Pesach First Day: What Drives You?

One of the greatest questions plaguing mankind – one that has recently been the center of debate amidst a climate of corporate greed, with companies claiming to serve society while raking in billions – is whether we can balance self-interest with the greater good. This question is answered, of all places, at the Passover Seder.

The Passover Seder takes up the issue of freedom. It forces us to examine if we can be free to do as we wish while not compromising and infringing on the freedoms of others … and how we can assure that greed does not override the interests and rights of individuals.

The Passover Seder is comprised primarily of two antithetical elements – wine and matzah. Matzah is the bread of the impoverished. Wine by contrast is a rich drink, symbolic of wealth and prosperity.

With these key symbols, the Seder presents a revolutionary way of looking at the meaning of freedom both for ourselves and the world around us. By extension it offers us a powerful demonstration of the Torah’s profound relevance to our lives today – how a contemporary issue, and one that has troubled humans throughout history, is resolved by a tradition that goes back over 3300 years