Critic's notebook: Put yourself in the story of Passover by exploring text of Haggadah

That miscellany from a millennium of traditions may be part of the answer. The Haggadah's power lies not just in what is said, but in what is shown. The story is not the key; how we treat it is. The Exodus story is analyzed, debated, invoked in symbol and ritual. It is freewheeling, but also highly structured. ("Seder" means order.) Laws and limits are not overturned, but are inseparable from liberation.

And in all of this we are not transported to another time and place or some sacred realm. We are always right there, sitting at the table, in the ordinary world, trying to make sense of the past and its connection to the present, acknowledging boundaries — even welcoming them — while celebrating freedom. This is what is necessary, the Haggadah seems to say, if you wish to treat this story as if it is happening to you. The text shows how a particular people, over centuries, labored to recall, commemorate and praise, and wrestled over meanings and observances.

Liberation, the Haggadah seems to say, is not the only thing that is hard won; so are ritual and memory.