All who are hungry come and eat

In Memory of Nehama
Leibowiz on her Yahrzeit

We begin the Magid section of
the Hagada with the words: “Ha Lachma Anya…”, “This is the poor bread that our
fathers ate in the land of Egypt. Anyone who is
hungry, come and eat! Anyone who needs, come make Pesach! This year we are
still here; next year in the Land of Israel. This year we
are still slaves; next year, free people!

 

Why do we invite guests after
declaring that the matza is poor bread?

 

If our invitation is sincere,
why are we only inviting them now?

 

This statement was introduced
during the Geonic period of the Babylonian exile. Rav Matityahu Gaon  (9^th century) states that the
minhag originally was to leave the door open so that all of the poor people
would feel free to enter and join the meal. Later it became unsafe in many
communities to leave the door unlocked so the guests would be invited in
advance.

 

The reason that it is still
included today is to raise awareness about giving tzedaka to the poor and
inviting those who would otherwise not have a place to spend the seder.

 

The reason that we invite the
poor right after we look at this poor (made with only flour and water) broken
matza is because at that moment we remember how poor we were in Egypt and how
we now want to make sure to include the poor in our happiness.

 

The path to the redemption
begins with righteousness as it says in Yishayahu 1:27 “The city of
righteousness, a faithful city Zion
will be redeemed with judgment and those that return to her with
righteousness.”

 

How does this manifest itself
today?

 

Many families invite guests
to their seder or donate money to help provide food so that those in need can
conduct their own dignified seders.

 

I heard about a beautiful
initiative while listening to an interview on a Jerusalem
radio station: A young couple takes over an entire school in downtown Jerusalem and makes a
seder for 500 people who would otherwise not have a place to spend the first
night of Pesach. Participants include the elderly, Holocaust survivors, lone
soldiers and anyone else who doesn’t want to be alone or cannot afford to
conduct their own seder.

 

Initiatives like these will
help bring us closer to the true redemption. May we spend next Pesach in Yerushalayim
HaBnuya, the rebuilt Jerusalem.