Chapter 2: Making Distinctions

Summary: The Seder emphasizes distinction, a trait sought by Abraham, established by God in Egypt, and reflected in the central role of speech in the Exodus.

“Making distinctions is part of learning. So is making mistakes.” --- Nancy Gibbs

“The literary depiction of life and its moral dilemmas compel us to use our conscience, to make those infallible distinctions between right and wrong.” --- F. Sionil Jose

“Division and differentiation are the processes by which things are created. Since things are emerging and dissolving all the time, you cannot specify the point when this division will stop.” ― Liezi, Lieh-tzu: A Taoist Guide to Practical Living

The Hebrew Hammer

The process of questioning can reap yet another benefit when we use it to deconstruct things into their detailed components and then determine how to differentiate between those components. That process entails both the discovery and the creation of distinctions, an inquiry which can enhance our capacity to understand people, events, facts, ideas, and circumstances. For example, without categorizing masses of information, it would not be possible for journalists, researchers, and police investigators to do their jobs properly.¹ The very definition of “complexity,” which characterizes all advanced fields of study, is “the state of having many parts and being difficult to understand …,”² so mastery of those components is an essential part of developing expertise in one’s chosen field.

Learning to make distinctions through questioning is also a vital component of carving out our individuality. If we face a series of questions about ourselves, and we respond with direct, thoughtful, personal answers, our distinct identities will gradually emerge. This process is exemplified by Abraham, who as we have stated, was called the “Hebrew,” Ivri, from the root (ע-ב-ר) meaning beyond or the other side,³ because he “stood on the other side of the river from everyone else.” ⁴ In other words, he literally made a name for himself by carving out his own distinct and unique personality and by believing differently from everyone else. Not only did he acquire a singular identity, he was also the first person in history to embark on that kind of developmental journey. Until Abraham, people did not deviate from the prevailing views about the world.⁵ His archrival,⁶ King Nimrod, was devoted to a life of idol worship, and built the Tower of Babel⁷ with this dictate in mind – that everyone should think the same way and speak the same language.⁸ However, God thwarted Nimrod’s plans by scrambling the languages and dividing the population into distinct countries and cultures.⁹ The story of Abraham highlights God's strong preference for diversity.¹⁰

It seems that Abraham's nickname stuck, because Joseph¹¹ and the subsequent generations that dwelled in Egypt¹² were also dubbed Ivrim, Hebrews, probably because Joseph and Abraham's other grandchildren continued his legacy of striving for uniqueness and not giving in to peer pressure or societal norms.

Our Distinction

Fittingly, the Torah’s narrative of the Exodus makes it explicit that the Children of Israel are treated differently from the Egyptians. For example, the midrash teaches that during the plague of blood, the Jews were able to sell water to the Egyptians, because the plague did not affect them.¹³ The Torah states about the plague of ‘Wild Beasts’, And I will separate on that day the land of Goshen, upon which My people stand, that there will be no mixture of noxious creatures there, in order that you know that I am the Lord in the midst of the earth. And I will make a redemption between My people and your people…¹⁴ During the plague of ‘pestilence’: And the Lord will make a separation between the livestock of Israel and the livestock of Egypt, and nothing of the children of Israel will die. .¹⁵ Regarding the hailstorm plague: Only in the land of Goshen, where the children of Israel were, there was no hail.¹⁶ The plague of darkness: They did not see each other, and no one rose from his place for three days, but for all the children of Israel there was light in their dwellings.¹⁷ By the plague of the firstborn: But to all the children of Israel, not one dog will whet its tongue against either man or beast, in order that you shall know that the Lord will separate between the Egyptians and between Israel.¹⁸ At the splitting of the Red Sea: And [the angel] came between the camp of Egypt and the camp of Israel, and there were the cloud and the darkness, and it illuminated the night, and one did not draw near the other all night long.¹⁹

Based on the narrative, Pharaoh’s plan to kill all the newborn Jewish males²⁰ seemed to be motivated by his fear that the Jewish populace would grow too large.²¹ However, his plan made little sense, because it would be ineffective to target males if the objective was population control. Basic breeding principles prescribe that only one male is necessary for many females to produce and multiply.²² However, Pharaoh’s fear was of a different sort. It stemmed from the Egyptian soothsayers, who prophesized that a man would emerge as a leader to unite the Jews under an anti-Egyptian banner. This means he feared the Jews’ distinctive unity, not merely their numbers.²³

Of course, Moses did come along and unite his people, but as we will see, ironically, he emerged as the leader only because of the people Pharaoh discounted, the Jewish women, who were concerned not simply about population size, but about the distinctive quality of the group known collectively as The Children of Israel.²⁴

All this implies that the Jews were distinct not simply by virtue of being different, but also because they were considered special. In keeping with this status, we read that Moses is instructed at the outset of his mission to tell Pharaoh, "My firstborn son is Israel,”²⁵ because a firstborn son at the time was considered a special child to his parents. At the conclusion of the Exodus, we are dubbed a holy nation,²⁶ referring to the fact that we are unique and special to God. During the seder, we learn about what makes us special as Jews, what makes us the Chosen People ²⁷ – a distinction we have struggled to accept.²⁸

My Distinction

At first glance, this might suggest that one must sacrifice individual uniqueness to achieve national singularity. This notion is implied at the beginning of the book of Exodus, which lists the names of the Jewish tribes of Israel,²⁹ names that are a continuation of the book of Genesis, a book about individuals. However, following the list of tribes, the parsha and book of Shemot moves into the story about the nation of Israel,³⁰ in which everyone ironically loses their names! ³¹ We read about a population explosion which focuses on the quantity of Jews, not individuals.³² Moreover, the names of many prominent individuals are omitted, for example, A certain man from the house of Levi who married a daughter of Levi,³³ (referring to Moses’ renowned parents, Amram³⁴ and Yocheved³⁵); And the woman (Yocheved) conceived and had a son…and his sister (Miriam) stood from afar to see what would happen to him (Moses);³⁶ The daughter of Pharaoh (Bitya) saw the boy (Moses) and his sister (Miriam) said to Pharaoh’s daughter (Bitya)...”;³⁷ The young girl (Miriam) went to call the mother of the child (Yocheved)…and the woman (Yocheved) took the child (Moses)…and the boy (Moses) grew and she (Yocheved) brought him to Pharaoh’s daughter (Bitya)…”³⁸ In other instances, their names are changed to “code names,” for example, Shifra (Yocheved) and Puah (Miriam),³⁹ and Eheyeh Asher Eheyeh (God).⁴⁰ Is it then true that one must sacrifice individual significance for the sake of national identity?

I do not believe this is the case at all. Being an integral part of the Jewish nation does not require the elimination of individuality. However, it did require the transition from Braisheet/Genesis, a book about individuals, to Shemot/Exodus, a book about a nation of individuals. In other words, the beginning of the book of Shemot/Names is about how we relinquished our old identities as lone individuals and learned to become newly distinctive individuals within the context of a unified and special nation.

This idea is expressed in Rashi’s very first commentary in the book of Exodus,⁴¹ which teaches that the Hebrew name for the book is Shemot, because all of us are like the stars; as God promised Abraham, Your children will be [like the stars.]⁴² This verse is typically interpreted to mean that the Jewish people will become numerous, like the stars. But our Sages quote the prophet Isaiah who said, God gives a name to every star.⁴³ In this light, God’s promise to Abraham meant that each one of us will have a name. No matter how large our nation grows, we will not be lost as individuals within the nation.

Similarly, some commentators⁴⁴ explain that the Jewish people are compared to stars, because like each star, each person may appear small and insignificant but really is a huge mass of innate potential. Armed with this knowledge, each of us can realize our enormous ability, which ultimately can fulfill our destiny, specifically when we acknowledge our unique placement within the Jewish people.

Kiddush and Havdalah

In the Torah, differentiation and distinction are expressed through both the ritual of Havdalah (separation) and the concept of kedusha (holiness). Rashi when translating the obscure commandment of kedoshim tehiyu, You shall be holy,⁴⁵ uses the term perushim or distinctive, because kedusha, holiness, is not about being spiritual as much as it is about being special or unique.⁴⁶ For example, while many authorities on Jewish law conclude that the Kiddush we recite on Friday night is a Biblical commandment not associated with the Havdalah ceremony on Saturday night which bids farewell to Shabbat,⁴⁷ Rambam⁴⁸ brilliantly attributes the source of Havdalah to the same biblical verse as Kiddush, zachor et yom hashabbat l’kadsho -- Remember the Shabbat and make it holy.⁴⁹ Why is Havdalah a way to remember Shabbat? Because the mitzvah to make Shabbat holy means to make it distinct and special, to separate it from weekdays, and that is what we accomplish with both Kiddush and Havdalah.

Moreover, the way we bring holiness and distinction to the Shabbat via Kiddush⁵⁰ and Havdalah is to recite the prayers stating that Shabbat is distinct and holy out loud. We are taught that zachor, the command to remember the Shabbat, means we must recall the Shabbat by reciting the commemorative words of Kiddush and Havdalah.

Surprisingly, Rambam introduces this same idea to Passover by referencing the verse teaching us about the Shabbat kiddush and Havdalah – Remember the Sabbath and make it holy – as an obscure parallel source of the commandment to tell the Passover story at the seder.⁵¹ Just as we are commanded to speak about the Sabbath, so too we must remember the Exodus, the story of how we became free, by verbalizing it.

Freedom of Speech

It is not coincidental then that there are also numerous references to speech in the Exodus story:

... Relate in the ears of your children that I toyed with Egypt and [tell them] about my miracles I generated amongst them…⁵²

You shall say, it is a Passover offering to God…⁵³

Speak about this day on which you left Egypt…⁵⁴

You must declare to your children on that day (annually on Passover night) ‘it is because of this that God did all of this for me during my Exodus from Egypt’…⁵⁵

You should say to your child ‘with a strong hand God took us out of Egypt from the house of slavery’…⁵⁶

Moreover, our seder guidebook is called the Haggadah – which translates to ‘the act of telling, relating or declaring’.⁵⁷

The importance of speech is also highlighted in numerous other ways in the Exodus story and the Haggadah.

During his initial discussion with God, Moses protested that he could not lead the Exodus mission because - lo ish devarim anochi – I am not a man of words.⁵⁸ In other words, he naturally assumed that his inadequate speaking ability disqualified him from the assignment.

Matzoh is called poor man’s bread, lechem oni.⁵⁹ But the Hebrew word oni also means answer. The Talmud therefore gives an alternative meaning to Matza’s epithet: bread over which we answer many things.⁶⁰

The place where we started the route to freedom happened to be called pi hachirot⁶¹– which translates to the mouth of freedom.

After the Jews left Egypt, they went straight into the desert, the midbar. If you change the vowels, the same Hebrew word midbar can read midaber, meaning a speaker.

The Hebrew name for the Passover holiday, Pesach, when its syllables are divided into 2 words, it reads Peh Sach, meaning talking mouth.⁶²

Our seder declaration would therefore seem to encapsulate the Passover theme: the more we [speak] at the seder, the more praiseworthy we are!⁶³

If speech is such a significant aspect of Passover, it must be profoundly linked to distinction and freedom. The relationship between the capacity for speech and Passover, our holiday of freedom, has its roots in the primal Biblical episode -- the creation of humankind.⁶⁴ The commentators identify two characteristics that were granted exclusively to the human species at the time of creation: the freedom to make significant moral choices,⁶⁵ and the ability to speak – to communicate and relate to one another spiritually through the complex process of verbalization.⁶⁶ The connection between these two capabilities: to choose and to speak, is what qualitatively distinguishes human potential from animals, and it is the source of the inherent and distinctive human right of freedom we learn from the Passover story.

Therefore, Passover, the holiday that in a deeper sense commemorates the creation of the world,⁶⁷ also celebrates our God-given freedom to choose a unique identity for ourselves and the freedom to express ourselves distinctly as unique human beings via the medium of speech. Moreover, this theme holds special resonance for our era in history because freedom of speech has become a deeply valued individual right that has no equal or replacement.

A Distinctive Night

Which brings us back to distinction. One of the most compelling ways to heighten and effectively express our appreciation is the firsthand experience of distinction and contrast. For example, someone born into a wealthy family and insulated from other ways of life is less likely to recognize his good fortune than someone born into a poor family who becomes wealthy later in life. As the Maharal teaches, “The light is most recognizable in contrast to darkness.”⁶⁸ But even when we cannot experience such contrast firsthand, we can experience it vicariously through effective storytelling, which begins with a narrative about the way the world is, and then compares that status quo dramatically to the way the world could be.⁶⁹

Perhaps this is why the Talmud⁷⁰ specifically requires the Haggadah to make verbal distinctions by "beginning with criticism and ending with praise." ⁷¹ This mechanism paints a “before and after picture,” contrasting between the negative and the positive – slavery to physical freedom; idol worship to spiritual freedom via God’s Torah.⁷² When we articulate these vivid contrasts, we can better appreciate and distinguish between the types of freedom God granted us with the Exodus.⁷³

The “4 questions” section is generally considered to be one of the highlights of Passover night (especially when there is a cute child involved). But the title is a misnomer; there is actually only ONE question, divided into 4 parts: “Why is this night different from others?”, meaning, “What makes this night distinct?” or “What distinction does tonight bring about?” or “What difference does this night make to me?” In a poignant manner, this question synthesizes all the concepts we have discussed in this and the preceding chapter – questions, distinction, speech, individuality, appreciation, and freedom.

We have established that distinction is a fundamental component of our Exodus from Egypt, and that it is a crucial element of freedom as well. It should then not be surprising that to achieve freedom and meaning in life, we are called to distinguish between two different types of slavery, and two corresponding types of freedom.