Show and tell TB Pesakhim 108

Our haggadot quote the Mishnah on TB Pesakhim 116b “In each and every generation, a person is obligated to see (לראות) himself (my emphasis) as if he left Egypt, as it is stated (Exodus 13:8); "And you shall explain to your son on that day: For the sake of this, did the Lord do [this] for me in my going out of Egypt." Not only our ancestors did the Holy One, blessed be He, redeem, but rather also us [together] with them did He redeem, as it is stated (Deuteronomy 6:23); "And He took us out from there, in order to bring us in, to give us the land which He swore unto our fathers." (Sefaria.org translation)

 However, Rambam had a different tradition for his Haggadah. “In every generation, one must show (להראות) himself (my emphasis) as if he personally had come out from the subjugation of Egypt; as it is stated (Deuteronomy 6:23), "And He took us out from there, etc." And regarding this, the Holy One, blessed be He, commanded in the Torah (Deut. 5:15, 15:15, 24:22), "Remember that you were a slave" - meaning to say, as if you yourself had been a slave, came out to freedom, and were redeemed.” (Sefaria.org translation)

 Perhaps the reason why we recline around the Seder table is to fulfill Rambam’s understanding of the mitzvah. We show that we are free people by reclining. Rabbi Isaac Klein in A Guide to Jewish Religious Practice writes:

 “In ancient times laborers and slaves eight hurriedly, squatting on the ground. The well-to-do, on the other hand reclined on cushions alongside the table. On the night of Pesakh, when there is no distinction between rich and poor, we all recline at the table in the manner of free men.

 “Customs change, however, and the ancient triclinium (dining couch) has long since passed out of use. Thus, when we recline at the Seder table, hearkening back to the practice of the Jews in Palestine at the time of the second Temple, we do not use a triclinium but sit propped up on cushions.” (Page 123)

Everybody agrees that we must recline when eating matza, but reclining is unnecessary when eating the bitter herbs. A question arises whether we need to recline for the 4 cups of wine because Rav Nakhman seemingly contradicts himself. We have one tradition where he says a person must reclines for the 4 cups of wine and another tradition where he says just the opposite, one need not recline for the 4 cups of wine. The Gemara resolves this contradiction in his usual way.

 “The Gemara explains: And these two statements do not disagree with each other: This statement is referring to the first two cups, and that statement is referring to the last two cups. However, it was not clear which two cups require reclining according to Rav Naḥman. Some say the explanation in this manner and some say it in that manner. The Gemara elaborates: Some say it in this manner, that the first two cups require reclining, as it is now that freedom begins. Since reclining is a sign of freedom, while discussing the exodus from Egypt it is appropriate to drink while reclining. By contrast, the last two cups do not require reclining, because what was already was. In other words, by this point one has completed the discussion of the Exodus and has reached the latter stages of the seder.

 “And some say it in that manner and claim that on the contrary, the last two cups require reclining, as it is at that time that there is freedom. However, the first two cups do not require reclining, as one still says: We were slaves. The Gemara concludes: Now that it was stated so, and it was stated so, i.e., there are two conflicting opinions and it cannot be proven which two cups require reclining, both these sets of cups and those require reclining.” (Sefaria.org translation)

 The Gemara teaches that lying on our backs or reclining on our right side is not considered reclining because of “one will come into danger of choking.”(Sefaria.org translation) Rashbam says that the clause about danger refers back to lying on our backs. Certainly if we try to drink that way, the wine will go down trachea instead of the esophagus. He posits the reason why we recline to the left is simple. Since most people are right-handed, they will not be able to feed themselves while reclining on the right arm.