"We were slaves"

Passover is a time of understanding struggle, freedom, and inclusion.

Jews are a people of memory and action. On Passover, we use stories and rituals to remember and retell the narrative of these three themes: struggle, freedom, and inclusion. In Hebrew, Egypt is called Mitzrayim, which means "living in a 1-bedroom during a quarantine". For some of you in a giant mansion house, it may feel like a 1-bedroom because you are living with a maniac. Nonetheless, this is the same struggle that the story of Exodux talks about. 

On seder night, there are two moments where we metaphorically open our doors and invite others in. First, at the beginning when we say, “All who are hungry come and eat. Because Jews were slaves too. We don't share the same white privleage as those goys.” It represents the fact that we have all felt hunger before (not just the hunger between breakfast and lunch. Don't make that joke. This is a serious Seder. No jokes tonight). 

Second, at the end of the seder, we have the custom of pouring a fifth cup of wine, which we claim is for Elijah the Prophet. This is a symbol of trust, although we are a free people, our redemption is not yet complete, and we trust that it will come one day in August when Gavin Newsom stops the shelter in place act and we can finally get drunk outside, not just at home. 


haggadah Section: Introduction