The theme of the Haggadah is Emunah and Bitachon.
Rabbi Akiva teaches us how to do the Seder right. The ultimate goal of the Seder is to get to the last words of אחד מי יודע“ Hashem Echad” Hashem is the one ...
The format of the Haggadah is based on Shema.
This shows up in the Haggadah in various places.
Firstly, in the opening, following עבדים היינו, there’s a paragraph- “אמר רבי אליעזר בן עזריה... who says “I’m 70 and I couldn’t convince the people to say Yetziat Mitzrayim at night ... until the pasuk came up that says ....
כל ימי חייך
All the days of your life
ימי חייך means the days
And כל ימי חייך represents the nights.
Which means that we have to mention Yetziat Mitzrayim both morning and night. We do this as part of Keriat Shema, the third paragraph of which discusses Yetziat Mitzrayim. But what does this paragraph, which is actually a Mishnah in Masechet berachot, referring to Keriat Shema, have to do with our Seder?
There are two separate Mitzvot. One is to remember Yetziat Mitzrayim in the morning and at night, which we do in Shema (third paragraph where it says
אני ה׳ אלקיכם אשר הוצאתי אתכם מארץ מצרים
(I am Hashem your G-d who took you out of Mitzrayim.)
The other mitzvah is to tell the story of Yetziat Mitzrayim on the night of Pesach. Why is this Mishnah brought up here in the Haggadah?
So why do we mention the nightly Mitzvah to remember Yetziat Mitzayim at the Seder table ?
The simplest answer is that we are quoting a pasuk that says
למען תזכר את יום צאתך מארץ מצרים
So that we should we should remember what happened on the day we left Mitzrayim.
In Parashat Re’eh, G-d commands is to have a seder, eat matzah and Maror and He continues and says “So that you’ll remember it every day and every night.” We should be so charged up and convinced about the miracles of Yetziat Mitzrayim on the night of the Seder to the point that twice daily, we will recall this event.
The purpose of the Seder is to get us to say Shema properly every day.
The Seder is built on the opening הא לחמא עניאwhich is about inviting guests. Why is this the first part? Because we can’t just say “Hashem is our G-d.” We first have to be part of the Jewish people. We are a nation under G-d, not just individuals. We show our connection to the Jewish people by inviting them to our house. Shema Israel-Hear O Israel-we are a part of the Jewish people.
Throughout the Haggadah there are references to Shema.
One part mentions the students telling their teachers: “Our rabbis, the time of Shema has come “
Furthermore, Rabbi Schorr explains that when we talk about the 4 sons and we say each one’s name and introduce them with the word “אחד”
אחד תם, אחד רשע, אחד חכם, אחד שאנו יודע לשאול
The “אחד” comes from Shema.
For each son, we are trying to instill the belief that G-d is One. Our job is to instill this belief in every type of child on the spectrum and have them all believe that Hashem is One.
There is a hint in the words הגיע הזמן של שחרית- which is the time for Shema of Shaharit - that shows that each son is included:
Each of their names is represented by a letter
שחרית
ש(שאינו) /ח(חכם)/ר(רשע)/י(יודע) /ת(תם)
And we end the Haggadah with “Who knows One? I know One- One is Hashem.”
The point of the whole night is to strengthen our belief that Hashem is One and say it in our Shema every morning and every night.