I have heard that most of the Maggid can just be done in your native language, but there are some parts which should be done in Hebrew. Which parts are these? (sources if possible, please)
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3I've never heard of such a rule. Very few things need to be done in Hebrew (the priestly blessing is the only one that comes up with any regularity nowadays)– Double AA ♦Commented Apr 19 at 12:37
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@DoubleAA there are opinions that the licence to use other languages has certain restrictions (eg precise translation, must be understood, must be local language etc)... That said, it's not clear you actually need to say much of the Haggada (see eg MB from the CA that it's just Rabban Gamliel), so saying in another language wouldn't be an issue (and even for R"G the precise words probably don't matter)– AKACommented Apr 21 at 12:20
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Let us continue this discussion in chat.– AKACommented Apr 21 at 18:34
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1 Answer
The Rema, in Darkei Moshe, Orach Chaim par. 473 writes:
"Rabbi Yisrael Bruna wrote, “One should say Ha Lachma in a language that the children and women understand. This is what R”i from London did, he translated the entire Haggadah into the vernacular in order that the children and women would understand.” The Kol Bo wrote that this is a proper custom."
Rav Herschel Schachter points out that since this is R"i from London, the vernacular in question was English. So it is not even an (obvious) extrapolation for us to do it in English. Really, though, given the language of the time, it would be Norman French.
No mention of any carve-outs.
From a pragmatic perspective, however, when one is "doresh", interpreting, Arami Oved Avi, there are interpretations of specific Hebrew words out of their usual peshat meaning, and to fully capture that, I'd mention the Hebrew word. E.g. it says "lachatzeinu", which they interpret to mean the pressure.
