This month, we celebrate the holiday of Passover by remembering the story of how the Jewish people were freed from slavery in Egypt. This time of remembrance and introspection happens at the Seder, where we eat Matzo and drink four cups of wine that represent freedom and liberation. This is a symbolic message that we each have the ability to experience liberation and freedom in our own way.
How can we experience this freedom in our own lives? Leaving Egypt is not only a story of the past, but also a message of hope and liberation today. At the Seder with our family and friends, we say, “In every generation one must see it as if you were leaving Egypt.” The Hebrew word for Egypt, Mizrayim, also means limitations. In life, we are regularly faced with limitations. However, we have the ability to overcome these limitations, reach our highest potential, and experience leaving our own personal “Egypt”.
May we utilize this special time to find our own sense of meaning, purpose, and fulfillment, therefore feeling a sense of freedom and hope. As we sit at the Seder this year, let us remember that we carry on the traditions and memories of the past, and have the responsibility to live freely and in a meaningful way today.
May we all be blessed with hope, fulfillment, and freedom in our country and in our world today.
-Rabbi Dovid Small