The Seder: The New World Order
Avoiding the detours to freedom
The obsession with doing things in their proper order is exemplified in the Passover evening service known as the Seder, which means order. Despite the fact that the Passover Seder is devoted to the theme of freedom, which often implies the lack of order, freedom in Judaism demands it. Every step in the Seder gets us closer to the realization of our goal of freedom. Deviation from the order may end up causing detours that actually frustrate our ambitions to be free.
This emphasis on order can also be seen in the way the Jewish people were commanded to build a Sanctuary soon after their departure from Egypt. And the construction of the Mishkan (the portable Sanctuary in the desert) was not incidental to the Exodus.
The purpose of their liberation from Egypt was to become G-d’s servants as the Torah relates. In fact, Moses repeatedly told Pharaoh that he should let the people go so that they can bring offerings to G-d in the desert. This they did in the Mishkan.
Thus we can better appreciate the role of order in the way we conduct the seder and relive the experience of the Exodus from the way the Sanctuary was built.
Order in the Sanctuary
When it comes to constructing the Sanctuary, the physical one, as well as the spiritual one in our homes and hearts, one must not leave out any of the steps enumerated by the Torah. In addition, one must follow the order prescribed by the Torah for constructing the Sanctuary.
It would certainly not occur to one who purchases a machine, computer or any complex mechanism, to leave out some of the procedures, prescribed by the manufacturer for its functioning, or to alter the order in which these procedures should be performed.
Similarly, when we experience freedom that enables us to construct our internal Sanctuary, we must not overlook any of its details. Nor should we fail to follow the order in which these components are put together.
With this introduction in mind, we can appreciate the order in which Moses set up and furnished the Sanctuary. First Moses built the actual structure. Secondly he placed the Ark, the holiest part of the Sanctuary, in its innermost precinct. Following the placement of the Ark, Moses placed the Table, Menorah and Incense Altar inside the Sanctuary. Then he placed the Altar for sacrifices in the courtyard, outside of the Sanctuary. After he placed the Altar, he placed the kiyor, the laver—that was used by the priests to wash their hands and feet before performing the daily services in the Temple—in between the Sanctuary and the Altar.
Out of order?
Commentators raise the question, why the laver was placed out of order? All the other components of the Sanctuary seemed to have been placed in the order of their proximity to the Sanctuary: from the Ark in the innermost precinct of the Sanctuary to the curtain at the entrance of the courtyard. Why then was the laver—which was closer to the Sanctuary than the Altar—placed after the Altar, which was further removed from the Sanctuary?
To understand this anomaly we should reflect on the function of the laver and its relationship with the Altar. Before performing the service on the Altar, prior to getting closer to G-d (which is, after all, the simple meaning of the Hebrew word for sacrifice- Korban: getting close) one must be sure to cleanse oneself from the undesirable influences and attitudes that one might harbor. Yet, we must realize that the goal of the process of spiritual cleansing is to get closer to G-d.
We must realize that the process of selfexamination and purification, as important as it is, is nevertheless not the goal, just the means. And while it precedes the process of sanctification—thus the laver was placed closer to the sanctuary than the Altar—it is not the goal. The goal is to take the “outside” world and offer it to G-d, the function of the Altar.
Pass-over in the Mishkan?
Thus, Moses placed the laver first, to underscore that the cleansing was only a prerequisite and prelude to, but not a substitute for, the process of getting close.
Indeed, there are times that one must “Passover” the normal sequence and not wait for the cleansing process to be completed and begin by introducing oneself to holiness even before their purification process has been completed.
In normal times, when the challenge for us is to simply climb the ladder of spiritual refinement rung by rung, one must be careful to do things in the correct order.
Skipping a rung can sometimes prove disastrous. But when we are dealing with unusual times—such as when we must flee from Egypt lest we descend to the fiftieth level of impurity—we cannot afford to limit ourselves to incremental growth; we must sometimes jump and pass-over, reversing the order, even as we are engaged in the process of the seder. And as we shall see, the very beginning of the seder, which means order, involves a reversal of seder.
The Reversal of Order in the Seder
The seder, which, as stated, means order, actually begins with a list of the activities of the evening. The first two items on the list, ironically, appear to be out of order! First it says, kadesh-sanctify and then urchatzcleanse. Shouldn’t we first have to cleanse ourselves and then sanctify ourselves?
Chassidic commentators explain that on the night of Passover, G-d “passes over” the conventional order of things and provides us with a new order, where we have the ability to realize holiness even before we have attained purification. This is analogous to the idea of placing the Altar first and only then mentioning the Laver: First sanctification and then purification.
Pass-over into the Age of Moshiach
As we approach the Holiday of Passover and as we await the imminent arrival of Moshiach who will usher in a “new-world-order”—we should understand that at times we have to override the normal and conventional sequence of events, by reaching for the goal, even before we execute some of the standard prerequisites.
Whereas the exile mode dictates that we must conform to the proper order, the liberation mode demands that we change gears and Pass-over the normal order, even as we ask G-d to do the same, by liberating the world from its limitations. And while we must never shirk our obligations to cleanse ourselves, we must always keep our eyes on the goal of bringing Moshiach and the ultimate Redemption. If that means passing over the routine order, so be it!
From the book Light from the Future: Haggadah Shel Pesach by Rabbi Heschel Greenberg, published by the Jewish Discovery Center.
