Section 1: The Passover story we tell
1) Our obligation to tell the Passover story
. וַאֲפִילוּ כֻּלָּנוּ חֲכָמִים כֻּלָּנוּ נְבוֹנִים כֻּלָּנוּ זְקֵנִים כֻּלָּנוּ יוֹדְעִים אֶת הַתּוֹרָה מִצְוָה עָלֵינוּ לְסַפֵּר בִּיצִיאַת מִצְרָיִם. וְכָל הַמַּרְבֶּה לְסַפֵּר בִּיצִיאַת מִצְרַיִם הֲרֵי זֶה מְשֻׁבָּח.
Even if we were all sages, all wise, all elders, all knowledgeable about the Torah, it would be a commandment upon us to tell the story of the exodus from Egypt. And anyone who tells the story of the Exodus at length: behold, this is praiseworthy!
Questions:
1) Why does everyone need to tell the Passover story every year?
2) Why are we encouraged to take our time in telling the Passover story? What is added when we do that?
2) Who is telling our story?
מַעֲשֶׂה בְּרַבִּי אֱלִיעֶזֶר וְרַבִּי יְהוֹשֻׁעַ וְרַבִּי אֶלְעָזָר בֶּן־עֲזַרְיָה וְרַבִּי עֲקִיבָא וְרַבִּי טַרְפוֹן שֶׁהָיוּ מְסֻבִּין בִּבְנֵי־בְרַק וְהָיוּ מְסַפְּרִים בִּיצִיאַת מִצְרַיִם כָּל־אוֹתוֹ הַלַּיְלָה, עַד שֶׁבָּאוּ תַלְמִידֵיהֶם וְאָמְרוּ לָהֶם רַבּוֹתֵינוּ הִגִּיעַ זְמַן קְרִיאַת שְׁמַע שֶׁל שַׁחֲרִית.
One Passover, Rabbi Eliezer, Rabbi Yehoshua, Rabbi Elazar ben Azariah, Rabbi Akiva and Rabbi Tarfon were reclining in Bnei Brak telling stories of the exodus from Egypt all night long — until their students came and said to them, "It's time to recite the morning shema!"
Questions:
1) When you think about this story, how does it feel to imagine yourself as one of the students? As one of the rabbis? As someone who wasn't part of their school? As one of their wives?
2) Who was telling stories at length in Bnei Brak? Who wasn't?
3) Today, who is encouraged to tell the Passover story at length? Who is told to speak less?
4) What questions do we miss when some Jewish people are discouraged from telling the story at length?
Section 2: The holiness of every person
3) Why was Adam created alone?
(ה) . לְפִיכָךְ נִבְרָא אָדָם יְחִידִי,
1) לְלַמֶּדְךָ, שֶׁכָּל הַמְאַבֵּד נֶפֶשׁ אַחַת מִיִּשְׂרָאֵל, מַעֲלֶה עָלָיו הַכָּתוּב כְּאִלּוּ אִבֵּד עוֹלָם מָלֵא. וְכָל הַמְקַיֵּם נֶפֶשׁ אַחַת מִיִּשְׂרָאֵל, מַעֲלֶה עָלָיו הַכָּתוּב כְּאִלּוּ קִיֵּם עוֹלָם מָלֵא.
2) וּמִפְּנֵי שְׁלוֹם הַבְּרִיּוֹת, שֶׁלֹּא יֹאמַר אָדָם לַחֲבֵרוֹ אַבָּא גָדוֹל מֵאָבִיךָ.
3) וְשֶׁלֹּא יְהוּ מִינִין אוֹמְרִים, הַרְבֵּה רָשֻׁיּוֹת בַּשָּׁמָיִם.
(5) This is why Adam was first created as one person:
1) To teach you that anyone who destroys a life is considered by Scripture to have destroyed an entire world; and anyone who saves a life is as if he saved an entire world."
2) To promote peace among the creations, so that no person would say to their fellow, "My father was greater than yours."
3) So that heretics will not say, "there are many rulers up in Heaven."
Questions:
1) How is destroying a life like destroying the world?
2) How can inclusive stories save lives?
4) The holiness of diversity
4) וּלְהַגִּיד גְּדֻלָּתוֹ שֶׁל הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא, שֶׁאָדָם טוֹבֵעַ כַּמָּה מַטְבְּעוֹת בְּחוֹתָם אֶחָד וְכֻלָּן דּוֹמִין זֶה לָזֶה, וּמֶלֶךְ מַלְכֵי הַמְּלָכִים הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא טָבַע כָּל אָדָם בְּחוֹתָמוֹ שֶׁל אָדָם הָרִאשׁוֹן וְאֵין אֶחָד מֵהֶן דּוֹמֶה לַחֲבֵרוֹ. לְפִיכָךְ כָּל אֶחָד וְאֶחָד חַיָּב לוֹמַר, בִּשְׁבִילִי נִבְרָא הָעוֹלָם.
4) To express the greatness of The Holy One [blessed be God]: For humankind strikes many coins from the same mold, and one is just like the other. But the King, the King of Kings, The Holy One [blessed be God] strikes every human being from the mold of Adam, and yet no human being is the same as any other. Therefore, every person must say, “For my sake the world was created.”
Questions
1) If a person made coins with the same mold and they were all different, we might think that they were bad at using the mold. Why don't we say that about God?
2) Why is it important for people to be different from each other?
3) What are some ways that people can be different from one another?
3) What are some ways that people might have been different from one another in the generation that left Egypt?
5) Personally leaving Egypt
בְּכָל־דּוֹר וָדוֹר חַיָּב אָדָם לִרְאוֹת אֶת־עַצְמוֹ כְּאִלּוּ הוּא יָצָא מִמִּצְרַיִם.
In each and every generation, a person is obligated to see themself as if they personally left Egypt.
Questions:
1) How is saying 'for my sake the world was created' like seeing yourself as having personally gone out of Egypt?
2) Think about some identities you have that not everyone shares (eg: gender, age, race, disability, sexual orientation, life experiences, etc).
3) How can you imagine people like yourself (and others you know) in the generation that left Egypt?
Section 3: We are all different — and some of us have disabilities
6) Disability at the Burning Bush
(10) But Moses said to YHVH, “Please, O Lord, I have never been a man of words, either in times past or now that You have spoken to Your servant; I am slow of speech and slow of tongue.” (11) YHVH said to him, “Who gives man speech? Who makes him mute or deaf, seeing or blind? Is it not I, YHVH (12) Now go, and I will be with you as you speak and will instruct you what to say.”
Questions:
1) During their conversation at the Burning Bush, why did God emphasize that God creates people with disabilities?
2) How does Moses' disability matter in the Passover story?
3) How are Jews with disabilities part of the story we tell at the seder?
7) A commandment given on the way to the Promised Land
(14) You shall not insult the deaf, or place a stumbling block before the blind. You shall fear your God: I am YHVH.
Questions
1) Why were we given this commandment in the desert? How is this commandment part of the process of going from slavery in Egypt to freedom in the Promised Land?