Seder means Order. This may suggest that we are in control. But, the person who seemed to be in “control” of the Exodus from Egypt, Moshe, is absent from the Hagaddah. The Haggadah's exclusion of Moshe emphasizes that it was God's power, not Moshe, that delivered the Israelites. But the Torah teaches us that God required Moshe to effect the redemption. That, in itself, is an interesting dynamic. Surely God could have appeared to Pharaoh directly, brought the plagues, or merely swept up the ancient Hebrews in a wind storm of some sort and deposited them on the far side of the Red Sea. But God needed Moshe to express the Divine Manifestation and actualize it by confronting Pharaoh, calling for the plagues and actually leading the Israelites upon their being granted freedom. God was always present, and indeed, was the power that delivered the slaves from bondage, but was never actually seen: Moshe was the vehicle for all the miracles that were Divine Manifestation.

The Haggadah tells us that, during the Pesach celebration, we are each to consider ourselves as if we, personally, were brought out of the land of Egypt. But the absence of Moshe throughout the text of the Haggadah tells us something even more important. It is we, individually who fill in that absence. Not only are we to feel as if we were delivered from Egypt; we are to consider ourselves as personally playing the role of Moshe during the celebration. The Haggadah is reminding us that each of us has the personal responsibility to realize Divine Manifestation in our world through our acts and works.


haggadah Section: Introduction
Source: Mark Federman