Passover and the Poor
One of the most enduring parts of the Seder happens close to the beginning of the ceremony in the Haggadah. The shankbone and the egg are removed from the Seder plate (because they could easily roll off— Jewish customs are not always for mysterious reasons!) and the Seder plate is lifted up. Everyone recites a sort of introduction to the Seder:

This is the bread of poverty which our forefathers ate in the land of Egypt. Let all who are hungry enter and eat; let all who are needy come to our Passover feast. This year we are here; next year we will be in the land of Israel. This year we are slaves; next year may we be free men.

Let all who are hungry enter and eat; let all who are needy come to our Passover feast

This is the bread of poverty which our forefathers ate in the land of Egypt. Let all who are hungry enter and eat; let all who are needy come to our Passover feast. This year we are here; next year we will be in the land of Israel. This year we are slaves; next year may we be free men.

In the Schocken Passover Haggadah, edited by Nahum Glatzer, we read this comment: “The reference to the Passover ‘feast,’ or rather the Passover sacriice, suggests that the passage was written before the destruction of the temple.”

At the temple, Passover was one of three pilgrimage feasts (Deut 16:16). The people brought with them their tithe of grain, fruit, and meat, to eat and share with the poor and the Levites (Deut 14:22-29). This could very well be the origin of the saying, “Let all who are hungry enter and eat; let all who are needy come to our Passover feast.”

But are we to suppose that a hungry person might just happen to be on our street at the time we hold the Seder? Probably not, but there are two good ways to fulill the aim of this beautiful introduction to the Seder.

First, we can, in advance, invite some to our Seder who might not celebrate it otherwise. Second, leading up to Passover, why not make some donations to a local food bank or send money to a world hunger fund? Then, when the night of Passover comes, we will truly be able to say, “Let all who are needy come to our Passover feast.”