Even though we all do Kiddush together, the commandment "Kadesh" is in the singular. We are not told to "kadshu"-- meaning "you all as a group should sanctify time." We are told to "kadesh"-- "you as an individual need to make your time holy."

The singular form of the commandment teaches us an important lesson about what it means to be free. Slaves do not experience individuality. Slaves do not get to choose what to do with their time; the days just pass them by. Only those who are free can fill their time with signifiance and meaning-- and thereby make it holy (Source: R. Shlomo Riskin quoting R Ovadiah Sforno). 

Now, with our normal routines interrupted and our movement restricted, it can feel like time is just passing by. It can feel like we are confined; like we are not truly free. 

Kadesh comes to teach us what freedom really means. Freedom is not about being able to go out and do whatever we want. It's about imbuing each moment with meaning, no matter where we find ourselves. 

And how we choose to sanctify our time is a very individual thing. Kadesh teaches us to honor whatever it is that makes us feel free. And when we each as individuals find our own unique sanctification, and can play our own unique role in the world, that is when we can all come together around the Seder table and truly contribute to the community, and truly be a nation. Hence the reason that the first commandment given to Israel as a nation was to sanctify the months, and why our Seder begins with sanctifying time. 

May we recognize that in this time of seeming restriction, by finding ways to make our time meaningful, we can truly be free. 


haggadah Section: Kadesh
Source: Paraphrased from Yiscah Smith's "Rav Kook on the Haggadah" Podcast