The second halachah is a slave is relieved of time-oriented commandments because the slave lacks “time experience.” Everything in the universe exists in time and space. All evolutionary processes in nature are the result of time passage. The organic world is intertwined with the inexorable cycle of birth, life, death. Life and death can only be understood in the context of time.
Even though everything exists in time, man is the only creation endowed by Hashem with the capability of experiencing time. Man is capable of not simply living in time but to appreciate the meaning of the passage of time as it relates to himself. Unfortunately not every human takes advantage of the ability to experience time and not simply to live in time.
What are the components of the time experience? 1) Retrospection. re-experiencing the past. Retrospection for a young man is difficult, but it is very easy for an old man. Time is memory. Without memory there is no time. 2) The time experience is anticipatory of future things and events yet to be revealed. 3) Appreciation of and valuation of the present moment as the most precious possession one has. It is an axiological act. Time is the most precious possession. This concept is often overlooked by the young.
Sippur yetzias Mitzrayim does not simply relate a story. Rather, it is the reliving of the historical drama. We must re-experience and relive the exodus. Archeology describes events that disappeared long ago; they may be reproduced by memory, but they are not alive. There is no retrospection. Jewish History is not only the recorded story of events, but it is part of the time awareness of a people or group that I reenact and re-stage.
The American Jew has forgotten his history. Not the simple stories of life in Europe. Rather, he lost the ability to relive time as part of his own I-awareness, that the past is a relevant part of me. Rabbi Akiva is not simply a figure who lived 1900 years ago. He and his teachings are integrated into our personalities. Likewise the great scholars and leaders throughout the generations. Many American Jews forfeited their time awareness and facility for meaningful retrospection, becoming Jews without a past. Many young people don’t know the name of their grandfather. They only know he died years ago in the “old country.” Sadly, their I-awareness begins with his death, not his life. Their time-awareness coincides with their own birth. The existence of the human being does not commence with his birth. He is born into the world as part of the endless stream of time. But if the world begins with him, if he has no past on which to draw, his world is incomplete. On the other hand, to live in time, to feel the rhythm of time, one must move from the memory of the past to the promised reality of the future. To flow from events that were, to events that will be someday. From reminiscing to anticipating. From visions of memory to visions of imagination. Living in time means a commitment to a great past and an unknown future.
Judaism wants man to be free to appreciate the moral responsibility for emerging events and to anticipate his involvement and intervention in the historical process, to make critical decisions that mold and fashion not only his future, but the future of the world. Time awareness requires man to intervene when necessary. The Hagadah commences with Avadim hayinu, our earliest history, and concludes with the eschatological vision of Nishmas kol chai. One can’t relive an event without connecting past and future. In order to connect retrospection and anticipation, one must cherish the present fleeting moment as if it represented eternity. Judaism teaches that each moment is valuable and precious, a link between history of the past and anticipation of the future. With the fraction of a second, one may realize or lose lifelong hopes and aspirations.