Passover marks the beginning of a nation. Many nations emerge after a triumph in battle, a revolution, the conquest of a land, or a fight for independence. Not so for the Jewish people. Our people were in the midst of physical and spiritual ruin. They were the most powerless of people. We were slaves, with seemingly little hope for a future.
Through the power of God, a people ultimately emerged from what might have been the dustbin of history. They were tasked with bringing a set of values, given to us at Mt. Sinai, which became the basis of Western Civilization.
Passover centers around an event which took place early in our people’s history. Just as a people’s earliest experiences can shape their development and destiny, an individual’s earliest experiences can shape their development and future.
Lest we forget what God did for us and what God did to the Egyptians, we not only tell the history at the Seder but also try to identify with our ancestors by living without hametz and eating matzah. These mitzvot are the Torah’s way of eternally inscribing the beginning of our nation in our consciousness.
In other words, Passover is an inscription of collective memory. And it is that collective memory that those freed from bondage took with them as they traversed the desert.
We also recite Yizkor on the final day of Passover; Yizkor, which means “Remember,” is a prayer for departed loved ones. Often associated exclusively with Yom Kippur, it is also recited on Passover, Shavuot, and Shemini Atzeret. Just as the early stages of our people shaped our collective history—our early stages of life, shaped by parents or others for whom we recite Yizkor—form who we are today.
Yizkor is an inscription of individual memory. And it is an individual memory that we take with us through life.
I hope that on this day of Passover Yizkor, the memory of where we began as a people, alongside the personal memories you have of departed loved ones, join together to shape what emerges as a holiday filled with memory, appreciation, and joy
—Rabbi David Woznica