Lean Left During Seder

In a few weeks the Jewish people will be celebrating Passover, the festival of Freedom. Passover is the most widely observed Jewish holiday, celebrating not only God’s freeing the Jewish slaves from Egyptian slavery, but the beginning of Jewish nationhood as well.
The biblical story describes the Israelites fleeing from Egypt so quickly that the dough they had started to prepare for bread did not have sufficient time to rise. As a result, the slaves departed from Egypt with the flat bread that became known as matzah. Since that first Passover, Jews commemorate the holiday by eating matzah, which symbolizes, among other things, that it is better to live in freedom and eat poor food than to remain in slavery and eat well.
At the Passover Seder meal in the evening, there is a custom which details that as each person at the dinner table is about to drink from his/her cup of wine that there is a mass leaning to the left that takes place. The custom of reclining to the left is almost universal, partly as an imitation of the way in which royalty would enjoy their meals, but more importantly, as an attempt to physically represent ourselves has having escaped slavery for a life of freedom.
It is not easy to drink wine while slightly bent to he left. Is it more comfortable than simply drinking wine while upright? Not really. Is there a better chance you will spill some wine on your festive clothing? Yes! The way we recline today can feel a little awkward and uncomfortable, not luxurious, like the rabbis who designed the custom intended.
Two medieval German rabbis also raised issue with this practice, claiming that the obligation for reclining during the Passover meal no longer exists, precisely because it is no longer a common practice for free people to eat their meals while reclining on pillows across the floor. According to their opinion, free people are blessed, as we are, to enjoy meals at a table, sitting upright.
Mainstream Jewish law neglected to accept their sociological reasoning. Later rabbis saw something more important in the wider picture of the Passover Seder, namely the necessity to differentiate it from other nights and other meals of the year. We recline to the left, or even move to the floor or lounge to the left, because it forces us to change our routine and imagine ourselves as royalty, enjoying a special banquet. Even if it feels a bit awkward, it is different and special.
My colleague Rabbi Elliot Dorff has yet another way to understand the paradox of leaning uncomfortably to experience comfort. He posits that during the moment of reclining each and every person is not just leaning to the left, but leaning toward the person sitting next to them. The idea behind the reclining is to physically move toward the people with whom we are sitting.
It is interesting to note that even those who are left-handed and normally eat with their left hands must lean to the left, even though leaning to their right would be more natural and comfortable. The practical reason for this is medical.
The rabbis were afraid that leaning toward the right would provide a greater chance that food could get lodged in the windpipe. Another reason is that if those who are right-handed lean to the left, and those who are left-handed lean to the right, then we have no longer created a situation where each person at the table is reclining toward their neighbor.
On Saturday, April 23 I will be leading a community Seder at Beth Judah synagogue in Wildwood. You can go to the website BethJudahTemple.org for more information on how you can become a participant and celebrate with us in addition to getting the schedule of our worship services.
We will eat, drink, sing, sing blessings, discuss, learn, and strengthen our bonds with one another. Celebrating at Passover is your opportunity to take hold of that chance and move your chairs even closer to one another. I hope that when we recline this year, we will enjoy the gift of feeling the physical and spiritual support from our community around our table.
If you know a family who does not have a place to dine for Passover, open your home and extend an invitation. Wishing you a happy and sweet Passover. Hope to see you in Wildwood!