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Afterwards say: NEXT YEAR IN JERUSALEM! |
חֲסַל סִדּוּר פֶּסַח כְּהִלְכָתוֹ, כְּכָל מִשְׁפָּטוֹ וְחֻקָתוֹ. לְשָׁנָה הַבָּאָה בִּירוּשָׁלָיִם. בְּאֶרֶץ יִשְׂרָאֵל אוֹמְרִים: לְשָׁנָה הַבָּאָה בִּירוּשָׁלָיִם הַבְּנוּיָה. יֵשׁ נוֹהֲגִין בְּחוּץ לָאָרֶץ בְּלֵיל שֵׁנִי שֶּׁל פֶּסַח לִסְפֹּר כַּאן סְפִירַת הָעֹמֶר: בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יְיָ אֱלֹהֵינוּ מֶלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם, אֲשֶׁר קִדְּשָׁנוּ בְּמִצְווֹתָיו וְצִוָנוּ עַל סְפִירַת הָעֹמֶר. הַיּוֹם יוֹם אֶחָד בָּעֹמֶר. בְּלֵיל רִאשוֹן אוֹמְרִים: וּבְכֵן וַיְהִי בַּחֲצִי הַלַּיְלָה בְּלֵיל שֵנִי אוֹמְרִים: וּבְכֵן וַאֲמֶַרְתֶּם זֶבַח פֶּסַח אֹמֶץ גְּבוּרוֹתֶיךָ הִפְלֵאתָ בַּפֶּסַח, בְּרֹאשׁ כָּל מוֹעֲדוֹת נִשֵּׂאתָ פֶּסַח, גִּלִיתָ לְאֶזְרָחִי חֲצוֹת לֵיל פֶּסַח, וַאֲמַרְתֶּם זֶבַח פֶּסַח. דְּלָתָיו דָּפַקְתָּ כְּחֹם הַיוֹם בַּפֶּסַח, הִסְעִיד נוֹצְצִים עֻגוֹת מַצּוֹת בַּפֶּסַח, וְאֵל הַבָּקָר רָץ זֵכֶר לְשׁוֹר עֵרֶךְ פֶּסַח, וַאֲמַרְתֶּם זֶבַח פֶּסַח. זוֹעֲמוּ סְדוֹמִים וְלוֹהֲטוּ בָּאֵשׁ בַּפֶּסַח, חֻלַּץ לוֹט מֵהֶם וּמַצּוֹת אָפָה בְּקֵץ פֶּסַח, טִאטֵאתֶ אַדְמַת מֹף וְנֹף בְּעָבְרְךָ בַּפֶּסַח, וַאֲמַרְתֶּם זֶבַח פֶּסַח. יָהּ רֹאשׁ כָּל אוֹן מָחַצְתָּ בְּלֵיל שִׁמּוּר פֶּסַח, כַּבִּיר, עַל בֵּן בְּכוֹר פָּסַחְתָּ בְּדַם פֶּסַח, לְבִלְתִּי תֵּת מַשְׁחִית לָבֹא בִּפְתָחַי בַּפֶּסַח, וַאֲמַרְתֶּם זֶבַח פֶּסַח. מְסֻגֶּרֶת סֻגָּרָה בְּעִתּוֹתֵי פֶּסַח, נִשְׁמְדָה מִדְיָן בִּצְלִיל שְׂעוֹרֵי עֹמֶר פֶּסַח, שׂוֹרפוּ מִשְׁמַנֵי פּוּל וְלוּד בִּיקַד יְקוֹד פֶּסַח, וַאֲמַרְתֶּם זֶבַח פֶּסַח. עוֹד הַיוֹם בְּנֹב לַעֲמוֹד עַד גָּעָה עוֹנַת פֶּסַח, פַּס יַד כָּתְבָה לְקַעֲקֵעַ צוּל בַּפֶּסַח, צָפֹה הַצָּפִית עִָרוֹךְ הַשֻּׁלְחָן בַּפֶּסַח, וַאֲמַרְתֶּם זֶבַח פֶּסַח. קָהָל כִּנְּסָה הֲדַסָּה לְשַׁלֵּשׁ צוֹם בַּפֶּסַח, רֹאשׁ מִבֵּית רָשָׁע מָחַצְתָּ בְּעֵץ חֲמִשִּׁים בַּפֶּסַח, שְׁתֵּי אֵלֶּה רֶגַע תָּבִיא לְעוּצִּית בַּפֶּסַח, תָּעֹז יָדְךָ וְתָרוּם יְמִינְךָ כְּלֵיל הִתְקַדֵּשׁ חַג פֶּסַח, וַאֲמַרְתֶּם זֶבַח פֶּסַח.
אַדִּיר הוּא יִבְנֶה בֵּיתוֹ בְּקָרוֹב. אֶחָד מִי יוֹדֵעַ, אֶחָד אֲנִי יוֹדֵעַ.. חַד גַּדְיָא, חַד גַּדְיָא |
What
Nirtzah is the final phase of the Seder. It refers to the closing group of songs where we take leave and express our gratitude for having completed the journey. The word nirtzah comes from the Hebrew verb rotzeh, which means “to want or desire.” It is in the nif’al tense of the verb, a tense that describes the state of the subject as a result of the action. It therefore means wanting or desiring something in a resultative form — that is, the experience of the Passover Seder has been received and accepted.
Why
The ritual of Nirtzah expresses that our Seder efforts have been received and accepted by God and by the Seder participants around our table, and that we, ourselves, appreciate our effort and accomplishment. Nirtzah, however, is not only a culmination of the evening. It is also an expression of unfulfilled desire (rotzeh). The energy of Nirtzah suggests fulfillment as well as potential for more. Our end is no end at all, but rather a satisfying phase in an evolving relationship with God, one another, and ourselves.
Both the content and structure of Nirtzah suggest a time of transitioning. It is composed of historical poems crossing through time, songs with circular refrains, numerical progressions, and folklorish themes that transport us from the complexities of the Haggadah to the simplicity of childlike songs.
The Order of Order
The first poem of Nirtzah is Chasal Siddur Pesach. Written in eleventh-century Germany by Yosef Tov Elem, it reads: “The Seder is completed appropriately, with all its laws and practices. . . . ” The Hebrew word siddur (same root as Seder and the prayerbook siddur) means “to place in order.” (The Seder is in order because it follows fourteen established steps — Kadesh, Urchatz, Karpas, etc.).
Chasal Siddur Pesach really means, “We have completed an appropriate preparation (i.e., knowing everything’s order) of the laws and practices of Passover,” but not the actual execution of the laws and practices themselves. The poem was originally intended to be recited on the Shabbat prior to Passover, when it is customary to learn about the holiday and become familiar with its laws and practices. The poem ends with, “Just as we have merited to order it, so too shall we merit to execute it,” bringing together our ordering intent with practice.
- How does the ordering mechanism of the Seder help us enter, anticipate, grasp, and utilize the Seder’s ultimate message of redemption?
- How does the ordered structure of the fourteen steps help us be flexible and creative with the internal content and development?
Freedom From, Freedom To
“The Seder is completed appropriately, with all its laws and practices. . . . Just as we have merited to order it, so too shall we merit to execute it.” At the very end of the Seder we are effectively saying, “We have completed the Seder, but it is yet to be done.” Similarly, the word nirtzah itself implies received and accepted yet still desiring. There is a tension between completing a task and the desire to do it more or better. Our best effort is the one yet to come, precisely because we now aspire to greater challenges.
There is closure when we commemorate “freedom from” — from slavery, illness, an abusive relationship, school, financial burdens, etc. But “freedom to” — to live in liberty, to choose and pursue our choices, to accept consequences, to develop and grow with independence, to love — is an ongoing effort. We reach pauses, plateaus, and milestones, but never actually say (or feel) that the Seder is complete.
Hadran Alach: We Shall Return to You
When we complete the learning of a tractate of a Talmud, it is customary to recite: “Hadran alach . . . . We shall return to you, Tractate X, and you shall return to us. Our thoughts are on you, Tractate X, and your thoughts are on us. We will not forget you, Tractate X, and you shall not forget us, neither in this world or in the world to come.”
We speak to the tractate with which we have been in a serious learning relationship for many months or years, as a beloved friend. As we depart (hopefully, to begin a relationship with a new tractate), we do not say, “That one’s complete. Let’s put it back on the shelf,” but rather “We shall return to you.” The learning process is never truly complete, and we comfort ourselves with the notion that our friend is thinking of us too.
Singing Your Song
“There is but one cause of human failure, and that is man’s lack of faith in his true self.” —William James (nineteenth/twentieth-century American philosopher)
Rabbi Nachman of Bratslav (1772–1810, Chassidic rebbe born in Uman, Ukraine) refers to something called odi, meaning “more,” the little extra-ness that each of us adds to the world. Contributing our unique extra-ness to the world is our song, and our songs are each unique and special. This is alluded to in the verse from Psalms, “I will sing to God through my life; I will serenade my God with my existence [with my extra-ness, with odi].” (Psalms 104:33) Rabbi Nachman’s creative reading of the verse teaches us that we each have a contribution to make and it bears our unique stamp, regardless of how big or small we imagine it to be. Perhaps Nirtzah comes from this idea. At the conclusion of a powerful journey, it is the overflowing of song, of lingering in the sweetness, that speaks to a deeper part of ourselves.
Rabbi Nachman’s teaching about each person’s special song may be understood as similar to James’ “true self.” While Rabbi Nachman uses positive language, and James negative language, each encourages the development of our uniqueness.
In Light of the Video...
- The video for Nirtzah functions as a kind of epilogue for the Rachtzah video, presenting the happy conclusion — and beginning — for the fertility-challenged couple. How does the symbol of a baby (or in this case, babies) pull upon Nirtzah’s theme of received and still desired, of ending and beginning at the same time?
- In the video, the father says, “Each step makes me look forward to all the other steps yet to come.” How does this statement relate to what you now know about Nirtzah? Does it resonate now (or has it resonated in the past) as a truth in your life? How?
Nirtzah: Projecting Freedom
In Nirtzah we state where we are now, and then we immediately look to the future. “We have completed the Seder . . . next year in Jerusalem.” Our present includes our view of the future, and our future includes its past.
In Projecting Freedom, what has been created is for the benefit of inspiring what is yet to be understood and created from it. The essence of the project is to return to the source of the Haggadah and project from it; it is to share the same body of text, to bind and guide us, and to enable us to create further. Hadran alach. We shall return to you . . .