Shabbos HaGadol - Free at Last

The most important aspect of the holiday of Passover is the retelling of the story of the Exodus from Egypt. The setting is the family dinner table and it includes songs, a festive meal, and selections from the liturgy. The Seder is in a jumbled form. This allows unpopular ideas to be overlooked by those that would find them distasteful while at the same time allowing them to be grasped by the scholarly, who would find them meaningful. As a result the a family with diverse opinions can get together for an enjoyable evening.

The underlying theme is the overwhelming importance of freedom and the exodus of Israel from Egypt as its fundamental human archetype. The text is multi-dimensional and at times surreal. It captures the feeling of the first seder that was held in Egypt in anticipation of immediate departure; the feeling of bringing a sacrifice in the second Temple; and the feeling of Jewish education through the ages, whose antecedents probably stretch back to Adam the first man.

The narrative itself starts with a short preface. There is a short pilpul (פִּלְפּוּל - petty Talmudic discussion) about the choice of the evening of the 15th of Nissan as the time of the Seder. This is followed by a paragraph of the humble beginnings of the nation of Israel and how they were chosen to receive to receive the privilege of divine service. It concludes that this is a dangerous occupation because in every generation somebody will want to kill all the Jews, but HaKadosh Baruch Hu will protect them.

The story has two parts. The first part is how Israel wound up in Egypt and how they were persecuted. The vehicle is a literary exposition of the declaration made when bringing the first fruits to the Temple. This segues into a lengthy discussion of the Ten Plagues. The idea is that everyone should remember that God struck Egypt with ten horrible plagues in order to help the Jewish people.

Shortly afterwards a nice meal is served. The Seder concludes with liturgical poetry. It is a mitzvah to drink four cups of wine. The idea is to acquire an uplifted spirit and a feeling of comradery. Some people advocate taking LSD or magic mushrooms, reasoning that through the psychedelic state a person can more truly re-experience the exodus. I've never done it, but maybe next year in Amsterdam. The truth is that the Seder should be a pleasant experience so that we should associate joy with freedom.

לע"נ  האמא מלכה בת חיים ז"ל נלב"ע טז ניסן תשנ"ח

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