Pesach Special: The Inner Exodus

The Haggadah tells us that if we don't mention three things on Seder night, we haven't fulfilled the mitzvah: Pesach, Matzah, and Maror. But why reduce one of the most layered nights of the Jewish year to three items? What about freedom, slavery, our relationship with G-d?

In this special Passover episode, Rabbi Epstein sits down with Tom for a wide-ranging conversation about what the Seder is actually doing, and why those three symbols carry more weight than they might seem. The order matters: we start with Pesach (freedom), move through Matzah (the transition), and begin with Maror (the bitterness of slavery) because the goal of the whole night is to move in that direction.

But the conversation goes deeper than the Seder plate. Rabbi Epstein points to a detail that appears in the Torah 400 years before the Exodus: Lot serving matzah to the angels the night G-d destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah. That night was Passover night. Lot was observing a Seder before there was an Egypt, before the Torah was given. Why? Because Passover night is more than a historical commemoration. G-d built something into that night, a window in creation through which we can actually leave our egos behind and step into a genuine relationship with Him.

The conversation also takes on the question of belief versus knowledge, and why the Torah insists on the latter. The first of the Ten Commandments doesn't say "believe that I am your G-d." It says to know. Rabbi Epstein walks through why the Exodus, a national revelation witnessed by millions, is the foundation for that knowledge, and why that distinction has everything to do with how we live our lives throughout the year.

Chag Kasher V'Sameach!