Passover, as explained through Holes

            Situations can be characterized by the type of hole involved. A hole can appear promising or problematic. A hole can have a bottom or be bottomless. The combinations of those two dimensions produce the following kinds of space: Container, Passage,  Trap, Abyss.

What kind of hole am I encountering?
	Promising	Problematic
Bottom	Container	Trap
Bottomless	Passage	Abyss

            Identifying the kind of hole you are in will help orient you to the possibilities and challenges of your situation. I’d like to illustrate this using the Passover story:

            Egypt = Trap

            Red Sea = Abyss/Passage

            Desert = Passage/Abyss

            Canaan = Container

            *Bonus: The Sinai event as all of the above

Egypt = Trap

A trap is a problematic situation characterized by stuckness, lack of escape. In a trap, there is a space but it’s totally surrounded, unrelentingly contained by rigid boundaries. In a trap, the task is escape, creating holes, pushing and crossing boundaries, or generating freedom through the previously unimagined and unattempted.

There’s a Rabbinic pun about Egypt (Mitzrayim) as Narrow Places (Metzarim). This creates a slightly different space image-- the passage so narrow one becomes trapped in it. This is a beautiful bit of psychological Torah isn’t it; a lot of situations that we think of as traps, in actuality, are just ways we feel stuck while we’re on the way (passage). There’s still a way through, even if we cannot figure how the heck we could squeeze through such a constricted path. Sometimes the path is so narrow we lose all sight of it. Trap situations call for close observation of all apparent boundaries and possible openings. Even if escape is impossible, a hole can serve as a port or vent.

Red Sea = Abyss/Passage

            An abyss is a problematic situation characterized by openness without stability. In an abyss, it’s all space in all directions, unrelenting space, nothing to stabilize or orient oneself against. In an abyss, the task is falling gracefully and/or seeking stability. It’s important to recognize, though, that an encounter with an abyss (especially once you’ve fallen in) is most of the time entirely out of one’s control.

            If you see an abyss up ahead, it’s a pretty good idea to stop first. Do not just enter an abyss! The Israelites are stopped at the Red Sea, facing only problematic options-- a trap behind, an abyss ahead. Then, the miracles happens! God gives them (but not the Egyptians) a passage through the sea. The Midrash on Nachshon ben Aminadav gives us some additional ‘hole’ Torah-- that one might need to jump into an apparent/real abyss, having no other way to discover a passage. Ideally though, when encountering an abyss, one should find a way to explore it while keeping one foot on firm ground.

Desert = Passage/Abyss

            A passage is a promising situation characterized by openness and direction. In a passage, one can press forward, turn back, rest, and get side-tracked. The task is getting through, and all its related challenges-- finding a path, staying on the path, managing obstacles, etc. Because of its similarity with an abyss (because bottomless), passage can also be a very disorienting, distressing, and discouraging situation.

            The desert is passage for the Israelites between Egypt and Canaan. They journey, go astray, make stops, have setbacks, and eventually get somewhere. On the other hand, the wilderness is so disorienting that it can feel more like an abyss. The entire generation leaving Egypt (save two) dies in the desert. For Korah and his ilk, the desert becomes a literal abyss.

Canaan = Container

A container is a promising situation characterized by protective boundaries and flexible openings. In a container, one should feel oriented, safe, stabilized, and free. The task is maintaining good boundaries.

Canaan is the promised container for the Israelites but their time in it will always be fraught with boundary anxiety. Who and what is allowed (or prohibited) in the country/community will be a constant and ever-budding obsession.

Sinai as Container, Abyss, Trap, and Passage

            Sinai appears as a container when the people all arrive and become one nation. Looking back at the Sinai event, it defines the people, creating a division between those who stood at Sinai and those who did not.

            Sinai appears as an abyss when God’s arrival triggers clouds, lightning, and a breakdown of the natural order. God crosses the boundary into the world, and this is threatening to the integrity of the world as a container. This is likely why the people beg Moses to have God speak to him rather than them.

Sinai appears as a trap in the Midrash in which God is said to overturn the mountain on the people “like a barrel.” In this version of the story, the people learn that their ‘freedom’ from Egypt is only for the purpose of serving God; if they don’t ‘choose’ the Torah, then they will remain trapped.

            Is Sinai a passage? Sort of-- it’s a stop along the way, and therefore it is a part of the way. It’s an ordeal for the people to get through, and not everyone (see: Golden calf worshipping) makes it through. The people are challenged to move-- from slavery to freedom, from idolatry to monotheism, from mixed multitude to nation, etc. The story of the Israelites in the desert is one of progress and regress, and Sinai is just one episode in which we see both kinds of movement.