Pesach:

We were slaves to Pharaoh in Egypt and the Lord our God took us out from there…if the Holy One…had not taken our ancestors out of Egypt, then we, our children and our children’s children would still have been subjugated to Pharaoh in Egypt. Therefore, even if we were all wise, all understanding, all experienced and all versed in the torah, we would nevertheless be obligated to recount the story of the departure from Egypt…

The answers to the “four questions,” concerning the festival of Passover… begin at this point. Essentially, in this section of the Maggadah there are a number of different versions of the answers to the same questions. The plurality of approaches is appropriate to the presence of a number of questioners, each of whom are addressed according to their level of understanding and their approach to the matter. There is one common element to all answers – “We begin with shame and conclude with praise.” We remember the sufferings of the people…and conclude with the story 0f the redemption.

Adin Steinealtz

This is not a narrative paragraph, but an instructive one. It comes to teach us of our obligation to recount the Exodus story “even if we were all wise…” and to explain to us the reason for that seemingly odd obligation….Had the natural course of history been allowed to continue, the Jewish people would never have become the Jewish people… We do not necessarily recount the Exodus story because we need to hear it. Rather…we are duty-bound to recount the story each year for the sake of our children… to ensure they never lose touch with their debt of gratitude to God.

Malbim

Demonstrations of freedom might be appropriate for those who have actually been redeemed from bondage, but why should we in exile perform them?...Had God not taken us out, we would still be in Egypt…thus we too are beneficiaries of the Exodus…The Haggadah does not intend to imply that God could not have taken out some future generation. It simply means that the Exodus would never have taken place without direct Divine intervention…That the Jews were unlikely prospects for revolt is clear. Centuries of slavery had imbued them with a submissive nature. They were as likely to rebel against Egypt as a flock of sheep against a lion

Abrabanel

This section of the Haggadah is designed to fulfill the commandment “in order that you (singular) may tell your child and your grandchild the things I have done In Egypt and the signs that I have done among them, that you(plural) may know that I am the Lord.” The change in number indicates the impact of education - that by one understanding the meaning of the Exodus from Egypt…That in a true educational dialogue, the one who is apparently transmitting knowledge also learns and grow.

Nechama Leibovitz

Rav says that our ancestors were idolaters, and on Passover we celebrate our liberation from idolatry. The real shame in Egypt was not the physical servitude but the spiritual enslavement. The Jews were so strongly influenced by the idolatrous practices of the Egyptians that they did not truly believe in God. Shmuel holds, however that the real shame is the physical enslavement and the denigration of human personality. The Haggadah combines both opinions…

Shlomo Riskin