Rabbi Akiva decided to have seder at his home in Bnei Brak. He checked it out with his wife, a menu was planned and guests were invited. When the responses came back, Rabbi Akiva was surprised. All of those invited responded in the affirmative. They would be honored to attend. And so the stage was set for the only Peach seder which would be recalled at every seder throughout Jewish History.
The Haggadah describes the now famous events of that night: It happened that Rabbi Eliezer, Rabbi Yehoshua, Rabbi Elazar ben Azaryah, Rabbi Akiva and Rabbi Tarfon were reclining in Bnei Brak. They told and retold the story of the Exodus from Egypt all through the night until their students came rushing in to tell them: "Our Rabbis, the time has arrived for reciting the morning Shema!"
If we examine the guest list of this seder, some serious questions arise regarding the plausibility of this event. Rabbi Akiva was obviously there; Bnei Brak was his hometown and it is assumed that the seder took place at his house.
However, the fact that the other four rabbis - Rabbi Eliezer, Rabbi Yehoshua, Rabbi Elazar ben Azaryah, and Rabbi Tarfon - joined the seder is questionable (The Tosafot to Ketubot 105a explain that Rabbi Elazar ben Azaryah is mentioned before Rabbi Akiva in the list of sages because he was a tenth-generation of Ezra the scribe and was the Nasi).
The first difficulty involves two of these rabbis. It is known from various sources in the Talmud that Rabbi Yehoshua and Rabbi Eliezer were masters and teachers of Rabbi Akiva. The Talmud in Massekhet Sanhedrin (32b) recalls that Rabbi Akiva was from Bnai Brak, while Rabbi Yehoshua was from Peki'in and Rabbi Eliezer was from Lod. It is clear then that these teachers were spending the Seder night with their student. This is the exact opposite of normal protocol. If anything, students are to visit their teachers on festivals, and not the other way around. How could they all have been in Bnei Brak for the seder?
There is another problem regarding Rabbi Eliezer and Rabbi Elazar ben Azaryah's presence at the seder. Various commentators have asked: How they could have participated in this seder? The Talmud tells us, after all, that they are of the opinion that the Afikoman must be eaten before midnight (Berakhot 9a, Pesachim 120b, Megillah 21a; Zevachim 57b). Since the mitzvah of "Magid - telling the story of the Exodus" must be done with the matzah before you, how could Rabbi Eliezer and Rabbi Elazar ben Azaryah take part in a seder that lasted until the next morning?
And what about Rabbi Eliezer? Rabbi Tzvi Hirsch Hayos questions this sage's appearance at the seder as well (Hiddushim on Sanhedrin 32b; also in Haggadat Leil Shemurim of Rabbi Yechiel Michal Epstein). He first informs us that Bnei Brak is not within walking distance of Rabbi Eliezer's hometown, Lod. He then reminds us that in the Talmud, Rabbi Eliezer holds that one may not be away from their household on a holiday, based on the verse: "Vesamahta Atah Uvetekha – You shall rejoice, you and your household" (Devarim 14:26 as explained in Sukkah 27b). So, how could Rabbi Eliezer spent Pesach with Rabbi Akiva in Bnei Brak, so far away from his own home?
And finally, we have Rabbi Tarfon. According to some manuscripts of the Talmud, Rabbi Tarfon determined that one must drink five cups of wine at the seder (Rabbenu Hananel, Pesachim 118a and Pesachim 26a in the pages of the Rif). All of the other rabbis hold that one must drink only four cups of wine, one may not drink further after the fourth cup (See Mishnah Berurah 481:1 for different reasons). Wouldn't Rabbi Tarfon have been uncomfortable accepting an invitation to a seder where his minority view would be rejected and perhaps even ridiculed? Didn't Rabbi Tarfon fear that he would insult the host and other rabbis by following his own opinion? After all, he was the student of Rabbi Akiva (Tosafot to Avodah Zarah 45a). Could Rabbi Tarfon really have attended such a seder?
All of these difficulties may be resolved by a simple explanation. Perhaps since the rabbis were celebrating Pesach in Bnei Brak at the home of Rabbi Akiva, they adhered to the principal of Minhag Hamakom: following the custom of that place. When each accepted the invitation to spend seder at Rabbi Akiva's house, he agreed to forgo his own opinion and follow the customs of his host (See Kehilat Yaakov by Rabbi Yaakov Kanievsky, the Steipler Gaon, vol. 8, siman 44,#4).
This explanation, however, seems quite implausible. After all, many of these same rabbis were involved in the incident of the Tanuro shel Akhnai - an argument over the future status of an oven which became impure (Bava Metzia 59b). None of the rabbis was willing to compromise on what they believed to be the correct halakhah: the dispute ended with Rabbi Eliezer's excommunication. It therefore seems unlikely then that Rabbi Elazar ben Azaryah would eat the Afikoman after midnight. Or that Rabbi Eliezer would leave his household on a Yom Tov. Or that Rabbi Tarfon would refrain from drinking the five cups of wine he requires for the seder. How then could this seder have taken place?
One answer offered by the Sefat Emet is that this famous gathering of the five rabbis did not take place on Pesach, but on some other day during the year. Although it is generally assumed that they came together in Bnei Brak for the Pesach seder, the story does not explicitly say this. Apparently, the rabbis wanted to spent Pesach together analyzing the events of the Exodus from Egypt but could not do so because of their different halakhic positions. So they chose another, arbitrary, day of the year to have this discussion. However, aside from the fact that the Haggadah does imply that the five rabbis got together on Pesach by relating that "they reclined" while discussing the Exodus, something we do only on Pesach, the Sefat Emet's suggestion is somewhat distressing. Was it really impossible for these rabbis to spent Pesach together? Were their halakhic differences so great that they prevented friends from having seder at Rabbi Akiva's house?
Instead of offering a resolution for each rabbi's appearance at this historic seder, I prefer to leave each of the difficulties with a Tzarikh Iyun - a need to be examined. Taking the author of the Haggadah as a faithful historian, I would like to focus on an inspiring message that emanates from this seder. Each of these rabbis was invited to a seder in which they wanted to participate, but did not exactly fit their own personal observance. Certainly it would have been easier not to attend. But each rabbi was clearly able to work out his particular issue. Because they wanted to be together - they made it happen, but without compromising their beliefs.
The seder of the five Sages teaches us that it is possible to participate in the lives of our friends and family, without having to compromise our observance of the halakhah. Being inclusive does not mean bending on correct observance. It means arranging an occasion so that the halakhah is not pushed aside. All of us have family members and friends who are at different spiritual and observance levels. When special events like the seder arise, each person brings his or her own expectations and ideas about how best to celebrate the occasion. These differing agendas are often a source of tension, making a seder, wedding or other event less joyous than we would hope. But the presence of Rabbi Elazar ben Azaryah, Rabbi Eliezer, Rabbi Tarfon and Rabbi Yehoshua at Rabbi Akiva's seder should inspire us. Like them, we should strive to spend Pesach and all other occasions with those closest to us, in an atmosphere, that allows us to be both inclusive and halakhic.
Rabbi
Mordechai Friedfertig
Congregation B'nai Shalom
Williamsville,
New York
Email: mordechai at utj.org
Copyright 2001-2003 by Mordechai Friedfertig