OU HOLIDAYS Mikra Bikkurim and How We Tell the Story of Yetziat Mitzrayim By Rabbi Menachem Leibtag

Understanding Magid: A Biblical Perspective – Expression of Gratitude or Recognition of Destiny Should Passover be understood as our ‘holiday of freedom’ – a special time set aside to thank God for taking us out of slavery? Certainly, the popular song of “avadim hayinu… ata benei chorin” [‘We were once slaves, but now we are free’] – seems to state exactly that point. However, if you read your Haggadah carefully, you’ll notice that those words never appear (in that combination). And if you study the Haggadah, you’ll notice that it states quite the opposite, i.e. that we remain ‘servants’, but we simply have a new ‘boss’! In the following ‘Guide for Maggid’, we attempt to arrive at a better understanding of how and why we tell the story of the Exodus – and how that story explains why Passover is such an important holiday. Hopefully, it will ask help make your Seder evening a little more interesting (and life – a bit more meaningful).