You’re Not So Ordinary 

Some of us are actively bothered by the following question. Some of us have never thought about it before, but upon reading it now, would love to hear a practical answer. Even if you don’t belong to either group, listen in on the following conversation to discover a powerfully fresh perspective on the Haggadah — and how it can elevate your life.

Our Seder is always beautiful. Aside from the uplifting singing and delicious food, we share many deep, inspiring divrei Torah. 

But something’s been bothering me. I’ve heard many times that the Seder has tremendous power to strengthen our emunah and avodas Hashem. And I don’t really experience that. I don’t come away with concrete growth that lasts after we put away the Pesach dishes.

How can I help my family and myself extract the growth we’re supposed to be gaining from the Seder?

Great question. Where does this concrete growth begin? With understanding the full story the Haggadah is trying to tell us — perhaps in a different light than we have ever understood it before.

We’ll start with the Arizal, who makes an important distinction. The purpose of the Exodus wasn’t just to free us. It was the birthing process of the entity called Klal Yisrael. Like Chazal teach, Hashem pulled the Jewish People out of Mitzrayim like a farmer pulls a baby calf from inside its mother.

What’s so special about the fact that Hashem created our nation? Didn’t He create all the nations of the world?

Yes — but He created them naturally. Only the Jewish People were created supernaturally.

At Creation, Hashem set in place a natural process for the development of nations. Individuals would build families, who would become tribes, who would multiply and form nations.