The Foundation Stone Haggadah: Maggid 2

There’s happiness in this world, and happiness in the Heavens. But there’s more. “And now, the power of Heaven increases because there is only joy in Heaven and joy on Earth.” In this way, by the Jews telling the story of the Exodus, they are making God more powerful. It’s just like a king whose power increases when all his subjects tell him, “You’re the greatest! We love you! We will follow you!” (Not to compare, look at what Clinton feels like when he is met by throngs of people who are cheering him on. Look at what that does for him.) The Zohar is saying that we make God happy, and that He sends the angels who, in turn, get happy, and the whole universe becomes filled with joy. This is a world! God is more powerful because it is a greater expression of what He wanted from the world. When God is more powerful, then we, who made God more powerful, become more powerful.

Therefore, it makes sense to sit down at the Seder and busy yourself with the story. On Seder night we rejoice for what God did for us. We make the world a happier place. So the next time that God does something for you and you rejoice in it, it will matter. It will make the Heavens happy because you will be a different person than you were before. So the key to a successful Magid is to say it with joy.

As happy human beings, we are empowering God. Is that not the greatest freedom in the entire world? Where do you think “Baruch Ata Hashem…” comes from? To be able to bless God is a tremendous freedom. When we tell over the story of the Exodus, we are earning the capacity to give God a blessing. So the overall message of Maggid is that we have something to give God. By the way, the best way to become more powerful is to be happy and that’s why the highest level of service to God is happiness.