The Shabbat Before Pesach

Shabbat shelifnei haPesach

שַׁבָּת שֶׁלִּפְנֵי הַפֶּסַח

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Hebrew

יָכוֹל מֵרֹאשׁ חֹדֶשׁ, תַּלְמוּד
לוֹמַר: "בַּיּוֹם הַהוּא."
אִי בַּיּוֹם הַהוּא, יָכוֹל
מִבְּעוֹד יוֹם, תַּלְמוּד לוֹמַר:
"בַּעֲבוּר זֶה," בַּעֲבוּר זֶה לֹא
אָמַרְתִּי אֶלָּא בְּשָׁעָה שֶׁיֵּשׁ
מַצָּה וּמָרוֹר מֻנָּחִים לְפָנֶיךָ.

Sephardi

Yachol merosh chodesh, talmud
lomar: "Bayom hahu."
I bayom hahu, yachol
mib'od yom, talmud lomar:
"Ba'avur zeh," ba'avur zeh lo
amarti ela b'sha'ah sheyesh
matzah umaror munachim lefanecha.

English

One might think that the discussion of the Exodus from Egypt must begin from the first of the month of Nissan, because that was when Moses gave the Jewish Nation instructions concerning the Exodus from Egypt. Therefore, the Torah says, "You should tell your son about the Exodus from Egypt on that day" (the day of the Pesach-offering), in order to teach us that we begin when we bring the Pesach-offering. If the Torah would only say "on that day," however, one might think that he should begin while it is still daytime on the day before Pesach, because the previous verse speaks about the Pesach-offering, which was brought in the afternoon of the day before Pesach. To teach us otherwise, the Torah says that the father should tell his son, "It is because of these mitzvot—Pesach, eating matzah, and eating marror—that God did miracles for me when I left Egypt." You can only say "because of these mitzvot" on the night of Pesach itself when you have the obligation to eat matzah and marror.

Hebrew

מִתְּחִלָּה עוֹבְדֵי עֲבוֹדָה
זָרָה הָיוּ אֲבוֹתֵינוּ,
וְעַכְשָׁו קֵרְבָנוּ הַמָּקוֹם
לַעֲבֹדָתוֹ, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: וַיֹּאמֶר
יְהוֹשֻׁעַ אֶל כָּל הָעָם, כֹּה
אָמַר יְיָ אֱלֹהֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל.
בְּעֵבֶר הַנָּהָר יָשְׁבוּ אֲבוֹתֵיכֶם
מֵעוֹלָם, תֶּרַח אֲבִי אַבְרָהָם
וַאֲבִי נָחוֹר, וַיַּעַבְדוּ אֱלֹהִים
אֲחֵרִים.

Sephardi

Mitchilah ovdei avodah
zarah hayu avoteinu,
v'achshav kervanu hamakom
la'avodato, shene'emar: vayomer
Yehoshua el kol ha'am, koh
amar Adonai Elohei Yisrael.
B'ever hanahar yashvu avoteichem
me'olam, Terach avi Avraham
va'avi Nachor, vaya'avdu elohim
acherim.

English

Originally, before Abraham, our ancestors served idols. But now, God brought us close to His service, as it says in the book of Joshua: Joshua said to the entire nation, "This is what the Lord, the God of the Children of Israel, said, 'Your ancestors—Terach, the father of Abraham and the father of Nachor—used to live on the other side of the Euphrates river, and they served other gods.

Hebrew

וָאֶקַּח אֶת אֲבִיכֶם אֶת
אַבְרָהָם מֵעֵבֶר
הַנָּהָר, וָאוֹלֵךְ אוֹתוֹ בְּכָל
אֶרֶץ כְּנָעַן, וָאַרְבֶּה אֶת
זַרְעוֹ וָאֶתֵּן לוֹ אֶת יִצְחָק.
וָאֶתֵּן לְיִצְחָק אֶת יַעֲקֹב
וְאֶת עֵשָׂו, וָאֶתֵּן לְעֵשָׂו אֶת הַר
שֵּׂעִיר לָרֶשֶׁת אֹתוֹ, וְיַעֲקֹב
וּבָנָיו יָרְדוּ מִצְרָיִם.

Sephardi

Va'ekach et avichem et
Avraham mei'ever
hanahar, va'olech oto bechol
eretz Kena'an, vaarbeh et
zar'o va'eten lo et Yitzchak.
Va'eten l'Yitzchak et Ya'akov
ve'et Esav, va'eten l'Esav et har
Sei'ir lareshet oto, veya'akov
uvanav yardu Mitzrayim.

English

"But I took your father Abraham from across the river, and I led him throughout the whole land of Canaan. I increased his descendants and gave him his son Isaac, and to Isaac I gave two sons, Jacob and Esau. I gave Mount Sei'ir as an inheritance to Esau for him to live there, so as not to be counted as part of Isaac's descendants, about whom I promised to Abraham that they would be slaves in a strange land, and would later be redeemed and brought back to the Land of Israel. Whereas Jacob and his sons did go down to Egypt, and are therefore considered Isaac's descendants, the ones whom I will bring back to the Land of Israel."

Hebrew

בָּרוּךְ שׁוֹמֵר הַבְטָחָתוֹ לְיִשְׂרָאֵל,1
בָּרוּךְ הוּא, שֶׁהַקָּדוֹשׁ
בָּרוּךְ הוּא חִשַּׁב אֶת הַקֵּץ
לַעֲשׂוֹת כְּמַה שֶּׁאָמַר לְאַבְרָהָם
אָבִינוּ בִּבְרִית בֵּין הַבְּתָרִים,
שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: וַיֹּאמֶר לְאַבְרָם: יָדֹעַ
תֵּדַע כִּי גֵר יִהְיֶה זַרְעֲךָ בְּאֶרֶץ לֹא
לָהֶם, וַעֲבָדוּם וְעִנּוּ אֹתָם, אַרְבַּע
מֵאוֹת שָׁנָה. וְגַם אֶת הַגּוֹי אֲשֶׁר
יַעֲבֹדוּ דָּן אָנֹכִי, וְאַחֲרֵי כֵן יֵצְאוּ
בִּרְכֻשׁ גָּדוֹל.

Sephardi

Baruch shomer havtachato l'Yisrael,
baruch hu, shehakadosh
baruch hu chishav et hakeitz
la'asot k'mah she'amar l'Avraham
avinu bivrit bein habetarim,
shene'emar: vayomer l'Avram: yadoa
teda ki ger yihyeh zar'acha b'eretz lo
lahem, va'avadum v'inu otam, arba
me'ot shanah. Vegam et hagoy asher
ya'avodu dan anochi, v'acharei chen yetz'u
birchush gadol.

English

Blessed is God, Who keeps His promise regarding the Children of Israel throughout the generations.1 Blessed be He, because the Holy One, blessed be He, calculated the end of the exile in Egypt, in order to keep the promise and do as He had said to Abraham at the Covenant Between the Portions. As it says in the Torah: God said to Abraham, "You should know that your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not theirs, where their masters will force them to be slaves and make them suffer for four hundred years. I will also judge and punish the nation whom they will serve, and afterward they will leave with great wealth."

Hebrew

וְהִיא שֶׁעָמְדָה לַאֲבוֹתֵינוּ וְלָנוּ,
שֶׁלֹּא אֶחָד בִּלְבַד עָמַד
עָלֵינוּ לְכַלּוֹתֵנוּ אֶלָּא שֶׁבְּכָל
דּוֹר וָדוֹר עוֹמְדִים עָלֵינוּ
לְכַלּוֹתֵנוּ, וְהַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא
מַצִּילֵנוּ מִיָּדָם.

Sephardi

V'hi she'amdah la'avoteinu v'lanu,
shelo echad bilvad amad
aleinu l'chaloteinu ela sheb'khol
dor vador omdim aleinu
l'chaloteinu, v'hakadosh baruch hu
matzileinu miyadam.

English

This—God's promise throughout the generations—is what has stood by and protected our fathers and us. We needed the protection of this promise throughout all the generations because not just Pharaoh alone rose up against us to utterly destroy us, but in every generation there are those who rise up against us to utterly destroy us, and the Holy One, blessed be He, saves us from their hands.