The story of the five sages in Bnai Brak is quite intriguing. Several points are worthy of note. The five rabbis were certainly well versed in the story of the Exodus, yet they continued to speak of it all night long. It is also starnge that their students had to come in to remind the rabbis to recite the morning Shema. Didn't the rabbis remember? 

Several suggestions have been made, among which the most popular is that the rabbis sitting all night in Bnai Brak were planning the overthrow of the Roman government (R. Shlomo Riskin). This refers to the Pesach that preceded the outbreak of the insurrection on the part of Bar Kochba against Rome. "They would talk of Yetziat Mitzrayim, " but it was not only the story of the past; it was the story of the present and what was going to happen tomorrow. The study of the Exodus was supposed to guide them in their revolt. The Bar Kochba revolt was planned at that Seder night. They studied Yeziat Mitzrayim not only as an event of the past, but also as a clue and a key to the future (Kol ha-Rav by Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik).  

In the morning, their students arrived to tell them that the morning star had arisen (i.e. it was day, a symbol of freedom) and it was time to carry out the revolt. 

Figuratively, their disagreement goes much deeper. Night is generally a symbol of darkness and servitude. Day is a symbol of freedom and redemption. Yet the Passover Seder begins at night because we believe that the Almighty will redeem us in the darkness of the night. "The salvation of the Lord arrives in the blink of an eye." Ben Zoma felt that one should always remember the going out of Egypt-- even at night-- for we may never cease hoping for redemption. In the darkest exile, during the most violent persecution, even during the long night of the Roman tyranny, we can never lose faith in G-d our Redeemer. But the Sages disagreed. They believed that hope and faith are not sufficient. To bring about the final redemption requires activism. Were the Jews to be satisfied with the fact that the Roman government tolerated them and allowed them to exist, or were they to strive for a political and religious independence that would be the glory of G-d? This very question of activism vs. pacifism was the issue that was debated by the sages in Bnai Brak. This debate raged all night-- in the context of the Passover Seder and the redemption from Egypt. But in the morning the disciples, in their zeal for independence from Rome, insisted that the Jews must act-- even fight-- to bring about their freedom. 


haggadah Section: -- Exodus Story
Source: The Passover Haggadah by Rabbi Shlomo Riskin