In a couple of days, I will be sitting with my family at the Passover Seder, a meal wrapped in a service of remembrance, with prayers, songs, symbolic foods and the retelling of how G-d took us out of Egypt from slavery to freedom.
The Hebrew word seder translates to order or procedure. That order is prescribed in the Passover , the special book we use to transport ourselves back in time from our secular, everyday world to remember and experience the miracles of when and how G-d saved our people.
There have been hundreds of Passover Haggadahs published around the world in many languages and formats. Some are plain; others are beautifully illustrated. Some are thin with just the prescribed prayers and story; others are thick with extensive commentary. Some are in Hebrew only and others have the Hebrew and the translation from their country of origin. Some have no Hebrew and tell the story through entertaining poems (such as Uncle Eli鈥檚 Special for Kid, Most Fun Ever, Under the Table, Passover Haggadah).
There are even online and multi-media versions though Jews who observe the rules of not using electricity during the holiday would only use the printed versions.
Despite the variety of content and format, each Haggadah contains the same to guide us through the evening. And everyone participates in all the steps!
When you think of a big family gathering, do you see the children set-off at a separate table, away from the adults? Do you see a teen-table, too? At the Seder, all generations sit together and the children play a significant role.
At the beginning of the Seder, the youngest person asks about why this night is different from all other nights. Then everyone joins in retelling the story, from a first and second person perspective, fulfilling the commandment, as it is written in the Torah:听
路听听听听听听 And when your children ask you, 'What does this ceremony mean to you?' then tell them, 'It is the Passover sacrifice to the Lord, who passed over the houses of the Israelites in Egypt and spared our homes when he struck down the Egyptians.'" (Ex. 12:26-27)
路听听听听听听 "You shall tell your child on that day, saying, 'It is because of what the LORD did for me when I came out of Egypt.'" (Exodus 13:8)
路听听听听听听 In days to come, when your son asks you, 'What does this mean?' say to him, 'With a mighty hand the Lord brought us out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. (Ex. 13:14)
路听听听听听听 In the future, when your son asks you, "What is the meaning of the stipulations, decrees and laws the Lord our God has commanded you?" tell him: "We were slaves of Pharaoh in Egypt, but the Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand. (Deut. 6:20-21)
Note the use of the first person (me, us, our) in these passages. When we tell the story, we are not reciting history; we are sharing our memories.
It may surprise you to know that there is no Hebrew word for history. The word used for that concept is historia which is actually a Greek word. (Do a quick Google search for 鈥渉istory etymology鈥� if you鈥檇 like to know more).
Since language shapes our thoughts and perceptions of reality, what does it mean when a people does not have a word for their history? How do they talk about the past?
As I鈥檝e explained above, this story and all others in the Torah aren鈥檛 our history; they are our collective memory. If you like to play with language, you will see that 鈥渉istory鈥� is his-story, not mine. The first two letters of 鈥渕emory,鈥� however, spell me. Without me there is no memory. Memory is a part of me, and history, apart from me.
At the Passover Seder, and indeed throughout the year, we continuously share our memories with each other and our children. Each service reminds us that as we are connected to G-d, and regardless of our beliefs and level of observance, we are one nation one soul with the mission to bring light and goodness into the world. When G-d took us out of Egypt, through the desert and gave us the Ten Commandments, we were all there.
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Fiona Prince, MA is a coach, facilitator and teacher who provides fundamental communication and writing skills to help people succeed in their professional and academic lives. She worships at the Chabad Family Shul where she volunteers teaching children and adults how to read Hebrew. Sign-up for weekly communication tips at听. To learn to read Hebrew, contact her at . (Morah means teacher and Faiga is her Hebrew name).
You can read more articles from our interfaith blog, 听Spiritually Speaking
