בְּכָל דּוֹר וָדוֹר חַיָּב אָדָם לִרְאוֹת אֶת עַצְמוֹ כְאִלּוּ הוּא יָצָא מִמִּצְרַיִם, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (שמות יג), וְהִגַּדְתָּ לְבִנְךָ בַּיּוֹם הַהוּא לֵאמֹר, בַּעֲבוּר זֶה עָשָׂה ה' לִי בְּצֵאתִי מִמִּצְרָיִם.
In each and every generation a person must view themselves as though they personally left Egypt, as it is stated: “And you shall tell your son on that day, saying: It is because of this which the Lord did for me when I came forth out of Egypt” (Exodus 13:8). In every generation, each person must say: “This which the Lord did for me,” and not: This which the Lord did for my ancestors.
(83) In each and every generation, a person is obligated to see themselves as if they left Egypt, as it is stated (Exodus 13:8); "For the sake of this, did the Lord do [this] for me in my going out of Egypt." Not only our ancestors did the Holy Blessed One, redeem, but rather also us [together] with them did God redeem, as it is stated (Deuteronomy 6:23); "And God took us out from there, in order to bring us in, to give us the land which God swore unto our ancestors."
We often talk about Passover as a night of telling the story. What is the difference between TELLING the story of the Exodus from Egypt and seeing ourselves as part of the story?
כָּל אָדָם צָרִיך מִצְרַיִם - אמנון ריבק
כָּל אָדָם צָרִיך שֶׁתִּהְיֶה לוֹ
אֵיזוֹ מִצְרַיִם,
לִהְיוֹת מֹשֶׁה עַצְמוֹ מִתּוֹכָהּ
בְּיָד חֲזָקָה,
אוֹ בַּחֲרִיקַת שִׁנַּיִם.
כָּל אָדָם צָרִיך אֵימָה וַחֲשֵׁכָה גְּדוֹלָה,
וְנֶחָמָה, וְהַבְטָחָה, וְהַצָּלָה,
שֶׁיֵּדַע לָשֵׂאת עֵינָיו אֶל הַשָּׁמַיִם.
כָּל אָדָם צָרִיך תְּפִלָּה אַחַת,
שְׁתֵּהֵא שְׁגוּרָה אֶצְלוֹ עַל הַשְּׂפָתַיִם.
אָדָם צָרִיך פַּעַם אַחַת לְהִתְכּוֹפֵף -
כָּל אָדָם צָרִיך כָּתֵף.
כָּל אָדָם צָרִיך שֶׁתִּהְיֶה לוֹ אֵיזוֹ מִצְרַיִם,
לִגְאֹל עַצְּמוֹ מִמֶּנָה מִבֵּית עֲבָדִים,
לָצֵאת בַּחֲצִי הַלַּיִל אֶל מִדְבַּר הַפְּחָדִים,
לִצְעֹד הַיְשֵׁר אֶל תּוֹך הַמַּיִם,
לִרְאוֹתָם נִפְתָּחִים מִפָּנָיו לַצְּדָדִים.
כָּל אָדָם צָרִיך כָּתֵף,
לָשֵׂאת עָלֶיהָ אֶת עַצְמוֹת יוֹסֵף,
כָּל אָדָם צָרִיך לְהִזְדַּקֵּףְ.
כָּל אָדָם צָרִיך שֶׁתִּהְיֶה לוֹ
אֵיזוֹ מִצְרַיִם.
וִירוּשָׁלַיִם,
וּמַסָּע אָרוֹך אֱחָד,
לִזְכֹּר אוֹתוֹ לָעַד
בְּכַפּוֹת הָרַגְלַיִם.
Every person needs Egypt - Amnon Ribak
Every person needs to have a
certain Egypt,
To be as Moshe themselves inside it,
with a strong arm,
or with grinding teeth.
Every person needs terror and great darkness,
and comfort and promise and redemption,
that they would know to look up at the sky.
Every person needs one prayer,
that would constantly be on their lips.
A person needs to bend one time –
Every person needs a shoulder.
Every person needs to have a
certain Egypt,
to redeem themselves from it, from the house of slavery,
to go out in the middle of the night to the desert of fears,
to march straight into the waters,
to see them open before them to both sides.
Every person needs a shoulder,
on which to carry the bones of Joseph,
Every person needs to straighten their backs.
Every person needs to have a
certain Egypt,
and a Jerusalem,
and one long journey,
that they will forever remember
in their feet.
If, indeed, we all need to have a certain Egypt, why? What are the lessons we are meant to learn? What are we to take with us?
TO SEE OURSELVES - לִרְאוֹת אֶת־עַצְמוֹ
The Sephardic Haggadah adjusts this phrase slightly by adding a Hebrew letter to the word lirot and changing it to l'heira-ot - להראות.
This tiny modification transforms the sentence, which thus refers to an obligation to show ourselves as if we had come out of Egypt."
- What is the difference between seeing oneself as free, and showing oneself to be free?
- How do we demonstrate our freedom through our actions, our words, our relationships?
יציאת מצריים
ולפעמים נדמה לי שאנחנו שם עדיין הולכים בדרך אל ההר מתחננים למים שיפתחו לשניים המיים המלוחים ונעבור באמצע כל אלה שהולכים
Exodus From Egypt, Etti Ankri
And sometimes it seems to me that we are still there [in Egypt]
Walking towards the mountain begging for water
That it will split in to
The salty water
And we will pass through it
All those who are walking