(ד) מזגו לו כוס שני, וכאן הבן שואל אביו. ואם אין דעת בבן, אביו מלמדו: מה נשתנה הלילה הזה מכל הלילות, שבכל הלילות אנו אוכלין חמץ ומצה, הלילה הזה כלו מצה. שבכל הלילות אנו אוכלין שאר ירקות, הלילה הזה מרור. שבכל הלילות אנו אוכלין בשר צלי שלוק ומבשל, הלילה הזה כלו צלי. שבכל הלילות אנו מטבילין פעם אחת, הלילה הזה שתי פעמים. ולפי דעתו של בן אביו מלמדו. מתחיל בגנות ומסים בשבח, ודורש מארמי אובד אבי (דברים כו, ה), עד שיגמור כל הפרשה כלה.
(4) They pour a second cup [of wine] for him. And here the son questions his father. And if the son has insufficient understanding [to question], his father teaches him [to ask]: Why is this night different from all [other] nights? On all [other] nights, we eat leavened and unleavened bread, [but] on this night, [we eat] only unleavened bread. On all [other] nights, we eat all kinds of vegetables, [but] on this night, [we eat only] bitter herbs. On all [other] nights, we eat meat roasted, stewed or boiled, [but] on this night, [we eat] only roasted [meat]. On all [other] nights, we dip [vegetables] once, [but] on this night, we dip [vegetables] twice. And according to the son's intelligence, his father instructs him. He begins [answering the questions] with [the account of Israel’s] shame and concludes with [Israel’s] glory, and expounds from “My father was a wandering Aramean” until he completes the whole passage.
So it was with our enslavement in Egypt. At first the deceitful approach of Pharaoh was soft and sensible, and the work was done voluntarily and even for pay. Gradually, it evolved into forced and cruel labor
Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,
With conquering limbs astride from land to land;
Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand
A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame
Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name
Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand
Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command
The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.
"Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!" cries she
With silent lips. "Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"
Now we are here; next year in the land of Israel - At the very moment that we gather to remember the past, we speak about the future. The seder brings together the three dimensions of time. Before the meal, we will the story of redemption in the past. During the meal, we experience it in the present. After the meal, as we conclude Hallel, and say, "Next year in Jerusalem,," we look forward to redemption in the future.
What is distinctive about Jewish time is that we experience the present not as an isolated moment, but as a link in a chain connecting past and future. The very fact that they had been liberated in the days of Moses gave our ancestors confidence that they would be liberated again. The Jewish people would return to the land of Israel. Here we see one of the most profound instincts of the Jewish mind: memory is the guardian of hope. Those who forget the past become prisoners of the present. Those who remember the past have faith in the future. We can face it without fear, because we have been there before.
Now - slave; next year we shall be free - There are two words for freedom in Hebrew, hofesh and herut. Hofesh is "freedom from." Herut" is "freedom to." Hofesh is what a slave acquires when released from slavery. He or she is free from being subject someone's will. But this kind of liberty is not enough to create a free society. A world in which everyone is free to do what he or she likes begins in anarchy and ends in tyranny. That is why hofesh is only the beginning of freedom, not its ultimate destination. Herut is collective freedom, a society in which my freedom respects yours. A free society is always a moral acheivement. It rests on self-restraint and regard for others. The ultimate aim of the Torah is to fashion a society on the foundations of justice and compassion, both of which depend on recognizing the sovereignty of God and the integrity of creation. Thus we say, "Next year we shall be benei horin," invoking herut, not hofesh. This statement is an aspiration; "May we be free in a way that honors the freedom of us all."