As the seder comes to a close, not only do we recall the moment of the liberation from Egypt, but we also pray for redemption from our contemporary persecutors.

 

The angry plea to Shfoch Chamat’cha… “Pour out Your wrath upon the nations who do not know You,” entered the Haggadah at the end of an age of flowering for the German Jewish community with Talmudic academies that boasted names such as Rabennu Gershom, Jacob ben Yakar and Rashi. This glorious chapter in Jewish history came to an end with the first Crusade in 1095 decimated the Rhineland Jewish communities.

 

One response to these atrocities was the insertion of “Pour out your wrath,” a call to God for vengeance. It first appears in the 11th Century French  Machzor Vitry  and is based on Psalm 79 which was most likely written in response to the destruction of the first temple.

 

Some Jews who prefer to view God as gentle and compassionate find this prayer inappropriate. Other Jews who have personally experienced the hostility of nations find no difficulty in reading it.

 

In the spirit of one of the great Zionist poets Haim Nachman Bialik who wrote “the appropriate vengeance for the murder of a child has not been conceived by even Satan himself”, the Worms Haggadah of 1521, attributed to the descendants of Rashi, has this unique addition.

 

“Pour out Your love on the nations who have known You,
and on the kingdoms that call upon Your name.
For they have shown loving-kindness to the seed of Jacob,
And they defended Your people Israel from those who would devour them alive.
May they live to see the sukkah of peace spread over Your chosen ones,
And to participate in the joy of Your nations.”

 

 

This text highlights the many righteous among the nations who have spoken out against injustice. I pray for the day when the majority of humanity invoke God’s name for the purpose of love rather than vengeance. That will truly be a messianic age.

 


haggadah Section: Commentary / Readings
Source: Based on research of Rabbi Neil Gillman and Rabbi Lawrence A. Hoffman.