Talmud Bavli
Talmud Bavli

Chasidut for Pesachim 238:2

מאי משמע דהאי עובר לישנא דאקדומי הוא א"ר נחמן בר יצחק דכתיב (שמואל ב יח, כג) וירץ אחימעץ דרך הככר ויעבור את הכושי אביי אמר מהכא (בראשית לג, ג) והוא עבר לפניהם איכא דאמרי מהכא (מיכה ב, יג) ויעבור מלכם לפניהם וה' בראשם

Abaye observed: This was taught only [about a blessing] after it, but a blessing before it is obligatory, for Rab Judah said in Samuel's name: A blessing must be recited for a religious duties before ['ober] they are performed. How is it implied that 'ober connotes priority? - Said R'Nahman B'Isaac: Because it is written, Then Ahimaaz ran by the way of the Plain, and overran [wa-ya'abor, i.e., ran before] the Cushite.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' II Sam. XVIII, 23.');"><sup>3</sup></span> Abaye said: [It follows] from this: And he himself passed over ['abar] before them.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Gen. XXXIII, 3.');"><sup>4</sup></span>

Kedushat Levi

The ‎sages in the Talmud Pessachim 119 phrased it ‎thus: “It is imperative that at the end of the ‎‎seder we retain the “taste” of the ‎‎matzah in our mouths when going to bed. ‎‎[This halachah, of course applies only when we ‎do not have a Passover lamb due to being in exile. ‎Ed.] All these steps of the Passover ritual are ‎necessary in order that we retain these impressions ‎firmly engraved on our consciousness. These ‎impressions are valid for every Jew, whereas the ‎recognition of G’d and all He stands for without the ‎ritual, prompted by one’s mind only, is something ‎reserved for very few elitist Jews only. The importance ‎of remembering G’d’s miracles is also at the root of ‎the commandment that the King must have a Sefer ‎Torah with him at all times, from which he can ‎refresh his memory of all the miracles G’d has ‎performed. This also answers the question why the ‎Torah did not have the “smart” son preface his ‎question with the words: ‎על מה‎, “what for,” but has him ‎ask ‎מה‎, ”what,” i.e. what is the intrinsic value of this ‎ritual year after year?‎
By reliving what our forefathers had experienced at ‎the time of the Exodus, and what had brought them to ‎a level of seeing the greatness of the Creator and His ‎relationship to us by the miracles He performed for us, ‎we hope to prevent these lofty feelings from fading ‎into oblivion. Rabban Gamliel had therefore said that ‎even people who serve G’d on a “higher” level, must ‎perform the three basic mitzvoth on the ‎‎Seder night by both mouth (words) and deed ‎‎(eating). ‎
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