Nisan-Fighting the Fire of Anger XV- The Haggadah To Break Anger-Breslav
1. Break your anger by compassion for the one with whom you are angry. 2. Anger and cruelty arise from a deficiency of understanding. Study the Torah to improve your understanding of immediate situations to have the clarity necessary to avoid anger. 3. He who is obsessed by anger, loses his Godly image. 4. Anger prevents God’s abundance from descending to us. 5. He who subdues his anger, achieves a good name. 6. Anger causes a man to be far from truth. 7. An angry man cannot properly pray. 8. An angry man cannot attain the goals to which he aspires. (Likkutei Eitzot)
1. Ha lachma anya: “I am practicing compassion to learn how to break my anger.” Have in mind a willingness to invite even an enemy to your table.
2. The Four Sons: “I am paying close attention to every question asked at the Seder to develop the necessary understanding and clarity that will help prevent me from responding with anger.
3. Leaning: I am leaning with the dignity of one who was created in the image of God. I pray that by honoring my Godly image, that I will treasure it sufficiently to prevent me from forfeiting it through anger.
4. Dayeinu-Manna: Those who were constantly angry with God, and did not follow His instructions of not leaving any of the Manna over till the morning, just as we are commanded with the Pesach Offering, ended up losing God’s sustenance. We treasure the sense of abundance at our Seder table, and pray that we do not lose it through anger; especially during the Seder!
5. “And they believed in God and Moshe His servant.”: Moshe only lost his “good name,” when he lost his temper and struck the rock to which he had been ordered to speak. If Moshe could lose his “good name” through anger; how much more so, can we!
6. “Let us deal with them wisely,” meaning, falsely, without truth. The Egyptian’s fear lead to anger; their anger led to falsehood (See, “The Fear Underneath“). We focus on the dishonesty of the Egyptians to remind ourselves of how easily anger causes us to be far from truth.
7. Hallel: First Half-End of Maggid: At the Children of Israel had to rid themselves of anger towards the Egyptians and towards God before they could sing the Hallel. Pause for a moment before singing these opening paragraphs of the Hallel toolshed anger as a way of practicing praying without anger.
Hallel-Conclusion-After Bareich: It is difficult for many to sing the Hallel at this point when already quite tired; and we are all more vulnerable to anger when tired. This is a perfect point at which to practice remembering how anger prevents proper prayer.
8. Nirtzah: Represents achieving the goals to which we aspired. This is a perfect point at which to repair any expressions of anger, God forbid, during the Seder.