Seder: An Order To History

The Jewish slaves in Egypt may not have believed it, but God certainly had warned Avraham that his descendents would be slaves in a strange land. The slaves experienced a cruel, unjust, and arbitrary world, but we know that all was planned, there was a reason.

We may not have the same clarity of plan and purpose when studying the history of Jews throughout the ages in all the countries of the world, however, when we sit down on Pesach night announcing the order of the Seder, we are declaring our belief that just as there was “order” to our exile in Egypt, so too, there is an order to every stage of the diaspora. There is a system. This is probably why there is such an emphasis on numbers in the Seder; four sons, four questions, 15 steps to the Seder, and, “who knows one?” Numbers reflect a relationship, the way the world works. Our work on Pesach night is to discern the Seder of the exile. (Sefat Emet)