Inviting a Non-Jew to the Passover Seder

The following responsum is reprinted from Tomeikh KaHalakhah volume 3.  Tomeikh KaHalakhah is UTJ’s series of volumes of responsa (teshuvot) promulgated by the Union For Traditional Judaism’s Panel of Halakhic Inquiry.

By Rabbi David Novak for the Panel of Halakhic Inquiry.

There are several halakhic issues involved in answering this question. The verse from Exodus regarding the prohibition of a non-Jew eating from the Paschal lamb applies only to the Paschal lamb itself. Although we think of the shankbone on the Seder plate as a “remembrance of the Passover sacrifice,” it is a symbol only in the loosest sense. In fact, it is actually prohibited to eat flame-broiled meat at the Seder so that no one will think we are eating from the Paschal lamb, which at present does not exist (see Pesahim 53a-b; Maimonides, Hilkhot Hametz u-Matzah 8:11 and Maggid Mishneh thereto; Shulhan Arukh, Orah Hayyim ch. 476; cf. Megillah 29a re Ezekiel 11:16 and Avodah Zarah 43a). Moreover, were we to permit at the Seder only those qualified to eat from the Passover sacrifice, we would have to eliminate anyone who is in a state of impurity (tum’ah; see Numbers 9:6 ff.), which is clearly absurd. A similar argument could be made regarding the eating of the Afikoman, another symbol of the Paschal lamb (according to Rabbenu Asher, Pesahim 10:34; see, however, Rashbam Pesahim 119b s.v. ein, who explains the Afikoman to be a “remembrance of the matzah” eaten with the Paschal lamb).

Another potential problem involves the prohibition of a non-Jew learning Torah. This prohibition is based on the verse, “Moses has commanded us the Torah, an inheritance of the community of Jacob” (Deut. 33:4). The Talmud (Sanhedrin 59a) explains that since the Torah belongs to “the community of Jacob,” a non-Jew studying it is akin to a thief. Alternatively, if one reads the word “morashah” (inheritance) as “me’orasah” (betrothed), then a non-Jew engaging in Torah study is like one who commits adultery. Elsewhere in the Talmud (Hagigah 13a) we read, “One may not give over words of Torah to a non-Jew.” Thus, it is explicitly forbidden to teach Torah to a non-Jew. Since the Seder is a form of learning Torah, wouldn’t inviting a non-Jew be tantamount to “placing a stumbling block before the blind”?

Various authorities have ruled that these prohibitions against teaching Torah to a non-Jew apply only to the Oral Law (Torah She-be’al Peh) and not to the Written Law (Torah She-bikhtav). Maimonides, in fact, permits Jews to instruct Christians in the Written Law and “its correct interpretations” (e.g., the Haggadah) because they believe that our Torah is from Heaven in toto (see Responsa Pe’er Ha-Dor no. 50). Other authorities who agree with the distinction between the Oral and Written Law include Rabbenu Gershom (Baba Batra 21b); Rabbi Yonatan Eibeschutz (Ahavat Yonatan, Parashat Beshalah); Rabbi Ya’akov Emden (Hagahot Yavetz, Sanhedrin 59a); Rabbi Tzvi Hirsch Hayot (Sotah 35b, Hagigah 13a, Responsa Maharatz Hayot, #32); and Rabbi Naphtali Tzvi Yehudah Berlin (Responsa Meshiv Davar vol. 2, #77). See, however, Rabbi Yehi’el Ya’akov Weinberg (Responsa Seridei Eish, vol. 2, #55), Rabbi Ovadiah Yosef (Responsa Yabi’a Omer, vol. 2, Yoreh De’ah #17), and Rabbi Hayyim Medini (Sedei Hemed, Pe’at Ha-Sadeh, ma’arekhet alef, #102), who dispute this distinction. Based on the many authorities who accept this limitation, there is certainly room to allow a non-Jew to hear the reading of the Haggadah and “its correct interpretations.”

There is another avenue that also would allow a non-Jew’s appearance at the Seder without violating the prohibition of teaching Torah to a non-Jew. Rabbi Moshe Feinstein was asked by a young man returning from yeshiva whether he could explain the Haggadah to his family since also invited to the Seder were a Jewish relative and his wife, who had a non-halakhic conversion and was thus considered non-Jewish in the eyes of Jewish law (Responsa Iggerot Moshe, Yoreh De’ah, part 2 #132). Rabbi Feinstein explains that this prohibition is only in a case where one’s intention is to give over Torah to a non-Jew. But, when one’s intention is to teach Torah to Jews, even though a non-Jew will hear, there is no prohibition. Rabbi Feinstein marshals support for this idea from Tavi, the servant of Rabban Gamli’el in the Talmud. Tavi was known for his great scholarship and piety (see M. Berakhot 2:7; M. Sukkah 2:1; J.T. Sukkah 2:1, 52d; J.T. Eruvin 10:1, 26a; Midrash Proverbs 9:2). This was despite the prohibition of teaching Torah to one’s servant (see Ketubot 28b; Maimonides, Hilkhot Avadim 8:18). The rabbis clearly discussed Torah in Tavi’s presence, even though they were aware that he was listening. Therefore, Rabbi Feinstein concludes, it is permissible to explain the Haggadah to Jews despite the fact that a non-Jew will listen in (similar views are found in Responsa Mi-Ma’amakim vol. 1, #14; Responsa Seridei Eish Yoreh De’ah #55; Responsa Mishneh Halakhot vol. 5, #172). There are thus clear grounds for permitting a non-Jew to participate in the Seder without fear of violating the prohibition against his or her learning Torah or of a Jew teaching him or her Torah.

Perhaps the most serious issue regarding extending an invitation to a non-Jew involves the prohibition of inviting a non-Jew for a meal on a festival. The Torah (Exodus 12:16) permits cooking on a festival, although it forbids cooking on the Sabbath. This dispensation for cooking, however, was granted solely for the benefit of Jews. The Talmud (Beitzah 21b) says, “One may invite a non-Jew [to a meal] on the Sabbath, but one may not invite a non-Jew on a festival as a preventive measure, lest he will [cook] more on his account. When a non-Jew visited Meremar and Mar Zutra on a festival they would say to him, ‘If you are content with that which we have prepared for ourselves it is well; but if not, we cannot take extra trouble for your sake.’” As a result, it is forbidden to invite a non-Jew in advance for a festival meal out of concern that one might cook an extra pot of food on the holiday specifically for the non-Jewish guest (Shulhan Arukh Orah Hayyim 512:1 and Mishnah Berurah thereto). This prohibition applies even if one has already cooked all the food for the meal before the festival. An exception to this rule is that if the non-Jew arrives after the cooking has been completed, he or she may join in to eat what is already prepared, as long as it is made clear that no forbidden additional cooking will take place for his or her sake. A further exception used in extreme cases is that if there are more Jewish guests than non-Jewish guests, it would be permissible to increase the amount in the pot in which one cooks, in order to accommodate the guests. One could argue with this exception claiming lo plug, “Our rabbis did not make exceptions” (see Baba Metzia 53b and parallels). However, in a situation that might cause animosity, we apply the principle of mipnei darkhei shalom, “in order for there to be peace [between Jews and non-Jews],” which is a very powerful consideration (see Gittin 61a). As a result, if a family member wishes to a bring to the Seder a non-Jewish spouse, or their non-Jewish children, and failure to invite the relative to the Seder might be seen as discriminatory, one could rely on this exception. The same could apply to a non-Jewish friend who wants to be invited to experience the Seder. Two important authorities, Rabbi Yosef Hayyim (Responsa Rav Pe’alim vol. 2 #57) and Rabbi Eliezer Waldenberg (Responsa Tzitz Eliezer vol. 8 #17-20), have allowed increasing the amount of food in the pot in order to accommodate a non-Jew. They discuss a case in which a non-Jew comes to one’s home on a festival and asks for a hot drink and one is unable to explain the laws that prohibit heating water in this situation. They rule that one is permitted to heat water and have a hot drink with the non-Jew, even though he is drinking only in the non-Jew’s honor. In such a case we resort to the dispensation of increasing the amount (i.e., heating water for oneself and the non-Jew) in order to keep the peace. The Mishnah Berurah (Orah Hayyim 512:6) also mentions this leniency: In a case of causing hatred (eivah) or great financial loss, he rules that one may increase the amount in the pot for the non-Jew as long as one is increasing it for his or her own use as well.

This question is also dealt with in a collection of responsa that Diaspora rabbis sent (in facsimile) to Rabbi Shaul Yisraeli (Responsa Ba-Mareh Ha-Bazak vol. 3, #56). The questioning rabbi wrote that in his community in Trieste, Italy, there has been a custom for many years of organizing a public Seder on the second night of Pesah, sponsored by the synagogue. An invitation is sent to the head of each family. While this individual is certainly Jewish, there is no guarantee that every other member of the family is also Jewish. So the rabbi asked, is it forbidden to invite non-Jews to this meal? Rabbi Yisraeli begins by warning that perhaps inviting the mixed couples might be taken as approval of intermarriage, or at least as acceptance of the situation, and the issue should be considered carefully in terms of the circumstances at that time and place. Nonetheless, he writes that while it is forbidden to invite a non-Jew to a meal on a holiday, this rule does not apply when the non-Jew appears without warning, after the cooking has been completed, when the people who actually do the cooking are themselves non-Jews (under the kashrut supervision of a Jew) and when all the food was cooked before the holiday, and on the holiday itself the food is only rewarmed in a way that is permitted. Thus, Rabbi Yisraeli concludes, there are circumstances under which a non-Jew may be invited to the Seder, and, in such cases, they should be treated with all the considerations of accepted guests. If possible, he adds (from Rabbi Ovadiah Yosef, Yalkut Yosef vol. 5, p. 380, #10), non-Jews should not be given a portion of the matzah used for the holiday mitzvah due to hivuv ha-mitzvah—that the matzah is so dear to us that we want to use it to fulfill the mitzvah. The matzah should not be withheld, however, if such an action would be insulting to the non-Jew.

This issue arises too in Rabbi Ya’akov Emden’s commentary on the Haggadah. We begin the Seder by saying, “All those who are hungry, come and eat. All those in need, come and perform the Seder of Pesah.” Rabbi Emden writes that it is clear that the invitation that we are extending to “all those who are hungry” is directed toward non-Jews. This must be the case since there is a custom to provide sustenance to the Jewish needy before Pesah (known as ma’ot hittim or kimha de-pis’ha). We extend this invitation to the non-Jews, he explains, not because they are obligated in any commandments relating to Pesah, but in accordance with the Talmud (Gittin 61a), which requires us to sustain the non-Jewish poor along with the Jewish poor in order for there to be peace [between Jews and non-Jews] (see above). The concept of establishing peace is so important, according to this explanation, that it made its way into the text of the Haggadah. Although it is clearly easier not to invite a non-Jew regarding this issue, there is a clear basis to allow it when necessary. Finally, when Pesah falls on the Sabbath, and it is forbidden to cook altogether, one could invite whomever one likes without reservation.

One could also raise the question about the propriety of a non-Jew drinking wine with us at the Seder (or on any other occasion) due to the prohibition of drinking wine touched by non-Jews. However, this prohibition does not apply to our wine that has been “cooked” (mevushal), which is the case with almost all commercially bottled kosher wines because of the government requirement of pasteurization for all wines. This is also the view of Rabbi Moshe Feinstein (Responsa Iggerot Moshe, Yoreh De’ah vol. 3, #31), who states that the temperature of the wine must be near or equivalent to the temperature at which the liquid would scald one’s body (yad soledet bo), which he defines elsewhere (ibid. Orah Hayyim vol. 4, #74, Bishul ot 3) as being about 160 degrees Fahrenheit, which mean pasteurized wines are thus considered mevushal. Rabbi Feinstein similarly disregards this issue as a reason for excluding a non-Jew from the Seder, and suggests instead that the questioner boil the wine himself (ibid. Yoreh De’ah vol. 2, #132).

A final objection to having a non-Jewish guest at the Seder might be that it would be embarrassing to have him or her hear us recite the words from Jeremiah 10:25 (“Cast Your wrath on the nations [goyyim], etc.”) when we open the door for Elijah. However, this curse only applies to those nations and individuals who persecuted the Jewish people. Clearly, as we most poignantly remember at the walk leading to Yad Vashem in Jerusalem, there have been nations and individuals who have rescued Jews. Many of them did so, as recent studies show, because of their acceptance of biblical morality (see Sanhedrin 105a re Psalms 9:18; Maimonides, Hilkhot Melakhim 8:11). Surely, at this point in our history we have the moral, if not strictly halakhic, obligation to publicly distinguish between non-Jews we curse and non-Jews we bless (see Genesis 12:3; see also Responsa Hatam Sofer vol. 5, hashmatot #194, where Rabbi Moshe Sofer similarly differentiates between non-Jewish idolators and non-Jews in his society who afforded Jews equal citizenship and protection under the prevailing law).

The aversion to having non-Jewish guests at the Seder probably stems from the fact that Passover usually falls close to Easter and the Passion narratives from the New Testament at this time have often been used for anti-Semitic purposes. Considering the historic dangers of the blood libel, especially at this time of the year, it is not difficult to see why Jews have often felt very uncomfortable with Christians at this time. However, all this depends on what kind of non-Jews in general, or Christians in particular, one invited to the Seder. In fact, I remember once having the privilege of being a guest at the Seder of my late revered teacher, Professor Louis Finkelstein, a man renowned for his piety and learning, where I sat next to the Episcopal bishop of New York City. Similarly, Rabbi Moshe Tzvi Neriyah, in his book Mo’adei Ha-Re’iyah, which focuses on the holidays in the thought and life of Rabbi Avraham Yitzhak Kook, relates (pp. 320-321) that Rabbi Kook had a non-Jew at his Seder. The British governor of Jerusalem, Ronald Stores, requested an invitation to Rabbi Kook’s Seder. Because of “shalom malkhut”—ensuring peace with the ruling authority—Rabbi Kook invited him and treated him as his honored guest, and discussed the issues about which the governor was interested (namely, ancient Greek literature), although he himself was interested in delving into the hidden treasures of the Torah on the night of the liberation from Egypt. Regardless, it is clear that Rabbi Kook held that under certain circumstances having a non-Jew at the Seder was not a halakhic problem. The issue is thus an optional one (reshut) and cannot be forbidden on purely halakhic grounds.

Let us hope that the Messiah will already have arrived before next Passover and (according to an important strand of Jewish eschatology) the whole world will have become Jewish, thus solving this and all other halakhic problems relating to Jewish and non-Jewish relations.