Throughout the Haggadah, we make reference to the fact that originally we were slaves, but now we are freed. To quote just a couple of them:
עבדים היינו לפרעה במצרים...ואלו לא הוציא הקב״ה את אבותינו ממצרים הרי אנו ובנינו ובני בנינו משעבדים היינו לפרעה במצרים
We were slaves to Paroh in Mitzraim...Had Hashem not taken our forefathers our from Mitzraim, we, our children, and our grandchildren would be enslaved to Paroh in Mitzraim.
בכל דור ודור חייב אדם לראות את עצמו כאלו הוא יצא ממצרים
In every generation a person is obligated to view himself as if he left Mitzraim.
הוציאנו מעבדות לחירות מיגון לשמחה ומאבל ליו״ט ומאפילה לאור גדול ומשעבוד לגאולה
He took us out from slavery to freedom, from brokenness to rejoicing, from mourning to celebrating, from darkness to a great light, and from enslavement to redemption.
- Can a slave say these portions of the Haggadah? Since we’re rejoicing over freedom, perhaps a slave would be unable to say this, as he is not free. Or perhaps since we’re rejoicing over past freedom, a slave can do so as well.
- Is there a distinction between a Jewish slave (עבד עברי) and a quasi-Jewish slave (עבד כנעני) in this regard?
- Is there a distinction between a Jewish slave within his first seven years and a Jewish slave past those seven years in this regard? Since in the latter case, the slave wishes to remain enslaved, rejecting Hashem’s mastery in favor of a human’s (cf. Kiddushin 22b, from Vayikra 25:55), perhaps he cannot partake in celebrating Hashem taking us as His own.
