Parashat Bo: Exodus 13:8, "And you shall explain to your child on that day, saying, 'because of this which the Lord did for me when I came out of Egypt.'"
"Which the Lord did for me." In every generation a person is obligated to view himself as if he came out of Egypt, as it is said, "because of this which the Lord did for me when I came out of Egypt. (Babylonia Talmud, Tractate Pesahim 116b)
Torah Temima: "because it [The Torah] should have said, ' because of what [the Lord] did for our ancestors,'which makes this is a commandment for generations." And in the Jerusalem Talmud, Pesahim 9:4, it is clarified that the language, "which the Lord did for ME [rather than our ancestors, which is what the Torah actually recounts]," is because of the question of the wicked son, "What is this service to YOU?" For you, and not for him. Answer him according to his own language, "for me, and not for him, for had he been there he would not have been redeemed."
What makes a person worthy of redemption? Clearly, the question revolves on attitude. Does that person include him/herself among the people? It's intangible, but very real.
Then how does that person include himself? "Explain to" in Hebrew is higadta, the source of the word Haggadah. By going through the process of the haggadah, not just reciting the words, but going through the haggadah's process. What is that process? Through ancient words and modern discussion, asking how that ancient exodus applies in our lives today. Through reciting the story of our physical redemption (We were slaves to Pharaoh in Egypt) and our spiritual redemption (A wandering Aramean was my father [our ancestors worshipped idols]) we examine the manners in which we, too, are enslaved. But then the difficult part of the process begins. How do we obtain redemption? In discovering our own slavery, we must then determine how we can free ourselves with God's help.
Then how does that person include himself? "Explain to" in Hebrew is higadta, the source of the word Haggadah. By going through the process of the haggadah, not just reciting the words, but going through the haggadah's process. What is that process? Through ancient words and modern discussion, asking how that ancient exodus applies in our lives today. Through reciting the story of our physical redemption (We were slaves to Pharaoh in Egypt) and our spiritual redemption (A wandering Aramean was my father [our ancestors worshipped idols]) we examine the manners in which we, too, are enslaved. But then the difficult part of the process begins. How do we obtain redemption? In discovering our own slavery, we must then determine how we can free ourselves with God's help.
Who is the wicked child? The person who says "I am a slave to nothing; I am not in need of redemption." The Torah and the haggadah recognize that enslavement is the human condition, and spiritual as well as physical freedom a constant goal. The denier of enslavement is the one who is truly trapped, the wicked child, for that person will never be free.
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