Jewish Recovery Thought - Pesach

Of the six hundred thirteen Biblical commandments there are two that we can only perform on the night of Pesach, the precise anniversary of our liberation from Egypt. These two special mitzvos are eating matzah and telling the story of the exodus. In order to have fulfilled the mitzvah of eating matzah, one must consume about 1 oz. in around 4 minutes time. Just nibbling at the matzah doesn't count. Once finished, however, one need not eat matzah again for the rest of Pesach and there is no particular virtue in consuming more than required. In order to fulfill the mitzvah of talking about the exodus one must mention three things: the offering of the Pascal lamb, the matzah and the bitter herbs. But even after having done so, it remains a mitzvah to go on talking about the exodus in as much detail as possible.

Matzah is humility. Unlike puffy leavened bread, matzah is flat. You can't skimp on humility. The mitzvah is to eat an ounce, so eat an ounce. (Indeed, compliance to this requirement is in itself humility.)

Telling the story of the exodus is gratitude. We don't just thank G-d; we specifically enumerate all of the great wonders for which we are grateful. It's not enough to have been redeemed, we have to talk about redemption. Indeed, as we talk about our freedom, we become even more free.

For those of us in recovery, these two themes should be easy to relate to. Our celebration of freedom must have two components. The first is humility, deflation of ego. The second is sharing, taking time to relate to others the miracles that G-d has done for us. And there is no end to the amount of sharing with others we can do. The more we talk, the more good it does.

As the Hagaddah says:

And even if all of us were wise, all men of understanding, all elderly, all of us knowing the Torah, there is still a mitzvah upon us to tell about the Exodus from Egypt. And whoever talks about it at length is praiseworthy.

We never 'graduate' from the duty to share our experience, strength and hope with another alcoholic. No matter how long we stay sober, there never comes a point where we no longer need to carry the message of recovery to others. That's why even the oldest of old-timers never stop going to meetings. Even if we all had perfect sobriety, even if we could claim perfect adherence to the Steps, even if we all had fifty years clean time, even if we all knew the Big Book back and forth by heart, it would still be incumbent upon us to keep talking about our delivery from addiction.