Too frequently, the passover story is told in a way that inaccurately compares ancient Egyptians to the modern day Middle East.  Jews regularly hear the narrative that in order to be free, our ancestors needed to flee Arab lands, Arab culture, and Arab rule.  In this telling of the story, Arab Muslim people are and always have been the perpetual enemy of the Jewish people.  We know that this is not true and that an Arab/Jewish binary erases the existence of Arab Jews.  


Throughout tonight’s seder we have choses the term Mitzrayim instead of Egypt.  Mitzrayim comes from the root “tzar” meaning narrow or constricted.  It can refer to the geography of the Nile valley but also to a metaphorical state of confinement.  Leaving Mitzrayim also means freeing ourselves from narrow-mindedness and oppression.  And in this time of intense anti-Arab racism and Islamophobia, we are intentionally differentiating between the “bad guys” in this story and any contemporary Arab places or people.  

If you do notice the word "Egypt" in this hagaddah, in a piece of text we overlooked, know that it should say "Mitzrayim" instead.

We read together:

Wherever you live, it is probably Mitzrayim

There is a better place, a promised land

The way to get to this promised land is through the wilderness - there is no way to get there except by joining together and marching.

 

(Michael Waltzer, Exodus and Revolution)


haggadah Section: Karpas