The Observant Jew

A Moment of Freedom

a Pesach Primer

As I’ve mentioned before, I am frequently called upon to lead the davening even in places I’m visiting. Often they are looking for a guest, someone who is not tired of stand ing up there, doing it regularly since nobody else will. I’ve even gotten to the point of agreeing right away, instead of modestly declining because I realize it s not as much an honor for me as a favor for the poor gabbai who has to find a Shliach Tzibbur.

In some places, they have signs posted up front or on the wall with the times for davening, down to the minute. They tell you what time you should be up to this part of davening, and what time you should make it to that part of davening. As a Shliach Tzibbur, that’s quite helpful, especially when you’re re in unfamiliar territory. You never want to go too quickly, or Heaven for bids, too slowly! I was davening at one shul recently where I could have been standing alone. Nobody made any noise as I went from one section to the next, my ears straining to get some indication of whether people were with me or not. I was uncomfortable the entire time, unsure of whether I was getting it wrong. How I would have loved one of those little signs dictating my actions to the second. Some people have said, “Do whatever you want; it s fine. ”But that’s still not helpful because I’m afraid I ’ll get too out of line and they ’ll say, “We didn’t mean THAT fast. …” What’s that got to do with Pesach? I’m glad you asked. No matter what a person’s s affiliation, when it comes to Pesach, almost every Jew has a Seder. The words might be different, and sometimes the food isn’t even Kosher, but people insist on a Seder. So what is it about the Seder that’s s so special?

The word Seder means “order” and if you think about it, the Haggada is a whole choreographed evening, starting with a Schedule of Events and a script. We start out the evening by singing the Kadesh, Urchatz, letting everyone know the game plan for the evening. Now, if we ’re celebrating freedom, couldn’t we drop the songs and just do what we want? You want to talk about frogs and lice? Sure. Mention Matza but skip the Red Sea? No problem. Want to drink only two cups of wine or substitute cranberry juice? Go ahead, do what you want. It’ s a free country.

I don’t know about you, but to most people that would defeat the purpose. It ‘s tradition that we ‘re celebrating, carrying on a Seder as our grandparents have done for thousands of years. They would tell you that this is not a time to make up your own rules. But wait a minute, isn’t this the Festival of Freedom?

The answer is quite simple. We know that Pesach is important. As I felt when I led the davening, we don’t want to get it wrong. We need those traditional guidelines to make sure we live up to the importance of the night and do the right things. So ask yourself, who is better off on Seder night, the one who knows all the protocols, or the one who is winging it? I bet the one who is making it up as he goes along ends up nervous, feeling empty, and not really getting much out of the Seder experience. And that’s exactly the point of the Seder. We learn from this how wonderful it is to have things scripted for us, to know where we should be at what moment, and what we should be doing. It takes the doubt about our actions out of our minds and enables us to enjoy the experience. Now that we’re no longer concerned that we’ll make a mistake or do it wrong, we can relax.

Isn’t that greater freedom than agonizing over whether your decisions are right or wrong?

Jonathan Gewirtz is an inspirational writer and speaker whose work has appeared in publications around the world. You can find him at www.facebook.com/RabbiGewirtz, and follow him on Instagram @RabbiGewirtz or Twitter @RabbiJGewirtz. He also operates JewishSpeechWriter.com, where you can order a custom-made speech for your next special occasion. Sign up for the Migdal Ohr, his weekly PDF Dvar Torah in English. E-mail info@JewishSpeechWriter.com and put Subscribe in the subject.