In the Torah, we’re instructed by God to read the story of Pesach every year- not just as a commemoration of historic events but of an event to be personally experienced with a contemporary message for each of us. How very surreal to be at a place and time where the seders are virtual and the plague is real! Whereas previously we may have overlooked the part of the Seder where we washed our hands, but not this year, and not from now on. We all get it, washing hands saves lives. The structure of the seder was designed by the Rabbis over 2000years ago to help us understand and personalize the meaning of Pesach. Well, it’s personal! A seder experience is meant to be interactive with smell, taste, touch and feel and we talk to people around the table. That is something we’ve done for thousands of years. And we’re going to do that this year too! The redemption from exile then (and now), happened by virtue of the inner fortitude/inner strength/tenacity of our people, then and now. There is an ancient midrash (story) that when Moses throw his staff into the Red sea, it didn’t leave a passage for his people. Not until the first ones jump in did the miracle happen and the waves recede. Similarly, if YOU jump in and enough of us jump in and enough of us jump in and fulfill the responsibility to God, to each other, then perhaps we’ll earn the biggest miracle of all-survival of our species, indeed redemption in the broadest sense.
haggadah Section: Introduction