One of my favorite stories is found in a small, but important book by Rabbi Marc Gellman entitled, “Does God Have a Big Toe?” It is a collection of midrash that is written for children but also teaches the adults who read the short selections to them. In one of these, Rabbi Gellman has the people of Israel always thanking Moses for each of the wondrous acts that occurs throughout their time together from the Exodus, which we have been celebrating all week, to their approach to the Promised Land. Each time Moses protests, “Don’t thank me. Thank God!”

If you paid close attention to part of the narrative in the Haggadah we read the first night or first two nights of Passover, you may have noticed a reading with a similar message. In the interpretation of the text that is taken from Parshat Ki Tavo in which one who offers the first produce to God that reads “And God brought us out of Egypt with a strong hand, an outstretched arm and great awe, through signs and wonders.” In the Haggadah, the midrash takes this verse apart, and the first comment is on the word that means “And God brought us out.” In this interpretation it is as if God is saying, “I brought you out of Egypt. I and not an angel; I and not a seraph; I and not an emissary.” Why is it that the rabbis are so emphatic that it was God alone Who brought the Israelites out of Egypt?

One of the interpretations that I like best is one that takes into account that God provides a model for human behavior. There is a passage, for example, in the midrash collection to Deuteronomy called the Sifre that instructs us with regard to a verse in Deuteronomy (11:22) that enjoins us “To walk in all [God’s] ways.” In explaining this verse, the midrash goes on to say, “Just as God is gracious and compassionate, you, too, must be gracious and compassionate. . . As the Holy One is faithful, you, too, must be faithful. As the Holy One is loving, you too must be loving.” Another example of this is found in the Talmud, Tractate Sotah (14a), where we are taught the verse, “Follow the Lord your God” (Deuteronomy 13:5), implies that one “should follow the attributes of the Holy One. . .”

Thus, when God alone redeems the Israelites from bondage, we, too, should contribute to the redemption of our world, and we should do that as individuals. When one has an opportunity to do good in the world, when one has the opportunity to feed the hungry, to clothe the naked, to provided shelter to the homeless, or to practice tzedakah, we should do it ourselves and not delegate the task to an “angel,” or to a agent, or to “someone else.”

The first half of the Haggadah is concerned with experiencing the redemption of the past, the Exodus from Egypt. The second half focuses our attention on the redemption that has yet to come. There is a wonderful custom that some households observe during that second half of the seder. When it comes time to fill Elijah’s cup, each person adds a little of his/her own cup to Elijah’s. Elijah, of course, is invited to the home in the hopes that he will announce that redemption is at hand for our world. When each one contributes to filling his cup, it is as if each person is actively participating in the coming redemption, alone and not by means of anyone else, neither shirking nor delegating that responsibility to others. Each of us, the midrash teaches, can redeem our world.

Rabbi Josef A. Davidson is Interim Senior Rabbi at Congregation B’nai Amoona and a member of the SLRA.