1. (12:29-36) The first-born of Egypt all die, and the Egyptians capitulate. The Israelites prepare to leave.
2. (12:37-42) The Israelites leave Egypt.
3. (12:43-13:10) The laws of the Paschal lamb sacrifice for future generations, the dedication to God of the firstborn, and further details concerning the observance of Passover.
4. (13:11-16) Laws concerning redemption of the first-born, the telling of the Passover story, and the tefillin.
The Rewards Of Remembering
And Moses said to the people, “Remember this day, on which you went free from Egypt, the house of bondage, how the Lord freed you from it with a mighty hand; no leavened bread shall be eaten. Exodus 13:3
[From this verse] I only know {that one should explain the significance of the Passover offering] when he has a son. How does one know [that if one does not have a son, he should explain it] to himself or to someone else? The Torah teaches: “And Moses said to the people, “Remember this day, on which you went free from Egypt…” Mekhilta De Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai, Ch. 13
The command to remember was directed not merely to the generation of the Exodus but to all generations. Hence the verses from Numbers 15:40-41 are recited twice a day, at morning and evening prayers. Only in the days of the Messiah will this no longer be necessary. The Torah, A Modern Commentary; based on the Mekhilta ch. 16
Thus you shall be reminded to observe all My commandments and to be holy to your God. I the Lord am your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt to be your God; I, the Lord Your God. Numbers 15:40-41
Ours is a long and rich history….And yet the Bible…and the rabbinic literature… does not have a word for “history.” Do you know how to say “history” in modern Hebrew? The word is, “historia” clearly an adopted and adapted word. Jews don’t have a word for history—but we have another word-a more powerful word: and that word is Zachor—memory.
To paraphrase a brilliant insight by Dr. Jonathan Sacks: history is this” story—memory is “my” story. History can often be a conglomeration of facts, dates, events, and happenings. Memory is different. It molds, shapes, and guides ones identity. History happened to someone else—once upon a time; “memory is the past as present, as it lives on in me.”
I recall a retort that Elie Wiesel offered an interviewer: “Professor you seem to live in the past,” was the comment. To which Elie Wiesel—or should I say, Reb Eliezer Wiesel—grandson of a pious Chasidic Jew, Dodve Feig from the shtetl of Sighet, Transylvania, responded: “I don’t live in the past. But what can I do—the past lives in me.” That’s not a statement about history—that’s a statement about identity. Rosh Hashanah Readings , 201, Rabbi David Gutterman
…in modern cultural understanding, time is perceived as only linear; once lived, it is gone. Hence there is a strong tendency to put aside the past as irrelevant. Indeed, many modern movements dismiss sacred time as pure projection, as an opiate of the masses. Yet Judaism insists that the past is available and still normative. Judaism celebrates it as a present channel of access to the Eternal and as a source of hope and renewal for the masses. Through the holiday cycle of the year and other rituals, the past can be summoned up to infuse the present with meaning. Passover, the Exodus, is not some antiquarian past experience: It is present reality. The taste of perfection in a Passover or a Shabbat creates dissatisfaction; that prevents the Jew from slipping into equilibrium with the current reality that he/she inhabits. Thus, in true Jewish dialectical fashion, time is both linear and cyclical. Greenberg, The Jewish Way
The Hebrew stem ZKR connotes much more than merely the remembrance of things past. It means “to be mindful, to pay heed” and signifies a sharp focusing of attention on someone or something. It embraces concern and involvement, and always leads to action. Etz Hayim on Exodus 2:24