Machshava:

Pesach 

Description

One of the guiding frameworks of the Mitzvah of Hagadah is "מתחיל בגנות ומסיים בשבח" - we are to begin the story with "disgrace" and conclude with "praise". This principle, stated in m. Pesahim 10:4, opens up a disagreement between the sages in Bavel as to whether the disgrace is that we were slaves and the praise is that God redeemed us (Shmuel or Rava) or the disgrace of being idolaters and the praise - that God brought us close to His worship. A close study of the commentary of R. Yehuda b. Yakar (13th century, Provence) leads to an unusual and panoramic approach to this dispute, which is then anchored in the text of the Hagadah itself.