Kol Dichfin, Why So Hesitant?

Question

כל דכפין ייתי ויכול, כל דצריך ייתי ויפסך

"All who are hungry come and eat".

Why don't we ask this in a more emphatic way? Instead of saying "I invite all who want to come..." we say something to the effect of "if you need and are so desperate then come" as if to say that if they had what to eat they are not wanted.

In contrast, we find during Sukkos, we invite the ushpizin and we say "azmin l'seudasi ushpizin ila'ah etc" "we invite to our meal..." here we are extending an explicit invitation. This is significantly different than the way we ask on seder night which seems very passive.

It would seem to be more appropriate that we would be enthusiastic on this night that we are free men and are rejoicing in our redemption and thus extend a formal invitation to all those in need.

How is this supposed to be understood?

Answer 1

The comparison to Succos is off base. As on Succos you are inviting departed souls. As SethJ mentioned in the comment regarding Pesach "how we can invite guests, given that each individual and family is obligated to eat from their own Korban, which means that your partners for the Korban need to be selected before the Korban is brought; you cannot invite poor guests of the street to join you." Thus this must not be a real invite.

Rashi translates these words as follows.

כל דכפין ייתי ויכול - צריך אדם שיהיה רעב ערב הפסח, כדי שיאכל מצה לתאבון, כדאמרינן בערבי פסחים דרבא הוה שתי חמרא בכל מעלי יומא דפסחא כי היכי דגריר לבא טובא:

כל דצריך - שכל אדם יעשה עצמו כמו שצריך לאחרים לגבי פסח:

This would indicate that we are not actually inviting guests as much as we are inviting ourselves and our family.

Answer 2

This is purely opinion, but if you look at Ha Lachma Anya, the entire paragraph is simply four simple statements with no flowery language at all. We state that we have in front of us the mataza for our seder, and refer to it as "lachma anya" which is frequently translated a"bread of affliction", certainly not a "nice" phrase, but it is completely accurate, and points out a primary Pesach mitzvah. Our next statement invites all to join us in the mitzvah of both matzah and the korban pesach (the translation of the second clause that I read was "those who require fellowship come an join us", but the Hebrew might mean "all who need, join us in our Pesach). I see these as directly connected. We announce our intention to fulfill a mitzvah, and then tell all others within earshot to join us (in shul on Shabbat, I've certainly heard people say - "I'm making kiddush, anyone need to be yotze?" - similar feeling/intent). You may not consider it the nicest language, but I hardly read it as focusing on desperation.

Answer 3

I actually found this question was asked in the haggada Pilpula Charifta pg.37 in the name of the Hagaddas Korban Pesach written by Rav Gedalia Silverstone former Chief Rabbi of Belfast, Ireland:

He explains according the Gemara in Shabbos (127a) which says the Gedolah Hachnasas Orchim Yoser M'Kabalas Pnei Hashechina- Welcoming guests is greater than welcoming the divine presence. He asks why does it say "Pnei Hashechina" the "face" of the divine presence, and not "Kabalas Hashechina" receiving the divine presence. He explains, that just like the face of G-d is so intense that the look at would kill man, so too with guests, as they are actually greater than receiving the shechina. With receiving guests comes the intensity and seriousness of receiving G-d's presence. So, on pesach night when we invite them in we actually say it with a bit of hesitancy in the fear of the possibility of not acting appropriately in the presence on G-d ie. The guests.