Immediately following the Shema, we read the blessing of redemption. This serves as the concluding crescendo of the series of blessings before and after the Shema describing the fundamental roles of G-d: creator, revealer, redeemer. It is followed directly by the silent amidah, as if to say that when we are confronted with the manifold majesty of G-d, the only reasonable response is silence, since words are ultimately so inadequate.
If we examine the prayer closely, it becomes clear that the language chosen relies heavily on the idea of the reversal of fate. “From [inescapable] Egypt, You redeemed us, from the [powerlessness] of the house of bondage, You freed us; You killed all their first born, and liberated our first born; you parted the Sea, drown the insolent but helped your beloved ones pass through…humbling the proud, and raising the humble.”
Such language captures the radical nature of liberation. The transition from enslaved to free at the core of redemption is not the same as, say, getting a raise or moving into a nicer neighborhood. There is nothing gradual or incremental about it. Redemption—like creation and revelation—changes the world. This prayer is a daily reminder to us that such radical change is not just possible. It is real—and to pray the fact that we are here to pray about it is living proof.
It is also worth noting that the celebration of our liberation here is entirely without ambivalence. Unlike the Passover seder, where we temper our joy with the knowledge and recognition of the suffering of the Egyptians, in our daily prayers the tone is one of pure celebration. Seen from the Passover perspective, this might seem callous, perhaps even harsh. But only with the full ecstatic jubilation of liberation in mind does the moral grandeur of the Passover perspective become clear. Simply put, we can’t diminish our joy if we don’t feel our joy; and the more we feel the joy, the more impressive it is that we are prepared to diminish it out of our sense of common humanity with our Egyptian oppressors.