Shabbat Messages

According to the 2024 Jewish People Policy Institute survey, the Passover Seder is celebrated by more Jews than either Yom Kippur or Chanukah. Estimates show that nearly 80% of American Jews participated in a seder of some sort; more than any other Jewish ritual, holiday, or service.

Perhaps it’s the home-centered ritual, the perfect matzah ball soup recipe, or the silly seder songs that keep us coming back, but I think the reason goes much deeper. The central narrative of the Exodus, moving from slavery to liberation, is ultimately a story of human rights and social justice. Yes, there are miracles and plagues, but when you truly pare it down to its core, it’s about people who saw the suffering of others and chose to take a stand.

Just this week, I had the joy of visiting classrooms across our campuses for Passover seders with our Brawerman and ECC students. In one seder, a little girl in a sparkly dress stood up, put her hands on her hips, and loudly declared to the class: “Pharaoh’s daughter picked up baby Moses... She’s a princess, and she did the right thing!”

Interestingly, this four-year-old picked up on something the Rabbis of the Talmud also sensed in the brief mention of Pharoah’s unnamed daughter in our Passover story. Midrash Vayikra Rabbah 1:3 cites a verse from the book of Chronicles that recounts the descendants of "Bityah, Pharaoh’s daughter." Playing on this name, the Midrash asks: Is she the daughter of Pharaoh (bat Par’oh) or is she really the daughter of God (bat Yah)?

The Midrash answers by noting the compassion Bityah shows to Moses. By willingly undermining her father’s decree to take Moses in, she removed herself from her father’s house; she secretly joined the rebellion. According to the Midrash, “The Holy One said that she who shows mercy to His child shall be to Him as a daughter.” From that point on, she was called Bityah, the daughter of God.

As the daughter of Pharaoh, she could not have been ignorant of her father's decree: “Pharaoh commanded all his people that every boy born to the Hebrews you shall throw into the Nile, but you shall let every girl live.” (Exodus 1:22)

Perhaps she heard about the heartless policy and went to the shores of the Nile to see the horrific loss of life for herself. Perhaps, fully clothed in her royal dress, she waded into the water as a sign of protest, intending to rescue any child she could. When she picked up Moses, she had no idea her action would change a nation. She simply saw a cold, scared, and hungry newborn and did what she knew was right. She chose to defy her father and the very system she was part of, raising this child in the palace of the man who tried to kill him.

With that one simple choice, she became a catalyst for change that would slowly chip away at the shackles of oppression and lead to the eventual freedom of an entire people. A true Daughter of God.

Each year we gather around our seder tables to tell the story of our ancestors' journey from bitterness to joy. We tell that story reclining on pillows to further demonstrate our place of freedom and privilege. We sing Avadim Hayinu, ata b’nei chorin (Once we were slaves, but now we are free).

The enduring message of Passover that I think keeps people coming back year after year is this: Now that we have our freedom, what are we going to do with it? Are we going to hear the cries of the suffering, wade out into the murky waters, and take a stand? The choice is ours, because just like Pharaoh’s daughter and my sparkly preschool friend, we too can always choose to do the right thing.

Chag Pesach Sameach! (Happy Passover)

Cantor Lisa Peicott