The haggadah recounts an episode that happened many years ago in Bnei Brak. It involves five great sages who were so engrossed in recounting the story of the Exodus that they hadn’t realized that the sun had risen and it was time for the morning prayers.
Why does the Passover seder narrative include this story? How does it add to our experiencing freedom?
The interesting aspect of this story is this: most (if not all) of these sages’ ancestors were not even slaves in Egypt! One of them was a descendent of converts, obviously his ancestors weren’t there. The others were from the tribe of Levi and the tribe of Levi never was part of the slavery. Yet, these sages spent the night recounting the story of the Exodus.
Passover is about freeing oneself of the limitations and inhibition that currently shapes our life choices. Whether we are too influenced by our surroundings or by our own behavior and tendencies, on Passover we turn to Hashem to liberate us just as He liberated our ancestors so many years ago.
The inclusion of this episode in the seder narrative teaches us two important lessons: There are many stages of liberation, when we reach our initial goals we must continue “onward and upward” towards the next goal, just as these sages continued discussing the Exodus until dawn.
Additionally, just as these sages were not personally involved in the slavery, yet they continued to discuss and share the message of freedom, we too must spread the success. When you have liberated yourself don’t keep it to yourself, share your experience with others and help them to experience the freedom and liberation of Passover too.
There are many amazing practical lessons from Passover and the seder, make sure to learn at least one new thing this year. Take a moment and browse through the insights on our website, find something that appeals to you, study and internalize it. Then share it with someone else.