At the beginning of the sederLit. Order. The festive meal conducted on Passover night, in a specific order with specific rituals to symbolize aspects of the Exodus from Egypt. It is conducted following the haggadah, a book for this purpose. Additionally, there an ancient tradition to have a seder on Rosh Hashanah, which has been practiced in particular by Sephardi communities. This seder involves the blessing and eating of simanim, or symbolic foods. The mystics of Sefat also created a seder for Tu B'shvat, the new year of the trees. we allotted meaning to the three ritual mazot. To the top one we gave the future when all will be free. To the middle one our present state. And to the third piece of matzahThe unleavened bread eaten on Passover that recalls the Israelite's hasty escape from Egypt when there was no time for the dough to rise. Matzah is also considered the "bread of our affliction," eaten while we were slaves., the one from the bottom we allotted the belief in our past redemption — our Exodus from MitzrayimLit. Egypt. Because the Hebrew word for narrow is tzar, Mitzrayim is also understood as "narrowness," as in, the narrow and confining places in life from which one emerges physically and spiritually..
That symbolism is not just about the historical events we repeat tonight but also about the enslavers or Pharaohs that we carry with us each day in our lives. Some are imposed upon us. Others we create for ourselves. But all restrict our souls from reaching the Source. The re-enacting of the Exodus experience of our past tonight provides us with the opportunity to examine the many “narrow places” from which we can seek freedom today.
(Break off a piece of the bottom matzah and pass it along until everyone is holding a piece)
Take a moment to close your eyes and find your inner Pharaoh. Invest your piece of matzah with the name of your personal place of tightness. It may take the form of anxiety, depression, loneliness, grudges or something else…anything that you feel is restricting or limiting for you.
(Silence for a while…)
Now open your eyes. Invest your piece of ceremonial matzah with the name of your Pharaoh and crumble it into the bowl being passed around. In recognition of how poorly these restrictions have served us we will now open the door andl throw our tyrants out to vanish in the wind.
