The Exodus: Past, Present, and Future

The Passover Seder tells the story of Passover through three different time frames. We see the Exodus from the perspective of those who left Egypt, but also from the perspective of the Patriarchs and the Rabbis. This is essential for understanding the Seder as the Seder is designed to transcend time. It is not simply about commemorating an event that happened in late Bronze Age Egypt but connecting us to it.

As to be expected, the Seder talks a fair amount about the Exodus from Egypt using verses from the Book of Exodus. The logical way to organize the Haggadah would be to have the child ask the Ma Nishtana questions, followed by Avadim Hayinu. We could then proceed to tell the story of Passover in a straightforward linear fashion, focusing on Moses telling Pharoah to let the Israelites go, Pharoah saying no, and Egypt getting smitten with the Ten Plagues. Instead, we take a confusing side detour to the Rabbis of the Tanaitic period. We soon find ourselves jumping back in time before the Exodus to learn that Abraham’s family were a bunch of idolaters and also that Laben tried to kill Jacob. Later, we find ourselves jumping forward in time again to the Rabbis making acronyms for the plagues, calculating how many plagues there actually were in Egypt and then during the crossing of the Red Sea, and telling us that we need to talk about the Passover lamb, matzoh, and maror. After completing the other biblical commandments of the night, eating matzoh and maror, we then go back to the Rabbis to Hillel’s sandwich.

The Seder is not simply the story of the Exodus. In a “post-modern” twist, it is the story about the telling over of the story of the Exodus. The Patriarchs are not simply the background as to how we ended up in Egypt, but the promise of the Exodus. The Patriarchs had to accept, on faith, that God would eventually, after hundreds of years give their descendants the Land of Israel. Along the way, they had to endure tremendous difficulties. For example, Abraham left Haran even though he was prosperous to travel to Canaan and then was hit with a famine that forced him to go to Egypt. Centuries before the Exodus, it was already something that people needed to relate to.  

In the Midrash, Abraham is depicted as celebrating Passover when visited by the angels. The cakes he served them were matzah. Why would Abraham celebrate something that had not happened yet? The Exodus is not simply something that happened at a specific time but the event that connects Jews across time. Abraham had just circumcised himself, joining himself to a promised Isaac who had yet to be born but who would be the first person circumcised at the proper age of eight days old. Abraham was also joining himself to all the Jewish people throughout history who were also yet to be born. As such, he joined them in celebrating Passover.  

Already, at the time of the Exodus, Moses commanded the Israelites as to how they should respond to their Wicked, Simple, and Unable to Ask Sons. (The Wise Son does not appear until Deuteronomy.) This was an act of faith. The Tenth Plague had not yet happened and Pharoah was still refusing to let them out. The Children of Israel needed to believe that they would get out and have children for whom this was all history. That first Passover in Egypt was still a celebration of God’s promise that had yet to be fulfilled.

The Rabbis exist on the other side of time to the Exodus. Living after the time of the Bible, they represent us. Passover was something that they commemorated as something happening in the past. But they also connected back to the Patriarchs. They were the ones who lost the Temple. Remember, Hillel's sandwich was supposed to contain the Passover lamb. Despite all this, the Rabbis had the courage to allow Judaism to continue even if that meant lambless matza sandwiches. They made the decision to be satisfied with God’s promise of a messianic redemption. In honor of that, we put the cup out for Elijah, celebrating a redemption that has not yet happened. It does not matter that it is not yet “next year in Jerusalem.”  

As Jews, we exist across time. At the Seder, we are joining Abraham and the angels in the fields of Mamri, Moses and the Israelites in Egypt, the Rabbis in Bnai Brak, and our future descendants who will share a fifth cup of wine with Elijah. All occur in God's ever-present now. No matter where and in what century you celebrate Passover in, you get to join the one and only Seder.