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During the Passover Seder, there are many steps to complete during the course of the evening. Some steps go by very quickly (how long does it take to dip some parsley and say the blessing?), and others seem to take forever (waiting for every person to wash their hands and pass the bowl), but the longest section is Maggid - the telling of the Passover story. Except for listing the plagues and talking about the symbols of Passover, do we even tell the story? Or do we just talk around the story? Or talk about talking about the story of Passover (like the story of the rabbis who sat up all night talking about Passover)?

I think that’s the point.  We start the Maggid section with Four Questions, but really it is one question with four subparts:  Why is this Night Different from all other Nights?  Is it because we limit the kinds of bread we eat? (Just matzah!) Is it because we amplify one kind of vegetable over others (the bitter kind)?  Is it because we have multiple dipping opportunities as part of our meal?  Is it because we eat our meal in a specific way (lean to the left!) rather than sitting up?  

None of these questions has to do with the telling of the story.  Or maybe they all do.

We eat only matzah because prior to leaving Egypt, God told us to do so.  We eat bitter herbs because the story started so sadly.  Dipping twice reminds us that we moved from salty tears to sweet freedom.  We lean like one does when they have all the time in the world and can sit and relax during their meal.  This is not a speedy experience and we should enjoy every step of the way.

Every story is personal.  We should see ourselves as if we had been redeemed and brought out of Egypt.  So if your story is told straightforward, step by step, use a traditional haggadah.  If your story is better told as heroes, pick up a comic book haggadah.  If you need comedy to keep you going, that is available too.  And of course, if all you can think about are changing the words of Wicked’s “Popular” to “Passover,”  this haggadah is for you.  Or you can always make it your own.

The seder is a meal full of ritual, about not just sharing the story of our ancestors, but finding ourselves in the story and feeling the freedom to tell it today.  Each seder is our own and different because we make it special and our stories make it come alive.