The Passover seder is all about the telling of the story of the Exodus from Egypt. The Haggadah really means “The Telling,” so it’s no surprise that much of the seder is taken up with telling the story (which concludes, at many seder tables, with the memorable words, “When do we eat?”).
What is surprising, though, is that two different stories are being told. One, which follows the four questions (“Mah nishtanah”) begins with Avadim Hayinu, “We were slaves….”. The second, which follows the story of the four sons, begins Mitechilah Ovdei Avodah Zarah, “In the beginning we were idolaters…”
So why two stories, and why two different stories? Herein lies a tale. The rabbis say that the telling “should begin shame and end with praise.” And then the question becomes “What’s the shame and what’s the praise?” One interpretation is obvious. The shame is that we experienced the degradation of slavery. The praise is that under G-d’s guidance, we survived it and headed toward the Promised Land and a glorious future.
The other story has a different emphasis. There, the shame is that we were idolaters. The praise is that we experienced the reality of G-d, both through the Exodus itself and at Sinai some time later.
Simply put, the first story emphasizes our political liberation. The second story emphasizes our spiritual liberation. And that should give us pause. Here’s a little exercise you can try at home. At your seder, ask people to flesh out the meaning of political liberation in modern Jewish history. You can expect a lively discussion about anti-Semitism in America, the Holocaust, the liberation/rescue of Russian, Syrian, Ethiopian, etc. Jews, Entebbe, the birth of Israel and subsequent wars, all the way to Gaza, etc. And the cherry on top, the rise of the Jewish establishment in American politics (think Blinken, Schumer, Kagan, Yellin, and Second Gentleman Douglas Emhoff—in fact roughly a quarter of the 25 most powerful people in Washington are Jews). Obviously, there has been tremendous activity in this area, and tremendous success.
Now, ask about our spiritual liberation. …..Pause….uncomfortable silence…shared bewilderment. To the extent that there has been any spiritual liberation, our community is stunningly inarticulate about it. This is a story we have a great difficulty telling. And that’s a problem worth exploring. We may not be idolaters any longer (although the Swifties and Deadheads among us may qualify) but our spiritual liberation obviously lags far behind our political liberation. What, if anything, have we accomplished, or do we seek to accomplish, when it comes to our relationship with the Divine? If this seems to be an odd question to be asking on Passover, that is a perfect reflection of the problem. Consider the fact that from G-d’s perspective, the whole point of the Exodus exercise was to make His Presence felt in a world that, like Pharaoh, did not know G-d, and would not free G-d’s people.
This is a story—perhaps the story—that needs to be told.