Four stages of liberation. Four directions.

I am — “”אני”” (Ani). Not conspicuous, like the hidden presence of the Almighty, which is revealed only to those who wish to see. Ani – written in paleo-Hebrew script – a reminder: Me! Not an angel, not a messenger, not a king. I am — Myself. I brought out. I saved. I redeemed. I accepted. So says the Almighty. In memory of these four stages, we drink four cups during the Passover Seder. 

In the center is the letter ה (Hei) – the embodiment of the Almighty’s breath, which with this very breath each time revives in me the desire to realize that I am in slavery, to see this slavery and to want Him to bring me out and to call out. If you look at this letter in the center of the composition from another angle, you can see Alef א — the letter of unity. Incomplete, because here, below, we complete it together with Him. 

The written lower stroke of the letter is the desire to draw near to Him, manifested in this world through every prayer, request, and step toward freedom from within slavery. Just as the people cried out in Egypt. The splash of ink — like the blood of birth. A transition that is always accompanied by pain. But beyond it — light and a path. 

Just as a newborn person continues to form throughout life, so too a newborn nation forms and grows. And this process is endless, until the coming of the Mashiach. 

At each Seder, we remember that freedom is not simply an exit. It is a choice. It is memory. It is work. And it is the only way to be truly alive.