The Covenant of Destiny, however, moves us beyond the shared experience of being Jews to the free-will choice to serve Hashem by keeping his mitzvot , learning his Torah, and having faith in the Divine. At Sinai, the Jewish people actively and emphatically accepted the Torah, declaring Na’aseh V’Nishma . This choice was an exercise in free will. The Rav noted that we need both covenants: “A Jew who participates in the suffering of his nation and its fate, but does not join in its destiny, which is expressed in a life of Torah and mitzvot , destroys the essence of Judaism and injures his own uniqueness. By the same token, a Jew who is observant but does not feel the hurt of the nation, and who attempts to distance himself from Jewish fate, desecrates his Jewishness.” ACTIVITIES AND PROMPTS ACTIVITY 1: Joining the Covenant of Fate: The horrible events of October 7th are certainly an example of the statement in the Haggadah that in every generation amad aleinu l’chaloteynu . What are some of the ways in which this event reflects the Covenant of Fate? As part of the Jewish people, what is our obligation to share in each other’s suffering? What does the Covenant of Fate task us with doing communally? Individually? Have each person at the seder articulate
one way to share in the collective experience of being Jews after October 7th by identi- fying a concrete action they have taken/ can take to share in one of the Rav’s four categories: the Jewish experience, suffering, obligation, or cooperation. How might we take responsibility for the well-being of other Jews in light of October 7th? How might we share in their experiences, or their suffering? How might we support them? ACTIVITY 2: The previous activity asked us to contemplate the Covenant of Fate. Here, we might ask about the Covenant of Destiny —how does the Covenant of Destiny differ from the Covenant of Fate? To prompt discussion of this question have each person at the seder share one or two religious acts that go beyond simple solidarity but reflect an act of agency and free will in choosing to elevate ourselves and K’lal Yisrael spiritually. Why choose these two? How do they reflect our heightened religious sensitivities after October 7th? ACTIVITY 3: Have each person at the seder find a line in the Hagaddah that evokes either the Covenant of Fate or the Covenant of Destiny and explain their reasoning. Is “ amad aleynu l’chaloteynu ” an example of the Covenant of Fate and is l’shana haba b’yerushalayim an example of the Covenant of Destiny? Why or why not?
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AZRIELI GRADUATE SCHOOL OF JEWISH EDUCATION • HAGGADAH COMPANION
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