Parashiot for Pesach
Each day of Passover there is a different Torah reading:
Day 1 we read about the final plague on Egypt and the Israelites leaving Egypt in a hurry, overnight.
Day 2 we read about all of the holidays over the course of the year, starting with Shabbat, then Pesach, the counting of the Omer (which we begin counting on the second night of Passover at the start of the second seder), Shavuot, Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, Sukkot and Shemini Atzeret. All of the holidays are "zecher l'yitziat mitrayim - to remember leaving Egypt", because it is only because of the story of leaving Egypt that we can even celebrate and observe any of the other holidays.
Day 3 we read about the unique place that the first born were supposed to have in serving HaShem. They received that special role because they were spared from the final plague in Egypt.
Day 4 we read about how we are supposed to treat each other - especially people who are less fortunate than us. As free people, we need to remember that it is our job to make sure other people feel free as well.
Day 5 we read about HaShem's mercy and forgiveness for our mistakes, the second set of tablets that Moshe brought down, with the 10 commandments, and the important role that the land of Israel has to the nation of Israel (us).
Day 6 we read about the Israelite nation (us) observing the Pesach holiday on the one-year anniversary of leaving Egypt, and about Pesach Sheini - a second chance to keep Pesach one month later, in case someone missed the opportunity at the proper time. Every year since then (almost 3340 years ago), we have always observed this holiday!
Day 7 we read about the splitting of the sea and the song that Israel sang to HaShem, showing our gratitude for having true freedom from our enemies, and those who want to hurt us.
Day 8 (outside of Israel only) we read about the Shemitta cycle, where we let the land of Israel rest every seven years and trust that HaShem will take care of us. Did you know that THIS YEAR is a Shemitta year? We also read about Yovel - the 50th year (after 7 full Shemitta cycles), where everything is returned to its original owners. We do this to show that we trust HaShem to always take care of us, and that we don't value our lives by the "stuff" that we own, but by the way we choose to live our lives.
Every moment we have a choice of how we want to live. That choice is the essence of our freedom from Egypt which we remember every day of our lives. During our Passover Seders we tell our children the story of our slavery and of our freedom so that we can freely choose to live our best lives, as our best selves.
Discussion Questions:
1. Every day of Pesach we also read a special section of Torah called the Maftir. The Maftir describes two different holidays: Chag HaPesach and Chag HaMatzot. What, do you think, is the difference between the two holidays? (Hint questions: Which one do we celebrate today? Why don't we celebrate the other one?)
2. At our Seders we are all supposed to ask a lot of questions. How does asking questions help us experience freedom?
3. The Haggadah tells us that we are supposed to feel that WE, OURSELVES, are leaving Egypt. What are some ideas that you have for how we can feel like we are leaving Egypt during our Seders?
