* Translated by Janine Muller Sherr
I invite you to take a break from the constant news updates and your Pesach cleaning in order to listen to the following story that Rebbe Nachman from Breslov would tell:
In a city in Germany there lived two beggars: one Jewish and the other non-Jewish. They would wander around together collecting charity. One Erev Pesach, the Jewish beggar said to his friend: “Did you know that once a year the Jews eat a meal fit for a king? It happens on Pesach, a very important holiday. Pretend you’re a Jew, go to a Seder, and you will be served a delicious meal.”
The non-Jewish beggar was excited about the idea. It was easy for him to find a Jewish family who would host him since Seder night is a time for welcoming guests. As it says in the Haggadah: “All who are hungry, let them come and eat.”
On Seder night, each beggar found himself sitting in front of a long, beautifully laid table. The non-Jewish beggar was sure that the meal would start right away. He imagined the delicious food described by his Jewish friend and could hardly wait for it to be brought to the table.
So, you can imagine his disappointment when all he got at the beginning of the meal was a little wine and then a small piece of potato dipped in salt water. He couldn’t understand why everyone was talking so much and reading from an ancient book. He waited for the main course to be served, but after so much talking, all he got was a small piece of matzah. He continued to wait and when at last he thought the main course had arrived, he was served a bowl filled with lettuce. “What is this? he thought to himself, “The lettuce is bitter! This is what they eat? Strange Jews—after all these rituals, all they serve is a bitter vegetable?! He got up angrily from the table and stormed out of the house.
Later that night, the Jewish beggar returned to the street corner he shared with the non-Jewish beggar. He was beaming with pleasure and very full. “How was your Seder night?” he asked his friend. When he heard the German beggar’s story, he didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.
“I don’t believe it!” he said, “Why didn’t you wait? If you had waited just a bit longer, after the maror you would have been served a feast!”
What is the lesson of this story?
We know that there is much bitterness in our world, and that life is filled with difficulties and challenges. But Pesach is the holiday on which we recognize that the maror is not the end of the story, but only a stage that we must experience before arriving at the feast. Our people had been enslaved for hundreds of years in Egypt, when suddenly everything changed— God redeemed us and took us as His nation.
Maror doesn’t rule the world, and evil doesn’t last forever. Ultimately, the good, the ethical, and the holy will overcome the bitterness.
