What exactly do we celebrate on Seder night? Is it relevant to today’s reality, which seems so chaotic? Also, what can give modern slaves a different quality of life?
Even if we are unaware of it, Seder night symbolizes a developmental stage in which we discover that our lives unfold according to a plan embedded in nature. This plan has a beginning, middle, and end; our people are carried within a certain flow, and we bear within us a spiritual message for all of humanity. This is written in our sources, passed down from generation to generation, and on Seder night we are meant to remind ourselves that we must move forward.
The Passover Haggadah describes this process of development: “In the beginning, our ancestors were idol worshippers… Terah, the father of Abraham and the father of Nahor.” Then came Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the descent into Egypt, harsh slavery, and finally salvation.
In the inner meaning of things, these stories describe different stages in the development of the ego, which is embedded in a person. The ego here is described as a desire to enjoy at the expense of others. This force advances us each time to new realms, but in its narrow egoistic expressions, it also distances people from one another. It causes quarrels and conflicts. Our ancestors discovered that if we learn to rise above the ego, we ascend to spiritual life, a life in which we discover an anti-egoistic force, more internal and hidden, which builds the egoistic nature within us. Why? It is not so that we will exploit each other, but so that together we will rise above egoistic impulses and build stronger connections. This is how we grow spiritually, until we attain the unity within all of creation, which is also called the revelation of the general force of nature, the single force of love and bestowal that we call “the Creator.”
Throughout this process, in every generation, at every developmental stage, egoistic forces awaken and threaten to destroy the connection between us. If we nevertheless aspire to come closer to each other, that upper force saves us from their hands, meaning it elevates us above narrow egoism to complementary connections. At the peak of the described development, the entire nation will be connected as one man with one heart, and then we will connect all created beings in love.
So what do we celebrate on Seder night? We celebrate the opportunity granted to us to connect to life’s source, to the engine that operates the entire program of development, to the software working within nature. We can connect to it, work with it mutually, and then the entire path to the exalted goal will flow beautifully and pleasantly. Even if we suddenly encounter some “Red Sea,” we will pass through it as if on dry land, easily.
This is explained in the wisdom of Kabbalah, which also teaches a practical method for rising above the growing ego at every stage in order to build connection and love. Gradually, we create a general heart and mind, a network of common desires and thoughts, also called the Shechina. In this network of connection, the Shochen (dweller) becomes revealed, which is the inner force in all of nature, the Creator, the upper thought that sustains reality and carries it through its process of development.
With this broad picture in mind, let us return to daily reality. Many people today feel like slaves, suffocated, endlessly running, and under great pressure in constant struggles. They have to work hard to have money to buy everything that they “must” have, and to maintain status symbols that others have. Interpersonal relationships are also difficult, whether in marriage, with children, at work, and in business, not to mention the terrible state of the media, social networks, and roads.
From this mess of life arises the question: What is the point? What is it all for?
There are even growing voices in the world today who advocate that there is no reason to bring children into such a world.
Add to that the increasing cost of living, the security threats, and of course social division that consumes us from within, and a clear picture emerges: We are enslaved.
The exodus to freedom, as we read in the Haggadah, requires common work by us all as a society. The key is to focus on the first thing that needs to be added to life in this country: the love of Israel. Connection among everyone, above all differences, disagreements, and natural characteristics.
From the feeling of connection that we build, we will understand what else we should do in order to improve life for everyone. There is plenty of abundance around us, and it is only our poor relationships that prevent us from organizing our lives correctly.
The love of Israel will propel us to success in every field and bring higher meaning and new excitement into life. The more we advance, the more we will see how a new spirit fills our sails, how our inner batteries become recharged.
Then we will also understand why our ancestors said that just as all of nature is united, so we too, all created beings, must learn to function by developing love above the ego. Unity in the quality of love and bestowal is what we need to become truly free.
Based on “New Life 155 – The Passover Seder, Part 2” with Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman. Written/edited by students of Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman.
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