Birth of a Nation

Rabbi Maury Grebenau

In Judaism there is a healthy tension between the individual and the nation as a
whole. There are times when our focus is inward into our own development and goals
and other times when we are expected to marginalize our own individual efforts in
deference to the greater national unit. This duality is evident in Pesach, and particularly
the seder night.

Our Exodus from Egypt and the subsequent experience at Sinai was the Genesis
of the Jewish people as a national entity. Our nation was formed through these seminal
experiences which made an impression on the entire Jewish identity which continues to
echo through all generations. The Midrash compares our time spent in Egypt to that of an
embryo in the mother‟s womb. The Jewish people were being formed through their
experiences in Egypt moving slowly towards our „birth‟ as a full fledged people of G-d.
The experiences of the exodus from Egypt must forever remain a foundation of our belief
and identity. We recall the Exodus on Pesach as well as once a week on Shabbos, as we
say in the Kiddush, “Zecher LeYetzias Mitzrayim.” We recall the Exodus daily in the final
paragraph of the Kriat Shema, a central aspect of our teffilah.

We also find that the experience of the seder is meant to be very personal. When
Hashem took us out of Egypt He revealed Himself through numerous miracles. One of
the main mitzvos (commandments) of the night is the reading of the Hagadah which
invites us to discussion and even to relive these experiences. The Hagadah tells us that
every person must feel as if they personally were taken out of Egypt. As well as a
national experience, it was a personal experience for each Jew. We must each have our
personal connection with Hashem which we celebrate on the seder night. Hashem dealt
with us in a way that was above the natural order that we experience on a day to day
basis. This was the level of the Exodus and this is the level we strive to experience
personally at the seder.

This is the reason that the Rasha („wicked‟ son) is answered so harshly when he
uses the wrong pronoun. The Rasha says that the mitzvos that are being fulfilled at the
seder are “yours” removing himself from the experience. He does not feel a personal
connection to Hashem at all. He has missed this vital aspect of the seder.

There is a custom to read Shir HaShirim (Song of Songs), a love song between
Hashem and the Jewish people, after the seder is complete. Rav Wolbe (Alei Shor vol. 2
pg. 395) explains that the goal of this custom is for each of us to feel our own intense
personal intimate connection with Hashem at the close of the seder. That is the level we
are looking to reach by the night‟s end. The Rambam (Hil. Teshuva 10:3), as well,
compares the love we are to feel for G-d to the love between a man and woman1. We try
to relive the revelation of G-d that we have experienced in a very personal way.

1
The Rambam also makes the point that this is the reason for the metaphor of Shir HaShirim
 As we experience the excitement of the seder let‟s take a moment to reflect on the
enormity of the impact that the Exodus has had on our people as well as its impact on our
own personal connection to Hashem. Let‟s be sure to take these vital elements from the
seder as we move forward towards the acceptance of the Torah on Shavout.