At the Seder Table: Memory, Meaning, and Renewal

By GUestBlogger Harvey Goldberg

Passover is likely the most widely observed of all Jewish holidays. Perhaps this is because of its universal message: even in a world where many are oppressed, freedom remains possible.

The holiday is a time to recount the deliverance of the Israelites from their bondage in ancient Egypt under Pharaoh, and their exodus from oppression to freedom—through the hand of HaShem, the Almighty, who brought us out of Egypt. At the ritual meal—the seder—we retell this story through wine, symbolic foods, and shared narration, guided by the Haggadah, the book that sets out the order of the evening and preserves the telling of the Exodus. More than a script, the Haggadah invites questions, discussion, and personal reflection.

We are instructed that it is praiseworthy to expand upon the story told in the Haggadah. Accordingly, throughout the ages, around the seder table, discussion has often turned to the relevance of the Exodus narrative to contemporary experiences of oppression—both those faced by the Jewish people and by others around the world.

Some families, including my own, reenact parts of the Exodus. At one memorable seder, instead of sitting around a table, we sat on the floor, imagining what it was like to flee from Egypt with nothing but what we could carry on our backs—and the faith that Moses, our deliverer, guided by HaShem, would lead us forward.

For me, one of the most poignant aspects of the seder is the reminder that this is not merely distant history. We are taught that we ourselves were there—that all generations, past, present, and future, experienced both the bitterness of slavery and the joy of redemption.

Having now experienced more than 75 seders, I look back with a mix of melancholy, joy, and hope on seders past—those I eagerly anticipated with my Bubbe and Zaide, my parents, and our uncles, aunts, and cousins in Winnipeg; and later, after we moved to Ottawa, the seders shared with friends as part of our synagogue community. Over time came the transition to hosting seders ourselves (no small task), and now to joining those hosted by our children.

Most joyous of all, this year we look forward to our grandchildren, Hila and Ryan, ages three and four, making their own contribution to the seder by reciting in Hebrew the Four Questions that lead into the retelling of the story of the Exodus.

​Passover invites us not only to remember, but to feel, to connect, and to recognize that the journey from oppression to freedom is both a collective memory and an enduring human hope.

Chag Pesach Sameach.

"We were slaves to Pharaoh in Egypt, and HaShem our God brought us out from there with a strong hand and an outstretched arm."
— The Haggadah

​Picture caption: Three generations of our family sit around the seder table to once again recount our journey from oppression to freedom.