Many have the custom to start off the seder by filling Elijah’s Cup just before “Kadesh”. Doing so starts the seder off with the themes of redemption and freedom. As well, Jews all around the world end off their seders in the exact same way, with the words “Le’Shana Haba Be’Yerushalayim – Next year, in Jerusalem”.
I find it interesting that we begin and end the seder with symbolism relating to our redemption story, but the entire middle of the seder is the story of our ancestor’s redemption. Why do we start and end with our redemption but fill the gap with the redemption of others? The answer is simple, the Haggada tells us, “In every generation, a person is obligated to see himself as if he were leaving Egypt, as it says ‘And you shall tell to your son on that day’.” It is not that the seder begins and ends with our story but filled with the story of another, in reality the middle of the seder is our story, personally and nationally. We must make the story of the seder our own!
This is what NCSY does. Day in and day out, we help Jewish teens make the story of Judaism their own story. We bring text alive with modern meaning, we reveal the relevance in ritual and we show Jewish teens that Judaism is inspiring.
This Pesach, I sincerely pray that we all make the Jewish story our story and that we can all experience our personal and national redemption speedily in our days!
Chag Kasher Ve’Sameach,
Rabbi Adam Simon
San Diego Director, NCSY