The Seder night refers to the first night when we sit around the table and conduct the Seder, as our Sages established. In Israel, this Seder is conducted only on the first night of Pesach; outside of Israel, this Seder is conducted on the second night of Pesach as well.
The Tur (Chapter 472) writes that all of the necessary items for the Seder should be prepared before the onset of Yom Tov, i.e. the Seder table should already be set from the afternoon of Erev Pesach. A nice tablecloth should be placed on the table and all of the Seder items, including the Matzah, Karpas (celery), Maror (romaine lettuce), Charoset, salt water (or vinegar), and all other Seder necessities should be placed on the table.
The reason for why one should be meticulous regarding this matter, especially on the night of Pesach is so that the Seder can begin immediately when the men return home from the synagogue. The great Rishon Le’Zion, Hagaon Rabbeinu Yitzchak Yosef Shlit”a writes that it is not necessary for all of the items to actually be placed on the table, for sometimes there is not enough room on the table for everything or they wish to bring each item to the table as necessary for convenience. Thus, it is sufficient to prepare everything in advance and place the items wherever one wants in a manner that everything will be prepared and there will be no hindrance to the holiday meal.
Nevertheless, the Rishon Le’Zion writes that this should not become a point of contention in the home, for peace stands above all. This is especially true on this holy night which must be filled with joy and no anger should infiltrate one’s heart on this night.
It is recounted about one of the greatest luminaries of the past generations, Hagaon Harav Meshulam Igra zt”l (who lived approximately two-hundred years ago and even in his youth was known as a tremendous genius), would toil himself in the preparation of the Matzot for Pesach. He would plant wheat in his yard and he would then harvest the wheat himself, grind it, knead it into a dough, and bake the Matzah all on his own from beginning to end. This was all done with utmost meticulousness in Halacha as well as sanctity and purity.
In those days, in was customary to keep the Matzah (as well as other baked goods) in a sack attached to a rope that hung from the ceiling in order to protect it from an infestation of insects and rodents. These special Matzot were placed in such a sack as well. Next to this sack, his wife placed the other regular Matzot (ones Rav Meshulam did not bake himself) in a separate sack and they would eat these other Matzot on Chol Ha’Mo’ed.
A poor, young Jewish woman lived in Rav Meshulam’s home and served as a housekeeper and she would assist the Rabbanit with all of her household chores. On Erev Pesach, the Rabbanit was busy preparing Matzah balls out of the Matzah meal to be placed in the soup.
She asked the housekeeper to bring her three regular Matzot so she could grind them into Matzah meal for the soup. The housekeeper went and then inadvertently took three of the Rav’s own precious Matzot and gave them to the Rabbanit. The Rabbanit was not aware of her mistake and ground up these Matzot for Matzah balls.
That evening, after the Rav had already left for the synagogue, the Rabbanit went to get the Rav’s Matzot so that she could place them on the table but when she entered the room, she realized what had happened and let out a cry! The housekeeper also understood what had happened and she ran away from the home and hid close to the synagogue. The Rabbanit did not know what to do and she decided to place the regular Matzot on the table, hoping that the Rav would not notice the difference.
The Rav returned from the synagogue and soon began the Seder; however, he soon realized that the Matzot in front of him were not the ones he made. He asked his wife where his Matzot were and she told him exactly what had transpired and he furrowed his brow. He was not worried about the Matzot, however; another thought entered his mind. “Where is the housekeeper?” the Rav inquired. The Rav immediately instructed his son to go find the housekeeper and bring her home. Indeed, he returned a few minutes later with the noticeably ashamed housekeeper following behind him. The Rav sat her down and told her, “My daughter, believe me, I do not care about the Matzot at all, and do not worry about it at all. To show you that I am not upset at all and that I want you to be happy with us on the Seder night, I promise you that immediately after Yom Tov, the Rabbanit will buy you a new dress!”
This story is truly incredible. Rav Meshulam who worked so hard on preparing the Matzot himself did not become personally attached to them in the least as he had only done this to perform the Mitzvah in the most preferable manner possible. However, at that moment, the greatest Mitzvah he could perform was to gladden the heart of the poor, young woman. This was the true will of Hashem. May Hashem grant us the merit to follow the path of this righteous man.
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