In the 21st century, it is quite challenging on Passover to suddenly have to envision ourselves as if we were slaves in Egypt. This is certainly no simple matter. In fact, I would even suggest that this is probably the most difficult requirement to fulfill on the Seder night. In our time and age of luxury and riches, true slavery is a difficult thing to imagine.
Yet, we are definitely required to do so. We must perceive ourselves vicariously as if we - not our parents, grandparents or great grandparents - were individually liberated from Egypt. In America today, the fact is we are sitting in the luxury and freedom of our homes, fully decorated with wall to wall carpeting and beautiful Seder tables, and yet we are still asked to perceive ourselves as having been freed from slavery. How are we supposed to achieve such a state of emotion? We were never in Egypt, even on a tour during the time of slavery. We don't have the faintest idea of what this Egyptian slavery would look like now, and certainly not what it looked like thousands of years ago.
At first glance it may seem that the requirement is not to envision ourselves actually being slaves in Egypt, but rather to envision that we were freed from Egyptian slavery on account of our ancestors' liberation. Let us look at the following to explain:
The Negroes were slaves in America until Abraham Lincoln freed them. A black person today may feel indebted to Lincoln, not only for what he had done for his or her great grandfather, but even for what he has done for him or her. If Lincoln hadn't freed the great-grandfather, the black individual could still be a slave this very moment. This means, that such a human being has an emotional attachment to Lincoln and feels as if a debt of gratitude must be shared from the heart not only for what he had done to someone else, but for what he has actually done for this now free person. (One must assume that if Lincoln didn't free them, they would have remained slaves forever.)
The same holds true for us. On Passover, Jewish gratitude to God should not only be for what God has done for our ancestors in the past, but it must be a personal debt of gratitude for having taken us out of slavery too. We do realize all too clearly that if God would not have freed our ancestors then we might very well have continued to experience Egyptian slavery for quite some time and that our history as a Jewish people might have been altered.
The Matzah on the table that we will eat on Passover night reminds us of the great speed with which we hurried out of Egypt. Every second counted. Therefore, the freedom granted to our ancestors was in reality a freedom also granted to us. We'd still be there today, wouldn't we! Therefore, such a feeling makes Passover the holiday to celebrate our freedom and attempt to feel what it was like to move from the arena of slavery to the sanctuary of freedom.
The Rambam (Maimonides) adds two very important points. Firstly, he says that we must imagine that we ourselves were slaves (not only our ancestors). Secondly, we are required to visualize that right at the present moment (on the night of Passover when we sit down at our Seder table) we are being liberated from slavery. This is not something which occurred thousands of years ago to our ancestors, but is being re-enacted and happening right at this very moment as we sit and celebrate Pesach. This certainly is no easy requirement and each of us has to come prepared with a creative and dedicated imagination. A slave is someone that is forced to do the work of others rather than be free to do the work he or she chooses. Sometimes, we become slaves today to our own passions and desires. We are attracted to the luxurious objects which are all around us. We want a more beautiful house, a nicer car or an even longer vacation; and, therefore, we force ourselves to work much harder in order to afford all these additional luxuries in life.
At times, if we work too hard, we not only damage our bodies by burning ourselves out but we are to be considered as slaves to our constant worldly pleasures which we so desire. Yes, Passover is a time to appreciate the wonderful aspects of life we possess and enjoy. But Passover is also the holiday where we must allow ourselves to say "dayenu", "I have enough", "I am satisfied with what I have." The Passover Seder is the moment that reminds us to balance our personal desires with living a life committed to taking care of others as well.
Michelle, Brianah, Julia, Avi and I wish everyone a hag kasher v'sameyakh, a happy, liberating and Kosher Passover.
Rabbi Micah Caplan
