Exodus 14:29
וּבְנֵ֧י יִשְׂרָאֵ֛ל הָלְכ֥וּ בַיַּבָּשָׁ֖ה בְּת֣וֹךְ הַיָּ֑ם וְהַמַּ֤יִם לָהֶם֙ חֹמָ֔ה מִֽימִינָ֖ם וּמִשְּׂמֹאלָֽם׃
The children of Israel walked on dry land in the midst of the sea; and the waters were a wall to them on their right hand, and on their left.
Like the first day of Passover, the Torah commands us to mark the seventh day as a special festival day as well. The first day of the Passover marks the moment we left Egypt. On that very night our ancestors left their homes in Egypt, beginning a journey toward freedom. The seventh day of Passover marks the crossing the sea of reeds, a miracle that marked the final stage in leaving Egypt.
Leaving Egypt could not be done in a single night. The first step was the recognition that freedom was possible. Moses’s words to Pharaoh, his demand that his people be allowed to leave helped the Israelites imagine freedom as a possibility. Ten plagues later they were rushed out their homes, but even then they weren’t free. They were on the run for seven days, afraid of the Egyptians in pursuit. That all ended on the seventh day of Passover. On this day the sea split, they crossed to the other side, and truly left Egypt behind.
Many of us reflect during Passover on our personal Egypt – those forces that enslave us, holding us back from reaching our highest potential. We’re reminded that lasting freedom doesn’t happen overnight. There are stages. First we have to believe that freedom is possible. Second, we take those first steps away from “Egypt” knowing we still have a ways to go. Finally, it happens. At some point we cross a threshold and are truly free. May we never let the notion that the task is to great keep us from taking those first steps toward freedom. If we imagine the possibility of freedom and take those first steps, perhaps God will help us complete the journey. God split the sea for the Israelites – maybe not that miraculous, but I bet we’ll find help when we need it.r to a student they are less likely to internalize it than when they discover it for themselves. And like a good teacher, the Haggadah begins not with why but how in order to direct our attention to those aspects of the meal that we ought to be curious about. Each person is then challenged to discover the why over the course of the ritual meal. In this way the seder does not merely transmit our history from one generation to the next. It enables each participant to become part of it, empowering them to continue the story.