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| Artwork: DALL-E's response to the prompt, "painting of an Egyptian standing in the middle of Manhattan" |
The Avadim Hayinu section of the Haggadah is the beginning of our answer to the Mah Nishtanah questions:
We were slaves to Pharaoh in Egypt, and Hashem, our God, took us out from there with a strong hand and an outstretched arm. And if the Holy One, blessed is He, had not taken our fathers out of Egypt, then we, and our children, and our children’s children would still be enslaved to Pharaoh in Egypt.
Really?! Would the Egyptian slavery to Pharaoh have lasted forever and ever? Would Israel have remained subjugated to Egypt for all time? Have any ancient kingdoms survived? Wouldn’t the forces of history have brought things to an end, one way or another? Are we supposed to accept this statement at face value?
The simplest answer is: yes, as incredible as it may sound, Egyptian slavery may very well have continued to this day! Obviously, there is no way to prove this, but it is plausible. Consider the incalculable global impact of the Exodus and Giving of the Torah. What might world history have looked like without Judaism, and without the offshoot Abrahamic monotheistic religions of Christianity and Islam which shaped the trajectory of mankind? Consider the various peoples situated in stable climates whose cultures, beliefs, and societal structures remained unchanged for hundreds or thousands of years. Think how many more societies like this there might be without the Revelation at Sinai, which introduced such radically disruptive ideas as human equality based on the tzelem Elokim, absolute freedom of choice, and universal natural law, which prompted revolutionary new ways of thinking. Lastly, consider the fact that Egypt actually did last for thousands of years before the Exodus and might have lasted thousands more without the intervention of Hashem’s hand in history.
Alternatively, perhaps the answer is based on a halacha we read later on in the Haggadah:
In each and every generation one is obligated to see himself as though he had gone out of Egypt, as it is stated: “And you shall tell your son on that day, saying: ‘It is because of this that Hashem did so for me when I went out of Egypt’” (Shemos 13:8). Not only did the Holy One, Blessed is He, redeem our fathers but He redeemed us, too, with them, as it is stated: “He took us out of there to bring us to and give us the land which He had sworn to our fathers” (Devarim 6:23).
Throughout the course of the seder, we oscillate between speaking from the perspective of the present day and from the perspective of freed slaves who left Egypt. Rambam’s Ha Lachma Anya begins with: “We left Egypt in a state of alarm” but continues: “This is the bread of affliction that our fathers ate in the land of Egypt.” Avadim Hayinu continues: “We were slaves to Pharaoh in Egypt and Hashem, our God, took us out from there” before switching to: “If the Holy One, blessed is He, had not taken our fathers out of Egypt” then switches back again: “then we, and our children, and our children’s children would still be enslaved to Pharaoh in Egypt.”
Perhaps this last line doesn’t mean that the Israelites would have been enslaved to the Egyptians for all time. Rather, it can be read as: “then we (the generation of freemen whose parents were liberated), our children (the second generation), and even our children’s children (the third generation) would be enslaved to Pharaoh in Egypt” and the Haggadah’s statement ends there. And if we asked what would happen after the third generation, what would the answer be? In all likelihood, complete assimilation. The Israelites in Egypt were on such a low level that Hashem was ready to destroy them, as the navi states: “They rebelled against Me and did not want to listen to Me; no man cast away the detestable [idols] of their eyes, and they did not forsake the idols of Egypt. So I thought to pour out My wrath upon them, to spend My anger on them, in the midst of the land of Egypt.” (Yechezkel 20:8). If things continued to deteriorate, it is possible that Israel would vanish after three generations.
These two are the only answers I could come up with, but I’m open to others. What do you think?
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