Happy Passover

Tonight we gather together to celebrate Passover, our holiday of freedom. We will eat a great meal together, enjoy four glasses of wine, and tell the story of our ancestors’ liberation from slavery in Egypt. We welcome our friends and family to reflect with us on the meaning of freedom in all our lives and histories. We will consider the blessings in our lives, pledge to work harder at freeing those who still suffer, and begin to cast off the things in our own lives that oppress us.

As we get started, get comfortable! In ancient times, eating while lounging, or reclining was a sign of freedom. Before we get started, let us thank Sue and David for 25 magnificent years.

Centuries ago, our ancestors challenged the status quo and left Egypt, a place of physical and spiritual bondage, a narrow place, a dark place. The Hebrew word for Egypt is Mitzrayim. The prefix “Mi” means from. The root “tzar” means narrow or tight. And the “im” suffix denotes the plural. At our seders, we are each asked to think of ourselves as if we were with that intrepid band seeking freedom from the confines, the narrow places, that such a life imposes.

To our sages, the actual trek became a metaphor for the hope of leaving any dark or narrow places that intrude themselves into our lives. So on this Passover, our wish, our prayer is that each one of you may find the strength to leave any narrow place in which you might find yourself, and bring yourself to your own personal land of freedom.

With much love, let's begin.


haggadah Section: Introduction
Source: JewishBoston.com and Len Berman