“For the sake of this did the Lord do this for me [li] in Egypt” (Exodus 13:8) – For me. This is what we say to the child who does not know how to ask, to the youngest child inside us, to the inner baby who has no words. While for the wicked one we emphasize “for me and not for him,” I believe when we say this to the youngest child, we are saying something very different – at peah lo, “you open for him,” says the Haggadah, which I take to mean – you help him feel this and say this about himself. The verse quoted begins with “you should tell your child lemor” – you should tell your child “to say” – this is what you should teach your inner child to say about God and Egypt and herself: God did this FOR ME. Just as the world was created for me – each person is an entire universe – so the exodus, the redemption, happened “for me.” God cares about me that much – this is the message you want your youngest preverbal child to imbibe – both the actual child in front of you as well as the child who lives inside you, who perhaps is suffering precisely for lack of this message – you want her to know in her bones, how much she, as an individual, is loved by God. “For me,” li – I matter so much that God did this whole exodus just for me. Take that in and let your inner child feel the intensity of her mattering – of your mattering – in the world.
Thank you Rachel. Just as HaShem presents as a personal G-d our experience is unique and personal.