In Every Generation...
We said this many times in many ways. But it needs to be said again for Parshat Sh’mot. The period of the Avot & Imahot is over; the remaining four Books of the Torah deal with their children, Bnei Yisrael, us.

No sooner does the Torah tell us of the terrible suffering of our ancestors in Egypt, does it tell us of the birth and growth of Moshe Rabeinu and his first prophecy and mission from G-d.

G-d first introduces Himself to Moshe at the Burning Bush, and then tells him that He is aware of what’s happening to the People in Egypt. “I’m going down to save the People from Egypt and to take them out from that land to a good and spacious Land, a Land flowing with Milk and Honey.

G-d’s plan was to take us from Egypt to Eretz Yisrael. Eretz Yisrael was not an after-thought. It wasn’t a matter of “now that we’re out of Egypt, where shall we go?” It was part of the original plan. Not “Take us out of Egypt. Bring us to Eretz Yisrael”. Not two sentences; not even two phrases separated by a semicolon. “Take us out of Egypt in order to bring us to Eretz Yisrael”. It makes a difference. Because the People then could not have said (should not have said - that was the great tragedy of the Sin of the Spies), “Thanks for the Exodus - You can keep the rest of the plan”.

There’s more. G-d told Moshe that the PROOF that He was indeed taking the People out of Israel, is that they were to return to this very spot (Har Sinai) to serve him there (to receive the Torah, to become His Nation. And that becomes part of the deal. Part of the Plan.

Take us out of Egypt to give us the Torah and to bring us to Eretz Yisrael.
When it came to the Torah part, we responded well. NAASEH V’NISHMA. We will unconditionally accept the Torah and the responsibilities that go with it.

Unfortunately, sadly, regrettably, when we were on our way to Eretz Yisrael, we faltered. Let’s send an advance scouting party... Even Moshe thought it was a good idea. But instead of a mission to determine the best way to enter the Land, it became a forum to discourage the People from going.
At the Seder table, that in every generation, we must relive the experiences of coming out of Egypt. 

This is no mere commemorative pageant. Implicit in the Hagada’s words are the challenge to actually relive the experiences, when given the opportunity. We must commit ourselves to Torah and Eretz Yisrael, because that is what G-d wants of us. No less.