Closing the Broadcast and Torah Thoughts on the Commandment “And You Shall Tell Your Son” According to Maimonides

Sarah Beck thanks the program staff and wishes everyone a kosher and joyous holiday, encourages people to go out traveling, look at the sky, and enjoy the greenery, and announces that the next broadcast will be after Passover. It is then said that today, on the eve of Passover, they are dealing with the central commandment, “and you shall tell your son,” and Maimonides is cited from the laws of leaven and matzah: it is a positive commandment from the Torah to tell of the miracles and wonders on the night of the fifteenth of Nisan, based on the interpretation of “because of this”—at the time when matzah and bitter herbs are placed before you. The remarks distinguish between mentioning the Exodus all year long and the special commandment of telling the story on this night in a question-and-answer format in order to arouse the children. It is explained that on this night we change things—such as distributing roasted grains and nuts—so that the children will ask questions and understand that this is a different and special night, a night of faith passed from father to son.

The website of Radio Galey Israel, www.gly.co.il. You can hear that it’s Israeli, Galey Israel. The Essence of the Matter, two hours of current affairs with Sarah Beck. The Essence of the Matter, we’re in our second hour, edited by Shalom Mendel, production and social media by Matan Diminsky, Harel Davidovitz on technical operation, and if you’re listening to us while cleaning and every so often someone says to the other, “Dust is not leaven,” just to avoid continuing to clean and sit down and drink coffee, we want to ask: are legumes leaven, and every Passover certification says “without concern for legumes.” Maybe the time has come to remove the great concern about legumes. With us are two rabbis, Rabbi Dr. Michael Abraham, hello to you. Hello. And hello to Rabbi Chaim Navon. Good morning. Good morning. So Rabbi Navon, maybe first you can explain to us what the source is of the prohibition on eating legumes on Passover? First of all, legumes are certainly not leaven, but among Ashkenazi communities there is a very, very old custom to prohibit eating legumes. No one really knows the source of this custom. We have sources from the later Middle Ages, the 12th century, the 13th century, that talk about it, but even they speak of it as an ancient custom whose source they don’t exactly know, and they try to suggest various reasons and explanations, but they relate to it as an existing reality. In other words, it’s an ancient custom, part of many other customs in our Jewish world whose origins we can’t exactly identify, and we respect them and even cherish them. Rabbi Michael Abraham, do you know what the source of this custom is? Why was it decided in the first place? After all, the Torah says leaven should neither be seen nor found, it didn’t talk about lentils. Yes, I also don’t know exactly what the source of this custom is. A common assumption, and I think it’s the most reasonable one at least in my view, is that grains of wheat or other cereal got mixed in with legumes in certain periods in Europe apparently, and because of that people were stringent and refrained from eating legumes. But I think we need to distinguish here categorically between two different things: there is a custom, and there is a concern that arose because of certain circumstances. There’s that worn-out joke about the Rebbe of Gur, right, that next to his Hanukkah menorah there stood a broom, and he told his attendant to remove the broom before lighting the candles so that next year the Hasidim wouldn’t always put a broom there before lighting candles. Okay, I didn’t know that one, it’s so familiar that I didn’t know it, yes. No, no, I’m not finished yet, so the attendant removed the broom. What happened the following year? The following year all the Hasidim put a broom there, removed it, and lit candles. And that’s basically what’s happening to us with legumes, and some people are stringent and call it the decree of legumes or the enactment of legumes; these are things with no basis whatsoever. It was probably some concern about leaven; I see no other reason to prohibit something that the Talmud explicitly permits, that the Torah did not prohibit—there’s no reason for it. Okay, and your practical conclusion is what should be done? My conclusion is that we react hysterically to winds of change, and the time has come to stop surrendering to them—to surrendering in the sense that we react in an overly extreme way. So you yourself eat—are you Ashkenazi? I am Ashkenazi. Do you eat legumes on Passover? Over the years I’ve been loosening up more and more, because my stomach is also a little heavy from the age of this custom, but over the years I’ve been happily declining. I understand, okay, so Rabbi Michael Abraham’s practical ruling is to loosen up on the matter of legumes. Let’s hear Rabbi Chaim Navon. I really can’t understand Rabbi Michael, who is usually a very rational person, and one sentence of his simply didn’t connect to the next. He himself admitted that he has no idea what the source of the custom of legumes is. He himself admitted that this assumption that legumes got mixed with leaven is only a speculative assumption by people who said so in terms of “perhaps.” There is research by Professor Ta-Shma that rejects this completely and says, what are you talking about, the basis of the custom lies somewhere entirely different. What does he say it is? He says it was to be concerned for the view of Rabbi Yohanan ben Nuri, according to whom even rice can become leavened under certain circumstances. But you know, there are many possibilities as to the source of the custom. Then he compares it to some joke about the Rebbe of Gur moving a broom. We’re not talking here about one person who adopted a private stringency for the whole group; we’re talking about a custom that our earliest sources testify was already ancient in the Middle Ages. Ancient. Meaning, not only has our Passover—at least for all Ashkenazi descendants—looked like this since we were born, but so did the Passover of my great-great-great-great-great-grandfather. And to say there’s some reaction and stringency of recent generations here? But maybe, maybe it is possible to examine the reality and say that in days when everything is industrial, there is no connection and everything is completely separated, and if there were concern about, say, gluten inside a product then it would be written on it—in other words, everything is really very clear. So maybe when we talk about leaven on Passover we should return to what we can do today, which is to guard against leaven without this concern about legumes? But there is no reason to assume that was the reason for the prohibition. That’s speculation. I don’t think the reason for the prohibition was that it would get mixed in. In general, our religious lives are made up of many customs. Even saying Kol Nidrei is a custom, and it’s a much later custom than legumes. Can any of us imagine our Yom Kippur without Kol Nidrei? In other words, this attempt to say, let’s shake off all the customs—if we erase all our customs, we’ll be left with a very thin Judaism, without the tastes and the smells and the styles that shape Passover for us. So then, someone who grew up in Sephardi communities and whose custom is to eat legumes should continue in that good custom, and someone who grew up in Ashkenazi communities and from childhood his Passover had a certain character in which rice was not eaten—then let him not eat it. It’s not such a big deal. Or putting a rag over the faucet so that God forbid bread crumbs don’t get in through the water. That’s just an invention, there’s no reason for it. But there are people for whom that’s what was accepted in their parents’ home, to put a rag over the faucet. I don’t know of any ancient custom like that. If there is anyone like that, that’s some specific father and a specific generation. There is no ancient custom to put a rag over the faucet; that is certainly an invention. Rabbi Michael Abraham, yes. I think the custom of putting a rag over the faucet, first of all, is much more widespread than Rabbi Chaim Navon describes. I knew many such people when I lived in Bnei Brak, and I have no doubt that already today—and if not, then in another hundred years—it too will become an ancient custom. It’s only a matter of time. Antiquity is a matter of a relative time axis. In any case, I think the comparison to Kol Nidrei is really out of place. Kol Nidrei is something that is indeed a custom with a clear reason, and it sounds sensible, and true, one could also do without it, but it’s a custom that has a reason. Is there really such a thing, a clear reason for saying Kol Nidrei, the most festive prayer that opens Yom Kippur? That’s not relevant. Whether it has to be the most festive is each person’s decision. But the basic fact that it is said is something fairly clear. In contrast, with legumes we all do things that we all understand are baseless. And this fact—that maybe there was once some ancient reason there that disappeared from all of us—cannot in fact be such a reason, because it’s either leaven, and we know it’s not, or else it’s adding to the Torah. In other words, there’s nothing else there. On Passover there is nothing except the prohibition of leaven, and if there wasn’t some concern about leaven here, then there was some other thing. So I’ll ask then, wait, but maybe even for you there is some appreciation for preserving tradition itself without checking exactly why, because the fact is you’re not telling me, I eat leaven, I eat Bamba openly. So I’ll tell you two things. First, I do see some value in it, although I think people exaggerate it. The fragrances of the holiday don’t say much to me the way Rabbi Navon described earlier. For me Jewish law is the focus, and all the rest of the fragrances are relative; to each person his own fragrances. I don’t think you can impose fragrances on people. And second, it seems to me these customs need to be examined more critically when they cause harm. And the harm is—and there are quite a few customs like this—serious harm in the sense, not that I can’t manage without eating Bamba, but because people increasingly perceive this system as an anachronistic system. A system that is not relevant, a system that deals with things that are almost obviously baseless to everyone except for speculations about mysterious reasons that no one can point to. And since that’s the case, when a substantial percentage of the system and of our efforts on Passover—by the way, a substantial percentage of them—is devoted to legumes, because leaven is really something that’s hard to get your hands on even if you want to, that means that our Passover holiday has basically turned into fragrances, and Passover is first and foremost a halakhic matter; the fragrances come afterward. I can tell you from my home and my kitchen that okay, we clean out the leaven, but what’s really important to me for Passover is to put aluminum foil on the counter. Now I know there isn’t exactly—it’s not exactly an ancient custom. Well actually, on that matter I do think there’s some logic to it. For me it creates the holiday atmosphere, I don’t know. Okay, you do it for the atmosphere, but originally it really is something with a rationale. Yes. I want to ask for a moment about gebrokts and whether you make a distinction. Yes, definitely, definitely I make a distinction. I eat gebrokts, by the way—that’s also my family custom—but I definitely make a distinction. Gebrokts is some concern, small or large, it doesn’t matter, there are people who are concerned about it, that perhaps some flour remained there that could become leavened through soaking. Fine, maybe there is such a thing, maybe not; it’s a pretty remote concern, but it could be. But legumes are baseless. Rabbi Chaim Navon, maybe let’s zoom out for a moment. Isn’t this really perhaps about two ways of looking at customs in general, and maybe sometimes at Jewish law: whether we need to examine it on its own merits or on the merits of preserving tradition? You’re absolutely right, and I think if Rabbi Abraham says he isn’t impressed by the fragrances of the holiday and goes only by dry Jewish law, then according to the law one can finish the seder in an hour, including the meal. Anyone who said one sentence that Rabban Gamliel said has fulfilled his obligation for the Passover Haggadah, and the rest can be skipped. From a legal standpoint, that’s the holiday atmosphere; from the standpoint of minimalist Jewish law, none of us really lives that way. The claim that people belittle Judaism because it has customs is itself baseless; we live our customs. Rav Hai Gaon said it’s not that we obey the customs of our forefathers because that’s what is written in Jewish law; rather the opposite, we obey Jewish law because our father told us that this is what we received from Mount Sinai. And that was said by Rav Hai Gaon, not by me. And that’s how we live our religious lives. I think I’ve summarized our dispute very well. Rabbi Michael Abraham, one final sentence from you. I think I keep Jewish law because we received it at Mount Sinai. These customs never got near Mount Sinai, not even by a hair’s breadth, not by ten thousand parasangs, and it’s a shame that people blur together customs that have no source and no reason with Jewish law. That’s exactly what I was afraid of. That doesn’t mean I keep only the law and don’t keep customs. As I said earlier, there are many customs that have value; I am careful, first, to distinguish between them and Jewish law, but I do keep them. And there are customs in which there is no value, and the time has come—and go out and see, go into the street and see what people think about this issue, and see whether there is damage here or not, whether people really enjoy the holiday fragrances—what exactly are the holiday fragrances of legumes?—or whether they start to denigrate Jewish law and see it as an anachronistic thing, and in my eyes that is significant harm. Sages throughout the generations even canceled laws established by a religious court because the reason had lapsed or because there was some harm of one sort or another, even though according to Jewish law you cannot cancel them unless there is another quorum or a greater religious court, depending on what type of laws we’re talking about. Friends, this discussion is not over, but our time is. I thank you both very much, Rabbi Dr. Michael Abraham, Rabbi Chaim Navon, may you have a very kosher and happy holiday. Thank you, same to you, goodbye. “And it is this that has stood by our ancestors and by us, and it is this that has stood by our ancestors and by us, for not only one has risen against us to destroy us, has risen against us to destroy us, and it is this that has stood by our ancestors and by us, and it is this that has stood by our ancestors and by us, for not only one has risen against us to destroy us, has risen against us to destroy us, and the Holy One, blessed be He, saves us from their hand, saves us from their hand, and the Holy One, blessed be He, saves us from their hand, saves us from their hand, and it is this that has stood by our ancestors and by us, and it is this that has stood by our ancestors and by us, for not only one has risen against us to destroy us, has risen against us to destroy us, and the Holy One, blessed be He, saves us from their hand, saves us from their hand, and the Holy One, blessed be He, saves us from their hand, saves us from their hand. And it is this that has stood by our ancestors and by us, for not only one has risen against us to destroy us, to destroy us, and the Holy One, blessed be He, saves us, the Holy One, blessed be He, saves us from their hand, the Holy One, blessed be He, saves us from their hand, and the Holy One, blessed be He, saves us, saves us from their hand, for not only one has risen against us to destroy us, to destroy us, and the Holy One, blessed be He, saves us, the Holy One, blessed be He, saves us from their hand. Ah, how beautiful. If you have a lot of guests for the seder, in just a moment we’ll be with someone who is making a seder for four hundred and eighty people. Stay with us. Galey Israel. If it seems to you that you have a lot of guests for the seder, Lior Ben Haim has four hundred and eighty people at his seder. Hello, Lior. Good morning, Pazit. Good morning. Director of the vacation village of the Association for the Wellbeing of Israel’s Soldiers and the Libbi Fund, and out of the 6,300 lone soldiers in the IDF, four hundred and eighty of them are going to arrive to you. Indeed. How do you get organized? Does that mean everything is already ready, the tables are even set? We are almost at the end of the preparations. For more than a week already we’ve been preparing with all the logistics, receiving goods and decorating and ordering the gifts, the present that every single soldier receives. The kitchen is working at full speed and full steam in preparation, with very large quantities of meat, vegetables, a truckload of matzot, and all the good things the soldiers will receive. And in terms of content, you know, you need one person to lead the seder. I assume it’ll be without a microphone and loudspeaker. How do you lead a seder for so many people? How can everyone follow the Haggadah together? Oh, with tremendous joy and professionalism. Leading the seder with a firm hand is the Chief Rabbi of the IDF, and at his disposal is a team of yeshiva students who held more than ten musical preparation meetings. Truly an experience, an experience. What do you mean by musical preparations? Rehearsals, rehearsals. “Why is this night different” will all be sung together, but not only “Why is this night different”—the entire order, all the songs in the Haggadah, they’ll all sing. Yes, it could have been awkward trying to find the youngest soldier there to stand on a chair. I understand why everyone needs to sing together. We don’t get exacting about the soldiers’ ages; as far as we’re concerned they are all still the children of Israel even when they are soldiers. Indeed. And how does it work? I saw that there are going to be six afikomans hidden. Well, for 480 you need to divide it among a lot of soldiers. And how is that going to work? You can’t search for the afikoman according to military orders, crawling and… I’m sorry that I can’t reveal the secret of how we hide the afikomans so that it will indeed be completely surprising. But aside from those six afikomans, which are truly very impressive, every single one of the 480 soldiers who will be hosted by us at the largest seder will receive a gift worth more than 500 shekels. They’ll receive gifts throughout the whole thing. I just want to come and thank, truly, those people who donated for the seder, headed by the Association and the Libbi Fund. We have Canadian Jewry, which donated all the money to hold this wonderful seder night for us. Wonderful. Joining us now is Michal Andreyeva, a Border Police combat soldier in the Israel Police. Hello to you. Good morning, everyone. Good morning. Where are you from? Tell us a little about yourself. As you said, I’m Michal Andreyeva, 21 years old. Right now I live in Haifa. I immigrated from Russia three years ago, and right now I serve in the Border Police as a combat commander in a company stationed in Hebron in the area of the Cave of Machpelah. So how long have you been in Hebron already? I’ve been in Hebron for two years. And tell us about your experience. You arrived during a difficult period. נכון, I also took part in Operation Protective Edge, and in day-to-day life we deal with difficult things so that the citizens can continue on their way. If you know the worshippers’ route where people come to the Cave of Machpelah, our goal is that they should feel as comfortable as possible because it’s their home, and to protect them. Are you actually out there on the route itself? I’m almost—I’m at a checkpoint, one of the checkpoints that connects the worshippers’ route to the Cave of Machpelah. And you’re not afraid? I have no fear. I only have love for my country, and I’m very satisfied with what I do, because if I don’t do it then who will? What do they say at home? In Russia? Look, my parents are indeed in Russia, and they know that what I’m doing is important to me, because I always wanted to do this. Even though I immigrated at age eighteen, that thought was always in my head, to come up to the Land of Israel, and they’re with me. Even though they’re not here, they’re with me and… Do they know you’re in Hebron? That you’re in a very volatile area? They do know, but not exactly how things are there—all the attacks, all the incidents, all the real life there—they don’t exactly know that, because they’ve also never been in Hebron, only from what I tell them, and because they’re my parents I don’t always tell them everything so they won’t worry about me too much. It may be that they’re listening to Galey Israel and now they’ll know. How is it usually for you day to day and on the holidays when your family is abroad? Are you really a lone soldier in the usual sense, or not so alone? Yes, I did come to the Land of Israel and I have no family here at all, and also when I did my basic training, all the friends I have now are people with whom I sometimes spend the holidays, or like I’ll do tomorrow night, spend the seder with the lone soldiers in Givat Olga. It’s basically something in place of family. It doesn’t replace family entirely, but it’s a very important part. On paper, yes, I’m a lone soldier, but in my heart I don’t feel that I’m a lone soldier because my commanders make sure I lack nothing, they always ask, always—and as I said, I’m a commander, and I myself have soldiers. Wonderful. Well, it’s good and pleasant to hear you. Lior, would you like to say something to Michal, who is expected to come to you tomorrow? Of course, of course. First of all, we are waiting, yearning to host the Border Police fighters. They do wonderful work all year long, and we accompany them throughout their military service as well, and we’re waiting here for them with many very nice surprises. I have no doubt you’ll come back with lots of experiences. Wonderful. So Michal, they said everyone sings “Why is this night different” together, so you can start preparing. Michal Andreyeva, Border Police combat soldier, Lior Ben Haim, director of the vacation village of the Association for the Wellbeing of Israel’s Soldiers and the Libbi Fund, thank you very much to both of you, and may it be a kosher and happy holiday. Happy holiday to all the Jewish people. Thank you very much. Traffic reports, and immediately after that commercials, and then we return—no, there’s a problem, okay, here we go. So now we’re moving on to something else you can do on Passover. With us is Eti Kuryat Aharon, director of audience and community for the Nature and Parks Authority of the Northern District. Hello to you. Greetings, and happy holiday to everyone. Happy holiday. So indeed, the intermediate days came out long this year, which makes it possible to travel a lot. What is the Nature and Parks Authority offering? First of all, it’s important to me to tell you that at this very moment I’m speaking with you from the Yehudiya Reserve, from that broad route that goes up from the Yehudiya Junction inward into the Golan with the beautiful view of the Kinneret, and here you can already see the traffic passing by. Mainly hear it. Yes, and we really are in green days. When I met the reserve staff this morning I told them that I don’t remember in a long time—Eti, are you with us? Wait, yes, try not to move from your place so we’ll have reception. In any case, because of the recent rains we’re simply enjoying a very, very green landscape, still very, very green, and that makes us very happy. I don’t remember many Passovers like this, when the people of Israel go out to travel and everything is still so green. In any case, we really bless you and want you to come and travel with us, also in places where water is flowing, to dip your feet in the water and cool off, but in honor of this holiday we have really prepared several very special events that I would like all the Jewish people to come and visit. One special event on Sunday and Monday at the Beit She’an National Park—it will be at night, a nighttime event. It will begin at six in the evening and end around eleven or twelve at night, and anyone who has traveled to other distant lands and to sites like Aspendos or Aphrodisias in Turkey, this is the time to come and see what a wonderful site we have here in our own land. A Roman city that has survived almost in all its parts, with a time capsule of an earthquake that you can experience and still see today, and all of that we are simply making accessible to you with melodies, with beautiful colorful stalls, Roman soldiers, and anyone listening now who has small children—harp music and of course guided tours that will accompany you throughout the visit. Wonderful, and that’s in the evening when it’s already pleasant. Exactly. We did a preparatory tour this week, and simply to see the ancient city of Beit She’an illuminated at night—the whole city is lit up. I say city because it’s a very large city, a large ancient city that you may know from other places in the world. Come and see how it happens here in our own land. So Sunday and Monday night in Beit She’an. One more thing, because we need to wrap up. One more—there’s so much—but if just one more, then really a wonderful activity for the whole family with klezmer musicians and ancient melodies, a visit to underground caves and an encounter with figures from the past in a truly fascinating activity at Beit She’arim National Park. I started before with Beit She’an, and now Beit She’arim, and this too takes place in the evening hours, six and eight in the evening. Two other places that I very much want to bring you closer to: one is Maayan Harod and the second is Kokhav HaYarden. Wonderful campgrounds for sleeping over. At Maayan Harod the water is flowing, you can dip your feet in the water, beautiful wading pools, and at Kokhav HaYarden with a truly beautiful view of the Gilead Mountains and the Jordan Valley. Two places we’ve prepared—we’re ready, we want you to come—without a doubt ideal for young families with young children and of course older people too. Wonderful. You did that so well that I’m already with my car keys in hand. Eti Kuryat-Aharon, thank you very much. Thank you very much, happy holiday, goodbye. Halleluyah Israel. Hello Yaron Rosenthal, director of the Kfar Etzion Field School. Good morning, good morning to the listeners. Good morning. So last week you recommended a hike for the intermediate days that basically went from eastern Gush Etzion to the Dead Sea. And today? And today, that’s it, I got a lot of complaints that people don’t have the strength to walk 17 kilometers, so we said this time we’d give the other side—we’ll give a very easy trip, with lots of water, with crawling underground, light crawling. That’s basically all Israelis need. They need to get to a place, have the option of a short tour, sit on the grass, have a barbecue, the kids splash in the water, go into the tunnel, and of course we’re talking about Amet HaBiyar. It’s important to know that although in the north there was a drought year, in the central region rainfall was about average. And here in Gush Etzion there was a lot of rain, and this area is also high, so it’s still green. And I don’t remember for years seeing the Biyar spring flowing so impressively. So for a child, say, ten years old, how high would the water come? Roughly to a height of 60 centimeters, so there’s no problem walking. And we draw the surplus water that is there. And really when you stand there underground and feel the cool water, you can only imagine how much they invested in the days of the Hasmoneans, in the days of Herod, in order to maintain this enterprise. And the relevance specifically on Passover is very significant, because basically why build such a tremendous water enterprise with an underground tunnel 2.8 kilometers long? We’re not walking all of it today, but we are walking a section close to 100 meters long. And why did they invest so much effort, so much energy, so much money in such a water enterprise? And the answer is of course Jerusalem and the Temple. If you want to sustain a great capital city, and Jerusalem was one of the most beautiful cities in antiquity during the Second Temple period, and if you want to sustain a Temple—and the Temple too, the Holy Temple, was a very magnificent Temple, also in terms of… Yaron, we have to finish, but maybe we’ll sum up your words by saying that then as now, Gush Etzion, or this area, was basically the shield of Jerusalem. So you presented Amet HaBiyar to us. Thank you very much and may it be a happy holiday. Happy holiday. Happy holiday, we’ll meet on the trails. And hello to Rabbi Amir Mashiach with an idea for Passover, for the Haggadah. Greetings to you and to all the listeners. Passover is the day on which we transmit the tradition and the story of the Exodus from Egypt from those days to this time. But of course there is also a challenge or a task that stands before us, and the Zohar calls matzah “the bread of faith.” That means that apparently we need to clarify our faith in that ancient tradition. And this is done throughout the Haggadah through asking questions. That is “Why is this night different,” and “the Torah spoke of four sons,” and each one asks a question in a different style. Sometimes the questions are difficult and piercing, but the central message is that a question constitutes faith. Maybe we’ll say here a sentence from David Hume, one of the great Scottish philosophers of the 17th century, and in his book Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion he says the following foundational sentence: “For a learned man, to be a philosophical skeptic is the first and most essential step toward being a true believer.” In other words, if we always think that a question is an act of heresy, then the seder night comes to teach us to ask in order to deepen faith. That is how we strengthen our faith and pass it on to the next generation. Success. Wonderful. Rabbi Amir Mashiach, may it be a happy and kosher holiday, and thank you very much. Let us thank all those involved in the work: Shalom Mendel, Ornit Or, Matan Diminsky, Harel Davidovitz. I’m Sarah Beck, wishing you a kosher and happy holiday. Go out and travel, look at the sky, enjoy the green. We’ll be here again in two weeks, after Passover. Goodbye. You can hear that it’s Israeli, you can hear that it’s Israeli, Galey, Galey, Galey Israel. Hello to you all, a kosher and happy holiday to all the listeners. We are truly on the eve of Passover, and today we will talk about the central commandment of this great night, the commandment “And you shall tell your son.” Maimonides writes in the laws of leaven and matzah: “It is a positive commandment from the Torah to tell of the miracles and wonders that were done for our ancestors in Egypt on the night of the fifteenth of Nisan, as it is said, ‘Remember this day on which you went out from Egypt,’ just as it is said, ‘Remember the Sabbath day.’ And how do we know it is on the night of the fifteenth? Talmud / Talmudic text says: ‘And you shall tell your son on that day, saying: because of this’—at the time when matzah and bitter herbs are placed before you.” Even though throughout the entire year we are commanded to mention the Exodus from Egypt, as we say every day in the Shema in the passage of tzitzit, “I am the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt,” nevertheless on this night there is a special commandment of telling. Not only remembering, but telling, in the form of question and answer, in order to arouse the children. Therefore we change several things on this night, we distribute roasted grains and nuts, so that the children will ask and understand that this is a different and special night, a night of faith that passes from father to son. May we all have a kosher and happy Passover holiday.