Pesach VII ~ To show yourself out of Mitzrayim

בְּכָל־דּוֹר וָדוֹר חַיָּב אָדָם לִרְאוֹת אֶת־עַצְמוֹ כְּאִלּוּ הוּא יָצָא מִמִּצְרַיִם, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: וְהִגַּדְתָּ לְבִנְךָ בַּיּוֹם הַהוּא לֵאמֹר, בַּעֲבוּר זֶה עָשָׂה ה' לִי בְּצֵאתִי מִמִּצְרַיִם. לֹא אֶת־אֲבוֹתֵינוּ בִּלְבָד גָּאַל הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא, אֶלָּא אַף אוֹתָנוּ גָּאַל עִמָּהֶם, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: וְאוֹתָנוּ הוֹצִיא מִשָּׁם, לְמַעַן הָבִיא אוֹתָנוּ, לָתֶת לָנוּ אֶת־הָאָרֶץ אֲשֶׁר נִשָׁבַּע לַאֲבֹתֵינוּ.

Pesach Haggadah, Magid, Rabban Gamliel's Three Things 7

In each and every generation, a person is obligated to see himself as if he left Egypt, as it is stated (Exodus 13:8); "For the sake of this, did the Lord do [this] for me in my going out of Egypt." Not only our ancestors did the Holy One, blessed be He, redeem, but rather also us [together] with them did he redeem, as it is stated (Deuteronomy 6:23); "And He took us out from there, in order to bring us in, to give us the land which He swore unto our fathers."

משנה תורה, הלכות חמץ ומצה ז׳:ו׳

(ו) בְּכָל דּוֹר וָדוֹר חַיָּב אָדָם לְהַרְאוֹת אֶת עַצְמוֹ כְּאִלּוּ הוּא בְּעַצְמוֹ יָצָא עַתָּה מִשִּׁעְבּוּד מִצְרַיִם שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (דברים ו כג) "וְאוֹתָנוּ הוֹצִיא מִשָּׁם" וְגוֹ'. וְעַל דָּבָר זֶה צִוָּה הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא בַּתּוֹרָה וְזָכַרְתָּ כִּי עֶבֶד הָיִיתָ כְּלוֹמַר כְּאִלּוּ אַתָּה בְּעַצְמְךָ הָיִיתָ עֶבֶד וְיָצָאתָ לְחֵרוּת וְנִפְדֵּיתָ:

Mishneh Torah, Leavened and Unleavened Bread 7:6

(6) In every generation a person must show her/himself that s/he personally had come forth from Egyptian subjugation, as it is stated, "God freed us from there..." (Deut. 6:23). And regarding this, the Holy Blessed One commanded in the Torah, "Remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt..." (Deut. 5:15, 15:15, 24:22), that is to say, as if you yourself had been a slave, and you came forth into freedom, and you were redeemed.

Therefore every Jewish person needs to feel inside oneself and check if he is already there (out of Egypt) and after that one is able to be in the aspect of "refined above" [see Zohar, Mishpatim, "if he refined above he is given Ruach, etc."] And all the time while one's soul is not in the state of completion, God forbid, one cannot refine above, as it is hinted in the Haggadah: "one is obligated to see oneself as if s/he personally left Egypt" - that is one needs to see "oneself", [to see] if one is already there, because if one is already out and has expanded oneself, that person does not need the (process of) Exile to find the pieces of one's soul, since all exile is "one is not there". And so, one "is obligated to see oneself" and only then one "personally left Egypt." [Piaseczner Rebbe, sefer Derech Hamelech, Ushpizat Yitzchak]

"One is obligated to see oneself as if s/he has personally come out of Egypt" ~ This is to be understood through the point taught in Sanhedrin, Chapter 4, "Every person is obligated to say 'it was because of me, personally, that the world was created'. So here, too, every person is obligated to say 'it was because of me, personally, that the Exodus from Egypt happened.' And the effect of this in one's thought process is understood: one rises one's heart [feels pride] toward the ways of God, since all creation of heaven and earth was due to that person alone. And because of this one needs to make oneself appropriate [kosher] so one will be worthy of upholding the Ten Sayings of the Holy One of Blessing [with which the world was created] and also, with what one will think that because of her/him this incredible effort of the Exodus from Egypt happened, so that one will raise one's soul in the ways of Torah - and it was because of this result [tachlit] the Exodus from Egypt happened. [Netziv - Haggadah with Imrei Shefer commentary, s.v.]

בכל דור ודור חייב אדם לראות את עצמו כאילו הוא יצא ממצרים". אין לך שיא של הכרה היסטורית מרומם מזה, ואין לך התמזגות של יחיד וכלל - ברחבי כדור העולם ובעמקי הדורות - גדולה מאשר בצו פדגוגי עתיק זה. איני יודע יצירה ספרותית יותר מחנכת לתיעוב העבדות ולאהבת החירות כסיפור השעבוד ויציאת מצרים. ואינני יודע שום זיכרון עתיק שכולו מופנה לקראת העתיד, שכולו סמל להווה ולעתידנו כ"זכר ליציאת מצרים".

איזה יצר חירות עמוק טבוע בלב עם שיכול היה באביב ימיו ליצור יצירה גאונית כזאת ולמסור אותה מדור לדור.

Berl Katznelson (Hebrew: ברל כצנלסון‎, 25 January 1887 – 12 August 1944) was one of the intellectual founders of Labor Zionism, instrumental to the establishment of the modern state of Israel, and the editor of Davar, the first daily newspaper of the workers' movement.

"In every generation a person is obligated to see her/himself as if s/he has personally come out of Egypt". You don't have a higher historical consciousness, nor a bigger merging of the individual and the collective in the expanses of the world and in the depths of the generations, than the one present in this ancient pedagogic line. I don't know of another literary creation of abhorrence of slavery and love for freedom as the story of slavery and exodus of Egypt. And I don't know of any ancient memory that is completely directed to the future , that is the symbol of our present and future as "remember the Exodus of Egypt". What a creation of freedom, deeply engraved inside the heart of the people, that it was able to create a feeling of pride as this in every spring, and transmit it to every generation.

כָּל אָדָם צָרִיך מִצְרַיִם - אמנון ריבק

כָּל אָדָם צָרִיך שֶׁתִּהְיֶה לוֹ
אֵיזוֹ מִצְרַיִם,
לִהְיוֹת מֹשֶׁה עַצְמוֹ מִתּוֹכָהּ
בְּיָד חֲזָקָה,
אוֹ בַּחֲרִיקַת שִׁנַּיִם.

כָּל אָדָם צָרִיך אֵימָה וַחֲשֵׁכָה גְּדוֹלָה,
וְנֶחָמָה, וְהַבְטָחָה, וְהַצָּלָה,
שֶׁיֵּדַע לָשֵׂאת עֵינָיו אֶל הַשָּׁמַיִם.
כָּל אָדָם צָרִיך תְּפִלָּה אַחַת,
שְׁתֵּהֵא שְׁגוּרָה אֶצְלוֹ עַל הַשְּׂפָתַיִם.
אָדָם צָרִיך פַּעַם אַחַת לְהִתְכּוֹפֵף -
כָּל אָדָם צָרִיך כָּתֵף.

כָּל אָדָם צָרִיך שֶׁתִּהְיֶה לוֹ אֵיזוֹ מִצְרַיִם,
לִגְאֹל עַצְּמוֹ מִמֶּנָה מִבֵּית עֲבָדִים,
לָצֵאת בַּחֲצִי הַלַּיִל אֶל מִדְבַּר הַפְּחָדִים,
לִצְעֹד הַיְשֵׁר אֶל תּוֹך הַמַּיִם,
לִרְאוֹתָם נִפְתָּחִים מִפָּנָיו לַצְּדָדִים.
כָּל אָדָם צָרִיך כָּתֵף,
לָשֵׂאת עָלֶיהָ אֶת עַצְמוֹת יוֹסֵף,
כָּל אָדָם צָרִיך לְהִזְדַּקֵּףְ.

כָּל אָדָם צָרִיך שֶׁתִּהְיֶה לוֹ
אֵיזוֹ מִצְרַיִם.
וִירוּשָׁלַיִם,
וּמַסָּע אָרוֹך אֱחָד,
לִזְכֹּר אוֹתוֹ לָעַד
בְּכַפּוֹת הָרַגְלַיִם.

Every person needs Egypt - Amnon Ribak

Every person needs to have a
certain Egypt,

To be as Moshe themselves inside it,
with a strong arm,
or with grinding teeth.

Every person needs terror and great darkness,
and comfort and promise and redemption,
that they would know to look up at the sky.
Every person needs one prayer,

that would constantly be on their lips.
A person needs to bend one time –
Every person needs a shoulder.

Every person needs to have a
certain Egypt,

to redeem themselves from it, from the house of slavery,

to go out in the middle of the night to the desert of fears,
to march straight into the waters,
to see them open before them to both sides.

Every person needs a shoulder,
on which to carry the bones of Joseph,
Every person needs to straighten their backs.

Every person needs to have a
certain Egypt,
and a Jerusalem,
and one long journey,
that they will forever remember
in their feet.