The Pesach Haggada suggests that in addition to the theological importance of the Exodus from Egypt—themes such as the Omnipotence, personal intervention and faithfulness of God vis-à-vis His People—the  story should have an important impact upon our psyches as well. “And the Exodus has stood for our fathers and ourselves”. Why? Because Jewish history is perceived as cyclical, eternally repeating itself in one form or another.  “Because there was not only one alone [Pharoah] who has arisen against us, but rather in each generation they arise against us with the intent to destroy us and the Holy One, Blessed Be He, Saves us from their hands.”

R. Simcha Ziesel of Kelm deeply personalizes this message of the Haggada:

All aspects of a person’s life are to be derived from the Exodus from Egypt. And all of the actions and ways of a person during his entire life will be found in the Torah within the context of the Exodus from Egypt. And all of the actions and events that affected our ancestors, this is the principle regarding what will happen to every person on a conscious level, the Exodus from Egypt is like an introduction to everything that will happen to the Jewish people in the future.[1]

This giant of mussar advances the evocative suggestion that we should strive to look at the Exodus as a touchstone for our daily, individual existences. Three possible applications come to mind.  

On one level, our attention should be directed to the personalities who played key roles in the Exodus, including not only Moshe and Aharon, but also the midwives (Shemot 1:15-21) as well as, according to Shemot Rabba 1:12, Jewish women in general.  Each of us regularly faces uncomfortable situations in our work, our families, and our communities. We would do well to emulate the examples of the Jewish heroes of the Exodus and act with courage and resolve for the Sake of Heaven. Secondly, the entire period of the Jews’ leaving Egypt was marked by myriad miracles. Assuming that hidden miracles are everywhere to be discerned if only we care to seek them out would be another important lesson of the Exodus.  And thirdly, the importance of being able to forthrightly declare our Jewish identities was part and parcel of the Exodus story, at least according to one rabbinic view in Mechilta D’RaShBI, Parasha 6.   In Shemot 12:7, the Jews in Egypt were instructed to place the blood that had been extracted from their Paschal sacrifices on their doorposts. What is unclear is whether the blood was to be placed on the inside or the outside portion of their dwellings. While R. Yishmael  and R. Natan posit that the blood was to be placed so that only the Jews inside the house would know that it was there, R. Yitzchak disagrees and may be indicating that the Jews were proud of who they were and were prepared to publicly state their identities, despite the persecutions and difficulties to which they were being subjected. The contemporary implication, at least from the perspective of R. Yitzchak’s interpretation, would be that we should be prepared to stand up and identify who we are and what we stand for, even at times when this might be discomfiting and unpopular.

[1] The quotation of R. Simcha Ziesel’s concept is attributed to R. Meir Rosenstein of Lomzhe in Shalom Meir Volk, Haggada Shel Pesach, Leket Ma’amarei Raboteinu Gedolie Tenuat HaMussar, Tevuna, Tel Aviv, 1988, p. 133.