Telling the Story of the Jewish People
Telling the Story of the Jewish People
The Rabbis describe the narrative arc of the seder as, “מַתְחִיל בִּגְנוּת וּמְסַיֵּם בְּשֶׁבַח – we begin [the telling of the story] with degradation and we conclude [the telling of the story] with praise” (Mishna, Pesachim 10:4)1 As any good storyteller knows, your opening line, or the hook, draw in the listener. What is the beginning of the story? What is the גנות – the low point – of Jewish history?
The Talmud (Bavli, Pesachim 116a) debates this very question:
מאי בגנות?
רב אמר: מתחלה עובדי עבודת גלולים היו אבותינו.
ושמואל אמר: עבדים היינו.
What is the shame?
Rav said, “Our ancestors were idolaters (Joshua 24).”
Shmuel said, “We were slaves to Pharaoh (Deut 6:21).”
This disagreement between Rav and Shmuel has practical implications for how we conduct the Seder every year. When telling the story of the Exodus from Egypt, do we start from the book of Shemot or from the book of Bereishit? While this debate might be read on its surface as simply about Seder night, I would like to argue that a much deeper debate occurs at the same time. At some level, Rav and Shmuel can be understood to debate where Jewish history “really” begins. Does our story begin as a nation in Egypt or as a family in Israel?