Out of Egypt: A Journey We Must Take Together

By Rabbi Bridget

March 31, 2025 • 2 Nisan 5785

“In every generation, each one of us must see ourselves as if we had gone out from Egypt.” These are my favorite words from the Passover seder. They call on us to take this holiday personally. At the seder, we are not simply hearing an ancient tale. Passover, with its special foods and retelling of the Exodus story, is meant to help us imagine ourselves in that story. We ask: What would it feel like to be enslaved, mistreated, our lives controlled by others, and then to break free from this awful oppression?

One of my favorite teachings about Passover tells us, “If you have not discovered a form of slavery you did not know about before, you have not celebrated Passover.” (Hasidic) This holiday asks us to open our eyes and look: where is oppression happening today that we had not been aware of before? Who, beyond the most obvious answers, is seen as the “Other,” not part of society, to be excluded and mistreated?

I ask this question sincerely, not rhetorically. 

In Hebrew, the word for Egypt is Mitzrayim—meaning a narrow place, a realm of crushing limits. Too many in our society today are cornered by prejudice and fear, and the definition of who “belongs” and deserves respect seems to narrow by the day. Fundamental rights hang in the balance as core values like due process erode, casting us into the pressure and narrowness of a metaphorical Egypt.

Yet the Exodus story offers not only a warning but also a roadmap—a promise echoed throughout the brighter chapters of American history. Our journey out of Egypt must be taken together. As Michael Walzer teaches:

We still believe, or many of us do, what the Exodus first taught… first, wherever you live, it is probably Egypt; second, that there is a better place, a world more attractive, a promised land; and third, that “the way to the land is through the wilderness.” There is no way to get from here to there except by joining together and marching. (Exodus and Revolution)

“In every generation, each one of us must see ourselves as if we had gone out from Egypt.” May these words guide us, reminding us that our lives are interwoven, our destinies shared, and that only together can we truly be free. The narrowness of Mitzrayim belongs to us all, and so too does the journey toward liberation. May we see ourselves in one another’s struggles, carry each other’s hopes, and march toward a world in which all of us truly belong.