A Person MUST See Himself...

On Chanuka and Purim we speak of miracles in days of old and in our time. At the Seder we say, In every generation... we must see ourselves as having come out of Egypt. We make an emphatic point that Judaism is not a "once upon a time a long time ago" religion. We use first-person singular when we tell the story of the Exodus to our children. And that style of telling and teaching is supposed to be used all the time, throughout the year - not just at the Pesach Seder.

Perhaps there's another angle to this idea. If we say about the Wicked Child - if he had been in Egypt, he would not have been redeemed, then we must take it as a challenge and goal to NOT be the RASHA. And to bring up our children so that it will be said of them - had he been there, he most definitely been redeemed.

Ever wonder what you would have done when the Golden Calf was the center of attention? Ever wonder if you would have jumped into the Sea, as Nachshon did? Ever wonder how you would have handled Greek oppression in the pre-Chanuka era? Maybe this is part of B'CHOL DOR VADOR... In every generation a person must be worthy of redemption. And this question goes for us today in the current MATZAV. 

This is our ongoing challenge: To be worthy of redemption. To learn our Pesach lessons, and those of other holidays, of the Torah of history - and to become better people because of what we learn. And to raise the next generation to have the same goals. 

We don't know why things are happening the way they are. But we should know that each of us can make a difference for the better. Chag Kasher V'Sameach.